Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Canon 55-250mm zoom lens’

Early morning heron silhouette

Posted in Art, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2012| 1 Comment »

It was early in the morning and I was walking almost directly east along a stream. The sun had already risen and was in my eyes, but I spotted a Great Blue Heron in the water. I was able to get a shot that I knew would turn out as a silhouette, but the heron was standing in such a way that I was pretty confident that his silhouette would be immediately recognizable. The glare caused the color to wash out almost entirely and there are all kinds of artifacts from the light, but I like the overall effect.

Great Blue Heron Silhouette

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Zowie Zinnia

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on October 9, 2012| 4 Comments »

Some words are just fun to say out loud. How can you not smile when you repeat the words “Zowie Zinnia?”

I think that is the correct name for this colorful little flower, which helps to brighten up the gloomy weather that has descended on us the last few days. Zowies usually have much more showy displays, but I like the way that the colors and shape of this young plant are set off against the backdrop of the dark green leaves.

“Zowie!”—it sounds like something Robin would say to Batman (and of course it would need to be punctuated with an exclamation point).

Zowie Zinnia

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Focused blue heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 8, 2012| 1 Comment »

This is another shot of the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) who was so cooperative today in permitting me to get close to him. In this shot, his eyes are fixed intently on the water, which unfortunately was covered with some combination of algae and duckweed. There was virtually no way for him to spot any potential prey below the surface of the water. His body seems coiled, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. He remained in this position for quite some time, but eventually he relaxed and gave up the hunt. Later, he moved to the other small pond and was equally unsuccessful there.

Focused blue heron (click for a higher resolution view)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Cooperative blue heron

Posted in Birds, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 8, 2012| 5 Comments »

I was lucky today. Normally when I have tried to photograph Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), I have had to do so at the maximum range of my telephoto zoom lens and even then would have to crop the image significantly. The result has been that my photos have not been as sharp or detailed as I would have liked.

Today was different. I was walking around the little ponds at Green Spring Gardens, a county-run historical park where I had previously taken photos of a green heron, when I startled a Great Blue Heron who had been perched in a tree. He flew off high into a tree across the pond and remained there as I followed him and tried to take some photos. I have not yet looked at those photos, but suspect that they are a little distorted, given that I was shooting almost straight up.

It started to drizzle a bit. When all of the other visitors left, the heron flew down from the tree and landed no more than 30 feet from me. He wandered along the water’s edge, periodically entering the water and staring intently at its surface, probably searching for something to eat. I cautiously approached him and he let me get with fifteen feet or so of him and I even circled around him trying to get a decent angle and background for a shot. How close was I? At times I could not use the full range of my 55-250mm lens if I wanted to capture his whole body.

Here is one of my initial favorite shots. I shot it with the lens extended to 194mm with settings of f9.0, 1/200 sec, ISO 400, and an exposure compensation of -.67. Other than a little sharpening and a little cropping, this is the way the image came out of the camera.

Indeed, I was lucky today to encounter an unusually cooperative Great Blue Heron.

Cooperative Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wading for food

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 8, 2012| 3 Comments »

I became engrossed watching some little shorebirds (or wading birds) this past weekend as I was attempting to photograph herons and egrets at Cameron Run, a stream tributary of the Potomac River. These small birds (there was a little group of them) would zigzag through the shallow water and periodically bob down to peck at some tasty morsel of food. They seemed to be aware of my presence and would move away whenever I tried to approach them, although they would not fly completely away.

I was unable to get any clear close-up photos of these unidentified birds, but I did manage to produce this image that I really like. There is a kind of graphic quality to the photo and the light and the reflections are nice, even though it is obviously no technical masterpiece.

Wading bird at Cameron Run

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Barcode caterpillar

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on October 7, 2012| 7 Comments »

Some of my friends of Facebook think that I make up the name of some of the insects whose pictures I post. After all, can there really be an insect called the Handsome Meadow Katydid? Normally, the official names are so strange that there is no need to invent new ones.

