Reflections on Phyllis Rawlinson Park

It did not rain today! I got home from work, got changed and was out the door in record time. I went to the Phyllis Rawlinson Park, and adopted a 'reflections' theme for the evening. I spent a lot of time sitting in the same spot, looking around, trying to find good subjects around the pond.

It was harder than you'd think. There wasn't much that was unusual, out of the ordinary or juxtaposed... so I sat for quite a while. I did manage to learn something about my camera today; Active D Lighting, the feature that intelligently exposes High Dynamic Range images, does not play well with a polarizer. In fact, they cancel each other out. Good to know!

This is a cedar waxwing. They are very good at not letting me close. This photo is a 1:1 crop, taken with my 18-200mm zoomed fully, or with my DX sensor D300s, at an effective 300mm. It's just not long enough. A 300mm lens would be perfect for me, especially with a 2x teleconverter 'just in case'. Applying some noise reduction made the bird take on a 'painted' look.

Here's another shot, farther away so the mistakes are hidden. It's a very slick looking bird.

The first reflection shot. Bonus points if you spot the fish.

This one is all reflection, and the only way you can tell is the ever-so-slight ripple on the water's surface. More fishy bonus points.

This shot is taken with the polarizer after I figured out that Active D Lighting and the polarizer don't mix. Crazy blue sky, rich greens and yellows, and a nice blue in the water. Unfortunately, just a tad too much ripple.

If this was the G.I. Joe movie, you could take my height, length of shadow, and pin-point my exact location before sending in the attack submarines! My shadow, beside a puddle reflecting the sky. /Wave!

More cedar waxwings, caught glowing in the setting sun. The angle of the light really made their light colored plumage pop.

As time progressed, it seemed the wind died down more, and the pond settled.

This is the best reflection shot I took, but it's lost in this small photo. It's quite nice large.

I tried shooting these trees a bunch of different ways and from a bunch of different angles, but they all looked the same. The orange light of the setting sun highlighted the reddish tint in their bark, making them pop.

I tried to get a sun star and instead got what appears to be a sun splash. I guess the coated UV filter isn't the best for a crisp lens flare.

Another burning pine, lit up like a Christmas tree! Cliché quota exceeded.

© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.