Field Guide – Linda & Robert Scarth

Some color contrasts are so vivid and eye-catching that they almost seem unreal. One of our neighbor’s peony bushes has cerise flowers with yellow stamens. The relationship of the colors and the opportunities for a variety of compositions provides another of the little pleasures in photography.

The stamens seem to be getting the courage to stand up and make a run for it from within the curly, clasping petals. In a way it reminds us of a description of the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia. The British writer, Beverley Nichols, is supposed to have said that it looks like something that came out of the sea and is up to no good. It does.

Extreme color contrasts are a challenge for digital capture, raw conversion software and image processing. Some colors are very difficult to interpret and display by even the most sophisticated software. When the file was opened in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), it was almost black and white – a deep muddy maroon and a pale cream. The white balance tool made it worse adding green to the yellow. So the fine tuning of color temperature and tint were needed. The natural color appeared when the color temperature was moved close to 5500° K and the tint slider moved to the middle.

The in-camera histogram did not have spikes at either end. In ACR there was a wide spike on the left – the dark side.  The Exposure, Shadow and Black sliders were moved to the right to open up the dark mass of color to more closely represent the vibrant cerise. This lightened the yellow so when opened in Photoshop the yellow areas were selected and the midtones darkened slightly using a Curves adjustment layer. Another Curves layer for the entire image was added to brighten the cerise. It was then flattened, sized, sharpened, converted from ProPhoto to sRGB and to 8bits for saving as a jpg to be used here.

The image was made yesterday and is not yet imported into Lightroom for keywording. It will be interesting to see what the Develop module in Lightroom sees and does. Photographs are made from the data collected by the digital camera and interpreted by the software and the person doing the processing.

Wild Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis) is in full glory at the moment. It usually sneaks up on us in the mostly wild garden on our small city lot and we may miss photographing it. This year it is getting our full attention.

Another common name is Blue False Indigo. Its sap does turn purplish blue contributing to its common name and use as a substitute for indigo blue dye from Indigofera tinctoria.

The long racemes of blossoms droop over surrounding plants or stand tall in groups. It has been cool and windy since the rains stopped. We have needed to use a Plamp or garden stakes to steady the stems, something we generally avoid so as not to injure stems.

The long racemes of blossoms droop over surrounding plants or stand tall in groups. It has been cool and windy since the rains stopped. We have needed to use a Plamp or garden stakes to steady the stems, something we generally avoid so as not to injure stems. The sturdy stem is part of the composition of this pair of blossoms.

This leaflet was photographed in our table top set-up so that the pattern of the leaves could be controlled and be presented showing the repeating pattern as it grows. The ends of the leaflets mimic the same shapes as the top petals as seen from the back.

Wild Blue Indigo is in the bean family. The leaf pattern is pea-like as are the blossoms. In late summer the plump seed pods begin to darken and can be heard rattling in the wind. It is a handsome native found throughtout the eastern US into the Midwest and southern plains. It makes a good garden plant as it is long-lived. It is not useful in a cutting garden as blossoms and stems darken soon after picking.

The male Sharp-tailed Grouse were still dancing on their leks at Namekagon Barrens in northwestern Wisconsin. When we walked to the blind on the Sunday morning it was 20° F (-6 C). The blind was snug and well designed; one of the best we have used. We were comfortable with our winter boots, snow pants and long underwear. We had awakened at 3:30 a.m. to be in the blind a few minutes after 5. There were some birds already at the lek. (When we had scouted the leks the first evening, we saw a few birds at one of the leks.)

Forty-five minutes later, as the sun peeked over the northeastern horizon, a warm glow tiptoed across the lek. There were at least 20 males visible through the blind’s port openings. More were seen occasionally jumping just over the edge of the highest area in the middle of the lek.

The birds did not tiptoe but stamped out their flamenco steps while rotating and sometimes moving quickly to one side. They spoke a language of cackles and chuk-a-luks with cooing undertones. Perfect music to accompany their performances.

Even as it became light we needed to keep high ISOs and shallow depth of fields to keep the shutter speeds up enough to stop the action as the birds danced.  One frustration was their tendency to move to spots where their heads were blocked by tufts of grass while their bodies and tails remained in sharp focus. The job of deleting such images is always a necessary chore.

After the last birds flew south across the Barrens just before 8 a.m., we walked back to our pick-up camper on a beautiful morning and headed to Virginia. While there we did programs for the Williamsburg Bird Club and the John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. The weather was warm and and the reception friendly.

Our hosts took us to Jamestown Island where we found the large patches of Jamestown Lilies that the first settlers commented on 400 years ago. They were in full bloom around the edges of wetter grassy areas. More on them next post.

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.

American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) have a sinister, even surreal, appearance.  We saw this alligator and its reflection and were taken by its four eyed appearance. It seems that it can see under water as well as above.

The most difficult part of getting this image was positioning the tripod so the camera was perpendicular to the “gator.” In spite of that effort, the file need to be rotated slightly to get both eyes level. The second part was dealing with the highly reflective snout and dark water. We often wish for a camera with a native dynamic range that covers the conditions we sometimes encounter.  Birds and animals seldom lend themselves to merging several images.

Thank goodness for the raw conversion sliders in Lightroom and Photoshop. Layers in Photoshop also allow for more control of the finished image. It still amazes us you the ones and zeros of a raw file can be optimized to what our brains saw, interpreted and remembered.

We just returned from a trip to Florida for some bird photography. The drought conditions this winter are ever as bad as reported in the media and by conservation and agricultural organizations.

As well a lovely colors, autumn leaves sometimes have other characteristics. One is the appearance of galls or growths made of the leaf tissue. Oak trees may have galls of many shapes that are the homes of tiny wasp larva. Hackberry and neighboring trees are sometimes home to a very tiny insect – the Hackberry Psyllid. Their larva live in galls that are called Hackberry Nipples.

We found this example while on a walk in a nearby state park on Sunday afternoon. It seemed a good example to discuss. Hackberry Psyllids are tiny flying insects shaped somewhat like cicadas. They can get through screens and are often called knats, flies or even fleas. This gall had a pin hole in the top so the adult had emerged recently. It will overwinter in tree bark or other crevices and the females will pierce new leaves and lay their eggs in the spring. This single generation will emerge in the fall.

The leaf was on the ground among the multitudes of fallen leaves. It needed to be placed to show the gall’s shape and location and the leaf’s texture. A nearby rotting stump provided the platform and some contrasting color and texture. The aim, as with all documentary photography, is to show off the subject in a satisfying composition. If we were to repeat the image we might decrease the background focus and move a bit to the right to reduce the dark area in the upper right.

All photos need to be studied to learn what make them more informative, more compelling, and/or more attractive, as the case may be.

The recent gentle rains are most welcome after the summer drought. The subject of water figures extensively in both landscape and close-up photography. Close-up images are sometimes intimate landscapes, as well as abstractions. Autumn leaves and water mix so well. Colors intensify and the accompanying overcast adds a special depth.

The undersides of fallen leaves are often waxy and rain drops form and stay. Water on the top sides of leaves usually is just a sheen of wetness. Sometimes the water tension is able to maintain large drops on the waxy surface like the ones above. Each drop magnifies and sharpens the underlying pattern of veins.

The tree from which this leaf fell was a warm yellow and one of many colored trees in the neighborhood inviting us to make out-of- focus images of single and patchwork colors. Large prints of out of focus foliage can be useful backgrounds for other subjects. They also can become a faux mat layer for another image.

This background was at the widest aperture to make the smooth wash of yellow and gray-green seen in this faux mat. The file at the top of this post was superimposed on the yellow file. The perceived color of the original image was brightened by having the brighter faux mat. Color, like light, has chameleon qualities. Neighbors influence one another.

Many fallen leaves were examined between showers. Another large yellow and tan birch leaf had a small pool of water as well as little drops. It also had a small locust leaf floating just at the surface of the ‘pool.’ The little leaf had a sheen of water that softened the little leaf’s sharpness in spite of careful focusing using LiveView.

Autumn is a good time to add to the collection of files for the ‘backgrounds folder.’ A zoom lens works well to capture the wonderful colors that are out of reach. We vary the aperture to alter the degree of focus and separation of colors.

The cold front arrived. The Wood Thrush was still here yesterday along with two Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus). The Hermit Thrushes appeared again late this afternoon. They came in briefly and then were displaced by an argumentive flock of White-throated Sparrows. While the sparrows, Northern Cardinals, chickadees, several warblers, a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker jockeyed for drinks and baths, the thrushes lurked in the raspberry bushes.

When the others left for the night, one of the Hermit Thrushes came in for a bath while it was still light enough to focus. Even with the ISO pushed to 1000, at a 6.3 f/stop, the shutter was only 1/25 second in AV (aperture priority) mode. This is ordinarily much too slow for a sharp image with a 300mm lens with 2x teleconverter.  A sturdy tripod helps, as does holding a hand on the barrel of the lens and pressing ever so gently, while keeping as still as possible. For a bit of extra insurance, the shutter was on high speed continuous drive mode to get bursts of multiple images. Our cameras do up to 8 images in a burst and with the latest camera firmware update, three bursts are possible in rapid succession because of increased cache capability. The slightest movement by the bird would cause a blur and getting a few images between these slight movements is often a good idea.

In the single burst that included this image, several were a bit soft because the bird moved its cheek feathers and shifted its eye, though at first glance its position did not appear changed. And, of course, a sharp eye is essential in most animal photography.

We made some images when the Hermit Thrushes migrated north in April and now were fortunate to make a few more as these lovely creatures head south for the winter. The storm windows went on the doors today. Frost is forecast for some parts of the state.

The Hermit Thrush we saw at the bird waterer this morning was just the first act. This afternoon, a Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) visited several times. Both are resting for a day on their migrations. The Hermit Thrush may stop in the southern U.S. for the winter or go on to Mexico. However, the Wood Thrush will continue down to Central America.

Wood Thrushes are dependent on the understories of mature forests to make their living. This habitat is under threat in both North and CentralAmerica. About fifteen years ago a children’s book, entitled Flute was published and highlighted the habitat needs of the species.

This bird (above) was easy to recognize with its bold eye ring, big spots and bright rufous nape (back of the neck). The cheek pattern is also distinctive.

Early this summer we saw a presentation by expert birder, Alvero Jaramillo. He talked about the difference in recognizing a bird and identifying a species. The aim is to come to recognize the ones we see. Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) are likely to require identifying as several thrush species are similar at first sight. Sometimes determining whether the eye-ring is pale or vague, partial, or thin and complete, requires a good look. The Wood Thrush is big and boldly colored so is easily recognized.

This image was made from our usual autumn and winter blind – the kitchen window. The sun is getting lower in the southern sky so the north side of the garage provides an open shade and even light on the area. We usually use the 300mm lens with a 2x tele-converter or a 500mm lens. The sky light and reflections from vegetation across the lawn is seen on the water.

We need to keep an eye on the back yard because a cold front is expected in a couple of days. It may be pushing other birds into the shelter of our yard for a rest and a drink. The crabapple tree provides a bit of fruit for those who, like the Wood Thrush, eat it in autumn and winter.