Monthly Archives: March 2021
Nature Phonography: Looking closely in the forest
I took a short ride on my trike yesterday, and an even shorter walk out into the forest along the way to see what I could see and to play with the Sirui lens set on my iPhone SE 2020. I have the Moment thin case, so mounting the lenses is just a twist. I got out the 10x Macro lens for its first real world test. I was surprised at the depth of field…much greater than I expected, but still shallow enough to isolate a subject against its background. You need to be able to get really close to your subject. This not a “telephoto macro.” The main trick is to keep out of your own, and the phone’s shadow. Overall I am impressed. This lens is going to be a lot of fun, if I can remember to use it. 🙂 A bit of moss with a pine cone embedded from beside the trail made a vivid macro still life. iPhone SE 2020 with Sirui 10x macro on the Moment thin case. Stock Camera App on Auto. Processed in Apple Photos.
Dull Gold
American Goldfinch: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — A few of our male Goldfinches are beginning to show some color, and a few never completely lost it over the winter, but most are still pretty dull at this time of year. This bird does not look very happy about the situation…though I had just filled all the feeders. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. Almost raining and taken from my backyard photo blind. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Chickadee in motion…
Black-capped Chickadee: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I was running out of photos for my Pic for today posts, and since it was above 40 degrees yesterday (though threatening rain) I got my chair blind out and sat by the feeders under the pine for a few hours. I rebuilt and filled the feeding station there a week ago, in anticipation of more spring activity and the day I would actually get the chair blind out. It was still a bit like ice-fishing, waiting in the cold for birds to come, and while there was not a lot of bird activity yet, it turned out to be a productive, and enjoyable, time. This is one of those shots that just happen occasionally. Right place, right time, and ready…certainly not something I could have actually set out to take 🙂 And, once again, proof that you need to attempt to photograph every bird you see…even the ubiquitous chickadee. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. A little branch that was growing out of the tail feathers was removed with TouchRetouch. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Why do they hang the seed so high?
Chipmunk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — All about the pose, even if the setting is not ideal. I could, maybe, edit out the feeder pole, but it is part of the story the photo tells and as such will remain. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. In an ideal world I would have added some positive EV exposure compensation, but the light was changeable at best, so I had to add the light in processing.
Pic for today: the humble Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove: Kennebunk Maine USA — We have only had doves in the yard since I started to put out mixed seed last year when I put up my backyard photo blind. Now we have them every day, and sometimes in good numbers. This one was foraging for seed under the feeders on our deck. Again, it took a while for the doves to get bold enough to come up on the deck. They were mostly on the ground, first under the blind feeders, and then under the feeders on the deck, but now they are quite at home coming right up to the sliding glass doors of the deck. The subtle iridescence of the doves feathers always catches my eye. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nature Phonography: Looking up, Bluebird.
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — The other way to get impressive results with the iPhone SE 2020 and the Sirui 400mm mounted on the Moment thin case, is to use 60fps 4K video clips and capture frames after the fact. Since I am still in the experimentation phase with this phone and lens (and case) combination, if the bird cooperates I generally try to shoot some still frames, using ProShot at 1/500th or 1/1000th of a second when shooting hand-held, and then switch to 4K video for a few seconds or more of video. I use Lumafusion on my iPad to select and save frames at the full 4K resolution. It is quicker to just take a screen shot in the built in video player, but then you are limited to the resolution of the screen, and, if you crop at all, to even less pixels. I process the captured frames as I would any image, in Polarr and Apple Photos. The results are never going to equal the output from my Sony Rx10iv, but the more I play with the Sirui 400mm on the iPhone, the potential I discover in it, as a photographic tool.
Nature Phonography: Waiting for the thaw
This is one of my favorite views near home. This pond is right off busy Rt. 9 between here and the Wells Town line. The ice will not hold out long now. I like the contrast of the tree bark, the still expanse of the water (frozen here), and the bright green of the evergreens. I am still experimenting with the Sirui 18mm wide angle lens on the Moment thin case. The trick with the Sirui is that it has to be exactly centered over the phone camera lens to give good results…but when it is perfectly centered it is very fine indeed. The Moment case does the job of centering the lens every time, so there are no unpleasant surprises when you review the photos for the day. So much so that I am going to have to stop saying I am “experimenting” with the lens. The Sirui 18 has become part of my regular photo kit. Why not? It is super easy to carry, I have always enjoyed the 18mm perspective, and the results are fine. 🙂 Sirui 18mm add on lens, Moment thin case, iPhone SE 2020, standard camera app auto. ISO 20.
Nature Phonography: Bluebirds and dancing elephants.
Eastern Bluebird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — Someone said, and I read it somewhere, one time, a long time ago… “It is not that the elephant dances well, it is that the elephant dances at all.” I thought it was Mark Twain, but I can not find the reference using Google this morning…in fact I can not find the quotation at all…and I am beginning to think I may have made it up. 🙂 This photo brings the quotation to mind. It might not be all that great, as photos of bluebirds go. I certainly have much better ones. But then, when you consider that it was taken with an iPhone SE 2020, it is actually kind of amazing. I keep practicing with the iPhone and the Sirui 400mm lens mounted on the Moment thin case, and I am getting better. Of course holding the phone and lens steady enough for a decent photo is the hard part. It helps to use an app like ProShot, which allows you to create custom presets with higher shutter speeds. This shot was at 1/500 of a second, with auto ISO for correct exposure (ISO 50). I have also been experimenting with a “camera grip” on the phone. It is just a plastic clamp thing with a grip like small camera, and a bluetooth shutter button on the top right under your trigger finger. It makes phone photography much more comfortable and increases your chances of holding the phone still enough. There are a few on Amazon…variations on the design. I bought this one because it has the cold shoe for mounting a mic or light. The bluetooth release is a little finicky, but when it is working, it makes the phone very “camera like”. And it makes shots like this one with the Sirui 400mm possible at 1/500th, hand held. So you see, the elephant can dance.
Caught’cha! Chipmunk.
A sure sign of spring. We had a few 50 degree days this week and the chipmunks were active…cleaning up every stray seed on the deck under the feeders. I see them in the leaf litter under the pines as well. Bound to happen! This one has the “caught in the act” look about it. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nature Phonography: Leftovers
A found still-live: a cluster of oak leaves still clinging on here on the cusp of spring in Southern Maine…as Oak leaves will do wherever they are found. iPhone SE 2020 with Sirui 60mm portrait lens on the Moment thin case. Standard Apple Camera app with 2x digital zoom. I am liking this combination. I have added a bluetooth grip to the phone setup for field work…it provides the kind of wrap around grip any camera user is used to, and has a bluetooth shutter release that falls right where it should, under your trigger finger.