FANTASY IN FLIGHT

HUMMINGBIRDS IN FLIGHT

I’ve been fortunate in getting hummingbirds to stop in mid-flight and pose for my camera.

Well, I'll let the secret out, I use a fast lens, a Nikon 2.8mm, a steady tripod, and stand patiently near a hummingbird feeder with my finger glued to the shutter.

Hummingbirds are native only to North and South America, and many species fly as many as 500 miles non-stop during their migration period.

Unlike other birds, hummingbirds have wings that rotate in a figure-8 motion.

This unique wing rotation allows the hummingbird to fly forward, backwards, up, down and sideways. The most exceptional flying skill that the hummingbird possesses is hovering.

The wings of the hummingbird move at a rate of 80 times a second, and during courtship may increase to 200 times a second. In normal flight a hummingbird flies between 20 and 30mph, but when diving can reach speeds as fast as 60mph.

With a heart beat as fast as 1,260 beats per minute, the hummingbird will feed at 45 second intervals, up to 8 times an hours.

A wing beat speed of 60-80 times a second requires a fast shutter speed.

To get the faster shutter speed, I increase the ISO and try to keep the aperture at f/8 for the depth of field. I always pre-focus the lens to an area before the action starts. Shooting in bright sunlight also helps with the shutter speed and brings out the highlights in the feathers. I’ve never used a flash, although some photographers highly recommend it with hummingbirds. My favorite lens for this type of photography is the Nikon 80-200mm 2.8, mounted on a tripod. Getting a clear, sharp photo of a hummingbird sometimes seems a stroke of luck. One of the times when they were putting on the best show was at dusk, when I didn't have my Quantum flash, so I just sat and enjoyed the entertainment.

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With my Nikon and tripod, my goal is to recreate the scene as it appears in nature, to preserve in a photographic image the awesome, yet simplistic beauty of the scene that waits around a bend or over a hill. Sometimes it's a colorful landscape, and many times I'm allowed in the presence of the numerous creatures that adapt to life in the wild.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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AUGUST MOONS

The Full Moon at Walker Lake, Nevada

The month of August has proven to be a good time for me to photograph full moons. Since we are due for one on the 24th, I thought I’d provide some information on how I took one of my favorite full moon photos, the “August Moon” at Walker Lake, Nevada. On an August night in 1999, I was driving on the highway from Twenty Mile Beach after taking twilight photos of the full moon, when I noticed the glow on the water from the moon. I immediately pulled over to a level area, and set my Nikon back up on the tripod. At this time, I was still shooting film, long before I made the transition to digital.

During the film days, many of my full moon landscape photos were taken by creating a multiple exposure in my Nikon 8008s camera. The reason for multiple exposures on full moon photography is two-fold: the moon is much brighter than the night landscape and very far away. A multiple exposure allows the moon to show up life size in the photo and not be overexposed due to the difference in lighting. To photograph a multiple exposure, the film is not advanced to the next frame, which allows more than one exposure to be taken on that frame.

On the “August Moon” photograph, I positioned my Nikon 35-70mm 2.8 lens to include only the lake with the moon glow on the water, and a portion of the sky over head without the moon. I metered the landscape at f/5.6 with a 4 second exposure. After taking this first exposure, I changed to a Nikon 500mm 4.0 lens, and metered the moon at f/5.6 for a 1/250 second shutter speed. Here comes the tricky part, which is to carefully position the moon in the correct area of the sky, over the moon glow! Once the moon has been positioned in the frame, a final click of the shutter is made and the frame is advanced. If my estimations are correct, I’ll have a beautiful “August Moon” photograph.

In conclusion, I’ll let you in on an insight: I always take more than one photograph during a full moon multiple exposure just to make sure that the moon’s in the right place. Through experience, I’ve had my moon show up in some pretty strange places, over clouds, on top of buildings and in front of mountains. At this point, you might be wondering how it’s done with digital, well that’s a future post. So come back often for a visit!

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Aurora Ghost Town

Early Mining Days in Nevada 

A drive through Lucky Boy Pass, off Highway 395, then a turn on a narrow winding rocky road will lead you back into Nevada’s gold and silver history to what was once the bustling town of Aurora.

Located just three miles from the California border, the town was founded around 1836, when a small group of prospectors discovered a ledge of silver and several veins of gold and proclaimed the area “Aurora! Goddess of the Dawn”.

It didn’t take long before word got out and the town of Aurora became established with a general store, post office, some saloons and a hotel. By 1869, the town had grown to a population of 10,000 and the mines were producing a reported $27 million in gold.

Aurora’s heyday lasted about a decade, until the gold and silver ran out. Presently, with the harsh desert environment and human vandalism, only a few structures are left to remind us of how life must have been.

At its peak, Aurora had as many as 17 mills, worth a total of 175 stamps. The elaborate frame from one of the stamp mills can be found just off the dirt road, near Aurora Creek.

The Gyratory Crusher was a large capacity crushing machine. Imagine how it was transported to a location through the desert and up a slope for operation.

The Hardinge Patent Conical Mill was used to reduce various minerals like gold, silver, copper and lead. This heavy mill was built to be sectionalized for pack animal transportation.

Heavy equipment and ladder are clues to how work was once done in the mines at Aurora.

A residence in the bustling town of Aurora.

A cement structure was thought to have once been a bank.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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