Up Through the Fall
Dappled light through golden leaves shot upward into our maple tree. The leaves are falling faster this year than last - has anyone else noticed this? Some forecasters say this winter could be the coldest Europe has seen in the last 1,000 years. They say the dramatic change is connected with the speed of the Gulf Stream, which they say has shrunk in half in just the last couple of years. Nothing to do but enjoy the Fall.
Autumn Equinox
But wait -- there was no full moon on the 23rd of September (which was the equinox). True, and well-observed. I actually took this photograph in full sun at mid-day. Shooting directly into the sunlight caused the silhouetting, which I increased somewhat in post. It didn't take a lot of processing -mostly I increased the contrast in the sky, and the result is quite satisfyingly dramatic. Day for night, Spring for Autumn. It's all about what it evokes.
It’s in my nature…
Despite a skull-like body and hairy legs, this spider manages to make herself look dainty and cozy in her nest in the palm of this budding flower. With her arms crossed like that in front of her, you can almost imagine that she's waiting for the kitchen timer to ding, or the kids to come in for lunch.
Day’s Eye
The name 'Daisy' came from the old name 'Day's Eye' as the flowers opened at dawn and closed at dusk or in dull light. So it's a bit of magic to show one in the blackness. Happy Midsummer! Even in Galway the sun is shining. Enjoy
Wild Iris Rogue
This time of year marshy fields are filled with wild yellow irises, which I just love. So, yesterday, into the bog with me, where I stood with wet feet photographing the blossoms, which seem to attract this particular type of winged rogue. I have some nice shots of the iris blossoms (this shows just a stem and a dangling capsule casing) which will be part of an upcoming collection-- but this fella I could not resist.
Softly, softly
A pale rendering of a vibrant flower; reflects the mood of the day as we mourn the passing of a friend.
Happy Trails
- Yesterday, the first of May, was the Celtic festival Lá Bealtaine. Bealtaine is considered a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. We celebrated the day and marked the beginning of summer by going down to beach and watching Irish traditional boats race in Galway Bay. The wind was fierce, which was good for the hookers – Irish fishing boats with sails; but not so good for the Currach rowers who were fighting the choppy tide. I took this shot this morning. Nothing says summer like garden snails.
Céad mÃle fáilte roimh an samhradh: A hundred thousand welcomes to the summer!
Great Blue Heron
Another perfect weather day in Galway! Spent a lovely peaceful morning admiring this gorgeous guy picking crabs. He let me approach him slowly over a matter of minutes, and didn't seem fussed. Until a person came by with a dog. All in all, a much better way to spend the day than watching the nuptial circus on tv.
Cultivating the Beautiful
“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.” — Robert A. Heinlein
I was headed into the forest this morning to take photographs of the bluebells – you can see them in the background – when this happened. What a lucky capture! It’s difficult to focus on something so small that it almost isn’t there – while it’s moving. Post processing consists only in a minor adjustment of colour.
Dewey Dandelion
They are everywhere, but they are lovely. I take a lot of photos of dandelions, in flower and the seedheads. Sometimes they remind me of fireworks.
Fence Flowers Forest
Waves of colour from grass, trees, and bluebells veil a meandering fence. No post processing, effects created in-camera. HAPPY EARTH DAY: Celebrate outdoors!
The Sun Also Rises
© Susan Prediger All Rights Reserved. Woke up this morning and the dramatic skies lured me outside for a brisk walk. Rain threatened, but the dark clouds rolling around a mostly blue sky were too tempting. A great bit of advice for every photographer: turn around. Directly behind me when I shot this was a shard of a rainbow shooting into the clouds. I fired off a few shots before the rain caught up with me. Worth every drop. And it's been bright and sunny the rest of Saturday!
Heron Hunting
I love herons. The are so elegant and playful - especially when there are two or three of them flying together. You can really watch them have fun. The thing is, they require a lot of personal space to feel comfortable. So I was really fortunate to get close enough to this fella to watch him hunt for a while. He knew I was there, but so long as I was happy to stretch out on my belly in the wet egg wrack (that brown seaweed) and not move too much, we were just fine together.
