Category Archives: Nature
A sharper image
Friends, this sandhill crane is similarly processed like the top image in yesterday’s post. First a short lesson about shooting jpegs vs raw captures. A jpeg image is processed and sharpened in the camera, while a raw is basically unprocessed by camera software. Since a computer (and photoshop) have a lot more tools to process an image optimally, it makes sense to me, to use the camera for capturing an image (raw) and a computer for processing the image. So this image was captured in raw, converted to psd format and exposure adjusted in photoshop then finished with Color Effex Pro 4- detail extractor. I think that the sharpness achieved in this software program is superior to those results that i can get in Photoshop or in the raw converter in Photoshop. I think, and this is my opinion, capturing a digital image and processing that image are both necessary steps to great photography. Post-processing does not diminishes the skill of the photographer but is necessary to impart the mood of the photo. Just as Ansel Adams developed a print from a camera-captured negative, so we need to post-process from a digitally captured image. What do you think? til Tomorrow MJ
Is there a difference?
Friends,are there any differences in these two images that can be detected on wordpress? I have run out of processed bird images and in culling through my entire library of images shot at Hawk Ridge, I found a few that i wanted to include in my book. Did I mention that I was writing a book about Hawk Ridge and my experiences up there this fall? Well, I am and I am going to take you along for the ride. Book preparation first needs some first class images. I was not entirely satisfied with this image as it was processed in the raw converter in Photoshop. One of the images is the raw, the other of this Broadwing Hawk is processed further in Photoshop. Can you tell which one? til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Reflections
Friends, the reflections in this Cooper Hawk’s eye show off his brilliant yellow eye. He is a juvenile and when he is one year old, this eye color will shift to an orange, then to red as he ages further. The shadow from the supraorbital ridge above his eye makes him look very fierce. I love the feathering patterns around that reflected highlight in his eye, a reflection of the sky. til Tomorrow MJ
Red Pine Sunset
Friends, the end of a perfect winter day, this red pine grove is halfway home from Crex Meadows and I often see it at sunset. Spending the day at Crex is a passion even when the summer birds have gone south. The only birds remaining are natives and those that migrate from the far northern regions. Currently there are Rough-legged hawks, bald eagles, a harrier, osprey and an occasional red-tailed hawk, I am chasing otters, timber wolves, white tail deer and other illusive ghosts thru the 30,000 acres of marsh and woodlands that is Crex. Finding tracks but nothing else so now i have to resort to some sunset images to be able to show you the wonders of Crex. til Tomorrow MJ
COLD !!
Friends, i saw this at Crex when the full moon rose in the late afternoon, but it took two layers to show it to you. The Bald Eagle was the bottom layer with the moon added on top. This is a photograph of the feelings that at times inspire a artful approach. The moon and the eagle are in a very cold light against the pure blue sky and the temperature outside was also cold.So this morning a cold start to your day. til Tomorrow MJ
Hardy Snipe
Friends, this hardy Snipe is still hanging around on the icy edges of a pond that has not closed up yet, but the temperature this morning was only 9 degrees above zero Fahrenheit, so the water will soon close. Hope he gets his breakfast and hurries on his way south, it is not healthy to stay too long. Below is another image of him enjoying the bitter cold sunshine, he was holding up his foot trying to warm it under his body. Enjoy the sun while you can, til Tomorrow MJ
Notched tail- Redtail
Friends, this is a red tail from a large female Redtailed Hawk. While examining her in hand, she had two missing feathers on the left side of her tail, and two new feathers are growing back. These new feathers are a little fresher looking than the other older feathers. A weathered veteran of the wilderness wars, this image demonstrates that hawks are also in peril and often are the hunted ones as well as being the hunter. Below is an image of her release back, the shorter feathers were not slowing her flight back to the wildness. An account of two eagles pursuing a redtail is included in this link: redtail pursued by golden eagles
Weekly Photo Challenge:Thankful
Friends, I am very Thankful for the birds of Hawk Ridge and Crex Meadows, who keep me busy photographing the wildness. So back to Hawk Ridge for another Hawk lesson, or in this case, a Falcon lesson. The portrait of the Merlin below shows an open beak and the notches in the cutting edge of the beak that fit together when the bird is killing his prey. These interlocking notches are the tomial tooth of the falcons. Hawks may have the upper notch but do not have the corresponding notch on the lower edge. The higher magnification image shows this region to dramatize the tomial tooth. til Tomorrow MJ
Food in the Mud
Friends, these two Greater Sandhill Cranes have been digging in the mud for food. They use those very long sharp beaks to root for grubs, frogs, seeds, and other muddy food. Crex mud must be rich in food elements as everywhere in the mud flats, small humps of mud are signs that the cranes have been tearing up the scenery and when their heads pop up the mud is still stuck to their beaks. The bird in front is an adult and the one in the rear is a juvenile. This morning we have heavy wet snow, so the cranes will probably be on their way to warmer weather and softer mud. I will miss them when they are gone, they entertain us from September thru November but disappear around Thanksgiving time. til Tomorrow MJ
Happy Thanksgiving
Friends, Happy Thanksgiving from our wild turkey who drifts through the yard with her family every now and then. til Tomorrow MJ
