Daily Image - Jun 2020 Archive

01 Jun 20 So here we go, as promised, back to Iceland and the cool weather of winter. This will be the last shot of Seljalandsfoss and it was the best composition I got of the stairs and trail on the right hand side of the falls. It gives you a good idea of the path one would travel to get behind the falls for a summer drenching. As I'm rather certain most of you, as have I, have seen a lot of images of ice covered things, this look likely isn't all that new, but seeing it in person was and it does give you a different perspective. Ice aside, the amount of snow on the ground was negligible and I'm wagering that two weeks later there likely wasn't much at all. I'd love to visit these falls, especially with peak fall color sans all the other spectators, but I don't see that ever happening. So we'll just have to enjoy it as I saw it when there. Another set of humorous signage awaits you tomorrow. Other than a small amount of dodging and burning plus a wee bit of contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. Tempting Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 400; 1/800 sec @ f / 9.

02 Jun 20 A very short narrative for today along with a chuckle or two. I mentioned before that the Icelanders have a good sense of humor and no where did I see it better displayed than on the restroom doors. Just prior to leaving Seljalandsfoss I made the short trip across the parking lot for a shot of the greater area and then made a quick potty stop. I couldn't help but start to chuckle when approaching the rest rooms when I saw the identifying labels on each door; of course I just HAD to take a photo. I'm betting there isn't a single one of you who hasn't identified with one of these images sometime in your past. Back to yet another boring waterfall tomorrow. I've cleaned up the original a bit because these outdoor facilities were showing their age and cropped it for best presentation. Otherwise this is what the camera saw. Distress Station Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

04 Jun 20 Alright, having shared the bigger picture yesterday, we now take a closer look at what was there. The wall on the left side of the falls was substantially longer than that on the right and appeared to be receiving the brunt of the water vapor created by the falls. Like other falls I've visited and photographed, this one appears to create its own weather pattern. On the right the wall ran for a relatively short distance and had a trail that took one to a viewing area above. By the time I realized the trail was there it was time to go and perhaps just as well as the areas close to the falls proper were covered in ice. Still would have liked to get up there and shoot the falls from above. The ice formations on that left wall were quite interesting. I very much wish I had had access to a set of waders as I would have crossed the shallow outflow - I'm guessing it was at no point in excess of 18 inches - and done a bit, actually a lot, of macro work with that ice. It had many faces from that of a typical icicle, to slurry-like layers, to a snow covered section, and even some that looked a bit like a flowing glacier. If you zoom in and move around you will be able to see it all and perhaps even more. I've never prior encountered ice in all these many forms in a single location. Even the snow and ice on the water seemed a bit different. We'll have another look next week at a portion of the rocks further to the right. Other than some small contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. Icicles Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

03 Jun 20 Today we look at the second of the two waterfalls we visited on our second day out and our run to Vic to hunker down for the big storm! This image features two things I've never done before, cropping of a few frames off a pano after making it, and pasting into the image something that wasn't there when I took it (excepting sky exchanges). Skogafoss is an easily accessed waterfall in that it is just a short level walk from the parking lot to the falls. The outflow parallels the approach to the base of the falls and while it was rather slippery (very much so) when we visited, the crampons made it a relatively safe walk. In the summer I would imagine it is a very pleasant walk and likely a nice place to enjoy a picnic IF one could avoid all the tourists. You loose a bit of the perspective in this pano as I've cropped off the left hand quarter due to a snow patch at the top of the rock that looked out of place. It isn't, but with the small amount of sky on the right, a similar section of pure white on the left didn't look right. The sky that early afternoon was looking very snow grey flat - ugly - so I replaced it with the blue one which was available when looking in a different direction. The removal of that left hand section really takes away from the perspective so I added the couple to give you some idea as to the size of the place. Now, the couple comes from a shot taken at the same time, within a minute or two, in which I was just shooting the fall and they, along with several other people, were cluttering the view. So they were actually there when I pressed the shutter release, just not in the pano series. Never before have I intentionally cut and pasted humans into a shot, but this time they were needed. Please save this shot for the rest of this week and next. The pano aspect of this composition hides a lot of detail in the rocks and ice I want to share, so keep it handy to use for reference with the next several shots of Skogafoss. As I wrote above, I swapped skies, significantly cropped the pano, and added the couple (can you tell I did it?). Everything else is just as the camera recorded it. Almost the Big Picture Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

