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Lightning Over Iowa

6/27/2016

We had quite a lightning storm Saturday night as a storm moved in. Prior to the torrential rain the non-stop lightning could be seen approaching from quite a distance. The photo at the left was a 15 second exposure, ISO 800, f/5.6. The video below is a real-time video of the continuous lightning in the clouds. The lightning was either so high or so far away that the sound of the thunder was barely audible.

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Full Moon Rising

6/21/2016

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Full-frame camera, 700mm lens, ISO 800, f5.6, 1/125sec., cropped slightly. This is a single exposure - not a composite photo. The windmill was about 1/4 mile away.

The full Moon rising on the Summer Solstice. The full moon in June is also called the 'Strawberry Moon', for the first time since 1967 coinciding with the solstice. I like old windmills and I've been planning this image for a long, long time and finally it all came together tonight - the full moon, very clear sky to the east, the moon rising in just the right spot so that I can get to a place to line up the camera, windmill, background and moon. I use the Photo Pills app on my phone to find he exact time and location to stand.
When the moon is overhead the light is passing through abut 10 or 12 miles of atmosphere. However, when it is rising or setting it is at an oblique angle and passing through hundreds of miles of atmosphere. This causes the light from the moon to refract in the atmosphere making it look much larger than when overhead, changing the shape slightly, giving the moon a warm color and not as clear or distinct in detail because of the light passing through so much of the atmosphere. Telephoto lenses also have the characteristic of causing objects in the distance to appear much larger in relation to foreground objects.

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Paddling at Sunrise

6/15/2016

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I was out at sunrise last weekend to quietly slip my solo canoe in to the calm waters of the Ventura Marsh. I was amazed at the number of Yellow-headed Blackbirds nesting in the cat-tails. I had never seen so many in one place. Much noisier than the Red-winged blackbirds, with loud squawks. As I maneuvered in and out of the many channels in the reeds I also saw Great Blue Herons, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Killdeer, Canada Geese, a little muskrat enjoying a meal of tender cat-tail shoots, and many other bird sounds that I couldn't identify. Mostly I just enjoyed paddling the calm morning on the water, with the sounds of nature and an occasional drip from my paddle.
[Click the images to see larger]

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Great Gray Owls in the Springtime

6/5/2016

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One of the better times to see Great Gray Owls in the Sax-Zim Bog area is during the Winter months (see previous postings January 2015 and February 2014) . This Spring there have been many sightings of Great Gray Owls in the Bog area. I drove through last week and was fortunate to see the owls in two different locations on Admiral Road and McDavitt Road. The photos were taken on a cloudy, rainy day from the car with a telephoto from at least 50 yards away to not disturb the birds as they were hunting for rodents along the side of the road. I saw each owl pounce on something in the tall roadside grass, and stayed hidden for several minutes, leading me to believe that they were eating their catch. The soft green colors of Spring make a nice background compared to Winter, however, Spring in the Bog also offers millions of blood-thirsty mosquitoes (another good reason to stay in the car).
Click the images below to see larger.

Great Gray Owl (click to see larger)

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Lightning Over Iowa

Full Moon Rising

Paddling at Sunrise

Great Gray Owls in the Springtime

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