Tag: #silhouette

Uniting Earth and Sky

This stark and jagged tree on the rim of the Grand Canyon makes an interesting natural sculpture by itself. But give it the leading role in the landscape, and the tree unites the earth and sky into one composition that is filled with color and contrast.

Grand Canyon, tree silhouette
The dark, gnarled tree branches stand out on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon against a sky and landscape that is also filled with color and contrast.

A Lizard’s Camouflage

I was attracted to the silhouette of this lizard along the lake and moved in slowly, hoping he wouldn’t dash away before I got the shot. As I examined the photograph later, I discovered the lizard was mostly green, and brown in the tail. I’m guessing now that the lizard had turned green while sitting in the grass, and was in the process of changing to brown to match the rock where it was now sitting.

This large lizard, over a foot long, appears to be changing color from green to brown, starting with its tail. Did you know that this magical quality of lizards inspired the use of “camouflage” uniforms for the military?

Thinking in Black and White

I’m challenging myself with learning a new discipline in photography. The first step is having a digital mirrorless camera converted to capture infared light, and I’m learning about the techniques for capturing and processing these new types of images. But the camera won’t be back in my hands for a few weeks.

In the meantime, I was daydreaming about the places I would love to photograph with the infared camera — like the Florida Everglades and Joshua Tree National Park in southern California. With the limitations on travel during the pandemic, those excursions will come to pass down the road.

The scenery of Joshua Tree is fresh in my mind, since I visited the park in 2018. I decided to process one of my color photographs in black and white, as a first step in my journey to see in black and white. What do you think?

#joshuatree, #jtnp, #joshuatreenationalpark, #blackandwhite, #silverefexpro, #nik, #nikon, #shapes, #texture, #contrast, #california, #landscape, #photography, #nature, #desert, #adobe
I love the bold silhouettes as well as the textures in the Joshua Trees found in the high desert of California. A monochrome image makes the image more about shapes, textures and contrast, as it subtracts color. Processed in Adobe Camera Raw and Nik’s Silver Efex Pro.

Sunset Silhouette

If I hadn’t shot this image myself, I would guess it’s location is Hawaii. But that guess would be way off — across a continent. The stark remains of this tree were found eroding along the shore on Lover’s Key in southwest Florida. It’s on protected lands where development has not been permitted, and Nature continues to tell stories.

#sunset, #tree, #silhouette, #gulf, #florida, #loverskey, #gulfcoast, #nature, #sunstar
I like the way the clouds echo the outstretched fingers of the tree’s branches.

As the sunstar records this fleeting moment, I am reminded that soon it will be dark, and I’d better hike back.

The Break of Dawn

High in the sky we see the sunlight break the darkness,  turning night into day, while fog lingers under the canopy of these trees, protecting the cool ground with a soft blanket of dampness and shadow.

#fog, #dawn, #golfcourse, #rpgolf, #rpgolfclub, #royalpoinciana, #naples, #florida, #sky. #silhouette
For a few brief moments we can savor the contrast between the brightening sky and the soft low lying fog.

When Things Go Right

A prominent international journalist was quoted today in the New York Times, saying, “When things go right, it’s boring.” In other words, he remarked to students, when things go wrong, that’s a news story.  As a journalist, I completely agree.

As a photographer, the opposite is true. When things go right, the results can be absolutely magical. As many prominent photographers say, the first thing you need to do is “show up.” You never know what weather conditions or wildlife appearances will do to create each day’s photographic opportunities, but if you “show up” in the field often enough, you will be there when things go right, and the results are anything but boring.

Such was the case when I showed up before sunrise for a wildlife bird tour. In addition to many unexpected and unplanned bird sightings, the early morning cloudscape was magical.

#sunrise #palms, #silhouette, #orange, #sky, #clouds, #cloudscape, #magical, #unplanned, #showup, #nikon
This sunrise image was “SOOC,” or “straight out of the camera” with no processing. Good morning from Naples, Florida.