Story Behind the 10s – North Dakota Formation

 

 

From the Photographer:  Rick Graves

I’ve visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota several times.  This image was taken on the most recent visit this past May.  A friend showed me the location of this formation and others like it.  While it is very close to the South unit park loop road, I had never stopped at this location before.   The image was taken in the evening at sunset while thunderstorms threatened.  It had rained recently so there were no human footprints marring the area.  The setting sun lit up the fast moving clouds nicely so I set up my tripod where I could align the formation with the clouds to capture the fleeting moment.  I photographed several compositions for just a few minutes until the colors had faded and the clouds had moved out of the frame.   The rain held off until after we returned to our vehicle.  This composition was my favorite of the evening.

Technical Data:  Canon 5D Mk4, Canon 24-105mm F/4L IS II lens, f/11, 1/6s, 24mm, ISO 200, Gitzo tripod, Kirk BH-1 ball head,  cable release with live view

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ragraves/

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Story Behind the 10s – Bison in the River

 

 

From the Photographer: Don Tredinnick

This shot was taken in Yellowstone National Park in January.  It was our first day in the park.  When we left the hotel, the air temperature was -22 degrees, but little wind. As odd as it seems the conditions were actually pretty nice if you had the right gear.  We made several stops along the Madison River before heading over to Biscuit Basin.

Once we arrived at Biscuit Basin, there were several dozen bison mostly around the geysers.  There was a lone male in the river.  He was by a large rock.  He kept using his head to push snow from the rock and would then eat the grasses that were growing on top of it.  While it was fun watching him move the snow around, I knew that it really didn’t make for much of a photo.

There is a bridge that connects the parking lot to the trail.  I positioned myself on the bridge, and got as low as I could so that I was eye level with him.  My hope was that at some point, he would back away from the rock, and I would have a nice snowy face to photograph.  After about 30 minutes, he started to back away.  I took several shots, but still didn’t have what I wanted.  He turned completely away from the rock, and I thought he was going to start walking away.

All of a sudden, he turned his head towards me.  This is what I was waiting for, a shot of that great snowy face, with a nice catch light in the eye.  He then made it even better by starting to walk towards me (or so I thought).  I managed to catch the front right leg right as it came out of the water.  That is the shot you see here.  Where was he really headed?  He was just turning around and was headed back to the rock for some more snow pushing and grass eating.  If you didn’t know that, you would think that I could be in some trouble here.  There are some classic signs that it might be a good time to start moving away.  The head is dipped, and it almost looks like he is pawing the ground to give a warning that he is getting ready to charge.  I knew I was safe on the bridge, and outside the NPS guideline for proximity to bison.

How I exposed the shot:- I spot metered off the snow and set my exposure to be almost +2.5 stops over exposed.  Why so far to the right?  I knew I had a dark animal to work with, and I wanted detail in the shadows.  I also know that with the Nikon D800, I don’t start to blow out until I get over +3.  The only issue with that logic was that I was not shooting with my D800.  Instead, I was using my D500, and I had only had the camera for about a month.  If it behaved like the D800, I was confident I could save the detail in the snow in post processing.  I also had the luxury of taking several test shots while this guy was busy eating.

Technical details: Nikon D500,  Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 lens, @ 260mm, which on the crop sensor body gives a reach of 390mm, f/6.3,  1/1250s, ISO 200 -Handheld using the bridge as a support.

 

Story Behind the 10s – Black Throated Green Warbler

 

From the photographer: Paul Kammen

I took this image near Tom’s Logging Camp between Duluth and Two Harbors, along the road that goes down to the lake, County Road 222. This is a “hot spot” for Blackburnian warblers, Cape May warblers and Black Throated Green warblers, which are pretty common in North Eastern Minnesota.

I set up my tripod in the hope of seeing the birds, and a black throated green gave his call and flew a little lower. I had the faded sun at my back so was able to get some photos of the bird perched nicely in front of me. I shot RAW and adjusted the levels, and firing a burst of shots was able to get a few I liked with the bird calling.

Technical Data:  7DII with an 800mm lens, at 1/1250th of a second, f 5.6, ISO 1600, shutter priority mode, pattern metering.

You can see more of Paul Kammen’s images at http://www.fatherpaul.smugmug.com

 

Salon Acceptances October 2018

Here are the Salon acceptances for October – Congratulations to you all – your images will be moved forward for judging in the end of year competition. The year end images will be showcased and the competition results will be announced at the May meeting

 

