Random Photos

[Arjan82]

Ok, back to the Lily Pond.

This time I learned my lesson and set everything to manual. Manual-ISO, manual exposure (shutter speed and aperture), manual focus. Everything exposure and focus related.

View attachment 348062
Figure 1. Lily Pond again. This time with an airplane. At least I got the f-stop right this time.
Leica SL3
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 ASPH
(ISO-640, F/8, 1/500 sec)

I decided to boost the ISO a little, thus allowing me to reduce the shutter speed, to sharply capture the airplane. They were coming in about once ever minute or two.

By the way, if you ever happen to fly into San Diego and have a starboard side window seat, you can see Balboa Park pretty clearly soon before you land.

The Leica glass did an excellent job with the sharpness. This scene is notoriously unforgiving in terms of chromatic aberrations. Something about the palm trees against the blue sky at this time of day tends to amplify any color limitations of lenses. This scene right here is one of main reasons I switched to the Leica system instead of sticking with my Nikkor lenses. Was it worth it? I don't know, but the Leica APO-lenses do hold up well.

I also redid that walkway photo, this time using a 50 mm lens instead of the 35 mm. The 50 mm lens offers a little more compression (relatively speaking). I'm not sure which photo I like better, but here it is.

View attachment 348061
Figure 2. El Prado walkway, this time with a 50 mm lens.
Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 ASPH (ISO-100, f/8, 1/30 sec, handheld)

I took a load of other pictures too, but most didn't turn out well. So I won't post them. Anyway, here's some flowers:

View attachment 348059
Figure 3. Flowers in the Alcázar Garden.
Same 50 mm lens (ISO-100, f/2, 1/2500 sec)

I decided to stick around to see what photo opportunities the park had to offer after dark.

Here's the Lily Pond again at twilight. Also taken with the 50 mm lens this time. (This is nice that I don't have to do this at any particular time of year. All the lighting here is artificial, except for some residual skylight.) The bottom of the camera was touching the railing for a bit of stability. I also had image stabilization turned on.

View attachment 348063
Figure 4. Lily Pond at twilight.
Same 50 mm lens (ISO-400, f/5, 0.4 sec, handheld [with the help of a railing for support])

I took a couple dozen images before deciding on this one. That duck in the middle of the image is very photogenically affable. All the other ducks swam around back and forth, but that middle duck posed in the center for quite awhile, as if he knew it was his place to be in the photo.

Also, notice the clouds coming in, reminding me that my telescope will not be in use for yet another night. Again.

On the way back to the car I had to stop and take a photo of these pillars.

View attachment 348060
Figure 5. Pillars near Casa Del Prado.
Same 50 mm lens. (ISO-40000, f/5, 1/100 sec, handheld)

I don't know what it is about this scene, but it captivates me. I think the palm fronds in the immediate foreground, the shadows of the palm fronds on the pillar, and the hand-railing to the left all play nicely together. As a matter of fact, Lily Pond be damned, I think this is my favorite photo of the day.

(All photos posted here were touched up, at least a little, in Lightroom.)

Those are absolutely stunning... Especially the second one. Well done :)

 

[morrobay]

Chinatown, Central Park, Washington Square

 

[docnet]

Chinatown, Central Park, Washington Square

The candidness of the last photo is amazing. It's a quintessential, authentic, NYC moment.

 

[jtbell]

On a recent weekend trip to North Carolina, I stopped to see the wind-driven kinetic sculptures of Vollis Simpson. He called them simply "windmills", but his fans started calling them "whirligigs", and that name stuck. A park in the town of Wilson displays a collection of them.

 

[BillTre]

Reminds me of the Twister movie.

 

[jtbell]

Reminds me of the Twister movie.

No tornadoes, but it was hot. I lasted only about 10 minutes outside, then sat in my car for a while with the a/c running full blast so I could stop sweating before I hit the road again.

 

[BillTre]

There were a lot to of wind chimes in a scene in the Twister movie.

 

[Flyboy]

“Take that, squirrels. Good luck raiding the bird feeder on the deck now!”

 

[BillTre]

“Take that, squirrels. Good luck raiding the bird feeder on the deck now!”
View attachment 348277

The squirrels will find a way!

