The Light and the Way

15 seconds at f/3.5 (ISO 8000)

I have been experimenting making pictures of the Milky Way. I am fortunate to live in a place where it visible under the right conditions quite often. I really have to push the camera to its limits to get the image, and then it takes a lot of tweaking in post processing to get something similar to what you see with your eyes. This picture is my best effort so far. It helped that a meteor cooperated, which I didn't see until I looked at the image on my computer.

Beach Day

1/125 @ f/10

Headed back to Vineyard Haven after an assignment, saw this picture set up with the beach umbrellas and the thin puffy clouds. Fortunately, turned around and caught a parking space.

California Chrome

1/40 second at f/5.6

I am at Belmont Park, where California Chrome will try to become the 12th Thoroughbred in history to win the Triple Crown. He won the Kentucky Derby, then the Preakness Stakes, and only the Belmont Stakes is left. It will be a very difficult task, the Triple Crown is one of the rarest things in all of sports. He seems to be quite a ham, he stopped and posed for a close-up this morning as he cooled out along the shedrow after an easy gallop, and a bath.

Under the Pier

30 seconds @ f/14

I usually have second thoughts when I set the alarm for 3:30 a.m., but the first clear morning in weeks was forecast. I was headed for a different location, but went back to this pier for the 10th or 11th time. This picture got more reaction than any other photo I have taken. It was kind of a happy accident, and about half the image is cropped out. It is a good example of the rule of thirds. As soon as I was finished processing, I knew I wanted to go back and take a slightly different angle, to get more color coming between the piles. I did, and I like the result below, but I'm not sure I like it better than the happy accident.

Purchase a photograph

182 seconds @ f/20

Owl on the Prowl

1/800 at f/5.6

After many hours and many attempts to find a snowy owl, my friends Dann and Joy and I found one on State Beach. We were inching closer and closer when the owl lifted off, banked, and flew right by me. For once, I was ready, and got three good shots. I was using auto-focus, and was never so grateful for the smart people at Nikon. The camera focusing system is smart enough to focus on the bird's body, not the wing. That resulted in a good sharp image of the owl's eye, watching us very warily.

Edgartown Light Christmas Moon

1.3 second at f/4.8

This photo got a lot of very nice compliments, but it wasn't the shot I planned. Everything was falling into place, the full moon rising over the ocean big as life, still some sunlight left, but... but... but... the Christmas lights wouldn't come on. They were set to a timer, and by the time they came on, there was very little daylight left, and the moon was pretty high in the sky. Still it might be a Christmas card by next year.

Edgartown Light Fireworks

1.3 seconds at f/8

Fireworks over Edgartown Light to ring in the New Year. I love to shoot fireworks, even on a really cold night like this. But I'm rarely happy with the results. If I timed this so my shutter was open just another 1/3 second, it might have been spectacular with the small burst just over the light. Oh well, there's always next New Year's.

God Rays in Aquinnah

1/500 second at f/6.3

For some reason, I see this phenomenon a lot in Aquinnah. This is off Philbin Beach. My friend Chris calls this God rays, but my friend Janet said she has always heard it described as an angel sky. I like the black and white treatment, but there's a color shot, with a little different take, below. 

Lucy Vincent Abstract

1/3 second at f/32

Spent a wonderful morning on Lucy Vincent Beach recently. I had very little sleep, but there was not time to get tired because every time I turned around, there was something else to shoot. This is an abstract made by panning the camera fast past the very tip of the rising sun. The movement of the camera blends and smooths the colors. Two more shots below.