Tuesday, 9 of February of 2010
Landscape | Wildlife | Nature
I had a great morning of birding today with Capt. Terry Frankford of Reelin & Chillin Charters in and around the Sarasota, FL. He provided a great tour and many fantastic photo opportunities. Here’s a couple taken with Pentax K7 and Pentax smc DA*300mm. More to come:
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Breakfast with the Kids!
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Big Stretch!
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Plumage!
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GBH x2
I had Squaw Creek NWR all to myself this morning. I was there for about 2.5 hours and did not see another person. Although the temperature was in the mid twenties and there was no open water, it was quite nice. There was very little snow cover. I spotted several immature bald eagles and this incredibly patient hawk.
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Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/800s @ f/5.6 iso200
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Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/640s @ f/5.6 iso200
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Pentax K7 w/ Pentax smc A* 600mm; 1/800s @ f/5.6 iso200
Rummaging around in some old files from last summer I ran across these images that I guess I dismissed back then. Both images were captured from the bow of Mike’s boat on the Missouri river near Blair. I like the dark background of the first one and the wispy grass that is splayed out behind the bird. It was pretty hot that day.
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Pentax K10D w/ Pentax smc A*600mm - 1/1500s at f/5.6 iso400
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Pentax K10D w/ Pentax smc A*600mm at 1/180s at f/5.6 iso400
Bored; haven’t been out much lately because of the weather; felt the need to make a photograph while making photographs; made this one with in-camera HDR; Pentax K7 and Pentax DA12-24mm @ 12mm. Somethin’ to do . . .
I was a little peeved after using a $5 bill to pay the $3 entry fee (had no singles) to DeSoto Bend NWR today only to find out that almost all the roads were closed. But as I was leaving only about 10 minutes after I got there, I spotted this eagle right near the entrance. He was perched in a tree very close to the road. The light was excellent. Captured with the K7 and A*600mm.
A bargain at only $5!
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1/800s at f/8, iso 200 600mm
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1/1600s at f/5.6, iso 200 600mm
Here’s another image from 12/31.
I’m told this is a Cairns Birdwing (I thought it was just a yellow butterfly).
Anyway, the PP on this version included noise reduction on the background and sharpening with NIK Sharpener Pro 3.0 (RAW and Display) only on the butterfly body, legs, and lower wing.
A little sharpening goes a long way. Too much?
Pentax K7 w/ smc DA*60-250mm
I took the day off from work; spent some time at the zoo on the last day of 2009.
Shutter speed on this image was 1/160s at f/4.0 iso400; focal length 220mm. In addition to my “normal post-processing” (minor curves and a bit of saturation) the PP on this image also included noise reduction with NIK Define 2.0, contrast and saturation enhancement with NIK Viveza 2.0, and RAW and Display sharpening with NIK Sharpener Pro 3.0. The new versions of the NIK plug-ins are quite nice and have a consistent and integrated interface.
It’s been a great year! I’m looking forward to an even better 2010 with lots and lots of photo ops!!! Happy New Year to all!!!
Merry Christmas to all. I hope the weather did not ruin your holiday. Since just about everyone will be snow bound for most of this weekend, I figured now would be a good time for this post.
I’m looking for 4 to 5 photographers to join me for a photography tour to Costa Rica in January 2011. I was there recently with my wife but had little time for photography. Therefore, I’ve decided to go back and focus (no pun intended) on photographing its incredible flora and fauna.
I’m putting together a tour of some fantastic places for landscape and wildlife photography. When I was there a few weeks ago, I met Freddy, a bilingual naturalist guide. We discussed the possibility of putting together a photography tour and are currently working out the details. I invite you to visit the Costa Rica 2011 page on my blog for preliminary details http://scenicaperture.com/costa-rica-photography-excursion/ and to view a few images I got while there the first time.
I figure we would need 4 to 5 others to make it possible. After you’ve had a chance to visit my blog and see what I’m thinking, let me know if you have questions and whether you are interested. I’d be happy to provide more information.
