October Sunshine
A view through lakeside foliage of painted turtles gathered on a floating tree branch to soak up the mid-day fall sunshine....
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A view through lakeside foliage of painted turtles gathered on a floating tree branch to soak up the mid-day fall sunshine.
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Oct, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this image at Burba Lake located inside the U.S. Army installation at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. As a photographer, the lake is a favorite attraction for me year-round because of the constantly morphing scenery brought on by the steady seasonal transitions. The quality of natural light varies throughout the day and the colors of the foliage shifts from lush tones of green in summer to the vibrantly warm colors of fall that made this image possible. My passion is nature photography and the variety of birds, insects, animals, and plants found here offer a virtual smorgasbord of imagery opportunities and challenges.Time
This photo was taken on Oct. 05, 2015 during a late morning, lunchtime walk around the lake near where I work. My favorite time to visit the lake is early morning or late afternoon because the quality of light at those times is more favorable for the images I want to shoot. My primary interest is nature photography and the morning and evening times are also best for bird and animal activity.Lighting
Direct sunlight filtered at times by sparse clouds provided good lighting for both the turtles and the foliage that I was shooting through. The clouds helped reduce the harshness of direct sunlight and produced a more favorable light quality.Equipment
This image was shot with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikon 18-200mm lens. It was handheld and no other equipment was used. I used ISO 400, shutter speed 1/1000 and set the aperture as wide as possible f/5.6 for a shallow depth of field so that the foreground foliage would be out of focus.Inspiration
Moments before I shot this image, I was shooting a great blue heron a little further down the edge of the lake. From there I saw these turtles and took a couple of shots of them but was not satisfied because of the angle and it felt like an uninteresting scene from where I was. I wanted to get closer so I slowly moved in their direction along the edge of the lake. I didn't want to scare them into the water and was taking my time making a quiet approach when I saw them through the foliage and knew that was the shot I wanted. The colorful framing of the painted turtles provided by the opening in fall leaves allowed me to walk away satisfied that I had captured an image that I could be proud to share with others and put on display.Editing
Post-processing for this image was minimal. I tweaked contrast, vibrance, and saturation a little in PhotoShop CS5 and applied very little sharpening. I removed a couple of distracting white spots from the water near the turtles' heads and then cropped a little to get the desired proportions.In my camera bag
Nikon D7000 with an 18-200mm lens, a 12-24mm wide angle lens, a Nikon SB600. I normally carry a Manfrotto monopod and a Sanford & Davis tripod in my car and available.Feedback
My advice to others is always have a camera with you, learn how to use it, and take the time to look around at your surroundings to see what's there. It may be a waterbird standing silently in the shadows, a dragonfly perched quietly on a nearby branch or a colorful turtle basking on a rock but if you don't see them you can't photograph them. For this shot, if I had rushed to get close to the turtles they would have all slipped into the water without me even capturing the splash they would have made. Know your equipment, have patients, and seeing what's around you, I believe, are important keys to nature photography.
