SkyWatch: Florida Dawn

My last morning in Florida I had little time for photography before beginning the long drive north.  Determined to capture a few more images I headed out looking for a worthwhile sunrise shot.  As I drove south watching the sky brighten I was beginning to think that my efforts were all for naught.  That is until I noticed the lone palm tree filtering the rays of the rising sun.

Scenics are seldom shot using long telephoto lenses but in this case I used the 400mm.  The longer focal length allowed me the cut out unwanted items and increase the visual impact of the morning sun.

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SkyWatch: Hay Making Skies

The dry sweltering heat that descended on our area recently is perfect weather to dry this year's hay crop.  Farmers are hurrying to get the crop in before the drought destroys what nutrient value the grass still holds.

As the evening sun caressed the western horizon its warm light falling upon the windrows of hay drew lines of dark shadow along their length.  Lying in the grass, I framed this shot from a low angle to capturing the lines of light & shadow against a sky of white fluffy clouds.  I also used a circular polarizing filter to increase the color saturation.

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Skywatch Friday

SkyWatch: Double Sun

Double Sun

I always love to watch the sunrise; no two are the same.

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SkyWatch: Middle Creek Snows

Our recent visit to Middle Creek Wildlife Management area was primarily to target the spring migration of Snow Geese. Snow Geese first began visiting Middle Creek some fifteen years ago. It was estimated that over 100,000 snow geese were present at Middle Creek a few days prior to our trip but most had moved on by our arrival.

Never the less, a flock of migrating snows began to build on the lake as the morning progressed. Willard & I walked the trail to Willow Point and watched flocks of 30-60 geese arriving every few minutes.

The geese were coming in very high and circling the lake as they lost altitude

As the geese neared the water more detailed images of the birds were possible

Finally below the horizon, this goose is about to land among the geese already resting on the lake.

Middle Creek is a waterfowl paradise located in southeastern Pennsylvania with a 400 acre shallow lake and 70 acres of small shallow water impoundments (potholes). Visitors are tightly controlled with very few locations permitting close-up photographing or viewing. On the flip side the tight control of visitors affords the waterfowl a high degree of protection from human disturbance.

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Freedom Skies

Nothing symbolizes Freedom more than a soaring American Bald Eagle

I photographed this beautifully marked eagle at Conowingo Dam, near Baltimore Maryland. Take notice of the white feathers in the wings and the black fringing of the tail; this eagle is making the transition into adulthood. Bald Eagles reach full maturity by five years of age.

Earlier in the morning I observed this eagle catch a fish and then alight in a nearby tree to feed. The poor lighting precluded any acceptable images but the light improved before it took flight allowing me to capture this image of the transitioning Bald Eagle.

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Wintry Sky

As daylight fades into darkness the warm colors of sunset belie the chilling temperature of the approaching cold winter night.

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Skywatch: Rutting Sky

At the outset of a recent Shenandoah National Park visit a good whitetail buck situated himself perfectly against the early morning sky.

I have been focusing upon the whitetail rut for the past three weeks. Soon it will pass but the images and memories of another great season will live on.

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SkyWatch: Country Road

Bringing the car to a halt at a rural stop sign I glanced left then right and immediately forgot about traffic conditions as my attention was riveted by this home surrounded by brilliant foliage and framed like a picture by the bridge above.

After ditching the car I shot the scene from under the low bridge. The resulting image lent itself well to a panorama crop.

With only a small bit of sky showing in the image I still could not resist sharing it with my Sky Watch friends.

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SkyWatch: October Skies

This evening was one of those rare “perfect” autumn evenings. After being cooped up in the office and with rain in the forecast for the next two days a little foray with the camera seemed a fitting way to end day.

This is the view from my deck as the sun sank low into the western sky. Our fall foliage is reaching its zenith and the forecasted rain and wind will probably cause many of the bright leaves to cascade to the ground leaving in their wake the muted grays of winter.

The gorgeous sunset I was hoping for failed to materialize but my wife and I still enjoyed watching as the pastel colors of the sky slowly melded into darkness under a cresent moon.

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Corn Skies

Leaving our family farm to return home Sunday evening I could see from the secluded valley that a beautiful red glow was sweeping upward across the sky as the last remnants of daylight faded about one half hour past sunset.

Driving to the top of the hill I shot these images through the corn using the 400mm lens to isolate a small bit of the sky. Exposing for the sky allowed the corn stalks in the foreground to become stark silhouettes.

Evening skies such as these typically forecast fair weather and we have been blessed with beautiful clear days and low humidity ever since.

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SkyWatch: Grayscale

With the storms giving way to clearing skies the dramatic sunbeams present here enticed me to try a monotone image.

I like the results, do you?

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Sky Watch & Dorothy continued….

After a late evening thundershower the sun broke through giving the day a glorious grand finale

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Dorothy continued……
Dorothy left today on the next leg of her adventure

First she selected just the right shipping box for her and her luggage

Crawling in she made herself right at home

The postmaster was all smiles as she took charge of sending Dorothy off to the UK!

Good bye Dorothy, imac will take good care of you!

If you aren’t familiar with Dorothy please refer to yesterday’s post.

SkyWatch: Sunrise on the Chesapeake

Saturday morning’s sunrise found me aboard the Afternoon Delight cruising out onto Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay in search of Trophy Striped Bass. This shot was taken through the windshield using flash to light the interior of the boat.

This shot from outside the cabin captured more of the spectacular sunrise over the water.

The day started with a terrific sunrise but the day's fishing left much to be desired. Although Captain Hank worked diligently throughout the day only two stripers were hooked.

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SkyWatch: Early Morning Osprey

The warm rays of the early morning sun light this Osprey as it prepares to take flight against a cloudless April Sky.

With the next click of the shutter I captured the image displayed in the blog header.

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SkyWatch: Swooping Osprey

This is what it may look like to a fish when, too late, it heads for cover alarmed by the large bird dropping from the sky at an incredible rate of speed. A moment later the Osprey’s talons would descend, grasping the fish with its razor sharp claws as they pierce through the fish’s body in a grip of death.

A clear blue sky is the easiest background for capturing flight shots. With nothing to distract the cameras auto focus the camera will quickly focus on the bird and the bright sunlight allows for action freezing shutter speeds.

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Sky Watch: Enjoying the Evening Sunshine

A pair of starlings sitting in a tree caught my attention for a moment this evening. As I have been focusing on the waterfowl migrations lately my supply of new sky images is sadly lacking. With this in mind I headed out intent upon capturing an image for this Sky Watch post. Of course I needed to include birds in the composition.

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SkyWatch: The Looming Storm

Thunder Storm approaches Veterans Memorial Bridge

First opened for traffic in 1930 Veterans Memorial Bridge spans the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville Pennsylvania.

Recently my wife & I visited Amy (Ash’s Eye) & Justin at their home in Columbia. Wanting to take some outdoor family photos, Amy suggested visiting the small park and boat ramp at the bridge.

As we finished with the shots and were preparing to leave I noticed the darkening western sky with ominous clouds which were beginning to blot out the sun. The lighting effect seen on the bridge is the effect of the sun intermittently shining through the broken clouds along the front edge of the storm.

Shortly after arriving back at Amy & Justin’s home the full wrath of the storm arrived bringing with it heavy rain and hail.


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SkyWatch: The Sunset of Winter

March; a month of change, winter’s icy grip loosens as the month passes ushering in the beginning of spring. As the sun sets on another winter the new life of another season is awaiting the warming rays of a new day to burst forth in splendor.

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SkyWatch: Misty Morning

Misty morning skies greeted me on my first boating foray of the year

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SkyWatch: March Sunset

With the all of the gray skies we have been having this month gorgeous sunsets have been quite rare. The evening of March 10th didn’t become a top-notch sunset but it was pretty enough to share.

Now that daylight savings time has come I will have more opportunity to capture good sunsets instead of watching them fade during my evening commute.

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