The immortal last words of McManus (The Usual Suspects) perfectly describe what's happening with this picture on flickr - I put it up a few hours ago and it's had a hundred views coming from an unknown source. The Unknown source gag is something that frustrates the crap out of me with flickr. I've put... Continue Reading →
The other day I decided to walk in the common land at the end of the road. It's woods and has a couple of old roads running through it and it was logged sometime in the past. There are some trails, one in particular runs to the back of a nearby horse stable and gets... Continue Reading →
From this morning. I couldn't resist the patterns or the light.
Even though it's hunting season up here, I still get into the woods. I feel a bit funny being so conspicuous in my blaze orange though. So many times I've gone completely unnoticed by other folks. Not when I'm on the trail or right next to it, but if I go off trail and am... Continue Reading →
Fall is one of the most productive...well, if I can call it that, times for me as a photographer. There are so many things that catch my eye and the season is so volatile that there is a surprise almost every day. Here's a few of my favorite catches. Early in October things are still... Continue Reading →
Some from a nearby apple orchard. I particularly liked the juxtaposition of these two. Plus the light was great! Some watery views from my hike up Mt. Hale this past weekend. The light was direct sun and rather harsh and contrasty, so I did the best I could -
This year I set myself a goal. A mini-project if you will. Borne out of the fact that I hadn't been able to take a decent picture of indian pipes. Seriously. I tried. I'd see some next to the trail and set up. Everything sucked. I even shot some in winter and those are passable,... Continue Reading →
You know, I think I spend more time with my backpack off and it lying on the ground than I do actually wearing it! Being that I spend so much time way down on the ground, photographing tiny things I think I need a different rig. Or one that allows me to work differently. But... Continue Reading →
Up until recently, I've been a catch-as-catch-can type of photographer. If I was going somewhere, I took my camera and tried for photos as I went. Rarely did I return to a location to do better or capture a different aspect of the place. Now though, I understand what scouting a location can do. Remember... Continue Reading →
Phew. Our most recent heatwave is over and I can probably get back outside. I say probably because it's horse and deer fly season and those just make me miserable. They're relentless and will bite you to death if given half a chance. Lately I've been playing a bit more deliberately with bokeh and its... Continue Reading →
Late last year I visited a nearby Nature Conservancy property called The Cedar Swamp Preserve. Yeah, real romantic sounding place, right? Well it's got two great things going for it - Atlantic White Cedars and Great Laurel or Giant Rhododendron as it's sometimes called. This is a small preserve jammed between huge condo developments, some... Continue Reading →
The weather and the hordes of mosquitoes have kept me from doing a lot of shooting, but I have been out. The thing is that the shots don't really seem to go together. Then I had a morbid thought about some of them. Poison mushrooms and grave stones. Heh. It's ridiculously me and goes with... Continue Reading →
May in California is wildflower season and the high desert of the eastern Sierras is no exception. I took tons of photos, but due to the harsh light, relentless wind and time constraints (who can wait forever for the wind to die down on every single shot?) most of them are for my reference and... Continue Reading →
Been working on my microscapes this year. Experimenting with light mostly. Including dappled sunlight, trying for some drama and separation. That's what the sunlight does in the woods, it highlights certain things and shadows others. It's some of what makes the woods magical, at least to me. Here's one of a medium-sized painted turtle I... Continue Reading →
Back to your regularly scheduled program. More nature stuff. I am a bit bummed at the moment because I came upon a very active great blue heron rookery the other day and my old 300mm lens isn't up to the task. Most of my old legacy glass is still very good when paired with a... Continue Reading →
I can't help myself. I'm a nature and outdoors photographer. That means I shoot a lot of wildflowers. Yeah, it's a cliche, but sometimes they are just so lovely I can't pass them by. This year I'm trying to capture the quality of light as well as the flowers themselves and so far it's been... Continue Reading →
I have a love/hate relationship with spring. In the love category we have the fact that when a breeze hits your face it doesn't feel like it will freeze off. Also the twittery, fluttery birds all excited to be making more birds. Tree frogs. And the lovely green of the pale leaves as the trees... Continue Reading →
Let the microscapes begin! Not the most beautiful or delicate of wildflowers, but one of the first to appear. I went wandering in one of the many nature preserves in Andover, Massachusetts the other day and one section of the swamp was covered with skunk cabbage. I read that they can come up so early... Continue Reading →
A follow up to the last post, I went out back to the carpet of whitlow grass again and found it buzzing with tiny mining bees (1.5 cm or 5/8 in). The sun being strong, but slightly diffused by clouds I went back in for the camera. So glad I did - Isn't she sweet?... Continue Reading →
Remember that scene in The Jerk when Martin ran all over yelling "The new phonebook's here! The new phonebook's here" ? Well I felt like doing that about spring today. This is what tells me it's arrived - It's whitlow grass and there's a big patch of it in my backyard. They're the very first... Continue Reading →
You know that old saying, hindsight is 20/20? Some days it smacks me right in the head. The other day after a lovely few hours in the woods I thought to myself that I should have been a forester or something. Hubby comes back to say that it doesn't pay much. In money, no it... Continue Reading →
The tail end of winter still holds some beauty, I just had to look for it. These first two are details of a beaver pond in the woods that appeared to be new. These bushes were still alive, albeit dormant for the season. I loved the patterns the ice made while it was thawing. All... Continue Reading →
Ah! You've found me out. I'm a Clutch fan. And when I found these tiny, wind-up robots in the basement their most excellent song popped into my head. Aren't these the best? Rescued from a box of junk, my husband set them aside so they wouldn't get tossed. He thinks he got them in high... Continue Reading →
Before I take on writing a Black and White Photography 201, I'm going to share some more junk drawer photos. Well, this first one isn't from a drawer, but a forgotten cabinet over the fridge. In a clean-out binge I found a bunch of weird booze we stuck there for some reason. Pepper flavored vodka. ... Continue Reading →
Frustrated by my inability to see outside in nature lately, I've turned my attention to the Junk Drawer in hopes of finding some worthy subjects. Dredged up this old transistor radio that was my husband's when he was a kid. It still works! These first three were shot with the Olympus 90mm f2 macro... Continue Reading →
