Flooding

Yesterday morning it poured here. Not “raining cats and dogs”, more like “Is that a hippo in the lake that yesterday was our front yard"? Driving over Brandywine Creek this morning, grateful that the waters had receded somewhat, I caught sight of a few herons having a ball fishing in the overflow. Evidently, many fish were washed into newly formed pools by the rush of water yesterday, and they were marooned. The use of this word here feels strange to me because I always thought of marooned as being stranded on dry land surrounded by water, and yet for the fish, it is exactly the opposite. Maybe yesterday the fish were thrilled with their new expansive habitat, but now, feel a bit remorseful. I’m sure the herons feel pretty good about it today.

Nikon D800 Sigma 300mm f/2.8 with 1.4 tele and 1.5 crop (i.e. 630mm) f/4 ISO 400 1/3200 sec

#TravelTuesday Denver

Affectionately known as the “Mile High City” Denver’s official altitude is exactly one mile above sea level. A population of about six hundred thousand makes it the 23rd most populated city in the United States. We flew into and out of the city on our visit to Aspen. Many of the towns in the Colorado area were born during the mining rush in the 1800’s and Denver is no exception. General William Larimer originally staked a claim on November 22, 1858 to the territory and named it Denver City. (Possibly he was trying to find favor with (you may read kiss the butt of) the then governor of the Kansas Territory, James Denver)
The time we spent in the city itself was brief, but enjoyable. It consisted of a lunch and a few hours at the airport. The picture here was taken just before a heavy storm rolled into town the evening we were leaving. On the way to the airport we pulled over on a highway giving me just enough time to play a little human “Frogger” and capture this skyline.

Denver - Mile High City

Nikon D800 Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 65mm f/9 ISO 400 5 image HDR

History

Yesterday my wife and I attended the reenactment of a Revolutionary War skirmish at the Daniel Boone Homestead in Birdsboro, PA. In school, History was dry and boring, and I blame that mostly on my instructors. But when I decided to gave the past a second chance, I found a podcast that brought it to life. If you have never listened to “Hardcore History” with Dan Carlin, give it a listen. Through his tales of events long ago, heros, warriors, horrors and tyrants come alive. History can be rich in emotion and fascinating. I remember covering World War 2 in history class in high school and dreading the next lecture about the stalled advance of Russian armies, or another droning tale about the Pacific Fleet foundering after Pearl Harbor, but then I met someone. I was in his home repairing his television set, when I inquired about a picture on the wall of his study. It was an older photograph of a battleship with men lined along the deck, proud in their dress uniforms. He pointed out himself in the picture. For the next hour I was regaled with memories that ranged from the tragic to the heroic to the regretful. His stories breathed life into history that I never knew existed. I wish I could take history class all over again.

Nikon D800 Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 165mm f/8 ISO 400 1/800 sec

They Just Freak Out

Canada Geese that is. They poop all over everything; they fill the skies, they litter our parks, playgrounds, and roadways, and they can be downright ornery. They probably feel the same way about us though, except for the pooping everywhere. The habit they have that bugs me is that they won’t pose for a picture. Even in groups of a hundred they turn their back as soon as my approach is noted. Often they turn and walk away acting disgusted like I’m some annoying paparazzi. I’m just trying to make a picture of them looking regal and bold, which is tough when all you see is their backsides waddling away. Angry honks send scores of them into flight mode in an instant. I wonder if I ventured too close, was too loud, wore the wrong color clothes that made me look threatening, or even presented the odor of a predator. It remains a mystery.

For this picture I used a big long lens (300mm f/2.8) with a 2X teleconvertor, making my range 600mm. This was the first picture I took, I think it was before they noticed me. Then a fateful step that broke a twig, echoed through the air, sent the Canada Geese skyward.

Nikon D4 Sigma 300mm f/2.8 with 2X Tele @ 600mm f/9 ISO 6400 1/1250 sec

Sometimes I Have To Stop

How could I not? The clouds were picturesque over the farmland. I’m a photographer; a picture needed to be taken. Unfortunately this sentiment creeps into my thoughts quite often and I end up with many pictures that are just so so and nothing special. I don’t share them because I try not to show anything that I’m not proud of or at least trying something new. Refinement is an art form that can be painful. I have many pictures that I wish were fabulous but have some flaw in them. A photograph could be just a bit out of focus, too noisy, too dark, too bright, too...whatever and it’s something I have to part with. No matter what my vision was at the time I clicked the shutter, I failed to capture it accurately, and it is now gone forever. It breaks my heart sometimes. I also have the opposite problem. I take fifty pictures of a scene (think sunset) and I think they are all wonderful in their own way, how do I choose just one to share? Worse still, what if I took fifty pictures of something I felt was beautiful at the time, but the magic isn’t there when I look at them later? They pass by my eyes and sleep on a back up hard drive, never to see the light of day again.

My plan:

I’ll still have to stop and take pictures, but I’ll need to step back and ask why. What is it about the landscape in front of me that caught my eye? How can I convey that magic to someone who wasn’t there to see it?  Is what I saw really wonderful or just another generic moment, a snapshot?  How can I setup my camera to soak in the scene and really drink its beauty?  The future looks challenging, but I’m optimistic.

 

Nikon D800 Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm f/13 ISO 100 5 image HDR