Category Archives: Photos

Lobelia cardinalis Beginning to Flower

One of my favorite late season perennial flowers has begun to bloom. Lobelia cardinalis is such a unique color for this time of year compared to the whites and yellows that are typical. I also enjoy the Great Blue Lobelia along with the annual species but the red version is so vibrant and stands out against the landscape.

Lobelia cardinalis in flower

As a nice bonus, the red Lobelia – also known as the Cardinal flower, is a great pollinator plant attracting hummingbirds to its sweet nectar. This is not a real common plant, at least in the upper Midwest as it needs certain conditions to do well. It likes to have at least partial sunlight but also needs a moist spot to grow without being kept continually soaked.

New flowers getting ready to open

There are those who adapt this plant to aquariums keeping them submerged which shows there adaptability. I don’t know if they can be sustained for long periods of time underwater but they can tolerate it for an amount of time with very specific conditions. Keeping them outside in the landscape in an area that doesn’t get too dry can provide a lot of success with beautiful flowers for Lobelia cardinalis. The only thing I really don’t like about these flowers is that fall is not far behind when they begin to bloom.

Lobelia flower progression

Rebuilding a Camera

After our family Spring Break road trip, where our camera stopped working, I thought it had taken it’s last picture. Doing a little research I found that the most likely issue was my shutter no longer worked correctly causing the camera to stop working. To have it fixed would most likely be expensive and rumors had Sony releasing a new camera with some better features sometime in the next few months. That money was probably better spent on a new camera instead of fixing the current one.

One Saturday morning I decided to tear apart my Sony a6300 camera, since there was nothing to lose, and see if there was something blocking the shutter from opening or closing. Maybe it would be fairly obvious and the camera would be back in business.

20210417_112505

I started by gathering the tools needed and dishes to put screws and parts in to keep all of the pieces in. I’ve taken the back off of this camera a number of times previously trying to fix a sticky shutter button so I had some experience with how to get this far. To keep the screws straight I used a paper plate with sides and drew a diagram of the camera and location for each screw. While I know most of them and which screw goes where, a few are easily switched with all of the pieces that need to be disassembled so better to be a little more detailed.

20210417_115116

Soon the back of the case was removed along with the top. Now it was time to dig in further. Slowly and methodically removing each screw and eventually each cable, I also photographed each layer with my phone before taking it off. That way I had a reference if there was something unfamiliar as I put it back together. It’s amazing how many electronic components there are packed so tightly into this camera body. Eventually I removed the sensor and arrived at the shutter. The shutter is at the front of the camera but you have to get to it from the back which requires taking off everything behind it. This is quite a lengthy and slow process. Examining and testing the shutter I couldn’t find anything keeping it from working. Still I moved the shutter open and shut several times looking over each piece. Without really finding anything I re-assembled the camera and tried it. Still giving me an error message and not working. This whole process took about 4 hours and no improvements.

20210417_115250

Later in the day I researched parts for the camera and found them available at Encompass.com. While reassembling the camera earlier I tore one of the ribbon cables so now needed to add that to the list of parts. Finding what I needed it would be a couple of hundred dollars for these. Was I willing to chance it and try a repair risking that I may end up taking it into a facility or buying a new camera?

Deciding to move forward I ordered the parts. They would be at my house in a couple of weeks. I actually receivd them later that same week ahead of expectations. I began to tear apart the camera completely Friday night. This time I had it completely into pieces as I wanted to replace a piece of the front case which had been damaged during one of the times my camera fell as it crashed from the seat of my car to the floor on more than one occasion as I had to slam on the breaks for one reason or another. Carefully removing each piece before calling it a day. I was ready to put it all back together the next morning. Saturday morning I began reassembling with the replacement parts. While doing this I cleaned the pieces, especially the sensor since I now had great access to it. A few hours later it was time to see if all this work would pay off.

