Winter ContrastsPosted by admin on February 27th, 2008

In the last couple of weeks the snow and ice has been slowly melting in Omaha. Most of what was left was in the shaded areas or where it would melt and refreeze. Last week during one of my trips to the arboretum, I came across this old yellowed pine needle on a sheet of ice where water had obviously melted and refroze. The patterns in the ice were interesting, but when juxtaposed with the yellowed pine needle created an even more interest contrast.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/9, 1/60 sec.
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Petals in the SnowPosted by admin on February 25th, 2008

On Sunday, I went to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge with the intent of photographing the sunset on the ice. It has been a little warmer so alot of the snow has melted off the lake. While wondering around the lake, I found this opened seed pod in the snow. At first it looked like little petals hence the title. I used my extension tube to get in closer for this composition.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/13, 1/125th sec.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Coming TogetherPosted by admin on February 24th, 2008

Continuing with my work from the local arboretum, I went on Friday with the intention of using just my macro lens with an extension tube. The extension tube is a nice addition since it allows a closer look at the world without the loss of any optical quality since there is no glass which also makes it relatively inexpensive and light. Additionally, it works with any lens, so it is very verstile. Today’s photograph was an extreme closeup of the end of a branch of a pine tree.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM, Extension Tube, f/5.6, 1/100
OPPD Arboretum

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Sunlit Prairie GrassPosted by admin on February 22nd, 2008

Since I will be having two photographic art showings at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, I have been going there more frequently to try and get some new shots. In the winter I particularly like the frozen lake since it has some fascinating cracks and reflections that I can include in my composition. Unfortunately, the lake has been covered with snow quite a bit this winter so I’ve been going to other parts of the refuge and creating images. I decided to capture an expansive prairie type shot. I liked this one since the light was still hitting the grasses and I also went for a sunstar effect here.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/22, 1/30 sec.
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

2008 Lunar EclipsePosted by admin on February 21st, 2008

Last night there was a specatcular lunar eclipse that was visible from several continents including North America. Normally, I do not do any astronomy type photography, but the night was clear enough that I decided to give it a go. I don’t have very long lenses or a camera-compatible telescope, so I used my 300 f/4,coupled it with my 1.4 tc, and used my Canon 20d. This is a pretty standard setup for me for wildlife and it allowed me to go a little closer to our closest celestial neighbor. This is a pretty liberal crop as well and left me with a little more than a 2 megapixel image from an 8 megapixel sensor. Additionally, I had to bump the ISO level to 1600 which is higher than I usually allow for my photography in order to keep the moon from blurring too much. Remember, the moon and the earth both move and this is evident when the shutter is open any length of time in night photography. Even about a half a second is too long! This photograph was taken right before the moon began to enter totality at 8:58 PM CST.

Technical Details:
Canon 20d, 300f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/5.6, .6 sec.
Near Schramm State Recreation Area, Nebraska

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.

Nature’s HugPosted by admin on February 17th, 2008

Recently, I’ve been visiting the local arboretum. I have an exercise where I like to walk around with only one lens and try to see the world through that lens. The lens I choose on February 15th was my 50 mm compact macro lens which allows me to get fairly close in on intimate nature scenes. The weather has been fairly uncooperative with negative temperatures and little snow making for a nice brown frozen muck. So, I’ve set my sights a little higher and found this single leaf caught in two branches in a tree. The light on the branches was dappled which gave the needles an extra element for the composition.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 50 CM lens, f/6.3, 1/100 sec.
OPPD Arboretum, Omaha, Nebraska

To view other photographs, order this photograph as a print, or purchase licensing rights, please visit my website at http://www.journeyoflight.com/.