Tip Jar 41: Check them!

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

Okay, this is one that I do not have mastered well enough yet, and still get caught on – not often, but more often than I should, given how long I’ve been doing this. And it’s simple: Check your settings!

As in, each time you take the camera out of the bag, and each time you put it back (either one would be enough, if done consistently, but both is a safety margin.) It’s not a bad idea to ‘normalize’ your settings routinely, either, but pick something and make a habit of it.

What I mean is, know exactly what mode your camera is in, what options, what exposure, what compensation, and so on, before you start snapping frames. It’s easy to have a situation where you want to get the picture as fast as possible, just switching on and focusing before the opportunity is gone, but this does you no good at all if the settings are such that the images won’t come out decently. I suspect I get caught because I have a fairly routine collection of settings, especially for macro work, but enough situations where I deviate for particular reasons. So at the very least, give the LCD the once-over, paying attention to those little details that can trip you up – I’ll provide a short list, but this is geared more towards my own shooting style and demands, and your priorities might be different, so adjust as needed.

settings screen on back LCD of Canon 7D
They’re all right there, easy to check, and you should know what each of these mean. There’s a sneaky little indicator of condition in there, too – can you spot it?

Mode: I’m usually in one of two modes for 90% of my shooting: Aperture Priority, and Manual. Virtually never in Program Auto, and I don’t think I’ve ever used the touristy modes depicted by little icons/emojis, what I call the Ducky-Horsey modes. On occasion when I switch to Shutter Priority or Bulb, however, these will mess me up unless I’m checking.

ISO: Again, most often at 250 for detail, and switching usually means I’m doing more low-light stuff. I don’t forget this often, but on occasion…

White Balance: I almost went past this one, since I virtually never change it, not liking how the camera manages it most times, but it can really shift your images if it’s wrong for conditions.

Exposure Compensation: Probably the most common one missed, both because I switch it so often and because the indicator is subtle. For many situations I’m trying to recognize what effect the subject and background are going to have on the camera’s automatic exposure setting (in Aperture Priority of course,) and will be tweaking this to try and produce the best results. Usually, it’s not more than 2/3 of a stop, which isn’t too bad, until the subject/setting really calls for going in the opposite direction. Most times when I’m caught on this, however, is when I’m switching back and forth between birds in the sky and against a darker background, like deep in the foliage or against the dark foliage reflecting off of the water. I’m usually in Canon’s Evaluative Metering, which does indeed compare the focus point against the surrounding frame and should automatically compensate for this, but too often, the subject in the focus point is much smaller than the area around it that Canon reads from, so it’s usually setting exposure for the background, i.e., the bright sky.

Custom Modes: On Canons this is ‘Picture Style,’ of which I’m usually using one of three, all set for specific lighting conditions: Normal, Low Contrast/Saturation, and High Contrast/Saturation. The latter two are set to oppose existing conditions to keep things under control, i.e., in high contrast conditions like bright sunlight, I switch to Low Contrast/Saturation to help prevent blowouts or inky-dark shadows, but will use the opposite when the light is overcast or muted.

settings on Sigma 180mm f3.5 macroLens settings: This is an insidious one, because it usually doesn’t show unless you turn the camera body to look at the lens barrel. Autofocus may be switched on or off, stabilization on or off, or the focus limiter set for something other than what you want. Stabilization is the trickiest, because you may not discover until you unload the images that it was switched off…

By the way, I will insert something here as a bonus tip. If you’re in an area where you’re switching back and forth between a general-purpose wider-angle lens, and a telephoto, it’s often a good idea to revert to the telephoto as a default, switching lenses even when the situation doesn’t immediately call for it. Here’s the reasoning: telephoto subjects like birds, deer, bears, etc. may pop up suddenly and present only a fleeting chance, not waiting around you for to do the lens change, while the wider-angle subjects, and even the macro ones, are typically less demanding that you get the shot within a few seconds or they’re gone, and will give you time to switch. It may mean more lens changes than is absolutely necessary, which does increase the odds of introducing dust into the interiors of both lens and camera body, but this habit has stood me well many times over. Ideally of course, you’d have two camera bodies and so both lenses are mounted, and you’ve at least seen photographers with two or more cameras at the ready. This is heavy and awkward, however, and I have yet to do a full session like this, especially since I can’t stand camera straps and hanging the damn things around my neck; when the long lens is mounted, camera and lens usually remain in hand, and then, where would I put them when I need the wide-angle camera? When the lens is detached, though, it gets stowed in a long lens case.

Other things to be aware of:

Metering Modes: Especially switching to Spot Metering, which is very easy to forget is in use, and it usually requires a certain presence of mind to be using in the first place.

Focus Modes: I don’t switch these often at all, but you might, and if you do, keep an eye on them.

Auto-Bracketing: There’s nothing more annoying than firing off three or more frames when you’re trying for candid or specifically-timed shots.

Menu and Custom Function Settings: In my own cases, this is most often Mirror Lock-up or higher frame rates, but things like Flash Sync mode, Flash Compensation, Noise Reduction, button assignments, and so on. Going from Mirror Lock-up to trying to track a bird flying past is seriously annoying, not to mention next to impossible as the viewfinder blacks out on the first shutter press, and while a second press will trip it as intended, you’ll have no idea where the bird is.

