Thursday, September 27, 2012


   After foolishly selecting what turned out to be a painting for my last blog. I decided to go to National Geographic's website and browse around in their Photography section. There are a ton of really beautiful pictures (not surprisingly) worth taking a look at. I'm curious about what filters were used, if any and if the photographer took a long exposure or was just lucky enough to get 'perfect' settings for her to just snap the picture. I feel like the tree in the middle-left helps balance the shot with the moon (very bright moon) since its so dark, but is also full of jagged lines. This photograph was taken up in Alaska by Susan Stevenson.
                        http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/



Another night-time shot. According to the photographer, this was an all-night exposure taken on a mountain in British Columbia. I think this might be an exception of curved lines (star trails) being more attractive to the eye than jagged lines (the trees.) The yellow and orange light in the bottom left half kind of adds a "Starry Night" quality to the whole thing, don't you think? It's also great for drawing attention to the horizon and makes me feel like the picture is really grounded thanks to the extra attention to the earth and trees.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Barn Owl in Flight


Here is a picture painting of a barn owl in flight I found through google image search. Since owls tend to glide while they fly, would it be necessary to use a shutter speed of 800 to freeze this bird in flight? I like how the background doesn't appear to be blurred and how the eyes of the owl are in focus as well. Was Photoshop used to brighten or saturate the colors in the picture? It simply looks too perfect to me. Here is a link to the blog I found this picture on: http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com/2010/10/barn-owl.html

                           This is actually a painting, not a Photoshop touch-up. I feel silly.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Drinking Bat


Here is a neat picture of a bat I found on one of my adventures on the internet. The author said he had to take numerous sets of pictures to get just a few satisfactory ones. He also mentioned how he had to adjust when he told the camera to start taking pictures since the bats darted in and out of the shots so fast and because cameras have an apparent 'lag'. In other words he had to anticipate how fast they were going and when they would be in the center of his shot and time when he would need the camera to start taking the picture. He also mentioned that he had used 4 flashes set on either side of his camera when he was taking pictures of bats drinking out of his hummingbird  feeder.
       I like the various droplets of water, especially the ones that seem to be in focus, that look suspended around the bat's body. The reflection of the bat in the water also draws out some colors that are not noticeable (or nonexistent) on the bat's wings. The 'marbling' or pond scum... not entirely sure what that greenish stuff on the water is in the middle is cool, but it sort of takes away from the overall presence of the main subject.
 Credit for the picture and more bat photos: http://hoothollow.com/Question-May%202009%20Photographing%20bats.html

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Spider Having Breakfast


I really like this image, however I sort of wish it was taken from the other side of the web so the spider's face could be seen instead of its underbelly. However, seeing what the spider has snagged is also a nice touch. I like how in this image, even though it is a still one, it is obvious by the tearing of the webbing that the grasshopper fought to free itself before being rendered helpless. I'm not entirely sure if the droplets are from morning dew or if they are actually droplets of the spider 'glue' which is naturally on web silk. Are macro lenses necessary for all insect life?