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Flashing a spider or not?

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Travel, tagged Augusta Canal, Augusta GA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, flash, spider on March 19, 2013| 10 Comments »

Walking along the Augusta Canal for a final time yesterday morning before returning home, I encountered this spider, hanging in the air from a concrete supports of an overpass, and took shots of him without a flash and with one. After being starved for insects over the winter (photographically speaking), I was thrilled to have a chance to photograph one.

I probably should have taken out my macro lens, which I had with me in my bag, but opted instead to shoot with the 55-250mm zoom lens that was on my camera. It was still relatively early in the morning and the the spider was mostly in the shade, so lights was an issue. I upped the ISO to 800, but still needed an exposure of 1/8 of a second at f/9. Fortunately I had my tripod with me, so I used that to get a relatively sharp shot. I shot with the zoom at 250mm and used manual focus.

The first image was with natural light and the second one was taken using the camera’s built-in flash. The light coming from behind the spider in the first shot helps to illuminate the spider’s legs, which look almost translucent. The flash in the second photo reveals some additional details of the spider, although it did add some reflections, because I did not have a diffuser for the flash.

Which one do you prefer?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Really wild life in Georgia

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged armadillo, Augusta GA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Dasypus novemcinctus, Nine-banded Armadillo, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park on March 17, 2013| 23 Comments »

Today I visited the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta, GA, hoping that I might see an alligator. Although I did not spot an alligator, I did encounter this Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the Park. (You can actually count the nine bands).

Initially the armadillo was rooting about in the grass and he startled me a bit when he stood up. I was close to ground level and was looking through my telephoto lens, which made the movement seem a little threatening.

I was surprised to see an armadillo in Georgia—I tend to associate them with places like Texas and Oklahoma—but apparently their range is expanding. Information on the internet suggests that armadillos are mostly nocturnal and come out around dusk. I have no idea why this one chose to be out in the middle of the day.

I may post some other photos of the armadillo, but I thought that this pose was unusual enough to justify posting an image immediately.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Savannah Rapids

Posted in Architecture, Landscape, Photography, Travel, tagged Augusta Canal, Augusta GA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, locks, Savannah Rapids, Savannah RIver on March 17, 2013| 3 Comments »

Savannah Rapids is the starting point of the Augusta Canal, which was built in 1845 as a source of power, water and transportation for Augusta, Georgia. The Canal was designated a National Heritage Area by Congress in 1996 and now serves primarily as a recreational area. (Click on this link for more details on the history of the canal, which served an important role for the Confederacy during the Civil War.)

On a beautiful morning, I walked along the raised tow path for several miles, with the canal on one side and the Savannah River on the other. The trees were starting to bud and even to flower and even to flower on a day that got up to 75 degrees (24 degrees C). Spanish moss was growing on many of the trees, giving them a look that seemed exotic to me.

Here are a few photos I took of the structures associated with managing the flow of the water in the canal. I love the weathered wood and stone and the interplay of light and shadows and reflections.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Morning dove

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Augusta GA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, canon rebel, dove, mourning dove, Zenaida macroura on March 16, 2013| 3 Comments »

This morning I went out exploring a bit in Augusta, GA, where I am attending a family wedding, and came across this Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). The morning rays helped to highlight the beautiful details of its feathers, so I can live with the fact that the wire on which the dove is perched is not exactly a natural setting.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Kingfisher at beaver pond

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Belted Kingfisher, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon on March 16, 2013| 2 Comments »

As I was standing next to the beaver lodge at my local marsh, I heard the unmistakable call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), a sound I had never heard before at that location. After you have heard its sound, described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as a “strident, mechanical rattle,” you can’t help but remember it.

I was a bit surprised to see a kingfisher at that location, because kingfishers usually prefer clear waters, so they can see their prey. The water in the beaver pond is somewhat muddy, but perhaps it is teeming with new life.

I watched for a while as the female Belted Kingfisher (females have orange chest stripe and males don’t) changed positions several times in the tree, perhaps hoping to get a better view of the water. Eventually she dove into the water, but I was unable to tell if she was successful in catching something before she flew away.

The kingfisher was across the pond from me, so the photos are not perfectly sharp, but they do show some of the different positions of this fascinating bird as she gazed intently at the water.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Eastern Painted Turtle

Posted in Nature, Photography, Portraits, Reptiles, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Chrysemys picta picta, Eastern Painted Turtle, Huntley Meadows Park, painted turtle, turtle on March 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Most of the turtles that I have seen on recent sunny days have climbed out of the water entirely to bask in the sun, but this Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) seems to have taken a more tentative approach.

Although he seems poised for a quick reentry into the water, he seemed undisturbed when I approached him to take this photo. The angle of the photo provides a view of the turtle’s torso that I rarely see, and as you can probably tell, I got down pretty low to get the shot.

I was surprised by the amount of red on his body and the length of his claws. When I saw the claws, I decided not to go for an extreme close-up shot. I can only imagine the newspaper headline, “Wildlife photographer mauled by killer turtle.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Harbinger of spring

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged American robin, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, green s, robin, Turdus migratorius on March 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

I remember my parents telling me when I was young that robins are a sign of the imminent arrival of spring and that association remains strong in my mind to this day.

I am now seeing increasingly large numbers of robins and other birds. Flowers are starting to pop up all over, crocuses, daffodils, and others. The air is alive with a sense of joyous expectation, of new growth.

Whenever I see a robin, I instinctively pause and look around for more signs of spring. Life gets so busy that it is useful for me to have reminders that push me outside of the cares of my daily life and cause me to take a closer look at the beauty of nature.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Croaking frog

Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, croaking, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, leopard frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus, Southern Leopard frog on March 14, 2013| 2 Comments »

Have you ever watched a frog as he was croaking?

Apparently he closes his mouth and nostrils, squeezes his lungs, and his vocal sacs expand, looking a lot like a bubblegum bubble.

Southern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus) have a vocal sac on either side of their head, although some other frogs have only a single sac under their chin,

Here’s a shot I took on Monday of one as he was croaking. You can see the vocal sac bubble pretty wellif you look closely at the side of the head nearest the camera.

I am including this additional frog photo, because I really like the way that the bubbles surround his head.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Smiling cardinal

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal on March 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

Can cardinals smile?

This past weekend, I was observing a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in the underbrush. He was busily pecking away, probably searching for something to eat.

All of the sudden he stopped what he was doing. Cocking his head to the side a little, he turned in my direction and smiled, or at least it seemed that way to me. The glint in his eye enhanced the effect, as though he was amused by my antics.

Smiling cardinals? I choose to believe in them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Frog paddle

Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, l, leopard frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus, Southern Leopard frog, swimming frog on March 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I was out again in the marsh, hoping to photograph frogs as they were croaking. Of course, the first problem was finding them. I could hear them throughout the marsh, but many of them were hidden from view in the cattails or far out in the water.

Eventually I was able to locate a few frogs that were within the range of my camera and I am still going through those images. What I was looking to capture was the vocal sacs that expand like little bubbles when they make the croaking sound. I am still not sure if I captured that phenomenon well enough, but plan to post some images later.

One of the frogs that I spotted, a Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus), was apparently unaware of my presence and began swimming slowly in my direction. He seemed to be trying to keep his head above the water and doing a version of what I used to call the “dog paddle”—I may start calling it the “frog paddle” from now on.

This photo shows the swimming frog in mid-stroke, surrounded by lots of bubbles. I am not sure if he is responsible for the bubbles, but they add a nice touch to the photo.

I’m pretty sure that I will be off again soon in search of frogs, snakes, and turtles as me move into spring. Stay tuned, there’s more to come.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Ring-necked Duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Aythya collaris, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, duck, Kingstowne, Ring-necked duck on March 12, 2013| 5 Comments »

It’s a little ironic that I took these photos of a Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), some of my best duck photos, in a man-made pond in my neighborhood, rather than in a more natural setting. I have never seen any Ring-necked Ducks at my marshland park—perhaps the water is not deep enough for these diving ducks—but found them in a very suburban setting.

The light was bright on the day when I watched some of these ducks diving and resurfacing every couple of minutes. The glare was pretty intense on some of my initial photos and I didn’t like the way they turned out.

However, there is a walking trail all of the way around the pond, so I went off in search of a better lighting situation. When I reached an area of open shade, I encountered this duck near the shore. Unlike his fellow ducks, he seemed to be relaxing and was remarkably cooperative in letting me take his portrait.

If you are like most people, you may wonder why this duck is not called a ring-billed duck, because there doesn’t seem to be any ring around his neck. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the bird’s name refers to the hard-to-see chestnut collar on its black neck, which apparently jumped out to the nineteenth century biologists that described the species using dead specimens.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Backlit robin

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American robin, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, robin on March 11, 2013| 3 Comments »

Do you ever take shots that you really like, despite technical flaws, because one aspect of the photo came out really cool?

