Nature – Page 12 – tim mcmurdo

event horizon

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Event Horizon, June 2011

This is one of those images that surprised me when I saw it through my lens. My original idea when taking this photo was to see what the underside of Queen Anne's Lace looked like. I got my trusty long lens (thank you again Uncle Eddy) out of the kit bag and laid on the ground. What I found was that the edge of the flower blooms was really interesting and the underside wasn't nearly as impressive as I had imagined. So, I took the shot of both just in case, but took a few extra shots of the edge of the flower to be sure that I got it right.

Back at my desk, I performed some basic tone and contrast adjustments and converted the image to black and white in Aperture. I then cropped to 1×3 (one of my favorite crops) and called the image finished.

Exposure	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	280 mm
ISO Speed	200

Here is a picture of the entire bloom, just in case you forgot what Queen Anne's Lace looked like.

Have a great day folks.

we went looking for flowers

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Jodi took a few days off this week so that she could rest, relax, and spend some time with me. On Wednesday, we took advantage of the time together and drove down ti Cincinnati to visit Krohn Conservatory, a flower destination on the side of Mount Adams. If you live in the area, you can easily spend a day visiting the conservatory and walking around the shops and restaurants of Mount Adams. If that is not enough for you, the zoo and public gardens are only a couple minutes away by car.

This was our first trip to the Krohn and we were not disappointed at all. The building is divided into areas such as Desert, tropical, etc. I think you can spend a couple of hours in the building if you are a photo or flower nut. Beware though, that there is a lot of humidity in most of the areas. Jodi suffers from asthma and she could not spend much time in the orchid room, though, the dry desert area suited her just fine.

So, looking for someplace to spend a couple of relaxing hours and also packed with photo opportunities? Visit your local conservatory, botanical garden, or arboretum. You are guaranteed to have a nice experience. We only went looking for flowers and ended up relaxed and happy that we could spend the day together.

last day

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Meet my sister, Kelly.

And her husband, Bill. Notice that they are both wearing their best hiking gear… not! While both wore shorts, they also wore their dress shirts. Bill had his pen, glasses and case placed neatly in his shirt pocket. I don't think that Bill owns a single T-shirt. If I told you that Bill was a math teacher at a private school, would you be surprised?

I spent my last full day and night at their house in the North Georgia mountains. We had a really wonderful day of hiking and eating followed by some visiting with each other and finally, we capped the day off by going to bed early at 7:30. This seems to be very typical of my visits with them. We have a fantastic day, wear ourselves out and go to bed before the sun.

We started off by driving further into the mountains between Georgia and North Carolina. The day was relatively clear for a hot summer day and we could see for miles. The entire vista was uninterrupted nature. Mountains and forests without a sign of human habitation in site.

Once we were well into the mountains and near Highlands North Carolina, we stopped and went for a long hike at Glenn's Falls. The hike started through the forrest of tall pines, scrubby wild rhododendron and mountain laurel.

Eventually we found the falls. Three in all. They were wonderful to see and gave off a welcome cool mist. All told, we probably hiked two miles, all up and down hill. While Bill and I had appropriate hiking shoes, Kelly finished the entire trip wearing only a pair of beaded and bejeweled flip flops. Kelly kept asking how much further and Bill would only answer, just a little farther. Together they make a really warm couple to be around. They tease each other non stop and like to hold hands while they are walking.

On the way home, we stopped at Dry Falls, just a short walk from the highway. Typical of Bill's generosity, he wanted me to see the falls while we were up there. The wet spray coming from the falls resulted in spectacular green foliage and mosses along the trail

If you are ever in Northern Georgia and want to know of some local trails, just ask Bill. He might even go with you… just relax, ties are optional.

gumbo and jambalaiiiiyaaaa! It’s the cir-cle of life…

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I don't know the words to the song. Let's just say this is a close approximation. At the very least we should be able to agree that there was a pretty dawn with a tree in the Disney movie and that is what this image reminds me of.

In todays post, I will be sharing some images taken with a f4.5 70-210mm lens with a 1.4x tele-convertor attached. This heavy hitter, the tele-convertor and a nifty little f1.7 50mm prime lens were shipped to me in a surprise care package by my Uncle, John Edward Moore (affectionately known as Uncle Eddy by the members of my family though the rest of the world calls him John as far as I can tell).

With any new lens comes a learning curve. How close can I get to my subject? Where is the sweet spot in the focal length? How slow is the lens?

With this lens, I am finding that the sweet spot is really wide, running through most of the focal length. Yes, the lens is a bit slow, especially with the tele-convertor attached. However, I am not a sports photographer and this lens seems to be perfect for what I shoot as well as the way that I shoot. The lens has a lot of glass and is heavy. I can shoot hand held but at slower most speeds, I think that I prefer to use the tripod or a monopod.

Thank you Uncle-E, This is a fine piece of glass and I am looking forward to getting to know it better. What do you folks of the internet think? Do you shoot with a 70x210mm lens? I feel as though it should be a part of every photographer's kit.

and he shall be named terrence

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Meet my friend Terrence (Terry if you are friend or family). My good companion jumped aboard the hood of my car some place in North Carolina. He and I got along fairly well. Terry is not much for conversation. However, Mr. T did like my choice of music.

Some place in Eastern Tennessee, Terry and I went our separate ways. He spotted a nice little pond and wanted to go hang out with the girl bugs. Ahhh, summer, all the bugs are in love. Me? Oh, I continued my journey home. I had a Pookie Bunny waiting for me.

Exposure	0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	55 mm
ISO Speed	200
Exposure Bias	-1 EV

bunnies in love

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Beatrice loved Peter with all her heart. He was handsome with his long ears and soft, glistening coat of fur. His bright blue eyes seemed to see into her soul, warming her and lifting her up. Yes, she loved Peter and better yet, she knew that the feeling was mutual. Beatrice remembered when they had woven their hearts together in the Spring daisy celebration, announcing to their families and friends that they had bonded and had committed themselves to only each other for the remainders of their lives.

Now the couple was ready to start their new life as a family in the thicket near the brook. This would be a good home and a happy home. The thicket was secure and surrounded with wild flowers and sweet meadows of grass.

I hope that Beatrice and Peter live long fruitful lives and have lots of children. Just leave Mr. Tom's garden alone!

mushrooms

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I've discovered these tiny little mushrooms growing under the tomato plants in my parents garden. They are only about two inches tall and come out in the early morning moisture. The afternoon heat dries them out but, they are back the next morning.

These images are inspired by Anna, who takes the most wonderful images of tiny mushrooms and fungi. Her images are almost etherial in nature and I have wanted to try my own hand at her style of image for some time now.

Auto focus is surprisingly difficult with these images. If I return to take another shot this week, I will switch to manual focus (not my strong point) and give it a go.

curly willow

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Have you ever seen a curly willow? They look like most willows but, have these really wonderful long narrow curly leaves. I caught this one yesterday morning after the rain. We've had a day and a half of rain and drizzle, much needed moisture in this area of parched earth. The cool temperatures have been welcome though, as the heat and sun return today, I am expecting some muggy heat.

Have a great Friday everybody.

Exposure	0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	50 mm
ISO Speed	1600

visiting my parents home

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Yesterday I made the long drive from my home in Ohio to my parent's home in northern Georgia. The drive is long and I have made it many many times over the past fifteen years. By the time I am finished with the nine hour trip, I am wiped out. Over the years, I have learned that a sure fired way to recharge my batteries is to spend some time in their back yard my first morning there.

Combine formal lawn and walk ways with amazing blooms and the occasional whimsey and you can begin to get an understanding of this magical place.

Over the next week or so, we will spend more time exploring their home and documenting my visit. Together, my parents have built a paradise around themselves and I think you will like seeing a glimpse of their home.

morning meadow

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

This morning, I crawled out of bed at six, hoping to see fog out of the window. I was disappointed, no fog in sight. So, I stood there looking out the front door and wondered what I should do with the pretty morning. When you are anticipating fog, a clear morning takes a bit to get used to. It's like when you are expecting cake and you get pie. You like pie, but the idea of eating pie when your mouth was set for cake takes a moment. I even thought about going back to sleep but, I started thinking about pie.

In this case, pie was a nearby meadow that I like to walk in the morning. I enjoy watching Mom Nature waking up. I grabbed my camera, phone and spare battery and jumped in the car. When I arrived at the meadow, I was the only one around…. I had the place to myself!

The meadow grass was lit up by the golden sun and the flowers and grasses were covered with droplets of fresh dew.

I love to look at the huge number of different wild flowers that grow in the meadow. All kinds of colors and shapes. I wish I knew more about them but, I can only name a few.

Half way through my walk, I noticed a group of three young deer frolicking. I don't normally use the word "frolicking" very often. However, I can't think of a better word to describe what they were doing. Just jumping and running in circles. This is one of those times where I wish that I had packed longer glass. I only had my 18-55mm walk around glass with me.

In this image, you can just make out the three deer on the right side. I stood and watched them quietly for about ten minutes. Eventually one of them saw me and they all took to the trees beyond.

I walk a looping trail through the meadow and soon after making the turn back towards the car, I came across this man's shirt hanging on a pole. I can only imagine what he was thinking. I mean, what would be on your mind so strongly that you would forget your shirt? Pie?

Perhaps the poor guy thought about breakfast pie and lost his mind as he suddenly rushed to get home.