Traveling the Journey of Light | Photoblog Thoughts, feelings, and techniques behind the photography of Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston

Nebraska - From One Extreme to Another - Day 10 - BreakthroughPosted by drfl on July 9th, 2010

For my final image in the “From One Extreme to Another” series, I present “Breakthrough“. This is probably, my favorite image from the day I spent at Ponca State Park. The sun and fog really added to the dynamic of this image. While the composition seems simple, something keeps drawing me back to this photograph. A good example of learning to photograph where you live. Interesting images can be made virtually anywhere, one doesn’t have to travel far to see some incredible things.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska

Nebraska - From One Extreme to Another - Day 9 - Here Comes the SunPosted by drfl on July 8th, 2010

Seeing the rising sun through fog has to be one of my favorite photographic experiences. Unique lighting, unpredictable effects, rays of light everywhere, all contribute to some outstanding circumstances. When fog forms, I go out!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/13, 1/125 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska

Nebraska - From One Extreme to Another - Day 8 - Silk VortexPosted by drfl on July 7th, 2010

Since the fog was lifting from Ponca State Park on that cool spring morning, dew was everywhere. It covered the grass, the trees, and even this fairly large and detailed spider web.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/4, 1/640 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska

Nebraska - From One Extreme to Another - Day 7 - A Fox FriendPosted by drfl on July 6th, 2010

While traveling through Ponca State Park just before dawn, I found two foxes playing and eating by the side of the road. Still too dark to photograph, I let them be. To my great surprise, however, they were still there when I returned over an hour later. I was able to spend 15 minutes photographing them quietly before they decided they were done with me photographing them.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/5.6, 1/30 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska

Nebraska - From One Extreme to Another - Day 6 - Crisp MorningPosted by drfl on July 6th, 2010

As promised, this week will be filled with images from Ponca State Park. Located on the far northeastern edge of Nebraska, the landscape is much different from that of Toadstool Geologic Park, the subject of last week’s images. Forests and Foliage dominate here which contrasts with the stark, rocky terrain of Toadstool. Today’s view is looking west from the Missouri River through the prairie and towards the bluffs. The late spring moon can be seen descending through fog in which a faded fogbow is still visible.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/13, 1/30 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska

Slowly Moving AlongPosted by drfl on June 15th, 2010

It’s now less than a month away from when I exhibit at the Governor’s residence in Lincoln, Nebraska. When I initially got the invitation, it was over a year before I had to have everything prepared so I procrastinated. Of course, throughout that time I have had various things crop up, and of course, I have captured more images! Realizing my deadline, I just put in an order for 25 new Nebraska images so that I could rotate out some older (and non-Nebraska) stuff for the show.

Additionally, Nebraska Life magazine is doing a small piece on my exhibition, so if you are a subscriber, be sure to look for the information and an image or two in the next issue!

While this photograph will not be in the show as it is not an image from Nebraska, I felt it reflected the theme of the post - slow, but steady.   A little story about the image. My eldest daughter and I hiked a nature trail Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri in early May and had come across this snail moving slowly and deliberately across a fallen log.  We watched him for a good ten minutes, all the while my daughter managed to accumulate four ticks which proved difficult to find.  After finding three, I called it good, loaded her in the car and proceeded to drive away.  When I was on the on-ramp to the Interstate I heard a shriek from the back of the car, “There’s a bug on me!”.  I immediately pulled over and ran to her to find a huge tick crawling up her arm.  Not sure how I missed that one.

Technical Details
Canon 5D Mark II, 50 CM lens, f/5.6, 1/50 sec.
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri