Daily Image - Jun 2019 Archive

10 Jun 19 The fall trip to Yellowstone ended as it almost always does, sitting in line at the Edmonds ferry terminal for an hour or more awaiting a ferry to take us across. The problem gets worse year after year with the State run ferry system patting itself on the back for it's wonderful innovations, such as the most recent concept, reservations. I'll let it rest at that because my inclination is to go on and on about our decreasing services with continually increasing prices. In any event, if one happens to be in the waiting line on a non rainy evening the view from Edmonds looking across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains can be quite majestic, as it was on that evening during my 90 minute wait. The tide was in, the sky was clear, and the sun had already taken its leave behind the mountains. A few birds were still looking for a meal and the passenger ramp was reflecting the skyline in its windows. Very idyllic, and not all that hard on the eyes to be sure, but after 10 hours of driving even a sight such as this didn't help much with the frustration of a needless extension of the day by an additional hour and a half. At least it wasn't raining. Other than some cropping, this is what the camera recorded. Awaiting the Conclusion Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

03 Jun 19 A malfunctioning lens can put a real damper on a photo shoot, especially when it isn't immediately obvious that such is the case. Enter modern software that is becoming more and more capable on a monthly basis. Some of these improvements are wonderful, but others, such as the new AI versions, leave me a bit concerned. The new software however has allowed me to salvage a goodly proportion of the less than ideal images. Today's submission is one from that group and I used an AI version of an older product that rendered it acceptably well. Black Sand Basin is located in the same geyser basin that contains Old Faithful, but oddly enough, I had never visited it before. It a small area with only three geothermic entities, all located on a short boardwalk, and easily accessible for anyone. It was a bit windy when I made the walk and as such it offered some opportunities to play with the steam being teased by the wind. Probably should have spent more there than I did but I'll have another opportunity in a few months. Other than a little contrast enhancement, this is what the camera saw. Iron Spring Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f /10

04 Jun 19 My father was a very good B & W photographer about whom I've written several times. His darkroom in the basement, across from my bedroom, probably provided me with the majority of good memories from my childhood. When he switched to color slide film it all came to an end and his photography, in my opinion, went downhill. Perhaps because with slides it was all over when you pressed the shutter but with B & W prints it was just the beginning with the shutter press. Both of our children were good B & W photographers, taking after their grandfather I guess. Jennifer will hopefully pick up the camera again perhaps after her two girls finish public school. We'll never know how far Scott might have progressed. While I started out in elementary school with a "Brownie" shooting B&W film, I never much cared for it and as soon as I could I moved on to color slide material. That was a staple until the digital revolution and it didn't take me long to move forever into the digital age. That move brought with it many new opportunities among which is an opportunity to try my hand at B & W. Some of you will say that I've been doing that all along, hence B & W Tuesday, such as today, but for the most part it has been an on again-off again approach. Last week I started taking a B & W course from a modern photographic ARTIST whose work I find very inspiring. While I doubt that I'll ever match what he does, at least he provides some good incentive to try to aspire to his level. Today's submission is literally a first effort at reaching his level. This is a shot from the same location as that which I shared yesterday. The foreground material is a series of bacterial mats and in the background there is an oval hot spring dispensing a lot of steam. What's really interesting to me in this image, and likely you won't pick up on it, is that the cloud's shadows are not showing on the ground beneath them. I have no idea why but it might be fun to claim the wind just blew them away. I've rotated the original due to sloppy work by the photographer and given the clouds a small bit of contrast enhancement. Otherwise, this what the camera saw. In Monochrome Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f /10 with that damaged lens.

05 Jun 19 Today we are looking at another shot taken in the Black Sand Basin. It is of a small hot spring (bubbling pond) whose name I failed to record but which is very prominent in that it is spouting off most of the time and it is virtually next to the boardwalk. There is nothing special about this hot spring but due to its proximity to the boardwalk, and therefor positioned for being shot without other annoying humans getting in the way, I wanted to try something different in my approach to it and that was to try and shoot through the water to show both it and the background behind the body of water. The experiment wasn't fully successful but it wasn't a total failure either. While you definitely can't see through the bolus at the top, you can see through much of the remaining fluid. Likely not a technique that is rapidly going to become the latest fad in moving water photography, it was fun to do and I'm thinking I'm going to try a little more experimentation when we return in the fall. This is basically straight from the camera save for a little dodging and burning to focus your eye. Looking Through Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f /10.

