2013, Day 272 - At the summit

That's probably not the best perch what with all the wind and rain we've been having but maybe you just have to find an open space to dry off.  We're in that in-between stage where the weather is rotten and there is no fall color to dash off to capture between storms.  Oh well, I guess there is always Netflix to tide me over :)

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 800 ISO

2013, Day 271 - Beauty bokeh

It has been a wet and windy weekend; there have been power outages and flash flood warnings.  In the meantime the poor dogs have to go out in the rain and they've been getting soaked multiple times each day.  Fortunately there have been a few breaks and even some decent light so I took the opportunity to chase the dogs around with a camera.  I think Frankie looks great with this really shallow depth of field, the out of focus areas are so smooth and silky and his eyes almost sparkle.

Canon EOS M, Canon 50/f1.2L
50mm, f1.2, 1/60 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 270 - Green is the new gray

Today is my buddy Brian's birthday and this is a picture of him descending the many steps from the upper level of Ta Keo.  Not that I need reminding but Brian has been a great friend and travel buddy.  The quality of the banter with this guy is unparalleled (that shirt is still green homie).  So although he is exiled to California where I can't celebrate with him I am raising a glass to his good health.  Happy birthday Brian!

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
33mm, f4, 1/160 sec @ 3200 ISO

2013, Day 269 - Ready to romp

This is my friend Jo's baby, well, to be fair this is her husband Glen's puppy.  He came to the last race meet and charmed the pants off of just about everyone.  Bouncy and afraid of no one, he was soon friends with everyone!  He really enjoyed watching the big dogs run and I am sure that when he gets a bit older he will take everything he's learned from watching and burn up the track.

Canon 1D X, Canon 300/f2.8L IS
300mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 268 - Sweetness

My boy Johan doesn't get a lot of photographic attention, he's not a big ham and tends to fall into the background when I have my camera in hand.  But when it is time to relax this boy is center stage.  He loves to cuddle and will get too close if you let him.  Poor Johan thinks he's a lap dog but he's really eighty pounds of pure love and this is my winter cuddle buddy.  He insists on sleeping in bed with me and I am fortunate that he is not only a sound sleeper but he doesn't hog to covers either :)

Canon EOS M, Canon 22/f2
22mm, f2, 1/40 sec @ 500 ISO

2013, Day 267 - Wooded

I love the thickly wooded forests of evergreens in the Pacific Northwest.  They have an amazing smell; sweet earth, the sharp scent of the needles, woody decomposing leaves, it is magical.  Now that fall is here mushrooms will be breaking through the litter on the forest floors.  I cannot wait for the foggy mornings that lend that crisp mineral smell of water to the mix.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 35/f1.4R
35mm, f2, 1/75 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 266 - Ignition

Another from my California trip.  Rarely am I treated to such a spectacular sunrise, I drove around the countryside stopping every time a view caught my eye.  It's the little details that make this photo for me; the trees silhouetted in the distance, the power lines, the radio tower, they give interest to the landscape and the color of the rising sun only serves to highlight their presence.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4R OIS
55mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 265 - Snarl

When you spend your time at home laying on the floor with your dogs it gives you an interesting perspective.  I go through spurts of being good about taking pictures of them and then they get photographically neglected for a while.  Today I pulled myself out of the rut and took some pictures of them lounging in the living room.  Frankie is the most animated, Hubert is a bigger clown but he never sits still and is therefore a difficult subject, so he gets the love today.  I caught him yawning and thought he looked too handsome not to share :)

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.2L
50mm, f2, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 264 - Waning

I think my arthropod buddies are going to be getting scarce soon.  While today might be the first day of fall it also marks the first time I've turned on my furnace since spring.  Cold weather is an anathema to most insects so I expect my photography will have to return to my favorite fall subjects, landscapes.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 263 - Snowflake

