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mikeconley

Long Strecth

A Red-eared Slider turtle stretches out its neck to enjoy some of the warmth of the sun on the first day of Spring at Fabick Nature Preserve....
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A Red-eared Slider turtle stretches out its neck to enjoy some of the warmth of the sun on the first day of Spring at Fabick Nature Preserve.
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PENTAX K-x

settings

Aperture f/9.0 ISO 400 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 30000/100

upload_date

Mar, 2015

Views

444

Likes

+24

Awards

People's Choice in Turtles Photo Challenge

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

Peer Award

Top Choice

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 2

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

Fabick Nature Preserve is a 125 acre natural area that is part of the Fenton Parks system. A short 10 minutes from my home I visit it often.

Time

On the first day of Spring, a warm, sunny day, I went to Fabick Nature Preserve late in the afternoon to hike and enjoy and photograph some of the early signs of Spring. As I hiked around Preslar Lake, I spotted a Red-eared Slider turtle about 4:15 on a small log sticking up out of the lake among the American Lotus plants.

Lighting

There was some muted light due to the late hour of the day. The water was almost a gray cloudy look that still produced a muted reflection image.

Equipment

This was shot with a Pentax K-x with a Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto lens using a 300 mm Focal length, ISO 400 with an f/9 at 1/200 sec.

Inspiration

Since it was the first day of Spring, after what seemed like an endless gray, cold winter I was looking for any signs of new life. I was surprised to see the Red-eared Slider already enjoying the warmer weather like I was. My goal in hiking is exercise and capturing the beauty I see so I can share it with others.

Editing

I shoot in RAW which allows me to more easily tweak the image during post-processing. Due to the muted light I slightly increased the exposure, black, and contrast settings and slightly lowered the brightness setting. This helped bring out the the colors in the mostly dull, dark olive tones of the turtle.

In my camera bag

In my camera bag I always carry my Pentax K-x and three lenses: a Pentax 18-55 mm and 50-200 mm and 50 mm Macro and a Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto. I also carry two Neutral Density filters and a circular Polarizer filter for my two Pentax lenses and a couple of sets of backup batteries. In a separate case I carry my tripod.

Feedback

Keep your eye out for new and interesting possibilities. Don’t shy from visiting a place frequently and at different times of the day. Nature has its own way of surprising us with fresh and exciting beauty as the lighting and the seasons change. To photograph nature be willing to get down and dirty. For this shot I had to lie down on the shoreline of the lake to be at eye level with the turtle.

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mikeconley

mikeconley

Long Strecth

A Red-eared Slider turtle stretches out its neck to enjoy some of the warmth of the sun on the first day of Spring at Fabick Nature Preserve.... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow mikeconley

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A Red-eared Slider turtle stretches out its neck to enjoy some of the warmth of the sun on the first day of Spring at Fabick Nature Preserve....
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.