Natural History Museum Butterfly Pavilion

I took my family down to D.C today and we visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.   We basically went for two reasons, 1) to see the Butterfly Pavilion and 2) to see the Nature’s Best Photography 2009 Exhibit.  I was extremely impressed with both.

The Butterfly Pavilion is maybe 500 sq feet filled with plants, flowers and butterflies.  The butterflies are obviously very used to people strolling through and are not shy about posing for photographers.  Unfortunately, no tripods are allowed.  However, I was still able to come out with some pretty sharp images since the pavilion is very well lit and you are allowed to use flash.  If you go to the pavilion during the winter, be sure to make sure your camera and lens are nice and warm or have a lens cloth handy — the temperature and humidity in the pavilion will quickly condense on the front of your lens.

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

The Natures Best Photography 2009 exhibit was amazing.  This is the 2nd year we have visited the exhibit and I always come away inspired and humbled by the amazing talent and dedication that it took to create those images.  If you go, and I encourage you to go, be sure to check out the Youth Photographer of the Year winner, Alex Mody, from nearby Vienna Virginia.  His image of a Barred owl is amazing.

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural history Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Natural History Museum Butterfly Pavilion

Douthat State Park

Douthat State Park

Shortly after Christmas, we had the opportunity to visit some good friends in Lexington, Virginia. While there, I made a short predawn drive to Douthat State Park, arriving about an hour before sunrise. As this first image shows, it was cold, with a good bit of ice on the lake.   The extra image width of the full frame camera helped me to capture the full vista of the frozen lake with my 24mm lens — something that would have been much more difficult with the crop sensor on the 20D.  Below is another view of the lake taken about 40 minutes later.

Douthat State Park

The ability to “go wide” really shows itself when you get close to an object in the foreground, as I did in this image below of a stream at Douthat State Park. In reality, the stone in the foreground was pretty small, but the wide angle lens makes it appear much larger in the image.

Douthat State Park

Virginia Military Institute

My first morning in Lexington, I got up early to take predawn pictures.  I was hoping for a foggy morning and was not dissapointed.  The image below of a Civil War era Cannon at the Virginia Military Institute has an entirely different feel on a foggy morning than it would on a nice clear day.  Unlike the images at Douthat State Park that were taken at the wide end of my 24-105 lens, here I zoomed all the way out to the longest focal length (105mm), which compresses the fog and enhances the feeling of loneliness.

Cannon in the morning fog at Virginia Military Institute

Another image I captured that morning was of the four training cannons known as “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.”  Noticed how much the fog had lifted in the 30 minutes since I captured the previous image.  The feeling of loneliness is gone.

Cannons at Virginia Military Institute

Early Morning Frost

The last image I’ll share in this post really highlights the great image quality I’ve seen from the 5D Mark II.  It’s an image of early morning frost on some grass by the pond at Claude Moore Park.  Even in this small web version, the clarity of the frost crystals on the grass is amazing.

Early Morning Frost at Claude Moore Park

A couple notes.  You can find more of my recent images on my flickr page.  Also, taking pictures in the cold carries with it some extra concerns for both yourself and your camera equipment.   So dress warmly and make sure you have a large plastic bag with you.  Before going back inside, wrap your camera in a plastic bag, then place it inside it’s camera bag.  Let it warm up slowly for several hours before removing it once you get back into your warm house.  You can read more tips at this Digital Photography School link.

Arlington National Cementery Christmas Wreaths

After several years of trying, my schedule finally allowed me to participate in the Wreaths Across America wreath laying event at Arlington National Cemetery last Saturday (12 Dec).  I was amazed at the out pouring of people who came to remember those who paid the ultimate price in the service to our nation.  Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company, Harrington, Maine, donated over 15,000 holiday wreaths that were placed on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery by a huge mass of volunteers.  I only got to place 3 wreaths before they were all distributed.   Based on that, my crude estimate is there were three-to-five thousand volunteers at this event.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and you will consider going to this or a similar event next year.  They have them at cemeteries all over the nation.  A list can be found on the Wreaths Across America site.  More images from the wreath laying event are on my Flickr site.

Wreaths Across America

Wreaths Across America

Effective 2 minute exposure of Great Falls

Thanks to some gifts from family, I had the opportunity to take an Autumn color photography workshop hosted by Joseph Rossbach.  Joe is a professional nature photographer who has won many awards and published several books and is featured on the cover of the recently published 50 Amazing Things You Must See and Do in the Greater D.C. Area. The other 6 or 7 photographers in the workshop were outstanding as well and I was truly privileged to have the opportunity to learn from so many talented photographers.

Yellow Leaves at Great Falls

During the workshop, we photographed Great Falls National Park and Scott’s Run Nature Preserve.  I knew about Great Falls of course, but I didn’t know about some of the areas Joe took us.  There are some great places to photograph the falls up close and away from the popular overlooks.  And learning about Scott’s Run was one of the gems of the workshop.

