How a photographer snapped this tragic photo of a seahorse lugging a Q-tip

https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/15/16314928/justin-hofman-seahorse-plastic-pollution-photography

Shared from my Google feed

Missed opportunities

Don’t you just hate it when you’re waiting for that right moment, or that right subject, but you just missed it by a split second. It happened to me recently, while waiting for some pelicans to face me, or fly somewhat toward me, I so happen to spot a sea hawk, fly overhead coming in from the opposite direction.

I was lucky enough to be able to spot it right away once I brought my camera up, but it was too little too late. It had lunch on it’s claws too.

I did get the pelicans though, but that will come on a separate post. So, has anyone else had this sort of missed chance at getting a great shot? Comment below and tell us your story.

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Shooting Terns (With a Nikon D5)

So on a recent trip the Outer Banks in North Carolina, I got the chance to do some bird photography. Having finally received my Nikon D5 after a month and a week long wait (more on that later), I was excited to be able to getting myself re-acquainted with Nikon’s flagship DSLR body. I rented Nikon’s 2x Tele-converter, and mounted my Nikkor 70-200mm VR II (which effectively makes it a 140-400mm F/5.6) and set out capture some birds on the beach.

Below is an example of 3 shots I’ve been able to edit so far. More to follow once I get around to editing them more, and more on my thoughts on my real first try at action bird photography.

Twin Titles on the Line at the Thompson Bucks County Classic Series Finals of the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour and USA Crits

(Doylestown, PA) – August 21, 2017 – The Thompson Bucks County Classic roars back into Doylestown on September 10, 2017. The race will crown the men’s and women’s champions of the season-long USA Cycling Pro Road Tour, and the specialist short course series, USA Crits. A clash of styles will be on display for the public as the wily and fast USA Crits racers fight it out with the hardened road riders of the PRT on the crowd-lined 1.4-mile Doylestown circuit.

The women’s and men’s races will be live-streamed to twin jumbotrons and across the internet on buckscountyclassic.com and other cycling related websites.

The famed Doylestown race, now in its 14th-year and boasting an international winners list of racers from Germany, Ukraine, Italy, Sweden and Australia, has always drawn praise from its competitors.

“The Thompson Criterium in Doylestown has always been one of the top races in the country,” said veteran pro racer Bill Elliston. “Between the young, hip crowd, the beautiful and technically demanding circuit, and high quality production values, the race represents everything great in American cycling.”

The nation’s top professional cycling teams will vie to be the first across the finish line and claim their share of the $25,000 (equal for men and women), prize purse. The high-speed battles include a 25-mile race for the pro women and 62-miles for the pro men all on a 1.4-mile racecourse that circles the heart of one of America’s greatest small towns and the famed Doylestown Arts Festival.

“The Thompson Criterium represents true American cycling at its very best” stated Race Director John Eustice, “The high speeds and multi-lap, non-stop criterium action has always been what our country loves the most.”

In addition to the men’s and women’s pro races, the Thompson Bucks County Classic will include a 25-mile amateur men’s race for USA Cycling category 2 and 3 racers, allowing new talent the chance to make their name in a pro race setting; a “high wheel” or “Ordinary”race for antique bicycles; a Cyclosportif offering 31- and 61-mile recreational rides with bicycle valets and a hospitality tent with VIP views of the pro races (registration is limited to 140 riders for each ride); and children’s races that take place on the professional racecourse.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Cyclosportif at 8:30 AM
Amateur Men at 9:00
Children’s Races at 10:00
Lenape Scorcher Antique Bicycle (Ordinary or Penny-Farthing) at 10:30
Doylestown Health Pro Women at 11:45 AM
Thompson Pro Men at 1:00 PM.

On-course broadcasting will capture the speed and emotion of the races. Spectators will be able to follow the racing live via the twin jumbotrons on the course, and also on computers and mobile devices. Also new this year, the races will include a series of special sprints strategically placed along the course to insure non-stop action, complete with replays and analysis.

