More for my Murfree Springs Wetlands series. The last post for this series featured the Night Herons that can be found there, this post will feature the Ducks!
All these shots were taken this summer at the Murfree Springs Wetlands, in Murfreesboro Tennessee
Thanks for looking!
I’ve got a good variety of shots this week – HDR, black and white, wildlife, flower, textured……. All kinds of good stuff!
Despite extremely hot temperatures (heat index at least at 110 2 days!) I was able able to get to the Radnor Lake 3 times this week.
I went Monday on my lunch break. It was very quiet that day, I didn’t get much other that this:
Still on the shallow depth of focus and the black and white kick!
On Tuesday I went before work and was able to catch this amazing sunrise from the shore of the lake
Yes, the lake really is very green – it’s the duckweed that is growing throughout the lake
After the sunrise died down, I headed out along the lake trail. Here is what I was able to capture:
I followed these two around for a while but could not get any better shots of the fawn. I got really close at one point but it was so dark that my shutter speed was around 1/20. I’m just not steady enough to get a clear shot at 1/20. I may need to invest in a good ball head tripod….
Finally by Friday it cooled down a lot – so I headed out on my lunch break. I didn’t see any wildlife, so I started taken some “random” shots:
Also found some wildflowers along Otter Creek Rd
On the way back to the car I got a shot of this butterfly and I wanted to try textures again (Last week’s lead shot was a textured butterfly photo also)
Also, while I was just about back at the car, this little woodpecker landed very close
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A very short week for me – I was traveling for work during most of the week. Unfortunately I was only able to visit Radnor Lake for 30-40 minutes on Friday.
I tried some different processing on the shot above, including adding textures. I think it turned out alright but I’m hoping for a much better week next week!
Here are some others I got:
This guy seemed to want his picture taken
A macro lens would be fun to use with these guys! There are tons of them at Radnor
My obsession with shallow DOF continues! I’ve also been converting more to black and white lately
Probably my favorite from this week – I like the simplicity and the light on the leaves.
So that’s all I managed in the short time I was there.
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A little something different for my main post for Week 20. The first black and white photo that I’ve chosen to lead off with. I really liked the light and shadows in this – and of course I love that shallow depth of focus (dof). It may not be as popular as some of my others but it really clicked with me for some reason, probably one I will print.
Here are the other shots from Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday:
Monday
Help needed in identifying this bird! Please tell me if you know!
EDIT – Thanks to Matt Hansen for the ID! This is a Yellow Billed Cuckoo
For this one, I was really trying to get a “Deer in the Woods” look, not just a portrait. I think it turned out alright, something I will continue trying to get
Wednesday
Thanks to the nice couple on the bridge who helped my identify this as a Green Heron
Thursday
Friday
Wow, lots of photos this week!
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Earlier this week I stopped by Franklin, Tennessee after work to get some photos. Before this, I had zero shots of the downtown area of Franklin.
I got lots of shots, we’ll break it up into categories…
HDR
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There were so many people and cars it was hard getting most of those shots. Once I found a composition I wanted I would have to wait several minutes to get it with no cars…
Black and White
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Downtown Franklin is well suited for Black and White photography
Color
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Most of these color shots looked so good in black and white also, but I needed to throw some color in there!
Hope you like the new look here! I’ve been wanting a wordpress template that would put my photos on an all black background and I’ve finally found it! I think it looks much better now….
Week 19 has come and gone. This week I visited Radnor Lake on Wednesday (noon), Thursday (noon) and Friday (early morning).
