Hurricane Irene 2011

Here in Maine Irene was a pretty good storm but I have seen more powerful Nor’easters. I had a tough time getting my mojo going so the images are … well… Let’s just say they are not the best shots I have ever taken. Oh well the adrenalin was pumping and it was good to be “out in it” The shots were taken with my D5000 and 70-300mm VR lens with the exception of the hurricane flag that was taken with my Fujifilm XP10. The really terrible movie (my fault) was also taken with the XP10. I promise to take a tripod next time … duh. These images have been greatly reduced in size … sorry

I had to start it out with this one (ok I did not have to I wanted to)

Here are two shots of roughly the same spot ... now you see em'

Another wave shot

Checking the knots



And last but not least the movie. It  It is not great but if you view full screen you will get an idea of what it was like. This was taken at the beautiful Driftwood Inn, Bailey Island Maine

I could not click full screen on my browser ?? Here is the link to the clip on youtube.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmk3qOxI6GY

You can watch it full screen there

Here is a late edit. A surprise from the XP10. This was taken on the way back

Rockland to Vinalhaven ferry trip

This trip out to Vinalhaven was later than I usually leave and earlier back so photo ops were limited but there is always something to shoot! Here are a few as my upload space is getting thin for this month. It was a beautiful day that made for a smooth trip out and back. There were some sun showers on the way back but not bad and they created a giant rainbow so even that was pretty cool.  I had the D5000 and the 70-300mm VR and I was happy to have the reach ... but I always want more! I took tons of shots and may in the future edit this post with some others.

This was the only one I did not cull out from the morning ride.

This was in the harbor before we left. Folks were stacking up with the days catch ...

The next few shots are shots of the wind turbines.

And a few ships on the way back. This guy was really catching some wind.

This one looks like its cost a few bucks ...

Catching some sun

And last but not least, the rainbow

A short trip to Lands End

I took my grandson for a swim out at Lands End. It is always a short trip as the water is pretty "brisk". It was nice and sunny inland and we stopped at a pond on the way out so I could take a few shots.

Then I went to take a long shot of the wandering pond and noticed the ominous fog in the distance.

So we continued on out to the end. As we went the fog got thicker ...

And thicker ...

Nothing was going to stop the swimming trip though!

Although it was a fun and upbeat time for both of us when I saw this next image ... it was... well, you tell me what you feel.

Then it was on the way home and a few more photo ops for grandpa

I got painted!!

I am very happy that my friend Joan Atwood picked not one but two if my images to use for her paintings. I loved her interpretations of my images. Her use of bold colors on the “Maine Coast” painting made for a great moody feeling that popped right off the canvas. The bright color of the “Buoys” painting really brought me back to the day I took that shot … did I say how happy I was she chose my shots? :-D

Thank you Joan

PS I tried taking shots of both images but I did not have the proper lens to do it and my images don’t do her paintings justice so until/if I get better shots I will hold off posting them.

 

This was my invitation

 And here is the artist Joan Atwood and her work

 

I really wish I could show better shots of her work. I have to tell you it is really hard to shoot a painting ... try one for grins sometime! :-D

Thanks again Joan

The “Maine Coast” painting was based on “Daybreak” from the “Vista” challenge at www.Fujimugs.com

Link to “Daybreak”

http://www.fujimugs.com/challenge/entry.php?entry=119606

The “Buoys” painting was base on a shot I took while on a ferry ride to Vinalhaven Me.

Link to the buoy shot

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/2191333513/photos/1259867/dsc_0150_lvl

Fishing Spiders (dolomedes)

Until I saw a spider so large that at first I mistook it for a mouse I had no idea they existed in Maine. I saw my first one on a concrete alewife trap. It ran across in front of me then did a four foot swan dive right into the water! As I looked over the edge I realized not only did it dive off into the water it also went under the water and was hiding on a rock … under water! That is when I started taking pictures of these awesome creatures. I got a shot of it under water and a few of it coming out of the water and up the wall towards me. I went back several times to try and find that spider. I have not yet seen the giant one but I have found several smaller (but big) ones. I did a little (very little) research to find that these spiders along with insects will also catch fish and tadpoles! The first image here shows the size of one of the “small” ones. If you look close you can see a water skimmer on the left and use it for scale. I thought the shadow was wild so I took a bunch of shots this was a favorite  

 

In this shot I was watching as the spider used its pedipalps (I had to look that up) to actually bait minnows by gently tapping the water but not breaking surface tension.  

A closer image ... yes it is creepy getting close

This is the first shot taken while the spider was under water. You can see the bubble of air that wraps around it as it goes under. By the way having a RAW file saved this image as the JPG the camera made was blown.

This was an unexpected treat the last time I went. I turned around to find a large snapping turtle getting a breath of air.