The Thompson Bucks County Classic is made possible through the support of generous sponsors, including The Thompson Organization, Penn Valley Constructors, Eastburn & Gray, and Doylestown Health. Lexus will return for their fifth year as the Official Vehicle of the Thompson Bucks County Classic.

For more information on the Thompson Bucks County Classic and the weekend’s events, please visit: www.buckscountyclassic.com

Walks with my son: Pentax M50 F/1.7

Today was a bit on the tougher side in terms of taking photos. While I was poking around in the basement trying to look for a cable, I found my photography bin and stumbled across my Pentax M50 F/1.7 manual lens (that’s the ‘M’ in the M50 in case you’re not a photo gear geek). I love this, no, I adore this lens, but it being manual, and my eye’s not being the greatest, I always struggled to use it.

I think I did OK with my shots today. Taking multiple shots of one object since I couldn’t really nail the focus on the first try. I did try peaking, which my Pentax K3 has, but w/ the sun bearing down on me, and no form of screen shade, that was just as tough.

All shots were in Doylestown, PA, and as mentioned above, my body of choice was the Pentax K3. Processed in Lightroom to taste.

Walks with my son: Doylestown, PA

So I will be renaming or, at least putting ‘Random Photos’ series on a break for the time being, and adding the above mentioned title. It is more fitting since I usually do these when I take my son out for a walk, or when we as a family go out for a walk.

I will try to use different camera and lens combos so at least each set of shots that I do will be somewhat different. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed taking them. For the first set of shots, I took with us my Pentax K3 with the SMC Pentax 100mm F/2.8 WR Macro mounted for our walk.

We walked by someones front garden filled with flowers, and it was quite active with bees doing their thing. All shots were edited in Lightroom to taste.

Random Photos – NYC

Sorry I missed putting up random photos last night. Our new couch gets to be very comfortable, especially after long days. Anyway, I give you 3 shots, again from 2009, maybe 2010, but most likely 2009. These were shot with my then brand new Nikon D700 with a 24mm F/2.8 Nikkor D lens.

Funny, when I say ‘then brand new Nikon D700’. I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since I adopted into the Nikon system. That’s another story for another post. For now, please enjoy these shots.

Chester Bennington Tributes

I’m still quite shocked that Linkin Park’s front man Chester Bennington is no longer with us. His voice, and lyrics really got me into music fully, and pretty much molded my music listening preferences as it is today. I still get a bit emotional when I hear their songs now.

I came across 2 tributes to Chester by Coldplays Chris Martin and 30 Seconds to Mars’ Jared Leto. Very hear felt to say the least.

Random Photos – Mid-Town, NY

In keeping with yesterday’s theme, and I guess moving forward with the rest of this weeks random photos, I give you more shots from 2009. This was during a rainy trek to NYC’s Times Square, and the immediate area.

I don’t really remember much from that day, other than it was rainy and I felt drained just being in that area. These were shot with a Pentax K20D and an SMC Pentax M50 F/1.7 manual lens. Also, apologies for the sizes, I processed these also back in 2009, and back then, I was in the habit of sharing lower res. photos.

Random Photos – Stirling, NJ

I forgot to grab a camera with me when I left this morning for work. Sure, I do have my cell phone, but the whole point of this project was to ‘get my gear out’ as Matt Granger would say. So I dug back to some old photos I had shot before.

This set I did back in 2009, when my mom and I visited St. Josephs shrine in Stirling, NJ.

My editing style as well as my shooting style was pretty different back then. I shot these with a Pentax K20D, with probably the Pentax 50-135 F/2.8 DA* lens and maybe a Sigma 28mm F/1.7 EX DG. And as always, edited in Lightroom to taste. I’m not sure I would edit these the same way. I think I should actually look for the RAW files from my archives and see how I would edit them now. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy.