Hello to all and welcome!
I can't really say what you should expect to see here as I've never before tried blogging or anything similar. It'll have to be a work in progress. I'll probably talk about photography in general (and mine in specific) as well as point out different things that are going on that I find interesting or worth commenting on. If anyone (assuming anyone actually ends up reading this) has questions or suggestions on topics, feel free to let me know.
I'm here you're with me, here at the beginning of all things.
Roger
p.s. Comments and feedback are very welcome.
Photos of the Week - Return to Wood Lake
I enjoyed my first trip to Wood Lake in April (here: http://www.pavellephoto.com/blog/2017/4/photos-of-the-week---wood-lake) so much that I decided to return last weekend to see what the place was like now that it is really springtime. It was actually somewhat surprising. I didn't notice a lot in the way of wildflowers or interesting trees. In fact, what I ended up shooting was pretty much the same subjects as my last visit. But in some ways I got much luckier.
Female Red-Winged BlackbirdClick to Purchase
Female Red-Winged BlackbirdClick to Purchase
These two birds actually caused me a bit of annoyance; not to shoot, but because I couldn't identify them. I checked through all the swallows in my bird book, but couldn't figure out which one they were. Turns out there's a good reason I couldn't figure it out. They are actually female red-winged blackbirds.
Great Blue HeronClick to Purchase
I spotted this Great Blue Heron on across a small channel. It didn't seem to be calling and I didn't see a second one, so I have no idea why it was posing in this fashion.
My last visit to Wood Lake included my first photo of a muskrat. I like the way this one looks, dragging a stick or reed. I especially like the way the water ripples around it.
What was really cool, though, was when this muskrat swam onto the shore next to me. It took some maneuvering to get a clear shot of the face, but well worth it.
Finally, this was my first wood duck sighting of the year. It always makes my day when I can get a shot of one.
Photos of the Week - Lake Calhoun views
I was out at Lake Calhoun a couple of weeks ago. This is a good time of year for that (although now towards then end) because of all the migrating waterfowl. Here are some examples:
Here's a small example of what I mean. This is a small flock of common mergansers (a bit far off shore, which is why I had to crop it so much). There were lots of others around.
For instance, you can see lots of American coots in this shot, all over the lake in the foreground (note that I have a better one from last year if you look in the Minnesota folder).
American CootClick to Purchase
Here's a nice close-up of one of the coots. It's nice that they come close enough to the shore to be able to capture detail.
This is a pair (female is the reddish/brownish one) of Lesser Scaups. They were swimming amongst the coots, but got close enough (with a bit of cropping) for me to isolate them in a shot.
And finally, because it happened to be Easter Sunday, a typically Minnesotan approach to celebrating a holiday.
Photos of the Week - Wood Lake
A month or so ago someone posted a notice on Facebook about a photography walk/shoot at Wood Lake in Bloomington. There were several reasons why I wanted to join this. First, I haven't done much shooting this year because the weather is still chancy (that day, though, was gorgeous). Second, I'd never been to Wood Lake, and finding a new place to shoot is always worth the time and effort. Finally, photographers are fun people to hang out with and excursions with other photographers are always a good experience since they may spot something you didn't or have ideas on how to approach a subject that never occurred to you.
So, here are some of the images that I managed to capture.
Mallards are so ubiquitous that I generally skip them as a photo subject. This pair, though, really attracted me because of the highly saturated green in the head, brighter than I've seen for a while.
Red-Winged BlackbirdClick to Purchase
Red-Winged Blackbirds are another VERY common bird, but I liked the pose on this, coupled with the fact that it was calling to others to let them know we were around and taking pictures.
I love trying to capture birds on the wing, but rarely get a successful shot. This one was one of the best I've managed.
My first ever muskrat. Well, technically I had seen others earlier in the day, but this one was much closer and ultimately a better shot. I had not idea they are that big.
Painted TurtleClick to Purchase
For some reason, I haven't seen a lot of painted turtles in recent years. That day there were lots (including babies). This is the best painted turtle shot I've ever gotten. The lower angle shows makes it obvious why they got their name.
It was a really fun park to visit and one that I'll have to get back to throughout the year. I can foresee lots of different photo opportunities and can't wait to take advantage of them.
Photos of the Week - Project Thoughts
I found last year that I really liked having a project in the back of my mind when I went out shooting. Something to look for in places that I've been many times in the past and will revisit many times in the days/months/years to come.
Last year my project was dead and decaying trees/stumps/branches and such. And this is something I'll continue to look for while wandering around, especially somewhere new. The same way I always look for birds, butterflies/insects, larger landscapes, etc. But, these are harder to come by in familiar settings. So, what's the next focus?
Right now, I thinking abstracts and/or in-camera manipulations of images (that latter being what happens when the camera or lens or subject are not fixed). I was out last week and made some examples of abstracts over at Lone Lake that I thought I'd share:
Rippled LightClick to Purchase
The sunlight was creating interesting shapes under the rippling surface of the lake, while the blue sky was reflected on the surface.
Tree ReflectionClick to Purchase
Here, I like the way the ripples distort the tree's reflection, creating a recognizable but abstract image. In the past I've inverted or flipped images such as this, but I like the image as taken.
Reedy ReflectionsClick to Purchase
The bold straight lines of the reeds contrast nicely with the reflections that are broken up by the rippling surface of the lake.
The technical term for seeing an recognizable shape where none exists is "pareidolia". In this case, I was wandering around the lake and saw a scowling face in the tree. I decided to title this one "Sad Ent" after Tolkein's tree-folk.
Photos of the Week - Winter's End
I was over at Lone Lake last week, hoping that the bald eagles would be back. If they are, they weren't hanging around while I was there. So, while sitting there waiting and hoping they'd show, I made some photos of things that caught my eye.
Last week was the tail end of Winter on the lake. Most of the ice had broken up and the rest was probably going to be gone in a day or two. The two images above show both aspects of this. The first one is an oak? leaf that is still frozen in the ice, while the second is the small wavelets on the open water. I was attracted to the repetitive pattern of the latter and the concept of capturing something that had been captured in the ice for the former.
The final image, for me, exemplifies the end of winter. There was a pair of Canadian Geese sitting by the shore who noticed some dogs nearby and decided to saunter over to the open water. One had no problems doing so. The other...not so much. As I was watching, it broke through the ice and struggled a bit to get out. Having seen this, I swung my camera around and, sure enough, maybe 5-10 steps later it went plop once again. You can see the hole it made.
By the way, the THIRD time that same goose broke through the ice it was close enough to the open water that it was able to force a channel through the ice rather than flapping its way back to the surface.