Arca-Swiss style quick-release plate and screwdriver on keyringQuick-release plates: This is a sneaky one if you’ve gotten used to them, and there’s nothing worse than getting someplace remote to set up on a tripod and finding out you removed the mounting plate earlier when you were using a flash bracket – this has made me not only carry an extra plate or two in the camera bag, the flash bracket now attaches to the quick release plate.

By the way, I now have a custom ‘screwdriver’ blade attached to my keyring specifically to tighten and loosen QR plates, because I rarely carry coins anymore and those little loops provided on the mounting screws are nowhere near enough to tighten a plate properly – they need to be cranked down.

What’s in the bag: If there’s something that you normally carry and you remove it for whatever reason, impress it upon your mind fiercely to put it back as soon as possible. This could be the QR plates previously mentioned, batteries, rain ponchos, your remote release, flash cords – whatever. if you’re almost anxious that you took it out in the first place, this is not a bad frame of mind to have, since such things are easy to forget and never notice until you’re on location and need them.

The Gig Check: Hoo boy, if you’re heading out on a paid assignment or a specific shooting situation, sit down and go over everything – have a list if it helps. Batteries charged, extra memory cards (or plenty of film,) all lenses in place, all accessories you might need handy, camera(s) and lenses clean and easy to access, special items added. This should also include backup equipment and contingencies for any failures, so yes, at least a second body and lenses to cover all likely focal lengths. Also, clothing you might need – I even carry spare sandals in the car when on student outings, since I had a blowout once and had to have The Girlfriend bring me another pair. Hat, sunscreen, water, parka, bear repellent, flare gun, portable helicopter – it’s easy to become overloaded, but bad if you need it and don’t have it, and if you’re under contract, this can have legal ramifications.

So, I reiterate: check those settings, and develop good habits to make it automatic. Even keep some of those frames where you didn’t, and the shot was ruined because of it, to remind yourself – it really does help. Good luck!

Did you spot that key element? It’s the aperture setting, reading “F00,” meaning a lens isn’t attached – or, in this case, a manual-focus lens not even intended for this camera, the Mamiya 80mm macro on an adapter.


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Icky ones

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

A handful of the pics that have been accumulating over the past couple of weeks; I decided to go with the creepy ones this time around.

First, if you recall when I tackled the jagged ambush bug some time back, I placed it on a healthy cluster of butterfly bush blossoms so it could continue capturing food, since they’re reluctant (for unknown reasons) to switch away from the dead heads. That one remained on the cluster I’d relegated it to, long after it should still have been useful.

jagged ambush bug Phymata still inhabiting long-dead cluster of butterfly bush Buddleja davidii blossoms
I mean, they’re well past the sell-by date, not to mention serving as absolutely no concealment whatsoever, but there it sits, visible even from a distance. Or at least, then – this was eleven days after placing it on this same cluster, which was healthy then, but eventually the ambush bug could no longer be found there, and that particular butterfly bush seems to have given up producing blossoms for the season now. Well, except for this:

sparse flower clusters of butterfly bush Buddleja davidii late in the season
For a bush that’s now notably taller than I am, and considerably wider (yeah, really,) it’s funny to see that it has but three pathetic little flower clusters like this, especially when the paler variety by the driveway, probably 1/10th the size, is still blooming enthusiastically. Ah well.

While out at night with the headlamp, it’s not uncommon to see little blue-green sparkles reflecting back at me from the eyes of spiders, but this is usually on the lawn or out on the pond surface – only occasionally do they come from plants more than a handful of centimeters off of the ground. The primary culprits are wolf spiders and fishing spiders, both wandering hunters and so spending most of their time where they can explore for their prey. Thus, when I got that little twinkle from about a meter up on a plant on the water’s edge, I had to take a look.

adult female six-spotted fishing spider Dolomedes triton suspended on outside of web nest near new hatchlings
That’s a six-spotted fishing spider (Dolomedes triton,) but don’t bother telling me there’s ten spots, because it refers to the spots on the belly which I admit I’ve never seen nor photographed, simply because they never show their bellies willingly and I’ve never sat down to tickle one. I know, right? Slack. This was a medium-sized one, large enough to give many people the heebies but much smaller than some I’ve seen, and yes, missing a leg. They don’t, however, make a cluster of weblines suspended on plants unless they’re up to one particular thing, which you might have spotted if you’re paying attention. Here’s a better look:

adult female six-spotted fishing spider Dolomedes triton suspended on outside of web nest guarding huge cluster of newly-hatched spiderlings
Yep, that’s a brood of newborns back there, all umpteen thousand of them (I counted,) remaining safe within this tent of webbing while mom remains alert for anything disturbing it, which I endeavored not to do. And yes, I focused on the bebbies for a few frames, specifically to satisfy all those doting mothers reading.

closeup of six-spotted fishing spider Dolomedes triton brood within protective web nest
So you know, in order to get this close, I had to be sitting on the ground right alongside the plant, which was right alongside the water, so I threw down a nylon ground cloth to try and keep my hiney dry. Except that this was right by a cluster of bald cypress knees, so doing this without pegging myself was challenging. And since the little adorables were deep within this tent, the flash was reflecting off of web strands throughout the frame, mostly defocused but still enough to throw light back and thus soften the pic. All while mom is sitting almost right underneath the tip of the lens. While I considered trying to capture an individual specimen for detailed closeups, I knew I could never get into the tent effectively without both earning the protective wrath of mom and scattering the bebbies, so I left that idea alone. I had intended to come back when daylight was striking the nest and see if I could get an angle that illuminated the young while producing as few reflections form the webbing as possible, but never tried, mostly because I strongly suspected sunlight would never actually hit the nest – mom’s smarter than that. So we have a tighter crop instead.

full-resolution crop of cluster of six-spotted fishing spider Dolomedes triton spiderlings in web nest
Still suffering from too much light scatter off of the webbing, but at least we have that one looking deep into the camera with those dreamy black eyes. No way to get an effective measurement, but I would say no more than 3mm across the leg spread.

I have no idea how long they remain in the protective nest, nor whether it’s mom or the young themselves that decide when it’s time to leave – I just checked (15 days after these pics were taken) and the nest is abandoned so, within two weeks? While individual strands of web could be found in several places on the same plant, I spotted no bebbies anywhere, and the web strands mean little – every plant in the yard likely has them, since spiders are everywhere.

Like under the kitchen window.

web of black-and-yellow argiope Argiope aurantia showing presence of adult by shadow on wall
The telltale white scribbles in the center of the web (as well as its size, close to a meter across,) indicates that this is the web of a black-and-yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia,) commonly known by a variety of other names though I knew them by ‘garden spider.’ The shadow give more of an indication that it’s occupied, even though her legs are visible if you look closely. She moved this web to several locations in this immediate area, disappearing at least twice, which seemed odd. And eventually, we found this:

egg sac of black-and-yellow argiope Argiope aurantia tucked under eaves alongside downspout
That’s her egg sac, well-separated from the main web and also well above my head under the eaves. I’ve been eyeballing it semi-regularly, and have seen no sign of hatchlings even though it now has a distinctly deflated look; whether this is from the bebbies springing forth or the bare fact that she produced it in the steaminess of summer and now it’s considerably cooler, I don’t know. I should probably examine the bush nearby to see if I can find any sprogs – I don’t think I’ve ever photographed newborn argiopes…

Okay, that’s the creepy ones out of the way. More pleasant ones to come.


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No living with me

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

For the last Tip Jar where I talked about making your own photographic accessories, I uploaded the design of the custom macro softbox to Thingiverse, a 3D design hosting site – I’d been meaning to do for a while but avoided it because, well, the softbox only works for one type of flash unit, long discontinued (though it’s possible the head shape is quite close to others from Canon.) I had uploaded it a few weeks previously to another hosting site, Printables, because they were having a design contest on photographic accessories – c’mon, they finally have a contest I can enter? Of course I’m there! As I type this, the contest (which ended September 14th) is still awaiting the jury…

Anyway, within 20 minutes of uploading the softbox to Thingiverse, it received a “Like,” surprising me a little because it was late at night – damn near everything I do online is late at night, because I like pretending I’m a teenager or, you know, one of those basement-dwellers. We won’t talk about where Walkabout Studios/Deep 13 is actually located…

Then a few days later, a message from the Community Relationship Manager at Thingiverse, saying I was “on the radar” for an upcoming feature and I should update my profile and bio if needed. I kind of treated this as form mail due to the new upload, and didn’t think much about it.

It was serious though, and I just got notice that the softbox is indeed featured on the Thingiverse front page. Well, cool!

screenshot from Thingiverse.com showing featured macro softbox of the author's design
Let me put this into perspective: Thingiverse has thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of users and uploaders, many of which far surpass my meager 15 designs, of which half are remixed versions of others’ work. Some of the designs are incredible, and nothing I would even remotely attempt to emulate. While I’m personally pleased with the softbox, it’s a niche design even if it was adaptable to multiple flash units, which it isn’t. So, I’m honored and a little surprised that it attracted this attention, but I’m not arguing.

Does it mean anything? Not really – more downloads of the design, perhaps some bleed over towards a few of the others, and perhaps one in 1,000 users might click through to the site here, which is indeed linked in the bio (and if you’re one of them, welcome, and thanks! There are snacks over on the aside table.) Otherwise, just a small boost to my ego, which you could determine because I’m posting about it.

Nonetheless, many thanks to the Thingiverse staff, especially Luis Cordoba, Community Relationship Manager, and to anyone and everyone who downloads any of my designs or remixes. If someone gets any benefit from them in any way, I’m pleased, and happy to help.

Anyway, back to the regular content, if anything here could be considered, “regular”…


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Estate Find 66

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

Quite surprised to see this little spud hanging out on one of the rainbarrels this morning.

juvenile treefrog likely squirrel treefrog Dryophytes squirellus alongside rainbarrel overflow pipe
The temperatures have dropped significantly after the brutal heat of the summer, and we went to late fall quickly, especially overnight, meaning the treefrogs we’d been seeing for months vanished abruptly, and even the anoles only venture out in midday. I found this one just a little after one AM alongside the overflow pipe for the rainbarrel nearest Deep 13, while it was a whopping 5° C out there (reminding me that the Brugmansia plants should have been transferred into the greenhouse by now.) You’ll notice a dearth of markings, but I’m fairly certain this is a juvenile from the size, especially since the species that are adult at this size have distinct traits and coloration. I run into this way too often: sure, the adults have such-and-such lines or spots or whatever, but not only is there often a lot of variation among amphibian patterns and colors, they don’t fully develop these until adulthood, and no one ever seems to catalog the juvenile variations. Their calls might be listed, which only helps if they’re calling in the first place, which ever-so-rarely happens when I’m close enough to see one. Usually, the calls stop as soon as I approach.

