photoartflightShoot the Moon
Posted on November 15, 2013
I always look at a full moon and say, I have to photograph the full moon. But usually something comes up that stops me from doing just that. This time I persisted and did a quick few shots. I used a Canon 1D MkIV with the Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens with a Canon 1.4 Series III teleconverter, which give an effective focal length of 728mm @ f/5.6 between 1.3X crop camera body and the 1.4X teleconverter. I used manual exposure and used an exposure of 1/500 sec @ f/8, ISO 400. I underexposed just a little and brought it up in photoshop to hold details. I wanted to use f/11 or f/16, but I was handholding the camera and wanted a fast shutter speed for a crisper image. This post came about because it will be a full moon on Dec 17 and I started thinking I have to try again with a longer lens and try to do better this time and bring a tripod. Give it a try.
Walk in the Woods
Posted on November 14, 2013
I took a leisurely walk around the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, NJ on Sunday looking for Fall Still Life images. I found a few I liked and also a few general interest Fall images as I was walking along the path. Here are some of what I found. I used my 1D MkIV with the Canon 70-300mm DO lens for the longer zoom range which comes in handy for a wider range of images, especially if you do not know what you will come across while on your walk. It also works well with extension tubes for closeup images when you come across them. The 70-300mm DO makes a great walk around lens especially with the Image Stabilization. I usually carry a 12mm & 20mm extension tubes with me, along with 12″ silver/gold collapsable reflector & 12″ diffuser for either reflecting light into a subject or for diffusing harsh sunlight.
Milkweed Two Image Panorama
Last Flight at Blackwater NWR
Posted on November 13, 2013
Going through my older files from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, I came across this series that I never worked on. Blackwater has great sunsets because of its proximity to the coast with the moisture in the air. This was shot in December, near the end of daylight. I like the sun’s rays coming down through the clouds, giving streaks of sunlight in the lower clouds. This one lone bird was flying through the sky under the dark higher cloud bank. The photo just made me think “Last Flight of the Day.” Sometimes you can see large flocks of birds going through the evening sky, but late on this day there was just one lonely bird heading home, which I thought gave an interesting look. I usually do not like having the subject in the middle of the frame, but in this instance I chose this one because the bird is so small it was not as powerful off to either side and looked unbalanced. This was shot with a Canon 7D with a Canon 400mm DO f/4 telephoto lens. Exposure 1/1250 @ f/8, ISO 400.
Autumn Mute Swans
Posted on November 10, 2013
2 Mute swans flying into a colorful Autumn background. I liked the formation flying these 2 Mute Swans were keeping as they flew few laps around this small lake. They flew lower for the first go round, then on the second lap they gained a little altitude and flew across the colorful fall background. I thought the pair of white swans contrasted nicely with the reddish leaves and the darker grayish area on the right made it look like a B&W image blending into color as the swans flew into it. This was shot with a Canon EOS 1D MkII with a Canon 100-400mm zoom @ 400mm with a Canon 1.4X teleconverter giving an effective focal length with the 1.3 crop of the camera and 1.4X of the Teleconverter of 728mm @ f/8. I usually stop down a little more when using a teleconverter, but using a lens that was @ f/5.6 and with the Teleconverter making it f/8, I chose an f/stop of f/11 to help sharpen it up a little but still give me a shutter speed fast enough to stop the action of the flying birds.
Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker
Posted on November 9, 2013
I was condensing files on my external hard disks and came across these files of Norther Flickers. I had found this Northern Flicker preening in a tree at the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale NJ. I liked the the Red on the nape of the neck with the yellow on the bottom side of the feathers and the sunlight on the eye and face of the Flicker and skimming across the yellow feathers. I only had time for the one photo before it flew down to a lower tree. So I was glad I got at least one in this light.
Fall Color – Metasequoia
Posted on November 8, 2013
This is one of my favorite trees on my property- the Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood). This is one of three species of Conifers known as Redwoods. Even though it is the smallest it can grow to 200 ft tall and up to 6 feet wide at the base. They are originally from China. In the fall, the leaves go from a green to an orange brown. But the fruit, a Four-sided, box-like cone that hangs on long stalks are, round to cylindrical in shape, 1/2 to 1 inch long and start out as a solid green cone.. They mature in in the Summer and go to a Brown color and open up with a spiral pattern. Then in the fall they change to Green in color. So they are like a reverse color scheme from Summertime going back to Green, but are open with the spiral. They are fun to photograph because of the colors and the depth of the cone. The Cones are a great challenge for a macro photo, a great subject for image stacking because of cylindrical spiral open rows. The trunk also has great texture and colors.
