Shades of sea glass

There is something so calming about the ocean. There is nothing better than sitting or walking along the coast soaking up the sun the smells and the sounds. Ever since I was a little boy I have been an explorer. I was always that kid who was walking up and down the beach "collecting things". I would spend hours walking, combing the beaches and tidal pools looking for shells and cool smooth rocks and other trinkets. I am still that same kid in a grown up body. I can still spend hours treasure hunting on the beach. Granted it is the dead of winter here and 32 degrees but hey at least the sun was out :)

Canon Rebel xs Body EF-s 18-55mm IS Lens

f/5.6
1/400sec.
ISO-400
WB-5200k
55mm
Tiffen CP filter
Freehand at ground level (elbows and knees)

I thought this was a pretty good shot until I got home and saw the next one on the laptop screen. Much richer looking details in the sand and it makes the color in the glass a little deeper and more interesting.

Same body and lens

f/5.6

1/640 sec.

ISO-400

WB - 5200k

55mm

Tiffen CP Filter

No Flash

Freehand (ground level)

Mine?

If you have ever seen "Finding Nemo" I need say no more.



No your eyes do not deceive you. He has only one leg. I wonder to myself sometimes (and if you know me you are wondering also) how I always find the hurt, the maimed and the injured creatures. This little guy met me as soon as I parked the Jeep. I no sooner shut the engine off and he landed right at the hood of where I was... posing. A normal thinking person would say, hey, of course! They are trained to stalk the new arrivals since they are usually traveling supermarkets arriving daily with nice bread or crackers to offer to the sky scavengers. Me, I know better. This guy like so many others are drawn to me because they are hurt or injured. I am like Dr. Doolittle to them ..... it is the weirdest thing. I have lots of stories and picture or video proof to back that up too ............... Someday I will do a series of pictures from the past just to show you how serious an issue this is but, for now lets get back to my latest model :)

Canon rebel XS body, Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS lens

f/8

1/400 sec.

ISO-400

WB-daylight (5200k)

55mm

Tiffen Circular Polarizing filter

No fill flash

Freehand

This shot really makes me appreciate the CP filter! Same body and lens for this shot. I regret that I did not take the 300mm with me.

f/5.6

1/400 sec.

ISO-100

WB- 5200k

55mm

Tiffen Circular Polarizing filter

No Fill flash

Freehand

Playing with focal ranges

I am trying to work out the ranges of this camera and lens/s. I took these two shots below at different apertures on the same cluster of berries and am conflicted what shot makes the bigger impact?

I am looking for some help if anyone has an opinion ... hey maybe we can make this a poll ? Not that we are not all sick and tired of hearing about voting by now. I promise I will not have Bill Clinton call you about voting for my pictures :)

With the F stop set to f/9 I managed to drop out the foreground and the far off back round while making the eye to train on the center of the shot and the middle of the focal range. Does this make sense?

f/9

1/80 sec.

ISO-400

WB-sun

300mm

Freehand

UV filter

Notice by dialing down the aperture to the minimum I have available for this zoom range (300mm) f/5.6 that the foreground snaps into focus while dropping the back round out.


f/5.6



1/80 sec.


ISO-400


WB-sun


300mm


Freehand


UV filter

Shooting through glass 101

I know, I know ! I just could not say no to such a cute face !

I said I was looking to expand on my outdoor skills but, this little barn owl was inside at the trail side museum on the blue hill reservation. Poor little fella only has one leg. If you look at the perch you can see he actually uses his wings to stabilize himself.

I needed to use a flash and there was interior lighting as well. Both sources posed an issue as you can see. How do you get around this sort of thing....... I am hoping the answer is NOT " just don't shoot behind glass"

Is there a filter for this ?

Thoughts?






f/5

1/60 Sec.

ISO-400

WB-Incandescent

UV filter

40mm

Freehand






f/4.5


1/60 sec.


ISO-400


WB-Incandescent

UV filter


32mm


Freehand

Eye spy with my one little eye.

More from the wonderful land of the Blue Hills. These Birds of Prey have always wowed me. I point them out (annoyingly at times) to my wife and anyone who is in the car (or anywhere else) with me at the time. Their size and nature have always exuded a great sense of pride and coolness to me.

There are two of these handsome Redtails in this habitat. They appear to me to be mature but, I was not able to ask questions about the ages and situations of them. The issue as you will see and why they are currently in captivity is due to the missing eye. This one is missing his left eye, while his partner is missing the right one. Together they make a perfect pair! I did not have the opportunity to ask the question of the staff here at the Blue Hills however, I am going to try to find out if they do know the story about how the eyes came to be missing the next time I am out there.

A little bland and washed out. I am having troubles with getting the right amount of light balanced.

f/9



1/80 sec.



ISO-400



WB-sun



300mm



No Flash



Tiffen Ultraviolet filter



Monopod

f/9

1/60 sec.

ISO-400

WB-sun

Internal flash used to bounce highlights in the feathers.

Tiffen circular polarizing filter

300mm

Freehand