Not planning to keep this page updated, but I do still post on Facebook and Instagram.

 It has been many years since my last post and I find myself not having the time that I once did to write blog posts about my trips.  I do still post my photos on my Facebook page and on Instagram.  So, you can follow me there to keep up to date with everything I am doing.  I'll add a few images here to show some of my recent work.

    

Spring Migration Starting

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/1250s Manual exposure

Since the last post it has seemed like the world has changed. Covid 19 has taken hold and since I am working from home and basically self-quarantining for the time being I decided I would try and catch up and post some of my recent images. I know during my last post I had talked about wanted to make YouTube videos and I still do. After filming some test runs I realized how much work goes into editing the film. So I need to work on getting better footage, so I don't have to edit as much. With due time I am hoping to start producing good quality videos on my channel.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/1000s Manual exposure

Since my last post I have spent a lot of time out filming and photographing. Eagle season here is really coming to an end and with this pandemic I am not sure I am going to be able to travel to Maryland to go to the Conowingo Dam again. So, for now I will turn my focus to other waterfowl during the migration months here. Over the last month or so I have seen plenty of eagles due to them being on their nests. But I have not managed many good photos. However, I have been able to get some photos of many other species.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1000, f/6.3 @ 1/1000s Manual exposure

The first photo that I liked from my trips was a photo of a goose standing on the edge of the ice and reflecting nicely in the open water. I was quite happy with the image. I know that it is just a Canadian goose, so not the most thrilling subject but I just liked the way the image turned out.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1600, f/8 @ 1/1250s Manual exposure

While spending many hours waiting in eagle blinds for an opportunity that rarely came I did get some opportunities to photograph ducks and seagulls. The one day a common merganser came close to the blind and was fishing along the edge of the ice. I wish I could have gotten a little closer, but I will take what I can get. The seagull image was of the bird taking off the ice. I love the contrast of the image and the outstretched wings. I was also lucky enough to get an image of two seagulls flying together. They were circling together for some time, and I was happy to have gotten a decent photo.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 320, f/6.3 @ 1/1250s Manual exposure

One of the days I got to the Bashakill Wetlands before the sun came up. I was lucky enough to spot the Mute Swan very early so I was able to photograph it during the golden hour while the sun was coming up. It turned out to be a weird morning because after the sun came up it quickly went behind clouds and started snowing. I probably spent about an hour photographing the swan and was happy with the way some of the images turned out. I always love the winter grass turning a gold color due to the early morning sun. Also, the swan was more of a soft yellow instead of the typical bright white.
I am looking forward to taking more trips soon.

Hopefully, the Covid 19 situation will end soon, and life will return to normal. Until next time, please be safe. 

Happy New Year and a Slow Start to 2020

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 400, f/11 @ 1/320 sec Manual exposure

I hope everyone had a happy holiday and a great start to the new year. I have been trying my best to get out and photograph wildlife, but it has been extremely slow to start the new year. I would normally be photographing bald eagles by now, but I am not seeing many in this area. It has been very warm this year and the lakes are not frozen over yet. I feel like I have seen increased numbers lately but they have to much free range with all the open water. Hopefully, soon it will get a little colder and I will be able to get some great photos of them. Speaking of bald eagles, I have planned a trip next weekend to Maryland in the hope to photograph some. I look forward to updating about that upcoming trip in a little over a week.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/11 @ 15 sec. Manual exposure

Over the holiday, since I was not having much luck with wildlife I did spend an early morning at the Bashakill Wetlands in Wurtsboro, NY. I arrived well before sunrise and I decided to test out some of my new equipment. I was taking some long exposure landscape photographs using my new Cokin Neutral Density filters kit. I like them so far. I have not had too many opportunities to use them but they are very simple to use. I had one photo from the trip that I liked. I decided to put the photo into black and white because of the long exposure. I feel that it looked great that way. The 15-second exposure made the water very reflective and the grasses are reflected quite well in the water. Also the clouds got smooth because of the long exposure. I just loved the way the photo turned out. It was something that I had never been able to do before, and it turned out well. I look forward to trying more long exposure daylight photos soon.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 160, f/11 @ 1/320 sec. Manual exposure

I also decided that I would go through some of my old photographs from my trip to Alaska earlier this year. I discovered a new way to touch them up and I was experimenting a bit with Photoscape X. I love the way I was able to touch them up. I feel the one photo that I made into a high contrast black and white was almost like an Ansel Adams photograph. It was taken in British Columbia on the Yukon Suspension Bridge. I love it, and I hope everyone enjoys it. I also touched up another photograph that I had not posted before and I like the way it came out. It was when the cruise ship was approaching the Dawes Glacier and we were heading into an ice field, which gave the foreground water some interest. I hope to go through some more and hope that I can find some other interesting photographs.

I will be leaving for my trip on Friday and I am looking forward to it. I can't wait to spend the whole weekend photographing with a friend. Until Next Time.

GoPro Hero 8 on its way

I have been spending my weekends out an about but I have not managed any good photographs. I spent a couple of days at the Bashakill Wetlands and didn't really see to much. I did encounter a lot of people out enjoying the trails before winter set in this week. I have also been monitoring the local reservoirs for eagle activity, but I have only seen a couple. Nothing close enough to photograph. I did see some kind of weasel or fisher but I was not sure exactly what it was. The photographs I did manage were to blurry. It was a long way away from me, but I was still very happy to get the opportunity to see it. I don't normally see them.

This weekend was another lost weekend because of the major snowstorm. The roads have been to dangerous to risk going anywhere, and it is still snowing. Hopefully next weekend will be better.

Since I was stuck mostly inside I decided I would order a GoPro Hero 8 and some other stuff. I am hoping to start making vlog videos for YouTube in the future. I figured getting a video camera would be the only way for me to accomplish that so I made the purchase while it was on sale this weekend. I had already ordered a Rode video micro microphone for my camera so I can start to do some videography of my trips. I am hoping that this winter I will be able to take some video of the bald eagles that I have been photographing for over a decade.

Since I was basically stuck at home I decided that I would make a Shutterstock account and test my luck with selling some of the my photographs. I am interested to see how it turns out. So far 9 out of 10 of my images were accepted. I was extremely happy about that. I was all worried that my images would not even make the cut to be accepted. Only time will tell how this will work out for me. Over time I hope that I can talk a little more about my findings with Stock photography.

I am hoping to get out an take more photographs soon. Until Next Time.

Early Morning Walks and Backyard Macro Photography

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 1000, f/8 @ 1/180s Manual exposure

Two weekends ago turned out to be a photogenic weekend. I did not get a chance to upload the photographs. On Saturday, I stayed home and took a lot of pictures in my yard. I managed a few good photos. I was mostly trying to photograph using my macro lens, but I was not having to much luck. I did manage one photograph of a weed in the garden that had gone to seed. One seed was sitting atop the plume of other seeds. I just loved the way the photo turned out.  I was pleased with the way the light hit off the curves in the seed, and with the composition of the picture.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 100, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

After about an hour, I was lurking around our shed, looking for spiders. That is when I looked down and was amazed to find a little jumping spider just hanging out on a plant pot. I did my best to photograph it, and I was delighted with the result. It is the best jumping spider photograph that I have ever taken. There are things that I could improve on. But I was excited when I saw a few of the photos. I could not believe how amazing these little spiders are. I was just stunned to see the beautiful orange colors around his eyes. I also liked the way that the background turned out in the one photograph because the light from my flash made round speckles in the background of the spider when it hit off the plastic of the container. I just really loved this photograph.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/13 @ 1/10 sec Manual exposure