Given all that, however, the best match that I’m finding seems to be a squirrel treefrog (Dryophytes squirellus) – if you notice, the spelling of the common name of ‘squirrel’ doesn’t match the species squirellus, just to be confusing and because, I believe I’ve said before, taxonomists are a weird bunch (and yes, I’ve double-checked the spellings.) This species should be fairly common in the area, yet I’ve only found them twice before, if that – again, variations in markings. But while I was at it, I made sure to get a clear image of the back with what could be seen of the hindlegs.

back of juvenile treefrog, likely squirrel treefrog Dryophytes squirellus, on rainbarrel
No traits there that would seem to indicate other possibilities like the pinewoods treefrog, spring peeper, or any of the chorus frogs, so I’m staying with this one. I considered setting up a terrarium to keep it within for a day or two, especially to get more detailed pics of the sides, undersides, and legs, but had largely decided against it when I found that my model here had already moved on. On the neighboring rainbarrel, however, was a juvie green treefrog of near-identical size, so either a couple of species were braving these temperatures, or my model is a master of quick-change disguises.

Anyway, a little later on I’ll get back to the stuff I’ve had waiting, before I find even more stuff to feature and/or cut in line.


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Flummoxed

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

If you’re finding that recent posts simply aren’t loading the images, there’s a reason for that: many of them aren’t there. I am rectifying that right now, it just takes a little time.

As to why they’re not there, I can’t answer that – some weird shit’s been going down with the image folders, and it’s nothing that I’ve been doing. On the weekend I noticed that every image for the blog (there’s over 10,000 of them) had an extra ‘thumbnail’ which wasn’t very small, nor did I want it there, nor did it serve a purpose – I disabled all thumbnails, multiple times, because WordPress is notorious for making several versions of varying sizes, ostensibly to make things easier, but all it does is bloat the storage. So there should have been none, but suddenly, every folder for every month that I checked, going back years, had an additional resized image for every one that I’d uploaded.

I thought this was the fault of a plugin I had to make things load faster, which also had thumbnail creation disabled, but on occasion, plugins revert settings when updates are installed, so I simply removed said plugin. Then I began trying to determine how to get rid of the thumbnails without removing anything that I wanted to keep, and installed another plugin that was supposed to be ale to do this, but did not activate it yet. In the meantime, I backed up all (20,000+) images to my local system and tried to ensure all precautions were taken, but it got late enough at night that I was wary, and set it aside.

This ended up being until tonight, when I found that all of those extra thumbnails were now gone. What the actual goddamn fuck? I can only conclude that the host is screwing around with the image folders, especially since many of the recent images went missing – the title and specs in the Library are there, just no actual image.

So I’m re-uploading those, and meanwhile trying to determine what’s happening as well as keeping an eye on everything. I just checked, and there’s no sign of any invasive stuff, at least not in the Plugins folder, but who knows?

Eventually, when I feel comfortable that things are behaving, I’ll have some more posts, since there are quite a few images waiting – I just don’t know how long that will be.


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Tip Jar 40: Do it yourself

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

selection of tools for modifications and repairs
Clockwise from top blue thing, which is a silicone ice-cube tray for screws and parts, then the intervalometer with double-ended adapters (reversed so they can be easily switched in the dark,) precision screwdriver set, forceps, and lens spanner wrench with lens retaining ring

Just about any photographer discovers, sooner or later, we simply don’t have some tool or device or accessory that would make our pursuits much easier. In far too many cases, this is equipment-related, as in, “I need a better camera/lens/flash unit/tripod/etc,” which may or may not be the case – in my experience, new purchases only solve the problem less than half of the time, or less than half of the problem, and I advise strongly towards a realistic examination of what any given purchase can and cannot do your you before dropping a bunch of money. But there’s also the idea that we need something esoteric, specialized, or dedicated to a single specific circumstance. On occasion, someone actually makes what we need, and if we’re lucky, it can be obtained before we need it and at a price we’re willing to pay – and truth be told, far too much of photographic equipment is priced according to, ‘what the market will bear, and then some.’ Hey, we’re all professionals pulling down big contracts, it’s worth it to us, right? Yeah, I don’t know about you…

It comes down to, the more we can create for ourselves, the less we spend and the more we accomplish, especially since we’re creating something dedicated to our specific needs. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes not so much, but what I’m saying here is, don’t hesitate to try. The amount of things I’ve adapted, modified, and outright created to assist in my pursuits is, well, presently uncountable, since I keep running across things I did years ago and have now taken for granted.

The first recommendation is, have some simple things handy, like string, tape, small clamps, wire, and some kind of knife or cutters. These allow quick application to minor issues and occasionally major ones. Gaffer’s tape is often recommended specifically because it’s strong and doesn’t leave adhesive residue on surfaces, but it’s also much more expensive than painter’s tape, which isn’t as resistant to tearing but usually works just as well in most circumstances. A small coil of monofilament is light, easy to carry, and strong as hell, not to mention often disappearing in photos, but make sure the way you store it doesn’t allow it to unroll and tangle, because it’s also the worst for disentangling.

