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Sandhill Cranes in North Iowa

7/22/2015

Sandhill Cranes [Click to see larger]

How do you get eight Sandhill Cranes to all put their head up for a photo at the same time? Just wait for the neighborhood dogs to show up. The cranes were never in any danger. The dog owners called off the dogs and continued on their walk, but it got the attention of the cranes who all bunched up, stretched their necks out to see what was going on and slowly walked farther in to the water. It made for a nice photo opp. Taken at Union Hills Wildlife Management Area south of Ventura, IA, from the car (my mobile photography blind) about 100 yards away. There was a lot of heat shimmer coming up from the field and slough.
It is very special to see these cranes in North Iowa. It doesn't happen very often and not in these numbers.(700MM, f6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO800.)
More bird pictures coming soon. Check back in a couple of days.

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The Milky Way through the Trees

7/20/2015

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The Milky Way. [Click for a larger image.]

It is often difficult to see the Milky Way because of haze in the sky or light pollution from nearby cities or street lights. Getting as far away as possible from lights and/or high in the mountains helps, but still difficult to see the detail. However, with the camera, a high ISO and a long exposure the many more stars of the Milky Way almost magically appear on the image. A little extra processing in Lightroom or Photoshop can help to increase the contrast, adjust the colors and to further enhance the sky and stars to see what is out there but we can't see with the naked eye. This image was right outside the door of our camper while in Wisconsin last weekend after 11:00 pm.
17mm lens, f/2.8, 25 seconds, ISO 2000.

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Crescent Moon and Venus

7/19/2015

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The Moon and Venus. Click to see larger.

On the evening of July 18 the Moon and Venus were in close proximity as they were setting in the western sky. (Of course they set in the west, but it just sounded poetic to say it that way.) Venus is also a crescent, but here just looks like a little blob of light. Jupiter, a bit dimmer, was to the upper right of Venus but has been cropped out of the photo. This photo taken about half an hour after sunset from the top of Grandad Bluff, a 600-foot high bluff overlooking La Crosse, WI.
400mm lens, f/6.3, 0.8 sec, ISO 1250, cropped.

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Fireworks 2015

7/5/2015

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Click for many more fireworks images.

I admit it, I get a little carried away with fireworks photos. Each one is as unique as fresh fallen snowflakes with no two alike. I have developed a technique that works well for me, combining multiple fireworks bursts in the camera as they happen. Our friends Paul and Tammy have dubbed it the "hat trick", where with the camera on a tripod, I keep the shutter open during a burst until it has blossomed to a point that I like, then cover the lens with my hat until the next burst, then move my hat to expose the next burst and repeat until I think I have enough exposures on each image. The photo on the left is three fireworks bursts in succession, but covering the lens after each until the next one. I thought the trees in the foreground gave a nice perspective.
Click to see more fireworks images from this year.

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Sandhill Cranes in North Iowa

The Milky Way through the Trees

Crescent Moon and Venus

Fireworks 2015

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