John Anderson	Buffalo Fog	9
Paul Kammen	Burrowng Owl	9
Mike Sweet	Red bellied Woodpecker	8
Diane Herman	Cedar Waxwing	9
Deanne Probst	Crex morning rays	10
Eric Gustafson	Curves and Color	10
Patti Jones	A Mothers Love	9
Mary Williams	Fueling Up	9
John Foty	Praying For Prey	8
Marc Ye	Iceberg Point Evening Jagged Rrock	8
David Heemsbergen	Badland Bison	10
Joyce Russotto	Stormy Sunset	8
Karl Fiegenschuh	Close Encounter Moose Alaska	10
Joe Fierst	Golden Light Eared Grebe	10
Rick Graves	Lava Field	10
Ron Lahr	Bryce Stars	9
John LaMere	Amnicon River	9
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	Bald Eagle Flight	10
Linda Hoss	Egret Feeding Time	8
John Pennoyer	Loon Wing Stretch in B & W	8
Alan Schulz	Crested Duck in Waves	10
Don Specht	Albino Squirrel Eating Seed Pod	9
Roger Williams	Comin’ Through	8
John Anderson	At the Dance	8
Paul Kammen	.Black Throated Green Warbler	10
Mike Sweet	Great Egret	10
Diane Herman	Hoarfrost at Woodlake	10
Deanne Probst	Sweet Creekfalls	9
Eric Gustafson	Goslings Under Mothers Wing	8
Patti Jones	North Shore Lupine	9
Mary Williams	Couple of Monarchs	9
Marc Ye	Lumahai BeachSunset	9
David Heemsbergen	Eagle Juvy Fish	10
Joyce Russotto	Mushroom Family	8
Karl Fiegenschuh	The Grebe Family	10
Joe Fierst	Early Morning Pacific Loon	10
Rick Graves	Cold Ducks	10
Ron Lahr	Thrasher	8
John LaMere	Moosey Morning	8
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	Hummmmingbird	9
Linda Hoss	Peek a Boo Cormorant	8
Dave Perez	Au Train Falls	9
Alan Schulz	Steamer Duck Protecting Chicks	9
Don Specht	Woody in Flight	10
Roger Williams	Grazing Brown Bear	9
Kathy Bishop	Red Leaf at Bond	10

Story Behind the 10s – Egret Grooming

 

From the Photographer: Diane Herman

Last summer on the morning of July 1st, I headed to the Woodlake Nature Center. It is close to my house and usually a nice walk in nature with lots of things to photograph.  As I walked along searching for subjects, an egret was hanging out right on the floating boardwalk.  I stopped, sure that he or she would fly away.  He stayed within about 25 feet of the original location and let me take photos for over an hour.  I took some shots and carefully and slowly tried to get a bit closer without scaring him away.  But that was a mistake – not because it scared the egret – but because I only had the Tamron 150-600 mm lens and I needed to back up to capture more of the scene and the whole bird.  Before doing so, I took this very close-in shot and others trying to capture the details of the feathers, legs, beak, and eyes while the egret groomed.  Mistake #2, my ISO was set at 800 – way too high for such a sunny day. But Lightroom editing helped to bring out some of the detail. 

It was a fun morning hanging out with my new egret friend.  He finally flew away after the third runner passed along the board walk and made too much noise, but still a special day and fun memory!

Technical details:  Nikon D-500, f/8, 500 mm, 1/1000 second, ISO 800.

Story Behind the 10s – Sharp Lobed Hepatica

 

From the Photographer John Pennoyer

Elm Creek Park is just a short distance from my house, so every Spring I go into the woodlands and search Spring ephemerals. Although this area of the park is not loaded with spring woodland flowers, it always has enough to keep me interested. Both Round-lobed and Sharp-lobed Hepaticas have been my favorite woodland Spring wildflowers for many years. They can come in color phases from white, pink, and blue to a deep purple. Most of the Hepaticas in this woodlot are generally white, my least favorite color to photograph. However, on this day I found these pink/purple Hepaticas. Using my tripod and Nikon 105mm Macro lens, I set up my composition and then did some minor gardening by removing sticks, twigs, leaves etc. My camera was at a high angle almost shooting straight down to show the beautiful color of the Hepaticas that were in perfect condition.

Technical data: Nikon D800; Nikon 105mm Macro lens; F-22 @ 1/60; ISO 400, Gitzo tripod & BH 55 Ball Head,Cloudy WB, Cable release with mirror lock-up

 

Salon Acceptances – September 2018

 

Here are the Salon acceptances for September – Congratulations to you all – your images will be moved forward for judging in the end of year competition. The year end images will be showcased and the competition results will be announced at the May meeting

John Anderson	Beetle	8
Paul Kammen	Riding With Mom	9
Mike Sweet	Common Raven	9
Ian Campbell	Dandy Macro	8
Bill Pfeiffer	Cristate	8
Deanne Probst	Testing the Water	10
Eric Gustafson	Iced Canadian Goose	8
Michael Thompson	Frozen Cliffs	9
Mary Williams	Reflection of a Duck	9
John Foty	Ellingson Below the Milky Way	8
John Clouse	High Falls	8
Adam Haisman	Sunset at Gooseberry	8
Rick Graves	Pasque Flowers	9
John La Mere	Prairie Show Down	10
Jean McDonough	Kudu in Riverbed	10
Alan Schultz	Gentoo, Waves and Rainbow	9
Don Specht	Water droplet Refracting Sunflower	10
Scott Landseidel	Buck Nibbling On A Tree	10
John Anderson	White Ramshead	9
Mary Mullett	Drying my Wings	8
Paul Kammen	Partridge Falls	9
Mike Sweet	Coyote	8
Ian Campbell	Grand Staircase Hoodoo	9
Deanne Probst	Bandon Beach Clouds	9
Eric Gustafson	Traveler	8
Patti Jones	Preening By Sweet Light	9
John Foty	Rainy Day Dragon Fly	9
John Clouse	Hollow Rock	9
Larry Duke	Columbine stages	9
Ted Galambos	What’s That?	8
Rick Graves	North Dakota Formation	10
Ron Lagerquist	Monarch Butterfly	10
Jean McDonough	Oppossum and Babies	10
Dee Hunnisett-Dritz	Boneyard Leftovers	9
John Pennoyer	Last Squeak	9
Dave Perez	Lupine at Dawn	8
Alan Schultz	Bald Eagle Portrait detail	9
Don Specht	Yellow Warbler Feeding Nestling	10
Kathy Bishop	Pollywog Morning	10
Scott Landseidel	Great Horned Owlet In The Pines	9

