52 Photographs - Week 21

 Another very good week of photography. I got a lot of bird photographs. Many of them using Pro Capture to catch them in flight. I did screw up on a couple of those shoots because I didn’t check my settings before I began shooting. You can see the results on my Grumpy Old Photographer flicker page.

I also went to a nearby state park this past week, Landsford Canal State Park. It is home to the world’s largest population of Spider Lillies. After a short hike from the parking lot I found the Spider Lillies. A difficult thing to photograph as most of them were far out in the river. But there was a small group in close and that is this week’s photograph.

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there."

52 Photographs - Week 20

Well, this was a very productive week. But the choice was easy. As you’ll see in the post below this one, I have been trying to use Pro Capture to get some photographs of birds in flight. And given that I take photographs while out walking my dog, I don’t spend a lot of time hanging around one place waiting for a bird to launch itself in the air.

But yesterday an opportunity presented itself and after a short wait I was able to get four good images. And here is my favorite! 

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there."

Another Try Using Pro Capture...

Here's another try using Pro Capture. On Sunday, May 5, I posted some photographs using Pro Capture and explained what Pro Capture is.

Pro Capture is one of the many cool technologies on the Olympus OM-1. Pro Capture works by continuously taking images when you half-press the shutter, but only saving them in temporary memory.  If you let go of the shutter button, these images get deleted. If you fully press the shutter button it saves these images, and more if you keep holding the shutter down.

To set it up first you choose frames per second. I set mine to around 20fps. Second you set Pre Shutter Frames, and third Frame Count Limiter. If you set 15psf (Pre Shutter Frames) and Frame Count Limiter to 25, it means that 15 of your photos will be saved from before you press the shutter and 10 photos will be saved from after you press the shutter. After that, the camera will stop saving photos.

I rarely use Pro Capture because the situations I most often find myself in are not ones that would require its use. However this morning a Northern Mockingbird was hanging out on a fence post and I knew it would not stay too long. So I got ready and sure enough it took off. Better light would have helped, but these I am happy with.

"Tri-X, f/8, and be there."

52 Photographs - Week 19

Since the cicadas have made their appearance here in South Carolina, I really hadn’t thought much about trying to photograph them. However on my walk the other morning an opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it. 

So here is my gratuitous cicada photograph. I like this one because it looks like the ants are not happy with the cicada being there and are advancing on it to chase it off.

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there.“

Trilogies 2022…

 In 2022 I entered several possibilities to a LensWork Community Book Project titled Trilogies 2022, three-image collections from LensWork readers. The book features 125 photographers and their three-image projects.

I was fortunate to have one of my entries selected for publication. And this is what was chosen.

These three photographs are part of a project I did photographing my father the last two months of his life. I put together a PDF book that you can take a look at by clicking Dad.

And here is the trilogie as printed in the book.

Since the publication, Brooks Jensen has been posting audio comments on each of the trilogies, beginning with the first one in the book. Today, May 2, 2024, he commented on my trilogie.

I recorded Brooks’ commentary on an iPad and used the audio along with the trilogie to produce the following.

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there.“

Another Try at Pro Capture…

Pro Capture is one of the many cool technologies on the Olympus OM-1. Pro Capture works by continuously taking images when you half-press the shutter, but only saving them in temporary memory.  If you let go of the shutter button, these images get deleted. If you fully press the shutter button it saves these images, and more if you keep holding the shutter down.

To set it up first you choose frames per second. I set mine to around 20fps. Second you set Pre Shutter Frames, and third Frame Count Limiter. If you set 15psf (Pre Shutter Frames) and Frame Count Limiter to 25, it means that 15 of your photos will be saved from before you press the shutter and 10 photos will be saved from after you press the shutter. After that, the camera will stop saving photos.

I rarely use Pro Capture because the situations I most often find myself in are not ones that would require its use. However this past week I saw a small, extremely fast bird flying over a local pond and splashing into the water. It appeared the it was going after bugs. So I quickly switched to my Custom 3 setting where I have Pro Capture configured and got these four photographs.

I was quite pleased with this series and am looking forward to trying this out in other situations.

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there.“

And also this Past Week…

 When Roxie and I were walking at Manchester Meadows Park last week, I spotted a female Cardinal on the fence at the soccer fields. I got off one shot before the male flew in and I witnessed the following “Cardinal Kiss”. I posted these photographs with the following lyrics from the song Lover Man.

I don't know why but I'm feeling so sad

I long to try something I never had

Never had no kissin'

Oh, what I've been missin'

Lover man, oh, where can you be?

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there.“

52 Photographs - Week 18

 And now for something completely different.

This weeks’ photo is from a walk along the Catawba River. Roxie and I go there once in awhile. I’ve seen a blue heron, cormorants, and a few turtles. But nothing like what I saw this past week. I was so surprised to see so many turtles in one place. And this is not the only collection of rocks the turtles were sunbathing on.

So here is a bale/dole/nest of turtles on the Catawba River.

“Tri-X, f/8, and be there.“