Tag Archives: Photography

Enjoying a Beautiful Fall Sunrise

October 10, 2021 Troy

The trees may not have been showing their vibrant colors for the first weekend of fall but the sunrise did. The night before local forecasters were hinting at morning fog under partly cloudy skies. Waking up this first Saturday morning of fall I hesitated going out to a nearby lake, but the fog had blanketed calm waters several days earlier in the week so this would be my opportunity to capture a few pictures of an amazing fall morning. Deciding to get dressed and grab the camera gear, I began heading towards a nearby lake. On the way, I soon realized the wind was blowing telling me there’s no chance of a foggy early morning sunrise.

Soon after arriving on this cool fall morning, I headed towards the spot I wanted to photograph from and began looking for just the right place to set up the tripod and camera. There were ducks and geese swimming back and forth watching as I explored the shoreline. Within a few minutes the clouds began to turn from a gray to pink with increasing light on the horizon. Clouds streaked across the morning sky making for a spectacular view welcoming in another day. Their reflections bouncing off the waters surface only enhanced this kaleidoscope of colors creating a beautiful landscape. Ducks began lifting from the water flying across this colorful scene to begin their day of searching for food. Then an eagle came out of nowhere and began circling the lake. All of this was happening with too little light to capture good photos. The only thing that showed up on any picture was a blur as they flew by.

As the sun rose higher, silhouettes of geese started to break up the golden reflections from the mornings rising sun. While trying to both capture this beautiful scene and take it in, the light continued to change minute by minute from pinks and purples to reds, and then amber with the sun peaking above tree tops bringing a finale to the days colorful sunrise.

At this point I changed my attention to some of the still blooming native flowers trying to find a composition using this nice early morning glow. While snapping a couple of pictures of the asters used as a foreground in the top photo, I noticed a bumblebee clinging to the underside of one of the leaves waiting for the suns warmth. At this time I needed to return home and begin my day of activities so I finished with another photo or two and it was back to the car to end my sunrise adventure.

Adventure, Flowers, Photos, Troy's Blog

Pollinators Flying Around as Fall Approaches

September 12, 2021 Troy

On a beautiful summer afternoon the last weekend in August, I took some time to go out wandering at a nearby park. We had just returned home after moving our youngest daughter into her college apartment. Staying home seemed like a challenge so I grabbed the camera and off I went. Unsure of what I would see, being prepared is something I’ve learned time and time again otherwise you could miss a great photo op. This day definitely provided some great subjects, especially pollinators out searching for as much nectar as possible. Capturing a few late summer wildflowers or maybe a mushroom or two was my expectation but thankfully there was more.

Meandering on a familiar trail, which was a little less familiar as I haven’t been out nearly as frequently as other years, I came across some wildflowers and snapped a few pics. Continuing on I came to some tall yellow daisies in bloom with a Monarch butterfly flitting from flower to flower. Thankfully it would spend some time at each one allowing me to capture some great photos like the one above.

Unfortunately I was confronted with a few brilliantly colored leaves along the trail confirming what time of year it was and seasons would soon be changing. This was a fact I had been trying to ignore as I wanted more summer to enjoy. If time would only slow down. Since there were some nice red leaves I decided to take the opportunity to start practicing for the possible explosion of color to come with the a simple turn of a page on the calendar. After a brief time with these leaves, it was back to those late season flowers still blooming with all of their energy.

A lot of Goldenrod was in full bloom with the occasional bee or butterfly visiting their flowers. There were a few that were loaded with tiny beetles. A quick search indicates these are called Shining Flower Beetles which eat the pollen. While it seems that Goldenrod should be a great pollinator plant with as prolific they can be, I don’t often see a mass of insects around them like I do other plants such as late season hydrangeas. They must not release a lot of nectar for them to feed on. Continuing on my journey I came across more large yellow daisies with a bee here and there dancing around these beautiful flowers occasionally landing on one. A couple of pictures and I moved on.

Another opportunity during my journey was an Ichneumon Wasp. I’ve been trying to capture some nice shots of these for several years and here finally was my chance. I snapped a few poor photos and it was gone. Deciding to sit down for awhile, I was rewarded with another chance as the wasp returned to a leaf fairly close to me allowing for some nice shots. These wasps don’t sting as their long tails are used to deposit eggs when the time arrives. If there was nothing else to photograph, I was happy with these alone but thankfully there were others. After a few more shots it was time to head home and take care of some things before the day was over. I really enjoyed this time watching and photographing these pollinators before August transitioned to September.

Flowers, Photos, Troy's Blog

Lobelia cardinalis Beginning to Flower

August 15, 2021 Troy

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.

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.

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.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Rebuilding a Camera

June 27, 2021 Troy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Flowers, Orchids, Photos, Troy's Blog

Winter Flowers

March 13, 2021 Troy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ice and Snow, Photos, Troy's Blog

Snow Frost

February 20, 2021 Troy

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.

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.

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.

Adventure, Troy's Blog

Frost Up Close

February 7, 2021 Troy

The first week of 2021 provided some spectacular days covering the landscape covering it with frost. Each day provided a different look and frost pattern. Some days began with a light frost coating everything such as in the photo above. These days made everything appear as though out of a movie. It didn’t seem real even though I could see it. Sometimes this frost would disappear throughout the day and other days it would persist into the night.

Another day provided a thick coating mostly in one direction on everything. I don’t know what minor changes cause these frosts to be different than those covering everything in a light coating but it still makes for a beautiful setting. The area where the above photo was taken, there was a downburst of snow earlier in the day leaving behind snowflakes to add to frost. If you look closely above, you’ll be able to see one or two.

Another morning brought sharp ice crystals on one side of most plants which I assume is a result of a windy day during their formation. Each of these little pieces of frost reminded me of lightning bolts. Quite fascinating!

In the last photo you can make out different ice sculptures which turns out to be another form of frost created during the week. This is surface hoar frost. These little crystals formed on top of the snow. I had never noticed frost covering the snow before. How often does this happen? Something I’ll definitely be paying more attention to as they were some amazing little natural pieces of art.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2020 Troy

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.

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!

Photos, Troy's Blog

An Early Fall Snowstorm

November 8, 2020 Troy

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.

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.

Photography Experiment, Photos, Troy's Blog

Multiple Seasons

October 17, 2020 Troy

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gaining Life Experience

Tag Archives: Photography

Enjoying a Beautiful Fall Sunrise

Pollinators Flying Around as Fall Approaches

Lobelia cardinalis Beginning to Flower

Rebuilding a Camera

Winter Flowers

Snow Frost

Frost Up Close

Merry Christmas!

An Early Fall Snowstorm

Multiple Seasons

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