Colorful Tree Bark

I was out at Pohick Bay today. There was some fog this morning so I thought I would head out to the water and see if anything dramatic developed. There wasn't much dramatic happening as far as fog, water and mood were concerned. But, I had the great pleasure in watching several Ospreys hunt for breakfast. They were really noisy this morning. Chattering and screaming at each other. It's really hard to describe. Hopefully, you have had the privilege or will at some point put yourself in a position to witness such a thing. I have a 300mm f/2.8 lens but it really isn't adequate to catch birds in flight unless they are right in front, or over top, of me. So, rather than shooting away, I just used the lens as a makeshift spotting scope and casually observed.

Not wanting to go home without capturing something, I came across some trees that had this colorful "stuff" growing on them. It's lichen actually. Most likely, F. caperata, but I'm no lichen expert. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I shot away. The images here have been treated with the Orton effect. As well, the two smaller "bookend" images, are digital multiple exposures. I enhanced the colors using Nik Software's Color Efex Pro (Brilliance/Warmth filter).

I am rather pleased with the final results.

More Autumn Abstracts

I spent some time at Pohick Bay, VA looking for some fall reflection images. Fall colors in general were better this year than in the recent past. I follow some other photographers' blogs/websites and found that they were all reporting this to be true from New Hampshire down through North Carolina.

I didn't really find the reflections I was looking for but there was some activity on the water that I tried to work with. Several kayakers made their way by from time to time. While they don't move as fast as a powerboat (obviously) I thought I would try some panning (slow shutter speed moving from side to side). This is similar to the "swipe" technique that I mentioned in a previous post but it involves a moving subject. I would consider these of limited success as far as pans go. But, I liked the abstract feel and the obvious fall color influence from the trees on the far shoreline.

The "twirl" image below was made from a set of trees I found elsewhere in the park.