20210423_195647

Now for the moment of truth. Putting the battery in and turning it on. No response. A little disappointed I once again began to remove screws and search for issues. A ribbon cable was not connected. Fixing that I put it back together and tried it again. Still nothing. Getting into it again I found a different piece not quite lined up correctly. Once again I put it together. Putting the battery in I turned it on and it came back to life but I couldn’t see anything on the screen, only in the view finder. Shutting it off I re-checked the connections for the screen, taking them apart and putting them back together and tried it again. This time it all came to life requiring set up as if it was new. Excited and relieved I adjusted settings and inserted a memory card heading outside to test it. The photo below shows the first photo I took which you can see at the top of this article. I was exhilarated that the camera once again worked. All in all it took more than 8 hours for this repair. Over the next few weeks I discovered my flash still doesn’t work but I don’t use that often enough to justify the risk of breaking something else to take apart the camera to fix it. For now it lives again and I’m ecstatic.

I don’t recommend doing this unless you’re willing to risk the camera never working again or taking it into an authorized repair shop. Knowing the risks, I decided to continue, being fully prepared to buy a new camera if it didn’t work. I probably will buy a new camera in the near future anyway but that has nothing to do with this one working. It has more to do with how much I use it and abuse it each year.

20210424_121700

Winter Flowers

As winter continues….drags on really, one of my favorite tropical orchids came into flower. It’s a Phragmidedium called Stairway to Heaven. Why is it one of my favorites? The petals surrounding the pouch of this ladyslipper droop dramatically compared to the overall plant. I don’t know why that’s something that’s intriguing to me but it really captures my attention. The unfortunate part is that they only bloom for about a month and then they’re done until the next shoot matures so there’s a relatively short window to capture these blooms.

Winter continues

With winter continuing and the ground in a deep sleep under a blanket of snow, a craving begins to grow to see the greenery of plants growing. For this orchid to produce it’s beautiful flowers at this time of year couldn’t be more perfect. It’s always a challenge to capture the long petals as they hang lower than the height of the orchid plant itself. I decided to work with illuminating the inside of these ladyslippers again much like almost a year ago and see what features these little LED’s could highlight.

Stairway to Heaven in bloom

Using these little lights brings an interesting look to the orchids but also presents a challenge trying to add them so they don’t distract from the flowers or alter their position on the plant. Additionally, trying not to damage the flowers or plant while adding the lights is a concern causing me to work more deliberately and slowly. Wrecking a flower would be very disappointing as I wait for a long time and spend a fair amount of energy growing these to get them to bloom and waiting until the plant is ready to flower again seems to take forever.

A group of orchids giving some nice winter color

Blooming at the same time as this ladyslipper were a couple of Phalaenopsis. One is a taller plant while the other is a dwarf adding more color to the winter windowsill. Fortunately these last longer than the ladyslipper so I concentrated my attention of capturing the many details of Stairway to Heaven which make it one of my favorite orchids.

The long petals draping down from a single flower

Besides the long petals what makes this one of my favorites? The pouch of ladyslippers is always a part of orchids that are fun for me with all of their different spots and patterns. Another part that’s enjoyable is the petals are fuzzy and very soft to touch bringing a relaxing sensation while rubbing a finger across them. They are so soft! Not a lot of orchids seem to have this feature. Now that this Phragmipedium is flowering, I’ve moved it into an area I see on a daily basis so I can enjoy it as much as possible. A nice distraction from the cold on the other side of the window.

Adding light to the pouch of this bloom

Enjoying a Little Beach Time

While in Florida during Super Bowl week, I spent more time on the beach than I had in a number of years. And the beaches of St. Petersburg are beautiful with soft sand to dig your feet into. What’s the most popular thing to do at the beach? Most people seem to be out there during the day taking in the suns rays. As the daylight begins to soften people tend to return to their abode having enjoyed the sandy shoreline. Just before the sun reaches the horizon, the beach once again becomes a popular place in hopes of witnessing a scenic sunset over the ocean. That was my most popular activity – watching the sunset.

Looking for Shells

Close behind was time shelling – or searching for beautiful, empty shells. There were a number of pristine shells, however, it’s occupants were still using them so I tossed them back into the ocean. This area of Florida seems to have an abundance of fun shells and a nice diversity of them to collect for showing those that haven’t been there. Some mornings I would get up before sunrise to scour the beach for something unique before others combing the same areas found them. Occasionally this was successful and other days it was just fun to be out enjoying the morning light and listening to the ocean. One of the nice things about St. Petersburg is if you don’t find the shells you’re looking for, going to another area along the coast may provide them. Or possibly ones you weren’t even looking for. It would seem with the popularity of this activity, finding intact shells no longer in use would be a challenge but it really wasn’t. There were large quantities washed up on the sand on a daily basis. You just have to spend the time searching.

Bird watching

Walking up and down the beach also brought a few other pieces I enjoy. Watching the birds as they dart in and out of the incoming waves and listening to the waves crash on the sandy beach. There are a mix of birds here, especially during this time of year as birds from the north spend their winters here. The most common to see tend to be the shore birds constantly pecking their long beaks into the sand grasping tiny morsels for nourishment. Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets were often sighted, especially near people fishing as they were looking for a meal to be thrown their way or possibly snagging some of the bait. Flying over the water were Pelicans, Cormorants, and an occasional Eagle adding to the variety of birds to identify while listening to the sounds of waves near my feet. The constant, almost rhythmic sounds of waves washing up on the sandy beach is relaxing most of the time. Big storms can change these sounds from relaxing to concerning. Fortunately, most of the time the water is more gentle as each wave rises from the water and runs into the sand ending in a foamy finish before retreating back into the ocean. I could get use to starting and ending my day on the beach for more than a week.

Listening to the waves crash against the shore

Snow Frost

When the landscape became a beautiful winter paradise with frost covering all it could touch during the first week of this year, I noticed the snow glistening a little more than unusual. Upon closer inspection I saw frost crystals on top of the snow covered ground. Examining these even closer, I noticed a variety of amazing ice crystals and immediately began trying to capture these with the camera. Fortunately I had been keeping the camera in a cold location so it was ready to be used outside. Just grab a battery and head to the snow covered yard.

Frost crystals on top of the snow

This certainly was not an easy, or quick task. Finding the crystals was not too challenging. All I had to do was scan the snow from different angles and let them reflect in the sunlight similar to what you see in the picture above. The more difficult piece was to find them with the camera using a macro lens which only allows you to view a very small area in focus. Once identified with the camera, then it was getting the right angle for light to reflect showing each little groove of these crystals which can be seen in the photograph below. Once the camera was in place, these little ice formations came to life. Seeing each groove showing the stages these frost crystals grew in was extremely interesting. I could just imagine what a time-lapse would look like as these were formed. Then I began to wonder if they were done growing? I imagined so as the sun was out and the temperatures continued to rise.

Ice crystals close up

While scanning the surface of the snow I found an area where melting had started to occur creating unique shapes of clear ice. Looking closer I found this little ‘ice dragon’  which you can see below. I kept working different angles with the camera attempting to find just the right photo showing it’s interesting details. The sun was getting lower in the sky bringing an end to photographing the frost.

It was a lot of fun to see these winter formations and I would have enjoyed spending more time exploring them further but they only last for a short amount of time.

Ice Dragon

Favorite Photos of 2020

While so many people have wished this past year away with all the turmoil and a global pandemic, I don’t like wishing a year of life away. There were some positive things to enjoy such as a less demanding schedule with many events not being held giving more opportunity to slow the pace down. Many chose to explore parks near them at a rate not seen before. I felt lucky to get out camping a few times during the summer and fall and I know many of you did the same as securing a campsite was more challenging than usual. Sometimes alone and other times with my girls. That is something I absolutely enjoyed and cherished as I know these times are limited. This has been a difficult year to travel to some amazing destinations and photograph them but I still managed to capture some beautiful subjects and scenes. At times I had to focus more on creating the shot instead of going out and capturing a beautiful landscape. Concentrating on micro scenes near me was a way of adapting to the conditions. Something I really enjoy doing. Also, playing with LED lights provided a unique form of photography in these more intimate shots. Here are a few of my favorites of 2020 beginning in the top left corner and proceeding clockwise:

The great conjecture of 2020 with Jupiter and four of its moons near Saturn. The skies cleared briefly as these two planets appeared next to each other in the evening sky shortly after sunset.

