photographer

11
Sep
2016
Desert Kaleidoscope

Desert Kaleidoscope

Early this past spring I headed outdoors to photograph a white egret that had been hanging around our property. The egret never cooperated, staying far out of range of my camera lens, but a roadrunner on the hunt showed up instead. I captured several satisfying images of him as he darted by in pursuit of a lizard or whatever a roadrunner eats! I especially enjoy this capture for the kaleidoscope-like effect of the background created by the lens bokeh, while the roadrunner emerges into focus with even his tiniest feathers rim lit by the sunlight.

Nikon D810, 1/1600 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1100, 500mm (200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6), hand held

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Enjoy, but please respect.

Posted by Carol in Arizona, USA
28
Aug
2016
Bridle Portrait of Nouska

Bridle Portrait of Nouska

 

Nouska is a Dutch Warmblood mare imported from Great Britain to compete at showjumping’s Grand Prix level. I captured this shot while she was waiting at ringside to compete, and processed it using a high key effect to blow out the background. I like the limited color palette and the great detail that reveals even the stitching on her bridle. Nouska went on to win the Grand Prix that day. She is now retired to broodmare status.

Nikon D700, 1/750 sec at f/4.8, ISO 400, 125mm, hand held

Unfortunately, my online Store|Gallery crashed late last week and the weekend has interfered with a quick fix from tech support. Hopefully all will be back to normal in a few days. You can check in at cbparkerphoto.com – but if you see blank white where the images should be, have patience (mine is wearing thin!).

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Enjoy, but please respect.

Posted by Carol in Arizona, USA
21
Aug
2016
See You Later

See You Later

 

 

The summer of 2014 we spent cruising the chilly waters near Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Especially at the north end of the Johnstone Straits, near Blackfish Sound and Echo Bay, marine wildlife was abundant. We enjoyed multiple sightings of humpback whales, orcas, dolphins and more. I spent hours on AVATAR’s foredeck, wearing cold wet socks on my feet, trying to capture photos of these impressive creatures. Sometimes I scarcely knew which way to point my camera as the whales surfaced on all sides of us, announcing their presence with the whoosh of their exhaled blows. This humpback whale swam past our small open boat in Echo Bay, then showed his tail as he dove down deep. I was also captivated by the beautiful scenery, especially the way the mountains were silhouetted in the moisture laden atmosphere into multiple shaded layers. I count 15 layers in this photo – how many do you see?

Composite of two images:
Whale: Nikon D4S, 1/2000 sec at f/11.0, ISO 800, 180mm (80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6) hand held
Mountains: Nikon D4S, 1/1000 sec at f/11.0, ISO 200, 160mm (80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6) hand held

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Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Please respect.

Posted by Carol in British Columbia, Canada
14
Aug
2016
Early Start

Early Start

 

Only a week ago we were cruising in Maine! On our last morning before heading south again, I woke to the most spectacular sunrise I have seen in years. The intense colors only lasted for a few short moments before fading to softer shades of rose, then gold. I could hear the engines of nearby anchored boats as they warmed up for an early departure, and a small fishing boat was already on its way. We were anchored in a quiet cove near Penobscot Island, and the tide was out – exposing shoulders of boulders draped in weed. Every detail was reflected in the quiet glassy water for double impact. I captured what I could from AVATAR’s deck while the colors were at their peak, then went kayaking to further enjoy the moment.

Sony a7Rii, 1/320 sec at f/4.0, ISO 400, 119mm (FE 70-200 F4 G OSS), hand held

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Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Please respect.

Posted by Carol in Maine, USA
07
Aug
2016
Coming At You

Coming At You

It’s been raining a lot here in Tucson during monsoon season – which put me in the mood to feature this image taken last year during a workshop in Iceland. A group of like-minded photographers shared a dormitory at a horse farm near Skálakot, where we had access to barns and pastures full of these furry, sturdy horses. On this day the herd was wrangled down the driveway and country road to the beach where they splashed through the shallows for our benefit. One of our young lady wranglers bit it and was tossed into the surf, breaking her finger in the process and earning a damp trip to the hospital for a splint. She was back in the saddle the next day, unfazed by her mishap.

Nikon D4S, 1/1000 sec at f/4.0, ISO 800, 400mm (200.0-400.0 f/4.0), hand held

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Please respect.