That Sunday, I decided I would get up before dawn and go out to the nearby reservoir to try and photograph the fall foliage. It was a somewhat foggy day, and I was only happy with one photograph that I took. The colors were stunning, but I did not capture many pictures that I was pleased with. However, when the sun was rising, I saw a patch of high weeds that were shining in the morning light. So I decided I would try and capture it. I laid on my stomach in the tall grass and pointed the camera directly at the sun. I loved the color and the contrast that I was able to capture, and I was quite surprised by the way the photos turned out. It was worth laying in the grass for the shot.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/13 @ 1/60 sec Manual exposure

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/13 @ 1/60 sec Manual exposure

Overall the weekend went well. But last weekend, I did not get a chance to photograph anything. I am planning a trip to a friend's farm tomorrow and Saturday. I am hoping that I will get plenty of photographs to share.  I look forward to the next time. I hope everyone enjoys the photos.

Bashakill Wetlands and Mongaup River

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/32 @ 4 sec Manual exposure

Last weekend I spent Saturday evening on a trail along the Mongaup River. I was trying to photograph the fall scenery as well as anything else in the woodland. I started by taking photographs of the Mongaup River, trying to capture the fall colors and some motion blur. The photo is more of a water motion blur photograph than a typical fall color photograph, but I was happy with it. Towards the end of the evening, I sat on a rock along the river and watched the sun go down behind the trees. The beautiful yellow rays of light were coming in through the trees, but I was unable to capture the true essence of the scene I was seeing.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 @ 1/60 sec. Manual exposure

I was also very fortunate to find one lone mushroom on a log that I was able to photograph. I also liked the way that the photo turned out. I have not done much mushroom photography, but I think that I will try it more in the future.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Sunday morning, it was a much darker dreary day. It was supposed to rain, and I wanted to get out before it started. So I went out to the Bashakill Wetlands at about 7 am.  I walked the stop sign trail where I had photographed the egrets the week before, hoping that I would see them again. I made it to the place where the egrets were, but they were not there. I decided that I would sit on the raised platform like the previous week, and wait to see what I could find. It was very peaceful because I did not see any other person at the Bashakill that morning. I think the weather kept everyone away. After about an hour sitting in the raised stand, I heard a Great Blue Heron. It came flying in and landed in front of me. I was lucky enough to capture a few photographs of it coming in. Then it actively was fishing in front of me for a while. I was unable to use my 1.4x teleconverter because of the lighting situation. But my Sigma 150-600 did an excellent job without it. It was fun watching the Heron fish for a while. Then I realized that it was getting agitated by something. Then I noticed something else behind the Heron in my viewfinder.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Initially I thought it was a muskrat or beaver. But after looking closer at the picture, I realized it was some river otters. They seemed to be fishing in the same spot as the Heron. The one photograph shows the Heron staring right at the river otters. I had not seen river otters at the Bashakill before so, it was a great treat. I had sat in the stand for about 3 hours, and mother nature rewarded me for being patient. Even though it was a dark overcast morning, it turned out to be a great day. At around 11 am, it started raining, and I decided to call it a day.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Overall last weekend turned out great, and I look forward to spending some more fall weekends taking photographs. Until Next Time.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Bashakill Wetlands: Spiders and Great Egrets

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 100, f/9 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Last weekend I spent several days at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area. Saturday was mostly an uneventful evening. I was there for about five hours and had nothing to show for it. I spent a lot of my time walking the trails and sitting waiting for something to come along. I was even there to watch the sunset. But it still was not a great day.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 640, f/8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Several times when I thought I was going to get a chance at some wildlife action, people would always walk by. On the long trail, I thought I was alone, and I was trying to photograph some dragonflies and small birds when all of a sudden, a man on a bike with a dog came upon me. After they passed, I did not see anything more. So I walked back to my car and moved to a place where I thought I would be alone and would be able to watch the sunset on the marsh. I had been sitting in one place for about an hour alone. I was watching plenty of wood ducks fly by, but nothing came close enough. Then out of the blue, another group with a dog came upon me. They were startled because I was sitting still and they didn't see me until they were on top of me. It just was so frustrating that people kept finding me because after they start talking and making noise, nothing is going to come bye. So, I decided to pack it in for the night with the sun completely down.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 160, f/8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

