Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, crocus, Runnymeade, spring, spring flowers, Tamron 180mm macro lens on March 23, 2014| 5 Comments »
Yesterday afternoon, my dear friend and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer called to alert me that there were some crocuses blooming in her garden. The lighting was wonderful and the dirt in the background provides a simple backdrop for the gorgeous colors of this little spring flower.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Art, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, Urban, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, jumping spider, KIA Soul, Runnymeade, spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens on March 22, 2014| 12 Comments »
Sometimes you don’t have to travel far to get good nature photos. I noticed this colorful little jumping spider on my car yesterday when I was loading my camera gear, getting ready to go out shooting. 
It was a fun challenge trying to get shots of the spider as it moved to various parts of the trim surrounding the windshield, many of which were reflective. I wasn’t sure how long the spider would hang around, so I didn’t set up my tripod and I think it would have been pretty awkward to do so.
I am hoping that nobody snapped pictures of me as I sprawled my body across the hood of the car, trying to find a way to brace my body and get a decent shooting position. My Tamron 180mm macro lens lets me get in close, but it does not have image stabilization.
One of the first things that I noticed when I reviewed my images was that my car is dirty. In this area, they use a lot of salt on the roads when it snows and I suspect that those little white spots are salt residue. I thought about removing them in post-processing, but decided that I like the more urban, gritty feel that they give the images (and besides, it would have been a lot of work to get rid of all of them).
I am always thrilled when I find a jumping spider. There is something special about all of those eyes that simply fascinates me and I am particularly happy when I manage to get reflections in the eyes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Humor, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, dragonfly, giant dragonfly, Runnymeade, winter on March 5, 2014| 2 Comments »
I never expected to encounter a dragonfly when I went walking in the snow in my neighborhood yesterday.
My eyes were scanning the trees for birds, when right it front of me I detected the unmistakable shape of a dragonfly, a giant green dragonfly perched on a tree. I approached it quietly and was able to get this shot, my first shot of a dragonfly in a long time.
With snow still covering the ground and the temperatures below freezing, it’s hard to imagine that the real dragonflies will be appearing in a few short months.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Buddha, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, indifferent, Runnymeade, snow, winter on February 24, 2014| 4 Comments »
Snow sometimes causes me stress. I worry about the safety of the road conditions and how long it will take for me to get to work. I feel anxious as I shovel out my car and the sidewalk in front of my townhouse.
This statue in the garden of one of my neighbors is a visual reminder that I can adopt a different mindset. I can remain calm on the inside and indifferent to the cares of the world. The snow will melt and spring will come when it is time.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, feeder, Northern cardinal, Runnymeade on February 15, 2014| 8 Comments »
As I was walking through the snow in a wooded area behind some of the townhouses in my neighborhood, a flash or bright red caught my eye and I knew immediately that it was a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), one of my favorite birds.
I stalked him as he moved from tree to tree until he eventually landed on this feeder that was hanging from the second-story deck of one of my neighbors. I really like the industrial look of the feeder and think it adds a nice contrast to softer, less distinct feathers of the cardinal.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens, Runnymeade, woodpecker on January 29, 2014| 19 Comments »
I love to watch energetic little Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) at work, like this one that I observed last week in my own neighborhood.
Most of the time these little powerhouses are in constant motion or are obscured by branches, so it’s difficult to get a clear shot of them. This one, however, was in a location where I could get an unobstructed photograph and the woodpecker even cooperated by lifting its head for a moment (though it did appear to be a little irritated at the interruption).
As soon as I was done with the brief photo shoot, the woodpecker went back to work, pounding away at the wood in search of some tasty morsels of food.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, crescent, moon, Runnymeade, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on January 28, 2014| 5 Comments »
There is something magical about the moon and I have been seeing it more often this month in the frigid early morning hours, as I let the dog out in the backyard or pick up my newspaper from the front stoop. I took this shot of a sliver of the moon a few days ago, when the moon phase was somewhere between the last quarter and the waning crescent. I know I should use my tripod, but that would mean getting dressed warmly—it’s much too tempting to grab a few quick shots and to rush back into the comfort of the heated house.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, American Goldfinch, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, goldfinch, Runnymeade, Spinus tristis on January 26, 2014| 8 Comments »
Another unexpected bird that I sighted during a recent walk around my neighborhood was this American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). I don’t think that I have seen one before during the winter—during the spring and the summer the goldfinch’s bright yellow plumage makes it easier to spot one.
I guess I need to pay more attention to the birds of the neighborhood, for it appears that more of them overwinter than I originally thought. What else is out there, waiting to be seen and photographed?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Nuthatch, Runnymeade, Sitta carolinensis, white-breasted nuthatch on January 25, 2014| 18 Comments »
I didn’t think that there were many birds in my suburban neighborhood at this time of the year, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of different species during a post-snowstorm walk, including this White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). For most of hte time that I was observing it, the nuthatch was in the typical head-down position, but it finally turned its head to the side and I got this shot.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, leaf, oak leaf, Runnymeade, snow, still life on January 24, 2014| 13 Comments »
How do you convey a sense of the winter season? Do you take wide-angle shots of snow-covered mountain peaks? Do you show vast fields or forests or frozen ponds, all blanketed in white?
I didn’t really have a plan when I set out for a walk in my neighborhood after a recent storm that dumped over six inches of snow (about 15 cm) on us. The sun was shining and the snow was beautiful, though it was windy and cold. I walked for a while, taking in this uncommon view of the common scenery (we don’t get snow very often in Northern Virginia), when I caught sight of some motion out of the corner of my eye—an oak leaf was dancing across the surface of the powdery snow.
When the leaf came to rest, I hurried toward it, wanting to capture the simple beauty of this winter still life that conveyed to me a sense of the winter season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Eastern Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, Runnymeade, snow, squirrel on January 24, 2014| 4 Comments »
Despite the frigid cold and snow, the squirrels in my neighborhood are out and active (and looking surprisingly cute).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in animals, Art, Dog, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Cocker Spaniel, Freckles, Runnymeade, snow on January 23, 2014| 11 Comments »
Little kids get pretty excited about snow, but it’s hard to match the enthusiasm of a puppy as she propels herself face-first into the freshly fallen snow.
These shots show Freckles, a year-old Cocker Spaniel, a few seconds after she dove into the snow in my backyard. The yard had areas of sunshine and shadows and the snow appears white when Freckles was in the sun, as in the first image. The snow took on a bluish cast however, when the snow in the background was in the shadows. I liked the effect and cropped the second image to make the background more uniform, causing it to look a bit like a formal studio shot.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, full moon, moon, Runnymeade, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on January 19, 2014| 7 Comments »
The moon looked amazing at 7:00 this morning when I went out to get my newspaper from my front steps. It was still dark and in the opposite direction, the sun was just beginning to rise. I rushed back into the house, put some socks on my sandaled feet, and ran outside with my camera to get some shots.
I used the longest lens that I have, a Sigma 135-400mm lens, and leaned it against the roof of a parked car to stabilize it. I was surprised at the detail that I managed to capture of the craters near the dark side of the moon. (I think the full moon was a few nights ago.) Click on the photo to see it in higher resolution.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, oak, pinecones, Runnymeade, snow, winter on January 10, 2014| 5 Comments »
I’m not sure if and when we will see more snow in Northern Virginia this winter, so I am posting a couple of shots as an homage to the departed snow.
As you can tell, I was looking up a lot when I walked through my neighborhood and captured somewhat similar images of the snow that had accumulated on a pine tree and an oak tree.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Autumn, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Runnymeade, sunrise on December 7, 2013| 5 Comments »
It rained all day yesterday, so it was especially nice to see the sun rise this morning. I didn’t get a photo of today’s sunrise, but thought I would share this shot from two week’s ago.
I was sitting at my computer in my bedroom in the top floor of my townhouse, early in the morning, when I happened to glance out the window. The colors of the sunrise were spectacular in the distance. Although the temperature was close to freezing, I ran out of the house with flipflops on my feet to try to capture the fleeting effects of the rising sun. I searched for a gap in the trees and the townhouses and managed to get this image at a moment after the sun had risen (I missed the peak moment), when the sunlight was reflecting off of the clouds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Eastern Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, Runnymeade, Sciurus carolinensis, squirrel on October 27, 2013| 11 Comments »
The squirrels in my neighborhood are very busy now as they scurry about getting ready for winter. This particular Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) paused several times to enjoy a leisurely snack. Rather than devour the treat on the ground, he would leap up onto this posing stand and delicately nibble away. He almost seemed to be aware that I was photographing him and periodically would change his pose to give me a different look.
I guess that I lucked into photographing a squirrel with modeling experience (and great hair).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, long exposure, nature, running water, Runnymeade, stream on October 30, 2012| 2 Comments »
It was still raining early this morning when I ventured out into my suburban Virginia neighborhood to see what havoc Hurricane Sandy had wreaked upon us. One big tree had fallen onto several cars, but beyond that we had escaped virtually unscathed.
Run-off water was coursing rapidly down the little stream that runs through the neighborhood as part of the drainage system. I decided to attempt to take some shots of the moving water, inspired by some awesome images that I have seen recently in other blogs. There was a railing overlooking the stream and I placed my camera on it and used the self-timer, which permitted me to take some relatively long exposures.
Here are a few of the images that I produced. I still have a lot to learn about taking these kinds of shots, but I like some aspects of these initial efforts.
Suburban Virginia stream after Hurricane Sandy
Post-hurricane run-off in suburban Virginia
Runnymeade stream
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 