December 16, 2012 by Mike Powell
Birds seemed to be everywhere yesterday, foraging for food in the water, on dry land, 0r sometimes in between the. The latter was the case for two little brown birds, pecking for food in the still-green vegetation in the shallow marsh. Sometimes it seemed like they would stop and drink the water or gaze intently into the water, as though fascinated by their own reflection.
I am still not very good at identifying most birds on the spot, but my research skills are improving and I am pretty confident that these birds are Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Gradually I am starting to see the distinguishing characteristics, like the color on the top of the head, the markings on the breast, and the shape and size of the beak.
This growing sense of the broad diversity among birds serves to magnify their beauty, as I see them as individuals, not merely as nameless little brown birds. Who knows, maybe birds appreciate it if you can call them by their names.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow, vegetation, water | 8 Comments »
December 15, 2012 by Mike Powell
The bright red plumage of the Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) reminded me today that Christmas is almost here. I guess it is such an obvious association that National Geographic featured the cardinal on the cover of its “Holiday” catalog. Cliché or not, I can’t help but smile whenever my eyes catch sight of a cardinal and somehow my spirits are lifted, particularly when the weather is gray and gloomy as it was early this morning.
Here are a couple of shots of the same cardinal that may appear to be identical. However, if you look closer, you will notice that the cardinal has his head turned in a slightly different direction. In the first one, the cardinal was looking right at me. There seems to be something more personal about our interaction when our eyes meet. He looks a little like he is growing weary of posing for me, but is patiently waiting for me to be finished.
In the second photo (which was actually shot before the first one), the cardinal is looking off into the distance, alone with his thoughts and not yet aware of the intruder with the camera. In some ways this photo seems to capture him in a more natural, unposed position.
At certain moments I like the second image more than the first, but most of the time I prefer to see eye-to-eye with a subject.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal | 13 Comments »
December 15, 2012 by Mike Powell
It was nice today to get back to nature after a week in the city of Vienna, Austria. Still a little jet-lagged, I got up early and headed out to Huntley Meadows Park on a cold frosty morning. There are still lots of migrating geese noisily coming and going through the park, and a smaller number of ducks too. Familiar cardinals, blackbirds, and sparrow were active today as well.
One real highlight for me today was having a hawk fly overhead. I’ve been told that there are Red-tailed Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, and Sharp-Shinned Hawks at the park, and I had no idea what kind of hawk it was that I managed to photograph. I saw him land in a tree across a small field and I was able to get some shots of him there. Neither of these two photos is super sharp (the light was not good and they are cropped, especially the one with the hawk in the tree), but I am happy to have been able to capture images of a beautiful, powerful bird. I think that this is probably a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), although I am not one hundred percent sure on the identification.
I hope that I will be able to see the hawks in action this winter (and possibly some bald eagles that are occasionally sighted here too).
Hawk in flight
Hawk in tree
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Buteo lineatus, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk | 3 Comments »
December 14, 2012 by Mike Powell
Sitting in the airport in Newark, I decided to take advantage of the time before my flight back to Washington, D.C. and play with some of my images. I have always loved black-and-white photography and have tried a couple of times to convert some of my images. I never know for sure what will work, but one of my photos of Christmas decorations in Vienna, Austria seemed to be appropriate for experimentation. I know that there is some good software available if I decide to pursue that direction, but this time I opted to desaturate the image almost entirely. I like the effect, in part because of the graphic lines of the original.
Which version do you like more, black-and-white or color?
Almost black and white
Color
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Christmas, Photography, Travel | Tagged black and white, BW, Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 12 Comments »
December 13, 2012 by Mike Powell
On my last night in Vienna, Austria, I decided to go for a walk through the city center to see how it was decorated for Christmas. There were lots of lights everywhere. Using available light, I took some photos of those lights and of some of Vienna’s famous landmarks. With a tripod, I would have done better, but I took advantage of various objects to brace myself and my camera for some fairly lengthy exposures. Here is an eclectic set of shots from my walk on a very cold Vienna evening.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel | Tagged Canon A620, Christmas, night, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 10 Comments »
December 13, 2012 by Mike Powell
My time in Vienna is drawing to a close and I thought I’d post a few more of my favorite photos from the Christmas market.