That was the case with this photo of a robin from this past weekend. It was in the middle of the day and the light was pretty harsh, coming in through the leaves almost directly in front of me. As you can see from the robin’s shoulders, the light bleached out most of the color. However, the light also illuminated the robin’s bill, actually shining through it in a really cool way. I also like the way the background turned out.

I am always willing to look for subjects in all directions, and not just for ones in optimal light. You never know when the light will reward you in unexpected ways.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Red-shouldered Hawks

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Buteo lineatus, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk on March 11, 2013| 4 Comments »

I’m starting to see hawks—primarily Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) with some regularity, but really good shots of these powerful birds have proven to be elusive so far.

I am happy that I am beginning to capture images of the hawks while they are flying, but virtually all of the time they are flying away from me and not toward me, so the hawks do not fill up much of the frame.

Perhaps when the weather is warmer, there will be more prey for the hawks, thereby giving me more chances to get good shots. At a minimum, I’ll have more hours of daylight in which to make my attempts.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Heron in flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, birds in flight, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park on March 10, 2013| 6 Comments »

I was staring intently at some ducks in a secluded area of the marsh, when suddenly my eyes caught sight of movement in one of the trees overlooking the pond. The next think I knew a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), who had apparently been perched on the tree, was flying through the air.

This is the best of the shots that I was able to take. Most of the times that I have attempted a similar shot in the past, the white in the face has been totally blown out. I still need to work on getting a better exposure, but feel like I am making progress. Now if I can just find a cooperative heron.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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First frog of spring

Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Lithobates sphenocephalus, Southern Leopard frog on March 10, 2013| 7 Comments »

Yesterday, the marsh was alive with the sound of music, frog music. Entire areas of the marshland seemed to resound with waves of sounds, some it high-pitched and some of it lower in range. The warm weather, in the low 60’s (16 degrees C), seemed to have roused the frogs from their sleep and they were in the mood to sing.

Although I could identify the general areas of the frog activity, it proved to be very difficult to spot the frogs themselves. My eyes scanned and rescanned the shallow waters near the cattails until at last I spotted a frog.

I think this frog is a Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus), but I am not entirely sure of my identification. You can see from the photo how effectively he is camouflaged.

Frogs and turtles are starting to be active, can the dragonflies be far behind?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Colorful duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, duck, Huntley Meadows Park, mallard on March 9, 2013| 9 Comments »

After endless gray winter days, the beauty of a sunny day seemed magnified and the vivid colors of this mallard duck looked even brighter. I love the shade of blue of the feathers that show through when the ducks are in flight, especially when they are taking off and landing.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Taking a break

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cattails, Downy Woodpecker, Huntley Meadows Park, Picoides pubescens on March 9, 2013| 3 Comments »

At the edge of a cattail patch, this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) was pecking away at the branches of a small tree, moving upward until he had reached the tip of the branch. For a short moment, he took a break from his work and turned his head to the side, which let me take a nice profile shot.

Perhaps he was searching for the next plant to peck, maybe the cattail in the distance.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cloaked against the cold

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, cloak, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal on March 8, 2013| 11 Comments »

On a cool and windy day, this bright scarlet male Northern Cardinal looks like he chose to wrap himself in an old-fashioned cloak for protection from the elements.

I really was struck today by the sharp distinction between the coloration of the head and the rest of the body of this cardinal.

Do cardinals change colors in the spring?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Shooting the ordinary well

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, tagged beauty, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, ordinary, song sparrow on March 8, 2013| 4 Comments »

Do you aspire to photograph extraordinary subjects in exotic locations or are you content to shoot ordinary subjects in nearby locales?

This past winter (well, it’s almost past), I have really enjoyed photographing birds. At times, I have longed to be able to capture awe-inspiring images of hawks and eagles, of ospreys and owls and have thought about the travel and equipment that might be required to do so. Does that make me an adrenaline junkie, always searching for more, someone who requires increasing amounts of excitement to be content?

For the moment at least, I know that the answer is “no.” My pulse still quickens when I see a robin or a cardinal. I will take shot after shot of geese and ducks flying and landing. I am willing to kneel in the mud to try to get yet another shot of a sparrow. Here is one such shot of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) from earlier this week that I really like.

I am content with the ordinary and strive to capture and display its beauty. Cristian Mihai, a wonderful, easy-t0-read blogger, wrote a posting yesterday on beauty, entitled Beauty will save the world that I really recommend. It caused me to think more deeply about my photography, about my goals and motivations. What is is about beauty that prompts a desire to respond, to share it with others?