The next morning my brother joined me, and we went back to the Bashakill. We arrived quite early, and there were a lot fewer people there. We started at the boat launch, and I was hoping that I would be able to photograph some migratory birds. Once I got out of the car, I realized that I was targeting the wrong animal. So I changed lenses to my Tamron 90mm Macro lens. In the bushes, there were a ton of spider webs with the morning dew in them. So I started taking pictures of them. Then I found one web with a spider in it. I am not sure what species it is, but it was a beautiful red color. I don't think I have ever photographed spider webs with dew in them, but I enjoyed a couple of the photographs that I managed.

After a while, we decided to move. My brother took me to a trail that was probably much less traveled. The grass was much higher, and there was not much of a path. Branches were impeding the tiny trail, and we had to duck and dodge to get through. But at the end of the trail, it comes to a section of the long path. To my amazement, when we stepped out on the long path trail, there were three Great Egrets in the marsh in front of us. I decided that they were a bit too far away after taking some initial photographs, so I put on my Sigma 1.4x teleconverter with my Sigma 150-600mm lens.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 125, f/9 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Then we moved up the trail a bit and proceeded into one of the stands at the Bashakill. So, I was about 15 feet up in the air, which is not ideal, but it was better than being behind the dense brush. I decided to use exposure compensation of -1 to help not blow out the white bodies of the Great Egrets. It was the first time that I had ever done this. It worked out great. I managed to take probably a hundred or so photographs. I always seem to take more than needed to make sure they are coming out. It was approaching midday by the time we came upon the egrets, and they were not doing too much. It was thrilling to see them, because I don't see them often in my area, and I have never been able to pull off a photograph of them. In the past, I would always overexpose them. I was thrilled that I had finally captured some pictures of them.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 100, f/9 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Overall the trips to the Bashakill were a success, but it took a lot of effort. I guess patience finally paid off, and maybe a little bit of luck. I look forward to the next adventure. I hope everyone enjoys the photographs. Until next time.

Going Through My Photographs

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 100, f/4 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Over the last couple of weeks I have not had much opportunity to get out and take any photographs.  I have been getting home after dark most days and I have not spent a lot of time out in the wilderness.  I am hoping that tomorrow will be a good day, and I will be able to get out and enjoy the day, before heading back to work on Monday.

Since I have not taken many photographs lately, I decided to go through some of my photographs from earlier this year.  I found some that I was pleased with.  I am not sure why I didn't share them sooner.

While going through the pictures I found a Macro photograph of a dragonfly that I really liked.  It was really close up.  I wish that I had not cut off the rest of the tail, but I really like the way the wings are out of focus and lead your eye up to the right.  Also the wings have reflections of the beautiful yellow colors from the body of the dragonfly.  The green background being very out of focus also lends well to keeping the dragonfly as the clear subject of the image.  I just love Macro photographs of dragonflies.  It gives a perspective of a beautiful insect that most people don't get to see, and it brings out all the little hairs and every little detail. 

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1600, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

The photograph of the geese family was taken on a lovely spring day at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area near Wurtsboro New York.  I was laying on the ground when I took the photograph.  The geese were slowly walking up the trail in front of me.  I don't know what it is about this photograph but I really enjoy looking at it.  I love the way the grasses and brush just frame them.  The only thing that I think could improve the photograph is if they were facing me.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5- f/6.3, ISO 1250, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

A little later on during the same trip I came upon a painted turtle just basking in the sun.  Again I tried to get down as low as I could to try and get a different angle then I normally photograph at.  I did have a hard time focusing on the turtle's head.  Even in this photograph the focus was more on the shell.  But the blades of grass were coming up and making it hard to focus.  I love the shallow depth of field because it makes the turtle stand out in its environment.  It just could have been a little better if the focus was perfect.  But I still like the shot.

