Posted on February 20, 2021
These images are a series of multi-image panoramas of a Blackwater NWR Sunrise on a visit there in July 2018. Blackwater NWR is a great place to visit for sunrise & sunsets. We were trying to get there for the sunrise and we just made it before the sunrise started. Most images were taken with a Canon 1D mkIV with a 24-105mm lens at various focal lengths. The featured image is made from 12 horizontal images taken @ 85mm to show less foreground and more height to the distant tree line. The full final size pano is 118″ long x ~20″ high.
Category: Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Favorite Locations, Image Stacking, Panorama & Stacked Images, Panoramas, Skies and Clouds, Skyscapes & Clouds, wildlife drive Tagged: Blackwater landscapes, blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, bwr, bwr cloudscapes, BWR landscapes, BWR Panoramas, BWR Wildlife Drive, Canon 1D MkIV, canon 24-105mm f/4 lens, Multi-image panoramas, MultiImage Panoramas, panoramas
Posted on February 13, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, I was looking for some different photo subjects than the usual ones we see. I did find some Mergansers in different areas along the Wildlife Drive. The Featured Image is a Hooded Merganser. It was swimming in a small water channel under a bunch of trees so I hardly could make it out in the shadows. It was just one black blob moving in the water so I adjusted my exposure in the camera to +1 stop hoping that would be enough to get some detail. Then when working on the image in Adobe Camera Raw, adjust the shadows in the Raw file to bring out more detail in the shadows and reduce the noise in the image. So it seemed to work out ok. This was taken with a Canon R with a 150-600mm lens @ 600mm. Then near the end of the Wildlife Drive I found a pair (male & female) of Common Mergansers swimming in the channel.
Category: Birds, birdscapes, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Favorite Locations, Wildlife, wildlife drive Tagged: blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, Blackwater Wildlife Drive, canon R camera, Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Tamron 150-600mm lens
Posted on February 12, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge I was traveling light thinking only of Birds & Wildlife images. I only was using a Canon R with a Tamron 150-600mm lens. But when we got there the clouds with the landscapes were amazing. So I tried shooting quite a few multi-image panoramas with a variety of the iPhone lenses. The featured image is 10 vertical images (4:3 format iPhone format) assembled and blended in Photoshop.
Category: Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Favorite Locations, iPhone, iPhone photography, Landscapes, Panorama & Stacked Images, Panoramas, Skies and Clouds, Skyscapes & Clouds, wildlife drive Tagged: Blackwater iPhone multi Image landscapes, blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, iP11 multi-image landscapes, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro landscapes, iPhone 11 Pro Panoramas, iphone image panoramas, iphone image panoramas in Photoshop, iPhone landscapes, iPhone photography
Posted on February 12, 2021
On our visit to Blackwater NWR we saw quite a few large groups of Tundra Swans & Canada Geese, but I was looking for large groups of Snow Geese. There was one large group way out in the Blackwater River, but none close to photograph. Also saw one large group in the distance behind the Visitor Center but could not get a clear image of them from the Wildlife Drive. After driving one loop of the Wildlife Drive we stopped by the Visitor Center to photograph a large group of Canada Geese in the fields by the Center. Then off to the left of the Visitor Center I noticed a large group of Snow Geese flying in. It was still early so I liked the color of the sky behind them. When photographing multi-image panoramas of flying birds I tend to photograph them from the far end of the direction they are flying and shoot my series as quickly as I can. So if the group is flying to the right, I start my series on the far left and shoot quickly going along with them to the right to capture the whole group. If you go the opposite way you get more uneven spacing and more spacing between the birds in the group. Which is harder to touch up for the final image. The featured image is 5 images shot with a Tamron 150-600mm @600mm on a Canon R. These are about 80 – 122 inches for the original file, so making them so small in length for the post I loose some detail in the image.