I started this posting with a false dichotomy, with alternatives that are not mutually exclusive to stimulate thought, the kind of inner examination that I have been conducting. There is no simple answer—sometimes it is sufficient to simply think about the question.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Flying into the woods

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park on March 7, 2013| 6 Comments »

I stood and waited, camera at the ready, as I stared at a hawk in a tree overlooking a field, hoping that he would fly toward me when he spotted a prey.

I waited and waited and finally he took off from the branch. Unfortunately, he flew up in the air and away from me, rather than down and toward me. I tried to track him and snapped off a couple of photos.

I managed to capture him with his wings fully extended as he headed into the woods and was struck by the degree to which he blends in with his surroundings.

I am sure that I will soon find myself in a similar situation, watching and waiting—it’s the fate of those of us who choose to photograph wildlife.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Red-bellied Woodpeckers

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Red-bellied Woodpecker, woodpecker on March 6, 2013| 16 Comments »

Walking through the woods on Monday, I heard the sound of a woodpecker and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).

Most of the woodpeckers that I see are Downy Woodpeckers, which are cute in their own way, but I had been longing to see some of the bigger woodpeckers. Although the woodpecker was fairly high in the tree, I was happy that I managed to get some recognizable shots in different poses.

I stopped in the visitor center as I was leaving the park and happened to glance through the window at the bird feeders. The birds at the feeders tend to be fairly small, including nuthatches, chickadees and tufted titmice. Imagine my surprise when a big woodpecker showed up at the suet feeder—it was another Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Although I was indoors, I decided to take a few shots of the woodpecker. I think I ended up with a pretty cool image, in which the shadow of the wire cage imparted a striped pattern to the bird’s bill. When you first look at the image, you may not even realize that the stripes are added.

Now that I have photographed a medium-sized woodpecker, I will be in search of a Pileated Woodpecker—the superstar of woodpeckers.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Casual robin portrait

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged American robin, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, robin, snow, Turdus migratorius on March 6, 2013| 2 Comments »

A flock of robins was really active in my neighborhood this morning, busily pecking the ground as the freezing rain gradually turned into snow. This American Robin (Turdus migratorius) didn’t even have time to clean up before I took his portrait.

robin_blog

Click on the photo to see a higher-resolution view

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cardinal in the pre-spring

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal on March 6, 2013| 5 Comments »

The sky was a spectacular shade of blue on Monday, providing a beautiful backdrop to this shot of a female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

I’ve posted quite a number of photos of cardinals, primarily of male cardinals, but one of my fellow bloggers commented that you can never have too many photos of these beautiful birds.

I agree.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Muskrat grooming

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on March 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

I am not absolutely sure what this muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) was doing when I took these photos yesterday, but it look to me like he was grooming himself.

I really like the way that you can see his two little front paws in the first photo—he almost looks like he is praying. In the second photo, it appears that he is rubbing something onto his cheek. Was he putting on make-up because he knew that I was photographing him?

I don’t know the beauty secrets of muskrats, but maybe rubbing cattails on your face helps to reduce wrinkles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hungry muskrat

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, marsh, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on March 4, 2013| 6 Comments »

Yesterday was the first time that I was able to get some shots of a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) out of the water, eating and grooming.

The muskrat was at the edge of a patch of cattails that grow in the middle of the beaver pond at my local marshland park and I actually heard his feeding sounds before I was able to see him. He was a pretty good distance away, but the late afternoon sun illuminated the scene from the left and provided enough light for me to focus the camera.

I am going through the other shots that I was able to snap off before he slid into the water, but thought I’d share this image of the muskrat chewing on what looks to be a cattail stalk. I like the way in which the cattails help to frame the image, rather than block the view, which is usually the case.

I went to the marsh yesterday with the hope of getting some photos of the beavers, which did not make an appearance while I was there, but I ended up with something a bit better—one of the serendipitous joys of photographing wildlife.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Stopping for a drink

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow on March 3, 2013| 6 Comments »

Although it is enjoyable and challenging to try to photograph large, colorful birds, I often find myself returning to photographing smaller, more ordinary birds. It’s a different kind of challenge capturing images of these little birds, who seem to be in constant motion.

This afternoon I was able to photograph this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) when he stopped for a moment to get a drink of water.

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Ducks in flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, ducks, Huntley Meadows Park, mallard ducks on March 3, 2013| 5 Comments »

Capturing images of ducks in flight has been a lot more difficult for me that photographing geese. Geese are larger, fly more slowly, and are more predictable than their skittish duck counterparts.

My camera also seems to have a problem grabbing the focus of these smaller birds when they are moving. Nonetheless, I still spring into action whenever ducks take to the air and occasionally I manage to get shots that are pretty much in focus. Here are a few such images of mallard ducks from this past Friday.

