Pure Luck

I got a nice surprise yesterday...a case of pure photographic luck.

I was out with a friend taking pictures at a lake. Just for the heck of it, I took this photo of three mergansers swimming in a line. They were just a tad far away but I take these shots anyway just in hopes that maybe I can pull one bird out of the bunch for a nice image.

I took a series of these photos within seconds. So I have a bunch of them that look just the same. As you can see, this is a NOTHING special shot...totally uninteresting...should go right to trash bin.




But when I magnified the shot and looked at each bird individually, I saw that the leader had a fish!



My series shows this bird working to gulp down the fish...here's one. What LUCK!

Blogger Community Photo Challenge _ Autumn

Here's my entry for the latest Blogger Community Photo Challenge!

FIND AUTUMN COLOR IN YOUR HOMETOWN OR STATE.




This photo was taken last week at Belmont Lake State Park on Long Island.

Please follow the links here to see all the images posted by the challenge participants.

Close Encounters

Today, for the first time in a long time, I went out with the intention of taking some photos. I was really thinking about fall colors. But, I was driving by the harbor and noticed this blue heron on the shore nearby. I pulled over to the side of the road, and was able to watch the bird and take photographs for quite a long time right from the car window. I was closer to the heron than I've ever been, and incredibly, he didn't immediately spook. I was even able to eventually slip out of the car and settle on a nearby rock to continue shooting.




These next three pictures were shot in quick series. Kinda cool...



Even when I'm watching, I can't believe how these birds can grab a fish. He caught THREE!



One fish makes a break for it...



My only disappointment with these images is that the light was so flat that the images also look a bit flat. Notice there's not a bit of shadow? I needed a little sun to bring out the definition in their feathers a bring some dimension to the picture. But it was exciting to watch and photograph this creature none the less.

Round Robin - Bridges

I'm wanting to get back to some blogging again and I think that photo memes are the best way to start. I loved being part of a photographic community but I've let it get lost. I know the Round Robins are a great group, so I'm back...hopefully for a good long time.

I really pondered about what to post for this challenge. I have some pretty bridge pictures, but I couldn't resist posting this one.

Artistically, it's not the best image. It was taken from an airplane. When I fly, I often sit with my nose plastered to the window looking down at the patterns in the land below. There are images everywhere. I finally talked myself in to buying a point and shoot camera that I could keep in my purse to shoot out the window of the plane. This is one of those shots. It's not composed, it's just captured.

I was flying from Long Island to Baltimore recently on the way to Indiana. I'd been enjoying watching (and photographing) the New Jersey coast, then all the patchwork farms in Delaware. The wetlands as we approached the Chesapeake Bay looked like puzzle pieces! When we flew over this bridge, I did my best to fit it all in one frame. It's the William Preston Bridge (better known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge) in Maryland, route 301. The span is 4.3 miles long.




We have a lot of terrific photographers participating in this Round Robin Challenge. Please stop by and visit them all. The linking list is HERE.

Anybody Out There??

This is just a shout in the dark...

Are you there???

If so, let me know.

These are my latest wildlife shots, taken about a week ago at Connetquot State Park here on Long Island.

Blogger Community Photo Challenge

"This month's subject is color...but NOT just color. We want to see you create something special color-wise. Something your camera did not see. Something you saw in the photo and created in post processing."

I played around with a photo I took in a studio setting. What I'm learning about working in a studio, is how to manipulate light and shadow. Before I worked with the color in this image, I altered it with the posterizing filter. What I was interested by was how this accentuated the shadow.

Original...




Manipulated color image...



Please be sure to visit all the other participants in this challenge. They can be found here.

Thematic Photographic - Glassy

This image is a submission for Carmi's photo meme Thematic Photographic where we are invited to explore capturing the beauty of glass.

The Bayard Cutting Arboretum, a New York State Park,

was donated to the Long Island State Park Region

by Mrs. William Bayard Cutting
and her daughter, Mrs. Olivia James,
in memory of William Bayard Cutting,

"to provide an oasis of beauty and quiet for the pleasure, rest and refreshment of those who delight in outdoor beauty; and to bring about a greater appreciation and understanding of the value and importance of informal planting."

The arboretum is a beautiful property and a true gem of Long Island. A visit here allows you to enjoy magnifient trees, informal gardens, wildflowers and ferns, and woodland and wetland wildlife. Prominently perched overlooking where the Connetquot opens onto the Great South Bay is the Bayard Cutting Manor House.




This magnificent window is one of four located in a single room of the manor house. I think the background of a big, old tree makes the window that much more spectacular.

Links to see the images of other participants can be found in the comment section here.