9/25/2009

The Great Blue Heron and the Great Big Fish

Immature Great Blue Heron with a Great Big Fish at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio. I wanted to catch the heron with the fish lifted its full length off the ground (it could not lift it any higher than it is in this image), and the new Zeiss PhotoScope made it possible. The bird is a hundred yards or more across a pond, with a good deal of heat motion in the air, so I am pretty happy with these results.

Zeiss Photoscope at 1800mm (35mm equivalent). F5.7 @ 1/150 @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.

Blackpoint to the right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen landscapes preset.

I should say that the imaging software in the PhotoScope is still under active development…though near final (we hope). The product is not yet on the market…due in late October.

This clip which shows more of the action of the GBHeron and GBFish was taken with a small Sanyo HD camcorder hand-held behind the eyepiece of the PhotoScope.

9/19/2009

Sailing at Lakeside

The season is over at Lakeside, and the little boats idle, the dock empty, under a big Lake Erie sky. This is about shape and color: one of several attempts at this row of boats, with the clouds massed on the horizon as background.

Sony DSC H50 at 31mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.

In Lightroom, some Recovery for the sky, added Vibrance and Clarity in the Presence panel, Sharpen landscapes preset. I might, if in the mood someday, go in with Photoshop and clone out the bare branches at the top, leaving only the leafy ones.

From Lakeside OH.

9/18/2009

View from Marblehead Light

Lake Erie was showing a good chop on my visit to Marblehead. Truly grey water. Massive clouds. Stick a little bit of tree in one corner for scale, and you have an interesting (imho) lakescape.

Sony DCS H50 at 31mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/1000 @ ISO 100. Programed auto.

Recovery in Lightroom to pull back the clouds and sky. Added Vibrance and Clarity in the Presence panel. Blackpoint just to the right. A touch Fill Light for the tree.

From Lakeside OH.

9/17/2009

Marblehead Light, OH

Sometimes there is no choice but the straight on tourist shot of the famous landmark. Time is limited. The vantage points are limited by the park management. Essentially you “stand here and take your shot.” The weather and the light are what they are. So you make the most of it. And maybe plan to come back for better light and weather…if you life allows.

This is Marblehead Light, in Marblehead OH, out on the peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie above Sandusky.

Sony DSC H50 at 31mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/800 @ ISO 100. Programed auto. -.7EV exposure compensation.

A bit of Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. Added Clarity and Vibrance in the Presence Panel. Sharpen landscape preset.

From Lakeside OH.