08 Jun 20 Today we look at the last image from Skogafoss before departing for Vic to weather the storm. we won't visit another waterfall for quite a while as we saw just two others on the trip, one a lovely little roadside spring-like fall and the other a major waterfall we visited on the last leg of the trip and in the middle of another storm. Today we look once more at the ice formations on the far wall of the canyon. I want you to concentrate on the top third of the image because that's where the great variations in the ice are both concentrated and obvious. You can ignore the middle if you like. The very bottom - the water - simply adds both perspective and demonstrates that the shot is sharp. I mention this only because the ice layering created by the freezing mist makes for soft looking ice - it isn't soft in either sense of the word - photographically or in composition. With this mailing you can now toss the one I suggested you hold onto for a couple of days. We won't see anything more like today's offering but we shall see a lot more shots of ice, some of which are pretty spectacular and will have interesting narratives to accompany. Still another 6 days of visit to cover so I'm thinking we'll finish the trip sometime in July. Hope I can hold your attention for the duration. Other than a small amount of contrast enhancement, this is what the camera recorded. Triphasic Water Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.

10 Jun 20 Back to the sea stacks area of Vic for today's submission. This is a closer view of the area immediately to the right of the view I shared yesterday. This perspective gives you a much better idea of the swirling snow (ice darts - they leave no trace) that was being driven by the winds along with lots of salt spray. At this point the storm was just beginning to make itself fully appreciated. Little did we realize that by nightfall we would be experiencing gusts 100mph faster. While we were visiting the beach the storm was rather beautiful as you might imagine from the contrast of the pure white snow on the jet black sand. Never saw anything quite like it before although there were some slight hints of it while we were walking around the Black Church the day prior. All the whitish spots in the image is snow and although the storm brought a lot of high winds, it amazingly dropped relatively little snow by comparison. Not that it didn't bring snow, it certainly did, but nowhere near the amount I had anticipated from watching the storm. I've brightened the capture up a little bit to better show off the setting we were in because either the camera and/or the operator really didn't do it justice. We stayed here for perhaps 20 minutes at most and then drove up a hill behind where we were parked to have a look at another church on the must see churches list. In the five minutes we spent getting there the storm had increased to the point where one could barely walk outside and when doing so necessitated leaning into the wind to remain erect. Tomorrow we'll have a peak at the church. Other than brightening the capture up a wee bit plus cloning out a very small section of sky, this is what the camera captured. Coming Ashore Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.

09 Jun 20 Departing Skogafoss we had just started our run to Vic when a passing by vehicle hurled a rock at the van that hit the window where I was sitting rendering it into hundreds of pieces of glass. Fortunately for me the window was two panes and just the outer pane was destroyed but it rendered my outside view useless and was a cause of concern for our guide for the remaining 6 days of the trip. Fortunately his tape job on that window held everything together and gave me cause to do a fair amount of shooting out the windscreen as we drove the next several days. The drive to Vic took less than an hour but by the time we arrived the winds were already around 50mph and were making photography a challenge, as you may surmise. Among the big attractions in Iceland are the sea stacks and the tall basalt columns in Vic that hug the coastline. Walking along the base on the black sand and "playing" with the towering columns of basalt are key elements of many of the tours and was to be part of ours. We got to experience none of the beach walk stuff and only had a momentary opportunity to sorta "see" the sea stacks. With winds making standing straight nearly impossible and flying ice crystals (snow?) and sand being blown as if being emitted by a fire hose, time outside in the weather was for a very few minutes at best. Today's image actually provides a better look at the sea stacks than we got while being toyed with by the weather. Having spent at most 15 minutes here, we drove up the hillside to see a church that is part of the must see group of churches and made it to the hotel to hunker down for the next 36 hours. This is basically straight from the camera although I've lightened it a bit and added a small amount of contrast enhancement to give you a better idea of what was/is there. Building Up Strength Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

