SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW IN THE ROCKIES - A BEAUTIFUL VIDEO PRESENTATION FOR WILDLIFE LOVERS

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES

http://sohaibtahir.com/nature-photography-composition-techniques/

THE DAMSELFLY PHOTO AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG - NEAT STORY ON THIS ONE

This was taken on the Memorial Day weekend at Econfina Creek.  Because Econfina is higher in elevation than it is near me, it is a fast running, springfed creek - it comes out of the springs crystal clear and colorless, turning that gorgeous aqua/turquoise color and as it enters the creek, it picks up tannin and starts darkening.

Down here, you can't see the bottom - it flows slow and deep, the color of coffee.

This is an American Rubyspot, and when it perches and flicks its wings which is its habit, that red spot is exposed and really is "ruby".  It is one of our larger damsels.  I imagine flashing that spot may entice the opposite sex. I am not absolutely sure of its sex but I think it may be a female. 

Took the grandkids to this creek in the same spot two years ago.  I got a picture of the same species but it wasn't close or clear enough.  I use the LCD to focus, and I put the Sony T1 in a Pelican case so it won't drown (my score on this is 3 cameras) but let's not talk anymore about that!

The same twig was there.  That's why I went looking for it last weekend.  I just had a feeling.  Certainly it wasn't the same - damsels have a short lifespan.  But that I photographed both on the very same twig that comes up from a submerged log, blows my mind.

According to Dennis Paulson's book, "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Southeast", it is just at or slightly south of its range.

It is a very agreeable male American Rubyspot and to a nature photographer who just LOVES bugs, a great find.

I would very much rather be straddling that log, losing myself in nature, than spending hours here at the keyboard, worrying about the future of a crumbling America and its first dictator.

PHOTOGRAPHERS - BY WAY OF ADORAMA - THE RULE OF THIRDS

The Golden Section a.k.a. The Rule of Thirds
by Bryan Peterson - PPSOP Founder

The Golden Section refers to a mathematical calculation whose answer equals 1-2/3, or 1.66. Although there is ample evidence that the Golden Section was in use by the Egyptians, for example in the building of the Pyramids, it wasn't identified until later by ancient Greek mathematicians who, when studying the paintings of their fellow artists, began recognizing a "pattern": objects in a scene were often two-thirds as large as others, landscapes often placed the horizon line with two-thirds of the landscape below and one-third sky above (or vice-versa), and in still life's, artists seemed to favor compositions in which two-thirds of the frame was filled with the round shapes of fruit and the remaining third with the round shape of the bowl. These artists and architects had a "natural eye," an innate sense about how to create compelling and effective compositions. Thanks to the Greek mathematicians, namely Pythagoras, this compositional arrangement became known as the Golden Section, a rule stating that when any object or shape had two distinct parts, the smaller part should be 2/3 the size of the larger part.

Fibonacci's Rabbits & Engaging Photographs

In the area of composition, it is also important to note the 'Fibonacci numbers'. Fibonacci was an Italian Mathematician who was famous for his calculations on predicting how fast and how many additional rabbits would result from two breeding rabbits in ideal circumstances. I will spare you the details, but a series of numbers arose from these calculations, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610...Do you notice the 'pattern' in this series of numbers? Beginning with 3, each number that follows is a combination of the two numbers before it e.g. 1+2=3, 3+5=8, 5+8=13 and so on. As if by default, Fibonacci's numbers have a direct correlation to the Golden Section. Look at what happens when you divide each of Fibonacci's numbers by the number before it: 1/1= 1, 2/1=2, 3/2=1.5, 5/3=1.666, 8/5=1.6, 13/8=1.625, 21/13=1.61 and so on and of course you have undoubtedly noticed the calculations that resulted in a 1.6 result. And it's important to note that this 1.6 will go on forever when one divides each of the Fibonacci numbers by the number before it. Is this 1.6 result merely a coincidence?

