Category Archives: Uncategorized
Remember?
Friends, thinking about traveling this morning and escaping the drab winter days of February and the upcoming winds of March. This green river was found in Yellowstone National Park but i don’t remember the name, is it important to remember the name? I do remember the feeling as i watched the water run by, of peace and joy at being out in nature on a wonderfully warm and sunny day. I wish you peace and joy, and patience while waiting for spring. til Tomorrow MJ
Feather details in Ice-Part two
Friends, more bird (Northern Flicker) feathers in ice. Using the same technique as in a previous post these feathers were frozen in ice. In a single image, the whole field was not focused as the feathers were on different planes. Multiple images (8) with different focus points were taken and combined as layers in a single photoshop image. Briefly all the layers were selected and the two commands auto-align layers and auto-blend layers were run sequentially from the edit menu. This process combines the images with layer masks that only allow the focused region to be part of the overall image. I love the bright yellow shafts and the small details that show up in the feathers and in the ice.
These feathers were found in Crex Meadows and are from an unfortunate Northern Flicker. The feather identification was facilitated by an online data base at this address http://digitalcollections.ups.edu/slater/ til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Indulge
Friends, yes i boosted the saturation a little, but the colors were real. This sunset view was 180 degrees from the actual brilliant red sunset. The storm clouds were reflecting the dying light of evening. I had been frantically photographing the Sandhill cranes flying into their nightly roost by the thousands in Crex Meadows. I sat still for a few moments and looked behind me. Sometimes the reflected beauty is more impressive than the real thing. I indulged in a few quiet moments to watch the sun go down. But even when i am enjoying a little down time, i still couldn’t resist snapping another photo. . til Tomorrow MJ
Feather details in Ice
Friends, I have always been frustrated by the limited depth of field when using my macro lens. When trying to photograph this bird feather in ice, the bubbles and the fine feather details were not in focus even at f/22 on a single image. Other macro photographers have remedied this problem by shooting multiple photos at different focus points and then blended the images together in Photoshop, to achieve the focus range that they want in the final image. To find more info on this technique, there are several excellent tutorials online, just google “image stacking in photoshop”. Viola, the method works, this image is a merging of four separate images taken to focus the bubbles, the feather shaft, and the tiny barbules on the barbs above the shaft. These elements were on three different planes but were combined by Photoshop to my satisfaction. More practice is needed to be able to go nose to nose with the wild flowers of spring. til Tomorrow MJ
One of my favorite images-Trumpeter swan family
Friends, we have a few resident Trumpeter swans in Crex Meadows. This is one of the parents of seven (count em) cygnets. I was going to save this, one of my favorite images, to show you on father’s day but couldn’t wait. Must share the spring in the middle of winter, we have new snow today so looking for wild tracks will be possible. Unfortunately, i have to travel to the city to help my mother. Oh well there is always tomorrow. til Tomorrow MJ
Sego lily-fine art photography
Friends, the Sego Lily grows in the badlands of North Dakota among other places. When i examined this bud with my macro lens, i fell in love with all the colorful veining present in the unopened bud. When the flower opens, it has three white petals with magenta toward the centers. The root can be a food source when roasted. I know that the background is grainy, but i like it that way. This is my vain attempt at fine art photography, what do you think? til Tomorrow MJ
Winter Sundogs
Friends, Sundogs are rainbows formed when ice crystals are in the air. The hexagonal ice crystals act as tiny prisms and when falling vertically oriented appear as colored patches on both sides of a low-lying sun. The cirrus and alto-cirrus clouds may also suggest ice crystals and folk lore says that sundogs form when colder weather is in store. We saw this guy in the badlands of North Dakota so i included the grasses in the foreground to show the wind, that always seems to blow in ND. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Down
Friends, last summer on a trip to our seaport, Duluth Minnesota, we were photographing the giant lupines that grow on the bluffs over Lake Superior. Looking down at my feet, we found this Luna moth who begged for attention. These moths are very large with a wingspan of 4-4.5 inches and they only live for one week. I had never seen one in the wild so this made my day. til Tomorrow MJ
Blue doors-inspired by Mikki Senkarik
Friends,last summer, my husband and i had the opportunity to attend a painting workshop put on by Mikki Senkarik and Jack White. My husband is a painter (oils) and he enjoyed the demonstrations.I also loved watching Mikki paint, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to explore the Santa Fe region and photograph. Now Mikki paints lots of bright colored doors, adobe buildings and colorful flowers http://mikkisenkarik.wordpress.com When i saw this composition, i had to photograph the scene. Inspired by Mikki, this was the result, thanks Mikki for this perspective. Were it not for your paintings, I would have walked right by. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Down
Friends, thinking about both applications for the word, down. Down as immature feathers poking from the backside on this Pied-billed Grebe or down as the direction out of my car window.I guess both definitions apply in this image. This is a fall image as the lily pads are in a state of decay and the fall colors are reflected in the water behind this tiny bird. They dive for their food and hence are almost always wet. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 