Stands selling hot spiced wine are often areas where people congregate. One of them was set up on a path flanked with statues and I like how the first photo shows a statue peering down over the stand. What would he think of the scene in front of him?
The second image shows one element of the Christmas decorations. I like the colors, shapes, and the lines in that photo.
The third shot was taken looking up at some of the towers of the Rathaus (City Hall). I braced myself against the wall of one of the booths to steady myself for the shot and you can see part of the booth in the foreground. I like the effect of this extreme angle (and I always love shots of buildings lit up in the evening).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel | Tagged Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, city hall, Rathaus, statue, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 5 Comments »
December 12, 2012 by Mike Powell
A couple of days I posted a photo of a building and asked readers to guess what its function was. There were a number of creative ideas including an observatory and a television tower, but Sue was correct in surmising that it is part of a heating plant?
Yes, it actually is a district heating plant in Vienna, Austria. It was designed by Austrian artist Friedensrich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) in 1988-1992. I don’t know too much about the artist, but he was a bit eccentric, judging from the biographical information in Wikipedia, and the name he adopted as a artist means Peace-kingdom Hundred-water.
According to information on a Hundertwasser webpage, originally he opposed the idea of this project, as he had fundamental objections to a garbage-incinerating plant as long as all possibilities for avoiding garbage were not exhausted. But when it was promised that the plant would be equipped with the most modern emission-purification technology, that 60,000 apartments would be heated, and in view of the fact that Vienna needed a garbage-incinerating plant, Hundertwasser finally agreed to do the design.
I’ve included a number of different photos to give you a sense of what the heating plant looks like from different angles and distances. No matter what your views are on modern art, you have to acknowledge that this is a unique and unusual way to decorate the exterior of an urban heating plant.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel | Tagged Canon A620, district heating plant, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Hundertwasser, Spittelau district heating plant, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 2 Comments »
December 11, 2012 by Mike Powell
One of the most interesting aspects of any outdoor market is watching people, including the salespeople. In my experience, the vendors tend to be outgoing people who try to attract passersby to stop at their stalls and purchase what ever they are selling. Here are some photos I took of three of the vendors at the Christmas market in Vienna. The lighting is a bit harsh, but I decided to take the photos without flash to be less obtrusive.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Christmas, Photography, Portraits, Travel | Tagged Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, Vienna, Vienna Austria | Leave a Comment »
December 10, 2012 by Mike Powell
This evening I had the chance to visit again the Christmas market in front of the Rathaus (City Hall) in Vienna, Austria and got better photos. Why? It was less crowed, the weather was better, and I was alone (rather than with three friends who were more interested in shopping than in taking photos).
The first sign was from a stall that was selling lebkuchen, a German baked product that is a lot like gingerbread. I really like the hand-carved look of the sign.
The second sign is a sign for a stall called “Potato Jim” that sold stuffed baked potatoes. I am not sure who “Jim” is, but I thought the sign, with a potato wearing a Santa hat, was cute.
The third sign is one that was at the entrance to the Christmas market. The big letters spell out “Merry Christmas” in German and the small lit sign to the right spells out “Vienna Christmas Market.” The building in the background is the Rathaus (City Hall).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel | Tagged baked potato, Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, lebkuchen, Merry Christmas, potato, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 1 Comment »
December 10, 2012 by Mike Powell
Yesterday I had a chance to photograph one of the coolest buildings in Vienna, Austria. I plan to write a little about it and post a few more photos later this week, but I thought I’d post a photo now as a sneak preview.
What do you think is the main function of the building, a part of which is shown in this photograph? Could it be an art museum or an apartment building? Stay tuned for the correct answer.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Photography, Travel | Tagged architecture, Canon A620, Vienna, Vienna Austria | 6 Comments »
December 9, 2012 by Mike Powell
You probably noticed that the subject matter of my blog is different in this posting. I am away from home on a short business trip to Vienna, Austria. I arrived this afternoon and had the chance to visit several of the Christmas markets here. They were all very crowded and it was also well below freezing and windy, so shopping was not a lot of fun. It was actually more fun to watch people.
The biggest Christmas market was at the plaza in front of the Rathaus, the city hall. I have only a point-and-shoot camera with me, but I managed to take a couple of shots to give you a sense of the venue. According to Wikipedia, the beautiful Gothic-style building was constructed between 1872 and 1883.
