December 23, 2022 by millicanphotography

Perfect Imperfection…

When photographing Nature, I believe that some photographers (yes, including me) overlook or ignore gifts from Nature that are less than perfect. If a flower was missing a petal, or part of it had been food for insects, we keep going and look for a perfect specimen.

But Nature is not perfect. In the mix of wind and rain, sun and heat, growth and life, very few of Nature’s gems remain whole or without damage…

A few weeks ago, I found this small locust tree branch in a small puddle of water, frozen. What stopped me was seeing first that some of the leaves were partially consumed by insects or caterpillars, but then I noticed the pastel colors, and the one magenta leaf detached and apart from the branch, also frozen in the same puddle.

It was still beautiful, I thought, despite the age and wear. Nature had placed it there for me to find, so I could see the story of its brief existence, its natural beauty. I photographed the leaves and the ice and spent a few moments just looking. And I still think of the little branch and its lesson today.

Here is another image, this one of a single leaf, which if we saw hanging on the tree, or on the ground, we would pass by. But, with a little help from the sun, the leaf seems more alive with beautiful rim-light, and the reddish-brown patches glow, and one of the holes in the leaf lets the sun make its own statement…

A phrase we nature photographers hear often, and just as often repeat, is “just slow down”. When we do slow down, and look, there is so much more to see.

Slow down. Look. Prepare to be astonished!

August 22, 2021 by millicanphotography

This Photo, #9

Lone Tree, Oklahoma Panhandle, April 2021

Image File MGC04924.ARW

Driving across Oklahoma for my first visit to Black Mesa – the most western, the most remote, and the most elevated point in Oklahoma – I could see why some people have considered this part of the state barren and even worthless over the centuries… But the landscape fascinated me with each mile I traveled. The seemingly never-ending plains, the occasional rolling hills, the distant windmills, the tall grasses and the wheat fields – all were new to me, and I enjoyed every every scene and every moment. I made several stops to look with my camera, and made notes of many places worth a return visit.

I drove by this tree, alone on the prairie, and argued with myself (the light is wrong; it’s the wrong time of day; I could stop on the return trip, etc.) for about a half-mile, but the photographer-self won: I stopped the car and went back.

After parking on the side of the highway, I pulled out the camera and the telephoto lens, mounted it on the tripod, and crossed the highway so as to fill the frame with the tree, the grasses, and the sky. I was intent on composing the photo to emphasize those elements – expressing my vision of the lone tree.

Oh? The nest in the tree? Yes, I saw it, but did not “look” at it – composition of the landscape was my concern! After making a few exposures, I moved the tripod to the right about 20 feet and recomposed. When I looked up from the camera, a female Northern Harrier was taking flight from the nest! I was stunned and did not photograph her as she flew – I only watched her fly and marveled at her grace and beauty, and gave thanks for the moment, and apologized for my disturbance…

Tech data: Sony Alpha 7RIV, Tamron 70-180 f/2.8 lens, Manfrotto 055 tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head; 1/640 sec, f/11, iso 400, zoom set at 83mm.

August 8, 2018 by millicanphotography

This Photo, #7

Just an Old Truck

File DSC05669

August 2013

A few years ago, on a warm and humid August day, two of my friends and I explored some backroads of the Arkansas Ozarks from sunup to sundown. We photographed landscapes, old buildings, little waterfalls, wildflowers, and more.

Continue reading →

December 25, 2017 by millicanphotography

The 2017 Annual Ten

Once again, it is time to review the photographs made this year, and select my favorites. We have been doing this for the past several years, and I look forward to it every year. This year, I started with over 50 photos, and after making several passes through the collection, and making some tough decisions, I selected the 10 photographs that gave me the most joy and satisfaction when I made them, and continue to do so now. Here are my Favorites for 2017, in roughly chronological order… Continue reading →

July 28, 2017 by millicanphotography

This Photo #4

Some years back, we suffered a computer hard disk crash. There were some photos on it, but I did not consider them a great loss, and thought they were backed up… somewhere. I said “some years back” meaning before I had learned about serious back up and better organization. (Today, we use three duplicate external hard drives, with more drives for images prior to 2015.)

As time went by, I did not find that back up. Until recently.

Since I retired as store manager, I have gradually been re-organizing my office. And, some old CD’s have appeared. On one of them is this photo, my first good water drop with refraction. For me, it is important, as it marks a turning point in that part of my photography. My first success! Although it is not a perfect photo, I learned much about searching for the right combination of water drop, refracted flower, and light… Continue reading →

July 5, 2017 by millicanphotography

This Photo #3

Canoes with Morning Reflection

Image 5105 Date: April, 2016

A couple of years before this, I had begun photographing the canoes at Devil’s Den State Park. Probably, I had seen similar photographs of canoes elsewhere (I know – who hasn’t?), and was inspired to make my own version. Each time I revisited these canoes, I would make new photographs, and with each visit, it seemed my photographs improved.

On this day, we were holding our spring macro photography workshop in the park. I arrived early, and while waiting, I walked to the canoe docks.
From early spring to late fall, the park rents the canoes and paddle boats for use on the Park’s little lake, formed from Lee Creek. It’s a very small lake. Besides the lake, the Park has miles of hiking trails, waterfalls, and plenty of the rugged beauty Arkansas is known for. It is my favorite Arkansas State Park. Continue reading →

June 7, 2013 by millicanphotography

Black Bass Lake

Every two years, the Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas (www.psnwa.org) hosts the Mid-America Photographic Symposium (MAPSYM). This year, for the first time, I was able to attend the weekend event, held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Kudos to the PSNWA for putting on a first-class event, aimed at photography enthusiasts and professionals alike.

