Monthly Archives: December 2009
12/21/2009
High Desert
I will be flipping back and forth between wintery Maine and wintery Arizona for the next few days, just to provide some variety. This is from Agau Caliente Park at the extreme east edge of Tucson, looking north toward Mt. Lemon. Agua Caliente is a natural spring which forms a mountain pond and attracts a rich variety of wildlife. Cropped off at the bottom is the dry bed of the second pond, which is normally filled by the overflow from the first. An exceptionally dry decade, and other undetermined factors have cut the flow of the spring to about half its normal. The spring and ponds have gone through such cycles before and recovered, so there is hope here as well.
Sony DSC H50 at about 60mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/800th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Cropped in Lightroom to eliminate the white glare of the dry pond bed. Blackpoint to the right. Added Clarity and Vibrance and Sharpen Landscape preset.
From Desert Botanical Garden 09 (misplaced, but I had only two images from Tucson, so they got into this gallery).
12/20/2009
Winter Lace
There are always interesting patterns in the foam that forms in the still backwater below the series of small falls at Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport, but on this day, when it was well below freezing and only the motion of the water kept it liquid, the foam itself was half frozen and particularly lace-like. This shot contrasts the intricate patterns in white with the equally intricate patterns in the green moss. It was cropped at bit at the top for composition.
Sony DSC H50 at 31mm equivalent. F3.2 @ 1/60th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Blackpoint to the right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance, and a touch of Fill Light for the moss. Sharpen Landscapes preset.
From Around Home Kinnebunk ME.
And, for contrast, a close-up of the foam. Purely abstract. Taken from the same spot by zooming in to about 200mm equivalent for framing.
12/19/2009
The Bend in the Stream (of time)
Gravity, water, and light combine here to strange effect in the ripple at the head of the falls at Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport Maine. Cropped down to the essential action, it becomes an abstract, or at least a study in distortion.
Sony DSC H50 at about 45mm equivalent. F4.0 @ 1/100th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Blackpoint to the right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance, Sharpen Landscapes preset.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
12/18/2009
Abstraction on the Forest Floor
Another ice pattern from Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport Maine. Low light but effective molding on the raised ridges in the ice.
Sony DSC H50 at about 300mm equivalent. F3.5 @ 1/50th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Blackpoint well to the fight in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Sharpen Landscapes preset.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
12/17/2009
Sealed in For Winter
We are back to Emmons Preserve again, but this shot is from yesterday morning. A bit different than the summer view! We have had snow, and still have several inches in our yard, but here, only about 5 miles away, there is none lift. Ice yes. This trip turned out to be all about ice as you will see over the next few days.
Sony DCS H50 at 31mm equivalent and macro. F2.7 @ 1/60th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Blackpoint to the right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Sharpen Landscapes preset.
12/16/2009
Moss
Back to summer for this extreme close up of fresh green moss from this summer. Emmon’s Preserve in Kennebunkport ME is a few acres along a steam protected by the Kennebunk Land Trust. There is a rustic hiking trail that winds through, mostly along the stream. There is always something of interest to photograph there.
This was taken, as you might guess, from right down on the ground, using the flip out LCD on the Sony H50 and the macro setting. I used EV compensation and program shift to get as much depth of field as possible. EV compensation was also useful in taming the highlights in this full sun shot.
Sony DSC H50 at 31mm equivalent and macro. F3.5 @ 1/60th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto with -.7EV compensation and program shift.
Added Clarity and Vibrance in Lightroom, Blackpoint to the right. Sharpen Landscape preset.
12/15/2009
Otter Cuteness
Yes, well, what is cuter or easier than an otter…Sea Otters at Moss Landing, CA in this case? There were 35 or 40 of them lounging, feeding, playing on the early morning when I visited, easily within range of the Zeiss PhotoScope at 40x. The under otter here was attempting initiate some play, but the upper otter was not totally engaged. Under otter persisted and play did ensue.
Zeiss PhotoScope at 40x (1600mm equivalent field of view). 1/350th sec. @ ISO 100. Metered at about f5.2.
Added Clarity and Vibrance in Lightroom. Blackpoint to the right. Sharpen Landscapes preset.
And the video version, taken by holding a small Sanyo HD Video camera up to the eyepiece of the PhotoScope.
12/14/2009
Yellow-rump Looking Up
Shooting Warblers in the fall in Cape May New Jersey is just too easy. No, of course, I take that back. Shooting warblers, anysmall active bird for that matter, anywhere, anytime, is never easy…but it is less hard in Cape May in the fall, when the warblers are many and fueling for the Delaware Bay crossing is most on their minds.
This bird was one of many that used this branch for a momentary perch as it foraged through some brushy trees behind the Hawk Watch platform at Cape May Point State Park. I could prefocus on the perch, but I had to rely on the auto-focus assist on the Zeiss PhotoScope to tweak focus as the bird was in all but constant motion.
I have mixed feelings about the out of focus branch that threatens to obscure the bird (it did in the next second as the bird moved further up the branch). I could clone it out, but in a way, it adds to the reality of the shot, and is certainly a more accurate record of the bird in its habitat, and the challenges of photographing it.
Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL at about 40x (1600mm equivalent field of view). 1/800th sec. @ ISO 100. Metered at about f5.2.
Light processing in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Sharpen Landscape preset. Blackpoint slightly right.
From Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL.
And, just for interest sake (and to prove I can do it), here is the same image without the branch in the foreground…worked in PhotoShop Elements 7.0.
Looking Up without branch
12/13/2009
So Winter!
Happy Sunday!
Another from the Winter Archives. I hope to get out today for photography. We shall see.
This is the Back Creek marsh where Rt. 9 passes over it, south of Kennebunkport and kind of behind Parson’s Beach on a very winterly day. I remember getting out to take the pic, braving really bad roads and driving conditions, but drawn out to see what I could see. Fog closes the horizon and actually adds to the impression of cold.
Sony DSC H9 at about 180mm equivalent. F5.0 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Recovery for the fog and highlights in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Sharpen Landscapes preset.
12/12/2009
Winter Flows
Digging back into the archives from last winter for today’s image. Taken last Februray behind Parson’s Beach, on a cold morning…the ice flowing and the shapes of the caught grasses and leaves makes a true still life. One of what amounts to my signature shots…using the flip out LCD on the H50 to get right down at ground level for an interesting view.
Sony DSC H50 at 31mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
Added Clarity and Vibrance in Lightroom. A bit of Recovery for the highlights. Blackpoint slightly right.