11 Jun 20 Departing the sea stacks we made the short drive to the hillside above the town of Vic to visit the Reyniskyrka church, the next to last one we visited on the list of must see churches in Iceland. It was totally closed so all we could observe - when the snow let us - was the exterior. The exterior is pure white and the roof a vibrant red but it wasn't that afternoon. Being theatrical Thursday I wanted to share a creative version of the church but none of the creative ones I made adequately presented the fury of the storm, so I've elected to share the purely straight one. What looks like texture in the photo is, but not one I've added, rather, it is blowing snow. It was a real challenge to work in this weather and only three of us did any serious photography and then not for long. Another aspect of the creative versions was that they dropped out too much of the background while this one (sorta) shows the sea stacks and a hint of the town lying at the base of the hill. A few minutes after I took this shot that feeble attempt by the sun to cast some light on the subject had concluded and it rapidly started turning dark even though it was just half past three. For the next 36 + hours we would be hunkered down in our hotel. Once safely in our hotel the biggest concern was for the van which needed both shelter from the storm - there were no covered places to park it - and thoroughly protecting that shattered window from the battering of the wind with its 175mph gusts! Fortunately the van received nothing more than a couple small dents and was ready for us when we departed a day later. A close look at the empty area of the parking lot, especially that portion that is clearly black, will give you some idea of what the wind was accomplishing that day. This is basically straight from the camera save for my enhancing the red of the roof a bit. To get a good idea of how the church should look you could simply use the brighten slider in your graphics program to turn the church bright white. Snow Blasted Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

15 Jun 20 Arriving at the hotel Thursday we all had an enjoyable dinner, then a relaxing evening listening to the storm in the relative safety of the building. Knowing we were not going to be getting up several hours before the crack of dawn the next day, we mostly decided to spend the evening in conversation and, for most of the group, drinks. Little did we realize that we would be losing power 5 times in the next 24 hours in an almost year old hotel with no back-up generator. We were in the middle of a training session sharing images on a computer when one of them occurred. Each time the hotel staff tried to compensate with lots of candles; almost made for a romantic experience. Maybe it was for some of the folks who were a bit younger. Later that afternoon, around 1530, we ventured out as by then the storm had died down to perhaps winds of just 25 knots pushing the snow and drove to the sea stacks where we shot for maybe 20 minutes before returning to the hotel. By that time the sea, which we could watch from the 2nd floor of the hotel, looked as though it had subsided sufficiently to be safe on or near the beach. You can almost "feel" the snow in the image. Another enjoyable dinner followed our return but an early bedtime this evening as the next day we were to resume our eat and run morning departures for a very full day. This is basically straight from the camera. Late Afternoon Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

16 Jun 20 After a hearty breakfast we left the hotel in Vic with the storm still lingering but being really nothing more than an annoyance. We headed east on the Ring Road for about 2.5 hours to arrive at our first destination for the day, the Fjallsarlon Glacier in the Skaftafell National Park. We had a tiny glimpse of it as we arrived but it was to be a bit deceiving. Exiting the van we all donned crampons for the walk that lay ahead of us without which it likely would have been a setting for the Mamas & Papas hit Trip, Stumble, and Fall. The path was both icy and slushy and the depth of the slushy parts could be very deceiving! But with our guide we had no worries. The walk started out flat, then gradually climbed perhaps 100 feet before snaking down the hillside to the lagoon into which the glacier empties. Depending on your particular approach, there was much to photograph but I'm thinking I may have been the only one to photograph what I'm sharing today as everyone left me behind as they hurriedly made their way to see a glacier that was going nowhere, or at least nowhere fast. Today's submission is a shot of the parking lot with the lagoon barely visible at the left hand edge and the Atlantic Ocean at the right. The remnant of the storm was still with us and provided a huge light box for our work but in so doing totally robbed us of any interesting skies. The sky in this shot was probably the best we had that morning, and that briefly. The ice from this glacier will be the subject for several more images over the next few weeks. I sent a shot of a several pieces of ice a few Saturdays back so if you are keeping them you have some small idea as to what is in store. We'll start our adventure from this location and climb the hill; tomorrow we'll have our first look, but definitely not the last, of Fjallsarlon glacier. If you are anything like Jan, bring your parka. This is a composite of two frames to which I've added a bit of increased contrast to better depict what sky there was and the rocky substrate upon which everything sets, which is of course lava. Here It Began Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 100; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