Fairytale Forest
Another example of photographic impressionism. The idea with any impressionism is to create a mood through suggestion; to hint at detail rather than offer it up whole. To me this image illustrates a fairytale forest; it draws you in, makes you wonder - maybe with a combination of fascination and a perhaps some trepidation - what lingers there deeper in the wood. I love the light, the forms and the shadow. If I were to do it again, I would frame it differently, with the large trees less central. But I like this picture. It is like a memory to me, or a frame from a dream I may have had. To me it is evocative, like impressionism should be, and in that way, I think it is successful, though I have many more attempts at impressionism ahead of me in order for me to feel accomplished at it. It is all done in camera; there are no effects added in post, and it is challenging to get the balance right between form and suggestion. So off I go again, into the woods...
Beetle
The weather in Galway has been stunningly bright and beautiful, and today promises to be the same! I was out yesterday morning with my camera and my extension tubes marveling at everything I saw - especially how colour is coming back into the world again now that spring is well and truly here. Colour catches my eye everywhere; so a little bright spot of red on a spine of gorse needed inspecting: a ladybird (ladybug for my American friends). The light shone right through one of her red wings, lighting it up from above. Amazing. But then a little glimmer from the right: something metallic and greeny-blue: this little beetle sucking on a gorse flower. He was better situated for a photograph considering I was shooting macro and hand-holding the camera, which is never easy. The tiny depth of field means a hairs breadth of movement ruins the shot. So maybe pics of the ladybird will come, but for now, this tiny monster. Great thanks to Stuart Dunlop for identifying my "beetle" as a Green Shieldbug – Palomina prasina.
Good Vibrations
Continuing my tulip study. This shot is SOC; sometimes things just fall into place. I particularly like the balance of the curve of the stamen on the left of the photograph mimicked by the curve of the green leaf on the stem at the right. The colours make me happy, and I like the little lenses of water droplets magnifying the colours on the lip of the petal.
Good to know that while there is destruction in the world, somewhere, always, flowers still bloom.
Making an impression
Trees through tall grasses.
Both of these photographs were made as long exposures with deliberate vertical movement of the camera to creat an impressionistic image. My homage to fine art and nature photographer William Neill. (Unlike Mr. Neill's approach, in the top photo gets its texture not just from the motion of the lens, but also from the grasses in the foreground.) These represent my first two attempts of this technique, and I don't think I'm quite there yet, but I'm pleased for a first go. I hadn't planned to try this technique while I was walking along the banks of the inlet of the Killary Fjord, but finding myself among the tall reeds and grasses I was inspired to try. It would have been more successful had I come into the field with my ND filters - they would have improved the colour, but I didn't want to tinker with them in PS - these are straight from the camera. It's something I look forward to working on as the spring flowers bloom and the fields will fill with wild irises, and a million other blooms. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on these, on the technique, and on my execution. Please comment or send me an email. Thanks!
Love is in the air
In the spirit of Valentine's Day...I took this photograph of a giant heart-shaped cloud over Lough Corrib in March 2010. Un-retouched; that's the way the cloud appeared, briefly, in the sky.
Pony at sunset
Since my last post was ponies at sunrise, I thought I'd go for the other end of the day and post this photograph of a Connemara pony at sunset (more like sundown, really). What a poser this beauty is! Although it looks heavily processed, this photo only got a bit of dodging and burning, a little warming of the sky to bring out the horse's face, and a touch of noise reduction. Still, it almost looks like a painting.
Here comes the rain
14.January 2011 It was a beautiful sunny morning, the sky the colour of lapis lazuli. I was walking along the shore listening to Ella Fitzgerald and watching the windsurfers rocket across the bay when the sky went black. A massive gale blew this huge rain cloud up along the coast from the west (bottom right). I waited under a pine tree until the cloud passed over me, and then I moved out and took this photo of Silverstrand (center of the photo) getting a soaking before the cloud, passing with the tenacity of a subway train, moved on to do its damage elsewhere. The whole thing took less than ten minutes. Armin said it never rained at home, five minutes' walk away.
If you click on the image you will see it full-size. I stitched in a bit on the left from a second photo, taken at the same time to give a panoramic view. Other than that, it's unprocessed. You can even see a few raindrops on my lens. Oops.
What Waits
I savor the winter landscape: the exposed bone structure of savage Nature, made bearable by the promise that something sleeps within. The story waits to be told. Contentedly, I wait.
Light Craic 
