Thursday, November 14, 2013

Debris on Deer Antlers

I found this young buck whitetail deer at dawn last week and couldn't identify the debris stuck on his antlers.  It most closely resembles a type of packaging material with long, dense, grass-like strands.
I wouldn't have spent time getting photos of this young deer were it not for the unusual debris.  It is an interesting pose, though, as the rut was in progress and he was looking for does.  His neck is outstretched as he sniffs the air.  The soft backlight shines through the trash on the antlers.  It appears as though there is fog in the background but actually it is tall grass in the field that is out of focus.  The deer was breathing heavily and since the morning was quite cold his breath is faintly visible.  Too bad it blends in with the blurry grass.
400mm lens, 1/800 second at f/2.8, ISO 1250.

Monday, November 4, 2013

High Speed Wooden Boats

These two antique, wooden speedboats were photographed on the St. Clair Flats as they raced side by side.  This photo shoot had been thoroughly planned for days and the weather was supposed to be mostly sunny.  Not surprisingly, the forecast was not accurate and we were faced with heavy overcast.  On one of the speed runs, however, the sun poked out and gave us gorgeous light.  This photograph is not enhanced.  The water and sky are dark and nearly the same color.  The sunlight on the boats and the spray makes them jump out from the dark foreground/background.  The sun disappeared again right after this run.
Both boats are triple-cockpit runabouts; the far boat is a 28' Gar Wood and the near boat is a 30' HackerCraft.
100 - 400 lens at 220mm, 1/1000 second at f/5.6, ISO 800.