 

Story Behind the 10s – Egret Breeding Color

 

From the Photographer : John Dykstra

Major metropolitan areas aren’t my first choice for relaxing photo trips, but I had some expiring credit card points, so I flew down to southwest Florida in February.  This shot was made late on my second morning at the famous Venice Audubon Rookery.  The light on the rookery itself had become harsh, so I worked with the birds that were on the “mainland.” They were scavenging for sticks for their nests.  I try to stay at my subjects’ eye level or lower, so the camera was on a gimbal mount with the tripod flat on the ground. I was following the birds through my right-angle finder.  This great egret caught just a bit of the light filtering through the trees. The sunlight and shadow on the underbrush provided a nice background.

Technical data : Nikon D500, 600mm, 1/2000;  @f/6.7.

Story Behind the 10s – Really Cold

 

 

From the Photographer: Karl Fiegenschuh.

This photo of a really miserable-looking baby snow monkey was made on the second day of a photography workshop in Nagano, Japan. Nagano is located north west of Tokyo, that has a park where snow monkeys congregate during the winter. Photography on the first day was fine, but uneventful.  Overnight it started to snow and it was snowing heavily when we were allowed to enter the monkey park. It snowed for several hours allowing a variety of photo opportunities.
During the heaviest snowfall I had been using a rain cover on the camera and lens.

Technical Data:  Canon 7D Mark II APS-C camera;  Canon 100-400mm; f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens; @ 106mm;  Settings were 1/200 sec at f/9.0 and ISO 3200.  
I made some edits in Lightroom mobile on my iPad to increase the contrast slightly, tone down the whites and emphasize the blowing snow.

Year End Awards 2017-2018

Image of the Year 2018

Angels Fly: Kathy Bishop

 

Wildlife Image of the Year 2018

Three King Chicks and Blowing Sand: Alan Schulz

 

Category Winners

 

Botany

 

1st Place

Breaking Free: Don Specht

 

2nd Place

Pasque stacked : John Anderson

 

Honorable Mentions

Caught a Skeeter – Ian Campbell

Milkweed Pod – Ron Lagerquist

One is Open – Deanne Probst

Mushroom Spiderweb – Philip Busch

Beargrass – Julie Sopoci

Ready to Fly-John Foty

Sharp Lobed Hepatica – John Pennoyer

Water Lily B&W – Marian Cyr

 

General

 

1st Place

Aurora Moonlight Convergance: Michael Thompson

 

 2nd Place

 

 

On the Way to Cattleman’s Bridge: Dee Hunnisett-Dritz

 

Honorable Mentions

 

After the Rain – Diane Herman

Reaching Up – Michael Thompson

Super Moon – John Foty

Blood Moonset at Pfeiffer – Kathy Bishop

Totality – John Anderson

Crescent Lake – Paul Kammen

Split Rock Ice  – Diane Herman

Fall Abstract Pano – Patti Jones

Canyon – John Clouse

Magical Morning – Kathy Bishop

Rock Reflections – Mariann Cyr

 

Zoology

 

1st Place

Three Amigos : Kathy Bishop

 

2nd Place

Askance : John Anderson

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Sally – Mike Sweet

Waiting for Lunch – Ian Campbell

A Bite of Bullfrog – Diane Herman

Northern Hawk Owl  – Michael Thompson

Japanese White Eye in Plum Blossoms – Karl Fiegenschuh

Backlit Gobbler – John Pennoyer

Duck Landing – Dave Perez

Prairie Chicken Fight  – Alan Schulz

King Feeding Chick – Alan Schulz

Wild Turkey Portrait – Alan Schulz

Willow Flycatcher Feeding Nestlings – Don Specht

Early Morning Catch – Don Specht

Expectant Coyote – Scott Landseidel

Cardinal in the Snow – Scott Landseidel

Egret Grooming – Diane Herman

Cranes and Moon – Deanne Probst

Stealth Flyer – Michael Thompson

Egret Breeding Color – John Dykstra

Really Cold – Karl Fiegenschuh

Catch of the Day – Don Specht

Black Crowned Night Heron – Don Specht

Great Egret with Lunch – Don Specht

Fawn Portrait – Roger Williams

Landing Precisely – Kathy Bishop

Sunrise Together – Kathy Bishop

 

Congratulations are extended to all