A Day on the Lake, Lake Barcroft

After more than a 8 week hiatus due to a very busy summer workwise, I was able to take out the kayak early this morning for a 3 hour relaxing shoot of the type of photos I love to take. Herewith, a sampling of what I observed today on our beautiful lake.

Landscapes and Interiors

July and early August have been very special weather-wise this summer at Lake Barcroft, and yesterday afternoon was no exception. It made for a great shot over Beach 4. Here is the result:

I've been shooting mainly home interiors for a client for the past four months with little time for much else. I'm using a technique called "exposure fusion" to capture all the details in an image without the need for flash or lighting.  Some examples of a recent shoot of a very large home in Arlington follow: 

And a very small home:

But I was able to capture some wildlife on the job. This little guy (gal?) was in the pachysandra in the garden of a recent shoot:

Can anyone help identify this creature?

Moon over Lake Barcroft

The "super moon" has come and gone, but I was able to make this photo above on Saturday evening after driving past this view five minutes before. As the reflection in the water slowly disappeared, I made a number of exposures. This is the best shot under very difficult lighting. Next time I'll try to be out when the moon first emerges over the trees.

Day on the Kayak at Lake Barcroft

Kayaking is great at Lake Barcroft and I was recently out on the water enjoying the wonderful weather. I selected the best photos to share here.  The clouds were magnificent so I photographed each of the five beaches from the water. I also saw no fewer than five Great Blue Herons around the lake, all busy hunting for a meal and several of them successful, right in front of my lens!

Beach 3

Beach 2

Beach 5

Beach 1

Beach 4 (in the distance) 

Great Blue Heron with his catch

Another Great Blue Heron with a fish

Barges along Beachway lakefronts

Great Blue Heron preening

Yet another Great Blue Heron with a bluegill

Relaxing on the barge

Barn swallow

Turtle line-up

Osprey

Tow-barge

Night Heron

Serious about fishing

Bliss

Barred Owl in Potomac, Maryland

A friend of mine told me about a secluded little scenic pond in Montgomery County, Maryland. He said there were stories about an owl that returns every year there, and I was in Rockville yesterday with some free time so I headed over to this pond. And there it was, up in a tall pine tree, a sleepy eyed Barred Owl. She posed quite nicely for her portraits, and should be laying eggs very soon. Stay tuned for followups on this posting.

If you are interested in more information about these interesting creatures, have a look at this site:
Barred Owl Basics.