Posts Tagged ‘Pentax SF7’
I pondered this image for a while, trying to decide on a suitable title, doorway and bird cages? Umm maybe, never mind, I just like the picture so here it is. Taken during my China 1999 trip, from memory this shot was taken in the town of Kaifeng. In this neighbourhood it was common for [...]
Lingyin Si, loosely translated to Temple of the Soul’s Retreat or Temple of Inspired Seclusion is a popular attraction on the outskirts of Hangzhou. It was originally built in 326AD but over the years has been destroyed and restored 16 times. The location consists of a series of Buddha statues and carvings large and small. [...]
Following on from my previous entry, another shot taken early on a foggy morning by the West Lake, Hangzhou. An exercise in simplicity this one. A single, coloured, autumn leaf floats on the lake surface in an otherwise almost monochrome image. Monochrome doesn’t necessarily mean black and white! In this case, with the exception of [...]
Hangzhou is known for a number of things one of them being the West Lake, an artificial lake built around 800AD. I took several pictures in the early morning with the overnight fog just lifting giving a moody feel. In this instance I went with a black and white treatment and like the range of [...]
Another shot from the China 1999 series, taken in the town of Fengjie. A whole number of classical compositional themes here, the single figure on a “rule of thirds” placement, the single contrasting colour element (the umbrella) against the generally muted earthy tones, the recurring lines and the rock textures. In all I think this [...]
A fairly simple image today, where ever I went in China I saw so many people both in major cities and small towns, riding bicycles and tricycles. Things are changing fast however, and with increasing industrialization and extraordinary economic growth, there is a growing push for people to use more and more motor vehicles. Indeed [...]
Well he’s got wings that he can start flapping if he falls but none the less, this strikes me as a pretty good balancing act. A blue footed booby (maybe that should read ‘sure footed booby’) tries to scratch himself whilst standing on one foot on the very edge of a cliff in the Galapagos [...]
I’ve entitled this post “Darwin’s finches” but let me immediately qualify that. You see there are 13 different species of finches in the Galapagos Islands and I have no way of telling which one of the 13 this fellow is. If there are any ornithologists out there who think they’ve got the answer, I’d love [...]
I’ve commented previously that I often try to simplify my images where possible, well today the search for simplicity has gone rather extreme. This shot was taken in the Galapagos Islands during my 2005 visit and is actually closer to reality than the viewer might initially think. The bird, and I must confess I can’t [...]
What’s the hurry? Well if you’re a Galapagos Giant Tortoise, there is no hurry. The Galapagos giant tortoise, is the largest living tortoise in the world and has 10 sub species surviving in the wild distributed on seven of the Galapagos Islands. (There were originally 12 sub species but their numbers have been impacted by [...]
After the “break with reality” of my most recent “Weird Wednesday” posting, today it’s back to something more realistic. Today it’s one of a series of pictures I took of a Lava Gull in the Galapagos Islands. The Lava Gull, or Larus fuliginosus, for those who prefer, is only found in the Galapagos and it’s [...]
Continuing with shots from my Galapagos Islands trip, this time getting away from the seabirds and waders and finding that there was good subject material hidden among the leaves too. Pentax SF7 with Tokina 80-400mm zoom. Original capture on colour negative film. The value of constructive criticism. I’ve been thinking recently about some comments I’ve [...]
From the Galapagos Islands series, I photographed this heron as it stalked the shoreline where black volcanic rocks met the water. A couple of points to make here, firstly the behaviour of the bird. Whilst it was for the most part moving slowly through the shallows looking for prey, it would occasionally stop and engage [...]
Palaeontologists like to tell us that dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago, but having seen some of the iguanas on the Galapagos Islands, I’m sure not all the dinosaurs died out! I’ve shown some shots recently of these “dinosaurs” that were very much alive but today it’s the death of the dinosaur. The [...]
When we think of the beauty of wildlife it’s easy to think of birds with their multi coloured feathers or perhaps the mammals with their fur, but mention reptiles and many people cringe. Yet as we see here, sometimes beauty wears scales! Photographed in the Galapagos Islands, on Santa Cruz Island from memory, this little [...]
A common sight along the shorelines of the Galapagos Islands are Sally Lightfoot crabs which can be seen, in quite large numbers, clinging to rocks as shown here. A question that occurs to me is, “who was Sally Lightfoot?” Was there actually a Ms Lightfoot? Was she a naturalist/scientist etc? Or does this species get [...]
Looked in a mirror lately? I can’t help it, today’s picture calls for a speech bubble, “You think I’m ugly, have you looked in a mirror lately?” From the Galapagos Islands folder this is the land iguana, a lighter colour than his marine cousin and quite common throughout the islands, he can often be seen [...]
Continuing the bird photography theme, I’m pretty sure these birds are called oystercatchers, if I’m wrong please let me know. Photographed in the Galapagos Islands, I recall we landed on a nice little beach one afternoon and it proved very nice for swimming and snorkelling but not before I’d done a little exploration with my [...]
I said at the start of the week that the feathers would be flying, and so they are in today’s first shot. Taken in the waters of the Galapagos Islands it shows an adult male frigate bird, with its red throat patch partially inflated, being harassed in mid air by a group of adolescents. [...]
Today more pelican shots, this time in flight, soaring, skimming and flapping. Someone commented recently that she thought pelicans had “personality” and I tend to agree, there is something kind of endearing about them, the long bill, the round body, a cartoonist could turn out a great caricature I’m sure. Very little by way of [...]
More from the Galapagos Islands series, this time going with a more stylized look. Similar to a shot I presented last week, the frigate bird is essentially black and white in colouring anyway so the choice to go monochrome was an easy one. As regular readers know by now the toned effect is a favourite [...]
Continuing the feathered theme, this time a pelican in silhouette. This shot is uncropped and has had very little digital processing done to it, the scene is very much as I saw it at the time. I like the simplicity of the image and the graphical quality of it. Going through some of my shots, [...]
With the mangroves in the background and water below, this pelican found a convenient place to perch. (From the Galapagos Islands series) Pentax SF7 with Tokina 80-400mm zoom, Kodak ISO 200 colour negative film.
Most of the posts this coming week will relate to bird photography but before I get to that, I wanted to post this particular image. It was taken very near to where the upcoming pelican shots were taken but is very different. Personally it’s an image that appeals to me, high key, simple, realistic but [...]