Blog
2022 New York Marathon
Cheptoo, Obiri, Salpeter, and Kiplagat leading the women’s Marathon between miles 16 and 17.
Pictures of the runners from the 2022 New York Marathon.
If you’re one of the runners see your picture, feel free to contact me for a higher resolution version of the picture.
Kinglets, Nuthatches, and Butterbutts
In mid-October the trees in the northern part of Central Park were flooded with Kinglets, white-breasted nuthatches, yellow-rumped warblers (butterbutts), and some other birds.
Click on the images to expand.
2022 Shenandoah Trip
Dark Hollow Falls from one cascade downstream of the typical viewing area.
In October 2022, my wife and I went on a trip to Shenandoah National Park (just west of Washington DC). During this trip we stayed at Big Meadow Lodge, and focused on hiking in the surrounding area. Highlights of our trip include wildlife (such as unafraid white-tailed deer, cooperative nuthatches, tons of bluebirds, and many others), hikes on the Appalachian Trail, and making a loop out of going down the Dark Hollow Falls Trail and returning via the Rose River Trail.
Click on the following images for a better view.
Long focal lengths and air
A ring billed gull playing with the updraft from the FDR ringroad under the promenade in Carl Schurz Park.
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of shooting with what is effectively a 1000mm F/8 lens (Sigma 500mm F/4 Sport lens and the corresponding x2 teleconverter). As a consequence any shot that’s not very tightly on the subject is taken from a meaningful distance. This can mean that distortion from turbulence in the air can show up in the image.
A ring billed gull playing in the updraft from the FDR highway under the promenade in Carl Schurz Park.
In the case of this image, there is a strong updraft coming from the FDR highway under the promenade that I’m shooting along. This has two effects. First, it attracts gulls wanting to easily gain altitude. Second, when shooting parallel to the edge of the promenade (as I’m doing in this photo), there is substantial turbulence distorting the image.
That said, I actually like the wild, small distortions in this image, it reminds me of a watercolor. What do you think?
A cold day with few birds
A ring billed gull in the Harlem River on the shore of Randall’s Island.
This morning was fairly cold (compared to other recent days) and I took a walk around Randall’s Island hoping to find the tree sparrows that have been spotted by others near Little Hellgate Salt Marsh and the Wildflower Meadow.
A great blue heron in Little Hellgate Salt Marsh.
Unfortunately, there weren’t that many birds close to the paths, but I was able to photograph seagulls along the shore, herons in the salt marsh, brants in the rivers, and some song sparrows in the brush.
There were other birds around, like belted kingfishers, a red throated loon, black-capped chickadees, Canada geese, etc, but I didn’t manage good photographs of any of those.
Wet snow on a still day
Snow on a flowering tree.
Snow collecting on pink flowers near the Great Lawn.
This morning near day break there were interesting weather conditions. Specifically, there was heavy, wet snow, no wind, and it was above freezing. The net effect was a few hours where the snow stuck to the branches and loose leaves.
A fox sparrow foraging on the forest floor.
In the Ramble, the smaller birds were out foraging and several were kind enough to take a break and investigate the photographer wandering among them.
A northern cardinal roosting in the Ramble.
As it was above freezing, and the birds themselves were eating and knocking the snow off the branches, the unusual conditions ended after a few hours, and we went back to our lives.
A fox sparrow checking me out.
How I started photography
My extended family planned a trip to Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2019. However, an illness kept my parents from attending (they’re fine now). While it was not the same as going themselves, I purchased a camera and some lenses to record what we saw in the park.
While this was well-received by my family, I was disappointed in many of the photos and have been working to improve my photography since.
Starting in March, 2020 I’ve been regularly looking for wildlife, or other nature, near where I live in New York City.