The Flock
Snow geese by the tens of thousands stop each year at this wildlife preserve on their way north to breeding grounds.It is quite a spectacle to witness when they are on the move.
The Cobblestone Bridge
One of Acadia National parks many bridges. The cobblestone bridge is very lovely and is found after a casual hike.Looks like something from a fairy tale.
Radiation Frost
I photographed this sunrise scene a few weeks ago when temperatures dropped to around 10 degrees. The white frost on the tree is referred to as hoar-frost and its very hard to predict when it will appear.Bitter cold is one factor,but I have seen it brutally cold and no sign of it. I lit the tree with flash to help show it off in the pre-dawn darkness. A little info on hoarfrost from the net
Hoar frost (also called radiation frost or hoarfrost or pruina) refers to the white ice crystals, loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when heat is lost into the open sky causing objects to become colder than the surrounding air. A related effect is flood frost or frost pocket[2]which occurs when air-cooled by ground-level radiation losses travels downhill to form pockets of very cold air in depressions, valleys, and hollows. Hoar frost can form in these areas even when the air temperature a few feet above ground is well above freezing. Nonetheless the frost itself will be at or below the freezing temperature of water.
Hoar frost may have different names depending on where it forms. For example, air hoar is a deposit of hoar-frost on objects above the surface, such as tree branches, plant stems, wires; surface hoar is formed by fernlike ice crystals directly deposited on snow, ice or already frozen surfaces; crevasse hoar consists of crystals that form in glacial crevasses where water vapour can accumulate under calm weather conditions;depth hoar refers to cup-shaped, faceted crystals formed within dry snow, beneath the surface.
Eggstremly Over-Engineered
Another worthless photo but had to post this front yard scene,which features the most overly complicated display rack for a few plastic Easter trinkets. Different strokes for different folks. I certainly would not ask this guy to build me a house,although it would be solid.
The Redneck Snowplow
Sometimes you just have no explanation for things you see and this redneck snowplow is one such instance. Perhaps someone has too much free time or just figured they would beautify their front porch with a homemade plow made of cardboard. Whatever the reason, it certainly makes you do a double take as you drive down main street in this local town.
Get out of my way!
Here is a grab shot along the highway yesterday.Nothing special but the enormous load dwarfing the tractor-trailer caught my attention. I can only imagine what the drivers nerves are like as he transports this monstrosity in the rain and worries about someone pulling out in front of him. Stopping on a dime would not be an option.
Layer of Snow
Simply put,I got tired of making blog visitors look at the same boat photo for the past week,so since snow has been on the news lately,I decided to add a shot from last year.
Washed Up
For the past year or so I have posted new images each day and want to thank the more than three hundred followers that have been kind enough to join my photo blog in that time. To be honest, I have come to the realization that I am spending too much time taking photos and trying to keep my blog current, so things will be more sporadic from this point. The fact that I have close to 62,000 views in a year is great,but I am getting the feeling that it really does not mean a hill of beans to anyone what I do here,so consequently I will be doing random photo posts as opportunities arise.Right now life in general seems to be closing in on me,so simplifying things is my goal. The old washed up boat pretty much reflects how I feel right now. Maybe I will heed my daughter’s request and start taking my Happy Pills that have been sitting unused in the medicine cabinet for the last year. Catch you all later
Stubborn as a Mule
All eyes are on the left mule as he turns his back on his friends.He insisted on standing in the middle of the row,but the boss who had a size advantage set him straight. Now he turns in disgust avoiding any photographs with his team.
Train Daredevils
This motel is entirely made up of cabooses and as luck would have it,the little boy and girl poked their heads out just as I was composing the shot. At the time I did not notice the boy had no underwear on,so I had to clone out a tiny protrusion. Looks like they are headed down the tracks.
Sit and Rest
This statue sits on a grave overseeing a section of an old cemetery in Pennsylvania. Colorful flowers have been placed in her hand by an unknown person,and I found that the green aged patina on the statue contrasted nicely with the purple and white bouquet.
Night in Town
Another exercise in light painting. I lit all the porches and steps with flash to help show the details.
Mechanized Steel Army
Sometimes I think I just like to hear the camera shutter fire,and really have no clue why I chose to shoot this,but it strikes me as some sort of mechanized squad,ready to do battle. I can’t quite figure out what the contraption on the front is for unless it attaches to a dozer or something?
The Rabbit Lodge
This scene is one I decided to shoot this past weekend after we had a light snow pass through the area. This neighborhood has some very nice older homes and some include architectural elements that appeal to me for photos. This scene is right along the road,so I could shoot it from the street. The old dilapidated shed with lanterns that have been dark for years beckoned me to add some light to bring them to life. I placed a flash behind the lanterns to light them and then lit the snow and shed to show the details.The bottom photo shows my starting point and the top my final result. The title refers to the three rabbit tracks heading toward the shed.
Built to Last
Another image of the earth moving equipment featuring a closer view of the track assembly.All I can say is keep your fingers back please.Lit by off camera flash from several angles.
Dawn Approaches
A wet surface reflects lantern light as dawn rapidly advances.
Snowy Landscape
Another landscape illuminated by the full moon and one blast of my flash. Considering it was four thirty in the morning and one light was already on,I did not want to push my luck and fire my flash again.The flash helped reveal the snows texture.
Blacksmith Shop
Another foggy morning across the region. The old blacksmith shop is not open at this early hour,but a light on the barn shines on the sign hanging off the tree out front.The trees are looking a bit rough from being trimmed.
Turtle Rock
A somewhat poor attempt at light painting in the forest reveals a rock that reminds me of a turtle for some reason.I should have deleted the whole set I shot this day,but since I got up early to hike here,I figured I would post one.
Into the Woods
Admittedly this is not anything special,but I wanted to encourage anyone interested in photography to try painting with light. The two photos show the scene as it was on the bottom image and how it looked after firing a flash multiple times on the top image. It’s a little intimidating in the middle of the woods in pitch black,but it was a fun exercise. You can do this several ways,but this shot is actually one frame with about 20 flash pops over a 30 second exposure. I basically hit the shutter and started walking and firing my flash as I quickly made it as far as I could in thirty seconds. You could use multiple exposures and light one tree at a time,then blend the shots if you wanted.Remember that I said thirty-second exposure,so even though the bottom shot appears brighter than night-time,it was much darker in reality.
Quit Your Wine-ing!
This wine store is decorated for the holidays. I light painted the wine press and bottles with flash to bring the scene to life.
Flowers behind Glass
This close up window scene was captured at a state historic site,and I utilized flash to add some light to the scene inside.The flash also helped reveal the window texture,adding another detail. Everything was lit from outside by carefully directing the light.
Church Doors
These church doors were lit by multiple flash pops to bring out the beauty of the wood and stone.
Take a Bite
This digger could take a serious bite out of almost anything it dug its teeth into. I lit this in overcast conditions with a flash and the bucket alone was lit with one series of eight flashes on multiple exposure on my camera. I set the shutter speed to the highest allowable on my camera at a 250th of a second and set the camera to record 8 exposures on one frame. Eight shots were just on the edge of possibilities because each ambient exposure built up on the frame as I shot,so you have to watch for overexposure when you do that many on one frame. My usual technique is to overlay separate frames,but multiple exposure allows flash to build up on the frame with each blast,so you effectively can make your weak flash more powerful.I wish they used this thing to give you a scoop of mulch for landscaping,although my trailer tires would explode when it dumped the bucket.
Gazebo in Fog
This image comes thanks to encouragement from my friends who have been exploring light painting in the fog. The scene you see was taken in the dark on a very foggy evening.This gazebo is in a local park and I decided to give it a whirl with flash. The lights you see are lamp posts in the background,which if you notice, have been hidden behind posts and tree branches to keep them from overpowering the scene and the blue and yellow is from different types of bulbs. there was literally one spot where I could position the camera to hide all of them. I spent nearly two hours in the dark in this park in the fog and it was very magical with the lamps glowing in the stillness of the enveloping fog. I got there at the very edge of dusk,so exposures were running anywhere from thirty to sixty seconds plus. A light drizzle made things a little wet,but I shot several scenes this night.
The Foggy Lane
This foggy scene was captured as nightfall began to take hold. Homes and street lamps glow in the distance as the enveloping shroud of fog grew thicker.
Full Moon shines
Yet another very early morning shot with the full moon lighting up the landscape. A frozen pond reflects window light on its icy surface at this old mill.
A Star is Born
This snow scene was shot only a few hours later than my gazebo shot from yesterday. I literally went to bed just before midnight,tossed and turned as I thought about scenes to capture and climbed out of bed before 4am to head out looking. Again the full moon had the landscape lit up as evidenced by this shot taken around four thirty in the morning.A farm with silos glows in the distance as a bright star on top reflects in this peaceful stream.If you look closely,you can see stars in the night sky.
Gazebo in Snow
This little snow scene was taken in a local park and I am still amazed by the fact it was taken at almost eleven o’clock at night under a full moon. The images over the last several days were all shot in the same twenty-four hour period. The home in the distance adds a touch of balance to the shot.
Donald Reese Photography 