World Within Icicles

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Today, with the freezing rain turning out to be modest (a good thing, from the standpoint of dangerous roads and power outages), I did notice some icicles that formed around dangling pine needles.  The ice picked up the colors of surrounding evergreen leaves, and refracted some wonderful patterns.  I worked my way gradually to a life-sized view (larger than life once enlarged from the size of the camera sensor to viewing size).  Even though the breezes were minimal, under this high magnification, the trembling of the smaller "iciclette" was very noticeable.  I timed one shot to a moment of least movement, and got a critically sharp image.  The camera was of course on a tripod, or my own trembling would have had even worse effect than the subject movement.

In the full-sized image, I see upside down trees and land features within the drop.  You may have to use your imagination to see that in this web rendition, but I think the snake-like shapes in the large icicle (you're seeing an inch and a half or so of its four inch length) are very apparent and quite nice.

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Camera size matters

If you're not in the mood for even a non-technical how-and-why discussion, just skip over the next two paragraphs and look at the pictures.  I won't mind

There are optical properties which are inherent to the physical dimensions of a camera's sensor, because the lens focal length that is needed to give a particular field of view will depend upon the size of that sensor.  Today, I'm not going to delve into the details (there are discussions and examples on my web site), but one property that was a factor in photos I made today (and the reason I used the equipment I did) is that a long focal length lens can blur a background more than a short focal length. A very small camera might be advertised to "zoom to an equivalent focal length of 400mm", but that is actually a fiction.  The angle of view (what is included in your picture) may be exactly the same as what would be included had the photo been shot with a 400mm lens on a "big" camera (a full-frame DSLR, e.g.), but the actual focal length will be much shorter, and even with compensation in the form of changing lens apertures, there will be no way to equalize the look of the backgrounds in many distance/perspective situations.

So, to photograph these berries and turn the grass and weeds right behind them into diffuse areas of color, I used a 100-400mm, at the long end, on a full-frame camera, with the addition of a 1.4X extender to increase the focal length to 560mm.  Computer monitors vary greatly in their pixel density, so the displayed size of an image is not fixed, but if you're seeing this first image as about 4x5 inches, then you're seeing the berries a bit more than twice life size.

Even at f/11, the depth of field is so shallow that only one berry in this cluster is in focus.

Here's an iPhone snap showing the camera setup for that second photo.  From this vantage you can't even really see the berries, but they are there, right where the lens is pointed.  The black rings attached to the front of the camera body are extension tubes, to allow the whole rig to focus closer.  Next is the 1.4X multiplier, or tele-converter (or "extender" in Canon speak), which looks like part of the lens unless you know what to look for.  Yes, the tripod is purposely skewed, with the downhill leg longer than the others, and the center column tilted to get the head a little closer to the ground.

Here is the image just recorded, with the camera still in position.  Notice how the plants in the background, although out of focus because I focused the iPhone on the Canon's back, are still distinct, especially compared to the berry photo.

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Wild Berries of Winter

Here we are in the midst of winter weather (well, at least the nights are cool/cold, and many of the trees are actually bare), and what should I find but a lot of ripe wild berries.  Well, the birds should be very happy, and I'm happy that I spotted these before they (apparently) did.  Having just returned from a hike with Ziva, I grabbed a camera and macro lens, and dashed outside again, leaving Ziva inside to stew.

She was behind the glass door watching me when I returned to the house.  I'm easily amused, and am still intrigued by reflections superimposed on direct sight.  I'll probably do photos along these lines until someday I get really lucky with the light and have something that can fool the eye and be beautiful.  Trompe l'oeil is not one of my usual genres, but I enjoy seeing paintings in that style, and I think it could be a good influence on my photography.  At least, it keeps me thinking and imagining.

[All of that was before the first Nutcracker performance of today.  Now back to do the second one...]

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Testing gear as an excuse for photo fun

I like to try to photograph common subjects in unusual ways.  Sometimes I need a little nudge to get going.  Even though there may be no one watching me, it can feel a little silly to be putting time and effort into yet more pictures of...whatever...let's say another stupid dead leaf and some nondescript pine straw.  That unease absolutely should not be a consideration, but the psychology of hesitation is what it is.   So I find various modes of thought to push myself over that small initial hurdle, but today I had no trouble, thanks to an extra stimulus.

I just acquired a new bit of gear, a lens to replace another, adding a dash of new capability (I hope) and making certain things easier to do.  Its primary functions (in theory, at least) will be shooting wildlife, sports, and narrow landscapes.  However, this telephoto zoom has an excellent range of close focusing, which opens other areas for exploration.  Aha, what more excuse could I need to notice what the fallen leaves are up to today?  Here is one of my first shots with the new lens.

That was done right in my own front yard.  Oh, and looking back at the house, what do you know - someone has been watching me!  Ziva got the glass door quite misty!

Here are two small leaves on a very large one.  This lens will be good for shooting butterflies and dragonflies, I think.

