In today's third installment of the "Creature Feature," I will introduce some of the water life in the Baker wetlands.
But first, as my official picture of the day (since the wetland pictures were actually taken last Saturday), here is a screenshot that gives an inside look at the second half of the picture-posting process: Photoshop editing.
But first, as my official picture of the day (since the wetland pictures were actually taken last Saturday), here is a screenshot that gives an inside look at the second half of the picture-posting process: Photoshop editing.
Once a picture is on the camera, there are any of thousands of ways to approach the editing it in Photoshop (or similar programs).
Sometimes a simple crop (to reposition the subject of the photo, or take out unnecessary clutter) is all that is needed - and if you're good enough (or lucky enough), not even that.
(I tend to rely on luck.)
Other times it may be necessary to remove some noise, add color, change color, take away color, or apply any one of the many effects, levels, and filters that photo editing software provides.
Often I try three, four, five artistic approaches to editing a picture before finding a result that I feel properly enhances or brings out the subject of the photo.
In the pictures below I didn't have to mess around too much. In fact, I found myself in a steady routine of "increase contrast...apply sharpening filter...remove noise" for most of them.
The result, ideally, is a crisper, clearer picture of what I saw on my journey to the wetlands. (Click on any of these photos to enlarge them.)
Sometimes a simple crop (to reposition the subject of the photo, or take out unnecessary clutter) is all that is needed - and if you're good enough (or lucky enough), not even that.
(I tend to rely on luck.)
Other times it may be necessary to remove some noise, add color, change color, take away color, or apply any one of the many effects, levels, and filters that photo editing software provides.
Often I try three, four, five artistic approaches to editing a picture before finding a result that I feel properly enhances or brings out the subject of the photo.
In the pictures below I didn't have to mess around too much. In fact, I found myself in a steady routine of "increase contrast...apply sharpening filter...remove noise" for most of them.
The result, ideally, is a crisper, clearer picture of what I saw on my journey to the wetlands. (Click on any of these photos to enlarge them.)
After watching these frogs walk on the murky creek stagnant enough to make me croak, I caught this dragonfly in a water landing.
Meanwhile, winding his way past my shoelaces and into the water was this sneaky, slithery serpent who, like most of the creatures here, blended in well with his environment.
I didn't want to leave the wetlands without getting a picture of a dragonfly in flight (turns out they are much easier to photograph when they aren't moving).
After about ten minutes of futile attempts to follow the insects in flight with my lens or predict when they would fly through my frame of sight and hope my trigger finger was quick enough (let alone hope the camera was in focus), I found that this little guy had a habit of resting on this wooden roost for about a minute and then flying around for a few seconds before returning to his perch.
So I developed my own routine of waiting for him to fly away, aiming the lens at the momentarily vacant perch, and snapping a picture as soon as I saw him come back into view.
After a few attempts I was able to capture him in flight, just before he landed...
After about ten minutes of futile attempts to follow the insects in flight with my lens or predict when they would fly through my frame of sight and hope my trigger finger was quick enough (let alone hope the camera was in focus), I found that this little guy had a habit of resting on this wooden roost for about a minute and then flying around for a few seconds before returning to his perch.
So I developed my own routine of waiting for him to fly away, aiming the lens at the momentarily vacant perch, and snapping a picture as soon as I saw him come back into view.
After a few attempts I was able to capture him in flight, just before he landed...
...and I went home happy, mission accomplished!
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