Daily Image - Aug 2020 Archive

03 Aug 20 The image I'm sharing for today may well become a triptych depending on response. For those of you who may occasionally play with these things you should be able to crop this one into at least two or three separate images. so have some fun with it. Departing from the stop where we left off last Wednesday, we were well on our way to do a several hour shoot at a location those of you who use the Bing browser will readily recognize when we passed a bend in the road only to see a large herd of horses in a very photogenic setting. This time no one had to request a stop as our guide suddenly slowed down and pulled off the side of the road. The weather was both warm and perfect, the setting idyllic, and the horses, or at least some of them, interested in having some human companionship. so we spent perhaps 45 minutes with the critters while others stopped, grabbed a couple of snaps, and drove off. The mare in the foreground decided I was an O.K. critter and we enjoyed each other's company for several minutes. I even had my portrait taken with her. I'll likely share another photo of her as the hair on her back was quite interesting. The stallion at the right, larger of the two animals, appeared to be the boss as he never approached any closer than he is in this shot and was keeping a close watch on all the others in the herd. His forelock seemed longer than those on the other horses and, at least in this point in time, was colored as though he had had it bleached. Probably just the sunlight falling on it more than anything else. The sun positioned as it was really made this picture what it is. We timed this stop perfectly. Other than some small amount of cropping and a slight bit of dodging and burning, this is what the camera captured. Making Her Approach Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 100; 1/400 sec @ f /10.

04 Aug 20 Based on the demand (lack of ) for a triptych of this image I won't be so doing. But as there are several on the mailing who prefer B & W to the other stuff, and, as I think this one came out very nice as a B & W, I'm sharing it today as such. Now I realize some of you are thinking, why can't those who like B &W just de-saturate the color version to get the monochromatic version, and of course they could. However, of the roughly 5 ways to create a B & W image, de-saturation provides the poorest result. When I make the B & W version of each image I'm first creating a B & W gradient map of the image assigning 0 to the darkest pixels and 255 to the brightest pixels. This gives a full range of tonality upon which everything else is built. The final step is to apply a film preset to get the end look I desire. If you are curious as to the difference, take and simply de-saturate yesterday's color version and view it side by side with today's monochromatic version. The difference won't be nearly as great as it would should I provide you the base color image (the one from which I created the gradient map) to use but you will at least get the idea. Same info as yesterday save for the application film preset. Silvered Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 100; 1/400 sec @ f /10.

05 Aug 20 I was planning on sharing an image of the hair on the back of this lass but then decided it wouldn't have much meaning and, sans some degree of meaning, wouldn't be all that interesting. This is the same individual I shared on Mon & Tue but now she has made her way to the fence line - barbed wire and such - and is leaning over for a bit of attention. I spent perhaps 10 minutes giving her rubs most of which were on and behind her ears. She really seemed to like that and I was more than happy to give her the attention. Really would have loved to have had a pocket full of apples to share but that was something we were specifically asked not to do, but no one said we couldn't pay them a little attention. She wasn't the only one looking for attention but she definitely was the most willing to accept it and she was in no hurry for me to quit. Others tried the same thing but were not as successful if they were able to touch her at all. But as there were about a half dozen in the herd that approached the fence line there were sufficient critters to go around. REALLY, REALLY wanted to bring her and perhaps a couple of her companions home with me. I know Jan would have been delighted. Probably Maggie too. Other than a wee bit of straightening and some small contrast enhancement, this is straight from the camera. My Friend Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 100; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

06 Aug 20 So today we'll have a look at that fancy hair do on that charming lass and as it is Theatrical Thursday we'll do it a bit creatively as it serves to better show it off. A good friend who lives just down the street and who knows Maggie has suggested that the two of them have a similar look. Colored a bit differently I would have to say but the hair has a lot of similar features. I have absolutely no idea - save for genetics - what would have caused the hair on her back to look as it does, but it certainly caught my eye especially so since none of the others that I could see had anything similar. Thought at the time that it would be fun to brush it to see if it would return to the same pattern as you see it but lacking a horse brush I was out of luck. Maybe next time. This is basically straight from the camera save for a small amount of light balancing and of course the conversion to the look you see using the Fur & Feathers filter from the Topaz plug-in Glow 2. Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; Outlined ISO 100; 1/160 sec @ f / 6.3.