Definitely NOT! What is perhaps most interesting about the Golden Section is that nature abounds in it. Just about every living and breathing thing in Mother Nature's closet, from flowers and ferns to the smallest microbe, is evidence of the Golden Section. Perhaps I have stumbled upon the reason WHY so many photographers are drawn to flowers; they are comprised of 'Fibonacci' numbers. Lilies and iris both have 3 petals, buttercups, columbine and pinks have 5 petals, delphinium's 8, some daisies and corn marigold have 13, aster and Black Eyed-Susan's have 21 and check this out, Michaelmas Daisies have 55 petals; again, all of which are Fibonacci numbers. And of course flowers go to seed and not surprising a poppy seed head has 13 ridges atop the seed head and upon closer inspection, the Purple Coneflower and it's 'spiraling seed head' totals 55 spirals and even the common sunflower has 89 spirals – ALL Fibonacci numbers again! And back to our friend, the Greek Mathematician Pythagoras; he may have been the first to realize that even the human skeleton was based on the Golden Section; sure enough, my upper arm bone is roughly 2/3 the length of my lower arm bone as is upper leg bone when compared to my lower leg bone.

Entire books have been written about the Golden Section, and discussing it in detail is beyond the scope of this short "how-to" article, but it is vitally important that I state emphatically that the use of the Golden Section in your compositions will more often than not lead to far more engaging and compelling photographs. The sooner you embrace it, the sooner you will start hearing compliments from complete strangers about your photographs.

To ignore the Golden Section, a.k.a. the Rule of Thirds, is to ignore the natural order of the very universe we live in. The rule of thirds "grid" really can serve you well. It can and should often serve as the foundation of a compelling image, much as a firm and solid foundation should be the basis of every house or skyscraper.

Using The Rule For Better Pix

As I drove down one of the many back roads in the Valensole Plain of Provence, my eyes caught sight of a lone tree in the distance. The first image I shot may look familiar to some of you, as it depicts what I often see from students in several of our beginner classes. The horizon line runs through the middle of the frame and the subject, the lone tree, is smack dab in the middle of the frame. But as we can see in the next image, it now "feels" better with the tree in the right third of the frame. And as we see in the next two images, it feels even better still when we place the tree on the right and the horizon line in the upper or lower third of the frame. Why? Because you are now catering to your "inner eye," the eye that instinctively knows about the Golden Section and its desire for "1/3rd-vs-2/3rd's divisions. (All images shot with a Nikon D3X, 70-300mm, @ 200mm, f/32 @ 1/60 second, 200 ISO) You Keep Shooting! Bryan F. Peterson/Founder PPSOP.com

YESTERDAY I GOT A BIG SURPRISE!

In March of 2008 I took a picture of a cold dragonfly in my hand. She was a slender baskettail. Beautiful wing markings. I love taking photos of them and of course, butterflies. Always a challenge. You can't just tell them to "Stand still!"

I'm on a list of southern odonata lovers and I asked for an ID. Giff Beaton is a naturalist, an airline pilot, takes people on WINGS birding tours, and writer of field guides was "envious" because he'd never seen one.

Dennis Paulson from Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, said they are difficult to find and he might want to put it in his newest field guide. The one he had was posed (chilled, photographed and released). This one was just cold, hanging
outside on the siding near the back door. Actually, I thought a spider had gotten to it. I took her picture and put her in the morning sun to warm up.

I got another email asking for the photo. I sent him four different ones.

Then he asked me to let him use one and to give my approval and after I said "yes", I forgot about it.

Today I got a package. It's this HUMUNGOUS, 538 page field guide, "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East" (eastern US and Canada) by Dennis, a complimentary copy. I forgot what I had given him! I just found the name and need to go look. I hate to crack the cover! But
there she is, page 389, clinging to my finger, unposed.

Anyway, that's my little surprise. I will to treasure this. I didn't know he'd finished it or if he really did use my photo.

And people wonder why I'm out there in the heat, in muck or in fields, on the water and always with a camera? You just NEVER know what you can find.

Thanks, Dennis!

May

http://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-dragonflies-generosity-and-marketing.html

DIY PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT: HAND CRAFTED WOODEN TIMELAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY DOLLY

http://www.diyphotography.net/beautifully-hand-crafted-wooden-time-lapse-dolly?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Diyphotographynet+%28DIYPhotography.net+-+Photography+and+Studio+Lighting%29

MY LIFE AS A TURKEY - A MOST WONDERFUL STORY FROM PBS/NATURE!