13 Jun 19 The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone runs NE / SW in the central upper third of the park. There are two viewing locations on the right side of the canyon and four on the left. Lookout Point is on the left side and is a favorite place of tourists to take shots of the deep canyon with them in the foreground. We visit there on every trip but I go to see a certain aerie that is the home of a pair of osprey. The nest is very easy to see sitting as it is atop a lone group of rocks with nothing even close to it and being perhaps 6 feet in diameter from outer edge to edge. Generally there is one of the pair of birds in it. I often ask the visitors if they saw the osprey with a general response of that of a deer in the headlights. The image I'm sharing is a bit deceptive having been shot with a long focal length which tends to compress distance some. They aren't showing in this frame, but the osprey was being visited by pair of ravens who were doing their best to try and get her off the nest, no doubt looking for what they though might be an easy meal. I watched them maneuver for perhaps 15 minutes before they gave up the idea and moved on. This is another shot with that mal-functioning lens but I think sufficiently sharp to share. Other than a small bit of straightening and some dodging & burning this is what the camera saw. There's No Place Like Home Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /10.

06 Jun 19 Probably not a surprise for those of you living in mountainous areas, but one of the first things you need to take seriously is that the weather in Yellowstone can change rapidly - often without warning. Disregard this sage bit of advice and you can put your life in danger. If this sounds over stated, ask any Ranger. The forecast for this particular day's outing was sunny with a chance of afternoon showers. Well, as the image aptly demonstrates, the showers were to make their presence but it was much more than a shower. And while it was shower like in duration, it wasn't shower like in precipitation. The precipitation was hail stones and they weren't exactly small. My approach was to stay in the vehicle until it passed, maybe a total of 15 minutes, but an interesting 15 minutes it was. 5 minutes later it was as though nothing had occurred. Having been caught out in the open would not have been fun!! Note that the bison are moving away from the weather's path. This is a 7 pane pano that I had to do some work on to get the light properly balanced. My way of saying that the camera properly recorded what the eye/brain "modified" to make it look like I wanted it to look. It took a little effort in the digital darkroom to achieve what the human did instantly. Sunny with a Chance of Afternoon Showers Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f /10.

12 Jun 19 I've written prior about Quake Lake, that body of water that was formed in 1959 following a 7.2 earthquake that resulted in a huge landslide into the Madison River killing 28 and injuring many more. You can see the lake as you drive along MT - 287 on your way to/from Yellowstone. At the site of the landslide is a very nice visitors center but it is only open during tourist season. If you are driving in that area during tourist season the center is worth a visit. There are several vantage points associated with it and lots of room to park and explore. We've stopped there many times. The landslide blocked up the Madison River to form Quake Lake; Rangers suggest that the water flowing out of the lake will break through the dirt deposited during the landslide that created a natural dam resulting in the lake in approximately another half century to return the Madison to its previous state. When I visited last May I happened upon the exit of the lake quite by accident and unfortunately was using that bad lens not realizing it wasn't properly focusing. So the shots I got of the outlet aren't perfect, but I do believe good enough to give you some idea of how it looks. Maggie thought it was pretty neat and got far to close to the edge for my comfort. This is more of a documentary shot showing the lake, a section of the dead trees in the lake, and the actual run off. There is a camp ground associated with all this but if you don't know where it is you likely will miss it; I know we did for 5 years running. The water wasn't all that deep in the outflow but it was moving quite fast. Happily Maggie didn't try to test it! I've straightened the original and given it some dodging & burning, otherwise this is what the camera saw. Freedom Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /10.

07 Jun 19 The close-up for today is of a Gray Jay. They are abundant in our mountainous areas and are relatively friendly meaning that they will sit on your hand and eat out of it if you desire, but they won't let you touch them. I hate to see that happen as it can help them become less independent but the combination of folks wanting to do it, such as my bride, and their willingness to oblige insures that it won't quit happening. With friends from PA visiting a couple weeks back we had an opportunity to do just what I described and I took several photos of the bird eating out of our friends hand. Jan wanted me to share one of those images but as I don't like the idea I'm not. Instead, I'm sharing a mildly creative shot of the same bird siting in a pine tree. Bottom line is if you want a "wild" bird eating out of your hand look for a Gray Jay. I've cropped the original for best presentation and then obviously made it a bit painting-like. Otherwise this is what the camera recorded. Really Simple Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 5.6.

11 Jun 19 We return to the scene of yesterday's episode (Jan is watching another whodunit in the background) albeit 9 months later. Last Friday I attended my 50th Anniversary reunion of my undergraduate college, Seattle Pacific (College) University. It was my first ever class reunion . . . . . . . and my last. Got to meet the jerk President who cancelled my promised professorship and, as it turns out, positions of several others. Good to know that nepotism is still alive and doing well. The commencement speech was given by a full professor who was completing his 46th and last year at the school. He apparently has a even lower opinion of the current president, and he took the opportunity, by implication, to let us know. But his address was one that should be made mandatory listening for every American. His topic was diversity -- diversity of intellect, not any of the other nonsensical uses of the term. A truly refreshing opinion. I would have loved having him for a few classes!! I managed to stay for the entire day but it was painful. At one point I found my way to the bookstore. I of course headed for the life science section where I found at least 6 books on the shelf. And I was blown away. A soft cover A & P text sold for $385; other texts were priced similarly! When I graduated in 1969, the most expensive year of my three years there, the cost of tuition for a single quarter was $365. I know because I looked it up in a '69 catalogue. That's roughly $1100 for a full year. The current cost for tuition only I was informed is currently $44,000 per year. At 4 years that's likely $180,000 for an undergraduate degree. And based on some of the new majors I understand they have recently added, a TOTALLY wasted investment. To say the least I was appalled. It is no longer the institution of higher learning I attended 50 years ago. Very sad! We used to live in a college owned home while I attended which has since been destroyed to put in a parking lot (sounds like a 60s song). I parked in that lot in a slot that would have been our bedroom when we lived there. That at least was a fun part of the day. I left feeling a bit despondent until I made it to the ferry terminal. Of course there was a wait, but there was also a show going on in the sky. So as you can imagine, I got out that modern day Brownie and grabbed a few shots. One I like a bit I've converted into B&W for today. It's just clouds, one in particular, but at least this time it had the courtesy to display its shadow. Other than the B&W conversion, this is what the camera saw. Collision Course Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 9.

14 Jun 19 Two days ago Jan noticed for the first time a medium sized hive in the corner of our garage. She asked me about it and to my surprise I had to say I hadn't seen it prior either. I have no idea how many days they had been building it unseen, but it must have been more than a week. Did a little searching on-line attempting to determine exactly what we were dealing with and in the end came away uncertain. Our best guess is paper wasps, but as we couldn't be certain we decided they needed to go. That wasn't an easy decision as paper wasps eat noxious insects like caterpillars and mosquitoes in addition to being good pollinators, but since we couldn't be absolutely certain, and as they were in a location where they could be easily disturbed, we destroyed the hive. In the process the paper-like exterior was dissolved leaving just the interior contents of the hive. I had not expected the result so I don't have a photo of it yet, but may take one tomorrow and share before we depart. I've heavily cropped the original otherwise this is straight from the camera. Paper Wasp Variety Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/60 sec @ f / 9.

15 Jun 19 Been a long time since I did a Saturday Night Special, so I thought I would do one with a subject that might fit the title. After spraying the nest with a brand of hornet & wasp killer that foamed over the entire object I went inside to avoid any little angry critters I might have missed. I was not prepared for how the material worked and when I looked again a couple hours later was quite surprised to see that the paper "shell" had been basically dissolved and that just the comb interior remained. That was rather interesting and made for a nice subject. A couple of the creative editions are my favorite but I think you need to see the real thing first. Just may share two of the creative versions upon our return for those of you who like triptychs although I'll admit these would make for a most unusual triptych. This is straight from the camera although severely cropped. Engineering Feat Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with full flash.