Apr, 17
We scurry to get the project started -productivity depends on the wind, rain, and the blunders of bats. Predicable for sure… One of the great things about grad school is you never know what new, exciting project will turn up next. So it is for my buddy and I as we were handed an interesting project this spring. I has nothing to do with either of our thesis research projects but has managed absorb every spare moment and energy resource we have had over the last month or two. It will be a fantastic advancement -if only we can actually pull it off.
The past couple of weeks I have found myself lodged on the shores of Lake Erie in northern Ohio. I love the wildlife and the lake can be beautiful -but I haven’t had much time to observe.
Luckily, one night this past week was far too windy to chase after bats and I was able to grab my camera and hit the beach.
I nabbed a few pictures before the sun sunk too low.
Life never moves slow these days -this week I start the final season of field work for my thesis project and try to keep the work at the lake moving forward. Regardless, I think the worst of the time crunch is over and perhaps someday soon I will be able to find the rest of my life again.
Tags: bats, weather
Catagories: Photography, Research.
Oct, 24
It started as a cool, cloudy, wet day in this big mid-westernish city. But leaves were falling and I couldn’t resist. I hit the woods but my luck was limited at best. I did find a fire lookout tower that provided a bit of a view…
Boring I know -but hey this is Ohio. Nothing like a mountain when you’re looking… Actually I should have done better -but at the moment I was standing, if you want to call it that, on a 2×3 foot platform 80 feet in the air with 40mph winds threatening to blow everything I owned over the side. Let’s just say I was thinking a good bit more about holding on than I was about taking the picture. I did get this.
Oh well, I tried. Things got a little better when I found Cedar Falls.
Not bad, but it would have been better with less beach. It does crop to a 4×5 format nicely though. Notice that overhanging rock -I brought it out of the black by a little flick of light from my sb-800.
This turned out ok too… lucky for me. Many of them didn’t. There was this other little issue of falling things -precipitation. Not that I mind really -it helped clear out the swarms of people and my camera doesn’t mind a few drops. But my lens… for some reason I didn’t notice the drops.
I lost dozens of images to the spots. Oops. Guess next time I will pay more attention.
Tags: color, flash, weather
Catagories: Photography.
Jan, 19
Lately I’ve been poking around in the woods with my camera as usual… but I’m not looking for pretty pictures. Graduate courses in wildlife identification are no joke. As part of my class this quarter I have to document the presence of a certain number of species of mammals and birds. It sounds simple enough… until you have all the easy ones and subtract from the number required. Thankfully, the snow has come.
I’m still not sure about this one. But the one below everyone should know.
Only one problem -I still don’t have enough.
Tags: birds, habitat, identification, mammals, tracking, weather
Catagories: Biology, Research.
Jan, 9
Perhaps you’ve always lived in the same area -or at least have a favorite spot you migrate too at certain times. For me, this is the first winter I’ve spent away from the Appalachian Mountains in a long time and I sure am missing them.
This hazy drab gray sky that has been hanging over us here in central Ohio for the past week is getting on my nerves so I am striking back. I pulled a few files I took about a year ago and am posting them here to show the weatherman that where I come from we don’t hesitate to combine the words “winter” and “sunshine”.
Right now I’m a little excited. I just checked the 7 day forecast and found one day where there is a slight chance of sunshine -not of course to mention it’s Friday. I think I’ll put my camera batteries on to warm…
Someday I’m sure I will learn to find the beauty in these drab days… until then there is one thing that always seems to cure me. All I need to do is replace my forehead over my statistics book for a few moments and presto -I can shoot anything.
Tags: weather
Catagories: Photography.
