Author Archives: GAR

Photographer’s Choice – Nicole Robinson

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Looking for a Shot, Finding Another

Nicole Robinson - Point Bonita Lighthouse

Nicole Robinson - Point Bonita Lighthouse

Nicole was looking for a vantage point to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge and stumbled on this scene of the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco. Hoping for something unique and to properly convey the scene, she set up her tripod and opted for the very long exposure of 20 seconds which allowed the ocean waves to appear more like wispy fog than moving water. This softness provides a strong contrast between the soft spray and the rugged, prominent rock formations. Because the light was far too intense to use this slow shutter speed without blowing out the scene, she attached an 8x neutral density filter which brought the effective shutter down to about 1/13 second. Using an aperture setting of f/11, the total light reaching the sensor was controlled.
Her camera is the Canon EOS 50d with the excellent EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. For this scene, the lens was zoomed to 125mm. The final image is certainly an excellent capture.

Photographer’s Choice – David Smith

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Forty Feet Below: An Amazing Featherduster (and Friend)

David Smith - Featherduster Worm (Sabellidae)

David Smith - Featherduster Worm (Sabellidae)

In June of this year, David traveled to Bonaire, a small island in the Caribbean lying 50 miles north of Venezuela and a part of the recently formed ‘Caribbean part of the Netherlands’. Bonaire has many of the characteristics of Caribbean islands in general but perhaps its main draws for tourism are warm, clear water for diving and windsurfing. David has special gear for underwater photography, the DX-2G Sea & Sea (a waterproof housing coupled with a modified Ricoh camera) which he used to capture the image above. Illumination was provided by a strobe not only for light but to bring out the natural colors of the creature and its surroundings. The featherduster is the main attraction but see if you can also find the ‘friend’.
David captured another creature on the same trip, not as brilliant but the detail is fascinating. Take a close look at his shy “blenny”.