Ashley Anne's Photographic Journey: Nature: In Light and Shadow

The following is the second half of my final project for my Environmental Photography course for NOVA in Spring 2012. This is my personal portfolio, entitled, Nature: In Light and Shadow. For this project I decided to focus on capturing elements of Nature in light, shadow, or both. The following are my 10 best images from this project:

focal length 55mm, f/16, ISO 200

I spent a lot of time with this butterfly, trying to get close enough to it to get some good shots without scaring it off. I love how the coloration of it's wings when apart resemble a large predator cat's eye peering at you from the underbrush. I imagine that is the purpose of the coloration. :) I was pleased with this shot. I like how the light makes the antennae stand out against the dark background and creates a sharp shadow under the wing. I also like the contrast of the bright orange of the wings with the bright green of the new leaves. My only wish it that I could have gotten closer, but I think for that to happen in the future I will need a zoom lens, which I do not have now.

focal length 43mm, f/16, ISO 200

With this shot I was trying to capture the texture of the tree bark with the stark outline of the leaf. I went for lots of leave outlines in this shoot. I like this shot, but I wish I had been able to cut out the distracting background.

focal length 18mm, f/16, ISO 3200

I really enjoying shooting this subject, not only because of the perfect leaf outline, but because of the beautiful sun-brightened moss. I later took some shots with the leaves removed from the edge of the frame, but the sun was not as bright which made the picture not as strong.

focal length 36mm, f/16, ISO 3200

focal length 25mm, f/16, ISO 3200

I like the stream leading off into the distance here through the sun-dappled trees, and the sunny green-ness of everything is very pleasant for me. The only thing I wish was different is the fact that it's not as in focus as I normally try to make my images, perhaps a tripod would have helped.

focal length 35mm, f/16, ISO 1600

These two images are perhaps my favorites of the bunch. These leaves were growing on the edge of a steep slope down to the ravine, I almost didn't shoot them, but I'm glad I did, despite the sore back and pained knees at the end!

focal length 35mm, f/16, ISO 1600

focal length 49mm, f/16, ISO 800

Here is another shot that would have been better if I had a wider array of lenses. However, I like the lens flare, and I feel happy with the amount of detail I was able to get out of the web.