Another Abstract Image

Sometimes you feel a little abstract…

Abstract; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

Neural Net

This image I made reminds of the neural net models I developed. No matter how well they performed their assigned task, they always remain a mystery. Like the human brain, not quite sure how they work.

Neural Net; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

Sphere

There’s not a lot to say…

Sphere; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

Egret

Saw this egret in a salt marsh along San Francisco bay.

Egret, Salt Marsh; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

There was significant back light, so I chose to show the bird as a silhouette. I particularly liked the repeating pattern of the ripples on the marsh water.

Toucan!

During our recent trip to Costa Rica and Panama, we saw lots of monkeys and colorful birds. It was a special treat to see this toucan during our visit to Rio Seco in Costa Rica.

Toucan, Costa Rica; 2022 (c) Greg McKinney

Again, I used my new Canon 70-300mm zoom lens to make this photograph. The Image Stabilization on this lens was very useful in that I was able to capture numerous wildlife images without the need of a tripod. Having received the lens in December, I did not have a lot of experience with the lens. This lack of experience with the lens was not a problem, it worked flawlessly. Canon hit a homerun with this lens.

I admit when I saw this magnificent fellow, I was reminded of “Toucan Sam.”

Monkey Business in Costa Rica

At all of our stops (Wildlife Refuges and a National Park) in Costa Rica we saw (and heard) monkeys. Capuchin monkeys were the most common. The following two photographs feature the same monkey. At Manuel Antonio National Park, rangers search backpacks and camera bags to make sure you are not carrying any food into the park. At the highest-point of the hike there was an area with picnic tables and a vendor selling bowls of cut-up fruit (watermelon, pineapple, etc.). This capuchin jumped down from a tree and landed on a table occupied by a family from Australia. The monkey grabbed some watermelon and quickly climbed back up a tree with his ill-gotten gains. I could tell by his proficiency that he has done this before (a repeat offender).

Capuchin Monkey, Costa Rica; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

Capuchin Monkey in Tree, Costa Rica; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

For these photos, I used the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM zoom mounted on my Canon EOS 90D DSLR camera. I used a wide-open aperture to blur the background. Nancy gave me this lens for my birthday (last December) replacing an older lens that lacked Image Stabilization (IS). I found the image stabilization to be quite useful so that I did not have to use a tripod. The auto-focus on the new lens is much quicker than the old lens (very useful when photographing fast-moving monkeys and birds).

Sunset Over Nicoya Peninsula

As our ship left Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, heading to the Curu Wildlife Refuge, we saw this beautiful sunset over the Nicoya Peninsula.

Sunset, Nicoya Peninsula, Cost Rica; (c) Greg McKinney

Macaw in Flight

Nancy and I recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica and Panama (including a transit through the Panama Canal). Our ship made several stops along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica where we visited National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. At one of these stops, I was lucky to capture this image of a scarlet macaw in flight.

Macaw in Flight, Costa Rica; (c) Greg McKinney 2022

Glasgow’s “City of the Dead.”

Glasgow Necropolis 1; (c) Greg McKinney

While in Scotland, we visited the Glasgow Necropolis, a Victorian cemetery, near the Glasgow Cathedral. It sits on a hill overlooking the city center.

Over fifty thousand individuals are buried there. Many in Glasgow refer to the Necropolis as the “City of the Dead.

My reaction to the whole atmosphere of the place was to make images with muted colors and an aged tonal quality. Below is another photo I took at the Necropolis showing the spire of the Glasgow Cathedral in the background.

Glasgow Necropolis 2; (c) Greg McKinney

Calla Lily

Calla Lily; (c) Greg McKinney

Here is another photo from a walk through the garden.