Next is just a hanging leaf, but I like the patterns made by the blurred branches behind it.  One of the lens characteristics that I was testing is the quality of blur both behind and in front of the plane of focus.  Bokeh is the fancy (Japanese) term for blur character.  I am pleased with the bokeh as an ingredient of the first shot, at the top.

A tangled mess that perhaps could be a metaphor for life and its inherent beauty and struggle:

As I re-entered the house after my ten pace safari, I got a really quick shot of Ziva, who was moving. This actually was a good first test of high speed autofocus response in dim light, suggesting that I will be a happy camper when I get to chase after birds in flight, soccer players leaping, and dogs running.

[all photos using Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS II]

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Flower, low water, dragon(fly)

A motley three from wanderings Saturday with only a 70-200 zoom.

Cropped a bit:

Cropped a lot:

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Wet Raleigh

It would probably be a good discipline for me to got on a photo outing and limit myself to one image. However, I must admit I'm more inclined to try to find as many different subjects as I can, regardless of where I find myself. Today was a mostly rainy day, with the sky consistently overcast, so I went out to look for scenes of "wet Raleigh". I started with an ess curve of railroad tracks at Pullen Park, and finished on a section of Greenway at almost the opposite end of town. Although I had a selection of lenses with me, all of my shooting ended up being done with a 70-200mm zoom. It was misty when I did the first photo and poured for a time after that, but had quit raining before the last exposures.

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Birds in Flight

A few days ago I decided to try my hand at photographing birds in flight. Shelley Lake in Raleigh has an apparently permanent complement of ducks (no doubt because people feed them, though they probably shouldn't). However, the ducks spend almost all of their time in the water. I found that there were quite a few sea gulls around. They have steadily moved inland, allegedly finding sustenance in the trash around restaurants. I've certainly seen a lot of gulls in parking lots where bits of fish and bread are dropped by careless humans. Too bad the birds don't clean up the paper waste.

Anyway, I parked myself near the shore, and was eventually rewarded with flybys. One of the first shots that I liked was a rear view. It's not typically what one would hope for, but even with the bird's head hidden I like the forms and colors.

Momentary distraction - dog being walked by a couple, contrasts of color and tone.

Hunting for fish, but I didn't see a catch.

Looks ready to grab something as soon as it lands, but it just settled in the water and closed its beak.

Soaring overhead. They move fast, this is going to take some practice!

This looked like a surprise air attack. A few of them landed, but they all took off again a moment later and flew to a different part of the lake.

Reconnaissance angle.

Posed on a post, showing off an amazing blue eye.

Like sitting ducks? Well, they don't exactly sit there, they keep cruising in and out of the patches of light near a bridge.

One last forlorn creature, in what I thought looked like an uninviting environment (but really was pretty mild).

[All photos EF 300/2.8L IS II + Extender 2X III, yielding 600mm f/5.6]

Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2014/02/birds-in-flight.html

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Birds with attitude

It's easy to attribute animals' movements and body language to emotions, and read them as we would interpret something similar done by a human. Although I am confident that mammals and birds experience feelings that may be complex, and may in many cases be similar to my own, I think it is apparent that the expression of emotion varies a lot among species. So, while it can't hurt to be attentive to signs that a wild animal may be fearful, curious, even playful, I wouldn't jump to conclusions when a momentary posture seems to indicate disdain!

I find it fun, nevertheless. Yesterday was a day of luck for catching humor in the birds at Shelley Lake. Not long after the shot above, I grabbed this next one, a Double-crested Cormorant, I think. I'm sure it had no idea it could look so much like a high school student, but come on, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout: attitude!

I suppose this is some kind of a white Muscovy duck. Anyway, check out the expression. The golden water is caused by just the right angle for reflection of the marsh grass in the background, lit by the late afternoon sun.

Most bird photos are done with long telephoto lenses. The Canada geese are so used to people that I could use a 17 mm lens to get this shot of the boy watching and being watched.

Here's a little overview of a quiet spot, an escape from the crowds of humans and ducks.

Blackwater photo ops.

An overview of another site.

This face reminds me a little of a Turkey vulture.

A determined look and a fast paddle.

Humor wasn't confined to the birds yesterday. This dog's owner must be as wacky as I am, and the dog is certainly patient.

On the way home from the lake, I spotted a Turkey vulture in someone's front yard. I parked, got out my camera rig as discreetly as I could, and got this shot of an "ugly" face on a graceful body. Maybe ugly to us, but not to others of its kind.

When it took off, I did not manage a good in-flight shot, except maybe for this funky one, which kind of fits with my theme of birds with attitude.

Here, the body and head are completely hidden and the wings are partly cut off. The lens was too long for such a large bird! So, I rotated the photo and pretended it was a flower.

Here are more shots of the takeoff. These are not print quality; rather, they show me that I should find some time to practice photographing birds in flight, to be ready for the next time I get an unusual opportunity like this one. There could have been a real keeper shot in this sequence, if I had nailed the exposure and focus. It's not easy while pivoting to try to follow a bird moving laterally.

Fun! And some of these birds are seriously beautiful.

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