I’ll try to post a few more photos of Vienna, a beautiful city with lots of charm, while I’m here.
Rathaus at dusk
Christmas lighting in Vienna
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Austria, Canon A620, Christmas, Christmas market, Vienna | 6 Comments »
December 8, 2012 by Mike Powell
The photos in yesterday’s postings about Black Vultures were dark and gloomy and perhaps a little creepy. Today I am going to the opposite end of the spectrum with photos of a squirrel that are warm and cute.
I took these first two shots just outside of my house. Watching this squirrel through my kitchen window as he was digging in the grass, uncovering an acorn, I decided to try to take his photo. When I appeared, he slowly climbed up a tree and found a comfortable spot to enjoy his treat. The first image, my favorite, shows him posing before eating. I really like the effect of the light coming in from the side. The second one shows a more serious side as he seems to have adopted a more dignified pose.
Earlier in the morning yesterday I watched as two squirrels chased each other around—I think at least one of them had amorous intentions. Part of the time they went in an out of a hollow remnant of a tree. They would enter the tree at ground level and come out of the side of the tree. Here are a couple of photos of one of the squirrels as he vainly searches for his playmate.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, Huntley Meadows Park, squirrel | 5 Comments »
December 7, 2012 by Mike Powell
I suddenly realized that all my photos of the Black Vultures that I posted were close-up shots. Here’s a shot of what two of them looked like when they were roosting in a tree. I really like the look of the tree, especially the branch on the right side. The sky was almost white today and the two vultures were virtually silhouettes. It’s kind of a creepy image—maybe I need to save it for Halloween next year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Black Vultures, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, roosting, vultures | 5 Comments »
December 7, 2012 by Mike Powell
Earlier today I posted a photo of a colorful cardinal to counteract the gloominess of the day. Here is an alternative if you prefer instead to relish the grayness of the day—an image of a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus ) roosting in a dead tree.
It was a damp, cold day today as I was walking through the marshland. I happened to look up and saw a couple of large birds perched in a dead tree. At first I thought they might be wild turkeys, but when I looked at them more carefully I realized that they were Black Vultures. Previously I had seen them soaring through the air and thought they were quite beautiful, with magnificent wingspans. When you see them up close, however, “beautiful” is not an adjective that springs to mind. To be generous, you might say that they look “distinctive” or “interesting.”
Why were they hanging around? I had no idea until I talked with some folks at the information desk in the visitor center. Apparently there is a dead deer in a nearby area and the vultures have been feeding on its carcass. I guess the vultures were resting in the trees in between meals.
I processed each of these images a little differently, trying to compensate for the fact that there was not that much light, which forced me to deliberately underexpose the photos. I think I like the first one best, the one that I desaturated almost to the point of making it black and white, although I like some aspects of the other two images as well.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Black Vulture, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Coragyps atratus, Huntley Meadows Park, roosting, vulture | 6 Comments »
December 7, 2012 by Mike Powell
It’s a cloudy gray day. It started out with rain and the weather has improved only marginally. I feel a need for some bright colors, so I am sharing a shot I took this past weekend of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in a bush with bright red berries. Unlike most photos that I have taken of a cardinal, his eye is visible—normally it blends in with the black mask of his face.
The bright red color seems festive to me and reminds me that Christmas is almost here.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal, red berries | 5 Comments »
December 7, 2012 by Mike Powell
In the marshland park where I spend a lot of time shooting photographs, there is a small, shallow pond accessible only by an unimproved trail through the woods. It’s really peaceful there. At times there are ducks there or an occasional heron or deer, but usually it’s just me and the trees and the wind and the water. How do you capture that sense of tranquility in a photo? Here’s a modest attempt to do so.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, poind, reflections, trees | 3 Comments »
December 6, 2012 by Mike Powell
Sparrows generally fall into the general category of “little brown birds” for me and I get frustrated when I try to identify them. I decided, however, that I need to learn more about birds and attempted to identify this little bird that perched atop a cattail and provided me with a photo opportunity this past weekend. After some research on-line, I am pretty confident that this is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and I like the way the image captured the beauty of the bird and the fuzziness of the cattails.
I may be wrong about the identification, but my effort has at least caused me to look more closely at the coloration and markings of the birds. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be getting a bird guide (and maybe even some binoculars) soon.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cattail, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow | 8 Comments »
December 6, 2012 by Mike Powell
Monday was a good day for vultures. It was warm and sunny and there must have been lots of thermal updrafts on which to soar. For a short while, a mixed group of turkey vultures and black vultures circles over my head and I couldn’t help but admire again their impressive wingspans. Remembering the response of my fellow photographer and blogger Lyle Krahn to a previous posting I did on vultures, I made sure that I moved around from time to time. He commented, “If I saw that many vultures overhead, I’d be checking my pulse!”
The lighting was pretty interesting that day, for it illuminated one wing more than another, giving the birds an asymmetrical look. I decided to post a similar shot of each of the two types of vultures so that you can see some of the differences between the two.
Turkey vulture
Black vulture
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Black Vulture, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, soaring, turkey vulture, vulture, wingspan | 3 Comments »
December 5, 2012 by Mike Powell
Squirrels always seem full of energy. They run around much of the time gathering food and for enjoyment chase after each other with the reckless abandon of children. It’s fun sometimes just to watch them in their frenetic activity as I was doing one afternoon this past weekend from the inside of my house. One Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) seemed to especially enjoy running along the top of my fence. When he tired a little, he slumped down on the fence with his tail sticking up. I grabbed my camera and carefully made my way outdoors and was able to capture his pose. I like how it turned out, with the different shades of gray, green, and brown in both the foreground and the background. The squirrel’s pose suggests that he is still very alert, even if he is relaxing a little.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, squirrel | 6 Comments »
December 5, 2012 by Mike Powell
The weather at the beginning of this week has been unseasonably warm, with temperatures soaring past 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). Yesterday I spent the entire day indoors at work, but I was able to enjoy this beautiful respite on Monday afternoon, when I spent several hours meandering through the marsh. The day ended with a beautiful sunset that I tried to capture in stages, as the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon. This sunset’s most striking characteristic was the reflected light in the clouds—the colors themselves were as striking as in some other sunsets. We will soon be back to freezing temperatures and gray skies, but I hope that occasionally we will still be treated to these amazing displays of light and color.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Language, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, December, Huntley Meadows Park, sunset | 1 Comment »
December 4, 2012 by Mike Powell
Beaver at Huntley Meadows Park
This past Saturday I introduced you to one of the local beavers in a posting entitled Beaver at dusk. The photos of the beaver were shot at a very high ISO and were pretty grainy. Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to photograph the beaver in better light, when he came out of his lodge an hour or so before sunset. I’m still going through my photos and may work up a few more, but wanted to post one immediately.
He is a beautiful specimen of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis). From what I’ve read, it is almost impossible to tell a male and female beaver apart, except when the female is nursing a kit (baby beavers are called kits), so I may be wrong in using male pronouns with this particular beaver.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, dusk, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver | 11 Comments »
December 4, 2012 by Mike Powell
I always associate bluebirds with happiness, and I am invariably happy when I see one. There is something exceptionally beautiful about the combination of colors, the brilliant royal blue and the warm reddish brown, especially now as winter approaches and the other colors seem so muted.
I grew up with the Wizard of Oz and remember almost all of the lyrics of the the song Over the Rainbow, sung in the movie by Judy Garland. In the song, bluebirds are one of the symbols of hope. “Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?”
Well, I wasn’t beyond the rainbow this past weekend, but I did see this little Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), perched on a small tree in the middle of a field. He was a bit far away so I had to crop the images, which are a bit soft in focus. Nevertheless, I am sure you will agree that his beauty shines through.
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?
Eastern bluebird
Bluebird in a tree
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Bluebird, Huntley Meadows Park, Over the Rainbow, Sialia sialis, Wizard of Oz | 11 Comments »
December 3, 2012 by Mike Powell
This past weekend I visited my local garden, the site of many of my photos during the spring and summer, when I was concentrating my photographic efforts on flowers and insects. I was not surprised to observe that many of my favorite flowers were no longer blooming. Without these bursts of color to distract me, my eyes were drawn to simple elements, like the shapes of the branches that were now visible.
I really liked the color and texture of a particular pod—a milkweed pod, I believe—that was the sole survivor on its plant. I like the texture of the pod and its color, which is a nice contrast with the green of the background. Even the background turned out pretty well, with a few blotches of yellow helping to break up the solid green.
The composition is simple, like several of my recent photos. Maybe I’m going through a phase, but all I know is that I find simple compositions exceptionally appealing at the moment.
Pod composition
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, milkweed pod, pod, simple composition | 4 Comments »
December 3, 2012 by Mike Powell
The beavers in my local marsh have been really busy recently as winter draws near (“busy as beavers,” you might say). Each time I visit the marsh I can see evidence of their handiwork. Hmm, “handiwork” is probably not the right word, since most of the evidence I see is work they have accomplished with their teeth. Maybe I should call it “dentalwork,” but that terms conjures up images of beavers with braces on their teeth. I’ll just call it “work.”
Over the past few weeks I have been noting their progress on chewing through a pretty large tree. First they chewed one side and then it looks like they gradually moved around the circumference of the tree. Circumference? Who says that high school geometry doesn’t have everyday applications? They now have gnawed (try saying that phrase quickly multiple times) into the center of the tree and I expect to see to see a fallen tree soon. I won’t be disappointed, and certainly not crestfallen.
On a slightly more serious note, I am genuinely amazed that the beavers don’t just take down small saplings. I confess that, as a result of living most of my life in the suburbs, I don’t know much about wildlife. It’s fascinating to me to look at all of the individual tooth marks in the wood that bear witness to the persistence of this industrious creature. I also see its work in the mud walls that have been built up along the edges of parts of this little pond and the ever-increasing amounts of mud that have been packed on the lodge.
The beaver is ready for a cold winter. Am I?
Let the chips fall where they may
How do they gnaw this high?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Humor, Landscape, Nature, wildlife | Tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, gnawing, humor, Huntley Meadows Park, tree | 4 Comments »
December 2, 2012 by Mike Powell
What is the main subject of this photo? I know that when I took it, I was intently focusing on the little brown bird. When I pulled the image up on my computer screen and cropped it, however, I became much more interested in the composition. The blurry background with faintly visible trees and the little branches of tree on which the bird has hooked his feet suddenly became of equal importance to me as the bird itself. I find the pose of the bird interesting, but I think its interest is magnified by the simple setting.
What do you think?
Brown bird on little branch
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography | Tagged bird, branch, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, composition, Huntley Meadows Park, little brown bird | 7 Comments »
December 2, 2012 by Mike Powell
It was sunny yesterday afternoon and got up to 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), relatively warm compared to recent frosty mornings. The faded foliage and the coolness of the breeze reminded me that it is late fall. I was therefore shocked when I spotted a little red dragonfly perched on the boardwalk in front of me.
I recognized this one immediately as an Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum), the last dragonfly that I saw weeks ago and I had done a little research. For an instant I lamented that the setting was not a natural one (the boards are of a composite material), but I managed to get off a couple of shots before the dragonfly flew away. For the rest of the afternoon I keep my eyes alert and managed to spot another one in a similar pose. The second time I got down low and tried to get a shot at the level of his beautiful eyes. The first shot below is a cropped version of the resulting photo, intended to highlight some of his features that get lost when you include his wide wings. The second image is the same photo, but showing his wings. I was shooting with a telephoto zooms lens, so his tail is foreshortened a bit from this angle. The third photo is similar to the second, but was taken from a steeper angle looking down. The final image, which was actually the first one taken, was shot looking almost straight down and provides the best view of the details of the tail.
I love dragonflies, but I never expected to see one in December in Northern Virginia. Once again I realize that I need to dream bigger, that I need to be prepared for the unexpected blessings that may come into my life, even modest ones like a beautiful red dragonfly.
Close-up of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly
Face-to-face with Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly
Front view of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly
View from above of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, December, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum | 6 Comments »
December 1, 2012 by Mike Powell
The beavers at my local marshland park have built a lodge that spills onto a bench on the boardwalk and the entrance to the lodge appears to be in the waters underneath the boardwalk itself. There are signs that the beavers have been actively getting ready for winter with new mud walls and fallen trees each time I visit. I’ve only seen a beaver a few times and it has always been a time of reduced visibility, i.e. early morning or late in the day.
