Exp: 1/80s @ f/2.0, ISO 100
Gear: Olympus E-P1, Leica 50mm f2

We’ve had some relief from the rain here in Cleveland for a few days so I’ve been able to get out and enjoy the nice fall color we’ve had this year.  As it happens many times this shot was taken after my primary subject, tinkers creek gorge, wasn’t all that spectacular.  So I turned around and started walking down along the road.  It wasn’t long until a came across this bundle of leaves sticking out away from everything else.  I knew this would make a great subject for the short depth of field of this lens.  I’m quite happy with how this lens renders the transition and bokeh.  Because this lens is mounted to the E-P1 using a mechanical adapter it operates completely manual.  You might think this is a downside I find having manual control over the aperture and the focus makes using the E-P1 a very different but rewarding experience.   Since I have independent dials for focus, aperture, and shutter (wheel on back of camera) I can make changes by touch.   This kind of control allows the camera to melt away and I can concentrate on making images.

Exp: 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 500
Gear: Canon 40D, 400F4L

So, have you ever wondered what happened to your beloved goldfish when you set him free to live out his years in the beautiful pond in the metroparks?… This scene was quite comical and drew a crowd because the heron was not about to give up this trophy and I don’t blame him.  That is probably the biggest goldfish I have ever seen.  It had to have been 10in long.  The poor great blue heron tried for 20 minutes and at one point dropped the fish before it finally managed to finish off it’s meal.  A great blue heron are normally around 4ft tall and can have a wingspan of 5 1/2 ft.  Most of the time I see the herons catch very small 1-2 inch long fish out of this pond and never goldfish.  Needless to say I’m never bored photographing at the North Chagrin Reservation.  Click the image above for a larger version.