Day 260 - I lay in the dirt for this

I lay down in the dirt to get this photograph. Was it worth it? I don't know but I figured my sacrifice alone warrants the inclusion of this picture of a ploughed field on this blog.

I like the lines of the furrows in the distance and the texture of the clods of dirt and the colours of the ground and field on either side of the ploughed bit. I like the fact that the earth close to the camera is in crisp focus and that the lines become more blurred as they move off into the distance. I wish the sky was more blue, however.

Day 259 - See Spot Run

Okay, so his name is likely not Spot. But this is a fairly decent photograph of a dog in full flight. The trick is to try to get the dog in mid-stride and in full focus, while the background field blurs behind him. The blurred backdrop helps deliver the sense of the speed of the animal as he, in this case, chases a flock of geese that have had the temerity to land nearby.

Day 254 - A tale of two Rileys

Riley takes centre stage today as he gambols through the beautifully lit fields of the potato research farm on the east side of Fredericton. Riley is the golden doodle pal of our own Marlee Marie. The two are best friends and get along famously, even if Riley is older, male and a lot more gregarious than our own puppy.

I always think Riley looks like a Muppet but his is one of the most expressive faces I've ever seen on a dog. And he's the perfect subject for showing the amazing difference between face-on sunlight (top photo, with a vividly green backdrop of the field behind him) and backlighting from a slowly setting sun (see below).

With these two shots, and Riley in such absolutely similar (and characteristic) poses, the differences are clear. While the top photo looks like a portrait (and is really quite nice, I think), the bottom photo has more drama, with the backlighting catching the fur around his edges and bringing it to life, while the rest of him is less clear, less crisp, less detailed.

Yes, I know, the bottom photo is not perfectly focused (the auto focus always has trouble with tricky light situations) but the exercise is, I think, worth it. And Riley is a cutie, isn't he?

Day 211 - Of light and eagles

One of the wonders of New Brunswick is the abundance of large birds of prey, particularly bald eagles and osprey. I've been lucky enough to get great photographs of both breeds of bird: I got within about 20 feet of a massive eagle while kayaking on the St. John River west of Fredericton and took a good osprey shot in Oromocto, where a pair of osprey have built a nest at the top of a pole in a waterfront park.

There also happen to be two osprey nests near the potato research farm in Fredericton as well as a bald eagle nest. It's quite amazing: the nests themselves are massive and their location means we are quite often blessed with close up sightings of these majestic birds.

Today, I happened to be driving by the eagles' nest and spotted not one but two of the eagles in a nearby tree. I got as close as I could (tramping my way through a muddy field and getting caught in a sudden downpour for my troubles) but the eagles seemed content to give me all the time in the world to get their photo.

The biggest challenge, other than the rain and mud, was the available light. It was an overcast day with the bright, diffuse light of such weather. That meant that the birds were merely dark silhouettes against the bright sky background. I set the Olympus on manual and took more than 50 shots, playing all the time with the shutter speed and aperture to adjust the amount of light I let into the lens.

The top photo shows the result when I overexposed the shot in order to try to get some detail on the birds themselves. As you can see, these are juvenile eagles that have yet to develop the characteristic white head, though they already have the regal pose down! The image (and especially the sky) seems a bit bleached out to me, however.

That's why I've included the second photograph. In this one, I bumped the shutter speed up and closed down the aperture, limiting the amount of light that got into the camera. The grey sky now shows through but the eagles (and the tree upon which they sit) are merely silhouettes with no detail.

Even then, I think I prefer the second photograph. It seems to me more dramtic. Which do you like?

Day 202 - The effects of evening sun

This is my attempt to capture the effect of the warm evening sun on bales (rolls?) of hay in a field at the Potato Research Farm outside Fredericton.

Evening light is so beautiful and soft, making everything it touches feel warmer, richer, deeper. In person, these rolls of hay seemed to glow in the reddish evening sun but I'm not sure how much of that effect shows up in this photograph. I think the composition is good and the colours are nice. I'm just not as happy as I'd like to be with the light and its effects.

Day 198 - The fragile complexity of a stalk of grass

Like most of the country, New Brunswick is currently in the midst of a hot spell. Temperatures in the 30s plus humidity. But, unlike Ontario (where I come from), New Brunswick usually has something of a breeze to take the edge off the heat. In fact, the same wind I curse during the frigid winters I love in the dog days of summer.

I took Marlee for a walk this afternoon at the Potato Research Farm this afternoon to enjoy the unique combination of blistering heat and cool breeze. What we found, however, was breathtaking: massive fields of four-foot-high grasses (hay?) literally glowing in the sun and rippling in the breeze. I know they must get this kind of thing all the time on the prairies but I've never seen it before. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

This photograph fails entirely to catch the marvel of this phenomena. But it is interesting, nonetheless. I love the fragile complexity of each stalk of grass, the shimmering vitality of the field, the overwhelming serenity of the waves of stalks. I was tempted to crop off the hydro towers in the distance but Patti convinced me to leave them in. They give perspective and add solidity to the image.