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 - Another one for the Birds
Bald eagles are pranksters. Here's how I know.
Sunday was REALLY nice. Maybe a bit windy, but sunny and warmer than it has been (20 degrees warmer than today, for instance). So, after going out for a cup of coffee, I decided to stop by Lone Lake to see what was around.
Shortly after I got out of the car, a nice gentleman came up and asked if I had seen the bald eagles. My answer was no, I had never seen ones at Lone Lake (several in the area, but never there). He had seen three playing around there the day before and one was fishing earlier in the day. Then he pointed and asked "Isn't that one in the tree over there?" Sure enough, part way around the lake was a bald eagle...my first of the year. So I decided to wander over and try to get a closer shot. He said it wasn't worth the effort since it would probably fly away before I got close enough [note: this was said aloud; you can see where this is going]. I'd seen bald eagles sit around in a tree for an hour or so when it felt like it, so I decided to try anyway.
About 2/3 of the way to where I had seen the eagle, I heard woodpeckers tapping. Looking around, I saw a downy woodpecker in a tree off to the right (no good pictures, too many branches in the way). In front of my, though, I spotted this little guy.
This is a dark-eyed Junco. A new type of bird to me (meaning I may have seen them before but never got a shot).
And, as I went another 10 feet or so, I saw the bald eagle fly away, just like the guy by the parking lot told me it would. Fortunately, I could still hear some woodpeckers, so I continued on. A red-bellied woodpecker was soon spotted. The big problem with capturing good images of these birds is that they usually move all around a tree trunk, so it takes time to move slowly so as not to scare them away.
Once I was satisfied with the shots I had gotten (and the woodpecker had flown away), I returned to the dock by the parking lot. There I ran into the same gentleman as before who asked if I had gotten my eagle shot, since it had just flown a little bit farther away from me. I answered no, since I couldn't see where it went. He also mentioned that it then flew around the lake looking for some fish, but at that point had flown away.
So, disappointed at not getting a picture but happy to have seen it and gotten the woodpecker as a consolation prize, I thought I'd walk around the lake for a while. First, though, there was a lady sitting down on the dock with a big lens (600mm) and nice looking camera. Never one to pass by another photographer, I stopped by to say hi.
She mentioned having gotten some nice shots of the eagle with a fish in its talons the day before, as well as some fun ones of the seagulls that I could see flying around. So I stayed and chatted and shot seagulls for a while.
Ring-Billed GullClick to Purchase
I love the texture on the wings. Enlarged you can clearly see the pattern of the white feathers.
[Note: This one looks to me like it is holding up its wings in victory, so I'm titling it "Ta-Dah!"]
After an hour or so of shooting gulls, and with no sign of eagles, I decide to go for my walk. I say goodbye and that I'd be back in a while and thank my shooting companion for a nice chat. As I get to the start of the path around the lake, she calls out to me "It's back!" and back I go to the dock. And there's the bald eagle flying around on the other side of the lake.
I get a few usable shots (like this one) in the next 5 minutes or so and then it flies off again. But, my appetite whetted, I stick around for another 45 minutes until the coffee I had drunk before getting to the lake catches up with me and I need to wander away for a bit.
When I get back, maybe 5 minutes later, I am told that the eagle had made another appearance, again right after I had left. And I am jokingly told to go away again so that it will come back (remember, prankster).
Eventually, the eagle does return, flying circles overhead looking for something to eat. Besides my occasional frustration with the autofocus on my camera throwing everything into disarray, I do manage to capture some nice flying eagle shots. Unfortunately, it doesn't spot anything edible and, instead, lands in a nearby tree.
Of course, it has to land in a tree right behind a branch that cuts through the head when it is upright, or casts an annoying and distracting shadow when it isn't. But, I lie down on the dock to change my angle a tiny bit and, when it is scrunched down a bit more to preen its feathers, I do manage to get some clean images. And, after a while it flies away.
By this time, I'm excited for it to come back, so I stick around a while longer. But, it is slowly getting colder and the wind is still blowing and my hands are getting cold. So, I decide to leave. And, as I stand up to go, here comes the eagle again [note: that's the third time it has done so as I am leaving the dock area, and fourth since I got there; prankster].
I do some more shooting, but don't get anything worth sharing and, 10 minutes after it leaves again, so do I. It was a good day for the birds, a good day for the photographers, and I discovered that bald eagles are pranksters.
Photos of the Week - Spring Perennials
Since I started taking photos many years ago, I've slowly learned to recognize things that I previously couldn't identify; lots of flowers, birds, butterflies and such. I've also gained a sense of when some of these can be found (I know, I'm late to the game on these).
My favorite of the very early Spring perennials are snowdrops. These are generally the first flowers of the Spring and, I believe, will actually come up through snow. In the past, I've usually tried to shoot them with snow, albeit after they've emerged and been covered by a subsequent storm. This year I really wasn't in the mood to go shoot in such conditions, so I waited until it was a bit warmer. The below pair of shots from this past Friday show the mature flowers.
The other really early ones I see are crocuses (croci?). While more colorful than snowdrops, they always seem to be cultivated rather than wild, and therefore in some weird sense less interesting. Anyway, here are a couple of crocus shots, also from Friday:
Photo of the Week - Sign of Spring
This past weekend started feeling like Spring. It was warm. The sun was shining. So, I decided to go for a walk around Lake Calhoun. And, of course, I took a camera with me because I've gotten lots of surprise shots there, especially in early spring.
This time, not so much. There weren't a lot of birds around yet (a couple of mallards, fewer crows and gull or two). The lake was still mostly icebound, but no wind to cause shelving (which, by the way, makes an incredibly fun tinkling sound).
But, there were some spaces of open water. One of those definite signs that Spring really is almost here.
The below image is my favorite one from this weekend. I like how the opening looks like a river in the lake. And, if you look closer, you can see how the ice actually is two pieces that formerly were one. The slow separation between seasons.
Photos of the Week - Weekend imagery
It was a very strange weekend, especially for Minnesota.
Saturday was sunny and in the low 60s; a day that begged me to go out with a camera and try to find interesting things to shoot. So I went over to Lone Lake and started walking around the path. I spotted a woodpecker (I think it was a red-headed one), but it flew away before I could get a shot. Spotted some warblers and nuthatches, but no decent shots of them presented themselves.
Given my previously stated interest in dead trees, it is not surprising that the below image was the only subject that warranted processing (the ones of just the bark separating from the log weren't sharp).
Of course, as I was leaving a pileated woodpecker flew out of a tree on the far side o stand, and away into the woods. And I could hear it laughing at me as I reached the parking lot. Maybe just from evading my camera yet again, or maybe because it knew the following would be my only shot on Sunday:
Photos of the Week - Time to Experiment
I'm really not a huge fan of being out in the cold.
I know..."So why are you living in Minnesota?" - as if that were the singular characteristic of the state. The simple answer is that I say indoors more in winter, because it is warm there. But, being indoors does limit the photographic subjects available. That means it is time to try something new.
Winter is a good time to experiment with subject, techniques and ideas. If you're like me and prefer shooting in color, try playing around in black and white. If you like landscapes, try macro (and focus-stacking) or still-lifes. Curious what happens if you try a technique in a new way, find out..
Here are some examples from years past:
Probably 15 years ago, I wanted to learn more about printing (this was pre-digital). So, I took a black and white printing class. This is a macro shot of a gerbera daisy.
There are several really nice greenhouses and conservatories in the area. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has one, plus they also have an orchid show running now. Those provide a great chance to experiment.
This was a stitched panorama I took several years ago.
Want something more abstract but recognizable, try macro.
Want to try something crazy, go ahead. I knew from previous experience, for instance, that you could get a really interesting effect if you zoom you lens while shooting neon lights (they give you solid streaks of color) So I thought I'd try the same concept on flowers (in these cases, both zooming the lens and simultaneously moving the camera in some way). As you can see, I got some impressions of flowers amidst washes of color. Most of the time the result is garbage, but others can be really interesting.
I'm going to finish this by paraphrasing a quote from Neil Gaiman (actual quote can be found here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/12/my-new-year-wish.html):
Go you and try something new. Even if it fails spectacularly, you'll learn from the attempt.