 

[Flyboy]

The squirrels will find a way!

And once they do, we’ll combat that too.

 

[fresh_42]

I'd prefer my co-mammals over dinosaurs at any time.

 

[BillTre]

I'd prefer my co-mammals over dinosaurs at any time.

What about birds?

 

[berkeman]

And once they do, we’ll combat that too.

It's probably best just to get a squirrel-proof bird feeder (there are several kinds). Squirrels around us just climb nearby tall trees behind our house, drop onto our roof, then make their way to the front of the house to drop down onto the balcony. Once they are done on the balcony, they launch off to land in treetops in the front of our house.

We have a bird feeder similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Outdoors-Hanging-Protection-Capacity/dp/B0CCDL8JS6?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[fresh_42]

What about birds?

They counts as dinos.

 

[jack action]

“Take that, squirrels. Good luck raiding the bird feeder on the deck now!”
View attachment 348277

 

[Flyboy]

It's probably best just to get a squirrel-proof bird feeder (there are several kinds). Squirrels around us just climb nearby tall trees behind our house, drop onto our roof, then make their way to the front of the house to drop down onto the balcony. Once they are done on the balcony, they launch off to land in treetops in the front of our house.

We have a bird feeder similar to this one:

View attachment 348278
https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Outdoors-Hanging-Protection-Capacity/dp/B0CCDL8JS6?tag=pfamazon01-20

Problem is that it’s a tray feeder, not a hanging type. (Girlfriend loves the doves it brings.) The roof is basically inaccessible, as it’s a 3-story townhouse that is less than a decade old, so the decorative trees haven’t grown high enough for the squirrels to reach the roof.

Every bit of evidence says they’ve been climbing up the posts to get onto the deck, so we’re taking a page from the rural power companies and wrapping sheet metal around the posts so they can’t grab hold. So far, it seems to be working, but it’s only been a week.

 

[BillTre]

Got any flying squirrels around there?

 

[Flyboy]

Got any flying squirrels around there?

Nope. It’s Iowa, so the only flying squirrels are the ones getting launched via catapults by irritated and/or bored folks out in farm country.

 

[jtbell]

So squirrel-launching is the new cow-tipping?

 

[Flyboy]

Less likely to cause injury, that’s for sure.

 

[jtbell]

Today I visited the TVA's Wilbur Dam near Johnson City TN.

The lake behind it looks like a nice fishing spot.

I was actually on my way to visit the much larger Watauga Dam a few miles further upstream. It turned out to be a one-mile round trip hike from the visitor center to a viewpoint overlooking the dam, and another mile to the dam itself. In 90-degree heat? No thanks. I did get some nice views of Watauga Lake.

 

[morrobay]

“Take that, squirrels. Good luck raiding the bird feeder on the deck now!”
View attachment 348277

 

[DennisN]

The squirrels will find a way!

And once they do, we’ll combat that too.

Remember what Jeff Goldblum said :

 

[Andy Resnick]

Night/day photos of a large lantern at the Cleveland Zoo's Asian Lantern Festival:

Both shot w/ Nikon D810 + Zeiss 15/2.8 @ f/5.6, 1/30s auto ISO.

 

[DennisN]

Some shots from May and June this year...

A young Chihuahua:

A Siberian Husky:

Ivy:

Hollyhocks in the city:

 

[DennisN]

A bright double rainbow shot a couple of weeks ago...
..there is also a hint of a supernumerary rainbow inside the primary bow...

 

[jtbell]

a supernumerary rainbow inside the primary bow..

Looks outside to me...

 

[morrobay]

A metal ladder wash up . This is from a pontoon platform for swimmers that broke loose from winds in Jomtien beach.

 

[pinball1970]

Yorkshire today, the lovely Hebden Bridge. I will try and get different spots to last time.

 

[morrobay]

The Queen of Ice Cream along Jomtien Beach

 

[pinball1970]

Yorkshire today, the lovely Hebden Bridge. I will try and get different spots to last time.

Well that did not work out. I did get a few near the station then played with the light to give them a Victorian feel.

