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Posts Tagged ‘Canon 55-250mm zoom lens’

Tree growth

Posted in Art, commentary, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged abstract, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, mushroom, tree on February 8, 2013| 9 Comments »

What is this thing? If I squint my eyes a little, it looks like a weathered sandstone formation on the side of a steep mountain, with beautiful colors and textures.

When reality intervenes, I have to acknowledge that this is only a tree with some kind of growth on its side. I suspect that it’s a mushroom or some other kind of fungus, but I am not sure. Maybe it’s the tree version of a tumor.

Mostly, though, I don’t worry about answering my initial question—it’s not that important for me to identify what this is. I can enjoy its beauty in an abstract way by focusing on its shape and color and texture, by looking at the highlights and the shadows.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hawk in the woods

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bird in flight, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, woods on February 7, 2013| 3 Comments »

I continue to try to photograph every hawk that I see. This past weekend I encountered a hawk that was perched relatively low in a tree that was pretty far away. I got a couple of shots of the hawk in the tree that had a surprisingly large number of leaves still on it.

As I was setting up my tripod to try to get a steadier shot, the hawk took off. Instead of flying up, he flew down low across a field with trees in the background. Although I didn’t really think I would be able to get a decent shot, I kept shooting and got the shot below. I like the position of the hawk and the contrast between its light brown color and the darker tones of the tree. It not often that I get a chance to take a photo of a hawk in flight at that angle.

I am also including one of the shots of the hawk in the tree in the hope that someone will be able to help me identify his type.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Quite a mouthful

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Huntley Meadows Park, squirrel on February 7, 2013| 9 Comments »

Although this looks like a fall shot, with the faded leaves still on the trees and the squirrel gathering materials to insulate his nest, I took the photo this past weekend.

When I first saw the squirrel, I couldn’t figure out what he had in his mouth, but I could see that it was bigger than the acorns on which I usually see squirrels gnawing. With our recent cold weather, I thought that perhaps the squirrel had become an omnivore and had snatched up a field mouse or other such creature to supplement his diet.

The reality is much more benign. It looks like he is merely gathering materials for his nest. According to Wikipedia, one of the breeding seasons for the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) runs from December to February. It is likely that the activity that I photographed is related to preparations for the potentially imminent arrival of baby squirrels, which normally are born in February or March (or May to June).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Winter geometry

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged abstract, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, geometry, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, marsh, snow on February 6, 2013| 3 Comments »

I love the way that a small amount of snow brings out geometric shapes that might otherwise be hidden from view, like these sinuous curves at the edge of the marsh. The iced-over water has a darker tone that contrasts with the white of the snow and gives this photo an abstract quality that I really like. The texture of the wood in the foreground and its angular line add another element of contrast.

This shot is somewhat atypical for me in that it does not contain living creatures and is not a close-up—some days shapes and patterns and light and geometry are sufficient to attract my attention.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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My local beaver lodge

Posted in animals, Architecture, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged beaver, boardwalk, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, lodge, North American Beaver on February 5, 2013| 4 Comments »

If you look carefully at this photo you can see why I am able to take photos of the local beavers—when I am standing on the boardwalk I am virtually on top of their lodge in the center of the beaver pond.

About 18 months ago, the county replaced the boardwalk surface at Huntley Meadows Park with a synthetic material and shortly thereafter the beavers relocated themselves from another area of the park. I am not sure how the beavers decided on this spot, but they took over one of the benches on the boardwalk and integrated it into their architectural plans. This fall I followed their progress as they added mud and branches to the lodge and built up the walls surrounding the beaver pond.

The entrance to the lodge seems to be underneath the board walk itself and the recent photos I have taken of the beavers and muskrats have been in the pond area to the right. This is also one of my favorite spots for photographing geese and ducks taking off and landing and, during the summer, for getting shots of dragonflies, frogs, and turtles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Emerging from the icy waters

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, icy waters, North American Beaver on February 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

I was fortunate enough this past weekend to be present as one of the beavers at my local marsh first emerged from the icy waters of the beaver pond and got a series of shots of that process.

It was late in the afternoon and a thin layer of ice covered the small area of open water that the beavers had cleared about 30-35 feet (9-10 meters) from their lodge. I could hear some activity in the beaver lodge and then I saw the shadow of a beaver swimming toward the hole in the ice.

When he reached the opening, the beaver stuck his head out of the ice and then more of his body. The beaver never did come out of the water completely, but seemed content to breathe in the cool, fresh air. From what I have been able to learn, the inside of the beaver lodge is pretty crowded and the air probably gets fetid, which may explain why fresh air was the beaver’s first priority.

I like all three of these shots, but the third one is my favorite. The beaver’s position is especially interesting, as he tips his head back and arches his back a little, as if to let in even more fresh air.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Marsh at dusk

Posted in Landscape, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dusk, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, marsh, reflections on February 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

Preparing to leave “my” marsh yesterday afternoon, I looked over the frozen fields and waters and was struck by the beauty of the light and the reflections of the sky in the puddles. The scene was awash in shades of blue and gray. Somehow the photo of the scene is not quite as beautiful as I remembered, but I decided not to tweak it much. In addition to capturing the moment, this photo also provides you with a view of part of the marshland where I take so many of my photos.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Can you hear me now?

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, geese, Huntley Meadows Park, loud on February 4, 2013| 8 Comments »

I really like to show contrasts, like the difference in the expressions and body positions of these two Canada Geese.

What prompted the one on the right to get so vocal and in the face of the other? Is this the kind of taunting that I see so often in professional sports? Is it some kind of marital misunderstanding? Is the one on the right playing the role of a drill sergeant dealing with a recruit?

Whatever the cause, one I know for sure—at close range the honking was earsplittingly loud. I can only imagine the goose on the right reprising the line from a television commercial for a phone company, “Can you hear me now?”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Swimming muskrat

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

In my last posting, there were photos of what might have been a muskrat or maybe a beaver—this time I know it is a muskrat, because I can see its skinny tail.

I watched as this muskrat ferried back supplies of what I assume is food from the cattail field to the area where he lives. I was standing on a boardwalk and was able to photograph him from above as he swam right toward me. Because of the size of the stalk he was carrying, he swam mostly above water, rather than swimming under water as he normally does.

Once he got closer to me, he dove and I lost sight of him.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Possible muskrat on ice

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on February 4, 2013| 3 Comments »

On days when I am trying to get photos of the beavers at my local marshland park, I sometimes see muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) swimming in the beaver pond. The muskrats seem to be swimming from the direction of the beaver lodge so often that I wonder if they are sharing the lodge with the beavers.

Today, there was a thin layer of ice on the beaver pond, but the muskrats had created an open-water channel that they seemed to be using to get to the cattails, one of the foods they eat. Frequently the muskrats will dive and swim away when they become aware of my presence.

Today, however, I was able to get a couple of shots of what I think is one of the muskrats partially out of the water on the ice. It was getting close to sunset and the animal was some distance away, so my photos ended up a a bit grainy and soft. The more I look at the photos, the more I am conflicted about whether this is a large muskrat or a small beaver. Since I haven’t seen a muskrat out of water, I am not sure about its body shape.

Whatever he is, I especially like the pose of the animal in the first image. In the second shot, he almost looks like he is praying—it was a Sunday, after all.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Winter mallard

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, duck, Huntley Meadows Park, mallard, mallard duck on February 3, 2013| 4 Comments »

It was cold and windy on Friday, but the sun was shining, permitting me to take this portrait of a resting male mallard. The subject is ordinary, but the lighting was wonderful and the bright colors of his head and bill really pop, including in his reflection in the brown waters of the beaver pond. I even managed to capture a little catch light in his eye.

It’s exciting to take photos of extraordinary subjects, but most often I am content to try to reveal some of the beauty in the ordinary things that I encounter every day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrow singing

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, song sparrow, sparrow, swamp sparrow on February 3, 2013| 8 Comments »

On days when no other birds are visibly active, I can always count on the sparrows to be hard at work, often accompanying their work with a song. As I watched, this sparrow (which seems to be either a Song or Swamp Sparrow) took a break from his activities and burst into song, as though compelled to share his joy and excitement with the rest of the world.

Wouldn’t it be great if we felt that way too and felt free enough to share it with others?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Almost super bowl

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, mushroom, mushroom bowl, super bowl on February 2, 2013| 5 Comments »

Walking through the woods yesterday, I stumbled across this mushroom bowl on a mossy log—so beautiful that I might call it “super,” but probably need expensive market rights to call it a “super bowl.”

Seriously, though, I really do like the color and texture of the mushroom itself and the little splashes of yellow and green in the foreground. The snow in the bowl and to the side also adds a nice touch. If I remember correctly, this may have been one of the images when I used my camera’s built-in flash to throw a little light into the center of the mushroom bowl.

Until spring comes, I will probably look for more of these flower-like fungi to satisfy my desire to photograph beautiful inanimate objects (it takes more than birds and beasts to keep me satisfied).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Incoming vulture

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, turkey vulture, vulture on February 2, 2013| 10 Comments »

My curiosity turned to discomfort yesterday when I realized that the large bird diving in my direction was a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura).

In the past, the only Turkey Vultures that I had seen were soaring high in the sky, but this one got close enough for me to see his red head. As he got a bit closer, I realized that his angle of flight would take him farther away from me than I had initially thought. Just to be sure that he did alter his course and head toward me, however, I moved around vigorously to let him know that I was still alive.

You can never be too cautious when it comes to vultures.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Landing right in front of me

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, goose, Huntley Meadows Park, landing on February 2, 2013| 12 Comments »

As the insistent honking got louder, I scanned the horizon for approaching geese and saw none.

Suddenly a pair of Canada Geese swooped over a nearby treeline and headed right at me as I stood on the boardwalk at my local marshland park. They were closing so quickly that it was hard to get my focus to lock on. At the same time I also had to adjust my zoom lens. Normally I photograph birds at the far end of my 55-250mm zoom lens, but the geese were filling up so much of the frame that I had to zoom out.

This is my best shot from the encounter. The goose and I were able to look each other straight in the eye at that moment. The background has a nice blur, because I was shooting at f5.6, and a fair amount of the goose is in focus. I like the goose’s position too as he strains forward in preparation for the water landing. (Click on the photo to see more details)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Fanned tail or not?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Buteo lineatus, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk, soaring on February 1, 2013| 11 Comments »

Why do some hawks fan their tails out when they are soaring and others don’t?

On an overcast day earlier this week, I was watching two hawks soaring through the air together, when I happened to notice that one of them kept his tail fanned out all of the time. His tail was so noticeably striped that I am pretty sure that he is a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). The other hawk, however, never fanned out his tail. Looking at the wings of the two hawks, I think they are probably the same kind, although one of them looks to have a somewhat longer body.

So I am left wondering why, under the same conditions, they each chose to us their tails differently.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Winter color in the woods

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, fungi, fungus, Huntley Meadows Park, mushrooms on January 31, 2013| 9 Comments »

Inspired by the marvelous posts of fellow blogger Allen of N.H. Garden Solutions, I decided to keep my eyes open for mushrooms and other such growths when I made my forays into the woods last weekend. Allen always seems to discover a veritable cornucopia of vegetation, mushrooms, lichens, and slime molds, but my “catch” was much more modest (and I can’t even really identify the items I saw).

The first photo depicts what I think is a somewhat weathered mushroom that was growing on a tree mostly surrounded by green vines with very sharp thorns. I really like the texture of the surface of the mushroom and its coloration.

