This trio of youngsters were playing near the barn as I was driving by. I was forced to stop because there were two buggies in the middle of the road talking to each other and they seemed in no hurry to let me pass,so I turned around and snapped this quick image as I drove away.The gladiolas add a nice touch in the background.
Blue and Brown Clippers
These two butterflies are called the Blue clipper and the Brown clipper.
Steel Wool Spectacle
I finally gave my steel wool spinner device a test run this past weekend, and it was more impressive than I expected. After a rainy friday and a quick shot from the garden hose before I did it, the yard was ready to handle the flaming steel wool. To accomplish this effect, I set up my tripod and waited till the ambient light dropped and my exposure was around 8 to 15 seconds at f11.At that point, I put on long pants,a long sleeve shirt,a hat, a face shield,and gloves and grabbed the steel wool device. This is nothing more than a steel kitchen whisk with steel wool stuffed inside, connected to a steel cable on a handle and then it gets lit and rapidly spun. You light the steel wool by touching a 9-volt battery to it and then spin it quickly to give the burning steel wool as much oxygen as possible.
The top image features me spinning the contraption all around me and you can see the steel wool even bounced on the grass a bit,and the bottom image was spun in just a circle,but the bright area shooting up to the right is actually a piece of steel wool that broke loose and landed in our tree.If you are brave enough to try this, do it in a safe setting,keep water nearby and protect yourself and camera.There was a fellow on the internet that had a flaming ember land on his eighteen hundred-dollar lens and fuse fast to the front element,which would not be good. Each ball of steel wool burns about 30-60 seconds and then you load a new piece. Also the real fine stuff works better than coarse steel wool.
The hilltop vista
This hilltop vista allows one to see farm after farm stacked behind one another, and the farmer working the land was the icing on the cake for this image. Wish I lived at this spot so I could get lightning flickering across the landscape during storms.
Farm country flight
A peaceful morning flight over farm country includes some tree top hovering.
The Tiny Atala
One of the smaller butterflies I have photographed over the years as well as one of the toughest. The Atala butterfly is about the size of a quarter, and its deep black color makes it hard to show detail.This one kindly sat for several exposures.
Class dismissed
A lovely evening draws to a close as a gorgeous sunset paints the sky behind a one room school.
The Painted lady
The painted lady butterfly has always been one of my favorites, but I do not see as many of them as I did years ago. This one was the only one I saw all day last week, and while it’s not my best shot,it’s the most recent. Anyone interested in doing this type of shot should do their best to get the head sharp. This shot is barely acceptable, as he was turning away from me while I was focusing. If the wings are sharp and not the head,forget it. Its like doing a portrait of a person and having their hair sharp and not their eyes. Little things like that make or break a shot.
Thunderheads forming
Another evening of amazing clouds rolling across the farm land. I used a polarizer to bring out the contrast between blue sky and the clouds. I had to wait about twenty minutes till the clouds were across the whole farm.
Arriving by wagon
This image is one of those special moments that make being a photographer so rewarding for me. The young girls were riding on this miniature cart and were making their way to sunday church service at a local farm when they passed me at a covered bridge I was photographing with a friend. They headed on their way up the road and I decided to get in my truck and try and get one more photo of something I have never seen before, and figured never would again. They turned down this farm lane with others who were arriving on foot and I took this image through my open car window pretty quickly. Although I am extremely thrilled with the photo, For some reason I have this bad habit of tilting my head and consequently my camera when I shoot handheld,and the image was slightly tilted.My framing was less than ideal in this hurried moment so the image has a touch of tilt yet.
Something I missed was a shot from the front showing the miniature horse that was pulling them,and he must have been a little powerhouse to pull five youngsters. The other thing I really like about this image are the colors the people are wearing,and admittedly I am no expert on Amish ways and I have always wondered how or why they pick certain colors. they are usually very lovely hues and I have seen families dressed in the same color palette on more than one occasion.
Malachite Butterfly
This malachite butterfly seems precariously perched on this plant,but he was at a perfect angle to get a pleasing shot.
Farm country tour
Another shot of he E-M-F group touring the farm country.
Farmland full moon
This is last nights full moon rising over a pair of farms. I went out with a friend to this spot we had tried for during last months full moon, and after using his cell phone to utilize the program called The Photographers Ephemeris,we were in disagreement over were it said the moon would hit the horizon. I used my compass and the coordinates the program said and as it ended up ,I was in the right spot and my friend was down the road a hundred yards or so in the wrong spot. It takes a little effort to look at the satellite image and decide exactly were you are and need to be,but it is a great tool. The moon was not visible right away,but became stronger as it climbed. I had to shoot from my truck roof because the corn was too high to see the farms.
Here is a screen shot of the program we use. the colored lines show you all the rise/set positions.this is the portland headlight in Maine as an example.
Power of Nature
Another image taken during the fast-moving storm last week.
The Marvels of Transportation
This is the second image I am posting from the E-M-F car tour through scenic Lancaster county. The group made a planned stop at the Strasburg Railroad were they were treated to a special tour of the working railroad shop. The railroad welcomed the entourage of drivers and their antique cars with open arms and provided them Vip parking near the station. This image is the result of me climbing on the roof of my truck, setting up my tripod, and waiting for the train to pass behind the cars as it returned to the station.Passengers returning on this particular train not only enjoyed a tour through the scenic farmland but they also had an opportunity to walk around these special cars after they disembarked from the train. Sometimes gaining a little height can make all the difference in getting a shot and this was one of those times.