Tomorrow is the first day of fall and it is rather bittersweet for me.  We've had a wonderful summer, the best I can remember, and I would love for it to continue.  The flowers have been especially vibrant without the heat to bake them mercilessly.  Still, fall promises bright colors as the trees change, cool nights and crisp mornings, apples and squashes, and evenings cuddled up with the dogs and a book.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/640 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 262 - Basking

It has started raining this evening and the forecast is calling for clouds, rain, and temperatures in the low sixties.  With the first day of fall almost upon us it looks like we're getting the weather to match.  Oh well, we've had an absolutely smashing summer.  Warm but not hot and lots of sunshine.  It couldn't have been better and I will admit that I am rather looking forward to the fall color.  In the meantime the pups are enjoying the sunshine while it lasts; Halle looked very content charging her solar cells.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f4L
200mm, f4m 1/6400 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 261 - Piercing

It is sunset day today but I didn't have the energy to find a good sunset to share that you haven't already seen so instead I am serving a little sunrise.  It was a cloudy morning and the sun was struggling to pierce a heavy bank of clouds leading to some dramatic colors.  The separation of the clouds is rather harsh so if you know what this phenomenon is called please let me know.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4 OIS
55mm, f5.6, 1/2000 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 260 - Hooked

There is more rain coming and the cold weather that it brings will create more sleepy bees.  I wonder how their muscles work, why they can hang from a flower for hours at a time without fatigue.  It would be neat to be able to do the same thing but I don't think I would want an exoskeleton.  While armor would be fun it probably wouldn't be practical.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/100 sec @ 1250 ISO

2013, Day 259 - Deep skies

I love high contrast black and white landscapes.  They're so dramatic and the clouds just pop out at you.  These are the hills just east of Ashland and yesterday the skies were a deep blue punctuated by white clouds with just a little ominous color.  It is so fitting that the landscape is dramatic seeing as Ashland is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and drama is a daily occurrence.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4 OIS
20.5mm, f8, 1/900 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 258 - Hillock

There were stormy skies most of my way south to Ashland today and with such dramatic skies I couldn't help but make a couple stops.  This was from a two minute stop just off of an offramp to no community, just a service station.  It was pretty and despite the ominous appearance of the sky it didn't rain at all.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4 OIS
39mm, f8, 1/750 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 257 - Slow and steady

Usually puts you in last place.  Today Frankie didn't disappoint, he won the turtle award for at least the fifth time this season, dead last.  Fortunately there is always a prize for being the slowest so it is actually better than being second-to-last.  The best part is that Frankie LOVES to run, he  has such a good time, this is his favorite thing in the world so even though he is about as fast as a snail it is worth it :)

Canon 1D X, Canon 300/f2.8L IS
300mm, f5.6, 1/800 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 256 - Dangling

There was a nice mist falling this morning.  Not so heavy as to soak through your clothes, just enough to leave the world feeling dewy.  Knowing that the dahlia season will be coming to an end in the next few weeks I decided to make a stop off before my morning errands and take some flower pictures.  Well, true to form, I was completely distracted by the insects and this bee in particular.  He was just hanging off a petal and covered in dew with the morning light filtering though the clouds giving him a little backlighting.  A typical wet Portland morning.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/80 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 255 - Seeing red

Wasps always seem like such angry insects to me.  Maybe it is because they're all hard angles and stingers, I can't rightly be sure but they aren't friendly like bees.  Perhaps it is because they don't produce honey so there is no sweetness to them.  Or possibly because there are parasitic wasps who do awful things to other insects.  Could it be that bees die after they sting so there is an element of sacrifice whereas wasps have the ability to attack repeatedly?  Maybe it is all those things but Mr. Grumpypants here found the morning chilly enough not to both chasing me off.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/100 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 254 - Migation

The migrating birds weren't a planned element but when I looked at this photo it struck me that they're really missing out.  There are sunflowers everywhere ready to drop their seeds and they're flying away from the fields.  It made me wonder if there is some kind of unseen deterrent at play.  Either way, it was a pretty morning!