Posted by Carol in Iceland
01
Aug
2016
The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple

Culebra Island in Puerto Rico offered a snorkeling beach a short hike from our anchorage. Mike and I loaded ourselves down with assorted beach-going paraphernalia, masks and fins, and I refused to go without my heavy underwater camera – just in case. It was almost a disappointment on the heels of some spectacular scuba diving. The scenery was very average, water cloudy and the outcroppings of coral dull under a coating of sand. But in the end my decision to lug the camera along paid off. We found a stingray in the shallow water escorted by a trevally that resulted in a photo that strikes my fancy. The rays always seem to have a fish accompanying them; in this case another trevally tried to join in, but the first fish aggressively drove it away. Back in the states I googled the behavior and came up with the term ‘commensalism’, in which one species benefits by hanging out with another. In this case the fish snags up the scraps of food stirred up by the stingray as it feeds along the sandy bottom.

Sony a7rII, Nauticam Underwater Housing, 1/350 sec at f/3.5, ISO 100, 28mm (FE 28mm F2)

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Please respect.

Posted by Carol in Caribbean, Puerto Rico
24
Jul
2016
Waterlily With Feather

Waterlily With Feather

We’re cruising at the moment, and a recent stop was in New York City where we visited the Whitney Museum of Art. On a rooftop balcony we came across a collection of water gardens in galvanized tubs. It was an overcast day, throwing even lighting over the flowers, and I was captivated into spending a half hour or so photographing the lilies from assorted angles. The maroon and green striped lily pads were the size of dinner plates, and I thought the small white feather and clover-like water plant added a touch of eccentricity.

Prints of Waterlily With Feather are available for purchase HERE.

Sony a7Rii, 1/320 sec at f/4.5, ISO 400, 56 mm (FE 24.0-70.0 f/2.8 GM lens). Handheld.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

 

 

Posted by Carol in New York, USA
18
Jul
2016
Contest Results!

Contest Results!

 

 

For those of you who voted in my Favorite Photo contest, thanks for playing along! It was fun for me to watch the results of the polling and see which images rose to the top! The winner? It’s a tie! Sunrise Flight and Fringing Reef Wavelet were the winners. Close runners-up, only a vote or two behind, were The Bobcat, High Heels, and Sail Into Sunrise.

I won’t keep you in suspense any longer – the winner of the drawing for a free 12 x 18″ print is Mackenzie Sullivan. Mackenzie’s vote, maybe not so coincidentally, went to Sunrise Flight. Congratulations Mackenzie!

Sunrise Flight is an image captured as we sailed out of an anchorage early one morning in the Solomon Islands. A couple of summers ago it was displayed in an exhibition hosted by the San Diego Museum of Natural History, where it won an honorary prize. I actually use this photo as the wallpaper for my iPhone! It works just as well in both vertical or horizontal positions. It never fails to bring back memories of those tranquil but dramatic early mornings at sea.

Again, thanks to you all! And better luck next time!

 

Posted by Carol in Cook Islands, Solomon Islands
17
Jul
2016
Gam Island Boy and Gam Island Girl

Gam Island Boy and Gam Island Girl

Gam Island Boy Gam Island Girl

I was looking through some old files the other day – looking for subject matter to enter in an upcoming contest titled: “A Sense of Place”. I spotted this pair that had escaped my attention at the time, so I worked them up and added them to my online gallery.

Normally I’m not much of a ‘people photographer’, but sometimes I do catch candids when the opportunity arises. These two photos were taken a couple of years ago in Indonesia, when we visited Raja Ampat for a dive trip.

We had participated in an early morning expedition to Gam Island to see the Red Birds of Paradise that perform their mating displays in specific trees on the island. On our hike to the forest we passed through the small village of Yenwaupnor, where I caught these photos of a brother and sister as they watched us shyly from their front porch.

I really can’t decide which one of the two I like the best, so I posted them both. Your comments to help me decide are welcome!

Posted by Carol in Indonesia
10
Jul
2016
Contest – Pick Your Favorite!

Contest – Pick Your Favorite!

[envira-album id=”8299″]

SLIDESHOW – click on the photo to open.

ENTER CONTEST

I’ve been publishing Photo of the Week for about 3 months now, and I thought it might be about time to make a slideshow (above) of the entire collection, and have another free print giveaway. This time I thought it would be fun to take a poll and find out which photos are the most popular! So I’ve put together a contest below.

All you have to do to enter is pick your favorite out of the bunch. You’ll be automatically entered in the drawing, and if you win you will receive a **hand-signed 12″x18″ fine art print of the image you chose. (**Size will vary according to the aspect ratio of the individual image). Contest closes Sunday July 17 at midnight PST. And feel free to share with your friends.

Good luck! And thanks for your support!

ENTER CONTEST

Posted by Carol in Africa