Autumn Color

Increasingly I am shooting video with my iPhone. It is convenient to both capture and edit on one device without needing to transferring to the computer. the phone has definite limitations with primarily a wide angle focal length. It still requires a tripod and microphone for better capture.  Another tool to record beauty in the natural world.

Technical: It does not have the quality for a full screen view which is a function of the Blogger downsizing the file size.

Daddy Long Legs

I was wandering in the dark, damp woods and came across this daddy long legs spider on a leaf. As I watched it I noticed the rhythm in its leg movements which led to this short video. 

Technical: High ISO, 16k? 1/125 sec, f8, @60fps. slowed to half speed in FCPX

Growing Mushrooms

I've been exploring the woods in the rain this week, thank goodness for durable cameras. I noticed mushrooms everywhere and decided to try time-lapse again.  Last summer I made my first attempt at mushroom time-lapse and and was not happy with the results. This year I made a few minor adjustments: placing the Go Pro further away from the subject and recording bigger mushrooms being the main adjustments.

Technical: Go Pro @ 1 minute intervals, about 8 1/2 hours duration. Sequenced in LRTimelapse

March Clouds

When I looked at this morning's temperature of 6 degrees it was hard to recall the 70 degrees  on Mondaywhen this photo was taken. These clouds preceded a thunderstorm and extraordinary winds.  Is this the new March in Minnesota?

Technical: 1 stop graduated ND used in Lightroom

Second Attempt

I normally need three visits to feel satisfied with the exploration of subject. The first visit documents what I see but usually does not show any depth of vision for a subject. The second visit builds on the documentation seen in the first and is a more in depth exploration. The third visit confirms the completion of the subject or adds a minor twist to a previous image.  This image was taken the day after the first vision and shows more of the river that I was trying to capture. The sunburst adds time day to the time of year information seen in the leaves.

November Transition

I was out locally for the first time in a month and testing my new Sony. This image reflects both the transition of seasons and my transition in camera brands.

Stars over Flandrau

Moon rise was about 2 AM so a late night was the only way to get Milky Way images. It moves toward the west through the night and next time I'll try early morning to get different ground lights. I used framing to hide ground light and put a brief burst of light on the overhanging trees. WB at 3400k

Technical: highlight and white slider used to enhance Milky Way, no local adjustments used

Turtle Turf War?

It is tempting to call this an action video about turtles battling each other for the best place on a log. However, there is a problem with calling this an action video. These are turtles, "action" is carried out at turtle speed, only slightly faster than snail speed. At the end of the day this is just another interesting observation in the life of a wildlife photographer.

Who's on my tail?

I'm sure there are a least a dozen titles that would describe this pair. Whenever two species are together it's a special moment. This was a lucky side shot taken while watching turtle wars, well war might be an exaggeration, but definitely conflict. The movie comes out on Monday.

Snakes in the Leaves

This was the unofficial start of spring photography after a long March. I have been out shooting so much that this piece has been on the back burner until now. I considered different titles: Snake Orgy, Reptilian Rhapsody, Sex in the Spring, etc. but settled on something a little more tame.  There was so much happening at my feet that I forgot to take an establishing shot and had to come back the next day. The fearless snake was recorded at that time. 

If snakes make you squeamish this is not the minute for you.

Fearless

For some reason fear and snakes go together, at least for me. Garter snakes typically slither away as fast as possible when surprised by a six foot giant walking past them. I have had a couple experiences during mating season when the snakes are curious and actually advance toward the camera lens. I don't know if this is because of a reflection in the lens or the lens looks like an opening to explore. It was much more relaxing recording this behind a tripod than using a 100 mm macro while laying on the ground trying to get a still shot.

The ground is alive!

I was studiously looking for insects on bloodroot flowers when the ground suddenly became alive with snakes sliding through the leaves. I had stumbled garter snakes emerging from a winter nest site. There is something disconcerting about getting eye to eye with your subject when there are a dozen snakes at your feet.  These docile reptiles have been given a worse reputation than big bad wolves.

Goodbye Monochrome

Color is coming! After this week the world will be green! Deer are getting hungry for some fresh greens in Flandrau State Park. We are routinely seeing 15-20 browsing on our afternoon and evening hikes.

Looking for color

I was hiking in the woods last week looking for signs of color in an otherwise dull gray March afternoon. To my surprise I found this scarlet cup (just love those common names) looking cheery as it poked up through the leaves. My wife usually finds these for me since red is a hard color for me to see. However, I had no problem seeing this one.

Technical: Gardening was done by arranging nearby leaves to surround the cup. The leaves also give a sense of scale and season.

Autumn Bubbles

A quiet, peaceful stream can take the world's troubles away for a few minutes. Such is the beauty of nature.

Small subject, small camera

I was walking with my iPhone and saw this bright color on a log covered with green moss.  It was a perfect opportunity to test a close up lens attachment. The depth of field cannot be controlled but the focus locked nicely on the leading edge of the mushroom.

Technical: iphone6, iProLens macro lens, Procamera 8 used which allows white balance adjustment.

Curious Cottontail

Curiosity is not a good thing for those at the low end of the food chain. Rabbits are the toughest subjects for me to photograph. Adults remain motionless seemingly forever, then bound off. The result is a lot of empty footage or a very boring portrait.  Several have been on the paths after sunset in Flandrau State Park during the last month

Technical: Taken with iPhone6 using 2X extender (80 mm equivalent 35 mm focal length) made by iPro Lens. Final Cut used to adjust contrast and edit

My kind of foraging.

I love wild raspberries, especially over ice cream. They might be a little gritty if you are used to domestic berries that have had the seeds genetically minimized. There is something satisfying about finding the berries, picking them, and then enjoying them. There are lots of edible wild plants but none as sweet as wild raspberries.

Technical: iPhone6, ProCamera app, iPro Lens system macro lens.

Shadow Flower

Shadow Flower

I'm continuing to explore the range of photo possibilities with the iPhone6.  Yesterday I went into the park to see how it did with macro subjects.  I was so happy with the results that I ordered a couple lens attachments to further explore macro and movie options.

Wild Ginger

There is "wet belly" photography on the prairie and "nose to the ground" photography in the woods. In this case it helped that there was a steep hillside. This intricate flower has an unpleasant aroma that attracts flies for pollination.