The second photo shows some kind of mushroom, possibly a kind of turkey tail mushroom. I like the concentric multi-color pattern, which reminds me of the growth rings of a tree.

In many ways these mushrooms are as beautiful and as colorful as the flowers that will be coming up in a few short months—I will have to keep my eyes even more wide open when I am outdoors now.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Landing in a snowy field

Posted in Birds, Language, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, geese, Huntley Meadows Park, landing, snow, winter on January 31, 2013| 1 Comment »

Most of the time I like to focus on individual birds, but in this case I think I prefer this panoramic-style shot of Canada Geese coming in for a landing on a snow-covered field. The expansive white backdrop allows us to see better the different body and wing positions of the geese (and I recommend clicking on the photo to see the details).

The snow is now gone from Northern Virginia, a victim of warmer temperatures and heavy rains. For many readers, snow is much more an everyday reality of the winter, but it’s rare enough here that it has a special beauty (as long as I don’t have to drive to work in it, in which case I tend to forget its beauty and view more as a nuisance).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Rotund 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 January 30, 2013| 4 Comments »

I have seen some rotund cardinals this winter, but this male Northern Cardinal has to be the roundest one yet. He looks a bit to me like an overinflated balloon figure. I saw him fly away, so I know he is airworthy, but I am pretty sure that his current shape produces more aerodynamic drag than usual.

On the other hand, maybe he is merely big-boned.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Breaking through the ice from below

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, breaking through the ice, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, North American Beaver on January 30, 2013| 9 Comments »

The beaver had disappeared from the small open water area of the ice-covered beaver pond. Wondering if he would resurface, I stood in silent readiness with my camera still in my hand.

My eyes were focused on one area of the pond, but my ears detected a sound emanating from another location near the edge of the pond. Somehow I knew instantly what was about to happen—the beaver was about to achieve a breakthrough. The light had faded a bit and I couldn’t see well enough to focus perfectly, but I aimed at the source of the sound and got this shot of the beaver poking his head through a newly-created hole in the ice. From this perspective, it looks like the beaver is pretty small.

As I watched, the beaver placed his front paws on the ice, which appeared to be able to support his weight, and gradually pulled his body out of the water. Naturally, the small hole became a lot bigger as his large body came increasingly into view.

After the beaver was completely out of the water, he bent down over the opening that he had just created. Perhaps he was trying to decide if he needed to enlarge it further or was trying to free a tasty-looking stick from the ice. It almost looks to me, though, that he is peering into the water, wondering if one of his fellow beavers is going to be popping up to join him.

The beaver did not linger long at the new location. After a few seconds on the “outside,” he dove back into the icy waters of the pond.

There are few moments in life that are truly “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences, ones that would be impossible to replicate, but I have the sense that this was one of them. So many things had to work together to make these photos happen—the timing, the location, and the ice, to name a few.

It is supposed to get up to 70 degrees (21 degrees C) today and the ice will almost certainly be gone by the time I am able to return to the marsh this weekend. Perhaps I will get to observe the beavers eating or working or playing or maybe they will remain in the lodge. In either case, I can be happy, knowing that we shared a really special moment together.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cute while eating

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on January 29, 2013| 6 Comments »

Who knew that a beaver could be so cute while he is eating?

I am still working on putting together a series of photos of the local beavers, but thought I’d post another one of my favorite images in the interim. I was surprised that the beaver did not notice me (or simply didn’t care) when I was taking this photo. Not only was I looking straight at him, but I also got as close to the level of the ice as I could to get this low-angle shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Swimming beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, North American Beaver, swimming on January 29, 2013| 2 Comments »

I got down pretty low to take this shot of a beaver at my local marshland park as he swam in my direction. I especially like the the reflection of his face in the water and the fact that his tail is visible. The ice in the foreground helps to give some interesting context to the photo.

