Category: Photography

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Jellyfish in the Desert

The Albuquerque Biopark has a small, but very nice, aquarium. For years I have been intrigued by the jellyfish. However, I was not sure I would ever be able to photograph the ones at the Biopark, because they are in a dark room. Additionally, the moon jellyfish are in a very dark tank. The Pacific sea nettles are in a dark room but are in a brightly lit tank. So, until yesterday, I would go, look at, and enjoy the jellyfish, but I never tried to photograph them. Yesterday I had time to think and to play, and for a Sunday there were surprisingly few people there, so I was comfortable taking my time. These are some of the images I was able to create yesterday.

Moon Jellyfish

Moon Jellyfish
Moon Jellyfish

Pacific Sea Nettle

Pacific Sea Nettle
Pacific Sea Nettle
Pacific Sea Nettle
Pacific Sea Nettle

More Moon Jellyfish

Moon jellyfish
Moon jellyfish

The Albuquerque Biopark is really a gem in the desert. For those of you who live in the area, it is a great place to visit at any time. For visitors, it is something to put on your list of things to do when you are in New Mexico.

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Color at the Albuquerque Biopark

The Albuquerque Biopark is celebrating its blooming bulbs in March. A few crocus and daffodils are beginning to bloom on the grounds, but the show at present consists of calla lilies and a few other assorted flowers in the Mediterranean Conservatory.

Over the years I have grown a few calla lilies. Somehow, I had expected the ones at the Biopark to be larger. Most were either the size I had grown, or even a little smaller. On the one hand, I did not feel like such a failure as a gardener of calla lilies. On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed as a photographer that there were no “giant” calla lilies on display. What I can say, however, is that the calla lilies (and other flowers) blooming today were quite colorful!

Flowers
Flowers at the Biopark
Calla Lily
Calla Lily at the Biopark
Calla Lily
Calla Lily at the Biopark
Calla Lily
Calla Lily at the Biopark
Calla Lily
Calla Lily at the Biopark
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The Mediterranean Conservatory at the Albuquerque Biopark

The Albuquerque Biopark is a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year.

I went today to see some of the bulbs that were blooming in the Mediterranean Conservatory. Until today, I had never paid much attention to the building itself. That may be because when the trees and other plants have leaves, the building does not stand out so much. But today I found the building itself an interesting photographic subject.

Albuquerque Biopark
Mediterranean Conservatory at the Albuquerque Biopark

Another post will show some of the beautiful bulbs that were blooming within the Mediterranean Conservatory today. This images in this post, however, are of the outside of the Mediterranean Conservatory itself. The sun was out when I first arrived, but clouds had moved in by the time I was making the last images.

Mediterranean Conservatory
Mediterranean Conservatory at the Albuquerque Biopark
Mediterranean Conservatory
Mediterranean Conservatory at Albuquerque Biopark

I would encourage everyone to consider visiting the Biopark. As spring arrives, it will begin to change almost daily. The Biopark is one of Albuquerque’s jewels.

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Horizons

Horizons

The choice of placement of the horizon line in a photograph certainly affects what the image conveys to the viewer. Last fall I took a photography class in which one of the assignments was to take 5 photographs which were the same in all respects except for moving the horizon line. I took multiple series for this assignment, but finally decided on one from the West Side Open Space, taken last November. All were shot at f8, 1/125 sec, 24 mm, ISO 100, on a full frame camera. I also used a circular polarizing filter.

Of the five, this image was my favorite:

horizon lines
Horizon Lines – West Side Open Space, November 2012

Although that particular one was my favorite just as a choice out of the five, which one would be “better” would depend entirely upon the uses to which the image was to be put, as well as individual taste. Further, this series of images was taken for a specific assignment. Had I been photographing for myself, I would have chosen a time closer to sunset when the light was on the trees and mountains in the distance.

The results of changing the horizon line can be seen in this very brief video containing the five images.

The assignment was certainly effective at showing how much difference in appearance a simple shift in horizons can make in an image.

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