The sky was falling
Last week included some strong weather systems moving through, so one evening I headed to this location to hopefully shoot lightning over the farm on the right. I arrived with basically clear skies all around and set up the telephoto to zoom in on the farm. After about an hour, I decided to call my friend who lives about 10 miles away and ask if he saw any black skies? He immediately said the sky was black and winds were howling, but I said yeah right,because this vista offers a view for miles and it was clear. About two minutes later the sky went real black and These amazing clouds rolled in fast. It got so ominous that I feared getting out of my truck to get my camera and tripod,but I made a mad dash anyway. The sky literally looked as if it were coming down on me, and can’t remember seeing anything like it before. This wide-angle shot was out my window and was the best I could muster in short order. Lightning barely made an appearance through the whole event.
Life in the slow lane
This past week I came across a group of car enthusiasts that were touring the countryside throughout Lancaster county. The group spent five days navigating the scenic back roads and also spent time visiting several county sites of interest. The group included owners of what are known as E-M-F cars, which are early 1900 vehicles built by Byron Everitt, William Metzger, and Walter Flanders. This image is the result of some planning, and a dash of luck, which I will explain.
I got the itinerary for the day from the organizer and decided on a spot to shoot them as they drove by. I took a few images at the location I picked and then decided I was going to get ahead of the group for a second attempt. The second spot included a covered bridge, but as I got to the road, it was closed for repaving,so I tried to find another road to access the planned route. Thankfully one lane was still open,and it allowed me to get this image of the cars coming through the bridge and a buggy waiting his turn as well. This image would have been all but impossible if the road were not closed to traffic for the road work. Usually cars file down this road one after another, but I actually set up my tripod on the road and shot a series as they all came through the bridge. These cars are full of character and draw a crowd wherever they go. If you want to learn more about them, check out E-M-F Company on the net. I may post another shot or two in the coming weeks.
Swallowtail Beauty
A swallowtail feeds on a flower, and more out of focus flowers allow the butterfly to stand out. I like the color contrast here.
Common Lacewing Butterfly
Purple flowers provide the perfect backdrop for this common lacewing butterfly.
Golden butterfly
This is yet another butterfly image from last week. No clue what it is,but a real beauty for sure.
Fancy Wheels
This is another one of those moments where the planets aligned at just the right instant. I decided to get a photo of the five girls walking and talking, and as I pulled up to the stop sign I saw the horse and cart coming up the road.I pre-visualized the spot they might meet,pre-focused and took 4 images in a row. This was the one that was the winner because the others had too much subject overlap, and I liked the way the horse and driver seem to be looking at the girls. Perhaps this gentleman might be a future husband to one of these young ladies, as his cart was on the fancier side and might have impressed one of them.
Banded Orange Butterfly
Another butterfly image featuring a banded orange butterfly on what I think are zinnias. Photographed with a 105 macro lens and flash. I generally try to balance the ambient light with the flash to avoid black backgrounds.
A Day of Rest
I headed out to do some photography with a good friend on sunday morning,and We headed out at 430am in the hopes of a great sunrise,but that was a total flop. As we made our way home, we came across these colorfully dressed members of the local Amish community heading to church. I took this photo from the car using a 400 mm telephoto.
Flights of Fancy
The next week or so will include random posts featuring butterflies that I shot in the last few days. This one is called a citrus swallowtail.
Oak Hill Chapel
This is another infrared image featuring the chapel at the oak hill cemetery in Washington,D.C.. It was very peaceful in the place, but the trip to get there was a real anxiety laced ordeal for me. I have a real problem with being in traffic jams that just sit there, and this trip included just that.
Common Blue Morpho
This butterfly is beautiful on the outside, but you should see the vivid blue color when it opens.Shot handheld with a 105 micro lens and flashes on a bracket
Kentucky Derby or Bust
This little guy is being led by an even littler gal as they enjoy playing with this unique kids carriage. Wont be too long till they will be driving dads buggy and then their own buggy.
Malachite on Flower
This Malachite butterfly sat long enough for me to get parallel to his wings and get the shot.For anyone wanting to do these type of shots, get as parallel as possible to get maximum sharpness and use flash to freeze motion. I see so many people shooting at whatever angle they feel like and then they get a sliver of acceptable sharpness due to depth of field limitations. This was shot around f16.
Passing Storm
This was shot the same evening as the thunderhead image from yesterday and was pure luck to get the lightning bolts. The evening looked like it was done storming, but as I started the truck to head home, I noticed a flicker off to the right. I set up my tripod just outside my driver’s side window, and hit the shutter every 15 seconds or so in a mini burst. The bolts were very infrequent and miles away, but I happened to get these two on one shot. As mentioned before, daylight lightning is very hard without a lightning trigger, and this image was shot at f32 at a third of a second. I never stop down that far because image quality degrades at small apertures,but my only other choice would be a neutral density filter and with a 400mm lens,quality would drop as well. I captured a couple other bolts,but they were blurred due to me pressing the shutter too hard. There was actually a mini rainbow that appeared off camera for about 15 seconds as well, but disappeared before I decided to shoot it.
Thunder Heads
Actually I am not sure if these are what are referred to as thunder heads,but there were rumbles of thunder in the distance as I frantically drove around sunday trying to get a shot of these formations. I was hoping for a good lightning show,but only saw an occasional flicker from these clouds. Finding a decent foreground proved to be tougher than I thought, but I am satisfied with this one.
Donald Reese Photography 