January Surprise | ©2016 David Allio
Unseasonably warm temperatures were the probably reason for the January Surprise blooming hybrid water lily that surfaced on New Year’s Day in Upstate South Carolina. Last year, the first hybrid water lily Nymphaea emerged in mid-May – normal for the May through September perennial.
Shunkawauken Falls – North Carolina Waterfall Series
©2015 David Allio
In dry times, the exposed cliff of White Oak Mountain in Polk County, North Carolina, appears as a looming rock face greeting travelers approaching from South Carolina. However, in periods of wet weather the water of Horse Creek become Shunkawauken Falls. Tumbling nearly 2000 feet from mountain crest to base, the upper section of these waterfalls seem to defy logic as the flow appears to emanate from the skyline. This visual deception is accomplished by an elevated watershed obscured from viewers approaching from a lower elevation.
This black-and-white composition presents the upper section of Shunkawauken Falls as exposed through a 114-degree angle-of-view lens. Exaggerated optics provide an inclusive visual representation of the landscape unavailable to an unaided observer from the same location.
Great Blue Heron | ©2015 David Allio
A Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias wades along the Lake Blalock, South Carolina, shoreline after dusk with evidence of successful fishing. The backstory on the photograph involves a sighting of the bird about an hour before dusk, a round of hide-and-seek, long minutes of waiting as the sun sets, and an exposure after dark.
Experience indicates that birds of all sizes are leery of people and cameras. This Great Blue Heron was first sighted wading in open water but as I approached it quickly moved to the cover of vegetation. For over an hour it would peek through narrow openings, seemingly waiting for me to leave or the sun to drop below the cloudless horizon. The sun set and the bird had hardly moved. Light receded and still the bird waited. Finally, possibly convinced of the cover of darkness, the bird moved to capture a fish. Exposure made.
How important is a good lens?
The data below explains that a consumer-level camera body was mounted to a professional-grade large-aperture telephoto lens with vibration reduction "on." Do not mistake this photograph as a snapshot or a digital image manipulated by software. Value the glass more than the camera for a successful low-light exposure.
