Ever wonder where ideas for monsters in the movies come from? I think a lot of them are modeled after creatures of the sea. Even though moray eels look menacing they are not much of a threat to divers. First they are not aggressive at all. And while their behavior of opening and closing their mouths, showing off their long sharp teeth, may look threatening; they are only forcing water over their gills–they are breathing.
Archive for April, 2010
Wildfower–Bleeding Heart
Back Lit Bleading Heart
Last Saturday was the field trip for my Close-up Nature Photography Class for the Chester County Night School. For the field trip we went to Ridley Creek State Park. Even though the spring wildflowers were early this year we did manage to find quite a few different species to shoot.
Early in the morning the flowers in the formal garden are back lit. Since John Koskulitz was helping out and the light so nice I tool a little time to shoot a little.
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Underwater Wednesday–Peacock Flounder
This is a close-up of the “face” of a peacock flounder with only one of the eyes showing (the other eye is out of focus in the upper part of the image). It was shot during a night dive in St. Lucia.
Wildflower–Book Cover
Last weekend I taught a close-up workshop at Welkinweir. On the Thursday before the workshop I went to the arboretum to scout (and to shoot some) before the workshop. Later, while reviewing the images, I decided I should pick one to use on the cover of the workshop booklet. I needed a horizontal image to fit the layout of the booklet. I picked a shot of a single cherry blossom bud. After completing Lightroom Develop Module adjustments I decided the image would be improved with a soft glow treatment. So I brought the raw file into Photoshop as a smart object so I could easily use smart filters. Since time was a bit short I decided to try quick and dirty method. I added a bit of Gaussian blur and then changed the blending mode of the blur layer to Lighten (I initially tried Screen but I like Lighten better). This gave the image the bright soft glow I was looking for. Then I added the text. Maybe 15 minutes start to finish.
Wildflower–White Trout Lily
Shenk’s Ferry White Trout Lily
Last Saturday I had a Close-up Workshop at Shenk’s Ferry. I went back on Sunday. While there I struck up a conversation with a lady and her little girl. In the conversation I mentioned that I’ve been looking for some White Trout Lilies for two years and have not found any. She said she know where some were at the glen. I had been looking down the embankment near the creek. As it turns out I was not looking in the right place. So here are four images from my very first encounter with these guys.
Wildflower–Dutchman’s Britches
Because the snow had covered the ground for an extended period this year I was concerned that the wildflowers would be late this year. I’m not sure why, probably the resent snap of warm weather; but if anything, they are coming in early this year. Here is a close-up of Dutchman’s Britches I took yesterday in Ridley Creek State Park. Normally the wildflowers at Ridley are a week or so behind those at Shenk’s Ferry but not this year!
I added a min-sized extension tube (20mm) so that I could pretty much fill the frame with a single blossom. Read the rest of this entry »
Wildflower–Trillium
This is a close-up of a trillium blossom from Shenk’s Ferry.