Category: Birds, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Landscapes, Nature Still Lifes, Panorama & Stacked Images, Panoramas, Wildlife, wildlife drive Tagged: blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, Blackwater Snow Geese, canon R camera, Snow Geese, snow Geese flying, Snow Geese in flight, Snow Geese Panoramas, Tamron 150-600mm lens
Posted on January 29, 2021
Here are some Colorful Sunsets from a few different visits over the years to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Maryland. Besides photographing Eagles & other birds it is a Great place to photograph colorful sunrises & sunsets. The featured image was taken along the Wildlife Drive with a Canon 24-105mm lens @40mm, Canon 1Ds mkII.
Category: Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Cloudscapes, Favorite Locations, Skies and Clouds, Skyscapes & Clouds, wildlife drive Tagged: blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, Blackwater sunset., Canon 1D MkIII, Canon 1D mkiiS, Canon 1D MkIV, Panansonic LX1
Posted on November 21, 2020
I was going through hard drives, cleaning up files I did not need anymore and I found this image from years ago of a visit to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland. It is when we first got there early in the morning before sunrise. I was using a 24-105mm lens @ 105mm on a Canon 1D mkIV. Image taken at 5:47 @105mm, f/11, 1/160 sec., -1.3 exposure compensation to hold detail in the setting moon. In post I opened up the shadows for more grasses & landscape detail. Then cropped some sky and foreground grasses for a more interesting panorama look.
Posted on May 23, 2020
This image is from a previous trip to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland. We arrived as the sun was coming up, so I stopped near the entrance to take a few shots of the trees along the entrance with the warm glow of the rising sun behind the trees. This was my favorite of the series, shot with a Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. This is a lens I hardly ever use and is not my favorite lens for landscapes, but it was in my bag so I gave it a try anyway. In the end I liked the image. I usually use a 24-105mm and shoot multiple images @24mm for a slight panorama view.
Category: Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Cambridge MD, Favorite Locations, Landscapes, Skies and Clouds Tagged: Blackwater landscapes, blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, blackwater NWR sunrise, Blackwater Sunrise, Canon 17-40mm, sunrise landscape, sunrise landscapes
Posted on February 24, 2020
I was going through old files and found this Blackwater NWR Landscape from a few years ago. I liked the clouds accenting the tree line on the right side. This was taken with a 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. I was surprised because it was a lens I hardly ever used preferring a 12-24mm instead. Landscapes at Blackwater NWR can be spectacular, especially in the early morning or late afternoon. This image was taken in late afternoon before sundown.
Posted on December 22, 2019
On one of our trips to the Blackwater NWR, there was a light fog at the Refuge when we arrived. Along the Wildlife Drive in the wooded area, I thought the fog looked interesting. It seemed to make the trees near to us stand out more against the hazy softer trees in the distance. I was using a 24-105mm lens @ 90mm to concentrate on the closer trees near the Wildlife Drive, adding depth to the image.
Posted on August 23, 2019
Here are a few panoramas from the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland. The featured Sunrise image is a panorama image made with 5 horizontal overlapping images, each shot at 24mm and assembled in Photoshop. This is an image of the Little Blackwater River along the entrance to the Wildlife Drive. The final size for the featured sunrise image is 95 inches long x 18 inches high @ 300ppi. Sunrises & Sunsets are usually very colorful at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge which is one of my favorite photo destinations.
Blackwater NWR Sunrise across from the lookout platform along the Wildlife Drive. ( 2 image Pano)
Image below is a multi-image vertical panorama. Sometimes it is fun to try different format orientations instead of ones you usually see. Most panoramas are Horizontal.
2 vertical images blended for vertical Sunrise panorama shoot @ 24mm
Single 12mm Sunrise Image
Dusk Panorama Further Down The Wildlife Drive. 10 vertical images @ 24mm combined for panorama
Dusk Panorama Along Wildlife Drive. 6 vertical images @ 12mm for panorama.
Category: Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR, Cambridge MD, Blog, Favorite Locations, Landscapes, Panorama & Stacked Images, Skies and Clouds, Uncategorized Tagged: blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Drive, Blackwater NWR, Blackwater NWR Landscapes, blackwater NWR panoramas, blackwater NWR sunrise, Blackwater Sunsets, canon 24-105mm, Sigma 12-24mm, sunrise landscapes, sunset