photoartflightSigns Of Busy Beavers
Posted on April 16, 2018
We had a warm 80 degree day over the weekend so we decided to take a walk at the Audubon Plainsboro Preserve. The Preserve is over 1000 acres and has a 50 acre lake. Lots of trails to explore and an interesting visitor center. We had heavy rain for days so the paths & trails were very muddy but we wanted to see what we could find after a long Winter. We saw a lot of evidence of the Beavers with lots of trees showing Beaver activity. We never saw any beavers here, but they usually are busy at night so you do not expect to see them. It is amazing to see the fruits of their labor in the trees they take down. And wonder how long it actually takes them to do it. Some of the trees felled were not recent, but were probably from last year. Beavers must have strong determination along with strong teeth.
Forest Tent Moth Caterpillar
Posted on June 29, 2017
While we were walking down the path at Plainsboro Preserve, I noticed a few of these colorful caterpillars. I had never seen one before, but thought it had a very colorful and interesting color scheme. The path was in the shade, and I was using a 300mm lens at f/4, ISO400, so I did not have enough depth of field to get it all in focus unless I raised my ISO or lowered my shutter speed, which was fairly low already being in the shade. So I concentrated on the head. Then I shot fairly straight to my subject caterpillar hoping to get more in focus.
Lancet Clubtail Dragonfly
Posted on June 24, 2017
We saw quite a few of these Lancet Clubtail Dragonflies at the Plainsboro Preserve during our walk. So I guess they like this area. Most were sunning along the path. After these 2, I stopped photographing them on the path because they all looked like the same Dragonfly. Plus their mostly clear wings just seemed transparent against the busy background of the path. They seemed to like the sun and warmth of the path so they were very prevalent along the path.
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Painted Skimmer Dragonfly
Posted on June 23, 2017
Since we moved, going from Northern NJ to Central NJ, I have to learn the specific names of some of my favorite subjects to photograph, Dragonflies & Damselflies. We are seeing quite a few different types here, we just have to learn the names. Also Males and Females are usually quite different in coloring & markings, so sometimes it is difficult.
We went to Plainsboro Preserve, a 1000 acre Audubon Nature Preserve, looking for Dragons & Damsels and we found quite a few. Most were sitting on the path, warming on the warm gravel & stones. Unfortunately that made for very busy backgrounds. The one below cooperated by sitting on a small branch, giving me a nicer background. I was using a 300mm f/4 lens and was shooting at f/4 to help keep the background softer looking. I sacrificed depth of field for a cleaner looking background. So I tried to shoot fairly straight in to my subject on the first. And a slight angle on the second.
Chipmunk Condo
Posted on February 28, 2017
We noticed this chipmunk in the stump of a fallen tree at the Plainsboro Preserve. It was watching us closely, probably ready to scurry off if we moved closer. I likes all the hollowed out sections, giving depth and interest to the image. It looks like there is plenty of room for family and relatives.
2 Shot Weathered Feather Image
Posted on February 27, 2017
When walking, looking for photo subjects, I like to find detail subjects along the way. They are good for accent images or just something interesting to look at. They can add interest to the blog or for use in an ebook. Often I have a long lens on my camera for Birds and other Wildlife when I am walking in a Nature area. But when I find smaller detail subjects, I do not want to change lenses. I usually also do not carry 2 large camera bodies and I do not like the quality of the iPhone images. So if I have a second camera it is usually a m43 camera with a 14-140mm lens. Or like I did here on these 2 images. I shot multiple images handheld with a 300mm and combined them in Photoshop. The featured image was 2 shots and the one below was 3 images. These were from a walk at the Plainsboro Preserve in NJ.
Red- Throated Loon Diving
Posted on February 26, 2017
As we were watching the Loon, that was now close to us, suddenly dive and go hunting for a meal. It was under for a little while and when it came up, it seemed to settle down and take a nap.
Plainsboro Preserve 400mm Landscape
Posted on February 26, 2017
While I was waiting for the Loon to work its way down the shoreline, I decided to work on this landscape panorama. I liked how the green evergreen trees stood out among the bare leafless trees with the nice blue water as a solid base element. I was setup with a 400mm lens, so I shot 2 rows of 4 images, handheld, for a top series and a bottom series. Combined in Photoshop CC2017. The new Photoshops do a nice job for handheld panos. Every now and then I might need to touch up an area here or there, but usually Photoshop does fine and no other work needed.
Red-Throated Loon with Winter Plumage
Posted on February 25, 2017
We found a new area to explore close to our new home. It is a nature preserve in Middlesex County, NJ. It is over 1000 acres with diverse open spaces including mature beech woods, wetlands, meadows and shoreline of Lake McCormack (the lake is over 50 acres). The area has a wide variety of plant and animal life including native and migrant songbirds, waterfowl, Bald Eagles, foxes and beavers. It has many trails to explore and lots of subjects for photo opportunities.
On our first visit we had a good time starting to discover areas for photography and the general layout of the preserve. On our first visit we spotted this Red-throated Loon. It was in Winter Plumage and was not to close, out on the lake. We went back the next day and I took a longer lens with me hoping to find the loon again. We spotted it going down one channel on the far side so we worked our way over where we thought it would return on the far side working along the shoreline.
We got there before it made the turn around and were waiting for the Loon to get closer.
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