When All Else Fails… November 22, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: sunset
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…Throw ‘em another sunset:
This one’s “good from far, but far from good” – this shot benefits greatly from its reduced size. But hey, the real thing was cool, and this is what I was able to snag of it, hand-held at two seconds against my car window.
Enjoy!
Frost. November 20, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos.Tags: frost, moss, strawberries, wild, ziggy
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In this case, mid-morning frost on a carpet of moss in a field where I’m currently working. The shade of a stand of fir trees kept the frost in place until coffee break, when I gathered my kit and dashed out into the scrub to snag a couple of photos.
I’m glad I did, even though they were quite rushed.
Moss, supporting a sprawl of wild strawberries:
…and a closer shot of strawberry plants gone red as the freeze comes on:
The full-sized versions of these two photos display the temporal layering of successive ice deposits as what looks here to be chunks of Morton salt. But trust me, it’s good ol’ H2O.
These come our way courtesy of Ziggy, my 50mm Sigma prime lens.
Enjoy.
A Photographic Experiment. November 20, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Bob, depth of field, tilt-shift photography
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My most recent lens purchase was a Canon L-series 24mm TS-E II, a lens which replicates the actions of medium and large format cameras in that it allows for the “tilting” of both the camera back/film plane and the objective lens, the one which gets punched first in a street brawl.
I bought this Rube Goldberg monstrosity while in pursuit of the ultimate landscape photograph. You know the one – the cactus flower nearly brushing the lens and the castellated horizon, both in sharp focus. It’s a look which is, practically speaking, unattainable with an SLR or modern digital camera, seeing as it depends on being able to “bend” the lens relative to the camera body, which hasn’t been an option until just about… now.
I bought Elliot (my TS-E lens, if you catch my reference ) looking for that infinite depth of field (tilt) and control of parallax (shift,) and have been struggling with the learning curve ever since. The focus is manual, and the results of my efforts aren’t really obvious in my tiny viewing screen, until I get home and blow my images up.
Then, last week, my Siamese Cousin Bob sent me a link wherein people did exactly the opposite with their tilt-Shift lenses, opting for what approximates a spot-focus amidst a sea of impressionistic blurs. It was cool enough for me to be inspired to try it, so I did.
Here’s Bossie, asking the perennial question, “Whatchoo lookin’ at???”
Obviously, I’m lookin’ at a cow with an attitude.
This isn’t what I bought Elliot for, but I anticipate having some fun with it.
Let me know what you think.
Health Warning. November 16, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: health warning, sky, sunset
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As recommended by my Siamese cousin Bob, on accounta he likes my sky shots. 
This is yet another Windsor sunset, fleeting and ephemeral, a moment in the slide show of a typical evening. As I drive along, wistful and wanting, the sky is gray and boring; the skyline is vague and uninspiring. My camera sits on the passenger seat, dejected and wondering why it came on this winding, bumpy ride.
Then it happens, as it occasionally does: the clouds fall into place like pieces of an art puzzle, and the light comes up, and suddenly I’m driving into a ditch and propping my camera against the driver’s side window for an impromptu two-second hand held shot of something which wouldn’t be there by the time I’d set up a tripod:
Yeah, at ISO 3200 it’s grainier than Plochman’s mustard, but I wasn’t really set up for it, so I got what I got.
Still, I like the clouds a lot.
A Couple Of Skies. November 15, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: contrails, skies, sunset
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Because I’ve been swimming upstream for the past month, with diminishing returns for my efforts, and haven’t the emotional energy to actually blog about anything important.
Contrails in the Conway sky:
…and an orange apparition over the high plains of Windsor, MA:
A bit feeble, I know, but it’s what I have tonight.
Peace, Out.
Snow In The High Country. November 8, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: November, snow
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Early November is early for snow in the Berkshires, but it’s not unheard of. So the other morning I wasn’t shocked to encounter The Great White on my way to work, passing as I sometimes do over the high country of Florida.
It looked like this:
No, really, there was snow on the ground:
I’m hoping for a bit more Autumn before actual winter sets in, but in these parts, there are no guarantees.
Anyway, it’s still novel enough to be interresting to look at.
A Few Moss Shots… November 6, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos.Tags: moss
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…Before the snow flies. These are sphagnum mosses growing on a big dead log by the Deerfield river:
Not the best photos, but before long there won’t be much moss ’till Spring, thus these arms’ length efforts.
Hope you like them.
This Morning. November 4, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Deerfield, full moon, hunters moon, morning fog
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On the way to work, along the road down to Shelburne Falls. Mist rising off the river, courtesy of Elliot’s eye for infinite depth of field:
…and a waning Hunters’ Moon set against a Florida (MA) hillside:
…by way of Gizmo, my 400mm accomplice.
They’re both pretty close to raw, as I haven’t time to do much polishing.
Later,
R.
Sky Shots. November 2, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, Love and Death.Tags: full moon, hunters moon, sunset
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A drive-by posting here, of this evening’s ride home from work, the first one since we turned our clocks back.
I dislike this time of year for it’s theft of my precious daylight; nonetheless, my circuitous ride home transited from sunset:
…into full-on night, with a Hunters’ Moon piercing the clouds:
The detail wasn’t there, but it made itself known nonetheless.
Sorry to be such a stranger in my own land, but we’re still busy turning piles of boxes into a home. It’s coming along, though, and I’m hoping to be back in circulation sooner rather than later.
I miss you all, miss stopping by your places to see what’s up and such. But living in the have-to present is good too, and it’s what’s happening now.
‘Till later,
R
Mount Greylock. October 21, 2009
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, Love and Death.Tags: Mount Greylock
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Several views, garnered over the last few days.
First, a view of our proudest peak in sunlight and shadow:
…and through a stand of autumn-ravaged birches:
Last Friday we had our first snow of the season, which disappeared from the roadways early on but lingered on high for long enough to snap a picture:
…And lastly, a cheery shot taken from Adams’ Bellevue Cemetery:
A salute to our highest peak!
