Crabs!

Lumix G5, Lumix 100-300mm

A crabby series! :)

We were in Sausalito last month walking on Bridgeway, the street right next to the water. The sun was just coming out when we saw these little crabs sneaking up out of the water to get some sun for themselves. They were small, only around 3 to 5 inches across and they were shy. If you get too close, they go back into hiding.

--Warren

Life Amid the Raging Torrent

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 45-200mm

As Dan alluded to in his last post, in contrast to the falls in Zion, the falls in Yosemite were in their full power and glory last weekend.

Yosemite's showpiece, Yosemite Falls, was a thunderous, raging torrent. As I was looking for a shot, I noticed a young tree halfway up the falls seemingly defying all odds by thriving right there, at the bottom of the spectacular upper Yosemite Falls. It's there in the lower left area of the picture. If you study it, you'll notice that the lower half of the young tree is behind a piece of granite which shields it from the wind and mist of the falls. The upper half is peeking up above the granite wall.

On this trip, Gail used the GF1 exclusively with the Lumix 14-45mm. I used the G1 with the 20mm or the 45-200mm zoom. This is the first time that I brought such a long lens to Yosemite, so naturally I took the opportunity to use the long zoom to get some "different" looks. It's always interesting and challenging to get "different" images at places like Yosemite or San Francisco that are photographed so often.

--Warren

Maple Leaves

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14-45mm

This was taken last fall, but I'm just getting around to posting it now.

--Warren

Dragonfly

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14-45mm

I liked the shadow that it cast on the metal bar that it was perched on.

--Warren

Foggy Morning View from Tamalpais

Nikon D100

These were taken on the same morning as the Twin Peaks pictures. Before I got to the view, I met a local Mt. Tam. lizard :)

The City blanketed in fog:

View of the Pacific Coastline south of Mt. Tam.:

A Golden Gate Bridge tower peaks through the fog:

Looking North:

Pelican Pair

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

Nature's formation flyers.

I practiced on the local seabirds from my chosen vantage point while waiting for the Blue Angels.

--Warren

Under the Bridge

At Druid Ridge, a convoy of ducks sails under the old bridge and into the small stream that feeds the pond.

Through a little Googling, I found that the white "AFLAC" ducks are called Pekin Duck or (in the USA) Long Island Duck. They developed in China centuries ago. When you have roast duck or duck eggs, it's most likely that you're eating one of these quackers.

After hanging around these guys, I've really grown to like them. I think I'll stick to chicken.

Formation Splashdown

These Canada geese are part of a flock that arrived here years ago on a tourist visa while migrating South and decided to stay. For some reason, USCIS doesn't seem to be interested in doing anything about it. And since I'm married to a Canadian, I have a little compassion for them, so I'm not complaining.

They don't do much but waddle around, eat, poop, and kvetch loudly ... but every once in a while, a flight of them will take off, circle around to the main road, and come back for a water landing. When they do, you can get some good photos.

Laid-Back Mallard

This is one kool katchke!

Scowling Goose

In contrast to the ducks, who always appear to be smiling, these geese at Druid Ridge pond seem to be perpetually annoyed. This one is giving me a real stink-eye.

Blue Heron on Far Bank

Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville is a nice place to visit on a sunny Sunday morning - well, not the dead people's part, but the large duck pond on the edge of the grounds.

The pond has a large permanent population of various kinds of ducks and geese. Like much of the mid-Atlantic, formerly migratory Canada geese have made a permanent home here.

If you get here early enough, you may luck out and spot a blue heron who also makes his home here.

This place is only about a half-mile from my mom's place, so I've been bringing my camera whenever I go to see her, in case I have a few minutes to stop and see my feathered friends.

Backlit Backyard Leaves

Last Thursday after work, I went out of my way to go shooting in a fancy-schmantzy neighborhood of Baltimore. When I came home and got out of my car, I happened to notice some beautiful backlighting on some on these hostas at the side of our house.

After all was said and done, this was the only good photo of the day. I wouldn't say at all that the special trip to that fancy neighborhood was a waste, but it's funny how I found the best image right in my backyard.

Ginkgo Fan

Yes, you could say I'm a ginkgo fan.

I never really noticed their elegant, fan-shaped leaves until I worked in Towson some years ago on a three-month contract. It was fall, and Pennsylvania Avenue in greater downtown Towson is graced with quite a few ginkgo trees. Even then, I didn't notice the leaves until they started to turn color and fall.

The ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba, is itself quite intersting. Among plants, it is sui generis, being the only species in the genus Ginkgo, which is the only member of the family Ginkgoaceae, in turn the only family in the order Ginkgoaceae, itself the only member of the class Ginkgoopsida, which is, you guessed it, the only member of the phylum Ginkgophyta.

Even among trees, ginkgos are especially long-lived and have been around longer than any other species - over 200 million years.

For this photo, I made use of a photographic axiom I learned years ago:

"Get close... then get closer."

The macro mode of my digicam (Canon A620) let me "get closer," and some nice late-afternoon sidelighting contributed to make a dramatic image.

Leaf on 21st Street

Our wonderful Israeli cousins Tammy and Itzik were in Washington this past week, and we drove to DC to pick them up at their hotel and spend the day with them. Mindful of the dictum, "it always pays to schlepp one's camera, I grabbed my Adorama Slinger as I headed out from home.

With the exception of our recent Shutterbug Excursions outing to Great Falls, I hadn't taken any decent fall foliage photos... and no fall close-ups or macros at all. But after I dropped my gang off at the hotel and parked my car around the block on 21st Street, I found this classic autumn leaf laying around in the curb. Moving it to the nicely-bricked sidewalk, I saw this ready-made frame and snapped a few shots.

This may have to do for Fall 2008. The leaves are still colorful on the trees, but there aren't too many left.

A Rare Picture by Jill, Our Resident Artist

Nikon N65, Nikon 28-85mm AFD

Please excuse the awful scan job. I scanned this on my flatbed scanner from a 4x6 print that Jill sent to me.

I told her that it was a great picture, and that I was going to post it to the forum. I believe this Egret was seen and photographed at Stow Lake. Jill will have to confirm when she comes online one of these days.

As you'll recall, Martin and I both took pictures of a bird that I think we erroneously called a crane when in fact, it was probably an egret like this one. Our pictures were posted 2 years apart, and here is Jill's version shot another two years from the last one!

If you do a search for "crane", you'll see the other pictures. Interestingly, all three pictures were taken with film cameras. This morning, I saw Martin in Golden Gate Park and he tells me that he is now stalking birds with his new Canon DSLR.

--Warren