Focus on Feather

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on a beautiful almost 60 degree day in February. I drove around and managed to see several hawks, a bald eagle, and numerous geese. I also got out and hiked a bit and came across this feather. I found a fallen tree that had begun decomposing and I liked the pattern in the wood. I laid the feather across the grain in such a way that the pattern of the feature was perpendicular for some visual interest. The dappled light created by the trees added a nice effect on the composition as well.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM lens, f/32, 1/25 sec.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Individuality

Today brought us a winter weather advisory warning which made it a good day to look around for some abstract compositions near some warmth. This capture was the result of wet, blowing snow on a glass door that melted upon contact and then remained in this pattern. I was fascinated by the randomness and how some of the droplets merged to become larger droplets, while most others remained small and individual.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM, f/3.2, 1/160 sec.

Reaching Out: Revisited

A couple of posts back I mentioned how many of my images have a "life". Essentially, some are never quite finished for me. Tonight's image is one such example. In a blog post on March 2, 2008 found here, I mentioned going back through some old photos and finding one that I liked the intricate details. Well, after reviewing that same image, yet again I felt I could add a little more to the photograph. One processing technique I use, especially with images with high contrast of color is a method called the "Orton effect". Essentially, this effect takes an out of focus image and sandwiches with an in focus image to create a somewhat dreamy version of reality. It was originally used with slide film, but a technique still exists for digital. For more information, visit this tutorial on Orton imagery: http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0106/dw0106-1.html.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 300 f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/11, 1/5 sec., Orton
Alberta, Canada

Frozen Patterns

Recently, I had been wanting a camera that was portable, but still had some of the main features I wanted in a camera, namely the RAW format and a flash shoe. I also wanted something with a video function, that way I could easily bring it to family functions without lugging some big gear. I settled on the G10 after looking at the G9 for sometime and deciding it had the best mix of funcationality and portability. Overall, I have found that the G10 is a fun camera to shoot. It's nice to just pull it out and snap a quick shot. On a fairly cold day last week I decided to take it to the OPPD arboretum and just walk around with it and see what I could capture. During this time of year crazy ice patterns emerge from the bottom of a little ravine. I got down and used the macro mode, all hand-held. I found the image stabilization of the camera really helped. I also found that the nearly 15 megapixels made for some really detailed images. The big drawback, however, is the noise at higher ISOs. After shooting with a Canon 5d Mark II, I really found the noise objectionable at anything more than 200, and even then that could be pushing it. If you stay in the 80 or 100 range the photographs are simply sharp and beautiful for a "pocket" camera. It has very seldom left my side in the past couple of weeks and I look forward to capturing some more spur of the moment type shots.

Technical Details:
Canon G10, 6.1mm, f/4, 1/250 sec.
Desaturated with a cyan-blue tint (more like how I saw the ice)

Simplicity

During our trip to Kansas City, we visited Powell Gardens. This is a wonderful garden with flowers, waterfalls, and butterflies! So much to photograph. It was overcast with rain off and on with made for some wonderful flower photography. Here I focused in on a lily pad flower and the dark background really helped contrast the image and made the flower pop.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 300 f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/5.6, 1/800 sec.
Powell Gardens, Missouri

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Musical Infinity

Over the weekend, my family and I went to Kansas City for a photo shoot with some members of the BetterPhoto website. We went to several places that I have never been and I had the opportunity to photograph some unique items. This particular photograph was taken of the inside of an old piano that was at the historic Harris-Kearney House in Westport. I used a wide angle lens very close with a large aperature in order to place the focus on a few of the strings.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 17-40 f/4l @ 29mm, f/4, 1/25 sec.
Harris-Kearney House, Westport, Kansas City, Missouri

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Floral Patterns

On an overcast day at the arboretum, I focused on the center of this flower and the interesting patterns intentionally throwing the rest of the flower out of focus.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM Lens, f/5.6, 1/125 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Beauty in Bloom

It has been a while since I last posted, but I did manage to take a couple of photographs when my sister was in town visiting. This particular image was taken on a hike in DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge near the wood duck pond. It is a wildflower of some sort, but I am not sure what. What I do know is that I left with this photograph and some poison ivy!

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM lens, f/6.3, 1/400 sec.

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Spring Blossoms (Spring Is Here)

It appears that spring has made it to Omaha, Nebraska, and just in time for Earth Day. As a result I went to the arboretum with my macro lens to capture some blossoms in bloom. I used a shallow Depth of Field to capture a dreamy look to this bud.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM lens + extension tube, f/3.2, 1/1600 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Dreamy Leaf

Today at the arboretum, I continued to explore the textures on the logs and trees. I found this fallen leaf that still had some pigment and I liked how the leaf contrasted with the design on this recently wet log. Since the day was very overcast I have very little light and no tripod so I had to use a shallow depth of field. When I reviewed the image I liked the dreamy effect that was created. I increased this feel by utilizing the Orton technique.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM lens, f/7.1, 1/100 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Pine Cone Designs

For today's image I went to the arboretum and worked on extremely up close shots of pine cones. I particularly worked on keeping a small depth of field which creates a very small area of focus. I wanted to create a little more of an abstract feel to this pine cone. This is a good example of how small the depth of field is in macro work. This particular photograph was taken with an aperature of f/5, which is fairly shallow, but is extremely shallow here, leaving only the very tips of the pine cone closest to the camera in focus.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM lens + extension tube, f/5, 1/160 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Snail Spiral

Today I took a short walk through Platte River State Park in eastern Nebraska. It was fairly overcast and still a bit muddy, but there were bits of green appearing so it was a good day to focus on macro. After walking for a bit, I entered a small clearing of trees that I explored carefully looking for interesting items. I came across a snail shell whose owner had vacated and I spent the next hour focused on working on this shot.

I composed this shot using the golden ratio which is similar to the rule of thirds. If you are not familar with composition, the rule of thirds states that the primary subject should be placed at a third horizontally and vertically in the frame for maximum effectiveness. The rule of thirds is actually a simplified version of the golden ratio which is 1:1.618. This means that items of importance should be placed at .388 or a little more than a third from each side vertically and horizontally.

Additionally, this photograph follows the golden spiral which encourages the eye to spiral into the most important subject, here it follows the spiral pattern of the shell. This is one of the most blatant examples of the golden spiral I have ever taken, simply because the shell itself is a spiral pattern.

The golden ratio and the golden spiral can be found throughout nature and the more one is aware of this, the most impact your photographs generally have. Of course, like everything these are simply guidelines, which like everything creative, should be broken. I find I follow these rules, but also break them quite often. For more information about both of these compositional guidelines visit: Golden Section and Photography.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM + extension tube, f/10, .4 sec
Platte River State Park, Nebraska

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Intrinsic Patterns

After a short spell, I finally made it back to the arboretum. The very first hints of spring are just arriving in Omaha and little bits of green are appearing, albeit among some remnants of snow and dead leaves. I took a walk through the mostly wooded portion of the park, stopping to look at some of the interesting patterns on the trees and within the leaves. I have walked by a particular dead log countless times, but for some reason it has never caused me to pause for more than a few seconds. Today was different. As the sun ducked in and out of the clouds, patterns emerged on this log and coupled with the intrinsic lines created a scene I felt compelled to record.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM, f/32, 1/125 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

A Frozen World

After nearly a week of being closed, the arboretum opened and I took the opportunity to take a look around. It had been a fairly nice weekend with Saturday close to 60 degrees. The first part of Sunday was also nice, but then the temperature dove below freezing. This gave me another opportunity to look for ice that had thawed and refrozen which can create for some interesting natural patterns. For the most part, however, the ice and snow were scare and there was only a mucky muddy residue left. I did manage to find some nice rock patterns that continued below the ice in a small pond. In this image I particularly liked how the edge of the ice went around some of the rocks that poked above the surface.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM, f/9, 1/125 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

