Monthly Archives: September 2017

Tiny little mushrooms in a bunch…

Mushrooms, Old Falls Pond, W. Kennebunk Maine

Lots of tiny mushrooms growing in the moss on a fallen tree near Old Falls and Old Falls Pond on the Mousam River in West Kennebunk Maine. I donโ€™t know why but this image makes me smile. ๐Ÿ™‚

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 1600. Processed in Polarr. 

Two tall birds…

Great Blue Heron and Greater Yellowlegs, Back Creek, Kennebunk Maine

I think of the Greater Yellowlegs as a smallish shorebird and the Great Blue Heron as a big wader. When they crossed paths yesterday in the day-long gloom before Jose passes by, it surprised me to see how big the Yellowlegs is in comparison. The Heron looks like the Yellowlegs might have tweeted its tail on the way by. 

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode, -.3EV. 1/250th @ ISO 125 @ f4. Processed in Polarr. 

Birches in fall…

White Birch, Eastern Trail, Kennebunk Maine

Well, coming on toward fall anyway. We have not had a frost yet, and probably won’t for at least a couple of weeks yet, but leaves are beginning to turn. This stand of same age birch trees along the Eastern Trail caught my eye. 

Sony Rx10iii at 106mm equivalent. In-camera HDR. Nominal exposure: 1/200th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr. 

GBH

Great Blue Heron, the beach, Kennebunk Maine

I am not sure what it is about September, but there are more Great Blue Herons along the Mousam than I have seen all summer. You can see 3 on an average day, just in one mile stretch of river. That does not sound like much, but in June, July, and August you could go weeks without seeing any at all. This specimen was just off the beach access road in the waters of Back Creek where it flows under the road. I watched it fish for a half hour, and it kept getting closer, so I have way too many pics. ๐Ÿ™‚

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode, -.3EV. 1/640th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr. 

Green-striped Darner

Green-striped Darner, Kennebunk Bridle Path, Kennebunk ME

I did the loop on my electric bike that includes the Kennebunk Bridle Path between Rt. 9 and Summer Street in Kennebunk the other day, and stopped, as always, at the fresh-water pools beside the tidal stream that flows under the Path and into the Mousam just off Rt. 9. There are always dragonflies there…well, almost always. On this visit there were two large darners patrolling the pools, one on each side of the stream…though they crossed over on occasion for some ariel combat. The Green-striped Darner, in my experience, is one of the more cooperative of the darners to catch in flight, since it hovers in place frequently. That gives me time to prefocus and let the camera’s auto focus catch on. This panel shows several views.

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. My special Birds in Flight and Action mode…using the large movable spot focus and manual focus to pre-focus. 1/1000th @ 4.5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic. 

Good morning visitor

Raccoon, the yard, Kennebunk Maine

Carol, who is up earlier than I am, has seen this Raccoon several times this summer, coming for the sunflower seeds in the bird feeder. It does not eat much…I think it just enjoys the treat (like candy to a Raccoon) so I don’t begrudge it its seed. Since it was persistant this morning…coming back three times…she woke me and I grabbed the camera and went out in my underware to photograph it. This was taken through the thermal glass of the back door (four layers in fact) with only the back porch light for illumination. As soon as I turned on the flashlight for more light, the Raccoon decided it had had enough observation and ambled off down the deck and stair rail and away. 

Sony Rx10iii at 24mm equivalent. Anti-motion-blur Mode. Nominal exposure: 1/4 second @ f2.4 @ ISO 10000. It is actually four exposures at a shorter shutter speed and lower ISO stacked and processed to remove movement artifacts…which is how Anti-motion-blur works. ๐Ÿ™‚ Processed in Polarr, including some noise removal. 

Mottled Darner

Mottled Darner, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk Plains WMA, Maine

Out at Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area in West Kennebunk the other day, there was single Darner dragonfly patrolling the edge of the vegetation in the pond. It was not perching. I spent too much time trying to get a flight shot, and this is the best I could do. Still, it is enough, I think, to identify the bug as a Mottled Darner…a first for me in Southern Maine. Just goes to show: you never know what you will see if you are looking. ๐Ÿ™‚ 

Sony Rx10iii at 385mm equivalent. My special Birds in Flight and Action mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 250. Processed and cropped for scale in Polarr. 

Autumn coming…

Turning Maple, Day Brook Pond, Kennebunk WMA, W. Kennebunk ME

Autumn is coming, one day at a time, one leaf at a time. This tree, along the edge of Day Brook Pond on the Kennebunk Plains Wildlife Management Area, always turns early…I am not sure why. I wrote a poem about it last year. The one red branch makes an interesting contrast in color. 

Sony Rx10iii at 110mm. Program mode. -.3EV. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 250. Processed in Polarr. 

Pickerel Frog

Pickerel Frog, Old Falls Pond, W. Kennebunk Maine

I rode my eBike out to Old Falls on the Mousam River and Old Falls Pond yesterday…mostly just to see if I could do…or rather how hard it would be. The fall colors are coming, and Old Falls is one of my favorite places to capture them. While there, down toward the pond, I came across several Pickerel Frogs. Pretty frogs. ๐Ÿ™‚

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode, -.3EV. 1/400th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr. 

Crab Apples

Crab Apples, Kennebunk Bridle Path, Kennebunk Maine

There are all kinds of remnant plantings along the Kennebunk Bridle Path, from the days when it was a trolley line connecting the rail station in Kennebunk with the beaches, almost into Kennebunkport. This Crab Apple tree is delightful when in blossom and when in fruit. The fruit here displayed against a high September sky. 

Sony Rx10iii at 212mm equivalent. Program mode, -.3EV. 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr.