September 25, 2015 by Mike Powell
I love the distinctive look and bright colors of the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) and was thrilled to spot this female on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park.
She was initially perched on a rotten tree trunk in a meadow, which is actually a dried-up pond—the water levels at the marsh are perilously low at the moment. Before I could get a close shot, I managed to spook her and she flew to the higher perch that you see in the first image of this posting. The second image shows her in her initial position.
I like the way that the dark leaves provide a backdrop that draws our attention to the kingfisher in the first shot, but also like the softer quality of the second shot, with the grass and the out-of-focus treeline.
Unlike in most bird species, the female Belted Kingfisher is more colorful than the male—she has a rust-colored stripe that is absent in the male.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, Huntley Meadows Park, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 9 Comments »
September 24, 2015 by Mike Powell
The autumnal equinox arrived yesterday, marking another change of seasons. I love the autumn, but there is something a little wistful about it, as so many of the bright summer colors begin to fade and the leaves dry out and fall off of the trees. Somehow for me it is a reminder of the inexorable passage of time and of the fragility of life.
Earlier this week I saw a faded male Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) that put me in a pensive mood, remembering how this boldly-patterned species really stood out in the spring. Now he has has almost become a part of the background, less notable, less distinctive, less likely to attract attention.
How many of us are like that? Our society worships youthful beauty and older people are often pushed out of the spotlight in favor of unblemished youths. It’s nice to have memories of the way we were, remembering our youthful beauty and capabilities, but I think it’s important to celebrate who we are and who we are becoming.
So here’s a look at that male Twelve-spotted Skimmer and a female Twelve-Spotted Skimmer that I observed last week. Wouldn’t you agree that they are still beautiful despite (or perhaps because of) their senior citizen status.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, An, autumn, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula pulchella, memories, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly | 5 Comments »
September 23, 2015 by Mike Powell
The water levels at my favorite local marshland park (Huntley Meadows Park) are perilously low and I worry about the survival of some of its inhabitants. Some shore birds, however, have shown up that I don’t see regularly there, like this Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus).
The Latin name for this species seems to have been chosen well—these little birds are really loud as they fly by and announce their arrival. I find the bird’s English name to be a little creepy, although it has nothing to do with the four-legged animal, and instead was prompted by the bird’s shrill call that someone thought sounded like “kill-deer,” according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
In an ironic twist, the same day that I took this photo, I noticed that signs have now been placed in the park that indicate that deer killing is taking place. I understand the need to manage the deer population, which can quickly get out of hand because of the lack of predators, but I always feel a slight sense of unease when I see these signs, given that I have a tendency to wander off of the “established” trails.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Charadrius vociferus, deer hunting, Huntley Meadows Park, killdeer, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 13 Comments »
September 22, 2015 by Mike Powell
What’s your most challenging subject as a photographer? Do you chase the perfect lighting for your landscape photos or pursue the decisive moment in your street shots or wait endlessly for an elusive creature to appear?
At least several times a year, I will attempt to photograph dragonflies in flight. Dragonflies are small, fast, and agile. Some of them seem utterly unpredictable and almost impossible to track or fly high in the air, out of range of even long telephoto lenses.
What’s an ideal scenario? In the best of all worlds, I would like to find a dragonfly that flies a repeated route, such as patrolling a portion of a stream, and periodically hovers at my eye level or below.
Yesterday I spotted a dragonfly as I was following a stream in a remote part of my favorite marshland park. The dragonfly would hover for a while and then move a short distance away and hover again.
I was pretty excited as I put my camera to my eye and tried to find the dragonfly in the viewfinder. With my zoom lens extended to 600mm, it’s a little like looking through a straw—there is a pretty limited field of view. I set my focus to manual mode, having learned in the past that it is almost impossible for me to gain and hold focus on small moving subjects in auto mode. One of the challenges of the Tamron 150-600mm lens is that the focus ring is at the back of the lens near the lens mount, which means that it is tough to hold the lens steady and focus manually.
The dragonfly was cooperative and gave me a number of chances before it flew away. When the magical moments ended, I looked at a few of my images on the back of my camera and couldn’t immediately identify the dragonfly. Initially I thought it was a Mocha Emerald, like the one that I seen near that same location earlier in September, but the coloration and body shape was all wrong. Once I got home, I did a little research and figured out that I had photographed a Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa), a call confirmed by local dragonfly expert Walter Sanford.
I am pretty happy with these shots. I know that I was lucky to see this dragonfly, but I also know that the hours and hours that I have spent shooting with this camera and lens helped me to take advantage of the situation. A combination of luck, patience, and a bit of skill—it sounds like a good recipe for handling your most challenging subjects as a photographer.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Aeshna umbrosa, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Shadow Darner, Shadow Darner dragonfly, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 21 Comments »
September 21, 2015 by Mike Powell
Though it is officially called “common,” the bright colors and patterns of this Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) make it uncommonly beautiful in my eyes. (I should also note that it is not common for me to spot one—I’ve seen them only a few times this summer.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Buckeye, Common Buckeye butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Junonia coenia, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Th | 8 Comments »
September 20, 2015 by Mike Powell
How was your summer? Did you take a vacation and relax or at least take some time off from work?
There are no vacations for dragonflies. It looks like this has been a long, hard summer for the male Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) that I spotted earlier this month, judging from the almost shredded condition of his wings. Yet somehow, he is still able to fly and continues to survive
Autumn is almost upon us and the number of dragonflies that I observe is dropping. Before long, only a few hardy species will remain. For now, I take joy in seeing the tattered survivors, whose beauty is undiminished in my eyes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 19 Comments »
September 19, 2015 by Mike Powell
Yesterday I spotted this male Mocha Emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora linearis) while exploring one of the streams at Huntley Meadows Park and was struck again by the way this species perches vertically, rather than horizontally like so many of the other dragonflies that I see.
The words of the old Supremes song come to mind, “You keep me hangin’ on…” and now that song is stuck in my head. On the off chance that one of my readers has never heard that song (and I can’t believe that is possible), here’s a link to a really old video of the Supremes performing the song.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Mocha Emerald, Mocha Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora linearis, Supremes, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, you keep me hangin' on | 7 Comments »
September 18, 2015 by Mike Powell
It’s amazing how a brightly colored butterfly can almost disappear from view merely by turning sidewards. Last week, I was observing a Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly (Speyeria cybele) feeding on a yellow flower when suddenly it seemed to disappear. I blinked my eyes and looked again and the butterfly looked almost like a grasshopper, because I could not see its wings.
A few seconds later, the butterfly shifted its position and its colorful wings once more came into view, providing the more conventional view of the butterfly that you see in the photo below.
I love trying to find unconventional views of familiar subjects, though it’s important not to forget that there is a lot of beauty in the familiar conventional views as well.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Spangled Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Speyeria cybele, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 4 Comments »
September 17, 2015 by Mike Powell
As I stood at the waterfront in Georgetown last Friday, I heard a rumble approaching. Was it an aircraft? Was it a helicopter? Suddenly a loud, slow aircraft appeared low in the sky above the Potomac River. It was probably the strangest looking aircraft that I had ever seen.
I had read about the MV-22 Osprey, but had never seen one. The Osprey combines the functionality of a helicopter with that of an aircraft and has tilt rotors that allow it to perform vertical takeoffs and landings.
This Marine Corps aircraft was at the tail end of a small flight of helicopters that was heading toward the White House. Perhaps it was providing additional security, given that it was September 11 when I took the photos, or may have merely been transporting part of the President’s entourage.
The first two photos show the Osprey in flight. I was pleased to be able to get these shots despite the fact that I had only a 24-105mm lens on my camera at the time. The third shot is of one of the other helicopters in the group. The “white top” helicopters are usually associated with the Marine Corps detachment that supports the President. The final shot shows a couple of the presidential helicopters as they fly toward the White House.
I thought about cloning out the small jet in the first photo, but decided that I like the way that it almost looks like the Osprey is stalking the jet.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Travel, Urban | Tagged aircraft, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, Georgetown, helicopter, MV-22 Osprey, Osprey, Washington D.C., White House | 7 Comments »
September 16, 2015 by Mike Powell
When taking photos, do you ever just point and shoot? Now I realize that there is an entire class of consumer cameras with mostly automatic settings that are referred to as “point and shoot cameras,” but that’s not what I am talking about here. What I am asking is whether you ever just point your camera in the general direction of a subject and engage the shutter without actually framing the shot with the viewfinder or even the LCD on the back of the camera.
