Monthly Archives: September 2020
Black-tipped Darner
Black-tipped Darner, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I was out photographing the foliage at a pond along Rt. 9 in Kennebunk on a misty, cloudy day when this darner flew up from the shoreline and, after hovering a while in front of the branch, landed in plain sight. Of course, I had the wrong camera with me, so I could only hope it would sill be there when I got back from getting the right camera from my ebike in the parking area. It was was 🙂 And I am pretty sure it is a Black-tipped, though Shadow is another possibility, (and given the variation in thorax and abdomen patterns, even some of the other darners are more remotely possible). I am not an expert by any means. But, I think, Black-tipped Darner. Whatever it is, it is missing the feathery cerci at the tip of its abdomen. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Variation on a theme of fall
I posted a very similar photo a few days ago…or a photo taken at the this same spot at any rate. Sunny day vs cloudy day and two days later in the change of leaves, and taken with a different lens…the 24mm wide angle on my Sony Rx10iv vs the 18mm ultrawide equivalent mounted on a Sony a6500. Inch sensor vs APS-C, but that difference is not apparent. Mostly though it is just a difference in the moods of autumn. We had our bright crisp days last week. This week we have cloudy with intermittent rain. We need the rain. Both moods are autumn. Both are beautiful in their own way. Sony a6500 and 18mm ultrawide, as above. Program mode with HDR. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. And the pond is along Rt. 9 in Kennebunk, Maine just above the Wells Town Line.
Fallish
We have lost the sun this week as we move deeper into fall. We need the rain, so I am trying hard not to begrudge the light 🙂 You can see the sea mist coming up and inland at the end of this marshy isle where a little stream flows through. Highly atmospheric. Fallish indeed. Sony a6500 with 18mm equivalent ultrawide combo. HDR. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
September light
Yesterday’s Day Poem was about the early turning of the leaves here in Southern Maine, here captured at a little pond along Rt. 9 in Kennebunk just above the Wells line, on a clear September afternoon. It is certainly one of the most beautiful times of year in Maine. Sony Rx10iv at 24mm equivalent. HDR. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. And the poem for those of you who missed it. 🙂
9/26
The leaves are changing early.
We expect peak foliage around
Columbus Day, but either we
are due for a totally awesome
display this year, or it will be
mostly over by mid-October.
Maybe it is the dry summer
(or maybe it is just the 2020
effect). There is a Peak Foliage
web site for Leaf Peekers,
maintained by the State of
Maine. Maybe I should get
online and check. Not that
I can do anything about it or
that it effects me at all. I am
content to just watch the leaves
turn and to revel in the color.
No matter what the calendar
says, it is always an amazing,
an incredible show…nature
rolling out her most vivid
palette, and the sun low on
the horizon already to warm
the light…it is a sight, whether
it comes early or comes late.
Silver Birch
Silver Birch in September afternoon light. All about texture and shadow and highlight. Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
An Abundance of Asters
There is a poem for this.
It is the season of the Aster in
southern Maine. We must have
a half dozen species in flower
just now, everywhere from road-
side to deep woods. Of course
it begins with the big showy
New England Aster…purple petals
radiating from a bright yellow center,
but we also have the Tall White Aster,
which is (you guessed it) tall and white
with those same yellow centers,
and the then the spidery petaled
Large Leafed Wood Aster, the tiny
flowered White Wood Aster, and
the low growing Blue Wood Aster,
very like the white, but colored
like the New England. And then
we have at least two species of
Goldenrod, the Seaside and the
Zigzag (and yes that is its name),
So an abundance of Asters here
in southern Maine, getting on for
late September, to keep us company
as the leaves turn red and we slip,
as gracefully as we can, into fall.
Sony Rx10iv and Sony HX90V. Various focal lengths. Program with my standard wildlife modifications, and the HX90V shots in intelligent auto. Processed in Apple Photos.
Bee in Asters
White Wood Aster, Kennebunk Barrens Nature Conservancy, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — September in southern Maine is certainly the season for Asters. There are at least 6 different Aster species in bloom right now…and they are all over, in every kind of habitat. These are, I am pretty sure, White Wood Asters from the Kennebunk Plains, and what looks to be a Honey Bee. You can see that the Bee is harvesting pollen and is already heavy laden just by looking at those bright yellow leggings. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Apple Photos.
New England Aster
New England Aster, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine — Sometimes things just work out…right place, right time, and ready…and you bring back a satisfying image from one of your photoprowls. This is pretty simple, just the single flower head in Maine September afternoon light, against a dark background…but the effect, at least to my eye, is memorable. Sony Rx10iv at 513mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Wild forest chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee, Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — Okay so it is really only a standard Black-capped Chickadee, but it is not one of the tame chickadees that come to our feeder a hundred times a day. On the other hand, it paid no more attention to me there taking it’s photo out in the middle of the woods at Laudholm Farms than one of our yard birds would have, so maybe “wild” is a word that just can not be applied to any chickadee. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
A bit of Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — from my latest session in the chair blind by the feeders under the pines. Nuthatches are always such determined looking birds. This one is a bit fluffed in the chilly September weather we are having. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.