30 Jun 20 We depart the glacier today with a shot very similar to the one I started with a couple weeks back. This time the shot attempts to depict the glacier in its entirety, something none of the others could. The glacier extends from its toe in the lagoon - not visible in this shot - to the top of the image where the color, faint as it is, changes to just a dirty white. On my screen that is approx 1 in from the top. All of that is a moving river of ice. It is hard to wrap your head around, but in reality it is several hundred feet high. When I see something like this I can't help but wonder how it would have looked at the height of the Medieval Climate Optimum (950 - 1250) when Iceland was populated and again during the peak of the Little Ice Age (c1500 - 1800). A shame we didn't have digital photography then. The toe obviously extends beyond the limits of this shot, but you can get that information from the other pano I sent earlier. To the right in this shot is where the lagoon exits to the Atlantic Ocean. Tomorrow we'll begin looking at the outflow of the ice from the lagoon. This is a 5 frame pano to which I've done some cropping for best presentation but that's all. Fresh Water Reserve Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 100; 1/250 sec @ f / 9.

17 Jun 20 Today we take a look at the BIG picture. I suggest you keep this one until we leave the glacier as it will serve as a form of map. Departing out the left hand bottom corner of yesterday's image we walked uphill for roughly a quarter mile, maybe a bit less, but somewhere in that neighborhood. As you crested the hill today's offering is what you saw. There is a rock roughly 40% of the way into the photo from the left hand side right at the edge of the lagoon. That rock was about 5 feet high so it may give you a wee bit of perspective. But on this scale perspective is hard to provide. I've seen lots of glaciers living where I do on the western edge of N. America (Mt Rainier alone has 27, the most of any mountain in the world) and having spent several months in Antarctica; NOTHING compares with Fjallsarlon. The color you are seeing is pretty much spot on, so you can only imagine what went through my mind, and I'm rather certain similarly for the others, when we transitioned from what you saw yesterday to what you are seeing today. The lagoon was for the most part frozen, it is the grayish band between the rocky area and the blue ice, but in the summer months of July and August you can take guided zodiac boat trips out into the lagoon and right up to the shelf; from what I've read you need to book way in advance for that experience. Next time!! This is a 15 frame image that in its full size is just under 3GB. I've done my best to scale it down without too much degradation. The Big Picture NikonD500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/250 sec @ f / 9.

18 Jun 20 Keeping in mind the big picture I shared yesterday, or better yet having it available, I'm gonna walk you through this image. That big picture "map" lost a lot of quality in having to compress a 90+ GB files down to c15GB, but it still serves as a good locator. Today's submission is first and foremost an attempt of providing some scale, as I will also do in one more image, but in truth I don't think it's really possible unless you have some familiarity with glaciers. This section of the glacier is approximately 1/3 the way in from the left hand edge of the big picture. This view was shot from above just like the big picture and where the brown across the image meets the ice is the top of the ledge we had to climb down to get the the edge of the lagoon. The lagoon is mostly frozen over, but you can see open water with ice burgs - really just BIG chunks of ice - where the flat gray meets the chunky blue. In today's shot you get a much better idea of just how tall this river of ice is as everything in the frame from the edge of the ice upward is part of the glacier. In the LLH corner you can see the roped trail that forms a "Z" taking you down to the lagoon edge. You can see some footprints where it changes direction from right to left; that area turned out to be a rather wet slush and several folks got caught in it before our guide started taking folks around it on the right outside the frame. Where the two individuals, my buddy Bill and our guide Raymond, are standing is where the trail dropped steeply down hill to the lagoon. You can't envision the drop in this shot, but the lagoon edge is perhaps 70 feet lower. Once down things were relatively flat but full of snow and ice and you needed to pay attention to where you put your feet. This is one place that should be on your Iceland bucket list if not already there! Other than a small amount of contrast enhancement to emphasis the structure of the ice, this is what the camera captured. Perspective Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/640 sec @ f/ 9.

29 Jun 20 Before we leave Fjallsarlon glacier and move on to Diamond Beach where much of this ice eventually is deposited, I thought it proper to give you a good look at how the toe of the glacier appears, at least from the opposite side of the lagoon. I don't have an explanation for why the ice breaks up into these column like structures as it does, but I'm sure there is one. I'm aware its called calving, but as to why it takes on these interesting shapes I have no idea. While we were there that morning we didn't get to experience any of the ice breaking off and crashing into the lagoon, the actual calving, but had we it would have been the crème de la crème of our glacier experiences! One final look at the glacier tomorrow and then we move on to our next stop on Wednesday, a fitting way to welcome in July. I've cropped the original considerably and given it a little contrast enhancement to show off the "character" of the glacier. This one is best view from a distance that let's you see the full screen at one time with no head movement. Tuff Sledding Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 205; 1/250 sec @ f / 9.

23 Jun 20 The three chunks of ice, well, really one just sliced into three pieces, was something that kept drawing me back to it. I shot it from several perspectives and while each had something to say, this one spoke to me the most. In all likelihood that small section on the left side was also part of this block at one time. The grit suggests it just didn't meander up onto the shore and the sculpting it may have seen some turbulent weather on its way across the lagoon. The very light blue that can be seen here and there also has something to say but I'm not sure what exactly. The combination of the chunk of ice, the mountain on the right, the glacier in the background, and the storm clouds overhead for me says I am Iceland. Come and share with me all this magnificent scenery. Perhaps this shot will evoke different emotions for you. Other than a little contrast manipulation to bring out the storm clouds, and formatting to the 16:9 size, this is what the camera recorded. Three Amigos Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 250; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

25 Jun 20 Today's Theatrical Thursday presentation is that same burg we looked at yesterday but this time we are looking at a majority, say 80%, of it. When I first saw it the image it conjured up was that of the Nautilus in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Now that I've said it you too may see it. Of course it should likely have two yellow eyes where the land is being displayed through the two openings in the burg, but I saw it as the island home port where the ship was being loaded. With mountain in the background and one edge of the glacier immediately behind the burg you can get a feeling for its size. This shot kinda illustrates how the burg has run aground. When I was in Antarctica in '94 - '95 we had a gigantic burg run aground in McMurdo Sound. It was probably 100+ feet in height above the water and about the length of an aircraft carrier. The scientists that year estimated it would take a couple decades for it to fully melt. I wonder how correct they were. This one I would think might last the year. Other than make the creative look using Topaz Simplify 4, this is what the camera captured. Painted Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/400 sec @ f / 13.

24 Jun 20 I had planned a different image for today but fortune wasn't smiling down on me so keep this one until tomorrow. Today we are looking at a portion of an ice burg you saw a couple days back, the image with all the photographers on the right. As I mentioned, it is hard to provide perspective, so you'll have to take my work for the sizes. That blue burg that was in prior shot is partially represented in today's submission. Tomorrow I'll give you some more visual info on it. For now let's say it was/is - don't think it has melted much - the size of a small cruise ship and appears to have gotten stuck in the muddy edge of the lagoon. When I saw it it immediately provided me with a story, and my time today was spent trying to craft the burg and story together; it is likely going to take another day. For now just give this some close observation; you could stack three individuals, feet on shoulders, and probably not fill the eyes. While trying, take a close look at all the different shapes in the ice. Quite a work of art. This is straight from the camera with just a tiny bit of contrast enhancement and some straightening. Even using a tripod the photographer has a difficult time finding level. Snake Eyes Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/160 sec @ f / 13. (How about that, NOT f / 9).