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Distinctive call

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged blackbird, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cattails, Huntley Meadows Park, red-winged blackbird on March 2, 2013| 3 Comments »

Red-winged Blackbirds are one of the few birds that I can identify by their call. Yesterday I could tell that there were several blackbirds in the cattails at my local marsh long before I actually saw them, thanks to their very distinctive call. I tried several times to photograph the blackbirds while they were calling out and this was my favorite image.

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Motion and focus

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, focus, Huntley Meadows Park, motion, panning on March 2, 2013| 9 Comments »

What is the best way to capture motion and have the subject in focus? Recently I have been experimenting with different camera settings and shooting techniques in trying to photograph birds in flight.

Yesterday I concentrated a large part of my efforts on Canada Geese (Branta canadensis). They make good test subjects because they are large and relatively slow-flying birds (and there are lots of them). I have done a number of postings of geese taking off and landing and in those cases I usually try to freeze the action. Getting the photo in focus is not always easy, but the action is usually taking place in a small geographic space and that helps a little with getting the focus locked in.

Capturing the geese before they being the landing process or after they are in flight has always been tough for me, but I think my skills are improving with practice. Generally I will try to focus on a single goose to make things easier. Yesterday, though, I decided to try to capture a group of geese flying together and had some success using a panning technique. The background blurred nicely, the necks of the geese are in focus, the wings have a bit of motion blur, and the geese themselves have assumed interesting poses. As I recall, I had my focusing point on one of the geese in the center. Some of the photographers I see with really long telephoto lenses have special mounts on their tripods that let the lenses swing freely as they track the birds, but for the most part I have been taking these shots hand-held.

I used a slightly different technique with a couple of geese that were closer. Using one of the first rules I learned about photographing people and animals, I tried to focus on the nearest eye of one of the geese. Well, actually I probably was trying to keep my focusing point on the goose’s head in reality, but I was thinking of the eye. As you can see, there was not a lot of depth of field, but things worked out well with the face of the nearest goose in pretty sharp focus. The blurry wings provide a nice contrast with the sharper elements and my eyes are drawn to the goose’s eyes and open bill.

For me, experimentation is one of the best ways to learn new things and I am definitely learning more and more about my camera and my techniques, which will help me when I try to photograph subjects, like hawks, that are less cooperative than the Canada Geese.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Reflections on the past

Posted in Architecture, commentary, Inspiration, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, Washington D.C., Washington Monument on March 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

In the orange glow of the sky, the trees cast their reflections on the black granite surface of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

It was a moment to reflect on the names of more than 58,000 men and women whose names are inscribed on the wall. I am old enough to remember the conflicted mood of the country at the time of that war. In the late 1970’s I enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on active duty for twenty years. With that experience, I can’t help but be humbled by the memorial to the sacrifice of so many Americans for the common good.

From certain angles, I could see reflections of the Washington Monument in the wall. It proved to be very difficult, however, to capture that reflection in a photograph. I used my tripod and a long exposure, but never quite captured the feeling of the moment. I am posting one of those efforts as a kind of aspirational shot, one that I hope to shoot better in the future.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Changing my focus

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged autofocus, birds in flight, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park on February 27, 2013| 15 Comments »

Lately I have been playing around with the auto-focus settings on my camera, trying to figure out how they work and deciding when it is appropriate to use each of the modes.

After doing some reading and watching some videos on the internet, I decided to remap one of the buttons on my camera. As a result, I no longer engage the autofocus by pushing down halfway on the shutter release—I engage it by pushing on the * button with my thumb. If you are interested in the reasoning behind this process, you can Google “back-button autofocus.”

Next I decided to experiment with AI Servo mode, which is supposed to be the best mode for moving subjects. Previously, I had been shooting in One Shot mode or AI Focus (which is a hybrid mode). Most of the time, that meant I had to achieve focus separately for each image. I am still having some difficulties with the Servo mode, in part because it’s hard to know for sure if the focus has locked on the subject, since, unlike the other modes, the camera will shoot even if nothing is in focus.

The way that it is supposed to work is that you focus on the subject with the center focus point for 1-2 seconds and then the camera will follow that subject as it moves. In the situation below, I focused on the front goose that looked like he was about to take off. When he took off, I took a sequence of six photos, only two of which were in focus. They were the second and fifth in the sequence and they came out pretty sharp.

I may be overtaxing my ancient Canon Rebel XT by shooting in RAW, shooting bursts, and having the autofocus engaged continuously. Still, it’s fascinating to experiment with the different settings and see what works best for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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