Daily Archives: July 7, 2023

Maine! Grass-pink Orchid (focus stack)

Grass-pink Orchid: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms, Wells, Maine, USA — I always go check for the Grass-pink Orchids too early…before they bloom…and then, sometimes miss them…getting to the little remnant bog at Laudholm Farms too late. This year I caught them (though there were no Rose Pagonias, the other orchid of that bog). The OM Systems OM-1 does in-camera focus stacking, and the 100-400mm zoom focuses to just over 4 feet at 800mm equivalent…making the system pretty amazing for flower macros (or close-ups at any rate.) I know from past experiences with other cameras (I have been photographing these Grass-pinks for many years now) that it is very difficult to get a close up of the flower with every part in focus in the same image. The flower is just too three-dimensional. Focus stacking (hand held here…and a tripod would not have helped as there was breeze and the flowers were moving) gives us the depth of filed needed. It took a couple of tries because of the breeze, but it is hard to fault the results. 770mm equivalent (to frame the flower from closest focus). Equivalent exposure ISO 200 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Maine! Snowy Egret in the noonday sun.

Snowy Egret: Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, York County, Maine, USA — It was high noon by the time I got to the overlook on the back side of the Little River marsh, and the light was really too bright for white birds! This Snowy Egret with a nice plume was busy feeding in the pool close in. Such a handsome bird! OM Systems OM-1 with 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 250 @ f7.1 @ 1/640th and ISO 320 @ f7.1 @ 1/800th.