As I was walking back toward the park entrance yesterday evening after taking photos of the sunset, I heard noise near the beaver lodge and saw that a beaver was visible through the brush. I snapped a couple of photos, but realized that ISO 400 would not work, so I cranked up the ISO to 1600, the highest that my camera would go. This was uncharted territory for me, because I had already seen prominent grain when I set the ISO at 800. Even with the ISO set that high, the shutter speed was around 1/15 sec, so I tried to keep my camera on my tripod. The beaver was somewhat preoccupied and did not immediately dive, the normal reaction of a beaver when I see them, so I was able to get some shots of the beaver in action.
In many ways, these are aspirational shots, for they reflect photos that I want to take in the future with better results. I am sharing some of them, however, because I find them to be interesting, poor quality notwithstanding. It will definitely be a challenge to figure out a solution to the dilemma of getting quality shots in limited light.
Gathering more sticks for his lodge
Swimming beaver
Beaver with open mouth
Beaver looking at me
Swimming toward the light
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged aspirational, beaver, busy, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dusk, Huntley Meadows Park | 9 Comments »
November 30, 2012 by Mike Powell
I spent much of today at home waiting for a FedEx package that required a signature, so it was late afternoon when I finally managed to get out with my camera. The sun was already pretty low on the horizon when I arrived at my favorite marshland and I didn’t find many subjects to shoot. However, almost as compensation, I was treated to a spectacular sunset. The sky was blue and there were a good number of clouds in the west to reflect the colors of the setting sun. I tried to catch the sun as it was setting as I looked across the marsh; as I looked out to the distant treeline after the sun had already gone down; and as I looked through some nearby trees at the beautiful reds that appeared. It was a gorgeous way to start the weekend.
Looking into the marsh
Looking toward the treeline
Looking through the trees
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, light, shadows, sunset | 12 Comments »
November 30, 2012 by Mike Powell
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) are the smallest of the North American ducks, according to duck.org (yes, that’s really the website), but I find them to be exceptionally beautiful. Their diminutive size and their predilection for congregating at the far reaches of the little pond where I have been photographing ducks have combined to make it really challenging to get good images of them.
Green-winged Teals are dabbling (rather than diving) ducks and they prefer shallow ponds to open water, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As the weather has gotten colder, they may have migrated out of my area now, so I am posting some of the best shots I have of them. I had been holding off, hoping I might get some better photos. The photos at least give you an idea of the duck’s overall appearance and the first photo shows you the green feathers responsible for the its name.
Male Green-winged Teal swimming
Green-winged Teal with bushes
Pair of male Green-winged Teals
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Anas crecca, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, ducks, Green-winged teal, Huntley Meadows Park | Leave a Comment »
November 29, 2012 by Mike Powell
I knew that yesterday was the day of the full moon, so I was disappointed to see that it was already pretty high in the sky when I was driving home from work. I was surprised and pleased this morning as I was taking out the trash to see that the moon was out and was really bright. I rushed into the house, grabbed my camera and tripod and took some initial shots. I must confess that these are the first outdoor shots that I have taken in my slippers. My exposures were not right when I looked at the images on the computer, so I made some adjustments and rushed back outdoors. I blindly set the camera on manual and made some guesses on appropriate settings. I went through that cycle twice more before I got an image that I judged was ok. It’s not perfect (I need to experiment some more on settings), but it looks reasonably close to what my eyes were seeing a few short minutes ago.
Full moon in November
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, full moon, moon | 13 Comments »
November 28, 2012 by Mike Powell
Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) are so small and light that they can perch almost anywhere. I was little surprised, however, when I looked down into the water of the marsh and saw a Downy Woodpecker on a very small piece of wood that was jutting out just a little above the surface of the water. I had never before seen a woodpecker that close to water level.
Downy Woodpecker just above the marsh water
The branch was small, just big enough for him to relax, but the woodpecker was not there to rest—he was there to work. There doesn’t seem like there is much room for him to maneuver, but somehow he got into position and was soon hammering away at that little piece of wood. I was concerned that the vibration might loosen the branch and cause him to tumble into the water, but that didn’t happen.
No piece of wood is too small
I guess that if you are a small woodpecker, almost any piece of wood is fair game—size does not matter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Downy Woodpecker, Huntley Meadows Park, Picoides pubescens, woodpecker | 12 Comments »
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