Wednesday I used my lunch break from work to go to the lake. Usually when I do this, I have to set an alarm on my phone to tell me when to head back to the car. Well, on Wednesday, I was walking around shooting, finding owls and deer, off in my own little world. I remember thinking to myself “seems like I’ve been here a while but I must have more time – my alarm hasn’t gone off yet!”. Shortly after, I suddenly realize the phone is not in my pocket! I headed for the car as quick as I could. Finally I got to the car, there was my phone buzzing away! I had been there for about an hour and fifteen minutes (would still take almost fifteen minutes to get back to the office)! Yikes! Luckily no one was looking for me and I didn’t really miss anything important, I don’t even think anyone noticed…
The skies were great that day so I wanted to get a good lake-scape
This is the same spot that I got the images from for Week 13 and Week 16
I then headed to where I normally see the owls and sure enough…
(I think he’s trying to hide from me 🙂 )
(These are all the same owl)
Also while standing there (waiting for my alarm to ring!) I saw this fawn and her mother cross the path
On Thursday I headed to the lake despite the HOT temperatures (and made sure I had my phone with me)
It was so hot I decided I was not going to walk far or stay long. I parked at the west entrance this time and headed up the lake trail. I didn’t go very far and I came across another owl – I had never seen one in this part of the park before
On Friday, I was able to go early in the morning – getting there just after 6am. I was walking along the lake trail and had made it quite a ways without getting many pictures. I saw lots of deer but nothing was coming out right for me. It was so dark this morning because of hazy/cloudy skies that almost everything I took was blurry. The shutter speeds were 1/20, 1/40 (even at 800 ISO).
I was walking along the path and I heard a bunch of birds being very noisy. There was a small tree nearby with a canopy of branches right on the side of the trail. I ducked under the branches and looked up – there was a Barred Owl that was no more that 10 feet away! I took a couple shots before he was spooked by some people walking.
This is only at 70mm – quality is not that great because it was very dark under the tree. 1/20 shutter speed at f2.8
He flew to a nearby branch where I got a couple more shots before he left
I then started back towards the car. On the way back I saw another Doe with a Fawn. I did everything I could to get a decent shot of these two but nothing seemed to go right. I followed/stalked for at least a quarter mile.
I then watched them emerge from some brush and there was a second fawn. I don’t think it belonged to this doe because she walked off with the other fawn and this one stayed. He came very close to me at one point.
He then wandered off and I headed to the car.
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I recently met up with the Nashville Photography Meetup Group for an evening of shooting in Downtown Nashville.
Since this is a photography blog and you didn’t come here to read, I’ll just post the pictures 🙂
(for a full tutorial on how I processed this image, click HERE)
Moving right along! Week 18 already….
I visited Radnor Lake on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Monday I was off work, so I took the kids to the zoo, after which we picked my wife up from work and headed to the lake. My son loves riding his bike so we brought it with us:
The kids enjoyed themselves, we were able to find deer, squirrels, birds, turtles and we even saw a couple owls!
On Tuesday I stopped by before heading to work. Along the path I found a fawn with, I presume, her mother
Heading back to the car, I got a flower shot. A Rose of Sharon, growing near the house on the dam walkway
The next day I again got to go before work. Arriving at 6 am I wandered up to the spillway bridge to take in the view of the lake from there. Noticed this Lightning Bug on the bridge railing
That’s some major depth of focus! Achieved by using a long focal length (180mm) and a wide open aperture (f2.8)
Further down the path I got another black and white deer portrait
This deer was walking along the path with everyone else!
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Cades Cove Round One was for landscapes, Cades Cove Round Two is for wildlife! I was absolutely amazed at the amount of wildlife we saw in just the few short hours we were there.
I had the pleasure of visiting Cades Cove, part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee, on Monday June 28.
I came back with over 300 photos! Tons of landscapes and so much wildlife. It was my first time visiting so I got all the “touristy” shots out of the way! It really was a beautiful place, I can’t wait to go again.
I have to give a big shout out to my flickr contact Anthony for the inspiration to visit this amazing place. His shots from Cades Cove and all around East Tennessee are so amazing.
Here is Round One – The Landscapes:
Stay tuned for Round Two – The Wildlife!
Southern Appalachian Spruce Fir – Roan Highlands, Tennessee/North CarolinaJune 13, 2017 - 8:27 pm
Blue Ridge Parkway Mile Post 19 – 20 Minute CliffJune 3, 2017 - 9:32 am
General Jackson – Charlottesville, VirginiaMay 30, 2017 - 8:40 pm
Frisco Pier – Cape Hatteras, North CarolinaMay 30, 2017 - 8:35 pm
Bodie Island Lighthouse and Milky Way – Nags Head, North CarolinaMay 30, 2017 - 8:30 pm