Carry It With You

I try to always have my big bag with me when I'm out and around. It weighs 25 pounds - and that can be a pain - but you never know when an opportunity will present itself.

I was driving over a bridge near my home earlier this evening and saw some amazing light. I quickly parked at a supermarket, grabbed a body already attached to my 17-40 and walked back onto the bridge.

The light was going in and out of the clouds but I managed some decent images. Here's a panorama of three separate images combined in Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

What a Difference a Year Makes

UPDATED for 2011 at end.

The fall foliage season this year in Upstate New York didn't seem that colorful to me. The leaves seemed to be dropping earlier than usual and without the vibrant colors we all look forward to each Autumn.

I looked back at some photos I took in a friend's backyard last October to see if my impressions were correct. Here's the way the maple trees looked last year (2009) on October 22nd.

October 22, 2009

I took the same scene this year on October 19th. The difference is obvious.

October 19, 2010

An early fall? Not really. Look at the Hosta in both pictures. It's actually greener this year. So are some of the other trees.

My guess is that the warmer, drier summer we had this year is the reason.

In the summer (6/1 to 8/31) of 2009, the area received 18 1/2 inches of rainfall, an excess from normal of over 7 1/2 inches. The average mean temperature over same the period was 1/2 degree lower than normal.

This year, the rainfall amount was 9 1/4 inches, a shortfall from normal of over an inch and a half and only half of what it was the year before. In addition, the average mean temperature was over 2 1/2 degrees higher than normal.

If I'm still around, I'll try to remember to do another comparison next year.

OK, I'm still around so here's the picture and information for 2011.

October 20, 2011

Using the same comparison dates, the area received 18.12 inches of rainfall, almost the same as 2009. The average mean temperature was 1.5 degrees above normal for the period. In addition, as of this date we have not had a frost, the lowest temperature reached being 36 degrees.

Another factor affecting the Maple tree in the center of the photos is insect damage. This Spring (2011), a Pileated Woodpecker opened up a large section of the lower trunk revealing a rather ugly scene. So I'm guessing that the brilliant display of 2009 and prior years is a thing of the past.

Coastal Maine Calendars Now Available

Calendars from my recent trip to Maine are now available for purchase. Spiral bound calendars display an 11x17 photograph each month and are priced at $23.99.

Single page wall calendars measure 11x17 and display a photograph of boats moored at Perkins Cove taken from the water and are priced at $5.99.

Visit the calendar store for more information.

Canon Shooter on Ogunquit Beach

No, it's not a new adult beverage intended to be consumed from a canonmugs shot glass (a 50 f/1.8?) but one of the things I watched overlooking the Ogunquit River and beach yesterday afternoon. I viewed, and photographed; seagulls, a biplane, surfers, fishermen and what appeared to be a wedding shoot - all from the comfort of my balcony.

The wedding shoot was particularly interesting. A photographer, his assistant and a couple dressed as a bride and groom were going through the motions on the beach at a location approximated by the red oval on this shot taken with my 17-40, about four hours earlier.

It's difficult to say if it was a real wedding, a fashion shoot or self promotion because, while the photographer and his assistant were dressed up, the bride was wading through the water in her gown at times and there was no entourage, limo, etc.

The photographer appeared to be using 5D bodies with 16-35 and 70-200 f/2.8 zooms. In any case, the photos below are 100% crops of shots taken at a distance of several hundred meters with a 50D, 400 f/5.6 with 1.4x extender mounted on a monopod.

... in Flight in Maine

The coast of Maine is proving to be chock full of photo opportunities. I was sitting on the balcony of my lodgings earlier this afternoon with my 400 f/5.6 handy and took these two shots three minutes apart.

You can see select shots from the Maine trip in a collection on the zenfolio site at http://trulandphoto.zenfolio.com/mainecoast

Photography and Traveling

Two of the photographers I regularly follow on the Internet have been traveling to Asia recently.

Lewis Kemper just returned from a trip to Tibet and David duChemin is currently in Kathmandu leading a photography workshop.

I don't get to travel much which is probably why I like nature photography. Plants and animals exist pretty much everywhere. Even our own backyards contain lots of subjects for photographs.

A Great Blue Heron could be in a wildlife sanctuary in Florida or, like the one below, in a tree a short walk from my home.

I will be visiting the coast of Maine before too long, though, so we'll see what interesting subjects I can come up with.