A Virtual Trip To Antarctica

 

Penguins are amazing in the water and comical on land. These Chinstrap Penguins were standing on the edge of a low cliff overlooking the snow-covered mountains beyond. It appears that while one was enjoying the view, the other was squawking about something unknown to us human observers. 

When they walk, they are gawky and somewhat clumsy, but the moment they hit the water they are transformed into sleek and beautiful swimmers. I hope to return to Antarctica once the world is safe for travel again, but for now a virtual trip is the best we can do.

TECH SPECS  1/1000 sec at f/11, ISO 400. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 400mm on Canon 7D MarkII body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Penguins are the most human of all birds, which may be why people love them. They're cute, they stand upright, and they look like they are wearing tuxedos."  -- Shia LeBeouf

Time For Another Virtual Trip

 

Today our virtual trip is to brown bear territory in Alaska. This young mother was very wary of the males in her territory. Males (called "boars") can be very aggressive toward small cubs so the mothers have to maintain a high level of alertness most of the time. She only ventured out with her cubs from their protected haven in the deep woods at the end of the day, and for a very brief time. She had 3 cubs, and the other two were frolicking under her watchful eye just out of camera range when I made this shot. This cub was the smallest of the three, and clearly had less confidence than the others, staying close to its mother all the time.

When the coast was clear she would bring the cubs out for a foray into the fields just beside the woods. Our guide knew her habits and we would stand for hours waiting for them to make an appearance. When they did appear, it was exciting and hundreds of shots were frantically taken in the brief time she and the cubs came into view.  

Normally I end each Blog with a quote, but today I'm instead sharing this cute analysis of bears that just came in via email. It has been around for awhile, but even if you have seen it before, it is still a fun thing to read:

"In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a female bear. You get to hibernate and do nothing but sleep for 6 months. I could deal with that. Before you hibernate, you eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too. You birth your children (who are born the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping, and by the time you wake up they are partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that. As a momma bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that. If you're a bear, your mate expects you to wake up growling, AND expects you to have hairy legs and excess body fat. Yup, wanna be a bear!"

TECH SPECS  1/500 sec at f/8, ISO 800. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens with Canon 1.4x extender for a focal length of 560mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.  

In Memoriam

 

Today's Blog is posted in memory of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I had the honor of meeting her and photographing her back in the 1990's when I had my photo studio in metropolitan Washington, DC. Even though I did not spend much time with her, I was immediately struck by her humility and down-to-earth nature. 

In those days I had the honor of photographing many notables, including her good friend Justice Antonin Scalia. Even though they were polar opposites in terms of their political leanings, they and their families had been firm friends for many years. It struck me then, and even more so now, that it is possible for people whose beliefs do not match to still have respect for one another, and to feel the warmth of honest friendship. They viewed each other as colleagues and friends, not political enemies.

Today, when it seems that divisiveness, polarization, and sometimes outright hatred invade our daily lives, I have been reflecting on that deep friendship between the Ginsburg and Scalia families. I am hopeful that one day soon we can return to a greater sense of respect for each other, and help our country pull together as we once did.

I chose this photo today since it illustrates how separate rivulets of water can flow independently but ultimately end up coming together to form one mighty river. They coalesce and form a powerful union. That is my hope for the future.

While this Blog is not intended to make any political statement, I encourage you to vote in the November elections, regardless of your political leanings. Voting is one of the greatest privileges of living in a democracy, and we should never take that privilege for granted.

TECH SPECS   2 seconds at f/45, ISO 100. Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens set at 200mm, on Canon 5D Mark III body. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff ballhead.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."  -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

From Blah to Boffo

 

You have heard me sing the praises of Lightroom before, and this is one more example. Compare the Before image below to the main image above. They are the exact same RAW image, just improved greatly in Lightroom.

This was shot indoors at Longwood Gardens, so the lighting was soft and even. The beauty of these orchids was incredible, but the original RAW image here was really not exciting.

The bright spot in the background draws your attention away from the flowers. In addition, the background, even though very soft, is still distracting. So how was this image improved? It was pretty simple with just a few steps in Lightroom. The first step was cropping to eliminate the background issues. Then just a little tweaking of the Whites and Blacks, followed by a small reduction in Clarity (minus 22) to soften the flowers a bit more. I increased Vibrance a bit to punch the colors, and then used the Graduated Filter to darken the edges which added some drama. So in only 6 basic steps this image was transformed. 

The magic of Lightroom never ceases to amaze me. And it is quick and easy.

TECH SPECS  1/320 sec at ISO 800. LensBaby Sol 3.5 lens, 45mm on Canon 5D Mark III body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome."  -- Matshona Dhliwayo   

Just For Fun

 

Way back in January, when we were babes in the woods and did not realize how hard we were going to be hit with the pandemic, I made a brief trip to Longwood Gardens. Of course I did not know that this would be my last trip there, or anywhere else, for a loooooooong time to come. 

I came across this image of a Bird of Paradise flower today, and decided to play with it a bit. These are spectacular flowers with bright orange and blue tones. But this one, the best looking bloom that day, was partially blocked by the large leaf in the upper right. I tried a variety of angles, hoping to get a clear shot of the entire bloom, but this was the best that was possible at the time.

When I initially reviewed the images from that day, I was unhappy that I did not get the entire flower in the shot so I did not select it as one of my favorites at that time. But I did not delete it because I loved the colors and the overall look. If you have taken my workshops or trips, you know that I often recommend NOT deleting too many images when you review your shots. I find that I have to let them sit for awhile, and take a break from looking at them for days or weeks, or in this case even months. So when I viewed it today, I found it much more appealing than when I first saw it in January. 

I decided to try some effects in Topaz to give the image a more artistic look. I rarely use that sort of software since often they can introduce a very artificial look if you are not careful. A light touch is always the best approach when adding digital effects to your images, unless you are seeking a powerful or garish look for artistic purposes. 

So I tried Topaz Impression with the Georgia O'Keefe II filter. Initially it introduced the artificial look I try to avoid, but when I layered it over the original image and reduced its opacity to 30%, the effect was toned down significantly, and it added just a light painterly touch. 

It is great fun to play with filters and effects, just to see what works for your artistic eye. We all have different tastes, and you can expand your creativity by experimenting with a variety of options to find the looks that work for you. 

TECH SPECS  LensBaby Sol 45, f/3.5 at 1/640 sec, ISO 800 on Canon 5D Mark III body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of 'how to do.' The salvation of photography comes from the experiment. " -- Laszlo Moholy-Nagy