Attack & Resistance

Canon 100-400 L IS @220 mm f/16 1/4

It was cold and windy today, and I didn't feel like venturing far from home,
so I took some shots of two nearby office buildings, and used them to create
abstracts. In this image, the diagonal white lines seemed to me as if they were
attacking a wall or barrier, which was resisting the assault.

I'll be away for the next several days (unfortunately somewhere colder
rather than warmer), and probably won't have the opportunity to post
any images until Jan. 1.

Happy New Year!

Innocence

Canon 24-70L @51 mm f/4.5 1/13

Like children, cats look so innocent when they're sleeping that it's difficult to
imagine all the mischief they can get into while they're awake.

Here Frosty is napping before his next assault on the Christmas tree.

Happy Holidays!

Photo Friday: Tacky

Cafe Hon, Hampden Neighborbood, Baltimore

Canon 24-70 L @35 mm 1/500 f/5.6

Pink flamingos are beautiful birds, but as decorations they are . . .
well . . . tacky.

As I mentioned in an earlier post (Dec. 7, 2004), Hampden is
a quirky working-class Baltimore neighborhood that has
become somewhat trendy. The pink flamingo is seen frequently
as a decorative accent, sometimes but not always presented tongue
-in-cheek. Cafe Hon is a Hampden institution, and not only
displays the pink flamingo proudly, but also takes its name from
the (tacky?) tendency of many native Baltimoreans to call everybody
"Hon" (as in "Honey").

Theme Thursday: Vehicle

Hood Ornament

Canon 50 mm 1/160 f/8

Birds of Australia VII: Masked Lapwing

Hey! What Are You Lookin' At?

Canon 100-400 L IS @ 400 mm 1/1600 f/7.1

That Worm Was THIS Big

Canon 100-400 L IS @115 mm 1/1250 f/7.1

"Unmistakable in both appearance and voice" says my little book on Australian birds. Right again. I slowly approached this bird in a grassy field at Macquarie University in Sydney. It seemed unperturbed at first, but eventually started to berate me in a harsh voice. (My book says, "the voice is a staccato kekekekekekekek," which seems like a lot of kes but was a pretty accurate description.) When the bird then spread its wings in an apparent threat gesture, I took the hint and withdrew.

Birds of Australia VI: Avian Punk

Canon 100-400 L IS @220 mm f/7.1 1/1000

This is a Crested Pigeon I saw on the campus of Macquarie University
in Sydney.

Amber Eye

Tamron 90 mm macro f/16 1/5

The weather was bad here today -- rainy, then windy, cold and snowy. I decided
to stay indoors and try some macro photography. This was the image I liked best.

Theme Thursday: Container

Tea Time


Canon 24-70 L @50 mm 1/200 f/2.8

Tea pots ready for the afternoon tea crowd in Katoomba, NSW, Australia

Euclidean Geometry

Canon 100-400 L IS @ 105 mm f/16 1/400

Structure at a construction site for a building on the Johns Hopkins University
campus in Baltimore. I liked the simplicity, the strong lines, and the geometric
shapes described by the beams and wires. The scene made me think of high
school geometry problems about congruent triangles.

Photo Friday: Abandoned

Abandoned 19th-Century Boarding House, Oregon Ridge, Maryland


Canon 24-70 L @30 mm f/2.8 1/100

Birds of Australia V

They Went That-a-Way


Canon 100-400 L IS @ 400 mm f/6.3 1/1250

This is a New Holland Honeyeater at Royal National Park just
south of Sydney. According to my little book on Australian
birds, "This attractive bird is rarely still for very long."
They can say that again! This one didn't stay in one
place for more than a few seconds, and I had a difficult time
getting a halfway decent shot. (I did get several that show
an interesting but unidentifiable colored blur.)

After today, I'm going to take a break from birds for a few days.
I promise.

By the way, I discovered that my account on Blogger was set up so
that only people with Blogger accounts could post comments. I've
changed this, and everyone can now comment. So if you've been
dying to comment but couldn't, now's your chance.

Back to Birds

Birds of Australia IV: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Cockatoos were common in the Sydney area, which I found amazing, because I had never seen them in the wild. Some of them were quite unafraid, and walked up to me while I was taking photos, climbing on my shoes and legs, and nipping at my camera bag.

When a cockatoo is calm, the yellow feathers of its crest are folded together, as Photo 1 below. Photo 2 shows what happens when the bird is startled.

Photo 1: Relaxed Cockatoo

Canon 100-400 L IS @200 mm f/5.0 1/2000

Photo 2: Startled Cockatoo


Canon 100-400 L IS @100 mm f/4.5 1/1000

Stairway to ?

