Canon 5D, EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS @ 100mm, f/8.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600
Even though the ground is covered with 12 inches of new snow on top of the 6-8 inches from the last storm, spring is on my mind. Happy Valentines Day!
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22mm @ 10mm, f/4.0, 1/30 sec, ISO 1600
This is the best I could do at getting an overall view of Atlantis using my widest angle lens. As I mentioned in my first post in this series, I could not capture the the full image of the shuttle. You just have to go there and visit in person.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22mm @ 22mm, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 800
This image of the shuttle bay looking toward the cockpit shows the extender arms used to deploy payloads from the bay.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22mm @ 10mm, f/4.0, 1/13 sec, ISO 1600
This image of the shuttle’s belly was a tough one for me to get. Shooting directly up at my widest perspective and slow shutter speed made me dizzy. I almost fell down. It took me several tries to get a decent image with the shuttle balanced in the frame.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22 @ 10mm, f/4.0, 1/25 sec, ISO 1600
This image of the shuttle’s tail shows the nozzles of the 3 main engines used to get the shuttle into orbit and the smaller thrusters used to maneuver the shuttle.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22 @ 22mm, f4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 800
This image is of the shuttle bay and hatch looking toward the tail. Boeing provided the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) that propelled satellites into higher earth orbits from the shuttle bay. Several of my close associates worked directly with NASA on these programs.
I used NIK Silver EFEX Pro’s selective color to preserve the blue and red of our Flag.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22mm@ 10mm, f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO 800
Chills ran through my body … the theater screen lifted and Atlantis was directly in front of me. I cannot explain the sensation that passed though me as I saw the shuttle only a few feet away. No image can replicate what I saw or felt. Memories of working with NASA as a Boeing technical representative in Washington, DC during the Shuttle Program’s “hey days” ran through my mind. Memories of watching the Challenger launch along with my Boeing associates brought tears to my eyes. As I walked around Atlantis, my whole body was shaking. It was almost impossible to hold my camera up for a steady image. After about a half hour I had settled down enough to take a few images. I will add more images In future posts. Like I mentioned earlier, I will not be able to create the image in my mind or the feeling in my heart when I saw this beautiful Bird.
Canon 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS with 1.4x Extender @ 280mm, f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 400
The Great White Egret seemed to be the most common bird that we consistently saw at the Florida Bird Festival. They were everywhere. They seem so graceful as they take off and fly. I got more satisfaction just watching them than trying to get that “perfect shot”.
Canon 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS with 1.4x Extender @ 280mm, f/9.0, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400
Sometimes you are just lucky. We were driving around a wetlands reserve and saw this group of photographers and birders watching a nesting heron on top of a palm. Soon the male came up bringing up branches to build a nest. The male made several trips back and forth to bring up more branches for the nest. Soon several other females flew to nests on other palms. At one time there were five herons nesting. We spent at least two hours just watching this beautiful and amazing sight.
Canon 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS with 1.4X Extender @ 260mm, f/7.1, 1/800 sec, ISO 400
The Roseate Spoonbill was one of the most colorful and interesting birds that we saw at the Florida Bird Festival. Most of the time the Spoonbills were quite far away. This one flew right over the top of me. I got so excited that the most of my frames just caught a part of the bird. I was lucky, out of dozen shots I took, one was centered within the frame.