10 Aug 20 Leaving the horses behind, we pressed onward to visit the Vestrahorn Mountains on the Stokksnes Peninsula. This was the first and only time we had to pay a fee to enter an area. It apparently wasn't cheap but likely not all that expensive if the cost were to be divided by all we experienced. While paying the entry fee we found some nice shots just behind as well as on the building in addition to much welcomed restrooms. Once everything was all tidied up we passed through the control gate and headed down a long dirt road which we took to the bitter end. Parking the van, everyone immediately took leaving slow ol' me to find my way on my own, not that that was any real problem; just didn't get to enjoy the guide's narrative. Upon exiting the van the first thing I noticed were waves that were splashing up almost to the top of the local light house. I foolishly failed to take those shots at the time because when I did the splashing water wasn't nearly as high. The plan of action was to initially hike up over a small berm and then make our way down to the water's level where we would stand on the sand and let the waves advance to a spot past where we were standing so we could photograph the mountains along with their reflections on the wet sand. I'm going to share some of those shots next week while this week we'll be looking at what was available on the way down to that location. As you will note in today's submission, the products of that storm were still not completely gone and the waves were still making their presence known. There was a large number of seabirds present and you can see a few flying while a grouping of perhaps 50+ are feeding on the water near the lower right. Traversing the berm to the left you walk down a relatively rocky slope to the water's edge. We were to go a distance out of the frame to the left, about twice the distance represented in the image, to take our shots. I took a different path to get this shot to try and set things up to give you a better perspective of what we were doing. There was a fence between me and the edge apparently put there to keep us from taking the really dramatic shots; I've removed it from the image. On really windy days it might have served a purpose. Once down to the water this view was not available and we would be far enough inland that the surge was not of consequence. But at least this gives you an idea of where we were working. By the way, anyone see the glacier? Other that cropping the original to a 16:9 format and adding a bit of dodging and burning, this is what the camera recorded. Feeding Time Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 100; 1/400 sec @ f /13.

11 Aug 20 I had a few images in mind for today's follow-on but they just didn't quite cut the mustard, so after three failed attempts I settled on this one. Departing from the position of the image I shared yesterday and walking perhaps 70 feet to the left and than down over the edge towards the water, this is the view you get. The mountain range on the left was just out of view yesterday and what is visible today is just the terminal end of that range. Tomorrow we will complete the walk down to the water and while standing it in look directly out at a 90 degree angle to the waves. While it may be somewhat apparent here from this perspective, it will become readily apparent in tomorrow's image that we were standing in a large very shallow cove. The beach was beautiful black sand and it provided for a lot of interesting images all on its own. Although this shot was taken at three in the afternoon, we were just two hours away from sunset. We remained in this location until just before sunset - in retrospect I wish we had stayed until dark - and then drove a short distance to shoot the sunset on the opposite side of this cove. It was a spectacular sunset and I can only imagine how the colors might have draped these mountains and the beach. I can in all likelihood easily simulate it but that wouldn't be real. This shot will probably be the last one showing the remnants of the storm. As I go through all this I'm coming to believe that the storm provided far more for us than it took away, but while we were there I certainly didn't have that perspective. While I can always go back and shoot what the storm prevented us from seeing, I can't go back and order another storm to provide the dramatic things we experienced and that I've been sharing. Other than some small contrast enhancement and a little dodging and burning, this is what the camera recorded. Remnants Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 100; 1/30 sec @ f /13.