Why would you do that? I have a fascination with street photography. Conceptually I like the idea of taking photos of strangers, often at close range, in interesting urban settings. However, I have not been able to overcome my inhibitions and fears about capturing these kinds of images.
As I was returning by Metro back to my Northern Virginia suburb from a trip to the District of Columbia, I noticed a guy with a bicycle standing in front of me. He had a racing-style bike and was carrying what appeared to be a fully inflated spare tube in his hand. It was an intriguing scene and I decided to try to capture it. With my camera balanced on my camera bag on my lap, I pointed the camera in his direction and took a number of shoots, zooming in and out with my 24-105mm lens. A few times, I peeked at my results and adjusted the angle and direction of my camera. I slightly adjusted the angle of a couple of the shots you see below, but kept the one that was really skewed just like it came out of the camera—I just like the different look that it has.
I felt safe and secure in taking these shots, because the sounds of the moving train more than covered any noise coming from my shutter. I even felt emboldened to take some shots of a young lady sitting across the aisle from me. She had assumed what I consider to be the classic Metro pose. She had headphones on and was sitting upright, absorbed in her own world. There seems to be an unwritten Metro code that strangers do not interact with each other, and usually go to pains not to look each other in the eye.
I think I will try my experiment again to try to get used to the idea of taking photos of strangers, albeit surreptitiously. I am not ready to become the next Cartier-Bresson, but it’s a start.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in people, Photography, Portraits, Urban | Tagged Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, metro, point-and-shoot, street photography, Washington D.C. | 15 Comments »
September 15, 2015 by Mike Powell
Unlike Pumpkin Spice, Mocha Emerald is not a fall Starbucks flavor—it is a cool-looking dragonfly species that I was excited to spot yesterday at my favorite marshland park.
Every other time that I have observed a Mocha Emerald (Somatochlora linearis), the dragonfly has been perched in the shadows, so I was surprised yesterday to see one in full daylight. This Mocha Emerald, which looks to be a male seemed to be patrolling a stretch of a small stream. Occasionally it would stop to rest and perch vertically on vegetation sticking out low from the bank of the stream.
Getting a decent shot of the Mocha Emerald was quite a challenge. My camera’s auto focus had trouble fixing focus on the dragonfly’s long thin body so I had to focus manually; there was a breeze that was blowing that caused the dragonfly to swing in and out of my field of view as I looked through the viewfinder; and the background tended to be really cluttered.
The first shot is my favorite, because I was able to isolate the dragonfly by hanging over the stream (and almost falling in), although the other shots show some of the details of its body better.
Maybe there should be a Mocha Emerald latte, perhaps for Saint Patrick’s Day—I would be thrilled if it supplanted the green beer that still makes an appearance at some locations.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Mocha Emerald, Mocha Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora linearis, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 7 Comments »
September 14, 2015 by Mike Powell
My favorite marshland park is abloom with yellow flowers. This past Friday, I spotted a Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) at the edge of a meadow feeding on one of those flowers. I thought the Monarchs had flown south for the season already, but was delighted to see they are still around.
I tried to frame the image so that there would be yellow flowers in the background and the results were even better than I had anticipated.
Yellow seems to be a happy color and somehow I can’t help but smile when I look at this image. I hope that it has the same effect on all of you.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Danaus plexippus, Huntley Meadows Park, monarch butterfly, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 12 Comments »
September 13, 2015 by Mike Powell
“Blue eyes
Baby’s got blue eyes
Like a deep blue sea
On a blue blue day”
Somehow the words to the old Elton John song come to mind when I gaze into the stunning blue eyes of this Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum). This dragonfly was unusually cooperative and let me move in to take this close-up portrait with my macro lens.
If you have never heard “Blue Eyes” or just want a blast from the past, here’s a link to a YouTube video of Elton John performing the song.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, blue eyes, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Elton John, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 14 Comments »
September 12, 2015 by Mike Powell
As I was walking back home last night from the metro station, I was struck by the light that was bouncing all around a highway underpass as cars passed by, creating an abstract world of beautiful shapes and lines.
I really had no idea what kind of settings to use on my camera, but after a few quick tests I settled on ISO 2500 and f/9, which gave me exposures between one and two seconds. I rested my camera on a railing to steady it and pointed my camera in the general direction of the underpass.
Those who follow this blog regularly know that I have recently been experimenting with different approachs and subjects for my photography, which normally focuses primarily on wildlife and nature. Oh, I still enjoy that photography immensely, but it’s been fun and challenging to try some new things too.
I am quite pleased with some the nighttime images that I was able to capture, which are a pretty good reflection of what I was seeing and feeling.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Photography, Urban | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, night photography, underpass, Van Dorn Street | 9 Comments »
September 11, 2015 by Mike Powell
I first caught sight of this spider yesterday when I almost walked into it—it was hanging in mid-air at eye level across a path and we were less than a foot apart when I encountered it.
Initially the spider scampered up a bit and then seemed to run out of web and came to a stop, giving me some time to change to my macro lens. The spider, which I think is a kind of orb weaver (Neoscona crucifera) that is sometimes called a barn spider, was about seven feet off the ground by this time, so it was quite a challenge getting a stable shooting position. I raised the ISO and used the pop-up flash and managed to get some reasonably sharp images.
These are my favorite two images. I really like the detail in the first shot, but like the background and angle of view more in the second shot. Which one is better? I vacillate in trying to decide, so included them both.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Lattice Orbweaver spider, Neoscona crucifera, orb weaver spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 12 Comments »
September 10, 2015 by Mike Powell
I’m back from a brief overseas trip and it’s time to switch back from shooting in urban surroundings to my more typical nature images. In the meantime, here’s a shot of a beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) from a pre-trip visit to Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Papilio glaucus, swallowtail, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 9 Comments »
September 9, 2015 by Mike Powell
As I conclude another brief trip to Brussels, I thought I’d include a number of the photos that I managed to snap while walking in the streets of the central part of the city. As is typical of this time of the year, the weather was often gray with intermittent light rain, but I did manage to see some interesting sights.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, people, Photography, Travel | Tagged belgium, brussels, Canon A620 | 7 Comments »
September 8, 2015 by Mike Powell
How do you capture the beauty of a city? Do you look up directly at the monuments and impressive buildings or do you look down and perhaps catch an indirect reflection of the unique character of the environment?
I took this shot on one of the cobblestoned side streets that lead to the Grand-Place in Brussels. I like the simple, graphic way in which the image gives you a sense of the beauty of this ancient city square, while also showing a little of the gritty, littered urban landscape that seems typical in Brussels.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Art, Photography, Travel, Urban | 7 Comments »
September 7, 2015 by Mike Powell
While briefly in Brussels on business, I was able to take advantage of a beer festival held at the Grand-Place, the historical central square of the city. Booths were set up in the center of the square and there was an extensive variety of beers to taste. I initially visited the square in the post dawn hours, when workers were cleaning up the area after Saturday night’s festivities and then returned with friends on Sunday afternoon to sample some of the beers.
View of the Grand-Place and some of the booths
Beer weekend
“Proud of our beers”
Troll beer
“The Beer of Bravery” Previously “Beer of Victory,” but sales in France were low.
It’s a family affair…
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel, Urban | Tagged beer festival, belgium, brussels, Canon A620, Grand-Place, Waterloo beer | 4 Comments »
September 6, 2015 by Mike Powell
Late in the summer, there is a great abundance of flying and crawling insects—they are everywhere. I enjoy photographing many of them and generally I will try to identify my subjects when I post their photos.
In this case, however, I didn’t get a close enough view or a sharp enough shot of this cool-looking insect for me to be confident in any identification. (Alas, the photo is clear enough for me to realize that I need to clean my camera’s sensor, for I can see a bunch of stops in the beautiful background of what is often called “sensor dust.”)
Still, I really like the insect’s pose at the top of the vegetation, a pose that somehow brings to mind the “King of the World” moment in the movie Titanic.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, insect, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 10 Comments »
September 5, 2015 by Mike Powell
As we move closer and closer to the end of the summer, many of the butterflies are starting to show the effects of time, with faded colors and missing pieces of their wings. Yet somehow, at least in my eyes, their beauty is undiminished, like this Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) that I spotted this past week at my favorite local marshland park.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Limenitis archippus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Viceroy, Viceroy butterfly | 7 Comments »
September 4, 2015 by Mike Powell
When watching birds, I usually have my camera’s zoom lens fully extended. On rare occasions I am actually zoomed in a little too closely, as was the case when I took the shot of a Great Egret (Ardea alba) this past Monday at Huntley Meadows Park.
Despite the clipped wings, I love the details and the beautiful arc of the feathers of its wings as this stunning bird takes to the air.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea alba, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Great Egret, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 8 Comments »
September 3, 2015 by Mike Powell
What kind of subjects lend themselves to black and white film? Can you decide beforehand and try to see the world in black and white, as I started out trying to do, or do you decide afterwards, as most people do when converting digital images to black and white?
This is the continuing story of my experimentation with a totally mechanical Nikon F SLR loaded with Ilford HP 5 Plus black and white film. I wandered through the streets of Washington D.C. looking for subjects and came upon this bust of noted Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov outside of the Russia House restaurant on Connecticut Avenue.
I worked hard on this one to try to compose it and shoot it in an interesting way and I like the way that it turned out. It turned out that focusing manually is tougher than I thought, even with the visual assists in the viewfinder of a film camera, like the micro prism. I was definitely out of practice and I worried that all of my images would be soft and out of focus. This image reassured me that if I am careful, I can get relatively sharp images and capture details like the texture that you can see on the hands and the head of the statue.
Eventually I made my way to the National Zoo and last week I posted some digital shots of some of the animals that I encountered there. The zoo posed a big problem for me in getting a proper exposure, because there was a mixture of harsh midday sunshine and shadows. As I looked over my negatives, I realized that I need to meter more often—I took a series of shots of lions that were sometimes in the sunshine and sometimes in the shade and overexposed many of the shots.
However, one of my favorite images of the roll of film was this one of a female lion that was properly exposed and captured a good amount of detail. At this point in the day, I had switched to a Tokina 80-200mm lens to give myself a bit of additional reach.
So could I take the kind of wildlife/nature shots that I normally feature with a film camera? It would be tough to do so, but this shot of a Monarch butterfly suggests that it would not be impossible. The pattern of the Monarch is so well-known, that most of us can imagine its orange and black coloration without actually seeing the colors. This is the only one of my black and white images on which I did a significant crop, and you can see how the background has become a bit grainy.
For folks who are interested in the process, I developed the film with Ilfosol 3 developer, a general purpose developer. I exposed the film as though it were ISO 200, instead of the box speed of ISO 400, and learned that pulling the film like this is likely to lead to lower contrast (while shooting it at higher speeds will tend to give more contrast). I scanned the negatives with a Canoscan 8400f scanner as TIFF files and did a few adjustments in Photoshop Elements 11.
So what did I learn? I learned to slow down and be more deliberate as I contemplate my shots; I learned to look past some of the colors of the world and search for shapes and lines and contrast; and I leaned the value in producing my images in a manual, hands-on way, leading to a greater sense of ownership of those images.
I learned a lot, though clearly I have a lot more to learn as I continue to explore this new/old area of photography.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Photography, wildlife, zoo | Tagged Andrei Sakharov, black-and-white photography, film, Ilford HP 5 Plus, lion, monarch butterfly, National Zoo, Nikon F, Tokina 80-200mm lens, Washington D.C. | 12 Comments »
September 2, 2015 by Mike Powell
Do you ever feel a desire to step outside of your comfort zone in your photography, to capture some images in a completely different way, to return to the basics of our craft? For the last month, I have felt an irresistible urge to shoot some black and white film, something that I haven’t done in over thirty years.
When I told some folks at work that I was planning to shoot some film during a week of vacation, one of them responded by asking if I was making a movie. I patiently explained that I would be putting some black and white film into a non-digital camera. He stared back at me with a look of incredulity and asked if I couldn’t simply convert some of my digital images into black and white.
I still have some analog cameras, but most of them have some electronic assists—I wanted a truly mechanical camera. I found a Nikon F SLR with a 50mm f/1.4 lens on my local Craigslist. The Nikon F introduced in 1959, was Nikon’s first SLR, although this particular camera was produced in 1971, judging from its serial number. The camera is so basic that it requires no battery. When was the last time you took photos with a camera without a battery? The camera has no meter and I ended up using my DSLR as the meter.
