All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen

on top of saguaros

Yesterday, I saw a very special Saguaro (thanks Dave!). It was what we call “crested or cristate” which is special in itself but this was a double crested. What a treat. There are many theories as to how the crests start but there’s no clear cut answer. It was completely overcast so I took 3 exposures and combined them with Photomatix.

double crested saguaro

On our way back to the parking area, we encountered an even bigger treat. Four Harris’ Hawks that we had seen flying earlier were now sitting in a giant Saguaro! In hindsight, I could have taken the time to replace my super wide lens on my SLR but they could also have flown away in that time so I grabbed my Canon Powershot which did a decent job of documenting. Like the first image, they also combinations of exposures.

harris hawks on saguaro

harris hawks on saguaro

fall in january

Don’t forget the dead stuff! These dried leaves were a rusty red color and with the sun behind them, they glowed. The color in the background is from an Arizona Ash tree with a few yellow leaves left. The blue is the sky.
dired leaves

What makes this photo is the use of what’s called “shallow depth of field”. It means I used a large aperture (or small number). Compact cameras have a difficult time getting this kind of depth of field because their small sensors don’t have as much of a range of f/stops. So even though you have f2.8, it’s still much sharper than on an SLR. There are tricks to help, though. For instance, stand far away from your subject and then zoom in using f/2.8 and you might get lucky.

Click here for a link to an excellent video about Depth of Field.

rock knob

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One of Wikipedia’s definitions for the word “knob” is “a prominent rounded hill”. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve‘s Rock Knob probably looks more rounded from the air but either way, it is one of our favorite places to explore because it’s only minutes from our house. Here’s a shot from yesterday.

Rock Knob in The McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Tom’s Thumb, East End and Rock Knob in the Preserve are the latest to open up and plans are underway to make these areas even more accessible to the public. It’s my understanding that construction on a new trailhead/parking area and more trails will begin this year. Exact location hasn’t been revealed. Click here for a great trail map of the Preserve. Look to the upper right for Rock Knob (PDF).

These areas are filled with huge free standing granite boulders and is where I’ve found most of my “faces” but there are so many photo ops there. The views are spectacular and the desert is especially lush so it’s great for birders and Lepidopterists.

Here are two photo ops I spotted yesterday while waiting for Chris to decend.

Phainopepla
phainopepla

Dragonfly (unidentified)
dragonfly

twenty ten…time to begin?

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happy new year
Today is the day we typically start something. Maybe this will be the year you start a blog?

Photographer friends often comment that it must take lots of time to keep it up. In the beginning, yes it did. First I had to get used to the blog process and then I had to remember to take a photo. It didn’t take long, though, for it to become a habit I truly enjoy. Potential photo ops are always on my mind so photography continues to be fun every day even if I’m just shooting out of a window.

The content of the photo isn’t the most important thing to me. It’s the process. When you always carry a camera, you’re presented with many more photo ops than if you planned an outing. You’ll encounter challenging situations like low light, extreme light or quickly moving subjects, more often. You’ll make exposure mistakes but because you’re trying to shoot every day, you’re more likely to remember the solutions. Before long, you’ll find yourself setting up your camera for any given situation with lightening speed and almost automatically. Really!

So, for me, the pros of keeping a blog have far outweighed the cons.

Besides, most people would really enjoy seeing what you’re shooting and a blog is an easy way to share. It doesn’t have to be a daily blog. You could post a photo once a week. SO…if you’ve been thinking about it, I hope you’ll give it a try!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

blue moon

blue moon

“Once in a blue moon” is used to describe something that doesn’t happen often. but what exactly is a blue moon? It’s a full moon that occurs in the same month as another.

Although it occurs every two or three years (on average about every 2.7154 years), this is the first time in almost 20 years that we’ve had one on New Year’s Eve.

Want more? Here’s some interesting information about this phenomenon:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091230-blue-moon-new-years-eve.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon

thank you aol

digital imaging group website

Click the above image to go to the Digital Imaging Group’s (DIG) new website. We’ve migrated from TextPattern to Word Press so I’ve spent the last several days customizing a Word Press template to work for us. Click here to see original. The layout was perfect but the red text had to go. Do I know what I’m doing? Not really! I know just enough to change colors, images and a little layout.

I have AOL to thank for my bravery in editing the CSS (stylesheet) of this blog. Like many my age, AOL was my web connection during my formative years 🙂

They had great user forums and help desks so after much trial and error, I learned just enough html to be comfortable. That was 14 years ago so I’ve obviously had lots of practice since then but it all still boils down to those first tips from AOL.

The point I’m trying to make is that I can totally relate to how nervous people are when thinking about starting a website or blog. Don’t be scared! It’s so much easier than you think. Really! Taking the first step is the hardest part.