From the Archives: Reaching Out

Of the many great things about digital photography, one of the best is quick review. Quick review when you take the photo to make sure it looks right, quick review when you download your photos, and quick review when you want to go back and look for images. Occasionally, I go back and review photographs from the past. Sometimes, I learn a new technique in Photoshop that I want to try, other times I need a specific type of image, and then again sometimes I'm just in a mood to see what I can do with old photos. Today's image fell into the last category. I have probably passed up this image 20 times in my reviews before I decided to process it finally. The hint of green among the interesting patterns of rocks caught my eye and I wanted to explore this image further. This is the end result. This is also the first non-midwest photograph entry into my blog.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 300 f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/11, 1/5 sec.
Alberta, Canada (June, 2007)

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Cold Surroundings

Today's black and white image is reminiscent of my older images from when I was in college and shortly after. I used to photograph nature items almost exclusively in black and white. Back then I used a Pentax all manual camera (including focus), first a k-1000, and then later a ZX-M. I would normally use Kodak Tri-X 400 or T-MAX 100 film. After this phase I moved onto carrying two cameras, one with black and white and one with saturated slide film like Fuji Velvia and Provia and for a long time that is what I shot with. In January of 2005 when I bought my first digital SLR camera, the praised Canon 20d, one of the largest selling points was the ability to set a Black and White mode on the camera. I would often go out and shoot both and see how they would turn out. The Canon 20d even had the ability to simulate yellow, red, or orange filters which I used to carry everywhere. It was like 2 cameras in one! Since then I have tempered my use of the function since Photoshop has excellent conversion utilities for black and white. I still shoot images I plan to convert later and this is one such example.

This particular photograph was taken on an overcast day at the OPPD arboretum in Omaha, Nebraska. I wanted to focus on the contrast between the trunks and the snow so when I converted this image I wanted to make sure the snow was as white as possible without blowing out the highlights. Additionally, I processed this so that the tree trunks maintained their darker density.

Technical Details:

Canon 20d, 50 CM lens, f/18, 1/250 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Winter Contrasts

In the last couple of weeks the snow and ice has been slowly melting in Omaha. Most of what was left was in the shaded areas or where it would melt and refreeze. Last week during one of my trips to the arboretum, I came across this old yellowed pine needle on a sheet of ice where water had obviously melted and refroze. The patterns in the ice were interesting, but when juxtaposed with the yellowed pine needle created an even more interest contrast.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/9, 1/60 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Petals in the Snow

On Sunday, I went to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge with the intent of photographing the sunset on the ice. It has been a little warmer so alot of the snow has melted off the lake. While wondering around the lake, I found this opened seed pod in the snow. At first it looked like little petals hence the title. I used my extension tube to get in closer for this composition.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/13, 1/125th sec.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Coming Together

Continuing with my work from the local arboretum, I went on Friday with the intention of using just my macro lens with an extension tube. The extension tube is a nice addition since it allows a closer look at the world without the loss of any optical quality since there is no glass which also makes it relatively inexpensive and light. Additionally, it works with any lens, so it is very verstile. Today's photograph was an extreme closeup of the end of a branch of a pine tree.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM, Extension Tube, f/5.6, 1/100
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Nature's Hug

Recently, I've been visiting the local arboretum. I have an exercise where I like to walk around with only one lens and try to see the world through that lens. The lens I choose on February 15th was my 50 mm compact macro lens which allows me to get fairly close in on intimate nature scenes. The weather has been fairly uncooperative with negative temperatures and little snow making for a nice brown frozen muck. So, I've set my sights a little higher and found this single leaf caught in two branches in a tree. The light on the branches was dappled which gave the needles an extra element for the composition.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM lens, f/6.3, 1/100 sec.
OPPD Arboretum, Omaha, Nebraska

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.