What about film? I went to one of the last remaining camera stores in our area and bought a couple of rolls of Ilford HP5+ film, a black and white film with a “box speed” of ISO 400. I ended up shooting it at ISO 200, because it was very sunny and bright the day that I went shooting. (Using the “sunny 16” guidelines, I would have been shooting all day at 1/500 sec and f/16.)
What should I shoot? I decided that an urban environment would be more suitable for my film project than my normal wildlife environment, so I got on the metro and headed into Washington D.C. with my Nikon SLR and my Canon DSLR in tow.
I got off on the elevated outdoor metro platform at Reagan National Airport and my first shot was of the airport’s control tower. I wanted to try to find subjects with shapes and lines that would show up in black and white. (I am including some digital shots of the same subjects at the end of the post. I didn’t try to exactly match the shots, but they give you an idea of the differences in how the cameras rendered the subjects.)
The next shot was of the Metro’s ceiling at the underground station in Rosslyn, Virginia. (You may have already seen a similar shot that I took with my digital camera and posted last week.)
I exited the Metro in Rosslyn and walked across the Key Bridge into Georgetown. From the bridge, I took this shot of part of the waterfront in Georgetown. I like the old time feel of this shot.
One of the first things that you see when you cross the bridge is Dixie Liquors, an old-fashioned liquor store with a really cool sign that I have always liked.
That was the start of my adventure with film. As I had hoped, I was looking at the world with different eyes and was forced to slow down, knowing I had to input manually the shutter speed and aperture and very conscious of the fact that I had no auto focus to help me. I was also shooting with a fixed focal length lens, so I did not have the luxury of zooming in and out. Most of all, though, I was filled with uncertainty, not knowing for sure if any of my shots would come out, worrying that my old camera might have a light leak or that I would mess up the development of the film.
I’ll continue my saga in another posting or two in the upcoming weeks. As promised, here are some digital shots that I took as I used my Canon DSLR as a meter for my manual Nikon.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Urban | Tagged 50mm f/1.4, black-and-white photography, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, Georgetown, metro, Nikon F, Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C. | 19 Comments »
September 1, 2015 by Mike Powell
What signs do you look for that point to the change of seasons? Throughout most of my life, the changing colors of the fall foliage have been the primary indicator of the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.
The last few years, however, I have become increasingly sensitive to seasonal changes in the dragonfly population as I have increasingly focused my attention and my camera lens on these fascinating and colorful aerial acrobats. Summer is prime time for many dragonfly species, but certain species show up much later in the season and stay with us throughout much of the autumn days.
One of these late-arriving species is the Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) and I was thrilled yesterday to spot a male of this species at Huntley Meadows Park, the marshland where I take a lot of my wildlife photos. This is my first spotting of a Blue-faced Meadowhawk this season and I suspect it won’t be long before I also start seeing his “cousin,” the Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum).
I particularly like the bright red color and bold pattern of this dragonfly’s body and its beautiful turquoise face. Although I may vacillate a bit from time to time, I think this is the most beautiful dragonfly species that I have ever encountered. What do you think?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 11 Comments »
August 31, 2015 by Mike Powell
Summer days are drifting away and the biological clocks are almost certainly ticking loudly for some dragonflies. This past weekend at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna Virginia, I spotted these two Halloween Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis eponina) engaged in a little summer loving.
It’s hard not to feel a little bit like a voyeur as I move in closer to photograph the acrobatic intertwining of the tiny dragonfly bodies. Summer loving happens so fast and soon my colorful little friends will be gone for the season,
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Canon 50D, Celithemis eponina, halloween pennant, Halloween Pennant dragonfly, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Tamron 180mm macro, Vienna VA | 12 Comments »
August 30, 2015 by Mike Powell
One of the highlights for me of a short visit yesterday to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia was spotting this spectacular dragonfly, which I think is a female Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata).
Earlier this summer, I spotted a male Banded Pennant, whose body was blue, but the coloration of this one suggests to me that it is a female. The dragonfly was perched on the highest branches of a small tree, which allowed me to isolate it against the beautiful blue sky. You may notice that the branches are different in the two photos—the dragonfly flew away a few times, but returned to the same tree a short time later.
CORRECTION: My initial identification was incorrect. My local dragonfly expert, Walter Sanford, with whom I neglected to consult in advance, provided a correct identification. This is a female Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina), not a Banded Pennant.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Banded Pennant, Banded Pennant dragonfly, Canon 50D, Celithemis eponina, Celithemis fasciata, halloween pennant, Halloween Pennant dragonfly, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Vienna VA | 9 Comments »
August 29, 2015 by Mike Powell
In its simplest form, photography is about light and darkness, about lines and shapes. That was what I was seeking to capture when I took some shots in a Metro station in Rosslyn, Virginia earlier this week.
I took this week off from work and have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about photography, watching lots of videos, and shooting different subjects in different ways. I have even shot and developed some black and white film—I’ll do a separate posting on that soon.
This first shot highlights the distinctive ceilings that are present in many of the stations in the D.C. Metrorail system. I love the geometric patterns and the interplay of light and shadows in this image. I took this 1/3 second exposure by leaning my camera on a railing.
The Rosslyn station is at a point in the Metro system where the trains pass under the Potomac River. Consequently, the escalators are extremely long. As I rode the escalator up, I was fascinated by the different lights and captured this image when I was approximately at the mid-point between the level of the tracks and the above-ground station.
It was midday on a weekday, which is why you don’t see more people in this shot. Things get really crowded during rush hour and woe to those who do not follow the Metro etiquette of staying to the right on the escalator steps unless passing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Art, Photography, Urban | Tagged abstract, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, metro, Washington D.C. | 15 Comments »
August 28, 2015 by Mike Powell
Walking in Washington D.C. along the National Mall, I couldn’t help but notice that humans were not the only ones taking advantage of the water fountains along the periphery. Several different kinds of birds were bathing and drinking in the water of backed-up fountains.
In the first shot, a bird, which may be a Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), seemed to be testing the water in the fountain—a few seconds later, it was happily splashing about.
I love the defiant stance of the larger bird in the second shot, looking like he is the leader of an urban gang, prepared to defend his turf against outsiders like me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Urban | Tagged birds, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, National Mall, Washington D.C., water fountain | 6 Comments »
August 27, 2015 by Mike Powell
On a trip to the National Zoo earlier this week, I was walking around in heat of the summer sun, unlike most of the animals, who were relaxing in the shade or finding other ways to cool off.
This female lion was dozing in the shade and would periodically raise her head and look in our direction with sleepy eyes.
This tiger decided to swim a bit in the water of the moat at the front edge of its enclosure. I couldn’t tell how deep the water was—at times it looked like the tiger was merely walking in the water and not actually swimming.
This cheetah seemed a little agitated and was not relaxing. It was walking back and forth along the fence line that separated its enclosure from the adjacent cheetah enclosure.
I’ll probably never go on a safari and see these beautiful creatures in the wild, but my trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. afforded me a glimpse of their power and their majesty. I am happy that the National Zoo is active in efforts to ensure the preservation of endangered species, in particular the cheetah. Check out this article for more information about those efforts.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, zoo | Tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, cheetah, lion, National Zoo, tiger, Washington D.C. | 10 Comments »
August 26, 2015 by Mike Powell
I haven’t seen very many Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) the last few years, so I was thrilled when I spotted this one yesterday at the outdoor butterfly garden at the National Zoo.
I chased after it as it flew from plant to plant, hoping that it would come to rest withing range of my camera. Once the Monarch had landed I circled around until I was on the same plane as the butterfly and got this shot. Fortunately I was close enough that I was able to fill the frame with the beautiful Monarch and a small amount of the flower on which it was feeding—this is an uncropped image.
It was midday and the lighting was a little harsh, but it did help illuminate the wing from an angle and showcase the butterfly’s spectacular colors.
I did take some photos of some of the animals at the National Zoo, which I will present in another posting, but thought I’d start with the Monarch Butterfly, an unexpected bonus of my brief visit to the zoo.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, zoo | Tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Danaus plexippus, monarch butterfly, National Zoo, Washington D.C. | 6 Comments »
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