Colors of Fall Starting to Fade
Posted on November 7, 2013
Here in the Northeast the Fall colors are beginning to fade. I met my friend at the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale NJ one morning to see what we could find before the Fall colors turned into brown, dried out leaves. I thought we had a good chance to find bright subjects that would stand out against the fading or subdued foliage. I decided to travel light, taking my Canon 70-300mm DO lens on a EOS 1D MkIV body which gave me a good focal length range in a small, lightweight package. I also used a Canon Flash set at -1 stop just to help fill in my subjects in the early morning light and helped me shoot handheld instead of using a tripod. The Canon 70-300mm DO has a poor reputation because of its Diffraction Optics, but it is one of my favorite lenses. It is about an inch shorter , but wider than a normal 70-300mm lens. It also has Image Stabilization, but I believe it takes a second for it to kick in, so I take this into account also. Shooting Raw files and adjusting them in Adobe Camera Raw makes this lens shine and a winner. Getting back to photographing, I tried different crops, shooting angles, and combining bright or vibrant subjects with darker subjects or backgrounds. I was also trying to place my subjects on a pleasing softer backdrop, so I used an f/ stop of f/7.1 or f/8 to keep the backgrounds simpler. Hope you enjoy them.
Ospreys at J.N. Ding Darling NWR
Posted on October 27, 2013
Because of my busy work schedule, I usually do not get to work on some of my personal files as soon as I would like. Going through my Ding Darling files I found quite a few that I wanted to work on. Here are some Ospreys from that trip. It is fun to photograph them fishing an area for their meal, diving into the water to catch a fish. Ding Darling is so large that it is hard to get Ospreys fishing. Usually you see them here flying by to another area or in a tree eating what they have caught. All images here were taken with a Canon 7D with the 400mm f/4 DO with a Canon 1.4X teleconverter giving a effective combined focal length of 896mm at f/5.6. This combination works well when you are photographing in a large open area plus it is extremely hand holdable for fast moving subjects. With the 7D it is important to shoot Raw images and use Adobe Camera Raw or the Canon Software that comes with your camera to process your files to control your image noise for cleaner images. If you ever get to Ding Darling look for them flying through the refuge or sitting in trees along the Wildlife Drive, either resting or eating their catch. Also note that J. N. Ding Darling’s Wildlife Drive is closed on Fridays. Hope you enjoy them.
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- Done for the Day
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- Fly By
First Frost Here in Northern NJ
Posted on October 26, 2013
We finally got a First Frost here in Northern New Jersey. It was not a heavy frost and seemed to be late in coming. Usually we get first frost much earlier here in October. Being it was much later in the month, the leaves were really dried out and duller. The minute the sun hit the leaves the frost melted so I had to work in the shaded areas. I used my Canon MkIV with the Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS macro. Because it was early in the morning and in the shade I raised my ISO to 1250 at f/5.6 which usually would give me a shutter speed of about 1/60 sec. I also tried to shoot straight down or as little of an angle as possible to get greater depth of field since I was at f/5.6. Hope you enjoy them.
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- First Frost
Sandhill Cranes at Lake Woodruff, National Wildlife Refuge
Posted on October 23, 2013
I was going over old files from the archives and found this image of 2 Sandhill Cranes from a visit to The Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge in DeLeon Springs, Florida. The refuge is over 21,000 acres and consists of 11,100 acres of freshwater marsh, 7,200 acres of hardwood swamps and over 1,000 acres of lakes streams and canals. We like going to National Wildlife Refuges because it is like going on a treasure hunt. You never know what you will find to photograph. From River Otters to Bald Eagles and Alligators, there is a huge variety of birds, mammals & reptiles. There are also photo opportunities from macro to landscapes – sunrises to sunsets, so you have a full day for photography. Walk through and see what you can find. Watch for Ospreys, Kites and a large variety of birds. Keep and eye open for Bitterns , Soras and other birds along the shore in the grasses. A great place to explore. Be aware of the closing time listed at the visitor center though, because they want to lock the gate after closing time.
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