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Sunrise in Vienna

Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon A620, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansdom, sunrise, Vienna Austria on April 24, 2013| 4 Comments »

At this time of the year the sun rises pretty early in Vienna, Austria, but I was able to capture a few shots this morning from my hotel window. In the distance you can see one of the spires of St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom), one of the major landmarks of the city.

My little Canon A620 seems to have a maximum shutter duration of one second, so I had to play around a little with aperture and f-stop to try to get a decent exposure. I used a little tripod on the window sill to steady the camera for these shots.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Not an American Crow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged American Crow, Canon A620, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Corvus cornix, crow, Hooded Crow, Vienna Austria on April 24, 2013| 11 Comments »

Walking through some of the parks here in Vienna, Austria, I couldn’t help but notice that the crows here are not at all the same as the crows in my part of the United States.

I am here in Vienna for work for a few days and have spent my free time walking through the parks, checking out the birds and plants. Most of the birds that I see are pigeons, but I was really struck by the large black-and-white crows that periodically fly onto the scene.

A little research on the internet reveals that these are Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix), and not the all-black American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that I am used to seeing.

The only camera that I have with me is my trusty Canon A620 point-and-shoot. It is compact, but its 4x zoom makes it less than ideal for capturing birds. However, several crows were relatively cooperative yesterday and let me get close enough to get these shots.

I’ll probably post a few photos of buildings in the next day or two, but wanted to let folks know that I am still drawn to seek out nature, even in the midst of a big city.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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A few more yellowlegs

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon Rebel XT, Greater Yellowlegs, Huntley Meadows Park, shorebird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, Tringa melanoleuca, yellowlegs on April 23, 2013| 6 Comments »

The soggy, overcast weather this past Friday kept people away from my local marshland park and allowed me to get these shots of a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca).

I don’t normally see these birds and if I do, they are almost always beyond the range of my lens. This day, however, there were a couple of yellowlegs and another smaller shorebird, which I was told was a Solitary Sandpiper, that moved back and forth in the water, remaining within range for quite some time.

The lighting was a little tricky for me, with the sky almost white most of the time, though sometimes the sun would peek out from behind all of the clouds. Most of the shots were a little underexposed, but I was able to correct them with a few little tweaks in post-production. I especially like the lighting in the first photo, in which the water has some color to it.

I am happy, though, that I was able to get some pretty clear shots of this beautiful bird, thanks in part to some careful focusing and the use of a tripod. (If you want to see another shot of the yellowlegs, checkout my earlier posting.)

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Egret in the air

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Ardea alba, birds in flight, Canon Rebel XT, egret, Great White Egret, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 22, 2013| 4 Comments »

I continue my efforts to capture photos of herons and egrets in flight whenever I can and here are a couple of shots from this past weekend of a flying egret.

In theory, it should be easy to photograph these birds—they are large and fly slowly—but the changing backgrounds and direction of flight has often made it tough to get the proper exposure and focus.

The egrets were gone all winter, but they are back now. I am hoping that I will continue to see them often enough to be able to get some better photos of them (or at least to try).

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Carpet of phlox

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, macro, phlox, Phlox stolonifera on April 21, 2013| 5 Comments »

Here is a shot of the beautiful Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera) that covered one whole area of the rock garden at one of the local gardens that I like to visit.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Columbines in the early spring

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, columbines, genus Aquilegia, green spring gardens on April 21, 2013| 6 Comments »

After first getting introduced to these pretty little flowers last spring, the Columbine (genus Aquilegia) rapidly became one of my favorites. They come in a lot of different colors, although the only ones blooming in the county-run garden that I visited this weekend were red-and-yellow ones and white ones.

Normally it’s not that difficult to get decent shots of these flowers, but the day was windy and that made it tough to control the depth of field (which normally requires a slower shutter speed) and stop the movement caused by the wind.

The pretty pink in the background of the final photo came from a patch of phlox that blanked a large area of a rock garden. I think I got some pretty good photos of the phlox, so you may see them in another posting later.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Yellowlegs in the marsh

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, yellowlegs on April 20, 2013| 5 Comments »

Yesterday on a heavily overcast day, a few shorebirds were closer to the shore than usual at the pond area of my local marsh, including this one, which I was told is a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). As I looked through my bird identification book, I realize that identification of shorebirds is pretty difficult, given that many of them look almost the same, so I can’t guarantee that my identification is accurate.

I am working on a few more images of the yellowlegs, but thought that I would share this one initially, because I was able to capture the bird as it was reaching into the water. The light was not bright, but there was enough of if to produce a beautiful reflection in the water as the bird reached below this surface with its bill.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Swallowtail butterfly in April

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged butterfly, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Papilio glaucus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallowtail on April 19, 2013| 18 Comments »

I was really surprised today when I saw the the familiar shape and color of a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus). Somehow I had expected to see them much later in the spring.

Normally I like to try to get photos of these beautiful butterflies perched on colorful flowers, but there are no colorful flowers yet in the marsh. Unfortunately, the butterfly that I was able to photograph decided to perch on the decomposing carcass of a snapping turtle (as you can see in the first photo). Most of my other shots were at least partially obscured by the grass.

Gradually the cast of characters is coming together that will probably play leading roles in my blog postings in the upcoming months, the birds and beasts, and the reptiles and amphibians, not to mention the plants and flowers. I can hardly wait.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Mating snapping turtles

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, snapping turtle, turtle on April 19, 2013| 6 Comments »

Last weekend I kept seeing snapping turtles in the water with their shells at an angle to the surface. Initially I couldn’t figure out what was going on, until a helpful fellow photographer explained that the turtles were mating.

Mating? That sort of made sense, but I was a little confused, because in each case I could see only a single turtle. Doesn’t it take two to tango? I kept watching and eventually I was able to see that there were two turtles, but one of them was being held underwater most of the time. It seemed pretty violent. On the positive side, it seems that the female did not bite off the male’s head in the process, as praying mantises are said to do while mating.

As I look the photos below, I have trouble identifying body parts and determining which ones belong to which turtle. I don’t understand the anatomy of the Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) and will leave that to the experts.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Backlit tulip

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, backlighting, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, tulip on April 18, 2013| 10 Comments »

I like backlighting a lot, especially when the light shines through and illuminates beautiful colors, like those of this tulip in a neighbor’s garden.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Glowing duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, duck, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus on April 18, 2013| 3 Comments »

The last month or so I have been keeping an eye on a couple of female Hooded Merganser ducks that are using a nesting box at my local marshland park. One of my fellow photographers has already posted a photo of one of them, surrounded by a dozen or so cute little ducklings, so I may have missed one of the moments that I was hoping to catch.

A little earlier this month, though, I had a special moment with one of them, when I arrived at the park early in the morning, just after the sun had risen. The small female duck was more out in the open than usual, though she was still pretty far away. Initially she seemed to be taking a bath, as she stuck her head under water and would shake a little. Eventually she climbed out of the water onto a log and began to groom herself.

The light at that moment from the back and the side made the spiky reddish-blond hair on her head glow and also created a nice reflection in the water. She seemed unhurried and unafraid as she basked in the beautiful early morning light.

For at least a moment, the two of us were freed from the cares of our everyday lives.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Skink in the spring

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Common Five-Lined Skink, Huntley Meadows Park, Plestiodon fasciatus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 17, 2013| 10 Comments »

The warmer weather seems to have brought out all of the critters in my marshland park, including what I think is a Common Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). I don’t often see lizards around here, so I was particularly happy when this one slowly crawled down a tree, permitting me to get this shot.

I wonder why he was sticking out his tongue at me.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Red Spring Beetle

Posted in Birds, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Alexandria VA, beetle, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, Lilioceris lilii, Lily Leaf Beetle, red beetle, red milkweed beetle, spring, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus on April 17, 2013| 5 Comments »

An insect on the edge of a leaf is a perfect candidate for a macro shot and when I saw this one from a distance in my neighbor’s garden, I got to work without a clue about its identity.

When I looked at the photos initially, I thought I had captured images of a Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus), because of its bright red body and curved, segmented antennae. (I have a self-identified obsession with this insect that I discussed in a blog posting last year.) However, there were a few problems with that identification. This beetle seemed smaller; it was on a plant that was definitely not a milkweed plant; and it seemed too early to be seeing a milkweed beetle. My identification was further complicated by the fact that I never did see the back of the beetle.