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/my-life-as-a-turkey/full-episode/7378/

You see, I really love turkeys. My late friend, Mary, had a white tom turkey who took a shine to me when I took care of her goat herd, milking and feeding them.

When turkeys were being raised across the fence out in Antelope Acres, in Los Angeles County, I'd be feeding my chickens or Samantha and Flopsy, and go "talk" to them.

But wild turkeys - those resplendent bronze beauties are breathtaking in flight, especially when you're surprised by an entire flock flying four inches over the hood of your car. And me, without a camera.

I know how it feels to have a young chick to raise and mother, and teach it what it's real mother would - I did that for my Orville, a very special raven, back in California. From the early spring warmth to a December snowstorm, cold and deep - he left home in that storm and brought the wild flock to eat on the roof over the kitchen. Nine spectacular months of joy and learning and living with a wild raven. Probably the most favorite part of my life. It was tough to leave him (and the family he brought to see me, strung out on the telephone wires - mate and the children).

Last night I was lucky to catch a bit of this from the beginning - I'm going to watch this on the computer tonight. I think you will LOVE it.

DENNIS PAULSON, THE DRAGONFLY'S FRIEND HAS WRITTEN A NEW FIELD GUIDE...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003763969_nwwwanders280.html

AND, last evening I was surprised and very flattered to see that he will be using one of my photographs of a fairly rare Slender Baskettail in this new and important field guide on dragonflies of the eastern USA. It will appear in 2011.

Thank you, Dennis. The photo at the top of my blog this week is of our familiar Blue Dasher. This one was very patient.

I don't catch butterflies or any insect in a net. I do not collect or pin them. I don't catch and chill them in order to photograph them. In my extensive collection of photographs of insects, primarily butterflies, and the odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) they were stalked and photographed, and left to live their rather perilous life. In so doing, I have drowned a camera, fallen in the creek, baked in the midday Florida sun and waded in muck. I love it.

The fun is in the chase; the satisfaction is of capturing usable images of these magnificently designed animals. It's getting cold here. In the last two weeks I have found a few large darners
chilled on the wall of the house in the morning, waiting for the sun to warm them. I picked one up who had become entangled in spider webs and carefully removed them from its feet and body. As I held it, it felt like it a tiny machine; like the motor inside was revved up and waiting
for the command to fly. I imagined it like a tiny helicopter whirring in place, in my hand. All I had to do was place it in a sunspot and it would warm up enough to take off, which it did.

So thank you, Dennis. I am thrilled and grateful for this honor.

THE BEACH THAT WAS AND MAY NEVER AGAIN BE...PENSACOLA AND THE WESTERN PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA

http://submit.shutterstock.com/newsletter/238/article2.html

MY BACKYARD ARMADILLO HUNT - 4 PM TODAY!

I had the best time following this little guy around, crawling around the wellhouse and trying to get a good photo. I 'm no videographer, but if you don't get dizzy, you'll see him (or her). I reached out and touched it a few times. Feels like supple, thick leather. I was at times, nose-to-nose and it wasn't frightened. Very poor eyesight. I did not speak and I was careful not to make noise. This armadillo has been around in the yard for over a year, I think. It leaves snuffle signs. At one point, it uncovered a millipede, but they exude foul smelling fluid from their sides, and it dropped it.

I am absolutely thrilled! I think next time I see it foraging, I will take it into the forest up by the springs where it will be safe from traffic.

Their eyes are so bad - no wonder they end up dead on the road.

AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND KAYAKER, I AM AN IDIOT

After many months of inactivity because of my arm, and finding this blog is getting me terribly depressed (even though, my dear readers you continue to return) I decided today was the day to get my kayak wet.

The weather pattern has returned from its 15 year hiatus - and it has been raining every day for weeks it seems, but only from the afternoon on.

I got out on the water around 10 this morning, a little tentative because my arm isn't "right" yet.
I'm not sure I broke it when I fell and despite x-rays, the walk-in clinic doctor wasn't sure either.
He thought I broke my ulna when I went sliding across the tiled dining room floor on a dog toy.

