Field Guide – Linda & Robert Scarth

We are delighted to have been asked to display some of our work at the new Ladd Library of the Cedar Rapids Public Library. During May and June fifteen on our bird images will be in  a joint exhibit with watercolor painter, David Wolf.

The ‘Mother Owl’ will be among the group in the exhibit which we call In Fine Feather. Her twins are also in the exhibit as are birds from East Africa and Costa Rica as well as closer to home.

Thursday evening, May 2, 2013 from 5:30 to 7, there will be an opening reception at the Ladd Library Gallery, 3750 Williams Blvd. SW. We hope to see you there.

Yesterday was our first group field trip of the season. Last year Spring had arrived a month and a half earlier but this year it is lagging here in the Midwest. Dave Gossman invited the Iowa Woodland Owners Association and the Iowa Native Plant Society to explore his property and learn how he manages his farm for trees, native plants and the wildlife that lives there along with raising no-till corn and soybeans in conjunction with his other enterprises.

There were a few blooms – hepatica (below), bloodroot, wood anemone, Dutchman’s britches. We also found lots of trout lily leaves and blue cohosh stems in the woods. A few shrubs and small trees had buds. The only obvious fungi were many Devil’s Urns. But mostly we enjoyed the bare bones of the canyon and upland landscapes.

Among the largest and smallest objects of the day was a giant old oak tree and the contents of an owl pellet.

From its shape and size this oak must have once been part of a savannah on the upland at the time of European settlement of eastern Iowa. It stands near the edge of one of the highest bluffs above Buck Creek. There are other oaks with wide spreading arms that let viewers know a bit about the past.

As we were photographing the owl pellet, a Barred Owl was heard calling back in the canyon. In the pellet were several tiny jaw bones, a backbone, some leg bones and even a tiny rodent skull.

Any day exploring the woods, creeks and grasslands has the promise of many opportunities to see and hear and smell the beauty of the earth – even if it not quite Spring.

We had a new experience recently. Being the subject rather than just photographers was interesting and a great learning activity. Chris Gourley, a producer/director/videographer from Iowa Public Television spent a day with us watching us work while interviewing us with great skill. He also had us provide a selection of images to use in the short feature he was preparing for the IPTV program “Iowa Outdoors.”

The first showing of program #302 of “Iowa Outdoors” will be Friday night April 19 at 8:30 CDT.  There will be repeats over the next week. The station usually puts segments from the program online within a week of the first showing.

This image of Mr. Gourley was made with our small “pocket” camera as we sat on the old stile at the Hanging Bog Preserve, a TNC property in Linn County, Iowa, while talking about our years of photographing together. Spring had not really arrived but there were Skunk Cabbages. A few were outside the sensitive seep area so they were a good subject. We also found some pretty lichens. That furry microphone cover and large lens appeared over our shoulders and above our lenses as we worked while trying to pretend he and they were not there.

From Hanging Bog we made a stop at home to see our digital darkroom. Then we to the Indian Creek Nature Center where the collection of glacial erratic boulders provided some pretty abstracts. The image below is one of the attractive patterns found in a boulder that began life as an ancient sponge. Fossils and crystals made lovely subjects before the spring flowers appeared.

We are eager to see the program and hope viewers enjoy it as much as we did participating.

In the last couple of weeks we have photographed at two Great Horned Owl nests. One is in a tree in the middle of a small town. A resident told us that parents have nested there for at least ten years. The second nest is in a cave on a cliff in a nature preserve. Owls have nested there for almost twenty years.

The youngsters at both nests appeared to be about six weeks old at the times we saw them. The one above, which we photographed a week ago, is high in a cottonwood tree. The large snag at the end of a big branch is hollow enough for a nest. If offers protection from the winter elements for the parent on the nest in January and February. We saw only one of the three youngsters.

There was natural light – sun in a hazy sky – on the nest snag at mid-afternoon and some fill flash was used. There are catchlights in the eyes, but the young owl’s bushy eyebrows shaded its eyes more than we liked. The general exposure was acceptable. Here is where converting a raw file with ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) came to the rescue. Because it was a raw file, adjustments to exposure around the eyes could be made with the adjustment brush without changing the overall exposure. Opening up the light on the eyes improved the image. Except for the eyes, the rest of the owl is well camouflaged in plain sight.

Yesterday we spent several hours observing the two youngsters (below) in their cave.  The cave is visible and at a good angle for observing from a bridge across the creek to the side of the cliff. Here the flash extender proved very useful. When we arrived, one of the twins was out on the ‘porch’ of the cave. It was a cooperative subject for full frame images while it napped, watched hikers across the creek and a insect flying around it, glared at a small child who stomped on the bridge, and sometimes looked at us. The flash and extender put a bit of light on its left eye which would have been shaded because natural light was coming from its right (left side of the image.)

When several boys in kayaks came quietly down the creek, the young owl considered them for a moment and retreated into the darkness at the back of the cave. Though in the  dark, we had seen movement from the second owl. We could see both of them moving about but could not see any details in the gloom. The overhang also obscured the scene.

We moved back along the bridge to change the angle of view and include both owls. In fact, we moved the tripod several times until the angle of view was perpendicular to the owls after they had settled into this pose. One of the youngsters dozed against the other.

The flash and extender overcame some of the darkness as the alert chick watched us with wider pupils because of the dim light. The sense of the setting would have been lost had the image been brighter  -  more flash exposure. The minus 1/3 flash exposure fill light kept the scene more natural while allowing us to capture the birds. Usually fill flash exposure is lower at minus 1 or more. By the time we made this image we were probably close to 90 feet away from the cave. Light from a flash diminishes at a distance.

As we often say, photography is always a compromise with light, camera settings, subject location and nature itself.

Yesterday we attended the 5th Annual Day of Insects at Reiman Gardens in Ames, IA. This yearly gathering of bug enthusiasts, researchers and naturalists is one of short topical presentations, long breaks for visiting and a bit of time to enjoy the Butterfly Wing and indoor gardens.

With only a small point and press camera in a pocket and little time to wait for the perfect butterfly, we did not photograph much. These sat still several times.  Both are longwings. The one above is probably a Doris Longwing (Heleconius doris). They are long lived for a butterfly so are popular in tropical butterfly exhibits. Longwings are found in Central and South America.

This one is probably a Sara Longwing (Heliconius sara). Longwing butterfly species have many similar wing patterns and colors.

The 15 presentations were as diverse as nature itself. From tiny parasites on wasps to government regulations on agricultural pests, the discovery of an Ozark dragonfly species  on a northern Iowa river to changing fire management strategies, citizen scientists monitoring water insects to assess streams to observing the lives and companions of digger bees under a porch, there was much to learn. We also enjoyed the insights and images of several photographers.

The most important concept presented was the idea that climate change is a meta-disturbance. As weather patterns change the disturbances are greater and more complex than often realized. The disturbance becomes a long term environmental influence rather than a passing event.

We have owned a 90mm tilt-shift lens for many years. It has not been used as much as it should be because we relegated it to landscape work and we make more details than large landscapes. So in preparation for applying this lens to more of our subjects, we just made a test in our living room. Magazines were the standins for our usual subjects.

We are looking forward to doing a series of images this spring of masses of spring blooms, as well as our typical intimate portraits. Therefore we needed to make a set of starting points to guide our work. Maintaining sharpness through more of the distance from front to back will be desirable in making these images.

The two images above are shown for comparison. The magazines were arranged in an overlapping spread across a low table. The magazines provided strong colors, small details, and simulated a variety of textures.

The camera, on its tripod, was placed perpendicular to the spread and the lens positioned for a vertical or portrait orientation. The front end of the lens was pointed at approximately a 45 degree angle about two feet from the first magazine.  The focus plane is through the ‘The” on the edge of the first magazine a short way into the image.

Sets of nine images were made running from no tilt through an 8 degree tilt. The two here are those two ends of one such series. Camera settings were AV mode, f/2.8, ISO 400, 1/8 second shutter speed at the lighting available today.

At f/2.8 the depth of field is quite shallow as seen in the left-hand image. However, as the plane of focus was moved from 0 degrees tilt to a downward tilt of 8 degrees, more of the image is in acceptably sharp focus, even though made at f/2.8. When the lens was tilted down 8 degrees the coverage of the subject changed slightly – cropping a bit of the foreground and including more at the top (background).

The next series will be done to test using ETTL fill flash. The 90mm tilt-shift has regained its position in one of our backpacks. The bearer will have to share.

Today is just one day in our continuing concern about water, the basis of life. Water quality, availability and management are interlinked with human contributions to a rapidly changing climate. The United Nations designated today as one special day in its International Year of Water Cooperation.

This image came to mind when thinking about one to represent water is various forms. The iceburg is sitting high and dry at low tide along the the southeastern Alaska coast. Iceburgs are produced when glaciers calve. They are fresh water in solid form.

The salt water channel along this rocky coast is behind islands that face out to the Pacific Ocean. We were in a rubber inflatable boat cruising among small iceburgs. Water can take many shapes.

The clouds are water vapor droplets suspended in air. There were many cloud types as the altitude increased. These fragmented ones close to the surface are mostly the remains of an early morning fog.

Our home area suffered a drought last year which may continue. Our city is preparing for that possibility. It is dependent on the aquifer beneath a major river valley for water. It is good water in a state with many impaired rivers. Water is everyone’s business and today is a good day to think about how each of us uses, protects and conserves this most precious element.

We are eager for Spring with the wildflowers, insects, migrating warblers and a greening world. In the mean time, to keep thinking color, composition, edges, shapes and all the elements of a good image, it is necessary to look around for other pursuits. The annual mineral and fossil show in March is a chance to wander about with cameras to see what catches our eyes.

Many of the exhibitors have geodes and crystaline chunks of various quartz and other minerals. Most exhibitors are happy to allow photography when asked. Some even offer to move a piece into better light with fewer shadows.

Light is an issue in the big halls with tungsten and fluorescent lights competing. Thank goodness for auto white ballance and raw image files.  Picking an in-camera white balance would be difficult because the variety of light sources. The ability to adjust the light balance and termperature in Photoshop or a similar program turns what a camera can do back into what our eyes and minds saw.

There will be polished agates which are mysterious and look like elevation lines on a subtley colored map with pools and cliffs.

Mineral slices backlit in an exhibit are works of abstract impressionism, just waiting to be photographed. This one caught our attention and is intriguing to contemplate. While the agate is soothing, this one is opposite. Both are good subjects to capture.

Fewer Juncos are coming to the birdbath. They are heading north in anticipation of Spring. The earliest floral indicator in our garden is the first crocus near the back door. For the last several days we have seen the tightly wound crocus buds and their slender leaves peeking through last year’s grass.

Today the temperature and light enticed some of the buds to open. It is always tempting to poke a lens into the faces of blossoms. Close-ups are classic ways to present blossoms. We also plan to back off a bit to show some plants in their habitats. In this case the tiny plants are nestled among the native warm season grasses. The protection of the thatch and the location near the house foundation contribute to the early emergence of these cheerful flowers.

The top photo is at f/16 so that the texture of the grass was part of the image and in contrast to the silky smooth appearance of the blossoms. Two images were merged for the close-up so that the attention is drawn to the blossoms and the background is softened and blurred.

The flower layer is at f/16 and the background layer is at f/6.3. This works when both images are made using a tripod and cable shutter release so the two files are identical except for the depth of field. In Photoshop, the two files were layered and a mask used to let the f/16 flower layer to show while leaving the softer background.

Parrots are smart and adaptable. That is part of their appeal. Several parts of the U.S. have become home to escaped psittacines who found one another and established colonies. Feral parrots are controversial topic among birders and biologists.

On our recent trip to Florida we heard parrots talking (screeching) near our camp and followed the sound. The Nanday Parakeets (Nandayus nenday) were on wires observing and discussing the happenings at the RV dump station. They are also called Black-hooded Parakeets or Nanday Conures.

The day was gray and rainy. Several pair posed for us before flying off calling to the rest of their small flock. The Parakeets appeared as dark sillouettes until we opened exposures enough to see some of their color. This made the sky pale, which many consider uninteresting. In these images the blank background is not objectionable. Further increases in exposure in Photoshop were needed to see the red feathers that fringe their legs. The greens and turquiose colors were also helped by the increase in exposure though more digital noise is present. Photography is always a compromise.