22 Jun 20 Having successfully made the walk down the side of the cliff - or whatever it should be called - we then had the better part of 90 minutes to wander around the shoreline of the lagoon shooting either each other, the ice formations hugging or on the shoreline, across the lagoon to the toe of the glacier, or some combination of the above. This is the other promised shot attempting to provide perspective but as I said prior, without actually having some known size object for perspective it is hard to do. Plus, without having been there to see the stuff in person, it is hard to know how much actual distance is being shown. Like the use of very long lenses in chase scenes in the movies to compress the distance between the chased and the chasers, different lenses can easily confuse the distances involved. So what I sent last week is probably your best reference. The four folks at the far right in this shot - only there because I couldn't get rid of them - may be somewhat helpful but again, you don't know the distance from them to the blue berg. During our time down at the shoreline the weather was constantly changing as the storm was breaking up which provided opportunity for different lighting looks which was interesting. I'm wondering what we would have experienced on a nice sunny day! This is basically straight from the camera save for two things. I've changed the crop to 16:9 to closer match the screen format (T.V. and movie theaters) and added a wee bit, and I do mean wee bit, of sky as that which I captured looked flat white. Different Looks Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/640 sec @ f / 10.

05 Jun 20 Back to the usual Friday fare this time sharing a close up of an azalea from our yard but with a different intent. Thought I'd play around with a group of juxtapositions and there are several in this one image. The first is of the color yellow in both an orange and green presentation. For those of you who do not do much graphic manipulation, you may be surprised to know that the color green in digital renderings is primarily yellow. The second one is of texture comparing the crispness of the leaf with the softness of the flower. The third would be the stages of the flower from bud to fully presented to dead. And a fourth, if you will, contrasting the general flower vs leaf. In all likelihood you can find lots of this in any image, but I wonder how often most of us take the time to think about these juxtapositions as we view any scene before us. Other than some generous cropping and a wee bit of contrast enhancement. Juxtapositions Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 9

12 Jun 20 We are taking a break from the stormy weather and doing the typical macro/close-up Friday stuff. We have a local nursery that also double as an aquatic supply and they have lots of nice fish and plants. One of the displays is a 9,000 gallon water lily and fish display. Some of their display Koi, (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), ["or more specifically jinli or nishikigoi, are colored varieties of Amur carp"] are banquet sized and they are a display unto themselves. The water lily pond contains hundred of little fish and while they are abundant it is the lilies that are the main attraction. The water plants are all contained in raised "beds" in a separate area and the variety is wonderful. Not sure where they come from but each bed generally has dozens of tiny fish swimming among the plants. Last week we visited and I found three gorgeous fish to add to our collection but was told to wait another week before purchase as they were in quarantine and wouldn't be available until yesterday. When we arrived they were gone as were the majority of the fish we would have wanted although we did settle for 4 that were not quite what we wanted but still colorful, just not the color combinations I had selected the week prior. What the owners didn't tell us last week was to get there early as there were a large number of folks who wanted the fish as well. So we got the 4 fish and lots of lily photos as well. Jan decided that I should share this creative version of two red lilies as it was her favorite of the set. So it's a creative close up for this Friday. I cropped the original some and obviously did some manipulation using Topaz Glow 2, the Fur and Feathers filter which I then modified some. Outlined Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.

19 Jun 20 Short and sweet for this Friday's macro image. There are several Christmas Cactus blooming in Jan's flower room at the moment and as usual I've been taking them one at a time up into the studio to photograph. This year there is one that is a bit different than the others in that its bloom does not resemble the typical double blossom with which I'm sure you are familiar. It is also of a different color, a beautiful orange. I thought you might like to see it so that's what I'm sharing today. I framed this one this tight in the camera and shot it with overhead sunlight as my main light and fill flash as the secondary. This is how it recorded. Showing Perfect Form Nikon D500; 200mm micro nikkor, ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 9.

26 Jun 20 This Friday's macro/close-up is a creative version of a Boston Fern taken from underneath with the frond backlit. As is quite common with ferns the spores are located on the underside of the frond, and this approach - back lighting - really shows them off. I chose the creative version as I thought it a bit whimsical, something we might all appreciate in current times. These ferns grow wild all over the local area and we likely have hundreds growing on the property, all free of charge. In the landscape we've added many other decorative varieties, but these and Bracken Ferns, which are also native and wild, make up the preponderance of our ferns. The original has undergone a small amount of cropping, plus obviously converted using Topaz's Simplify 4 Buszim filter. Next Generation Nikon D500; 105mm Macro; ISO 200; 1/80 sec @ f / 9.