Mark Cassino Photography - Mark's Blog - Latest Comments

Ron Martin [Visitor] in response to: Of Finches and Thistle

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 20:28:47 +0000

I loved your story about the thistle and the gold finches using thistle fluff to build the nest. It reminds of growing up on a small dairy farm in WI. I had to round up the cows to bring them home for milking. The pasture was full of thistle as big as Christmas trees and there were always gold finches. One day I found a dead finch tangled up in the thorns of the thistle.

Phil Renaud [Visitor] in response to: A Little Fall Color

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:23:23 +0000

I love how this post captures that fleeting magic of autumn—the early morning light hitting all those warm tones in the woods. Your photos from Allegan Forest made me almost feel the crisp breeze and see the leaves glow. As someone who chases fall foliage every year, this really resonated. Thanks for sharing such beautiful, atmospheric imagery!

Likeshigh [Visitor] in response to: Kodak High Speed Infrared Film

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 15:08:16 +0000

These pictures are a fantastic tribute to Kodak High-Speed Infrared Film! The way you explain its unique qualities and creative potential truly showcases its impact on photography.
It’s inspiring to see how this medium pushed artistic boundaries.
Thank you for sharing your insights and keeping its legacy alive!

Sarah [Visitor] in response to: The Northern Black Widow Spider

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:25:17 +0000

I’m in SC, and this is also what an immature southern black widow looks like. I have a ton in my backyard, living in a Little Rock border!

Michael Elliott [Visitor] in response to: Kodak High Speed Infrared Film

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 05:25:35 +0000

Truly a wonderful film and one that I still shoot (from - admittedly dwindling - stock in the freezer). Just wrote an [article about b&w infrared photography](https://www.michael-elliott.photography/post/black-and-white-infrared-photography) that includes a discussion of HIE. I wish they’d bring it back.

mark [Member] in response to: Pictures of Trees - Mount Carmel Cemetery

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 12:27:49 +0000

Hi Maureen - Glad you liked the photo! That was an amazing tree! Sad that it is gone now. We enjoyed our trip to your offices amd meeting you earlier this week.

Mark

Maureen Nelson [Visitor] in response to: Pictures of Trees - Mount Carmel Cemetery

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 03:15:25 +0000

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I love that photo. I am trying to get my history project for St Mary’s and I just let you and your wife earlier today at our genealogy office in Big Rapids. Didn’t know you were a photographer. Nice meeting you two and will hunt up what I can for her ancestors. 9-13-23

mark [Member] in response to: More Pentax Q Macro Experiments

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 22:44:31 +0000

I never engaged with the original Q for macro work after a brief period of experimentation. I still think that the idea of a small sensor camera with modest magnification is the way to go for in the field macro work, but the challenges with flash and the limitations of the original Q’s image quality were hard to overcome.

Some years down the road my original Q was rendered inoperative due to a swollen battery that could not be removed. I replaced it with a Q7, which I had assumed would be more or less the same image quality as the original. I was quite wrong - the Q7 is significantly better than the Q. Even though it is still a very tiny sensor, the Q7 has almost 50% more surface area, and I guess that makes the difference. But by then I had moved onto focus stacking with APS-C or full frame sensors, and was not much interested in the Q mount for macro.

I do take the Q7 with me when traveling and still love the system.