 

[jtbell]

Why did the turtle cross the street?

Maybe it was looking for its sandals.

 

[collinsmark]

Trip to Nebraska (Part 1 of 3)

I grew up in Nebraska. The primary goals of this trip were to

1. Visit family (not shown here).
2. Photograph birds and other nature stuff.
3. Photograph various other things that happen along, while I'm there.

My mother and sister live next to a highway, and between their building and the highway is a very narrow strip of overgrowth that has a lot of nature stuff in it. My mom also has a bird feeder that attracts birds and other nature stuff.

They also have balconies (of sorts) that allow me to gain an elevated vantage point, perfect for photographing birds.

Equipment:

• Leica SL3 camera
• Several Leica APO-prime lenses for family and other stuff
• Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports (Leica L) lens for birds

Figure 1. Hoop dancer at San Diego airport. Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-SL (f/4.5, 1/100 sec, ISO-100).

Before I even left San Diego, I took some early morning shots of a hoop dancer at San Diego's airport. You might think it odd that someone would go to the airport and hoop dance while travelers sat and watched, but that's just what happens in San Diego. It's fine.

Little did anyone know at the time while I was shooting this, the No. 2 engine of the Boeing 737 that I was about to board was spewing hydraulic fluid all over everywhere. The leak was caught before the plane took off, causing everyone to de-plane and find alternate routes of transportation. It was the first of series of unrelated/unexpected delays and detours. I eventually made it to Nebraska in the wee hours of the next morning, but only after spending the whole day and evening in several airports and airplanes.

I left my telephoto zoom lens behind (bags were already full) and just stuck with the 500mm prime for telephoto use. It was the right decision. I now love that Sigma 500 mm prime lens.

The first couple of days were extremely hot and humid, at about 100 deg F (38 deg C) and 100% relative humidity (all the humidity), fairly typical for Nebraska at this time of year.

It was so hot and humid that merely walking out of the (air conditioned) house would cause my lenses to immediately fog up and start dripping with condensation: similar to normally how an ice-cold beer or soda condensates when taking it out of the cooler. Except my lenses weren't in a cooler; they were merely at room temperature.

Figure 2. Moth and house fly on my sister's balcony, after waiting for my lens to warm up and de-fog. Sigma 500 mm (f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO-320). I don't know the particular species of moth or housefly.

There's lots of bugs in Nebraska. Lots and lots. Fun fact: before the Nebraska Cornhuskers were called that, they were called the Nebraska Bugeaters (as in "bug eaters"). I'm not making that up. You can fact check it.

The strategy for bird shooting was to place my camera in manual exposure mode with auto-ISO, put the aperture at wide-open (f/5.6 in this case), and adjust the shutter speed from around 1/1000 to 1/4000 sec, depending on the speediness/figityness of the subject. Autofocus mode was set on contiuous (AFc), with focus tracking set on Animals (this "animals" focus tracking mode is something you can now do with modern, mirrorless cameras). Then, I might adjust the exposure compensation (affecting the auto-ISO) depending on the contrast of the scene.

I've found it extremely common that I have to set my exposure compensation to -1/3 stop to -2 stops to avoid blowing highlights. It could be due to the extremely sharp lenses that I use, although I'm not 100% sure. It's just something I get used to now.

Figure 3. Bird on top of a pine tree. According to my bird app, it's some type of wren, probably a House Wren (troglodytes aedon), Brown-throated. Same Sigma 500 mm lens (f/5.6, 1/3200 sec, ISO-3200).

Figure 4. Two birds on a twig. I'm guessing the birds (relying on the bird app) are both House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), both male. Sigma 500mm (f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO-6400).

Figure 5. One of two birds leaving the twig. Once again, these look to both be male sparrows. I'm not sure if they are the same sparrows shown in Fig. 4., but they might be. (f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO-6400.)

Figure 6. Back to the wren on the pine tree. This little bird loves to get up there and chirp it's little heart out. (f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO-400.)

(All photos in this post were touched up, at least a little, in Lightroom.)

To be continued. ...

 

[collinsmark]

Trip to Nebraska (part 2 of 3)

Continuing with the sparrows,

Figure 7. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), male, on a twig. Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports (Leica L), (f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO-2000).