Red leaves at Great Falls National Park

Fall is my favorite season.  The colors God decorates the trees in are so gorgeous and seem to beg to be photographed.  Yet it seemed that most of my images failed to capture the beauty God provided.  So I was hoping through this workshop I could learn to capture the colors we enjoy with our eyes.  You can be the judge if it was successful.  Perhaps one of the primary things I learned is that “less is more.”  Focus in on the details that reflect the whole scene around you, which motivated the image on the right.

I also had a fun time learning how to use a polarizing filter properly.  I knew about using a polarizer to make the sky darker and bluer, but I had not tried using it on a cloudy day before.  On such days, it works great to reduce the glare from the rocks (and leaves), especially if they are wet from a recent rain.  This came in quite useful since it was cloudy the entire weekend and rained quite a few times.

The image at the top of the post was captured using another technique I learned from Joe.   I captured nine images, each a 13 seconds long.  Joe taught me how to combine these images in Photoshop for an effective exposure of around 2 minutes.  At this length, the flowing, churning, water become very smooth and the clouds and the sky streak away from the camera.  Using another post-processing technique he taught us, called an Orton effect, sometimes knows as a “slide sandwich,” the image is given a glow, as seen below.

Great Falls 2 min exposure with Orton effect

Of course, we also focused on learning composition techniques, particularly looking for leading lines and triangles, which are powerful compositional elements.  Despite the weather, it was a great weekend.  You can see more images from the weekend on my Flickr site.  Also, please be sure to check out my regular website, www.radiantviewphotography.com.  You can see Joe’s images from the workshop on his blog.

Yellow Leaves at Scotts Run

Scotts Run Nature Preserve

Scotts Run Nature Preserve

1st place in 2009 Claude Moore Park Photo Expo, Youth 12 and under category

We just found out this evening that my daughter Sarah’s picture of a Lotus blossom won 1st place in the Claude Moore Park 2009 Photo Expo for the Youth 12 and under category!  Needless to say, she was very excited and I was very proud of her.

I submitted two photos.   One for the “Roots & Buds” category and one for the “winged wonders.”  While they were selected to be shown in the expo, I didn’t win any ribbons.   Oh well.

The Photo Expo is this coming Saturday,  September 26th, from 10 am to 4 pm if you are interested in attending.  It’s a free event.

My two photos are shown below.

Lotus on Canvas by Tim Pennington

Gyro Falcon by Tim Pennington

Panoramic of VMI Barracks, Sept 2009

Click on the image for a “zoomify” version.

Full Moon rising over VMI Old Barracks

Full Moon Rise over VMI Old Barracks

My family decided to take advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and visit special friends in Lexington, Virginia.  Since this would cause me to miss the full moon rise over DC, I did some quick research on Google Maps and figured out where I needed to stand so I could capture the full moon rising over the Old Barracks of the Virginia Military Institute.

My daughter and I got to post about 30 minutes before moonrise to allow us plenty of time to setup.  I used the time to capture a series of images to create a panoramic of Old Barracks, New Barracks and the “New New” Barracks which was completed this past year.  Once I get it the series of images processed into a panoramic, it will replace the image currently in the panoramic gallery of my web page.

Full Moonrise over VMI Old Barracks

As it turned out, we had a 15 minutes or so longer than I expected.  When you capture the moonrise over DC from the US Marine Corps Memorial, you are essentially looking down on the city.  So, you see the moon almost immediately when it breaks the horizon.  At VMI, the moon came up behind Old Barracks, so we had to wait another 15 minutes before we could actually see it from our position on the Parade Ground.

Full moonrise over VMI Old Barracks

Capturing the full moon over Barracks proved to be a little more challenging than in DC for a couple reasons.  One, the front of Barracks is not as well lit as the monuments in DC.  Two, this combined with the 15 minute delay between moonrise over the horizon and moonrise over Barracks further increased the intensity range between a good exposure of the moon and a good exposure of barracks.  Nevertheless, I was pleased with a few of the captures.

VMI Parade

VMI’s 1st Parade of the 2009-2010 year

Another photographic opportunity presented itself when I learned that the 1st parade of VMI’s 2009-2010 school year was scheduled for the morning after the full moonrise.  My wife and youngest daughter joined me to watch the parade.  They seemed to enjoy it and I was glad to be a  spectator taking pictures rather than standing in the ranks as I was many years ago.  A few more images from the parade can be seen on my Flickr page.