Then there are more specific things. I mentioned last week about macro studio items, but there are also brackets and tripod accessories, many of which can be created by combining existing adapters and such items. A lot about cameras revolves around two standards: the tripod mount and the hot shoe, and having brackets and adapters that incorporate these provides flexibility when adding accessories or extensions. While the hot shoe is a specific set of dimensions that isn’t easy to describe here, “shoe mount” is the key descriptor, and plenty of adapters can be found in this way. But tripod mounts come in two distinct sizes: 1/4-20, the standard threading of most SLR and smaller cameras (and even binoculars,) and 3/8-16, the larger size used in the base of interchangeable tripod heads and on some medium-format and large-format cameras.

[What these refer to is, 1/4 inch in shaft width, 20 pitch (threads per inch), or alternately 3/8 inch with 16 pitch – this makes it easy to find matching bolts, nuts, or threaded rods at the hardware store for your own projects.]

For such adapters and many other smaller items, shopping online on discount sites such as AliExpress.com can save a ton of money, as long as you can stand the wait for shipping from China. While many decry the quality of such sources, bear in mind that most of these items from ‘major’ manufacturers are sourced from China anyway and simply rebadged, and there’s little point in paying premium prices for a few bits of aircraft aluminum with tapped holes or specifically-sized plates. It’s still possible to get poorly-made items, and the chances are likely higher from such sources – but it can also still happen when buying ‘name-brand’ too. At the same time, brands such as Neewer, Godox, and Yongnuo offer some sophisticated and much less expensive options than the name-brands, introducing the competitive price points that have been sadly lacking for decades, as well as items that have never existed before. Do what you’re comfortable with.

Being even slightly handy can expand your options as well. If you can handle drilling, shaping, and soldering, you can easily make or modify countless things to your own needs. The remote shutter release that I use came with a specific fitting for only certain Canon cameras, while others used a different fitting. Since these were all simple three-contact plugs that had the same functions, I added a stereo headphone jack and plug into the middle of the cord, and have adapters for either fitting available, able to be switched at will. Canon’s wiring is exceedingly simple: close two specific contacts to activate the ‘half-press’ focus and meter function, and all three to trip the shutter. I used my own homemade version (that’s an old page) for years until it was falling apart, and I subsequently got an intervalometer used and cheap, in which case I spliced in the jack and plug needed.

center-release lens cap with added hook tape for gripFor nearly all lens caps now, I switched to the variety with ‘center’ releases instead of edge, and added the hook portion of hook-and-loop (Velcro) fabric to the release tabs to improve grip, allowing me to reach in and affix and remove the lens cap with the hood still attached. When shooting film, I had a two-pocket pouch – one for fresh film, one for exposed, so they were never mixed up. Tripods have all been modified as needed to not only employ quick release plates, but all the same type, and the macro flash unit has the same attachment, so I rarely ever have to detach these plates from anything. It is at the point now where I literally do not take any photos without using something that I’ve done myself to improve handling or work flow.

Repairs. This is definitely a matter of what you’re comfortable with, but several of the items I presently use have been repaired when they failed, rather than obtaining a replacement. It may be complicated, or it may be a lot easier than you imagined, and typically when I tackle it, it’s a matter of “What have I got to lose?” Far too many failures stem from a loose part or a broken pin or similar and are amazingly easy to fix, and within an hour or two you may be back in business. Definitely, a precision small screwdriver set is paramount, and some fine tools like forceps/hemostats, tweezers, and modeling knives, but also the tools to open smutphone cases or anything that is ‘press-snapped’ together help. Also, lenses are a hell of a lot easier with a lens spanner. Pay strict attention to disassembly, including orientation, labeling all parts as you go (those daily pill holders or a case with bins for beads or screws can help hugely,) and take photos as needed before removing each part. Also, a small variety of safe lubricants breathes new life into many moving parts, but do a little research first. I discovered, years ago when working on model kits, that petroleum jelly degrades most plastics and causes them to crumble over time, so using silicone-, lithium-, or even lanolin-based lubricants is much better. Do not clean painted surfaces such as lens markings with alcohol – it can degrade the inks/paints used.

screenshot from Blender design software showing macro softbox attachment
3D printing. Okay, listen, I would never recommend buying a printer and learning how to design parts – and I would never recommend against it, either. The learning curve is steep, especially in making your own designs, but even just the quirks and tweaks of a basic filament printer can require a lot of time to get through. All that said, the number of things I’ve done with one is astounding, and not just for photographic items either. If you are into model kits, crafts, wood or metal working, disassembly, repairs, or anything of a similar nature, you may well find that possessing a 3D printer is a huge boon and not that hard to figure out (plus the online resources for learning and problems is vast.) Not to mention, how high the chances are that someone has faced the exact same challenges that you are and have already created and uploaded a design, so all you have to do is print it. This is definitely an option that, once you have it, you realize how much can be done with it. This page features some of the strictly-photographic designs I’ve worked on and uploaded – or this one has the complete collection (with non-photographic schtuff included.)

Just so you know, I have been trained, educated, or have working experience in none of this – my dad taught me nothing, I had only a partial semester of metal shop in high school (so long ago that I don’t think alloys had been invented yet,) none of my jobs required anything of the sort. It is 100% self-taught, and the best I can say is I got started on model kits at an early age. Some things you learn by doing, so don’t hesitate to try something on your own. Chances are it won’t be perfect at first, but stay with it and it will.

Good luck!

