Trout lily bloom

 

Time lapsing clouds in southern Minnesota can be a little dull and I'm turning my attention to time lapse of the environment. Last weekend was a perfect opportunity to try a short term environmental time lapse. The beauty of time lapse is you never know exactly what you will see.

Technical: GoPro Hero4, 10 second intervals, recorded until the battery was depleted.

Walks on Water

 

It's amazing what 1/6400 of a second looks like. I usually stretch time for several seconds but freezing time made these dogs seem to have the power to walk on water. This guy is keeping his eye on the prize to the very end.

Happy Rottweiler

I have never thought of rottweilers as jumping dogs this guy loved it. You can see his total concentration on getting the prize.

Making a Splash

I watched dock jumping dogs at the fair yesterday and had a blast! The dogs' enthusiasm was hard to contain and they couldn't get enough air time. Rain kept the crowd size down so photos could be taken from poolside.

Chaos

This sums up my view of the "derby". Fun to watch and a challenge to photograph, good practice when the animals are scarce but not my cup of tea. Going to the fair for a little quiet fun today.

Between Races

August is fair month in Minnesota and I couldn't resist going to the demolition derby last night. Sitting in the smoking section, seeing all American testosterone in action, and coming home near deaf was a great way to spend a summer evening. Sitting in the cheering section for grandma with her wife added a 21st century flavor to the event.

April Shower

What does an intelligent, rational nature photographer do with a new camera? He goes out in the rain to test it. I have been waiting for an opportunity to test the slow motion video features on my Sony RX10ii and this was a perfect opportunity. I have previously tried filming frogs jumping, it worked but I didn't get enough material for a story.

Technical: The camera had some problems in the rain. The LCD would display an error message but the electronic viewfinder continued to work. After thoroughly drying it all is back to normal. An eye dropper will also be used to place the water drops within the frame. The four raindrops in this piece took half an hour to capture.

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.

Sisters

These sisters were competing in the pole weaving competition last weekend made me stop and think about the advantages of rural life. As a "dude" on vacation I discovered directing a horse is not an easy task.  At an age when riding a bike is considered a major skill these girls have learned to care for and control their ponies. I salute them and their proud parents who were waiting at the gate.

Concentration

Egg and Spoon Competition

The object is to be the last one with the egg in the spoon as the judge changes makes balancing more difficult. The rider gets to ride without feet in the stirrups or hold the arm outstretched while the horse moves into a trot. For someone who can spill coffee in a cup just walking to a chair this was an amazing feat of balance to watch.

Power and Grace

I went to the county fair yesterday to watch the pole weaving competition.This competitor was phenomenal, her ease in the saddle and the power of her horse were beauty in motion for 13 seconds. 

Technical: f16 @1/30 second, ISO 100, focal length 100mm

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

Busted!

I'm usually the one who gets busted in the field. This cottontail passed in front of the camera I set up in our rudimentary to check minimum focus distances and sensitivities to small birds. This passing cottontail looks guilty of something. The only thing edible we have uncaged are rhubarb, perhaps the cages need to go back on.

Summer Celebration

As you know I have not been traveling much this summer. It has  expanded my horizons to subjects I would not ordinarily consider photographing. Our annual Bavarian Blast summer festival is a case in point. After ignoring it for 10 years I sat on the curb and recorded this, a cacophonous contrast to the tranquil prairie I usually record. For those of you like me who have a hard time sitting thru a 90 minute parade the essence has been distilled to about 35 seconds. Sound recorded on the iPhone, otherwise my Canon made a brief appearance for the still shots.

What happened?

Do you ever look at an image and wonder what happened?  I was shooting fireworks with a 28-135 mm lens. Somewhere during the 3 second exposure I changed my mind on the focal length zooming out slightly. Was it a mistake? I prefer to call it a creative misadventure.  Before the show I spot metered the monument to determine an exposure of about 5 seconds which would keep its details while shooting in bulb mode. 

The Next Generation

I rarely photograph people but events provide an excellent opportunity to overcome my inhibitions. In New Ulm we celebrate the defeat of the Romans by Hermann the Great 2000 years ago. Independence Day celebrated by most American cities doesn't quite warrant a celebration if you are a real German.