One outing I joined was an early morning “Nature Hike” at Black Bass Lake. Even if you’ve ever been to Eureka Springs, a small community built on a steep hillside, I doubt you’ve heard about this lake. At least, I hadn’t, and I overheard another participant, from the area, say the same thing. So, we drove down a steep hill on a gravel road, to the lake, and it was like going to another world; right in the middle of the community, we were suddenly in a wilderness. It was so cool! (Are we supposed to say “cool” any more? I can’t keep up, so I just say what I feel.)
The morning was typical spring for this area; cool and damp. The lake had some misty fog hanging over the surface, and fortuitously, there were two fishermen in a small boat…

Two fishermen on Black Bass Lake, in the misty fog.

Walking one of the trails around the lake, I photographed this C-curved blade of grass, with a dew drop hanging on. Those that know me, and especially those that have sat through a class with me, have heard me stress simplicity…

Dew drop clings to a curved blade of grass, alongside Black Bass Lake, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

There were also a number of these purple flowers; according to Don Kurz’s Arkansas Wildflowers book, it’s called the Leather Flower. Cool flower…

Leather Flower along Black Bass Lake, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

So, it was an interesting weekend. I learned a bit about how Hanson Fong takes portraits, saw & listened to Nikon’s Mark Kettenhofen deliver an awesome keynote presentation, and more. Glad I went. 🙂

Camera used was the Sony Alpha 77, Sony 16-50 f/2.8 (I love this lens!) and Minolta 100 macro, Manfrotto tripod with Really Right Stuff ball head.

December 23, 2012 by millicanphotography

Red Reflections

I first saw reflections in water drops in a magazine – probably Outdoor Photographer. The photos were fascinating, and I decided it was a subject/technique I needed to learn. There were a number of failures over the years, until this photo.

On the day I took this, I was visiting Cherokee Prairie Natural Area. In fact, I had been there for a while, searching the Prairie for just the right combination of water drops, grass tangles, flowers, and light. I had no success, and was walking back to my truck, when at the very edge of the parking area was a perfect arrangement. I set the tripod up in the short grass of the parking area, and made a number of exposures…

One of the problems with making these photographs is that all of the vegetation – grass, flowers, shrubs, briars – is connected! Setting a tripod up without causing the water drops to fall is sometimes impossible. Often, I get it almost just right, move the tripod – or the camera & lens – and bump or pull something, causing the water drops to disappear. So, finding this at the parking lot was exciting! Ever since that day, I always look around the parking area before heading off into the grasses of the prairie…

Wild rose reflected in water drops on grass
Cherokee Prairie State Natural Area, near Charleston, Arkansas

I have always like the sharpness of this image, but would like to have the same situation again; I think it deserves some different compositions, and would like to shoot it with one of today’s higher resolution cameras. However, photographs are the reflection of a moment, then it’s history. As much as we might wish to relive our past, we cannot… 😉

Minolta Maxxum 7D, Minolta Maxxum 100 mm macro lens, Manfrotto tripod.

December 16, 2012 by millicanphotography

Reflections

Each spring, I look forward to going out to locate, and photograph dew drops reflecting, preferably, a wildflower. Of course, any breeze, even one barely felt on skin, is the enemy. So, we hope for no breeze, large dew drops easily photographed, and a colorful wildflower behind…

On this morning, I found a spiderweb covered in dew, and in the background was a black-eyed susan wildflower. However, there was a nearly imperceptible breeze – just enough to move the spiderweb. I took several photos, trying to time the exposure for the least movement. Here is one of the best, but because of the air movement, I was unable to keep all in sharp focus.

Dew drops on a spider web reflect the black eyed susan flower in the background.

I took this photo at Cherokee Prairie Preserve State Heritage Site, near Charleston, Arkansas, using the Sony Alpha 700, the Minolta 100 mm macro lens, Manfrotto tripod. The shutter speed was 1/320th second, in an attempt to freeze the movement from the breeze, at f/8.

September 30, 2012 by millicanphotography

Route 66 Revisited

Two years after our Route 66 day trip, I journeyed to the little town of Bristow, site of the “Route 66 Classic Car Show.” I had searched for a destination and found the car show, and decided to check it out. Gayle was unable to go with me, so I didn’t plan an extended outing, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to revisit the Mother Road.

Bristow, Oklahoma, is a small town, but on this day, it was full of cars, people, motorcycles, and tractors. The car show was bigger than I expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Main Street in Bristow was full of classic cars, both restored and custom.

A 1956 Ford Thunderbird sits on Bristow’s Main Street during the Route 66 Classic Car Show

A 1966 Ford Mustang Coupe on display at the Bristow, Oklahoma, Route 66 Classic Car Show. As an 18-year old, I drove one just like it!

I left Bristow, and headed back toward Tulsa. But, there are always photographs. These mailboxes were just off the highway, and I had to stop. They speak of rural Oklahoma, and simpler times gone by.

A rural Mail Center, along Route 66. It could be any location; where I grew up, the families still get their mail similarly – 2 miles or more from home.

I also stopped by the Rock Creek Bridge, and the Tee Pee Drive In, near Sapulpa. The drive-in theater has not seen a movie in a decade or more, but still stands as a reminder of other times.

Near Sapulpa, Oklahoma, the Tee Pee Drive In Theater still stands, only a few faded letters remain on the sign

The Rock Creek Bridge, near Sapulpa, is about a quarter mile from the Tee Pee Drive In. It is unique being one of few brick paved bridges remaining in the country.

These photos were taken September 1, 2012. I used a Sony Alpha 77 camera, and Tamron lenses – mostly my favorite, the 17-50 f/2.8 zoom.

Millican Photography

Photography by Larry & Gayle Millican

Simplicity