Winter Macro
This afternoon my friend Patrick & I headed out into the snow with cameras and dogs to see what we could find. Of course we carried waaay more gear than we needed, but it gave us some options from scenic (we’re in Juneau after all) to action (the dogs) to macro (complete with off-camera flash).
I tend to enjoy the macro option because I love to notice the details that constantly surround us. It’s amazing how you can go for a walk and miss all of the infinitesimal miracles all around.
Anyhow, here are my 3 keepers of the day that I recall taking. (We had swapped camera bodies several times, so I couldn’t tell you who took many of the other images).
I don’t consider these fine-art, and subsequently they’re just for show and tell, but I hope you’re taking the time to notice your world around you.
3rd Annual Calendar
For the past couple of years, I have taken on the task of creating a photo calendar featuring some of my work from the past year. It’s a fun project for me to look back and find 12 of my favorite images, and of course my mom loves it because she can now brag about the artist, but still get’s her annual calendar from her son! :)
In reflection of my 2011 images, I didn’t think I had a strong enough collection in one particular vein to have strictly a Macro, Wildlife, Scenic, or other theme. But with Heather’s help, we were able to get it done. You can call this particular grouping, “photos that made the cut”! Ha!
For printing this year, I decided to go with one of our partners, Kodak Gallery. In the past I had used iPhoto, chosen for their fairly simple process to get a large, quality calendar. So many places offer calendars but at some minuscule size (like 8.5×11) which, to me, communicates mass-market cheapness. I’m a big fan of quality over price.
After receiving the calendars last week, I can say that I like the product. The size is more than adequate –14.25″x10.9″– (larger than the iPhoto calendar –13″x10.4″– that I’ve had previously), and the print quality gets a 7/10 ranking because while the quality of the print & paper was mostly amazing (9-10/10), the downside was that their printer obviously had some issues as there were color bands across many of the images (5/10). I haven’t decided if I’m going to chase down their quality control offices and demand a refund (reprinting is too late in the game for Christmas Gifting.) They may be expensive to make, but it’s fun to share, and most people can actually use it throughout the year!
If you don’t get one from me by new years and you REALLY, REALLY have to have one, let me know. I’m happy to order more, but you’ll cover the costs. 
Here are the images (in order of how they appear in the calendar). Click for a larger view.
World Wide Photo Walk
Each year Scott Kelby coordinates an International Photowalk where thousands of photography enthusiasts come out of the woodwork to enjoy an outing with their cameras. Because of the world wide reach of Kelby’s influence, there are also some major names who come forward to sponsor the event and each participant has the chance to submit an image for consideration of impressive prizes.
Anyhow, today we had approximately 10 folks join in the Juneau fun. It was great weather, good company, and we even had the occasion of multiple forms of local wildlife.
Sadly, I don’t get the chance to submit a photo to be in the running for the grand prize, but I’m pretty sure I get to submit an image to be in the running for the Leaders competition.
These are my 5 top images from the day – enjoy!
See these and more at my 2011 Fine Arts Gallery.
Auke Bay Harbor
Last night was another late night. I went to bed at a normal hour, however, I’ve been battling a sore throat for a few days and it finally was bold enough to wake me up just a couple hours into my slumber. So I got up. And I stayed up. And I looked at the Aurora forecast and realized that if my super-science friend, Matt, was correct, there might be a chance. I grabbed my tripod (still with camera strapped to it) and headed out.
Naturally, with my Northern Light Luck™, there was high cloud cover, and the stars were nowhere to be seen. Go figure.
Fortunately, the evening was uncharacteristically warm (my car claimed 63˚), so I opted to head out anyways. I found myself at the Auke Bay harbor and looking for some cool images. As it was completely comfortable to hang out in the warm night, I decided to try to take some shots with my intervalometer. Below you’ll see one of my first time lapse videos of the moving clouds. It’s kind of fun, but I’ll need to work on it more before I consider it awesome.
See these and more in my 2011 Fine Art Gallery.
Auke Bay Clouds from Cody Bennett on Vimeo.
Recent Wild Things
It’s the summertime again, and so subsequently I’ve been out in the mornings and whenever I can taking more photos of the nearby wildlife. It amazes me to think that I can sit on a rock just 10 feet away from massive American Bald Eagles and they’re as ‘common’ as the crows down the beach. Living here certainly has it’s perks.
Magnificent Moss
I love macro shots because they help me to capture such great detail of something that we commonly overlook. It’s so easy to see a forest floor and recognize that it’s green in color, and might be soft to step on, but how often do you lean in close to see the individual ‘blades’ of the moss and how they catch light during a sunset?
For me? This was a first.
The Joy of Noticing
All too often we get busy with life. We move too quickly through the crowd, we don’t stop to smell the roses. Oftentimes, we don’t realize that we are in the midst of beauty because we don’t expect to see it. Take for instance this image… I’ve grown up in Juneau, experienced around two decades of wintertimes, and never noticed this growth before. It’s a fascinating frozen bud with white wisps of fuzz. I’m not even sure what plant it’s from, but I’m glad I stopped to notice.
[Update: I found out that this is a Willow Rose. For more information, see this posting on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website.]
Moonlight Bright
In mid-February, I heard that the Aurora’s were firing up again with another 4/10 rating, so I decided to head out to do some Northern Light hunting. It also happened to be a full moon. As I drove around Juneau, I eventually made it out to Aurora Harbor and, while I never found any Northern Lights, I did capture a few frames of the bright moonlight and the deep blue of the night. In this frame, we see the Shrine of St. Therese illuminated warmly in contrast of the frozen evening:
Heading Off
During the last PhotoWalk that I coordinated, I spent lots of time looking, but very few minutes clicking. Part of the fun for me is to see others having a good time with a camera, observing the world. I did my own observing of course… I came away with maybe 5 “keepers”. Click on my favorite below to visit the gallery with the rest:
Old Man’s Beard
It’s actually a lichen, but if I ever needed to disguise myself as an old gentleman, it seems this might do the trick. This is again with my macro lens. It’s great to be able to capture the detail of such a thing that I never thought to observe at these ranges before. I’m sure I look strange standing in the parking lot, intensely focused on a piece of moss or lichen just a few inches away from my lens. I’m glad I’m just now looking.
Waiting for Summer
It’s mid-March and while we’ve reached Daylights Savings, we still have yet to get enough heat to coax our flora into coming out of their long nap. Today I took a walk along Auke Lake and took a few images with the macro lens. Enjoy.
Auroras
On Heather’s Birthday, the UAF Aurora Forecast showed to hit a 4/10. It doesn’t sound like much, but for those living in Juneau, it means that it’s very likely that the Northern Lights will be visible provided the sky is clear. Lately we’ve had a cold snap and with the skies clear, I was excited to get out to see some Aurora. As it turns out, I’ve seen other postings (through facebook) suggesting that my late-night session in the cold wasn’t nearly as spectacular as earlier in the night, but when your wife wants to head to bed… Well, who am I to argue? I wound up getting out of bed at around 2:45am and headed light hunting. Here’s my favorite shot from the evening:
