Slow Week

I have not had many chances this week to get out and take any pictures this week.  I've been preparing for classes to start again and I've been busy shopping and moving furniture.  So I'm hoping that in the next few days that I can get out and get a good shot and get them posted.  I really need to get out and take photographs because it helps me relax and I'm running out of time before I go back to college.  So I need to take advantage of the time I have left.  Because once I get back to school I'm limited to the kind of pictures I can take.  Being at school makes it real hard to do any wildlife photography.

Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider

I have a recent post about Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders.  Follow the link to check it out.

I have been quite busy lately and I have not had to many opportunities to get out and take photographs.  I have been mostly testing my new reversing ring and trying a lot of Macro Insect Photography.  I was quite amazed with the one spider I found.  I had never seen one before and after some research I found out it is called an Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider.  So I took a couple of shots of it.

I took a ton of shots the last couple days but not many were any good.  I'm still getting used to focusing by moving closer or further away from the object.  Later in the week I would like to make a post about Photo Stacking and also I would like to do a Review on the Reversing Ring that I bought.  So my next two posts should be more informal.  Until Next Time.

New Equipment Finally Here!

I finally got my reversing ring and my shutter release cable.  Even though they are cheap parts, I'm hoping they will improve my photography.  I can't wait to try macro photography using reversed lenses.  Before when I shot reversed I had to hold the lens, know I can use the ring.  I also plan on trying to use my fathers 3x teleconverter with my reversed prime lens to see what kind of macro shots I can get.  I am also working on finding out how to stack photographs to improve the depth of field.  I attempted it with some old flower shots and it did work.  I'm doing it manually though with GIMP.  So I'm not sure with insect photographs that I will be able to get it to look right.  So only time will tell.  I'm hoping to get a good day soon to try out the Reversed Lens Technique with Insects.  I'm really hoping I get some nice shots.

Nyquist Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary Trip

Last week I took a trip to Nyquist Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary and was very pleased with the experience.  It was the first time I had ever been there.  The trails are very well kept and I was surprised by the abundance of wildlife.

Crossing over the first bridge I saw some ducks on one side including wood ducks and black ducks I believe and on the other side there was some Mute Swans with babies.  The shots I got of the Mute Swans didn't come out well so I am not going to post them.  I was rather disappointed with the shots of them.

I did get a couple shots of the ducks and there babies as well as a fly catcher.  I also saw tanagers which I don't see that often.  It was a shame I did not get a good shot at them either.  I also saw some Herons but they were not cooperating.  They kept hiding in the marsh.  I also saw a downy woodpecker but he only stayed for a second.  But I was very happy with the trip and did manage a few good shots.  The only thing I didn't like about the fly catcher shots was the shadows from the harsh sun, but other than that I was very pleased.  Hope you like them.

How To Photograph Fireworks

Photographing fireworks is a lot of fun, and can yield some very interesting photographs.  Every photograph is unique.  In order to photograph fireworks you need to have a tripod.  Without a tripod you will not be able to have the long shutter speeds that you need to photograph the fireworks.  Because in order to photograph fireworks you need to use long shutter speeds somewhere between 2-4 or more seconds, depending on how many fireworks you want in the shot.

Here are the camera settings you need to use.
1.  Low ISO settings, 100 or 200
2.  Shutter Speed about 4 seconds
3.  F-Stop around F18 to F22
4.  You also need to use a timer or a shutter release cable to minimize vibration

You need to use low ISO because the fireworks are so bright so you don't need a high ISO,  also the higher the ISO the more smoke you will pick up in your photograph.  The smoke drowns out the fireworks so you really should not use high ISO.  Shutter speeds need to be long in order to capture the exploding firework shells.  If you try and shoot with a fast shutter speed you most likely wont get the desired shot.  F-stops need to be high as well because it will make the aperture opening smaller which will cut down on the amount of light that is allowed into the camera. This is necessary because the fireworks are so bright compared to the dark background and you are also using long shutter speeds so you can't allow as much light in.  I also highly recommend using a timer or shutter release because you do not want the tripod to shake at all, including you clicking the shutter release.

This is how I photographed my firework shots.  So try it out and play around with these settings.  These settings seemed to work very good for me, but depending on the camera, different settings may work better than others.  Also if you photograph single fireworks you can put them together after words using photo editing software.  The shot above is 4 separate images together.

Fireworks Show

I did get a chance to get out to the fireworks show in White Lake, and I photographed fireworks for the first time.  I was really happy with the shots.  The photographs I'm posting are just a few of the images that I captured.

The finally picture had too many fireworks explode but it looked cool.  I guess 4 seconds was a little long for a shutter for the finally, but it was my first time shooting fireworks, so hopefully next time I will do even better.

I also got a chance to get out to the wildlife sanctuary in New Paltz.  I am currently processing them and they will be up soon.  I decided that I would also make a post about how to photograph fireworks for anyone who is interested.  So my next post will be about how I photographed these shots, and things that you need to do in order to get these shots.  Let me know what you think of the shots.  If you have questions please comment.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone.  I hope everyone has fun and remains safe.  I might be going to a fireworks show tonight but I'm not sure yet.  If I do I will try and get some photographs.  I do know that tomorrow I'm going  to Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary in New Paltz New York.  I am really hoping that I get some great shots.  I am leaving really early in order to try and beat the heat.  I've never been there before so hopefully it pays off.

Garden Flowers

Here are a couple of images that I took of flowers in my garden.  I was testing my fathers new 90mm Macro lens.  He was having problems with it focusing but I had no problems.  I'm not sure why his camera would not auto focus with it.

I have not been able to get out to any wildlife areas in a while.  So I have been relying on things much closer to home.  I am also working on making a blind for bird photography.  As well as setting up a place to get woodland bird photographs in my back yard near the woods.  Also I was outside the other day and noticed that we have a rabbit that is eating out of our garden.  So I'm hoping that I can get photographs of him.  But no luck yet.