nature Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Light's Edge Studios LLC

A Winter Wonderland

Posted on January 23, 2010September 25, 2018 by david.kennedy

Trees and hoarfrost, Burlington, Wis. — Trees and hoar frost, Burlington, Wis. | Canon 5D II and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 150mm; exposed 1/320 sec. @ f/8, ISO 200.

While I was driving from Racine, Wis. back to Columbia, Mo. last Sunday, 17 January, a I found that the “freezing fog” advisory we had heard about the night before had given the branches of all of the trees along the way a white glow. Much of the drive was on the interstate, but before I could get out to I-43 to shoot to Beloit and drive the length of Illinois via Rockford, I had to drive on two-lane highways. Here, on Wisconsin Highway 11 in Burlington, about one mile short of the on-ramp to I-43, I decided to stop and make a few pictures. It was a supremely overcast day, so the 11:30am sun did not hurt the pictures at all.

Fortunately, while all of my equipment was loaded in the trunk of the car, it was not entirely inaccessible. I pulled over to the side of the road, switched on my hazard lights, popped the trunk, and reached for my 5D Mark II and a couple of lenses before walking about. The only thing I didn’t take the time to do was switch out my shoes for boots. Those snow drifts on the side of the highway are a little deeper than they look!

More photos after the jump!
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Christmas Meadows

Posted on December 26, 2009September 25, 2018 by david.kennedy

I’ve been going through my photographs from Utah, and found a few images I intended to blend together to form high dynamic range photographs. The above is one such image, made on a tripod at 100 ISO and f/16, with my shutter speed going from 1/2 second in the first exposure to 1/4 second, and finally 1/8 second in the third and final image.

I blended them together in Photomatix last night, and then applied curves and selective color, as well as a healthy dose of “local contrast enhancement” (Unsharp Mask @ 15%, Radius 60).

Fittingly, it was made at a place along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway in Utah named “Christmas Meadows!”

Update: Here’s one more from the same evening and location. Oh, and I’ve got a panorama or two (finally) coming together to post here as well.

Is it Real or is it Memorex?

Posted on December 24, 2009September 25, 2018 by david.kennedy

First of all, I’d just like to wish all of my readers happy holidays. Up here in Wisconsin, where I am with my family for Christmas, the weather has brought us some snow but will be back with rain tonight. Looks like our white Christmas will be washed away soon!

José Luis Rodríguez's The Storybook Wolf

My dad just sent me a link to an article I thought I should post on here concerning the winner of what used to be called the BBC Wildlife’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition for 2009, José Luis Rodríguez and his photograph “The Storybook Wolf.

The WPY is possibly the “best,” certainly one of the very biggest nature photography competitions that is held annually. I was thrilled when one of my images from Bosque del Apache NWR became a finalist two years ago, as 32,000 entries had been submitted!

This year, the top award went to an image that, while visually interesting, always struck me as odd. Rodríguez never said that “The Storybook Wolf” was not baited–indeed, the story behind the image on the WPY Web site explains the process that he said he went through to acclimate wolves to fresh meat left for them in a corral, and gradually setting up a remote flash and camera.

However, at issue now is whether the story itself is factual–was this a wild wolf, as Rodríguez stated, or a captive animal,and was it really photographed on a rancher’s private land, or at the Cañada Real Center zoological park near Madrid?

These are the questions that the contest itself is now asking, according to Suomen Luonto (Nature of Finland) magazine. The full article is available here: http://www.suomenluonto.fi/bbcs-nature-photo-competition-judge-admits-winner-photo-investigated-due-to-fraud-allegations.

Nature photography contests like WPY insist that images not be made of captive animals. The staged situation in this image has bothered me, but was not in violation of the contest. While manipulation of the image in post bothers some people, I think that manipulation of the scene and subject is a far greater offense.

Patterns in the Sand

Posted on September 1, 2009September 25, 2018 by david.kennedy

Patterns in the sand along the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Saltair, Utah. Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens; exposed 1/125 sec. @ f/9, ISO 1000 Copyright 2009.

One of the photographic conditions that I never had too great an appreciation for before I switched to digital capture in 2003 is the classic, cloudy day. Overcast skies can yield striking images because the light is delightfully even, not “flat” as too many casually dismiss it. Working to minimize shadows by photographing on sun angle (with the sun 180 degrees from your lens) or on a cloudy day does not mean that you’ll be working without shadows. However, it certainly lets you study the shadowed areas much more closely, and the gradation between dark and light tones becomes far greater.

It’s the reason people love the “Shadow/Highlight” tool in Photoshop, or the “Fill Light” slider in Camera RAW / Lightroom: we like shadow detail. So, consider how much more shadow detail you get on an overcast day, and reconsider any bias against the giant diffusers in the sky known as clouds.

In this case, along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake in Saltair, Utah, I was actually photographing on a brilliantly sunny day, and the light was about as harsh as can be. I achieved the soft light by using my body as a gobo, and I photographed in my own shadow. It’s a useful technique that I had forgotten about until I saw Artie Morris using it in the Galapagos to photograph a Lava Lizard.

Back from the Galápagos

Posted on July 20, 2009September 25, 2018 by david.kennedy

Marine Iguana against the Pacific Ocean, Fernandina Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS with 2x TC, exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400. — Marine Iguana against the Pacific Ocean, Fernandina Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS lens with 2x TC (800mm effective). Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

Blue-footed Booby calling, Isabela Island. Canon 1D IIn and 300mm f/4 L IS lens. Exposed 1/300 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400. Click image for larger version.

I returned from the Galápagos islands to Quito, Ecuador on Saturday and flew back into Milwaukee, Wis. yesterday around 9:30am CST. All luggage arrived back home safely, so I spent most of the day alternating between unpacking and laying on the couch. (I didn’t sleep on the red eye flight from Quito to Atlanta, but I did get a couple hours on the flight back to MKE).

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and the group, led by Artie Morris, was composed of many great people as well as our excellent guide to the Galápagos.

I have just begun the process of ranking and keywording my photographs from the trip. So far, I have only worked up three images–none of which have had more than Lightroom adjustments applied to them. I’m saving the cases that need some Photoshop magic for later!

Eventually, I will post the best photos from the trip in a gallery on my Zenfolio Web site, and many images might find their way into my wildlife and landscape portfolios on this Web site.