Future Preview

During a pause in construction I offer the following preview of the future of this blog.

Note:  Click on an image to enlarge.

Little Blue Heron

 

I love the droplet of water between the points of the beak.  The bird had just attempted to catch a fish, unsuccessfully.

Platanthera Ciliaris (aka Yellow Fringed Orchid) (aka Cheese Whiz Orchid)

 

Affectionately known as the Cheese Whiz Orchid, owing to its color, this fringed orchid is interesting for its fine fringes.  I also love the two "fangs" you can see on the roof of the "mouth."

 

Red Tail Hawk Close Up

What can I say about this?  He was sitting in a tree above me and being very cooperative. 

Bauer Park, Madison CT, Winter, HDR

 

This was my first attempt at an HDR photo.  HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.  It is created by combining multiple images at different exposures in order to bring out the highlights and the shadows equally.  Imagine you are standing just outside a short tunnel. The inside of the tunnel is relatively dark, while the "light at the end of the tunnel" is relatively bright.  The human eye can resolve these differences, but it is very difficult photographically to do the same.  HDR combines the differing exposures to preserve the detail in the dark without the light being washed out.  The above photo does this while accenting the blue of the sky, both directly and reflected in the still water. 

Neighborhood Merlin

 

 This merlin was hanging out in our neighborhood in early March.  I love the pose.

Red Belly Woodpecker

I just can't get enough of this bird.  He was posing so nicely ...

Tufted Titmouse

What can I say?  These little things are just too cute for words.

A Very Primitive Panorama

This was my first attempt at a panorama.  Taken in 2005 at the Grand Canyon, it is composed of six frames stitched together in Photoshop.  One of the goals of the Teardrop project is to revisit the Grand Canyon and do justice to it.

While this photo spans probably 160 degrees, it is limited by its horizontality, and by the fact that I was using a polarizer for the shots.  If you look closely you'll see the difference in sky color owing to the differing angles from the sun.  There is even a visible vertical seam just to the right of the hiker that stepped into two of my frames.  Further, the horizon is distorted by the limits of my (then current) equipment.


The equipment has been improved significantly since this photo.  The Nikon 300S body is supplemented with a Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8, a Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8, a Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8, a Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8, a Nikkor 200-400 f/4, a Nikkor 24mm f/3.5 Tilt Shift, and a pair of teleconverters.  All of this is supported by a Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff ball head and various other RRS components.  I also have a Wemberly gimbal head for tracking birds.  This lineup will allow me to accomplish just about any shot I can imagine.

Moose Peterson has written about panoramas that not only span several images horizontally but three or more vertically.  In particular he writes about using a tilt-shift lens for ultimate depth of field.  I'm intrigued!  And, combine that with HDR, well, the results could be spectacular.

But, you need to be where the landscape will support the technique to render the artistic result.  And, thus, the main purpose of the teardrop is revealed - to get me where the opportunities exist.