Fig.7 is a pretty aggressive crop, but with impressive sharpness of the Sigma 500 mm lens and the 60 megapixels of the Leica SL3, I can crop all day. I'm kind of blown away, really.

Figure 8. Four birds on a twig. I believe the top bird is a male House Sparrow, and lower three are female House Sparrows. Same Sigma 500mm lens (f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO-4000).

Figure 9. American Robin (Turdus migratorius) on a pine tree branch. Same Sigma 500mm lens (f/5.6, 1/10 sec, ISO-100).

I just noticed now that the image in Fig. 9 was taken at only 1/10 second. I must have neglected to change my camera settings back to birds at some point (or accidentally twisted the shutter speed dial). The sharpness of the image is a testament to image stabilization of the Sigma lens + Leica SL3. Remember, it was a 500 mm lens, handheld, with only the balcony railing for stability.

Figure 10. Robin and female sparrow in the bird bath. Same Sigma lens (f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO-1000).

Figure 11. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, on twig. (f/5.6, 1/800 sec, ISO-1600.)

These cardinals were relatively tough to photograph. They didn't stick around in any one place for very long. They'd land on a branch and stay for only a few seconds or so before flying away to god knows where. After a while they would come and land on some other random branch but for only a few seconds. This is the best picture of my attempts.

Figure 12. Dove on branch. I believe (relying on my bird app) that this is a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). (f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO-1600.)

That mourning dove had its adoring eye on me for awhile. It would sit there, preening and lovingly cooing at me like it wanted to devour me as if I was a big, delicious cicada.

(All images posted here were touched up, at least a little, in Lightroom.)

To be continued. ...

 

[collinsmark]

Trip to Nebraska (part 3 of 3)

Moving on to some other nature stuff in and around the trees and brush.

Figure 13. Squirrel high up in a tree. I believe this is a Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). Camera: Leica SL3. Lens: Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports (Leica L), (f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO-5000).

That squirrel shown in Fig. 13 was pretty high up in the tree, higher up than most of the birds I was shooting.

Figure 14: Bunny near a tree. Same Sigma 500 mm lens (f/5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO-8000, handheld [no balcony railing this time]).

I don't know what kind of rabbit or hare is shown in Fig. 14 (maybe @BillTre could provide some insight).

Figure 15. Another Bunny. Or maybe it's the same bunny from Fig.14; I'm not sure -- there were a bunch of them. (f/5.6, 1/200 sec, ISI-6400, handheld [no balcony railing support this time].)

The bunnies emerge from the nature stuff in the evening.

Figure 16. Bird eating tasty cicada. My bird app suggests this is a Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), male. (f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO-8000.)

Here, in Fig. 16, a grackle has found a delicious, tasty cicada. Mmmm. Yummy, yummy, nom-nom. Tasty, yummmy cicadas! Mmmm, nom-nom. Prime numbers! Yummy, yummy. Mmmmm.

My trip back to San Diego happened to be on the very same day as as the Crowdstrike debacle. Many of the computers were down in the airport. And as you can imagine there were lots of delays. I did eventually make it back to San Diego, but it took all day. I didn't arrive until well after dark.

Figure 17. Scene at Omaha's Epply Airfield airport. Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 ASPH (f/2, 1/124 sec, ISO-100).

(All images in this post were touched up, at least a little, in Lightroom)

-----------------------

I'll finish off with one last photograph that I took on this trip.

Figure 18. Footpath in Hummel Park. Same Leica 50 mm lens (f/5, 1/160 sec, ISO-100).

My sisters and I took a quick drive to revisit Hummel Park, a place I know well from my childhood and youth. Fig. 18 shows a path hidden away within the secluded backwoods. (If you dare to walk the path, it will lead you to Devil's Slide.)

The mere mention of Hummel Park often seems to strike a sense of unease and trepidation among residents of (North-) Omaha, due to some spooky myths and urban legends. I won't mention the specifics though, because none of them are true. None of them. Just pretend you've never heard of Hummel Park. Do you understand me? None of them are true. None of them. Not even one.