So what insect did I photograph? I have been going over photos at bugguide.net, one of my favorite sources and wonder if this might be a Lily Leaf Beetle (Lilioceris lilii). Tentatively, though I like the name that I invented for this post, Red Spring Beetle.

I may not be sure about the identification of this insect, but I know that I like the photos that I managed to get, especially the first one. I captured a pretty good amount of detail and I like the way that he posed, looking directly at me.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Something different

Posted in commentary, Gardening, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, amtique tools, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, clamp, rust on April 16, 2013| 1 Comment »

I almost always take photos of nature and wildlife, but every now and then a man-made object will catch my eye, like this rusty, industrial-looking clamp.

I was visiting a friend as she was cleaning up her back yard, preparing for the flowers that will soon be blooming there, when I caught sight of clamp. It was sitting on a rough-sawn stump and, as she told me, is used to attach a plant stand to another object.

The shape reminds me of a question mark, an industrial question mark. I really like the solidness of the piece, a solidness from which the rust detracts little. The light casts an interesting shadow and the scattered red buds are a nice complement to the rusty tones.

This was a case of shooting what caught my eye, without too much thought at the moment. I simply knew that I liked what I saw.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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On the edge

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, contrast, fly, tulips on April 16, 2013| 4 Comments »

As I was admiring the beautiful tulips in my neighbors’ garden, I noticed this fly perched on the edge of one of them. In a different setting he might have gone unnoticed, but here the details of the fly provide a nice contrast with the wonderful primary colors of the tulips in the background.

With spring here in full force, I am reacquainting myself with my macro lens, causing me to look more closely at details like the red compound eyes of this fly and his hairy back legs. It’s fun too to note the details of his tiny little feet.

I am now remembering how much I have to pay attention to lighting, depth of field, and shutter speed when shooting macro shots, particularly because my macro lens is not image stabilized. Very minor problems can really be magnified when I try to get in this close, especially with an animate subject.

fly_tulip_blog

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Backlit leaf

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, backlight, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, leaf, simplicity on April 15, 2013| 5 Comments »

It doesn’t get much simpler than this—light shining through this leaf from behind created a graphic image that stands out from its blurry background. The color palette is mostly just shades of green. The suggestions of lines in the background help to add some visual interest.

The image is both striking and soothing to me, an interesting combination of reactions.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Almost a ladybug

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, Harlequin Ladybug, Harmonia axyridis, ladybug, pupa on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

We’ll have more ladybugs in our neighborhood even sooner than I expected.

My neighbor and photography mentor, Cindy Dyer, has ladybug larvae in her garden as I showed in a recent posting. Some of them have already entered the pupa stage, the final stage before adulthood. Once metamorphosis is complete, the shell splits open and a full-grown ladybug emerges. Initially, the shell is soft, but pretty rapidly the exoskeleton hardens and takes on the look that we associate with ladybugs.

Here’s a photo from today of a ladybug pupa. I think that it is probably from a Harlequin Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis), a type that is also known as the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle. If you want to know more about the life cycle of a ladybug, check out the posting that I did last fall entitled Baby Ladybugs.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Standing heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Although it is exciting to be able to capture a photo of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) flying or catching a fish, I find them to be beautiful even when they are standing still.

I came upon this heron early one morning a week ago or so and was struck by the serenity of the moment. The heron seemed pensive and the beautiful morning light helped to provide some wonderful reflections in the still water of the beaver pond.

The second shot was taken a little later that same morning, after the heron had groomed himself. In this photo, I am amazed at how tall the heron looks with his neck fully extended.

It was rare for me to be able to get unobstructed shots of a heron from relatively close range, and I was pretty happy to be able to get shots like this.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Jumping spider (?)

Posted in Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, spider on April 14, 2013| 6 Comments »

I was checking out the plants yesterday in my neighbor’s garden when I came upon this cool-looking spider, a type that I had never before encountered. From an initial check on-line, it looks like this might be a kind of jumping spider, though I really am out on a limb with the guess. In any case, I really like the combination of red and black on his body and the multiple eyes that are just visible.

With the arrival of spring, I am starting to see some familiar insects from last year and some new “friends.” It’s an exciting time for me.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Frog on a log

Posted in Amphibians, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon Rebel XT, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

A blog about a frog on a log in a bog—is this how Doctor Seuss got started?

