In Conestoga, Lancaster County, is a small country church and its cemetery. On a building near the church is this sign, begging people to stop smoking. I don't know, but do you think it was a coincidence that the sign hung over the cemetery? By the way, the church was hosting smoking cessation clinics.
And how many sun-burned co-workers did you find at the office this morning?
It was a wonderful weekend, although a tad warm for those of us who prefer skiing to sun-bathing. Still, we got out the bikes and hit the trails for an early season warm up trail on the Union Canal Trail along the Tulpehocken River in Berks County.
Must have been hundreds of people biking, hiking or jogging there Sunday, trying not to bother the fly fishermen that were doing their best to land a trout or two.
This great blue heron was standing on a half-submerged log and didn't need the waders, fancy flies, lines or reels. He just stabbed this fish-- it appears to be a carp-- as it swam past. It didn't seem possible that it could swallow this monster, but it did.
And the heron stayed on the log for a long time. I wonder if this big, wriggling fish messed with the bird's take-off?
The picture was taken with a 500mm f8 mirror lens that was tucked onto the back of the bike bag.
Shooting backlit subjects can be tricky, but it's sometimes worth the extra fidgeting. This trillium is backlit, and the sun shows through in shadows, while the white shows off detail in the petals that might have been hidden with front light. The camera meter might read the sun instead of the flower, so change the meter to 'spot' or 'backlit'.
Extension tubes are a terrific and easy way to get close to a subject without buying an expensive macro lens, close up 'filters' or bellows.
Generally, the tubes come in sets. Put the shortest one on your wide angle lens, and you can literally focus on the front element-- if you are a so inclined-- and still keep a wide angle 'feel' to the picture. Put an extension tube on a longer lens (100-500mm) to get closer than the lens would normally allow. You won't have to get on top of the bug to get its picture.
This bloodroot here was shot over the weekend at Shenk's Ferry Wildflower Preserve in Lancaster County. Thousands of dutchman's breeches were in bloom, along with a few bloodroots. Bluebells and trilliums were about to pop.
Of course, to shoot the fields solid with wildflowers, you'll have to remove the tube. But that's a minor inconvenience.