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4 OIS
39mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 253 - Split

I stopped off in northwest Portland to run a couple errands this morning and ended up driving under the ramps of the Fremont bridge.  Although I've driven under them a number of times and even taken photos none of them have been what I wanted to share.  This though, while not perfect, I like.  There is great texture, you can almost see how the bridges are constructed from underneath, it makes them seem more real, like an accomplishment of man.

Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 14/f2.8
14mm, f5, 1/480 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 252 - Heads bowed

Sometimes my imagination gets the better of me.  I look at these sunflowers as they start to wilt and the beautiful sunrise and it becomes of holy event.  The sunflowers are praying, heads lowered, as the sun rises into the sky.  They are communing with nature and hoping for thousands of healthy children as their lives come to an end.  Sadly they don't realize that they've being farmed, the seed will be collected for sale and the next generation will have another source.

Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 14/f2.8
14mm, f4, 1/170 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 251 - Face first

Look at this little pig of a bee, he has food all over his face.  I watched him gorge on this flower for a few minutes, he attacked it with such ferocity it was almost comical.  I guess when it is an all-you-can-eat buffet you go with gusto!

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/200 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 250 - Watching

I think this is the last photo of my little friend.  Although there are more in the series I suspect it gets old seeing him again and again.  Still, I like his dark hairs that look like horns and his big eyes.  Even still he looks so animated.  So in celebration of Spider Sunday here is my little jumping buddy one last time.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/640 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 249 - Visitation

Ladybugs always remind me of my grandmother.  She used to tell us before every trip we took "I wish I was a ladybug so I could ride on your shoulder and share your adventures."  Recently I got a ladybug tattooed on my arm in her memory so that she is always sharing my adventures but it still brings a smile to my face every time I happen upon a real ladybug, like Grandma is there checking up on me.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/125 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 248 - Glutton

This little guy is a cucumber beetle.  They are terrible pests eating agricultural crops and flowers with equal abandon.  Look at his distended abdomen, he has been gorging on the flowers at Swan Island Dahlias and it really shows!

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 247 - Pounce

With bees and flies zipping past this little guy was watching avidly, waiting for one to come within range of his incredible leap.  He kept turning back and forth, like someone watching a tennis match.  When a potential meal got close he would tense with anticipation but I never saw him leave his perch.  Hopefully he ended up with a well-earned snack.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 246 - Hiding

I know most people would disagree but I think jumping spiders area adorable.  It is probably because they have big eyes and are fuzzy.  This little guy was waiting for a fly to come close so he could pounce and was animatedly tracking them as they flew by.  However, when a bumblebee rumble got too close he retreated back into the flower and waited for danger to pass.  I am probably going to inflict more photos of this little guy on you in days to come just so you can see his many poses and great excitement.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 245 - Circling

It's fun watching the bees pollenate the flowers.  They are so methodical, spiraling inward as they go and it always seems that they move clockwise.  Maybe my memory is failing me but I can only recall clockwise movement.  If that is the case I wonder if they move counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere...

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 500 ISO

2013, Day 244 - Stalked

Another beautiful California sunrise, blue skies above, a hint of reds and oranges on the horizon, and sunflowers ready for harvesting wilting with the heat of the scorching afternoon sun.  Sometimes it is worth running out the door with your camera in the clothes you pulled on in haste that you wore the day before to capture these kinds of moments.

Fuji X-E1, Fuji 18-55/f2.8-4
18mm, f5.6, 1/60 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 243 - A light snack

I really hit the jackpot when I went to Old House Dahlias earlier this week.  There were insects everywhere and dozens of beautiful flowers.  It was a bit of macro overload to be honest but I now have lots of material to share.  Like this giant fly that I found completing his morning ablutions while I took his pictures, a bit of an exhibitionist I suppose...

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/320 sec @ 160 ISO