About this photo:
There is nothing like waking up early on a warm May morning after a fresh springtime rain and watch the soft morning light dance among the mist and blossoming flower beds. And this shot was nothing like that. It’s May, but that's where the similarity ends. It was barely above freezing Thursday night, which was good for the falling hail, but not our falling spirits. And for good reason, the rule of thumb in interior Alaska is to not plant before June 1. This shot of “osteospermun eckionis” (a daisy like flower) was taken in my garage in a flower pot my wife recently planted. We haul a number of flower pots in and out of the garage every day for a week or two to gradually harden them off. Settings and processing: Tried shooting with and without the garage lights on. Thought the best combination was with the lights off, and only diffused window light, which resulted in a slower shutter speed.and it seems like richer colors. Canon 5DIII, Canon 100mm macro, 1/5 sec, f/5.6, iso 100, Lightroom, Color Efex Pro 4. About this photo:
This week’s photo is pretty pedestrian, other than it celebrates the beginning of 72 straight days of at least civil twilight in Fairbanks. Civil twilight means the sun drops no more than 6 degrees below the horizon, which is effectively 24 hours of daylight. We have been gaining 6-7 minutes of light per day since Dec 21st, so it’s not a sudden thing, but our 72 days of official twilight began at 1:53am on Tuesday morning, and will last until 1:40am July 27th. Weather permitting, the midnight sun can be seen from Eagle Summit from approximately June 17 to June 24. In winter, the weather at Eagle Summit can be very nasty. Very, very, un-civil twilight. Settings and processing: This shot was taken at 8:00am Wednesday morning (5-17-17) from Eagle Summit (3,624 ft.), about 100 miles north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway. Canon 5DIII, Canon 16-35mm, 1/250 sec, f/18, iso 100, 5 shot pano, Lightroom About this photo:
As the week winds down I realize I haven’t made much of an effort to get out and shoot my weekly project 52 photo. It was a beautiful week though, with warming temps, the smell and feel of light springtime showers, and the sudden and much anticipated “green up” of Fairbanks. Green up officially occurs on one certain day, but in reality takes about three days for the surrounding hillsides to go from brown to completely green. So Saturday evening, as the week came to a close, I found myself drifting down to the Creamer’s Field Boardwalk, a nature trail that at this time of year barely sits above the high water level. You could almost hear the sweet murmurings of lonely mosquitoes falling in love, out of the sun, “under the boardwalk…” Settings and processing: Canon 5DIII, Canon 16-35mm, f/18, iso 100, 3 exposures +/-2 stops, Photomatix, Lightroom About this photo:
This shot is from early in the week. Sandhill Cranes arrive mid to late April at Creamers Field, but continue on to nesting grounds as soon as springtime conditions allow. Typical adults are about three feet high, weigh 6 to 8 pounds, and have a six foot wing span. An estimated 150k to 200k Sandhill Cranes use the Tanana Valley migration corridor. Peak activity at Creamers is in late August as the Cranes prepare for their southerly migration. Settings and processing: Canon 7D, Canon 100-400mm, 1/3200 sec, f/5.6, iso 400, Lightroom |