DSLR macro video rig of author's
Neewer video cage with extended height and addition of macro video light on articulated arm, external HDMI monitor on articulated arm, and video mic, all on a cut-down tripod for low-level/macro work


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Stomping Grounds: The fartsy portraits

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

great egret Ardea alba and great blue heron Ardea herodias standing close together in shallows of Jordan Lake
We’re back to the Jordan Lake session again, but this time we’re going for the high art angle, better than A through E art, and frame-worthy portraits to boot. Get out your checkbook! And do a websearch to find out what a ‘checkbook’ is…

It’s gonna be a little heron-heavy, since that’s what was most present that day, but hey – herons are majestic birds anyway, as long as you can’t hear them. That’s why the focus above is clearly on the great blue heron (Areda herodias,) which also helps distinguish the gap between it and the great egret (Ardea alba) that was much closer.

Also hanging out were the double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum,) but they were showing little in the way of majesty so they’re just background elements here.

great blue heron Ardea herodias standing in shallows with two double-crested cormorants Nannopterum auritum swimming in deeper water beyond
It seems casual and simple, but with the working distance and the entire lake to fish within, catching all three together in nice framing was much more a matter of timing, since within two seconds this looked entirely different, and within a few more, none of them would be in the same frame as another. Trains passing in the night, uh, late afternoon…

By the way, while the water level was down significantly to be showing these rocks in the shallows, it’s not the lowest we’ve seen it; if you go to this post and scroll down to the sleeping cormorant, I’m pretty certain the rock it’s snoozing on is the same one making an appearance here.

Even narrower timing was this:

great egret Ardea alba airborne between wading great blue heron Ardea herodias and swimming double-crested cormorant Nannopterum auritum
Okay, i admit it – there was a dash of luck involved, but I was tracking the egret, and consider it more lucky that the autofocus stayed locked on tack sharp on the egret while panning. Still, I find this spacing more than acceptable.

As the previous post showed, there were a couple of other species, but really, not many. This osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was one of them.

osprey Pandion haliaetus cruising overhead
Even with the lower angle of the late afternoon sun, this could have been lit better, getting the undersides more, but at least it came through on the eye, and that’s what we look for most. Unless we’re weird. Nice spread on those tip feathers though.

It’s funny – it wasn’t all that long ago that we never saw any bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Jordan Lake, and even though they were nesting at another lake several kilometers off, I’d never even seen one there either. Now, it seems like something’s wrong if we fail to see at least one for any given trip. This afternoon had been so quiet that I was resigned to the possibility, but then one passed by straight overhead and at least kept up standards.

second-year juvenile bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus approaching, eyes on photographer
This is a tight crop of a still-pretty-distant juvenile, the first frame obtained, but it shows the eagle was at least aware of us as it approached. This did nothing to alter its path or behavior, and it flew right overhead, intent on some other task.

second-year juvenile bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus passing directly overhead showing plumage clearly
Between the two frames, there’s enough to determine that this is a second-year juvenile; this year’s brood would be almost entirely brown with perhaps faint flecks on the wings, while a third-year would have noticeable white along the sides of the head, and from four years on, they appear as everyone knows them, white head and tail but otherwise deep brown. Now, why they have such distinctive and different plumage through their first three years, I can’t say. I could understand the youngest being dark and blending into the shadows while perched and awaiting food, even though once they leave the nest they’re only fractionally (if at all) smaller than a full adult so, you know, not vulnerable to a hell of a lot. What the mottling does, I have no idea, but the white head and tail don’t seem to serve a purpose either, though it does distinguish them from golden eagles and ospreys, even at a great distance, so perhaps this is why? I’m just spitballin’…

Yet another heron – this one probably could have gone into the behavior post…

great blue heron Ardea herodias flying so low over the water its wingtips are touching the surface
Herons clearly take some effort to gain altitude and rarely attempt it, often staying just barely high enough above the water, and this displays how barely: its wingtips are touching on the downstroke. You can also see why we work this spot in the afternoon, since it faces east and thus the westering sun provides good light. It had rained overnight, in fact, and it was touch-and-go as to whether the clouds would clear enough for a decent session, so this is pretty good really.

Some songbirds were active in the trees on the lakeshore, in some cases disputing territory, like this brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla):

brown-headed nuthatch Sitta pusilla on trunk with head raised
As arrogant and disdainful as it appears here, it was paying little attention to me and far more to the chickadees flitting around nearby, to which it seemed to take exception. Nuthatches never struck me as being aggressive or territorial, but then again, I don’t think I’ve ever watched them long enough, or seen them near other species much at all.

Rustling in a forked trunk not far overhead led us to this one, who watched our approach with trepidation:

eastern grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis appearing to be making an autumn nest rather low in a tree
That’s an eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) peeking out, that drew down out of sight and held still once we stepped just a little closer than this. Squirrels can make noise all out of proportion to their size, which is odd because everything preys on them, and this one appeared to be making a nest; this is not too odd, since at this latitude, grey squirrels often breed in both the spring and the fall.

Getting seriously fartsy with this one, while also chronicling some details:

fallen trunk on lakeshore pointing towards tempestuous clouds
This shows the quality of the sky and why we were lucky to have the light that we did, though this is faintly later, on another arm of the lake about a kilometer away. It also shows a fallen trunk that, when upright, had served as a perch and setting for numerous photos appearing here, among them the bored eagle in this post. Not too long ago this dead tree had finally given up the ghost, and I wanted to capture it here before the winter storms and water levels carried it off.