Any guesses why this image is titled "five demerits"

I chose my last image for a couple reasons.  One, you will not find another image like it from a parade by any other military school, including West Point.  Why?  Because VMI, being the only military school in the U.S. to fight as a unit during combat, is the only school authorized to “fix Bayonets” during a parade.  It’s also interesting for another reason.  One of the cadets in this image deserves five demerits.   Any guesses why? You can click on the image for a larger view.  I hope to hear from you.

The full moon over Washington D.C., Sept 2009

1. Location: The best place I’ve found to capture the full moon over D.C. is in front of the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial (a.k.a Iwo Jima Memorial), or the Netherlands Carillon.  I actually prefer the Netherlands Carillon as the street signs and lights are more obtrusive from the Iwo Jima Memorial.  Make sure you get there at least 30 minutes before sunset as you will find literally hundreds of your fellow photographers joining you for the event.  On September 4th of this year, the moon rises at 1921 (that’s 7:21 pm in civilian time).  The moon will rise at 93 degrees (north is 0 degrees, east is 90 degrees) and will move south as it rises.  By 2030 (8:30 pm) it will be 12 degrees above the horizon and and will be at 103 degrees, or 13 degrees south of due east.    For reference, when the shot to the left was taken about 15 minutes after moonrise — assuming the clock on my camera was fairly accurate — the moon was around 88 degrees (2 degrees north of due east) and around 4 degrees above the horizon.  So, as you can see, you have to work fast and be in position when the time strikes.

2.  Camera Settings: From this location, you will want somewhere between a 150 and 200 mm focal length lens to crop in on the three main monuments and the full moon.  Make sure you use a tripod to steady your camera at the long focal lengths.  The image to the left was taken at a focal length of 200 mm.  If possible, shoot in RAW format as you will likely need the extra latitude during the post production stage (at least I do).  Since the moon is reflected sunlight, I usually use daylight white balance.  For those of you with point and shoots, zoom in as far as you can and use a tripod.  I will use a cable release to trip the shutter so that I don’t accidentally move the camera while taking the picture.  If you don’t have a shutter release, try using the self-timer feature.

3.  Exposure: Getting the right exposure on these type of images is tough.  You are trying to simultaneously balance three light sources: 1) the moon, 2) the lights on the monuments and 3) the sky.  That’s why it often takes several years of trying to get a good exposure.  The general rule of thumb for full moon photography is F/11 and 1/ISO.  So if you have ISO 100, set your exposure to 1/100 of a second.  Unfortunately, to get a good exposure on the monuments from the Iwo Jima memorial, I’ve found the settings are usually F/11 and 1 sec.   That’s about a 7 stop difference!   I would recommend starting with ISO 100, F/11, and 1/2 to 1/8th of a second.  Check the LCD screen for “blinkies” that indicate over exposure and adjust accordingly.  This is why its important to shoot in RAW if your camera offers this feature.  For those with the point and shoot variety, use the night photography setting and learn how to add plus and negative exposure compensation.  If the image looks too dark, add plus exposure compensation.  If you see “blinkies”, add negative exposure compensation.

4.  Reminders and a few must:

Full Moon over Washington, DC, Sept 2008

• Get there early. You’ll need the time to stake out your place and get the camera set up.
• Use a tripod to get tack sharp images.
• Turn off your flash.  The flash on your camera is useless for this type of photography and will only serve to annoy those around you.
• Take all the images you can.  You’ll never know which one will be the best and you can always delete when you get home.
• Have fun.

If this time doesn’t work out, the next best opportunity appears to be Feb 28th, 2010.  The moon will rise at 1821 (6:21 pm) at an angle of 87 degrees.   Happy Shooting!

I recently came across a small patch of beautiful lavender flowers.   Unfortunately the patch was too small for anything except perhaps a macro shot, which wasn’t in the cards with the wind conditions that day and the fact that I didn’t have my tripod with me.  I know, I should never leave home without it.

So, working with what I had, I decided try one of the “rule breaking” techniques I learned about from a talk Joseph Rossbach gave to our photo club recently.   Using a small aperture to create a long (1/4 of a second) shutter speed, I deliberately moved the camera while taking the image.  In this first picture, the motion was a rotation with a little zooming of the lens at the same time.  In the 2nd image, the motion was more of an arch shape.

Whether this work is up to individual taste.  Personally, I think this type of photography is really cool, perhaps just because it’s such a contrast to the normal  “keep things still” mindset.   I really like how the circular lines in the 1st image tend to draw your eye to the lavender flower at rotation center that is still in focus.

At the same time, these images are a challenge as they force both the viewer and photographer to consider shapes and lines more than the technical details of the shot.

What is your opinion?  Do these images work for you or are they just a waste of pixels?  I’d love to hear your comments.

Three of the shots are going to be hung at the Loudoun County Photography Club’s photo Expo at Virginia Campus of the George Washington University.

Feel free to leave your comments here.  Or you can see more images from the Kenilworth trip and leave comments on my flickr page.