The Red River is often a muddy brown because wind and water flow stir up the river bed as the river flows north into Canada and its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. In future weeks, I’ll be focusing on Orchard Glen Nature Park, a small but beautiful area complete with an apple tree orchard. I’ve been stopping by every two weeks or so documenting the changes since last Spring, and I hope to be able to capture some Winter images before we head to Arizona.
In late July, upon our arrival at the park, I was surprised to find the river with calm water and a beautiful blue reflection of the sky. There is a small path from the main trail to the river’s edge where there is often a fisherman trying to catch a catfish. Today, on this beautiful late afternoon, the spot happened to be empty and it became a platform for catching a shot of the river with my cell phone camera.
About the photo: Using my Samsung S20U, I chose automatic exposure, the camera, in turn, selecting f/1.8, 1/320 sec., ISO-16 to complete the exposure. Home again at my computer, I used Adobe Lightroom and Skylum’s latest version of Luminar (4.3) to complete the post-processing details. In most browsers, clicking on the image will give you an enlarged image on a darker background for a better view.
John Steiner
]]>Regular readers have already seen some images captured at Orchard Glen Park here in Fargo. This park, and it’s nearby Forest River Park are new discoveries to my wife, Lynn, and me. Though small, they both pack a lot of natural beauty that is complemented by the Red River of the North which meanders through the area. Indeed, the park and orchard were reclaimed from private owners who sold after a particularly devastating spring flood. The area, prone to annual flooding, was part of a community buyout. I plan to return to the park regularly throughout the summer to capture images throughout the three seasons we are in Fargo. If I’m “lucky”, I’ll be able to capture some “winter” images if we get an early snowfall or two before our annual trip to Arizona. More images to come.
About the photo: Captured on the Samsung S20U, this image captures a short section of “beach” along the river bank as the river turns easterly. A nature trail parallels this section of the river which is hidden behind lots of vegetation except for openings like this one that allows nice views of the river. I let the camera determine exposure, 1/2500 sec, f/2.2, ISO-64. The final image was processed in Lightroom and Luminar 4.
John Steiner
]]>Recently my wife, Lynn, and I discovered a park that’s new to us. In a future Travel Tuesday, I’ll feature a photo story about the park and its beginnings. Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I was busy capturing images of the apple orchard that is the signature feature of the park. In late May, the trees are in bloom and the soft light of a thin overcast allowed me to capture some detail of a pod of apple blossoms.
About the photo: I’m currently working on a review of the Samsung S20U cellphone camera so I have been looking for some interesting places to get used to the advanced features of the camera. It’s the first cellphone camera where I got familiar with the pro mode and when in pro mode, have the phone save the image in RAW format. More on that in my review coming up on my next Travel Tuesday post. For this image, however, I used the camera’s automatic exposure settings. On this slightly hazy day, the camera chose f/1.8 at 1/390 sec., ISO-16. The wide lens opening allowed the background to blur nicely to make the flowers stand out. Post-processing was handled as usual in Lightroom and Luminar Flex. As usual, in most browsers, you can click on the image to enlarge it for a closer look.
John Steiner
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