[Funny, that linked post noted another trunk that we’d been very familiar with that had fallen not long before…]

Two more to close it up, both similar – it’s up to you to pick which one works best, but they both show off the cloud conditions as a nice backdrop texture. So do you like this one?

great blue heron Ardea herodias banking against cumulus clouds
Or this one?

great blue heron with wings on downbeat against cumulus clouds
Only one of which is correct, so take your time and don’t screw it up.

That closes out the Jordan Lake photos – now I just have to get to the local shots that have been piling up. A blogger’s self-imposed workload is never done. Until they quit, anyway.


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Why it be like that?

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

swirl of faintly colored clouds at twilight over waterfront
Sunday evening, we could see the clouds lighting up with the approaching sunset, and hopped in the car to get down to the waterfront, since the sunset (or sunrise) views at Walkabout Estates are lacking – too many trees nearby. On the way, we could see the sun already hidden behind a bank of clouds but edging those with brilliant gold and a few crepuscular rays, but this view was past the town buildings and especially powerlines – yurg. Naturally, by the time we got to the waterfront (which was literally less than ten minutes,) the clouds had done their North Carolina thing and dissipated almost entirely right before sunset. This has happened so routinely that I’m sure there’s something curious about the climate here, I just don’t know what, but it means that chasing sunsets is more often a losing proposition. As seen above, an insignificant swirl and streak caught just a hint of color, but down on the horizon, a solid bank of clouds formed a ‘mountain range’ over coastal plains. Seen closer, they looked ominous, but were actually the after-effects of tropical storm Isaias, which had merely given us some light-to-moderate rains earlier in the day.

solid bank of clouds over trees and sailboats along waterfront at dusk
I tweaked the contrast on this just enough to bring out more of the cloud textures – the sun had already set, off to the right. This is actually the same perspective as most of the lightning pics back in July, and may even feature some of the same sailboats.

Looking in other directions captured some thin clouds still showing some color.

nautical flag on fixed mast and weathervane against twilight colors in sky
I attempted to look up that flag to see what it signified, thinking it was a standard nautical message, but nothing I’ve found matches that. Still, it was something to do with a bare splash of color. It got better a little later on.

post-sunste pastel colors behind boats at dock on waterfront
The exposure for the boats makes a misleading sky, since the sun is nowhere near that bright glow – this is actually facing almost due south.

The temperature was perfect, the breeze stiff yet not chilling at all, and it moaned ominously as it passed through the masts and rigging – very atmospheric, and a great night to be out. The geese were coming in to their overnight roosting areas, but it was getting dark enough that any pics of them overhead, even just trying for silhouettes, suffered from motion blur. With several attempts, however, I did manage a couple of frames of someone else.

great blue heron Ardea herodias perched on rocks on waterfront at dusk
As we approached, The Girlfriend and I had a brief, wavering disagreement as to whether this was a bird or a piling – that’ll give you an idea of what the light level was like, much better than the image does. This was 1/10th second at f5, ISO 1000, braced on the railing to try and keep things steady enough. Squint until you can’t really tell there’s a curving red reed behind this heron, and you’ll get the idea. But the detail held up even at full resolution:

full resolution crop of previous image of great blue heron Ardea herodias perched on rocks
Seriously for 1/10th second in dim twilight? I can live with this. Nice pose, too.

While clear, there was enough residual humidity in the sky to capture some cloud effects far over the horizon and produce a nice little aura well after the sun set, backlighting those mountainous cloud banks. So, yeah, still a few keepers from the evening. Waiting and watching for those more spectacular colors though…

rich pink and cream afterglow behind boats on waterfront following sunset


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Not for this

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

While preparing to stage some of the shots for this past Tip Jar, I was rearranging things in Deep 13 and needed to prop something up for a few minutes, so I went out into the yard to get a brick. I’m smart enough (and have past experiences that remind me) to check such things first before bringing them indoors, and so turned it over to ensure there were no spiders or fun things clinging to it. That revealed this:

ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus coiled tightly inside opening in brick
That hole in the brick would be a tight fit for my thumb, so we’re not talking large here, but what we’re looking at are the coils (and the tip of the nose, at right) of a ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus,) and not a young one, either – this is adult size. This one was quite pleased with its lair and thus reluctant to abandon it, though the snake did squirm around a little, mostly I think to keep an eye on what was happening outside. There’s a small blob of cement blocking the other side, so this was the only exit.

It’s funny – I’ve seen three or four of the species here since moving to the new Walkabout Estates, but haven’t actually featured one for four years, well before the move – I guess I was always busy with something else and didn’t bother with photos.

ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus held in author's hand for photos
I thought, Hey, this is handy – I can use this guy as a demo for the dish macro setting, and so, kept it in a small container for a few minutes until I was ready to stage the shots. The snake, however, showed me the flaw in this idea, since after being coaxed out of its lovely brick and held in a plastic storage container for about 20 minutes, it wasn’t inclined to just sit around and look pretty, and shot over the sides of the ‘soil and leaf’ setting in milliseconds. Remember what I said about being ready to recapture subjects? I was, so it didn’t get far, but that meant my choice for photos was in some form of restraint, like this. It also meant that my hands bore the unmistakable scent of snake shit, since that’s their primary defense – yes, I’d washed them afterwards, but if you have any experience with this (of course you do,) you know that the smell isn’t easily eradicated, so it was a mix of pungent musk and, I don’t know, whatever scented soap The Girlfriend purchases, vanilla I think. They don’t go together, is what I’m saying. Now, maybe sandalwood…

Right after these pics, the snake and the brick were returned to where I’d found them, though I made no attempt to reinsert my model back into its hidey-hole (neighbor.) It could figure it out on its own.