12 Aug 20 Started out thinking I could salvage the image I wanted to share yesterday for today but gave up after wasting maybe 30 minutes. Yeah, I know, slow learner. Then it was a search to find what I wanted to convey that we experienced in this location and while I didn't get that perfect one, this will make the case, albeit not perfectly. We've now moved further to the left from where we were yesterday down onto the beach and standing near the far reaches of the incoming tide. The first thing you should notice is the waves. The first row of "breakers" is at most a foot deep and further out it was likely only 3 feet deep. Beyond that it gets deeper but this is a very shallow and protected cove and one is truly not in any danger of getting hurt by the tide action. You could of course fall but that is a different story. Now what you can't see in the picture is the accurate color of the sand - it's jet black - and of the colored rocks that were shades of red and orange. I played some with the rocks and may share a close up of them later. The goal of going down to the water's edge was to shoot reflections of the mountains on the wet sand and it was a lot of fun. The approach is to position yourself somewhere where the tide will wash up around you with perhaps an inch of water, then you wait for it to recede and while receding you take your shot of the mountains and their reflection on the surface of the wet sand. Depending on your position, the location of the light, and the flow of the water, you can get some very nice images. You get a small hint of what is in store for next week at the left edge of this composition. The faces of the mountains are covered in snow so the combination of rock, snow, and sky gave us a rather nice show. You may recognize the reflection of the clouds on the sand dead center. The line cutting across the middle of the image was the amount of water we were temporarily standing in, an inch deep at most, with each successive wave. This is basically what the camera recorded save for a wee bit of straightening and a small amount of contrast adjustment. On The Beach Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 100; 1/250 sec @ f /11.

18 Aug 20 Decided to go with the B & W version of the image I shared yesterday as I really think it works in monochrome in giving a feeling of almost total isolation. That's definitely not the case of course but unless someone described the setting one could get the feeling. While the blacks and whites in this version pretty closely represent the two extremes present they tend to take on a color cast provided by the light and change throughout the day. But the B&W approach avoids that coloring and gives you a real sense of how these basalt beaches look. The black sets the stage for the array of colors that surround the beach and I would really like to see this setting under either Aurora or with a bright orange sunset. Same info as yesterday except for the conversion to black and white. Monochromatically Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 100; 1/250 sec @ f /11.

24 Aug 20 Today's submission is one of the VERY rare times in which I include a human; just for perspective. Vestrahorn is a very impressive chunk of rock, but it is not alone in the beauty to be seen there. All of course depends on the light and when you are there with it of course. As we were approaching sunset, in the general vicinity of 1700 that time of the year in Iceland, the sun was sitting at an angle which does a simply fantastic job of side lighting whatever is there to be seen, and in this case, it was mounds of soil with grass. At the time of our arrival the grass was nothing of note, but by the time we were preparing to leave the sun's angle was such that the grasses had become sheaves of gold. This shot doesn't come close to what I believe several of us were experiencing, but it is the best I've been able to do to give you a feel of what it was like to be walking on the black sand surrounded by golden grasses that looked more like a LED light display than actual plants basking in the glow of the sun. This one is basically straight from the camera. Blades Of Gold Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f / 8.

53rd Ann Today's version of the Vestrahorn I believe conveys the feeling I want you to get. By the time I got to taking this shot I was the only one down on the beach; but not for long. Excluding the sounds of nature, it was totally peaceful and quiet. For a precious few minutes I had the sensation of being one with the surrounds. Just total isolation in this breathtakingly beautiful setting. The evening was fast approaching and the colors on the mountains were continuously changing, a mini light show if you will. I had enough time to get perhaps 10 different looks of this setting; this is my favorite of the group. I'll leave you with that and let you enjoy as you will. Today's marks our 53rd anniversary together; I can't think of a place I'd rather be spending it but if so I'd be alone; Jan doesn't share my love of Iceland. Other than a wee bit of contrast enhancement, this is what the camera captured. Three Peaks Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 100; 1.250 sec @ f / 8.