During other seasons, the beavers would immediately dive whenever they sensed my presence, but the last week or so the beavers have been much more wiling to tolerate me (and others). Maybe the ice on the pond forces them to stay closer to home and to venture out more during the daylight hours rather than at night.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrow and vine

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow, vine on January 29, 2013| 12 Comments »

The crisscrossing pattern of the vine and the cooperative pose of the Song Sparrow combine to make this photo one of my recent favorites.

It is always exciting for me when the elements of an image work together in interesting and unexpected ways. I was attempting to photograph this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) when he flew onto this stalk. He was facing away from me, but I kept shooting and them he turned his head. I am not sure that I could have intentionally come up with a more interesting pose—I love the way we are looking down his back and get to see his wings and also get a clear view of his face.

When I first looked at this photo, though, what caught my eyes the most were the crisscrossing vines, an unanticipated bonus. The X-shape of the vine is both linear and curved at the same time and I chose to crop the photo to highlight this feature.

One of the things that keeps me thrilled about photographing nature is the balance between preparation and spontaneity, between technical excellence and creativity. I try to put myself into situations outside in which I know there is a chance that I will see something interesting and then prepare myself (and my camera) to take advantage when something does happen (and it’s usually not what I anticipated).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Beaver in the winter

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on January 28, 2013| 9 Comments »

The beavers at Huntley Meadows Park, my local marshland park, have been unusually active during daylight hours the last few days and I managed to get some pretty good shots of them feeding. I am still going through my photos and probably will post some more later, but I thought I would give a sneak preview by posting this image. Spoiler alert—my photos today, which I am still uploading, included some shots of a beaver pushing its way up through the ice and I hope they look as good on my computer screen as they did on the back of my camera.

Here is a profile shot from this weekend of one of the beavers munching on a stick (more like a twig) in the icy waters of the pond outside their lodge. I love the delicate way the beaver is holding the twig in his front paws, which look a lot like hands to me. Be sure to check out the nails on the left paw—they look to me like they were manicured.

Who knew that beavers have lips (at least that’s what it looks like in this photo)?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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January full moon—another look

Posted in Landscape, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, clouds, full moon, moon on January 28, 2013| 3 Comments »

This is as close as I can get to showing you what the full moon looked like to me last night, with an orange tinged glow surrounding it. The image includes some tree branches on the right side of the photo in a mostly futile effort effort to frame the moonlit sky.

Last night I posted a photo that showed the moon and the clouds, but I wasn’t satisfied that it represented really well what my eyes had seen. So I went over the images again that I shot and came across this one. It required a bit of tweaking in Photoshop Elements to tone down the really bright light of the moon, but I had managed to capture some of the details of both the moon and the clouds.

I shot quite a few photos as I searched for a combination of f-stop and shutter speed that would capture the moment. This one was shot at f20 with a shutter speed of .8 seconds and was overexposed. Some of the other shots with faster shutter speeds rendered the moon well, but the sky was black and no amount of tweaking could bring out the clouds. Longer exposures, on the other hand, resulted in beautiful clouds, but the moon was a perfect circle that was pure white and, again, I couldn’t tweak the settings to get details.

As I was shooting, the light kept changing as the moon moved in and out of the clouds, which complicated my efforts. Learning from my previous efforts to shoot in the dark, though, I had a small flashlight with me to assist me as I repeatedly changed the settings on my camera.

I’m a little more content with this photo than the other one that I posted of the full moon but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be outside again this evening experimenting further with capturing this tricky subject.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Winter still life

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, still life, winter, withered plants on January 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

The tall plants in the marsh have withered and faded, but they are still standing, defiantly displaying their interesting shapes and textures against a snow-covered backdrop. Two pods are standing together and one is apart, three others are bent over in the center. The bits of orange add a touch of color and the silken strands to the left add a different texture. In a few months, brighter colors will return, but for now this serves as a reminder that there is still life in the winter.

still_life_blog

Click on the photo to see more details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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January full moon

Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, full moon, moon on January 27, 2013| 4 Comments »

The full moon tonight was so bright that I had trouble getting the right exposure to capture it and also the light reflected on the clouds. I got some nice shots of the clouds, but the moon was a solid white orb and I got nice shots of the moon, but the clouds were invisible. Here is a shot in which both of the elements are visible, although I didn’t catch entirely well the glow surrounding the moon. I’ll have another chance next month.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Pinnochio bird—the next day

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged bird in snow, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Gallinago delicata, Huntley Meadows Park, Pinnochio bird, snipe, Wilson's Snipe on January 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

When I saw a Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) on Friday, I expected that it was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting and was really happy to have gotten some photos. I never imagined that I would see the bird (possibly the same one) the very next day in even better lighting conditions. I may eventually post some other photos, but I wanted to share this one in which he is visible against a snowy background that is mostly blown out. I think it helps to highlight some of the wonderful colors and textures of this long-billed shorebird.

Somehow the word “snipe,” which is used in all kinds of other contexts, doesn’t seem dignified enough for this beautiful bird, so I have taken to calling him the “Pinnochio bird”—for obvious reasons.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Study in gray and red

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, gray, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern cardinal, red on January 27, 2013| 6 Comments »

Simple in composition and simple in color palette, I find something really appealing about this photo of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

The backdrop is made up of the gray composite elements of the boardwalk that wends its way through the marshland area of Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, VA. The gray “wood,” with its horizontal and diagonal lines helps to give a little structure to the image.

The cardinal cooperated by cocking his head in an interesting way and giving me a sidewards glance. I believe that the red berry-like fruits are rose hips. The cardinals seem to enjoy eating the inside part of the fruit, but seem to discard most of its flesh. Several areas of the board walk are littered with these red remains.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Northern Flicker on ice

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Colaptes auratus, flicker, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Flicker, woodpecker on January 26, 2013| 5 Comments »

Against the backdrop of a frozen pond with a dusting of snow, the colors of this male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) stood out even more brightly than usual yesterday morning. The flicker is perched on a rotted stump that is poking out of the beaver pond at my local marshland park.

I love the colors and the markings on this beautiful bird, who seems to be making a fashion statement by mixing stripes and polka dots and accenting the ensemble with touches of bright colors.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Wilson’s Snipe

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Gallinago delicata, Huntley Meadows Park, long bill, marsh, shorebird, snipe, Wilson's Snipe on January 26, 2013| 8 Comments »

Yesterday I encountered the strangest-looking bird I have ever seen in the wild.

As I was marveling at the fact that some of the water surrounding the beaver pond at my local marshland park had not frozen despite multiple days of temperatures in the 20’s (minus 4-6 degrees C), I heard a sound in the water. Most of the birds that I had seen earlier in the day were sparrows, pecking away in the undergrowth, but it was clear that this was no sparrow.

The bird was standing in the shallow water and was bent over. When he withdrew his bill from the water, I was amazed at its length—it looked to be almost freakishly long. When I first looked at my images on the computer screen, I though of a recent posting of fellow blogger Calee in which she comment that an orchid she had photographed looked like a cartoon character. Truly, this bird looked like he could have been playing the role of Pinnochio.

I think that this bird is a Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata), judging from the information that I was able to find on the internet and in my Peterson’s guide. I really like the way that he blends in with the surroundings in which I found him. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology lists some fascinating facts about the bird’s extra-long bill, “The long bill of the Wilson’s Snipe is flexible. The tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill. Sensory pits at the tip of the bill allow the snipe to feel its prey deep in the mud.”

It’s a bit early for the mating season, but it seems that the family life of the Wilson’s Snipes is as dysfunctional as that of some humans. According to the Cornell Lab, “The clutch size of the Wilson’s Snipe is almost always four eggs. The male snipe takes the first two chicks to hatch and leaves the nest with them. The female takes the last two and cares for them. Apparently the parents have no contact after that point.”

The range maps for this bird show that I am close to the northern edge of the wintering area for these migratory birds, so I am hoping that I’ll have a chance to see one again.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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