Posted by mcc on Oct 09 2014 in Landscape Photography, Pictures Of Trees, Midwestern Landscapes, Michigan, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest, Pentax K3
Posted by mcc on Oct 04 2014 in Landscape Photography, Pictures Of Trees, Midwestern Landscapes, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest
Posted by mcc on Sep 01 2014 in Pictures Of Trees, Midwestern Landscapes, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest
Posted by mcc on Jul 26 2014 in Wildflowers, Insect Photography, Michigan, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest, Dragonfly Photography, Odonata Photography, Nature Notes, Pentax K3
It’s July so I am out trying to get insect shots… Last week’s cool snap - oh wait, we call those Polar Vortex’s now - (everything is bigger than life in the XXI Century) - well, the cool snap put a damper on things and the weather is still cool now. So I haven’t seen many dragonflies at all.
Today was humid but cool, cloudy and dark. I wandered for an hour through familiar fields in the Allegan Forest, down to a hidden pond, up through the oak savannah. Everything is lush and green and the iron weedbergamot is in bloom, big time:
(Click the image for a larger file.)
Walking down to the pond I saw only a few green darners and no other dragonflies. The air over the pond itself was still - not a dragonfly to be found - it should be swarming with them!
I trudged back to the car. Taking a shortcut through the woods I stumbled into three meadowhawks. Here is the one that was the most cooperative with regards to photos:
Here is one that allowed a good dorsal shot - maybe a red meadowhawk jsut now adopting mature coloration? Maybe, but there is no telling:
I said I saw three meadowhawks and of course, one got away. It was the best of the three.
And lastly, here is a robberfly from last Saturday. I felt that the trip to the woods was such a wasted effort that I did not ever bother to remove the memory card from the K-3 and review the photos I took (all 15 of them.) Turns out that this closeup of an ugly fly came out rather well, technically at least:
That image is an extreme crop…
The Ricoh /Pentax K-3 paired with the A* 200 macro continues to perform well.
Posted by mcc on Jun 24 2014 in Insect Photography, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest, Dragonfly Photography, Odonata Photography
Just a few dragonflies from June 14, 2014 - first, a few shots of a Carolina Saddlebags:
I am reasonably sure there are Carolina Saddlebags and not the very similar Red Saddlebag Dragonfly based on the red pattern on the lower wing - BUT - there is the possibility that this is a Red and not a Carolina.
And here are a couple of documentary shots of Dot Tailed Whitefaces - mature males, showing the Dot Tail and White Face markings clearly:
Taken with Pentax K-3, A* 200mm macro, flash, etc.
Posted by mcc on Jun 21 2014 in Landscape Photography, Pictures Of Trees, Midwestern Landscapes, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest
Back to an old project… A few years ago I experimented with B&W film exposures of sunlight in the woods, usually in the middle of the day and by definition in full sunlight. The project had mixed results but I feel a call to get back to it and to try to capture what I see and feel at those times. A couple of weeks ago I took another run at it and took a few rolls of 35mm B&W film in lush green foliage using an #11 (XI) green filter. Films is so slow - developing, scanning, printing to a digital file… I have more to go but here is a promising photo:
Pentax Mz-S, FA 20-35 f4, TMax 100 (expired 2010) stand processed in Rodinal 1:100 for 1 hour.
Posted by mcc on May 25 2014 in Announcements, Insect Photography, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest, Dragonfly Photography, Odonata Photography, Macro Photography, Pentax K3
Spring 2014 is advancing ever so slowly… Here it is, late May, and there are still many trees just starting to push out leaves. At long last, a few days of warm temperatures have finally brought out some spring dragonflies.
Dot-tailed Whitefaces (Leucorrhinia intacta) are usually the first to appear around here, and this season is no exception. Here are a few from the Allegan Forest (click on the images for larger files):
A Frosted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida):
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These Clubtail Dragonflies (Gomphidae) are usually abundant in May - I have never gotten a positive identification on them. Today I only say this one - hopefully more are on the way:
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Lastly - an unidentified Bluet Damselfly:
All images were made with a Pentax K-3, SMC A* 200mm macro lens and AF360FGZ flash. Come to think of it… this was my first excursion into insect photography since purchasing the K-3 last November. I think it passes muster!
Posted by mcc on Apr 26 2014 in Pictures Of Trees, Infrared, Digital Infrared, Michigan, Allegan State Game Area, Allegan Forest, Infrared Converted Pentax KD10, Digital Infrared, Infrared Converted Digital SLR
I visited some old haunts in the Allegan Forest today. This late spring… no leaves on the trees and here it is, almost May.
Here is an infrared photo of a some twisted little trees that always seem appealing to me (click on the image for a larger view):
And here is a nearby group of walnut trees, a place where I have whiled away many an afternoon:
Both photos were taken with an infrared converted Pentax K-10 and Pentax DA 17-70 f4 lens.
I’m repeating myself a little bit here - the twisted little trees were the subject of another IR post in 2008, “Trees in October.” In that case the image was taken with Kodak HIE. And one of the walnut trees was the test subject for a comparison of the IR properties of RM90 and R72 IR filters, in 2007. So I’m repeating myself a little bit here.