Today, however, I decided to  make up a name for a caterpillar that my friend Cindy Dyer helped me identify earlier in the summer, when I did a posting entitled Patterned Caterpillar. The caterpillar’s real name is a Cattail caterpillar (Simyra insularis) and I photographed it this weekend at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, VA.

This caterpillar’s black-and-white patterns are such a perfect match for those ubiquitous markings found on all products that I want to rename it as the Barcode caterpillar.  What would register if you scanned this caterpillar at the checkout counter at a store?

Cattail caterpillar (Simyra insularis)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wrong lens, right decision

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

The day was winding down as I retraced my steps back to entrance of Green Spring Gardens, when I caught a glimpse of a Spotted Cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata). My initial instinct was to switch from my 55-250mm telephoto zoom lens  to my 100mm macro lens so that I could fill the frame with this colorful little insect on a single flower.

I was tired and a little impatient, so I decided to photograph the beetle with the “wrong” lens. In retrospect, I am happy that I made that decision, because I ended up with an image that I really like. Yes, the beetle is still there, but the shape and positions of individual buds of the flower are what make this image stand out for me.

What did I learn? I realize that I need to consciously question my initial instincts and consider shooting a usual subject in an unusual way. I can’t always rely on fatigue to be the causative factor for a good result.

Spotted Cucumber beetle on red flower

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Fall leaves before they fall

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on October 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

Over the past month I have complained repeatedly about the lack of bright color in the fall foliage here in the Washington, D.C. area. The muted color changes just do not match up to my childhood memories of spectacular displays of red, orange, and yellow leaves in the trees of New England. As a result, I have not felt inspired to take up my camera and capture the changing season.

My attitude changed, though, when I read an article by Sparky Stensaas in The Photonaturalist entitled 10 Reasons NOT to Take Fall Leaf Photos. I encourage you to read the article (by following the link above) if you keep coming up with excuses, as I did, why you cannot photograph the leaves of the fall. The author summarized the article in this concluding paragraph:

“There you have it…A bunch of reasons NOT to shoot this fall’s gorgeous leaves…And a bunch of solutions to these common excuses. Now let’s get out there and shoot like crazy before all the leaves are gone!”

Feeling a bit more motivated, I set out yesterday determined to take some shots, among other things, of the autumn leaves. I tried a number of different approaches and am still sorting through my photos, but thought I’d post this one that caught my attention.

Fall leaves before they fall

I was walking through a path in the woods when I came into a small area where the sunlight was shining directly in my eyes, providing some backlighting for these leaves that were almost at eye-level. The leaves themselves are far from being perfect specimens, speckled as they are with brown spots. For the moment, the leaves remain attached to the tree, but inevitably they will drop to the ground to join the ranks of the fallen.  The colors, shapes, and textures of these leaves, however, serve as visual reminders for me of the beauty of the changing seasons, a beauty that may proclaim itself in bold swaths of spectacular color or speak with a quieter, more intimate voice.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Blue heron in the underbrush

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 6, 2012| 1 Comment »

Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) look graceful when they are flying or when they are wading, but they sure look awkward and gawky when on dry land. This heron seemed to be taking a break in the shade on a sunny, fall day. I took this photograph yesterday at Cameron Run, a tributary stream of the Potomac River, where I often see both egrets and heron. I do not know if they will remain here through the winter, but I hope that they do.

Great Blue Heron in the underbrush

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Monarch and a lady on yellow flowers

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 6, 2012| 3 Comments »

We continue to fade to brown, with only muted color changes as the leaves begin to fall from the tree. As if to compensate for the lack of spectacular foliage, brightly colored flowers are still blooming. I managed to get some shots of equally colorful insects interacting with yellow flowers. When I see Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexxipus), they are usually in the midst of blooming flowers, but I was surprised to also see a shiny red ladybug near the center of a yellow flower.

Monarch butterfly on yellow flower

Ladybug on yellow flower

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Egretfully yours

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 5, 2012| 6 Comments »

As many of you know, periodically I try to take photographs of the Great Egrets (Ardea alba) that are often present in the waters or the trees of Cameron Run, a tributary stream of the Potomac River. Usually I am frustrated, because the bright white bodies of the egrets caused my images to be overexposed and the highlights are almost always blown out.

Today, the light was a little more forgiving and I was able to capture an image of an egret with the light coming from the side. There is a dramatic glow surrounding part of its body and a nice reflection in the water. It is certainly not a perfect photo, but I like the way that it turned out.

Egret with dramatic lighting

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Snapping turtle on dry land

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2012| 7 Comments »

This summer has been a dry one and the recent fall rains have not done much to replenish the water in the local marshes. Recently I came across this snapping turtle in a sunny area relatively far from the water. The turtle looked like he was starting to dry out a little and I feared that he might be trouble. Fortunately, when I came back a little later, he had disappeared, presumably to another location with water, or at least shade.

I love the amazing texture of the neck area and even the head of the snapping turtle. I considered doing this photo in black and white to emphasize that texture, but would have lost the beautiful gold circles in his eyes and the green of the plants that make a semi-circle around his face.

When I gaze into the eyes of this snapping turtle, I am reminded of Yoda, the wizened sage of Star Wars, who had seen a lot during his nine hundred years. The turtle also seems to have the bemused, yet sad expression on his face that Yoda displayed when he was trying to train the young, impatient Luke Skywalker and said these words:

“Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.”  (quote from imbd.com)

Snapping turtle on dry land

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Nature’s own Cirque du Soleil

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 4, 2012| 6 Comments »

Several years ago I saw one of the Cirque du Soleil productions, an event full of dazzling costumes and amazing acrobatic feats. Memories of that unforgettable experience were triggered when I first viewed this photo of another Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum) at Huntley Meadows Park. I have previously posted a number of different images of this very photogenic insect, but this one shows my beautiful friend in action, rather than in a static pose.

Acrobatic Handsome Meadow Katydid

I recall how the acrobats of the Cirque du Soleil were suspended high in mid-air, holding on (often with what seemed to be a single toe) to a trapeze or to a slender rope. My little katydid is not risking his life in that way, but I do find it amazing how he is clinging to the single stalk of grass. His brilliant colors continue to amaze me and the red blotches on his face accentuate the circus-like effect, as you can see in this close-up view of his face.

Close-up view of a Handsome Meadow Katydid

I will be a little sad when I stop seeing my colorful little friends at Huntley Meadows Park, but the memories will remain. Perhaps  in the future, some brightly colored object or acrobatic pose will trigger memories of these katydids, nature’s own Cirque du Soleil.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Cheetah with tongue stuck out

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on October 2, 2012| 6 Comments »

I was observing three cheetahs at the National Zoo for quite some time when one of them decided to enter the dug out area of their habitat where two cheetahs were already lying down. Just before he entered it, he turned in my direction and stuck out his tongue. I have no idea what he might have been trying to communicate to me. Perhaps he was no longer interested in my antics and was trying to tell me so or maybe it was his way of saying goodnight. Whatever his intention, it makes for an interesting photo.

Cheetah sticking out his tongue

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Brown pelican

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, zoo, tagged , , , , , , on October 2, 2012| 7 Comments »

A month ago the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. opened up a newly renovated, $42 million exhibit called the American Trail that highlights species of North American wildlife. The zoo’s website (which contains lots of information about the animals and great photos) notes that the majority of the American Trail species have rebounded after facing serious threats, thanks to the conservation efforts of many organizations, including the National Zoo.

This brown pelican is part of the American Trail exhibit. I don’t think that I had ever seen one live, and certainly not so close up. I love the beautiful colors of this bird and its wonderful pose, and it seemed willing to cooperate when I was taking the photographs.

Brown pelican at National Zoo

Unlike my photos of the red panda and cheetahs, I was not shooting without obstructions—here was a fence between me and the pelican. Following instructions that I read somewhere recently, I got as close to the fence as I could and opened up the aperture (to F5.6 in this case) and the fence seems to have disappeared.

Now that I have taken a few photographs at the zoo and had some success, I think that I will probably add it to my list of local places where I can find interesting subjects to photograph.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Green-eyed Eastern Carpenter bee

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on October 1, 2012| 3 Comments »

It was a dark and cloudy afternoon and the rain was threatening to start at any moment (and eventually did). Even my usual grasshoppers and spiders seemed to have disappeared from sight. I was losing hope that I would find anything interesting to photograph when I stumbled upon a large bee on a bright yellow plant.

It looked like a carpenter bee, but the eyes were unusually light in color. I am pretty sure that it is an Eastern Carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) and the white patch on the face indicates that it is a male. There are other photos on-line of carpenter bees with green eyes, but I am not sure how common it is to find one like this. I don’t recall ever seeing one like it before.

Male Eastern Carpenter bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Red panda at the National Zoo

Posted in animals, Photography, wildlife, zoo, tagged , , , , , , on October 1, 2012| 8 Comments »

I photographed this red panda (Ailurus fulgens) this past weekend in Washington, D.C. at the National Zoo. According to Wikipedia, red pandas are native to the Himalayas and southwestern China. Like the better-known giant pandas, red pandas eat mostly bamboo, although they may also eat eggs, insects, birds, and small mammals.

I will probably post a few more shots of this red panda in the next few days, when I have gone through my zoo photos. However, I wanted to make a preliminary introduction of this delightful animal, suspecting that many of you may be unaware of the existence of a red panda. (Previously red pandas were classified in the families of racoons and bears, but now they have their own family and are the only extant species of the genus Ailurus.)

Red panda at the National Zoo

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Asiatic dayflower

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on October 1, 2012| 5 Comments »

This past weekend some small blue wildflowers caught my eye. They seemed a bit unusual, because they had two large blue petals and what appeared to be smaller white petals. In addition, they had really long stamen.

According to a Wikipedia article, these are Asiatic dayflowers (Commelina communis), a plant native to East and Southeast Asia that has been introduced into the eastern part of the United States. The flowers are used in traditional Chinese medicine and they are used to produce a dye in Japan.

As is frequently the case with wildflowers, there seems to be some debate about whether this is a weed or a flower. Call it what you will, it is a strikingly beautiful plant.

Asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Portrait of a beautiful cheetah

Posted in Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , on September 30, 2012| 4 Comments »

Photographed yesterday at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. where I spent hours observing the cheetahs. There is so much to love about cheetahs—their elegance, speed, coloration, and strength. This image shows that they also have beautiful eyes.

Portrait of a cheetah at the National Zoo

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Odd Duck

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2012| 4 Comments »

Walking along Rock Creek in Washington, D.C. on my way to the National Zoo yesterday, I came upon some ducks in a area of the creek where the water was still. I knew that they were ducks, but when I zoomed in on them I was surprised. One of them was the most unusually colored duck that I have ever seen, with a strangely shaped head, brightly colored feathers, and red eyes.

Male wood duck in Rock Creek

I did some research and discovered that this is a male wood duck. If you had asked me yesterday about wood ducks, I would have thought you were talking about those hand-painted decoys.

I managed to get a shot of the male wood duck swimming along with a female wood duck. The photo is not quite as clear as the first one, but it shows the difference in coloration between the male and the female. The female is more delicately beautiful than the male, who is really ostentatious in appearance.

Female and male wood ducks in Rock Creek

I seem to have a knack in discovering brightly colored creatures, whether they be grasshoppers or duck. I hope my good fortune continues.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Cheetahs at the National Zoo

Posted in Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 30, 2012| 6 Comments »

I visited the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. this afternoon and spent the lion’s share of the time with the cheetahs. National Zoo has a very active cheetah conservation program that you can lean more about on its website. At the moment there are six cheetahs (three brothers, one female, and two cubs) that live at the zoo, according to the website.

Most of my time was spent with what I believe was the three brothers (named Draco, Granger, and Zabini), who were  together in a single outdoor enclosure. If they were brothers, one of them seemed to be considerably larger than the other two. The zoo website indicates that the brothers were born in 2005.

I haven’t had a chance to go through all my photos, but thought I’d post a couple as a kind of sneak preview. I know that some folks object to photographing animals in captivity and apologize if I have offended anyone.  However, especially in the case of the cheetahs, I encourage you to check out the work that is being done to preserve this magnificent species as well as others.

Cheetah in the grass

Cheetah walking

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wheel bug

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2012| 9 Comments »

Wandering yesterday through the marshy area of Huntley Meadows Park, I spotted a large bug perched near the top of one of the cattails. I could not really see for sure what it was and it flew away as soon as I took one photo. When I opened the image on my computer, I saw that I had captured an image of a strange-looking bug that seemed to have the blade of a circular saw embedded in its back.

It did not take much of a search on the internet for me to discover that it is a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus). The University of Florida Entomology Department website notes that the wheel bug is an assassin bug that administers a very painful bite, described as worse than the bite of a bee, wasp, or hornet. Wheel bug saliva contains a toxic, paralytic substance that immobilizes and kills its victims (caterpillars, bees, aphids, and other insects) usually within 15 to 30 seconds after injection.

Personally, I think this insect looks like a miniature dinosaur or something out of a low-budget science fiction movie. In any case, it is certainly one of the strangest looking creatures that I have ever encountered.

Wheel bug surveys the situation from a cattail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Oblivious to the changing seasons

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 29, 2012| 9 Comments »

As we move deeper into autumn, I expect to find the colors orange and yellow only in the fall foliage or an occasional sunset. Yesterday, I was surprised to see this orange-and-yellow butterfly flitting from flower to flower, seemingly oblivious to the changing seasons. Doesn’t he know it’s almost October? Is it eternally spring for a butterfly?

Butterfly in late September

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Mating damselflies

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 28, 2012| 4 Comments »

Damseflies are really small and if they were not brightly colored, they would be difficult to see. However, when there are two of them flying together (really together), they are slightly easier to detect. Anatomically speaking, I am having a little trouble figuring how the mating takes place with the damselflies as pictured below, but suffice it to say that damselflies are more flexible and acrobatic than I had previously thought.

I took these shots this afternoon at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, VA.  Getting a decent image was a bit of a challenge because I was shooting from a raised boardwalk almost two feet above the water level and the damselflies keep landing on vegetation that was just in the shadows underneath the boardwalk. As a result, my position sometimes resembled that of the lighter-colored damselfly.

Close-up of mating damselflies

Mating damselflies

Acrobatic mating damselflies

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Dancing in the trees

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 27, 2012| 8 Comments »

This shot has some great elements—a Great White Egret and a Great Blue Heron,  practicing together in the trees for their audition for “Dancing With the Stars.” They look to be almost perfectly synchronized, though the heron may need to work on his neck position. From a technical perspective, alas, the shot is far from great, but it was interesting enough that I decided to share it.

I frequently see egrets roosting in the trees along Cameron Run, a stream in Alexandria, Virginia that feeds into the Potomac River, but this is the first time that I had seen a blue heron fly into the trees. I was shooting from a running path that parallels one side of the stream.  Shooting across a considerable amount of growth as well as the stream itself, I find it difficult to get a close-up shot. In this photo, I had startled the heron and he took off into the trees, startling the egret, who was already perched there.

Dancing in the trees

I continue to have difficulties getting good shost of the egret, because there is often glare and it is hard to keep the highlights from blowing out. Here is a shot of an egret in partial shade that has some detail, but I can’t seem to keep the detail without imparting a grayish tinge to what is a really white bird. I will definitely keep trying, though, because I find the egrets and herons to be fascinating to watch in their almost geeky gawkiness.

Egret in a tree along Cameron Run

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Colorful fall caterpillar

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

The bright green leaves of the plants in the marsh have faded and most of the colors are more subdued than in early summer. Against that muted backdrop, I was surprised to come across a brightly colored caterpillar this past weekend. It looks a bit like the Cattail Caterpillar (Simyra insularis) that I photographed and described earlier this year, although the spiky red tufts are more extreme on this caterpillar. I think I can detect the prominent black and white pattern that was so visible in the image that I posted previously.

This is the first year that I have paid close attention to the cyclical changes in plants, animals, birds, and insects. I am excited to see what new species will come into my field of vision as we move through the fall.

UPDATE: I did a little more research and now think that this caterpillar is actually a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita).

Colorful caterpillar in late September

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Clawing your way to the top

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 25, 2012| 10 Comments »

Basking in the warmth and light of the fall sun, turtles of all sizes were perched on the logs and other chunks of wood in the muddy waters of a local marsh pond. I was struck by the attitude of this red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans), whose stiff-necked and imperious pose seemed almost aristocratic. He had gained this prime piece of real estate by crawling over one of his fellow turtles and was now standing on that turtle’s back to provide himself better access to the sun.

I have to admit that he is beautiful and I suspect that he would be the first to tell me so if he could speak.

Red-eared slider turtle basking in the sun

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Reflection of an egret

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2012| 7 Comments »

It’s been at least a few weeks since I last photographed the Great White Egrets that inhabit the Cameron Run area of Alexandria, VA.  It was immediately obvious to me this past weekend that the dry summer has affected this tributary of the Potomac River and the water was really low in many places.

I was happy to stumble upon an egret standing out of the water on some rocks. The sky was a brilliant blue and it was reflected beautifully into the water, as was the egret itself. Behind the egret, the water was in the shadows and was a deep shade of green, contrasting nicely with the blue and white of the sky and the clouds. The rocks reflected the light and their highlights were a little blown out, but not outrageously so.

As we move into the fall, I am not sure if the Great Blue Herons and Great White Egrets will remain in the area. I hope that I will have the chance to photographs these wonderful birds later in the year.

Great White Egret in Cameron Run, Alexandria VA

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , on September 24, 2012| 11 Comments »

I still can’t get over the striking blue eyes of a Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), so I am posting a shot from yesterday that highlights that feature (and my apologies to Frank Sinatra for borrowing the title of his 1973 album for this post).

The katydid almost seemed to be looking right up at me, perhaps wondering why I am disturbing him. I find the details of his feet to be utterly fascinating and I’ve made sure that you can see some of the many neon-like colors of his body.

Check out some of my other postings if this is your first encounter with this gorgeous katydid. You’re almost certain to fall in love with him too.

Ol’ Blue Eyes (Handsome Meadow Katydid)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Backlit cattails

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on September 24, 2012| 4 Comments »

As the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky yesterday, I was struck by the way in which the light caused the cattails to glow. Many of the cattails had already burst into masses of cottony fibers and the backlighting showed them in wonderful detail and texture.

I tried to capture this beauty, but it was difficult shooting directly into the sun and I ended up with all kinds of light artifacts. Because I was mostly interested in the effects of the light, I decided to experiment this morning and converted one of the photos into black and white and played around with it (probably too much).

I think I need to read up some more on how to convert images to black and white and how to tweak them, but for now I’ll continue to enjoy the process of experimentation. I might stumble onto something really good.

Backlit cattails in the marsh

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

A common day

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 22, 2012| 7 Comments »

Yesterday was a common day for finding subjects to photograph. I already posted a photo of a Common Whitetail dragonfly. Here’s a photo of the Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia).

A month ago I featured the Common Buckeye in a posting after my first encounter with this type of butterfly. Yesterday I was shooting in the middle of the day and there was more sunlight that I would have liked when. However, I managed to get a shot of the butterfly in which the sun is shining through one of its wings, highlighting the beauty of those wings. There are still some harsh shadows in the photo and the colors are not as saturated as they would have been with more diffused light, but I find that the colors and patterns of this butterfly make it uncommonly beautiful.

Common Buckeye butterfly in mid-September

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »