Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, grasshopper, Huntley Meadows Park, illumination, sidelit on October 17, 2012| 3 Comments »
It’s the middle of October and grasshoppers are still hopping, though it seems that there are fewer of them than a month ago. This grasshopper was willing to stay still long enough to pose for this informal portrait. The sunlight was coming from the side and the back, helping to illuminate the underside of the grasshopper that is usually in the shadows and there is a nice glow to the grasshopper. I like the effect.
Illuminated fall grasshopper
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea alba, Cameron Run, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Great Egret, Great White Egret, sidelit 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.
Mike Powell 