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Stomping Grounds: The behavior

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

Considering that I made this trip a week ago, I think I’ve stalled long enough on getting the pics up, but there are enough to split into two posts, so here’s the first. We’ll see how many weeks it takes me to get to the second…

great egret Ardea alba touching down on shallow rocks in Jordan Lake
Finding myself back in the area on errands, I arranged to meet up with the Inimitable Mr Bugg again and do a trip down to Jordan Lake to see what was happening – which, overall, wasn’t a lot, but a few performers gave us something to shoot. Here, a great egret (Ardea alba) takes advantage of the lower lake levels to come in for a landing on some rocks just being exposed. I was attempting to stay on my toes with the exposure compensation, since just about every direction that I faced required some adjustment, yet this one remained dialed brighter for different conditions, the water reflecting the sky – when things start happening you don’t always have time to tweak settings. Thus, the egret is a little blown out in the highlights, but the pose is nice.

A nearby great blue heron (Ardea herodias) took exception to this, however.

great blue heron Ardea herodias approaching great egret Ardea alba that it feels is encroaching
Having already been present in the same shallow patch just a little ways off, the heron felt that the egret was encroaching on its stake of fish, and began stalking purposefully in that direction as the egret wandered casually. Usually, when fishing, herons and egrets stand motionless or, at best, take elaborately casual steps, endeavoring not to scare their prey, but the motion of the heron was too deliberate and quicker, straight towards the egret, so I stayed on them.

great egret Ardea alba fleeing great blue heron Ardea herodias that's laying claim to that area of Jordan Lake
It took only moments, as the heron quickened its pace and the egret realized its peril. “Peril” is really too strong a word, since such disputes will only escalate into croaking and flapping, maybe a bare peck or two, but allow me my drama, and I’m pleased I got a frame that shows the dynamics of both of them.

The egret circled around and came back past, still desiring to use the shallows, just further away from the heron, though it hardly looks that way in this frame:

great egret Ardea alba circling back past great blue heron Ardea herodias that just spooked it from its fishing spot
Looking as it it simply wanted a flying start to really enter into the fray, the egret is instead much closer now, bypassing the heron to find a safer spot just far enough off – telephoto compression hides the lateral distance between them. Amusingly, this all took place in silence, which is odd because herons usually need little encouragement to voice their displeasure in guttural croaks.

Earlier, I caught what was perhaps the same heron as it speared into the water after a snack.

great blue heron Ardea herodias right as it plunges its head into the water after a meal
This is what the exposure compensation was adjusted for, and I actually got two frames of the splash itself, choosing this one because of the expressive water drops. You can also see a leg out back, indicating that the heron had stepped forward into the strike, which was for nought since it re-emerged without a fish. In my experience, this happens roughly half of the time, and what successful strikes we did witness that afternoon were of tiny little minnows. They’re arguing over buffets like this?

The ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) were just barely present – we saw three, I think, but one did indeed cruise past and enter a stoop after a fish. While the autofocus was being far too spastic that day, often selecting the water in the background to focus upon and not the bird right smack in the focusing point (I have yet to determine why this might have been,) at least this time it remained tight on the osprey, as this crop shows:

osprey Pandion haliaetus in final stages of stoop, talons extended as it closes on a fish
I thought I had a decent chance of capturing the moment of splash down this time, something I’ve long been after in a detailed, sharp frame – those talons are down and ready. The fish, however, was a spoilsport and apparently moved out of range, since the osprey aborted its approach only a second or so before it would have completed the dive.

osprey Pandion haliaetus aborting stoop as fish moves off
I left enough of the water in the cropped frame here to show that the osprey was less than a meter up as it began flapping for altitude again. [Sigh.] Still trying…

A few double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) were present, mostly just seen floating in the water or occasionally resurfacing after doing their fishing below the surface – cormorants are excellent swimmers and usually chase their prey in its own environment rather than doing momentary entries like the sissy herons and osprey. However, I tracked one on approach as it conveniently faced more into the camera.

female double-crested cormorant Nannopterum auritum on final approach into water showing braking tail and feet
The brown head and neck indicate this is a female, while the extended tail and feet are shedding its speed prior to contacting the water only centimeters under one wingtip – cormorants are reasonably fast flyers so this is necessary. But that tail looks ragged as hell, doesn’t it?

female double-crested cormorant Nannopterum auritum entering water using tail as primary brake
Ah – that explains it. Unlike ducks which usually water-ski on their webbed feet to slow down, cormorants apparently rely on their tails more to arrest their forward motion, and this is the first I’ve witnessed a touchdown in adequate detail – that tail is digging pretty deep. Cormorants, by the way, are roughly the same mass as a mallard but perhaps a bit lankier.

We close with a long shot of an osprey that had captured a fish.

osprey Pandion haliaetus banking in distance with captured fish, seen through intervening branches
This was quite some ways off and small in the frame, cropped tightly here because I liked how the eyes came clearly through the intervening foliage, seemingly looking right into the camera. At that distance, the osprey could have been looking anywhere in our general direction, though its eyesight is good enough that it certainly knew we were there. Nice angle for the lowering sunlight, shame it was so far away.

To follow: the fartsy portrait shots, but I’ll intersperse some of the other things that I’ve been capturing in there.


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