27 Aug 20 A little fun for today's Theatrical Thursday submission. While the image is one of the sand at Vestrahorn, it could just as easily be from anywhere in the world where the waves play with the sand. Most of the beach a few meters rearward of the wave action displayed this particular pattern which I found rather interesting because I could not see how the water flow and/or wind action could create it. The shiny surfaces are the black sand and the dull areas water. The sun was rapidly setting and casting a plume of light across the beach; the brighter colors represent the brightest areas on the sand. To get this black light-like color display I used the oil spill effect from the Topaz plug-in Glow 2. This is straight from the camera with the plug-in applied. Just Black Light Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f /13.

25 Aug 20 I thought it might be nice to share a couple more perspectives of the grasses, both lit and not, so today we'll go with another version of them lit but with a different viewpoint, even including another human for perspective. Today's shot is getting closer to sunset and the color of the light is getting warmer, the grass not as brightly lit, and the waves slacking some, most likely due to a receding tide based on the position of both the photographer and the amount of exposed beach. This shot includes the crashing waves, the snow capped mountains in the distance, and the extension of the Vestrahorn rocks out a ways into the cove which earlier were not as prominent. The light was beginning to rapidly fade so I wasn't able to get all the shots I wanted from this spot as there was a lot more to record and I had to start managing my time better. Based on a few comments I've had from two others on the trip I'm betting several of the next few shots I share are some no one else shot. They are along the creative line and there was much there with which to work. Although I obviously didn't, I was considering naming this "X marks the spot." This is straight from the camera. Beckoning Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f / 8.

26 Aug 20 These sand mounds with the grass struck me as something of an enigma in that I could find no explanation for them. In a way they resembled sand dunes, but sand dunes, at least the ones I've visited, are a continuous bed of sand, not like these individual mounds. They were located only in this small lagoon and not evenly distributed being very concentrated away from the shore line and sparsely dispersed near the tideline. That might initially seem logical if the dunes were smaller in size as they approached the tideline and larger as they receded from the water but that isn't the case, they aren't smaller, just fewer in number. Also of interest is that we only saw them here in this one location and never encountered them anywhere else. Out of view to the right in this image sits a tall light house which had waves splashing almost to the light at the top when we initially arrived which I mentioned in an earlier mailing. The water in this shot (not that blowing in the background) seemed to be something like a small estuary and as far as I could ascertain, based on what appeared to be plant growth lines - like a tree line, never exceeded 6 - 8 inches. Didn't think sufficiently about it at the time to ask our guide what we were seeing - all involved concentrating on the mountains and reflections - and now wish I had, but I'm sure glad we got to see it when we did one day post storm in evening light. Probably wouldn't give it a moments thought on a mid summer's day. 20 minutes later we were taking in a magnificent sunset! Other than a small amount of contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. The Path Less Taken Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /7.1.

31 Aug 20 With the sun rapidly looking for another area to warm we made our way into the van to drive for approx 10 minutes to stop and take in the sunset. This time we were looking pretty much due west and we made our stop with just minutes of sun above horizon time remaining. As I was looking for what I thought would be a good location our guide hailed me to follow him and he led me to this location. I had to watch what I was doing as I was on a small strip of land with plenty of opportunity to get my feet quite wet if I missed stepping where I should. I had the location to myself for about 20 minutes before someone spotted me all alone and felt the need to come join; then it rapidly got crowded and I moved on to another location which was even better and had it to myself for the rest of the stop which was to be just another ten minutes or so. The sunset we photographed started out as you see in this shot but then turned different colors in the afterglow. I'll share a couple more looks Tue & Wed. The bluish-white stuff on the ground is what remained of the snow from the storm two days previous. Other than some needed straightening this is what the camera recorded. Day's End Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

07 Aug 20 For today's Friday close-up I thought it time to share a shot of the Father's Day flower albeit a bit tardy in so doing. I've shared several during the run of the DI mailings but never used a portrait format in the past. Also tried to handle the background somewhat differently than I've done before by using a light colored gradient to subdue the background some; the flower being in the grassy backyard resulted in a green background that was a bit too heavy even though it was in soft focus. I've removed it from the flower so that it is only affecting the background and applied it using a soft light blending mode to achieve the desired control of the background. The dandelions in the yard are having a grand time taking over as I'm not supposed to doing anything to bother the healing of the eye for a month and with the other eye being "improved" next week the flowers have the better part of summer to themselves. By the time I can get back to full normal activities it will be time to go visit Yellowstone. That will be a welcome change as this doing nothing summer is getting to me! I'd appreciate some feedback on this image with respect to the gradient application. You shouldn't have been aware of it had I not discussed it. I'd like to know if such is the case. If you were aware of it I didn't apply it properly. Either way I'd appreciate your thoughts. I've severely cropped the original capture, added a bit of sharpening, and then applied the gradient. Standing Out Nikon D500; 105 macro; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.

21 Aug 20 Back to Fat Turnip's flower garden for this Friday macro. This is the image I wanted to share last week but didn't as you may recall. A bit of the story behind it. I shared a B &W version with a couple of friends yesterday to less than overjoyed response, so we'll have to see where this one goes. As you may imagine, the closer you get to something, the more any movement of that subject occurring, the less sharp the image. This is especially true in macro photography and a constant challenge in the outdoors where the movement can be happening at different levels to include the main object being photographed, the sub-straight on which it is located, and any photographer induced movement. The latter can be somewhat controlled but it depends on the environment. Now my goal was to photograph bees on densely flowered plants with breezes coming off the sound (Puget Sound). The travel of the bees on the flowers and the flowers swaying in the breezes made the use of a tripod next to fruitless, so it was hand hold all the way. This meant keeping track of the bee on the flower, the flower location in the frame, and any foliage that might affect the composition, good or bad. Now any good photographer would be constantly cognizant of everything in the frame at all times; I'm not that guy. Thus it takes a lot of shots to get that one potentially usable image. So when I got this one I was delighted, and immediately decided to share it. You don't get to see the original but it had several over arching leaves perfectly framing the bee and the flower, with one leaf bending over the abdomen of the bee as if it was a spring suspending the bee just above the flower. That fixated my eye and was all I initially saw. But halfway through preparing it I realized that there were several very hot spots on both sides of the flower that would pull your eyes right out of the image. So I nixed it. As the eyesight improved throughout the week I began to think I could salvage it as I really liked, and still do, the bee/flower combo. With much judicious cropping, and judicious painting out the hot spots, I came up with what I'm sharing. Now we are left with just one arch over the bee and and the green "spring." I would like to think that they "sorta" make for a story, but I'll have to leave that up to your imagination, if it even happens at all. As I mentioned above, I have seriously cropped the original and painted out a small amount of what was there; otherwise this is basically what the camera captured. On The Job Site Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture priority; ISO 640; 1/800 sec @ f /11.

20 Aug 19 The beautiful flower garden at the end of our road appears to be home to more than just lovely flowers and stinging insects. Today's Friday macro takes us there. On the one trip Jan made with me to both shoot bees and harvest flowers she found another tiny visitor, about a silver dollar in size, that was nice enough to pose for me for many minutes. While I was taking the portraits a couple with two youngsters arrived and we immediately made a connection with their daughter. Arielle followed us around - Jan much more than me - for the entire time we were there. She in particular was a delight, and we really enjoyed their company. We started our conversation by motioning her over to see what I was shooting and that was all it took. From that point on it was look at this, here, this is for you. A really nice treat!! Hope to meet them again in the garden. Follow-up visit with the ophthalmologist was 100% good; now I'll have to see if these new eyes make any difference. Other than some very tight cropping and very slight contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. Waiting Nikon D500; 195mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 640; 1/320 sec @ f /11.