Canon 100-400 L IS @ 160 mm 1/200 f/5.0

Construction scaffolding on the Johns Hopkins University campus, Baltimore, MD

Water Lily: Color or B/W?

This is another shot from the lily pond in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.

I'm not sure whether it works better in color or B/W and would welcome some advice.

Water Lily: Color

Canon 100-400 L IS @250 mm f/8 1/1000


Water Lily: B/W

Canon 100-400 L IS @250 mm f/8 1/1000

Update 12/14/04
In response to JoanMain's comment about cropping, I tried two different crops.

Here is approximately what I understood Joan to be suggesting:




Here is an even tighter crop:

Birds of Australia III

Red Parrot in the Blue Mountains


Canon 100-400 L IS @250mm f/5.0 1/160

These beautiful birds were a fairly common sight in the Blue Mountains.

I-95 Blues (& Reds & Greens)

I spent a lot of time on I-95 in the last three days: two Baltimore-Washington round trips, and one Baltimore-Philadelphia journey. The traffic was even worse than usual (and it's usually awful), so by the time I made it home tonight I was hoping never to see the cursed road again. Below are two shots I took on the rainy drive home from Philadelphia last night.

I-95: Frayed Nerves

Canon 17-40 L @70 mm f/7.1 8 sec

This is how I felt after fighting the traffic near Philadelphia


I-95: Approaching Aberdeen
Canon 17-40 L @66 mm f/7.1 6 sec

By the time I reached Aberdeen, MD, a bit north of Baltimore, everything was running together and strange lights were dancing in front of my eyes.

Photo Friday: Reflections

Canon 100-400 L IS @400mm 1/800 f/5.6

Reflected Flowers in Lily Pond, Balboa Park, San Diego, California

(See Three Sisters post from December 3 for the flowers themselves)

Theme Thursday: Light

Canon 24-70 L @70 mm f/2.8 1/100

Again, Hampden

Chorus Line at the Hon Bar


Canon 24-70 L @38 mm f/5.6 1/3200

Note once again the pink flamingo and 'hon' motifs



Keeping a Low Profile


Canon 24-70 L @ 42 mm f/3.5 1/125

Welcome to Hampden, Hon!

Hampden is an engagingly quirky Baltimore neighborhood that has recently become somewhat trendy while retaining much of its original working class character. The pink flamingo is a frequently-seen decorative accent in businesses and homes, sometimes used tongue-in-cheek and, alas, sometimes not. The neighborhood has street after street of the rowhouses typical of Baltimore, but often with more vibrant colors than elsewhere. Another Baltimore idiosyncracy much in evidence is the tendency of residents to call everyone, friend and stranger alike, "hon" (as in server to customer: "What can I getcha, hon?").

Rowhouses of Hampden


Canon 17-40 L @19 mm f/9.0 1/500

Birds of Australia II

Rainbow Lorikeet


Canon 100-400 L IS @400 mm f/5.6 1/125

These aptly named birds are fairly common in the Sydney area, but usually stay pretty high up in the trees, so I had a hard time getting a decent shot. This was one of a pair nesting in the hollow of a tree in a small patch of woods on the Macquarie University campus. At times both birds would be hidden within the hollow, then one or both would poke their heads out. Unfortunately, I found them only a few days before I left Australia and didn't have a chance to see them raise young.

Tears in the Fabric of Reality


Canon 24-70 L @62 mm f/5.6 1/800 with polarizer

I was intrigued by this torn billboard on a walk through the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore this morning.

Birds of Australia I

Eastern Yellow Robin
Category: Birds


Canon 100-400 L IS @400 mm 1/320 f/5.6

This tiny little bird was flitting from tree to tree near the entrance to hiking trails in the Blue Mountains (near Sydney, NSW, Australia), pausing just long enough for me to get this shot.

Three Sisters
Categories: Nature, Flowers


Canon 100-400 L IS @400mm 1/800 f/5.6

I was up late last night taking photos of baby carrots for my Photo Friday entry (see yesterday's post), and just barely made the submission deadline. Tonight I'm posting another shot from my recent visit to San Diego. this one was taken at the lily pond in Balboa Park. Several varieties of water lilies were blooming, and some were reflected nicely in the water.

Photo Friday: Prosperity

24-Carrot Prosperity




A hamster's fantasy, with carrot mountain courtesy of Photoshop.
For original see November 26 post.

Falling Water
Categories: Travel, Nature


Canon 17-40 L @17 mm 1/8 f/4.0

While visiting Australia last July, I took an early morning walk in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, and came upon this tranquil waterfall after climbing down a long way. The walk back up was about twice as far.

I have almost no experience with B/W photography, and I'm not sure I'm satisfied with how I've captured the tonal range in the scene. Comments welcome.