Nature's Balloon; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

I haven’t a clue as to what this is… it was found on the ground during a hike. It is rather fragile as it is dried. The balloon is about twice the size of an acorn and hollow. The overall length from the tip of the stem to the end of the balloon is about 2 inches and the height is around 3/4 on an inch. Any help in its identification would be appreciated.

The photograph is a CombineZP merge of five images taken at 1/2.5 of a second, f5.6, with each successive image having a focus point a bit deeper into the subject. The subject was placed inside a light box with sunlight providing the illumination from the right hand side. The Nik “sunlight” effect was used to warm the light a bit and add the tonal qualities to the foreground and background.

I recently purchased a used Zuiko 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 lens for my E-3. This is not the newer SWD model with the faster focusing though I’m quite pleased with this model’s auto focus speed and the sharpness and speed of the optics. It makes a fine replacement for the consumer grade 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 though it is a bit heavier to carry.

On my way to the town transfer station this morning I brought along my E-3 and 50-200mm to do some photography. I found a field to explore and set off on foot without a tripod. I decided to travel light and try some hand-held exposures using the camera’s built-in image stabilization.

Winter Field 1; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

Winter Field 2; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

Winter Field 3; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

It was a cold morning so there were ice crystals on many of the tree branches and brush. It was a magical walk over snow that looked like it hadn’t been disturbed for weeks.

I have to admit I felt a bit uncomfortable and awkward without my tripod. Using it forces me to think and plan my images and I feel I usually get better compositions than when I hand-hold the camera though the freedom of walking without all the heavy baggage was enjoyable.

Behind the Veil; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

The above image was the result of a little playfulness on my part and inspiration from a fellow photographer, Ed Vatza. It was created using a slow shutter speed (1/1.6 of a second) while panning vertically during the exposure.

One of digital photography’s strengths is that one can experiment and instantly receive feedback on the results. In this case, pausing briefly before panning upwards after pushing the shutter button produced a far different effect than panning immediately.

Eastern Blue Jay 1; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

These guys came for a visit this morning… so cold, wet and hungry. They usually come in large bunches of ten or more.

Eastern Blue Jay 2; copyright © reserved 2010, Richard Lovison

Both images were taken at ISO 400, 1/500th of a second, f5.6 using image stabilization.