13 Aug 20 Growing up I remember that most of my father's observations were accurate, but one in particular I thought inaccurate from the very first time to the very last time I heard it. My mother was a big fan of artichoke and she liked to serve it with some regularity. My father detested it and always referred to it as horse food. Now I've never seen a horse eat it nor have I heard of anyone who routinely fed same to their horses, but I have seen winged critters enjoying it. Lavender being one of our favorite flowers, we thought a second trip to Sequim to photograph it was in order last Sunday. Our first stop was to my favorite farm but to my chagrin they had harvested most of it with very little of any photographic value save perhaps fr some close ups of the individual stalks. So I visited the flower garden they also have for viewing in which a section is devoted to, you guessed it, artichoke. On our previous visit there were just a couple of plants in bloom but this time the entire section was in full bloom and attracting lots of winged creatures. As I was working particular blossom for a large bumblebee another critter arrived and remained for perhaps 10 seconds, long enough to try and get a shot or two. This was my best effort. This is straight from the camera save for some serious cropping and a wee bit of contrast enhancement. Sipping Nectar Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

14 Aug 20 A most sincere thank you to all of you who wrote saying you had me in your prayers for the surgery; all went very well and vision now looks to be great. Having been called Wed afternoon by the surgery center to say they needed to re-schedule my surgery time to later in the day Thursday because they had an EMERGENCY come up and would need the earlier time Thursday morning for the EMERGENCY - new definition of EMERGENCY to my way of thinking - I spent the morning working up the image for today. Good decision as this evening the eye wouldn't have appreciated the required time in front of a monitor. For today's Friday macro I had the "perfect" image selected and had worked on it for perhaps 45 minutes before I realized it just wasn't going to work. The critter was perfect, and the setting and composition ideal, but there were a few highly distracting elements that had simply escaped my eyes for too long before I realized the image wasn't going to work. So then it was a search for a suitable substitute and, while what I selected isn't quite as good as what I had originally selected, it is close enough. Walking distance from our house our neighbor has about 3 A of land planted as a U-Pick flower garden (all the cut flowers you can hold in one hand for $5). The insects love it, and combined with the vibrant colors of the flowers, it has been a delightful afternoon shoot for me for several days, many of which I've enjoyed the companionship of other photographers. My favorite flower in the garden apparently is known as either a Mexican Hat or Torch Flower and is vibrantly orange with a deep yellow center. I don't recall having ever seen this plant before, but I'm really enjoying it this summer as are several different six legged flying critters. The one was intently going about its business as I was snapping away. Do zoom in to 100% to really appreciate all its delicate features in addition to the structure of the flower. Other than some cropping and a very slight contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. Taking Care of Business Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/800 sec @ f /10.

28 Aug 20 A change of pace (no insect) for this Friday's close-up, which wasn't when I grabbed the shot. A couple hours drive west of here is Salt Creek Beach, our favorite place for tide pool adventuring. We visited it twice this week, on Sunday and Monday, unintentionally on Sunday and intentionally on Monday, neither of which visit paid off at all for tide pool exploring. I had forgotten that the tide pools are only available during the VERY low tides none of which happen in August! But it was great excuse to get out of the house and go on a small adventure. On Sunday I had an opportunity to shoot a nice grouping of Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) in both bloom and seed, and on Monday a Great Blue Heron was wiling to pose for me for an extended period of time. There is an abundance of them out here and for now are my favorite aquatic bird, that is, until one or more of them discover our fish pond! In the meantime I'll continue to enjoy and photograph them whenever the opportunity arises. When we lived back in MD we had a group of maybe 20 pairs of them that nested every summer on our local lake and if I recall correctly 4 pair that remained year long. The individual I photographed on Monday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca was standing on pieces of Bull Kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana), a brown alga that grows in water to a depth of 30 feet. I shot from quite a distance and the resultant panoramic view was quite nice, but after playing with it a bit I thought the close-up of the bird standing on the plants, perhaps 1/6 of the original capture, was a more interesting composition, especially the emphasis given the kelp by the tight cropping. So that how I'm sharing it. Other than the tight cropping and a tiny bit of sharpening, this is what the camera captured. The Sentinel Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f /10.