I think for the time being my best chances are probably going to be photographing a lot of macro insects and amphibians.  Also very soon the ducks and waterfowl will be migrating.  It may already be starting.  Then once the winter sets in I will probably spend a lot of my time photographing bald eagles.  I really can't wait to test my new camera and lens combo on flying birds of prey.  Until next time. 

Trip to the Hickok Brook Multiple Use Area

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/250s Manual exposure

Since my last post the Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider's have disappeared.  I am not sure if they just moved or if they are no longer alive.  It has been getting quite cold here at night and I am not sure what they do for the winter.  The trees are starting to change color already here and it just seems very early to me.
Yesterday I took a trip with my brother to Hickok Brook Multiple Use Area to see if we could catch any bass.  I brought my camera along in case I had any opportunities.  I have seen a lot of bear's there and I never have my camera.  The fishing was extremely disappointing.  We did not even have a bite.  Over the past few years it seems like this once great fishing hole has been completely over fished.  It is saddening to me.  I have very fond memories of fishing off the spill way, catching small catfish and bass.  I have not seen a catfish in there in several years, and the bass fishing has steadily declined also.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/250s Manual exposure

It was around 60 degrees or so when we got to the lake and there were a large number of bull frogs along the water.  I must have seen about 10 or so without really looking for them.  They just seemed to be every couple of feet.  Just sitting and waiting for it to warm up.  I did manage to take some photographs of them and I will post the one that I liked the most.  The photograph turned out to be a very high contrast image and I liked the way it turned out.  I also turned it into a black and white image and I actually like it better than the colored version.  Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 1600, f/16 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Also while fishing I came across a branch full of caterpillars.  I am not sure what species they were. They may have been an invasive species,  but I really had no clue what species they were.  What I found really interesting was when you tapped the branch that they were on they would go from docile into a weird defensive stance all at once.  It was like they were one being.  They curled up into S shapes and stuck there legs out.  I figure they were doing it to ward off predators, but I had never seen anything like it before.  I did take a short video of it but I have not taken the time to look at it yet. I had a pesky yellow jacket who would not leave me alone while I was trying to photograph them, so I only took about 20 or so images.  All the photographs were taken with the Tamron 90 mm macro.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 100, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

We did not see any bears this time around but we did see about a 200 pound Black Bear on the way home.  It was attempting to cross the road but it decided to turn around and run back into the woods.  I did not manage a photograph of it, and it vanished back into the brush.  Hopefully soon I will get a chance to photograph a bear.  I really had high hopes of photographing Brown Bears in Alaska and I think missing out on that opportunity has me really hoping to at least photograph Black Bears at home.

I have been very busy lately.  Last week I started to teach a college class in C++ programming, in addition to my full time job at the college.  So I have been spending a lot of hours at the college.  But labor day weekend finally gave me an opportunity to spend some time out enjoying the wilderness.  I am hoping I will get to spend some more time out soon, and winter will probably be here before I know it.  I cannot wait to really test my sigma 150-600 mm lens on bald eagles.  It should be a lot of fun this year.  Until Next Time.

Micrathena Sagitatta: Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

In my last post, I talked about how I really wanted to get a chance to photograph some spiders.  I could not believe it but today I got my chance.  I went out in my backyard today, to start cleaning out a garden that we had just let get away from us over the last few years.  But as I started to trim back some of the branches off the bush in front of me, I saw two different Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders.  After some research I found out they were both females.  I managed a few good photographs, and I hope over the next few days I get a few more.  One of the spiders was rebuilding its web so I focused a lot of my time on that spider.  I just could not believe that these spiders have probably been in my backyard all summer.  To me they are some of the craziest looking spiders around here.  Ever since I photographed and wrote a post about them back in 2012, I had not really seen any.  (Link to 2012 Post)  Maybe I just was not looking hard enough.  Since then I have done some research a few times but I never posted anything about these spiders.  So I figured I would put a little information about them here.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

What do they look like?

Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders are one of the smaller species of orb-weaving spider.  They are sexually dimorphic.  The males are smaller averaging around 0.5cm and females about 1.0 cm. (without including the legs)  The females have the more striking features and beautiful colors.  Both have the distinctive arrow shape, but the females are more pronounced.  The females also have additional small spikes on the abdomen near the thorax.

Web Structure:

The most interesting thing I did not know about them is that the web consists of two portions the frame and the orb.  The frame is a relatively permanent structure and some spiders will leave them up for days and weeks.  The orb however is built each day at dawn before being taken down in the evening.  When they take it down they consume it.  They also typically stay in the hole at the center of the orb where it hangs upside down waiting for its prey to wander into the web.  In my case because they were upside down the good side was facing into the bush.  So I had to climb in behind the bush and the brush to be able to get the shots.

Where are they located?

Micrathena Sagitatta is one of only three Micrathena spiders found in North America.  It is most common to the eastern half of the country.  Nationally it is found in nearly every state east of Kansas, and as far north as Maine.

Are they dangerous?

Most people who look these spiders up are rightly concerned as to whether these spiders are dangerous?  For the most part, they aren't dangerous to people.  They have venom that they use to paralyze and kill bugs, but their venom isn't strong enough to do the same to larger creatures.  The venom may be a concern for those who are allergic to it, but this is rare.  That said, the bite can be painful, so you should try and avoid accidentally sticking your hand into their web.

Even though these spiders are not really dangerous they do look quite scary.  Once you get past the fear of them they can be very interesting just to watch.  I hope over the next week I get some more opportunities to photograph them, and as I clean out the garden maybe I will find more interesting bugs.  Until next time.

Macro Photography: Historic Goshen Farm Maryland

In my last post, I talked about how I had just gotten back from a trip to Maryland to visit my sister.  If you have not had a chance to see it yet, click here.  The one evening, my family and I went to Historic Goshen Farm and Educational Center for an evening of music.  I am not much of a live music fan, but I was very interested in visiting their garden.  They had several gardens and an apiary.  The one garden was called the pollinator garden and it was full of all kinds of beautiful flowers.

Naturally this attracted a wide arraignment of insects.  There were a ton of bees.  Not just honey bees from the apiary, but also wasps, hornets, bumble bees, you name it and it was there.  I am always very unnerved by bees but I think if I hadn't gotten used to them buzzing around me I would not have gotten any photographs, because they were everywhere.  I did have this one blue colored wasp that was giving me a hard time.  Thankfully he moved on without stinging me.

In the pollinator garden and on the grounds, there were also a lot of different species of butterflies and moths.  Most prominent were the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Eastern Black Swallowtail.  Almost all my photographs of the Eastern Black Swallowtails came out to dark.  But I did capture some beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtails.  I just love the colors that they exhibit.

In the pollinator garden I also captured a couple photographs of a Bumble Bee on a Purple / Pink Coneflower.  I could be wrong but I believe that is what it was.  If you know what kind of flower it is you can comment the name down in the comments section.  The colors were just amazing in these photographs.  The other flowers in the background I think just make the bright red and pinks pop with the Bumble Bee as an added focus.  I think these are the best Bee photographs that I have ever taken.