With one eye on the building clouds, and one great gray one directly overhead, I wheeled my little yellow boat across the street and put in. I had decided I would only paddle the small canal that dead ends to the left - it makes an L at the corner and in that spot, it is paved with waterlilies, a beautiful sight. But then, it was so pleasant with the Eastern amberwings and other dragonflies and damsels in flight all around me, I came to the mouth of canal and creek and took the right turn, upstream on Econfina.

Because I thought it was going to rain today and didn't expect to be gone long, I left my camera home. I have a small Sony T1 that I carry in a waterproof housing when I kayak. I didn't take it. I preach to everyone - "Take your camera - you never know what you'll see."

I failed to listen to my own advice, and that's why, TODAY I AM AN IDIOT!

There are houses along the east side of the creek. The clouds usually build from the west and the creek is very wild on that side.

Just before the wasp tree (the photo above), an old, hollow cypress that is usually alive with wasps on the west side of the creek at the edge of the cattails and the bulrushes (which are blooming now), I saw a flash of orange in the fringe and I know - oh, I knew - what it was. I paddled quietly and slowly and standing on a waterlily leaf, engrossed in picking apart its brunch partially concealed in wispy grasses, was a Purple Gallinule. These birds are incredibly beautiful and walk easily on waterlily leaves and aquatic plants with a splayed foot that is perfect for its purpose.

It was so preoccupied that it didn't walk into the reeds and grasses to hide. It just continued to do the task at hand. I turned around, came closer and still I didn't startle it. Finally it looked at me and I thought I should leave, and I did, but I could have gotten a video or some beautiful shots of a bird that is rarely seen here now. They were more common 20 years ago.

So now I have a great excuse to get out on the water and look for that bird again. I saw a common gallinule one fall, running along the lilypads with a large snail in its beak one time - again, without a camera. They are also swimmers.

And now I see the clouds gathering - it's going to rain, so it's time to catch up on this blog.
Hope you enjoyed being out on the creek with me. Next time, remind me to bring my camera.

Massachusetts nature lovers, photographers, schools, etc., - want to participate in a survey?

EASTERN BOX TURTLE SURVEYORS WANTED

To aid its conservation efforts, the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
(NHESP) in Westborough, Massachusetts, is looking for intensive seasonal assistance in
conducting Eastern Box Turtle surveys in 2010. The Eastern Box Turtle is listed as a
Species of Special Concern in Massachusetts. With special funding for this project, the
surveyors will: help plan, coordinate and conduct field surveys; perform rapid habitat
assessments; track turtles, collect, compile, and enter data, and assist in the preparation a
final report.

Preferred qualifications include: undergraduate degree in biology, wildlife, conservation
biology, or related field; familiarity and field experience with turtles and the rare flora and
fauna of Massachusetts; experience with Natural Heritage methodology; experience with
computers, including ArcGIS and Excel; experience with GPS technology; ability to interpret
topographic maps and aerial photographs; ability to work both collaboratively and
independently; good communication skills; accuracy and attention to detail; and the ability
to work under strenuous field conditions.

The services of the Box Turtle surveyors will be retained through the Natural Heritage
Program's contractual relationship with the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.
One full time opportunity will run from May 10thth to July 23rd, 2010. Additional contract
opportunities are possible (must be able to commit to a minimum of 25 hrs/wk of
services) and would run from May 17th through July 2nd.

To apply, individuals (or other vendors) should send a cover letter and resume to:

Karen Dolan
Finance & Projects Administrator
Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
1 Rabbit Hill Road
Westborough, Massachusetts 01581

Email Karen below:

karen.dolan@state.ma.us

Application deadline is 26 February 2010. The majority of the survey sites are in the
Connecticut River Valley and the Southeastern region of Massachusetts.

In your cover letter please specify the regions of the state where you would prefer to work.

For more information about the Eastern Box Turtle work contact Lori Erb at

lori.erb@state.ma.us

The White Deer of Wisconsin

Beautiful video you won't want to miss. Show it to the children.

Magic in a drop of water - not only for photographers

The Sisters -

A glimpse into the live of two Green Lynx Spiders.