It just doesn’t seem right to have a compilation of photos without including a snowflake in the mix. Each one is unique and interesting to examine in detail. You can see more here: http://monopolytraveler.com/enjoying-more-snowflakes/

Lightning crawling across the sky. There were a couple of fantastic storms producing incredible lightning this past summer. They provided for some amazing views and a few opportunities for pictures. A couple of them can be found on this post: http://monopolytraveler.com/stormy-nights/

Orchids lit up. Early spring can sometimes be a challenge to find interesting subjects to photograph as the snow melts but plants haven’t emerged yet. Fortunately I had an orchid in full bloom and decided to play around with some lighting options. Check them out here http://monopolytraveler.com/lighting-up-orchids/

Coming across coyote pups. While on the hunt for early blooming native orchids I found myself in the middle of a den of young coyotes. It was a lot of fun and at the same time kept me on alert. Here’s that story: http://monopolytraveler.com/a-spring-afternoon-surprise/

Spring blooms in the morning sunlight. Hungry for distractions from the pandemic, early flowers began to bloom providing an opportunity to work on some macro photography outside. More of those are here: http://monopolytraveler.com/early-spring-flowers/

Ladybug taking a sip. Some of my plants produced a few blooms during early spring before much was growing outdoors so I setup a flower using water to work on photographing reflections. A ladybug happened to be climbing on one of my plants so I moved it to my scene creating more interest in the pictures. The story can be read here: http://monopolytraveler.com/experimenting-with-composition/

Fall colors in Northern Minnesota. While spending a week on the North Shore of Minnesota with my wife, the colors rapidly changed making for some beautiful views. http://monopolytraveler.com/fall-colors-in-northern-minnesota/

Checking out the campsite. A common site when camping in the upper Midwest are camp squirrels. They’re so cute how could I not spend a little time photographing them?

Under the stars. One of the best places I’ve been to see the night sky is in Northwestern Minnesota. I couldn’t believe how dark it is bringing out more stars than imaginable. It was so much fun outlasting the mosquitoes to capture the Milkyway. For more you can read it here: http://monopolytraveler.com/stargazing/

And winter returns. The day before I came across these bloodroot plants ready to bloom and then a late snow storm arrived just in time for Easter to cover them in snow. These early spring flowers make for some fun photos with fresh snow. More pictures available here: http://monopolytraveler.com/and-winter-returns/

Multiple seasons. The first goal here was to take a few Senior photos as my youngest daughter is preparing for her final year of school. Unfortunately the setting sun went under the clouds making the session a bust. As spring approached I came up with a new idea and wanted to see what a photograph containing winter and summer together would look like. Here’s that post: http://monopolytraveler.com/multiple-seasons/

Anther abstract. Another of my photos from the spring blooms in the morning sun outing. I liked this abstract view of a Hellebore flower with anthers covered in pollen.

A moody Lake Superior under fall leaves. Waves crashing against the hardened granite lining the shores of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota as the wind howled brought some great water spouts and sounds. If not set to travel for the day it would have been fun to watch as these waves provided some great displays. The stories here: http://monopolytraveler.com/a-moody-lake-superior/

Quiet sunrise. After spending much of the night under the stars in Northwestern Minnesota, I stuck around to watch one of the first sunrises of the summer. A little morning fog and no wind made for a beautiful and peaceful sunrise for my last morning at Hayes Lake State Park.

Finally an opportunity to photograph an otter. For the past couple of years I’ve been in search of otters to capture with the camera. While out to watch the sunrise one came from behind me and eventually came up to see what I was doing. What an unexpected treat!

The center photo is my daughter who’s about to graduate from high school. I have several of her senior photos that I really like but kept it to one on this collage.

It was challenging to keep it to these pictures. Many of them are in posts from 2020 while others haven’t made it there yet. Maybe early this year a few stories with these photos will show up. Please enjoy these photos as there will be a whole new set of them in 2021. The collage is included below as pictures may be cropped in the top picture.

2020 Collage

Merry Christmas!

With many holidays being celebrated, albeit in a more subdued fashion, I wanted to create some nice black and white images. My family celebrates Christmas so that’s my focus for these pictures. This is not typically my style of photography. Color is often an important piece of a photograph for me but in the past few weeks I’ve been inspired to create some black and white pictures for the holiday season. Maybe it’s because color is a bit of a challenge at this time of year or the pandemic has me in this type of mood. I don’t know but it’s something that provided some motivation and excitement with the camera.

All decked out for the holidays

While looking for a subject of these black and white images I searched for inspiration. There wasn’t anything coming to mind initially on what would make a beautiful photo so I turned to searching the web for black and white photos. It didn’t take long for me to begin to think of what I would like to shoot in this manner. With so many people posting their pictures now it’s easier to find a little inspiration with a lot of amazing work being done.

Poinsettias are something that I have access too and are such a beautiful plant that I wanted to work with that subject. Another concept was the many places that transform their public areas into a beautiful holiday scene in December. A simple candle flame can be a magical picture which I have not attempted before. This seemed like a good time to try. This black and white concept hasn’t gone away so I’ll probably explore it further as the weeks progress.

Whatever holiday is celebrated in your household, I wish you the best one possible! For my family – Merry Christmas!

A single candle burning through the night

Stargazing

Whenever I’m in a dark sky area I try to take some time to enjoy the night sky. Part of that involves doing some astrophotography. Something I really enjoy and keep trying to improve on. There aren’t a lot of opportunities throughout the year to do this but when they appear, it’s a lot of fun. Early in the summer I was in Northwestern Minnesota searching for orchids. During the night I was hopeful fireflies would be scooting across the sky providing some nice entertainment as they flash their little green lanterns in addition to doing some stargazing. As you can see in the first photo there were some fireflies illuminating beneath the beautiful Milkyway. These were some of the darkest skies I’ve seen producing a sky filled with twinkling lights.

Watching the sunset

After a day of orchid hunting it was time to slow down and enjoy the evening with a quick dinner followed by a scouting trip to find some potential spots to take in the night sky. Exploring nearby Hayes Lake revealed some possibilities for a clear view of the beautiful night sky while providing some nice reflections in the calm water. With that accomplished, relaxation was on the schedule as the sun dipped lower and lower towards the horizon on this calm, comfortable summer evening. If only the mosquitoes would relent it would be a perfect end to such an enjoyable day. As I watched the sun prepare to set, I searched for a few different ways to capture it with the camera while watching people as they caught a few fish from a nearby dock. This seemed like the definition of what a summer day in Minnesota should be.

Storms out on the horizon

As the sun slipped below the horizon, its light began to shine on cloud tops off in the distance. Storms where in the area. Fortunately they stayed south for the night. A little more time enjoying twilight and I returned to camp to for a small fire while the sky grew darker and darker around me. Tempted to retire for the day, or at least take a nap, I resisted becoming lost in the flames dancing from log to log in my campfire. Almost three hours had passed since leaving the setting sun and the sky had turned from a light blue to almost black filled with billions of twinkling lights above. The fireflies began their nightly courtship display darting from one place to the next. Energy was again returning as I gathered my equipment for a night of star picture taking.

_DSC2213

Arriving at the first spot I scouted earlier, I set up the camera and began to work on focusing the lens while tweaking my composition capturing the night sky. I couldn’t believe how incredible it all looked with the first couple of pictures. How could I decide between looking up at all these magnificent stars, fireflies, meteors shooting across the sky, and satellites or remaining focused on capturing all of this with the camera? While the camera was taking the picture I would just look up to take it in as the camera needs about a minute while the shutter was open. Then I looked at the shot just captured before adjusting and taking another one.  The night was flying by and before I knew it, several hours had passed. My time capturing the bright lights shining above came to an end as fog began to rise from the water hiding the landscape from the camera. I didn’t want this night to end but was very thankful for the time available. Only a couple of hours now until the sun returns.

Fog was beginning to rise from the lake

An Early Fall Snowstorm

Winter began its annual battle with Fall earlier this year than has ever been recorded in Minnesota. The cold air came pounding down from the north teaming up with moisture from the south to blanket the area in tiny little white crystals bringing the beautiful fall colors to an abrupt end. Some plants managed to hold on to their brightly colored leaves through the snowstorm allowing me to capture a few pictures typically unavailable during the winter. While the snow was falling, the temperature remained near freezing. Most of the plants were holding on to what little heat they could causing this fresh snow to melt early in the storm. This allowed me to capture snowflakes and at the same time melted snow dripping from these leaves.

From snowflakes to waterdrops

Because these ice crystals were melting quite rapidly I had to take these freehand. There just wasn’t enough time to set up a tripod and get the camera focused from the time a snowflake landed to the time it started to disappear. Fortunately it was daylight allowing me to accomplish this  by hand holding the camera and squeezing the shutter button. Often in the time it took to take 10 photos of the same flake, it would begin to deteriorate. I have figured out techniques to photograph snowflakes in these types of conditions but I typically use them in the spring, not the fall so that wasn’t an option on this day. Some of those techniques include placing the cloth to be shot on in the freezer ahead of time to make it colder than the surrounding air once the snow begins to fall. In addition, I may place ice packs underneath that cloth to keep it cold preserving a particular flake even longer. The heat from the camera can still be an issue which I haven’t really figured out a good way to deal with yet during warm snowfalls. In any event, I wasn’t able to use those aides for this snowfall which worked out fine as the fall leaves provided a different opportunity. I enjoyed combining the textures of these leaves with the shapes of each unique ice crystal. It’s just beginning and I hope to have several more opportunities to photograph the beautiful ice and snow.

_DSC5680

Multiple Seasons

How do you get a picture that is impossible to photograph? It requires planning, multiple photo shoots, and post processing. The picture above didn’t start out as seen above. My original intention was to photograph my daughter ice skating under a beautiful sunset. On a few occasions we headed to a nearby park where a small pond is kept clear of snow for an intimate skating experience. Unfortunately the sky didn’t cooperate for any of those nights and soon after this photo was captured, the ice began to melt eliminating the possibility of the photo I had envisioned.  On the night this photo was take below, we headed to the park as the sky was mostly cloud covered but there were peaks of sun. If one of the patches of clear skies was in the right place near the horizon at sunset, the colors could be incredible over the ice rink. It was the night of the Superbowl and my wife was a part of the halftime crew in Miami so we hurried to be home in time for the game. Unfortunately the sky didn’t cooperate with the grand sunset I was hoping for and no further opportunities presented themselves that winter.

Winter and ice skating scene

We took many photos anyway since we were there and practice can always help. Over the course of the next few weeks, as I realized the opportunities had passed, I had an idea. What if I overlaid this frozen pond on a beautiful summer view of this same place? Almost immediately I couldn’t wait to try this and see how it would turn out. There was no way in the world I could ever photograph such a scene. Thankfully I had carefully paid attention to where I was standing when I took the initial pictures so I could return to the spot and get summer shots from the same perspective. This is critical when combining multiple pictures over different days, months, or seasons. Now I just needed to wait for summer.

Summer photo for foreground

It was the 4th of July holiday weekend and things were fully growing creating a green landscape for the next part of my project. There were clouds floating through the sky so I expected the sunset to be beautiful. Again we headed to the park, this time to capture a summer sunset scene. As the sun approached the horizon, the clouds dissipated. Now what? I decided to continue with the photo shoot and at least capture the dark green of early July. We may have to return yet again to capture a striking sunset. Getting setup in the same location I photographed the ice skating version from, it was now time to wait for the sun to drop near the horizon. As daylight began to dwindle I snapped a few photos adjusting first for the foreground (above), then midground (below), and finally for the setting sun (two photos below). Cameras are not able to capture each of these areas the same as we can see them so some blending is necessary.

Summer scene used for midground

Several weeks later I put these into the computer and did a quick combination with the ice skating picture and the photo just below that to see if it was interesting enough to continue processing this idea. It took mere seconds for me to decide that I should continue as the idea was so interesting. Over the course of a few hours I started with one summer photo and the ice picture. As I worked to blend these together I realized more images of the summer sunset would be needed to really give the vision as portions of each had some dark details. In the end there were 4 photos from the summer shoot blended to get the sunset and surrounding area closer to reality. Once these were done I added in the winter photo for a total of 5 pictures to create the top image. I ended up using the roof of the covered bridge from the winter scene as I thought it provided a better balance to the overall picture. While it may seem like a fairly simple combination it took many hours of planning and photographing to get the scenes I was looking for along with a couple of hours to combine them for the completed image.

My expectation is that people will initially look at the photo and think “that’s nice” and almost move on before realizing something doesn’t look right. That then requires a closer examination to figure out that the water is frozen but it’s a summer scene. At that point they are now invested in the picture and search for the different details to find out which seasons each piece represents. Isn’t that often the goal? To have people brought into the image? I have some more ideas that I want to play with down the road similar to this now that I’ve entered into this realm. This really kind of messes with my mind to see two very different seasons added into one picture.

Summer scene used for sunset