The subject is ordinary and the composition is simple, but I really like the result. The frog seems to be lost in a moment of contemplation as he stares out across the pond and I made sure not to wake him from his reverie as I quietly snapped his photo and moved on.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Northern Black Racer

Posted in Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, tagged black racer, Canon Rebel XT, Coluber constrictor constrictor, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Black Racer snake, racer, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 14, 2013| 6 Comments »

When I came across this fairly large snake, which I think is a Northern Black Racer snake (Coluber constrictor constrictor), I was happy that I had a fairly long telephoto lens.

He looked to be about 48 inches long (1.2 meters) and was partially coiled on top of a bush at the edge of the beaver pond at my local marsh. Although he was basking in the sun, he was definitely alert, which was one of the reasons why I was very cautious. The photo provides a close-up view of his head, but it was shot with my zoom lens at about 340mm, so I was not close and personal with him.

Wikipedia notes that this snake usually swallows its prey alive, despite the “constrictor” in its Latin name. Although these snakes will try to avoid predators, “once cornered they put up a vigorous fight, biting hard and often.” I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

One other interesting bit of trivia that I discovered about the Northern Black Racer snake (and I recognize that I could be wrong in my identification) is that the snake was designated as the official state reptile of Ohio in 1995.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Ladybug-to-be

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, ladybug, larva on April 13, 2013| 7 Comments »

I am going to have to brush up on my insect identification skills, but I think that this cool-looking insect is a larval form of a ladybug.

I don’t have a garden of my own, but one of my neighbors, fellow blogger and photographer Cindy Dyer, has a wonderful garden that is always full of colorful flowers and insects. I photographed this insect in her garden this afternoon.

The sunlight was a little too direct and the shadows are too harsh. I am happy, though, that I was able to pick up many of the insect’s details with my macro lens. In case you are curious, the bright red in the background is a group of tulips that are in full bloom.

As always, I welcome corrections or clarifications about my identification of my subject—there are lots of folks on-line with greater knowledge and experience in all of the subject areas in which I shoot.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Birds or insects?

Posted in Birds, Bugs, commentary, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, red-winged blackbird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

Standing at an apparent crossroad, I was struggling to decide if I should continue to focus my attention on birds, as I did much of the winter, or switch back to the insects that populated so many of my photographs last summer.

This photo of a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) from yesterday suggests that maybe I don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other, that maybe I can live in both worlds at least some of the time.

I wonder how often in my life I set up these kind of false choices, when I would be better served by thinking more expansively and creatively.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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First dragonfly of the spring

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon Rebel XT, Common Green Darner dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 12, 2013| 15 Comments »

Today I saw my first dragonflies of the spring, which I am pretty sure were Common Green Darners (Anax junius). They buzzed by me several times, but never stopped to perch.

I had reconciled myself to the likelihood that I would not get a single shot. Suddenly a dragonfly that I was chasing stopped and hovered over the water. I have never had any success before in capturing an in-flight image of a dragonfly, but somehow I was able to grab focus and got several pretty good shots. The beautiful, two-toned colors of this dragonfly are amazing.

I look forward to a new season of chasing dragonflies, but suspect that I will have to work hard to top this first dragonfly of the spring.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Ruffling a few feathers

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

I arrived at the marsh early in the morning, just as this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was getting up. He seemed to be going through his pre-breakfast routine, grooming and preening and getting ready for the day ahead. It was fascinating to watch him contort his long neck as he sought to arrange his feathers just so. The water was calm enough that he could have used it as a mirror, if he had wanted to do so.

I am not sure if he was trying to make himself look bigger and fluffier, was airing himself out, or just wanted some additional air for insulation, but at one point he shook himself vigorously. I was fortunate enough to get the first photo as he was in the process of ruffling the feathers.

Eventually, my feathered friend decided that he was presentable and stood motionless, as though posing for me. I’ll post some of those images later.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Inner glow

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon Rebel XT, flower, glow, green spring gardens, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 11, 2013| 6 Comments »

This is another close-up, pseudo-macro image that I shot with my telephoto zoom lens and I really like the way that the yellow in the center of the white flower seems to glow. Controlling depth of field was especially challenging when shooting something like this with my lens set a little over 300mm. I wanted the background to be as green as I could get it, which is tough at this time of year, so I had to bend low to get this angle. I achieved that goal partially, though I was not able to blur out the background very well.

I guess it’s finally time to pull out the macro lens.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Daunting challenge

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Dryocopus pileatus, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, woodpecker on April 11, 2013| 8 Comments »

Most often I see small woodpeckers high up in the trees, pecking at the smaller branches there, but this male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) seemed determined to take on the challenge of the trunk of this substantial-sized tree. I really like his pose, as he appears to be contemplating how best to tackle this problem.

Does he dream of great things, like excavating holes in trees like those in the second and third photos? Maybe he was an orphan and was raised by a family of Pileated Woodpeckers and doesn’t recognize any limitations in his size.

I am still trying to get photos of the larger woodpeckers that made the impressive series of holes. I hear a jackhammer-like sound when they are working, but they manage to elude me each time.

For now, I am content with my photo of the smaller woodpecker, attempting to punch above his weight class.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Patience barely rewarded

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 10, 2013| 7 Comments »

A Great Blue Heron this weekend was poised, waiting to strike, and I waited with my camera and my tripod, hoping to capture the moment of triumphal success.

I had visions of the heron pulling some big fish out of the water, like I see in Phil Lanoue‘s incredible photos, and watching as he struggled to swallow it whole.

The reality, as you can see, was much more modest. After all, the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was fishing in the beaver pond at my local marsh and the pickings were pretty slim. Initially, I though he had caught a frog, but the photo suggests it was a small fish, though it is hard to tell for sure because of the catch’s small size.

The second photo shows his pre-strike position. The heron stood motionless in this position for what seemed like an eternity. I am amazed that he could see anything in the shallow, reed-covered water.

When he struck, he didn’t even have to put his head very deeply into the water or use a lot of force to catch the fish. The final shot shows the heron swallowing his catch. It did not take any special maneuvering to get the little fish down his throat.

I saw a heron hanging around the same beaver pond the following day. I hope he is not spending all of his time in this one location or I may end up photographing a really skinny heron in the future.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cardinal geometry

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 9, 2013| 7 Comments »

Although I really like the pose of this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinal cardinalis) as he prepares to smash a single rose hip against the boardwalk, I love the geometric shapes in the photo just as much.

There is a neat symmetry in the lighter-colored triangle at the top and the dark one in the bottom and they are nicely separated by a series of medium-toned parallelograms. All of the geometric shapes are subdued in color, which helps to provide a nice backdrop for the brightly-colored cardinal and the equally bright rose hip.

Lots of colorful birds are starting to show up now, but I feel special about the cardinals—they were with me throughout the winter, brightening up many a grey winter day.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Return of the snapping turtles

Posted in Humor, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, snapping turtle, turtle on April 9, 2013| 5 Comments »

Like prehistoric beasts from another era, the snapping turtles have finally emerged from the mud and the slime of my local marsh.

Painted turtles and Red-eared Sliders have been basking in the sun for weeks now, but it seems like the Eastern Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) like for it to be a bit warmer before they start moving. This past weekend I saw quite a few snapping turtles in the marsh, most of them with a lot of mud still piled on the top of their shells, including some pretty big ones. Some of them were floating on the surface of the water, but they don’t appear to bask on land like their smaller counterparts.

I would hesitate to call any of them beautiful or even ruggedly handsome—scarey seems a more appropriate adjective. After reading that snapping turtles are omnivores, I have reconfirmed my desire to keep my distance from these creatures. Thankfully, I have a long telephoto lens.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Pretty little bird

Posted in Birds, commentary, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bird, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 8, 2013| 8 Comments »

Spring has complicated my life when it comes to bird identification. I started photographing (and trying to identify) birds last fall, when many of the birds had already left the area. Over the winter, there was a limited set of birds that I gradually became accustomed to seeing and I learned to identify them. Even when we had lots of different kinds of ducks, I could look in the section of my identification guide and figure out what they were.

Spring has brought all kinds of new species that have left me baffled and confused. Some of the birders are all excited by the return of warblers, including the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I can’t even see the birds when they point them out to me, much less figure out what color the color of the bird’s rump.

Here’s a recent photo I took of a pretty little bird that I have not yet been able to identify. I’d welcome any hints about what kind of a bird it is.

To add insult to injury, leaves are starting to appear on the trees, which will future challenge my ability to identify birds. I may have to go back to photographing insects.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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