Autumnal Aurora

Crazy-beautiful aurora tonight at Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park displaying autumn colors. The most intense show only lasted 15 minutes, 8:15 - 8:30 PM. I'm very pleased with the night sky images from the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 lens. I decided to try switching between vertical and horizontal orientation for my shots. The vertical image had the best capture of the northern lights (and I prefer the vertical). Two fun things happened during this shot: (1) a shooting star and (2) car headlights illuminated a couple of rocks in front of the Bubbles and the western shoreline. Enjoy yet another Jordan Pond Aurora shot. To learn how to create images like this, consider attending one of my nature photography workshops in Acadia National Park.

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 21mm (Zeiss), f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO 3200, 10/7/15, 8:18 PM

Autumnal Aurora, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine

Opaque Oblique

It was the strangest cloud effect I have seen, there must be a name for it? A cloud formation that partially blocked the sunset causing the distant clouds to be in shadow - thus creating a strong leading line. Captain Brenda (my sweet wife) positioned our boat perfectly for capturing the scene. We are photographers and our Sunset Cruise Safari is all about creating the ideal environment for successful photography at any experience level. To learn how to create images like this, consider attending one of my nature photography workshops in Acadia National Park.

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 21mm (Zeiss), f/9, 1/160 sec, ISO 400, 9/9/15, 7:04 PM

Opaque Oblique, Northeast Harbor, Maine

 

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Summer Aurora

At 11:00 pm, storm level predictions for the aurora. I made a point to mentioned it to the folks on the Sunset Cruise Safari earlier last evening. I headed out to Jordan Pond for about an hour and called it quits - not much to see. Around 3:00 am, I awoke to find the aurora level had increased, Kp=5.67. I jumped out of bed, repacked my gear and headed back to Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park, Maine. I was the only one there and here's what I saw at 3:45 am this morning. Super excited to capture the Northern Lights. To learn how to create images like this, consider attending one of my nature photography workshops in Acadia National Park.

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 21mm, f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO 2500, 8/16/15, 3:45 AM

Summer Aurora, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine

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Savage Surf

Everything was in alignment tonight: the light, the tides, the seals, the surf and we were there to capture the moment. It's rare to have perfect conditions when shooting the seals on our Sunset Cruise. Tonight it all came together and presented a beautiful opportunity to shoot the seals with the surf. We were witnessing the surf push the seals off the ledge and into the ocean. After shooting for 20 minutes, all the seals were washed off East Bunker Ledge in Seal Harbor, Maine. To learn how to create images like this, consider attending one of my nature photography workshops in Acadia National Park.

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 300mm + 1.4 tc, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec, ISO 800, 7/30/15, 5:45 PM

 

Innocent Seal Pup, East Bunker Ledge, Seal Harbor, ME

Four By Five

Most of my images follow the 2x3 format (aspect ratio). Occasionally I would choose a square, but never really considered other aspect ratios or more importantly which aspect ratio fits which image. The 4x5 format provides a comfortable balance for my latest sunset buoy image taken near Bear Island, Northeast Harbor, Maine. I've added the un-cropped, un-editted image for comparison. Notice the empty space in the sky and water in the 2x3 crop. While the 4x5 crop has interesting textures throughout the entire image - my eyes continually move, rather than the 2x3 crop causing my view to drift to the top or bottom and stopping.

EXIF data: Nikon D800, 21mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO 400, 7/15/15, 8:27 pM

Buoy At Sunset, Bear Island, Maine 

Here is the 2x3 format (unedited) for comparison: