In Search of Snowbirds | Tree Roots The roots tell a story. Snow just give them contrast.
The Back Story Some days you go to the image. When it’s foggy, you must get close.
Details…
| Event | Snowy Walkabout |
| Location | Northern Illinois |
| Date/Time | 1/04/2021 5:27 pm Local Time |
| Weather | Fog | 29°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Simple Click |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with 10-30mm lens |
In Search of Snowbirds | Big Snow Flakes Those big snowflake look so inviting. Time to search for birds that seem to love the snow. Let’s start with a nice snowy walkabout ending in the back of the backyard.
The Back Story Oh! It’s snowing outside! Quick, get the camera and get outside for a few simple clicks. Those really big flakes generally don’t last long.
Details…
| Event | Snow Day |
| Location | Northern Illinois |
| Date/Time | 1/15/2021 11:05 am Local Time |
| Weather | Snow | 33°F | Moderate Winds |
| Method | Simple click |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with 10-30mm lens |
Fine Art Portfolio | Spartan Executive Notice the line of sunset light reflection cutting through the fuselage. No, it’s not a wrinkle in the aluminum; it’s light reflection on the polished aluminum plane. Black & white helps accentuate the planes lines.
The Back Story My second year at the Blakesburg AAA Fly-in ended with a few long exposure images. This image was captured just before the last rays of sunset light faded on the first day of the fly-in. For a still shot in fading light, this image required numerous clicks for getting the nice combination of light, exposure, and angle. They were captured without a tripod, but with steady hands and the patience to capture numerous images.
Details…
| Event | Back to Blakesburg AAA Fly-in |
| Location | Antique Field |
| Date/Time | 9/01/2017 8:23 pm Local Time |
| Weather | Fair Skies | 59°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Walk along the flight line, pick a nice plane, wait to catch the light, try a tripod then handheld. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a 10-30mm lens |
Illinois Harvest | Big Round Bales The round bales standout big against a mostly sunny sky. For the whole story with all images, see Illinois Harvest | a 7 Image Story.
Illinois Harvest | a 7 Image Story Harvest time in northern Illinois is not your grandfather’s harvest experience. Farming in northern Illinois, like most other parts of the country, has become largely a corporate experience. The number of family farms continues to decline. Even the few remaining family farms outsource their harvest to larger operators. Corn and beans are “custom combined” by these operators using large, expensive machines.
Big Round Bales The round bales standout big against a mostly sunny sky. Custom Combining What an amazing sight! These combines cut a huge swath through the bean field. And, they rarely stop since they can offload to the wagon while continuing to cut beans. While watching this operation for a couple of hours, only one combine stopped only once and then for only a couple of minutes. Into the Semi Then, from the wagon the beans go right into the semi. The wagon can unload faster enough for one wagon to keep up with two combines. Pretty slick operation! Disked Under The farmer can almost immediately disk the field under before winter. Small Bean Field Why so many John Deere images? My dad was somewhat partial to John Deere equipment. My first tractor driving experience as a kid was on the John Deere H model. Corn Header Just change the cutter head and the combine will cut, husk, and shell corn. Big Illinois Sky After the harvest, fall paints northern Illinois fields in shades of gold accented by reds, yellows, and greens.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Illinois Harvest.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Macro Flowers Plus | Bright Day Lilies Daylilies love to be in the sun and can grow from one to four feet high. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and easily survive winters. Daylilies have been cultivated for over 2,500 years and include over 80,000 different flowers. For the whole story with all images, see Macro Flowers Plus | a 7 Image Story.
Macro Flowers Plus | Hairy Green It’s hard to notice all the hairs on this plant unless you get really close. Even at f/13 the depth of field is fairly small with the extension tube attached. This plant is not very impressive at a normal distance, but up close its interesting. For the whole story with all images, see Macro Flowers Plus | a 7 Image Story.
Macro Flowers Plus | a 7 Image Story Macro photography is all about getting closer to the subject and making that subject bigger. It allows for very close focusing and magnification. Macro photography is still relatively new to me. My Nikon gear for these images consists of a Nikon 1 V3 attached to a MOVO 21mm extension tube and a Nikon AF 135mm f2D, AF-S 50mm f1.4G, or 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom lens. The 135mm lens is a manual focus lens on the V3; not a big deal for macro images. Hopefully, a macro lens will be in my future. These images came from a short walkabout.
Fly on a Daisy Capturing this image with a fly in focus was more luck than skill. Utilizing f/8 helped, of course! Still hand holding the lens really close to the flower, waiting for the fly to stop for a second or two, continual auto-focusing, and clicking requires patience and a bit of skill.
Pollen Pollen Everywhere In macro photography, f/8 does not yield the depth of field you might imagine. Still, it’s a bees paradise viewed from a bee’s perspective.
Hairy Green It’s hard to notice all the hairs on this plant unless you get really close. Even at f/13 the depth of field is fairly small with the extension tube attached. This plant is not very impressive at a normal distance, but up close its interesting.
Hibiscus Parts The Hibiscus is a big flower. Even close up, it looks like a big flower. Notice how f/8 gives a decent depth of field with a 21mm extension tube mounted on a 135mm lens. And, the lens is manually focused on the V3. The high ISO kept the shutter speed faster for a handheld shot.
Droplets on a Leaf A few drops of water an make a big difference in a macro image. Notice the magnification effect of the water drops.
Bright Day Lilies Daylilies love to be in the sun and can grow from one to four feet high. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and easily survive winters. Daylilies have been cultivated for over 2,500 years and include over 80,000 different flowers.
Bee on a Flower Bees are among the most necessary species on the planet. Hand holding the lens very close to the flower while continually clicking and auto-focusing and waiting for the bee to stop for a sub second requires patience and a bit of skill.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Macro Flowers Plus.
Click any image below for a slide show.
