On a Golden Pond /  by Todd Henson

On a Golden Pond - A male Long-tailed Duck in Northern Virginia on April 6, 2019.

“What type of duck is that?” I thought as we watched this beautiful duck repeatedly diving below the surface of Lake Gardiner at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia. I had never seen anything like it in the area. It had very distinctive coloration around its head, and it had a very long tail.

I didn’t have my long lens with me, but I did the best I could to capture photographs that would be good enough to identify the duck from field guides. On the way home I was able to identify it. We had seen a Long-tailed Duck, which is a sea duck, on a small lake in Northern Virginia. This was very unusual. I’d have to come back on the weekend with my longer lens and see if it was still there.

Thankfully, when I returned on Saturday the Long-tailed Duck was still at the park, and still diving in the same small lake. I spent almost the entire day circling the lake, watching and photographing this lone duck. Others had heard of it, drawing a small crowd at various times around the lake. But the people never seemed to bother the duck. It swam around the lake in circles, sometimes getting fairly close to the shore, always diving to the bottom, sometimes coming up with green plants hanging from its bill.

This particular photograph was created later in the afternoon, when the sun provided a nice glow to the duck, and reflections of a blooming tree on the opposite shore turned the water a beautiful golden color. I’d been watching this stretch of water, waiting and hoping the duck would swim through. Not only did it swim through the golden water, but it turned its gaze towards me, allowing me to capture this wonderful moment of a rare Long-tailed Duck spending a little time in a small lake outside its normal range, making at least one local birder and photographer very happy.

If you like this photograph you can purchase it at my online store. On a Golden Pond is available as wall art and on a variety of products.

Fine Art Prints by Todd Henson

Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!

Up at the Jefferson Memorial /  by Todd Henson

 

Up at the Jefferson Memorial. Washington, DC. 3/30/2019

 

One of the highlights of visiting Washington, DC is stopping by some of the many memorials around town. One of these, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, sits along the Tidal Basin and is a very convenient stop when walking the Tidal Basin viewing the spring cherry blossoms.

The Jefferson Memorial can get very busy and crowded, and this was certainly one of those days. But I found one way of minimizing the crowds is to look and photograph UP. Of course, it helps when you’re using a fisheye lens capable of seeing both up and into the memorial. This let me capture both the statue of Thomas Jefferson and the ceiling of the main entrance into the memorial. You can see the heads and shoulders of some of the crowd down below, as they fill the memorial, admiring the statue and the writings on the inside walls.

A fisheye lens can introduce a lot of distortion to a scene, creating curves of what would normally be straight lines. I did correct a small amount of this curvature in Lightroom and Photoshop, attempting to straighten the columns as much as I could. But I left the rest of the curvature because I liked the way it looked.

Next time you visit a memorial take the time to look up. Maybe you’ll find something interesting to photograph, even if you don’t have a fisheye lens with you.

If you like this photograph you can purchase it at my online store. Up at the Jefferson Memorial is available as wall art and on a variety of products.

 

Photography Prints by Todd Henson

 

Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!

National Geographic Dawn to Dark Photographs: The Magic of Light /  by Todd Henson

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This is at no extra cost to you.

The cover of National Geographic Dawn to Dark Photographs: The Magic of Light. Robbie George. Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina.

The cover of National Geographic Dawn to Dark Photographs: The Magic of Light. Robbie George. Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina.

I own a number of these hardcover National Geographic books, and I love them all for the inspiring photography within their pages. They say photography is all about the light, and there is no better demonstration of that than National Geographic’s Dawn to Dark Photographs: The Magic of Light. It is organized by time of day, with each section showcasing photographs taking advantage of the unique light available in those hours.

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Jason Teale. Gyeongju National Park, South Korea. Pages 10-11

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Jason Teale. Gyeongju National Park, South Korea. Pages 10-11

“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”
— George Eastman

Dawn

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Robbie George. Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina. Pages 20-21

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Robbie George. Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina. Pages 20-21

“Dawn’s soft touch is sweet and benign: beauty, harmony, anticipation.”

Rise early to create photographs at dawn. It’s a time when the world is often still, when the light is soft and full of mystery.

Sunrise

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Michael Melford. Lake Placid, New York. Pages 96-97

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Michael Melford. Lake Placid, New York. Pages 96-97

“First a gleam, then a burst, then a bundle of flame so bright we must look away: Sunrise establishes the dominance of day.”

At sunrise we begin to see the texture around us, illuminated by the low angle of the sun. Landscapes take on a warm glow as the sunlight travels through the layers of the atmosphere. People begin to stir and prepare for the day ahead.

Morning

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Melissa Farlow. Chicago, Illinois. Pages 134-135

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Melissa Farlow. Chicago, Illinois. Pages 134-135

“Morning is the springtime of the day, and morning light washes the world in living colors.”

Morning is when the colors around us begin coming to life, when long shadows begin moving across the landscape, when we can see the details of the world.

Midday

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Atanu Paul. Burdwan District, West Bengal, India. Pages 194-195

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Atanu Paul. Burdwan District, West Bengal, India. Pages 194-195

“Brilliant, hot, brash, blinding: Midday exposes all blemishes.”

Midday is when many photographers stop shooting, when they feel the light is too harsh, the scenery full of too many contrasts. But no light is bad light, and midday still has the potential of great photography.

Afternoon

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Reza. Jerusalem. Pages 246-247

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Reza. Jerusalem. Pages 246-247

“Light is ample, revealing, and generous, and yet now we find ourselves closer to night than to morning, closer to an end than to a beginning.”

Once again shadows lengthen, the light begins to take on a warmer glow. There is still plenty of light to show beautiful colors, but also enough angle to the light to create silhouettes.

Sunset

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Marc Adamus. Kofa Mountains, Arizona. Pages 298-299

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Marc Adamus. Kofa Mountains, Arizona. Pages 298-299

“It is the time when light meets land, when fire touches earth and sets off an exquisite explosion, a divine display.”

Sunset is the last light of the day. We often watch as it sets, sometimes setting off amazing displays of color. It’s a time for quiet reflection of the day we’ve just lived and the one yet to come.

Twilight

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Michael Melford. Thira, Greece. Pages 312-313

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Michael Melford. Thira, Greece. Pages 312-313

“Look well, act fast, seize this last lingering light, for soon the dark will be upon you.”

The sun has set but there is still a glow on the horizon, a small bit of light left to photograph with. There may be a warm glow, or a cooler shade of blue. Don’t put away your camera yet.

Night

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Paul Nicklen. Svalbard, Norway. Pages 388-389

National Geographic Dawn to Dark. Paul Nicklen. Svalbard, Norway. Pages 388-389

“Night’s a time of wonder, of dreams and fantasies, fears and fulfillment, magic, romance.”

When the sun sets you need other forms of light to create photographs. These may be natural, such as flashes of lightning or the glow of the moon. Or these may be artificial, such as camera strobes or the lights of a city.

As with the other books in this series, Dawn to Dark Photographs is just over 10 inches square and over 1 inch thick. It is just under 400 pages long and full of photography. Some images span 2 pages, some a single page, and some a page and a half. The photographer, location, and a brief description accompany each photograph. Each section is preceded by a short introduction.

If you are ever in need of inspiration, or just wish to lose yourself in beautiful photography, you may find what you’re looking for in the pages of National Geographic Dawn to Dark Photographs.