Flowering Crabapples

 Floral, Nature  2 Responses »
May 162014
 

Crabapple Tree ©2014 April Siegfried

Spring has finally arrived in Chicago, after a long and unusually harsh winter.

Yes, these are “flowers”—so difficult to see and photograph in a way that is fresh, that’s not similar to the thousands of images already housed in the data banks of our mind’s eye. Their abundant beauty is so welcome, however, that I can’t help but try to express that experience.

Click on any image above to view large as slide show (with 5 second pause between each.)

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Crabapple Tree
Panasonic DMC-FZ40; 1/25 sec @ f7.1, ISO 100 (handheld);
Focal length: 8.5mm (47mm EFL)

Crabapple Flowers
Nikon D300 ; 1/125 sec (handheld);
AF-S Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 G ED plus
Canon 500D Close-Up Lens

Urban Energy

 Walks  1 Response »
Jun 142013
 

Nikon D300; 1/45 sec @ f8, ISO 200 (handheld);
18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 @ 56mm (84mm EFL); focus distance .71m

 

Nikon D300; 1/90 sec @ f8, ISO 200 (handheld);
18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 @ 60mm (90mm EFL); focus distance .79m

Found in the alleyways of my neighborhood. I’m struck by the contrasts of formal labeling and uncontrolled energy.

Feathers

 Walks  2 Responses »
Aug 152012
 

One Feather
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Nikon D300; 1/60 sec @ f8, ISO 1250 (handheld);
18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance .89m

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Three Feathers
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Nikon D300; 1/60 sec @ f8, ISO 1100 (handheld);
18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance .89m

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Four Feathers
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Nikon D300; 1/60 sec @ f8, ISO 1250 (handheld);
18-200 mm f/3.5–5.6 @ 135mm (202mm EFL); focus distance 1.33m

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It was raining the other morning when I went to our local park, and sea gulls had flocked to the basketball court. They flew off when I approached, but left behind these tokens of their presence.

Kinetic

 Uncategorized  3 Responses »
Jan 072012
 

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Kinetic: “Of or relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith.”

Though the subject was stationary, a strong impression of movement and energy caught my attention in passing.

Typing the exposure specs, I’m wondering why on earth I used f9.5 when there wasn’t much depth in this scene? At f8 the camera would have dropped to a lower ISO to meet my minimum shutter speed of 1/180 sec for hand holding this lens. That, combined with its best aperture setting for sharpness would have led to an even clearer image without post-processing.

I think I got excited, and forgot to check. 😉

Oh, and Happy New Year!

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Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 1400 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 95mm (142mm EFL); focus distance 1.12m

Quiet

 Nature  6 Responses »
Sep 052011
 

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Standing up above the rest, this white flower caught my eye in the garden of a courtyard building in our neighborhood. The background is a sidewalk, which sits on a small rise above the bed of zinneas in hues of orange, pink and yellow.

The morning was very still and calm, with quiet light, so that’s the word that came to mind as a title for this image.

I’m thrilled to write that I’ll be assisting Marti Jeffers next spring during her workshop in Callaway Gardens and Warm Springs, Georgia, and hope to have the pleasure of meeting more of you in person there!

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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 360 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 2.66m

photographed “in the field” in one of the neighborhood courtyard gardens I regularly prowl. The background is a sidewalk, which sits on a small rise above a bed of zinneas. One flower in particular caught my eye…

Window Blind №6

 Walks  3 Responses »
May 152011
 

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I seem to have a “thing” for blinds…

To block reflections, this was photographed with the lens pressed flat against the window—a trick I learned from a video interview with Jay Maisel.

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Nikon D300; f5.6 @ 1/125 sec, ISO 3200 (handheld);
105mm f/2.8 @ 40mm (60mm EFL); focus distance .71m

Up and Down

 Walks  2 Responses »
Jan 022011
 

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Seen the day after Christmas—red and white!

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Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/125sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 90mm (135mm EFL); subject distance 14.96m