safe haven for tiny formats

[Merg Ross]

Boston, May 2019

Excellent!

[Christopher Mark Perez]

Ken,

Indeed. There is a serious richness about sliding the values down the scale a bit. Nicely done, this.

[Tin Can]

May 17 2019 by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

[jp]

Took the ole digital camera out for a walk yesterday because the spring colors are just starting to get nice and it was not raining yesterday... It's been cold wet just above freezing for the past month and it actually got up to 60 in the partial sun yesterday. I used a Sigma 35 art at wide aperture since I could get in close to the flowers yet have a wide field of view behind them. More trouble than macro or long lens, but I thought there was some nice background material for photos yesterday.


_DSC3699 by Jason Philbrook, on Flickr


_DSC3698 by Jason Philbrook, on Flickr


_DSC3692 by Jason Philbrook, on Flickr

[Corran]

Synchronous Fireflies at Congaree National Park in South Carolina:



This proved more difficult than I expected, especially as the park is only open for about an hour after they really start going. I had very little time to experiment. Next time I know where I am going to go and I'll probably make one 1-hour long exposure. This was about 9 minutes and still was way underexposed. I wanted a wider view but I could've used my 35mm f/1.4 I brought but just didn't have the time - this was with my 14-24mm at f/2.8 and ISO 800.

Thanks to Brandon aka Kerosene Hat for cluing me into this event last year. I am glad I got to go last night in-between work and festivals. Drove 500 miles round trip in one day to do this, and made a little roadtrip out of it, sleeping in my car last night and shot 4x5 in rural GA on the way home.

[CreationBear]

Synchronous Fireflies.

Very cool--the fireflies have become a major tourist draw over on the Tennessee side of the GSMNP, to the point where the NPS has instituted a lottery system for visitors, complete with a special trolley to Elkmont. Hope you were able to roll on/roll off there in the Congarees without too much hassle--other than alligators, mosquitos, and a couple of species of pit vipers.

[Corran]

Yeah I heard about the lottery for the synchronous group at the GSMNP. Congaree is the least-well-known of the 3 major areas of synchronous fireflies, and while a bit crowded around the "peak" of the show, it wasn't too bad. I actually drove in 4 hours early to be sure, and spent some time in the park shooting "normal" images. It's a wonderful place. I gave my info to a young lady to hopefully get in contact with the manager about an artist residency. I would LOVE to spend a week or two there with my big cameras...

I did learn a lot for next time. Most of the crowd was on the "official" trail. However there is another trail specifically for those with dogs that was basically unused. I made this image on that trail, with basically no one else in the vicinity. The main area was constantly lit up by folks checking their cell phone or because their DSLR's focus assist light flashes up. Every time that happened, the fireflies would stop or retreat further away. Once I got on this trail, they were all around me. Truly "magical" and really the best area to shoot. It was pitch black and I had to very carefully shuffle along to avoid tripping over roots and just crossed my fingers I wouldn't step on a snake . The lights in the distance are from cars leaving the parking area, as I was the last person on the trail. Next time I think I'll go straight to the dog trail, find a couple compositions with a couple tripods, and then do a 30-45 minute exposure. One chance!

[Tin Can]

Very interesting Bryan

Love how DSLR ‘fail’

Hate the cell phone spoiling your view

My whole area just lost grid electric

Yet here I am under the glow of phone and in touch by cell tower

Great pic and story

But now the cat is out of the bag...

[austin granger]

Self, Portland by Austin Granger, on Flickr

[tuco]

Both an interesting and challenging subject to shoot, Bryan. I look forward to next years version.