Birthday Flowers

Gerber Daisy

As many of you know, I recently celebrated a birthday.  I have stopped telling my age, though.

Carol gave me flowers, Gerber Daisies.  I really liked them.  It reminded me of a very popular shot of a Gerber Daisy from nine years ago which I call "Daisy Pink."

Gerber Daisy

I thought I would revisit photography of the Gerber Daisy with an eye to an imaginative rendition different from the back lit shot from 2005.

Gerber Daisy

Carol is a sales person and I think that about everyone in the family has a copy of that back lit shot because she convinced them they needed it.

Gerber Daisy

She has not seen these shots, as yet, so we will see what reaction, if any, she has.

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Wildlife Photography

White-tailed Deer

I chose this image for my 2014 Calendar for the family.  It has the magical number of subjects, three.  It was shot in September, probably before the male began to regrow his antlers.  

The problem I encountered was the lack of sharp focus on all three.  I shot them hand held using my Sigma 50 - 500 lens.  There were three captures, roughly 3/8 of a second before they moved.  I rejected all three images.  Two days later as I walked and thought, I wondered if they had held still during that short period time.  I check the images again and found that they had and miracle of miracles I had two images in which all three were sharply focused.  I used focus stacking in CS5 and made one good shot out of two.

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Print Mounting Update

Test Print

This test occurred last month in my garage.  The print was mounted on single thickness mat treated on the back with Print Shield, a very expensive application.  I used the larger mount, too.  It did well in the garage until it warmed up and rained.  Then it curled.  Reject that idea!

I am currently using Lauan, a Philippine Mahogany plywood, used as floor under layment.  It is sanded, one side, and quite smooth.  It is 3/16 inch. thick.  The key to my using it came from my neighbor, Mike, who mentioned that it can be cut with a knife.

 

Smooth Mounting Surface

As mentioned earlier, it is sanded one side and has a very smooth surface upon which to mount the prints.

Cutting Lauan

It can be cut with a knife, as mentioned earlier.  It, of course, is not as easy to cut as mat board.  I must replace the blades more often and watch they they don't wiggle during the cut.  I find that a light score is the way to begin.  Many passes make better cuts than few passes.  Too much pressure will cause the blade to wiggle, very undesirable when cutting it back the the edge of the print.

Filled Surface Defects

I inspect the surface for minute imperfections.  I fill them with dry wall filler or wood filler.  Overall, it provides a very smooth surface which does not show through glossy mounted prints.

Sanded, Filled Lauan

I have made several prints, mounting them on Lauan.  I like them much better than double thick backing board which seems to curl also, even when painted on the back.

Speaking of painting, I paint the back of the Lauan before I mount the print.  I use latex which provides a moisture barrier that I consider more reasonably priced.  I plan to test one as soon as I have a "mistake" I can use.  I believe I have found the solution to curling.  

I have not mounted the pull downs on the Lauan as yet.  I would eventually like to resume that practice.

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Detritus

Detritus

I noticed this conglomeration of detritus as I sat looking for insects.  It was just far enough away that my naked eye could not make sense of it.  I looked at it through my camera and started shooting.  This is the result.  I thought it resembled some sort of serpent which it is not.  It is really a bent cattail stem.  I am not as excited about it now as I was at the time.  It is coming up for printing and I am wondering if I will go ahead and print it.  Only time will tell.  It could end up an "also ran."

I turned off the flash for this capture and used ambient light requiring ISO 3200.

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Fragile Forktail Damselfly

Fragile Forktail Damselfly

It appears to be night behind this damselfly.  It is not.  I use a 1/250th shutter which under some conditions is fast enough to limit the back ground exposure.  This is one of those instances.  The flash lit the subject.

I chose this image because the subject stands out well.  It was a runner up though, because I felt it would cost me lots of black ink to print it.  I guess my positive feelings about this image were out weighed by my stinginess. 

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Citrine Forktail

Citrine Forktail Damselfly

I photographed more damselfly species in 2013 then ever before because of this damselfly.  We had a visit from Judy Semroc and Larry Roche during the Mohican Outdoor Weekend in April.  They are the experts because they wrote the book Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio.  I found them very interesting because I have enjoyed photographing these insects for several years.

I chose this image because I think it is my best shot of the Citrine Forktail.  I did a lot of work trying to photograph this species and wanted to print one of my shots.

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Slaty Skimmer

Slaty Skimmer

Previously unrecorded in Richland County, OH, this dragonfly was very numerous around the pond at Gorman Nature Center during the summer of 2013.

I chose this image because I liked the sharpness of the subject, and the bokeh of the background.

Can you notice how the front legs are folded behind the eyes?

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