Also, I was able to spot some Monarch Caterpillars, chomping away on Milkweed.  It had been a few years since I had seen one.  So it was quite remarkable to see so many in one garden.  I did not see any chrysalis yet, but it must be getting close to that time of year.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun and I think that I managed some great macro photographs from the trip.  I am looking forward to taking more Macro Photographs of insects while the summer lasts.  I would love to get some photographs of Jumping Spiders or just Spiders in general.  But I have a big fear of spiders and I normally try and keep my distance from them which typically results in less than stellar shots.  Furthermore I would like to try and photograph some more Dragonflies and Damselflies before the summer is over.  Fall is quickly approaching and then winter will be here soon.  Then I should get a good chance to test out my Sigma 150-600 mm lens on some flying eagles for the first time.  I can't wait.  Until Next Time.               

Alaska Time-lapse Video

During my last post I had mentioned that I had been working on putting together a video of some time-lapse that I had taken on my trip in Alaska.  I finally put them together and got them uploaded.  It took much longer than anticipated, but I am very happy with the result.

Ultimately, I decided that I should not be posting videos on my person account.  So I created a YouTube brand account where I could post everything related to my wildlife photography blog.  I decided to keep the name the same as my blog: Aaron Smith Wildlife Photography.  I had to re-upload my previous video to the new account and upload the new one as well.  From now on I will post all my videos on the new channel.

The new video is a compilation of time-lapses that I took on the cruise ship in Alaska.  I had taken a few time-lapse sequences in the evenings when we were leaving port cities.  Because it was a moving ship, they seem much faster than the previous video I had taken.  You can also see when the ship speed was changing and also some movement up and down due wave action.  So, the time-lapse's were very different than my previous time-lapse when the camera was completely still.

I had planned on doing some wildlife photography during last weekend but I did not really get many photographs.  Then this week came and went like a whirlwind, and I took a trip to Maryland to see my sister.  So I have not had to much time to photograph anything.  But while I was in Maryland I did visit a historic gardens area and there were more butterflies their than I have ever seen in one place.  I did not have a lot of time once we arrived but I am hopeful that I captured a few good shots.  There were also a lot of beautiful flowers and plenty of bees.  I am hoping to post more about those photographs once I get a chance to look them over on my computer.

I hope everyone enjoys the time-lapse sequences from my trip.  Until Next Time.             

Local Wildlife and Alaska Trip Continued

Over the last week or so, I have not taken too many new photographs. I have spent a lot of my free time fishing with my brother, and I have also been working on going through more photographs and videos from my Alaska trip. I’m hoping that I will be able to put out the time lapse videos in the next post. I am trying something new with them and I have never edited videos before. I have two time lapse videos that I took on the cruise. They are different then the first one I did because I was on a moving boat during these. So there was a lot more motion because of the movement of the boat. But I’m hoping they will be interesting enough.

On several occasions I took my camera with me when I was fishing, but I only managed to take about 100 photographs during those trips. I did manage to photograph a rabbit the one night, but it was getting quite dark. The photograph has a lot of noise in it, but I still wanted to post it. I also spent some time trying my luck at macro photography. I was using my Canon 6d mark ii with my fathers Tamron 90mm macro lens. I did struggle some to get parts of the tiny critters in focus. The auto focus on the lens can be a bit weird, and it does not always want to work the way you would hope. So I used a lot of manual focus towards the end of my macro session. I did manage a couple of photographs. I did like the photograph I managed of a bumble bee, and I also had some luck with dragonflies.

My plan is to spend some time this weekend out and trying to get some wildlife photographs. I will most likely head out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area or some other local areas. Hopefully I will be able to get there around the time when the sun is coming up. I would love to photograph wildlife in some great lighting. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

During the last week I started to go through the pictures I captured on my cell phone during my Alaska trip. I took a lot of photographs on my iPhone, and I figured some would be good. I know the mega pixel count is lower but it was really the only chance I had to capture some of the areas. Because almost all the photographs were taken on the buses, trains, planes, and boats through the windows. So I had to shoot through glass and I figured my cell phone would be easier to press up against the glass to try and minimize glare. I did manage to catch some amazing scenery, so I wanted to share them. So all the pictures below were taken with my iPhone.

I hope everyone enjoys the photographs. Until next time.