Virginia Archives - Light and Landscapes

Fishing Ospreys on the Rappahannock River

April 27, 2025 by John Caplis

Every spring between late March and early May, an anadromous fish called hickory shad migrates up the Rappahannock River from the Atlantic Ocean to lay their eggs. This shad spawning run is an attraction for local fly fisherman and a time of plenty for ospreys, also known as fish hawks. The fishing spectacle is also great opportunity for concentrated, action-packed bird photography, with numerous ospreys frequently diving into the river and emerging with their catch of shad. Old Mill Park in Fredericksburg, Virginia is a great place to catch the action.

Talons fully extended milliseconds before hitting the water.

More often than not, they emerge with a fish in their grasp.

The afternoon hours can provide backlight in the tailfeathers and reflected light under their wings.

I used the Canon RF 200-800 lens for these images, which were further cropped in during processing. 600 mm seemed like a good focal length for tracking, and then zooming in further to photograph them with their catch.

A low wing flap while taking off with their catch.

Shutter speeds between 1/1600 and 1/2000 of a second worked well to keep things sharp but still allow small hints of motion. Auto ISO combined with -1.3 stops of exposure compensation kept the exposure in a good range that prevented the white feathers on the ospreys from being overexposed on a sunny day.

Osprey shaking off water as it flies away with its catch.

Continuous auto-focus tracking is a must. A high speed frame rate will ensure you have some nice wing positions to choose from for your image. The stacked image sensor and the electronic shutter on the Canon R5 Mk II worked together very well to eliminate “rolling shutter” which can distort wings in motion.

Clean non-distracting backgrounds, good lighting, wing and tailfeather posture, and eye contact with the osprey (and the fish), were key elements I was looking when selecting images.

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October Aurora in Shenandoah National Park: Part 2

October 17, 2024 by John Caplis

Having just photographed a G3 strong geomagnetic storm on the night of 7-8 Oct, imagine my surprise when a long lasting X1.8 solar flare on the sun launched another coronal mass ejection (CME) of plasma directly toward the earth on the next night. This CME was expected to arrive during the middle of the day on Thursday, Oct 10. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G4 severe geomagnetic storm watch for 10-11 Oct. In a G4 or G5 storm in Virginia, it is possible to have the aurora directly overhead, with much of the aurora visible to the naked eye.

For those of us in Northern Virginia who missed the G5 extreme storm on May 10th (due to rain and cloudy skies), this was a very exciting development. The May 10th storm was the strongest display of aurora since 2003! As predicted, the effects of the CME began to arrive around noon on 10 Oct.

We departed for Shenandoah National Park around 4:30 pm with high hopes that the CME-driven storm would continue late into the night. We arrived at Hogback Mountain overlook around 6 pm and set up our cameras. As the sun began to dip below the horizon at 7:30 pm, we could already see red aurora to the north reaching high into the sky.

As the skies grew dark, the aurora conditions were approaching G5 extreme storm levels:

The moon was low in the sky and half full. It illuminated what looked like haze (or smoke) in the sky, creating diffuse atmospheric conditions for the aurora.

Taken with a super-wide angle lens at 10 mm. The vertical field of view covers a 120 degree arc from the horizon to directly overhead in the sky. The red aurora at the top of the image was directly over my head when I took this image.

Aurora over Skyline Drive in the eastern sky.

Red aurora in the sky to the south, with the moon peaking out from behind a tree.

The aurora faded after twilight, partially washed out by the moon. However, at 10:20 pm, a severe-strength substorm once again put on an impressive aurora display:

One of my main goals for photographing this G4 storm was to capture multiple aurora colors in the sky at the same time. For weak displays in VA, aurora is usually limited to a red glow on the horizon. For stronger displays, red pillars may be accompanied by a lower layer of green aurora. During a G4 or G5 storm the aurora will extend higher into the sky and may involve additional colors, such as yellow, orange, pink, blue and and violet.

Around 1 am on 11 Oct, another substorm lit up the sky.

The band of green aurora at the bottom was moving so fast, I could not get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze its motion. It looked like green water sloshing around in a glass.

One of the last images of the night, the fading aurora with part of the Milky Way visible overhead.

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center recorded the peak of the G4 storm from 1100 am 10 Oct – 0200 am 11 Oct Eastern Standard Time (1500 10 Oct – 0600 11 Oct UTC). KP values during substorms clocked in at 7+ to 8+. It was a wild ride!

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October Aurora in Shenandoah National Park: Part 1

October 16, 2024 by John Caplis

Beautiful aurora over the Front Royal area during a G3 strong geomagnetic solar substorm at 1:00 am on Oct 8th.

I have long desired to get a beautiful image of the aurora in Northern Virginia skies. But up to this point, such images had eluded me. When I got a Kp 7 aurora alert, indicating that conditions for a G3 strong geomagnetic storm had been reached at 10:30 pm on Oct 7, I quickly studied the aurora forecast. Everything looked promising and the skies were clear as a bell. I debated whether to head out at this late hour, but ultimately decided to make the ninety minute drive to the blue ridge mountains.

When we arrived at Hogback Mountain overlook on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park, a second substorm started to light up the sky. We quickly set up our cameras and started clicking away. Those beautiful images were finally happening!

This image was taken at 15mm, which covered just over 100 degrees of the horizon in the field of view!

Here were the aurora conditions according to the Spaceweatherlive.com app from the 1:00 am (5:00 UTC) G3 strong geomagnetic substorm. It was listed at Kp 7.3. It lasted around 30 minutes before the aurora faded away again. The aurora did not make another strong appearance for the rest of the night. We headed home around 2:30 am, happy that we had seen a strong aurora display in very clear skies.

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Creative Photography at the Handley Library in Winchester, VA

August 27, 2024 by John Caplis

I recently met up with friends from the Manassas Warrenton Camera Club at the Handley Library in Winchester, VA. The library presents great opportunities for using some specialty gear for creative effect, including the Canon RF 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens, the Canon EF 17 mm tilt-shift lens (TSE 17mm), and an infrared-converted Canon R6 camera body. The TSE 17 mm lens allows for vertical perspective correction within the lens itself, making it a great choice in general for photographing architecture. Infrared cameras are great for adding an “otherworldly feel” to a landscape. I combined the R6 infrared camera with the TSE 17 mm lens to capture some exterior shots with a really different look. The super-color infrared filter captures both infrared and certain bands of visible light. This allows the image to be manipulated in post processing using a color channel swap, which turns the skies dark blue and the foliage gold. I was pleased that the channel swap also preserved the green tones of the library roof.

I love this side view of the library as an infrared image. The foliage adds a lot of character, especially the evergreen tree. Because there are power lines running close aboard and parallel to the side of the building, the only way to photograph an unobstructed view here is to stand up close. This requires either pointing a wide angle lens upward (the library is a tall building), which creates major perspective distortion, or using a wide angle tilt-shift lens. While you could correct for some of the distortion from the normal wide angle lens in post-processing, at this close distance and upward angle, it would definitely be a challenge. I used a generous amount of upward “shift” applied to the lens barrel of the TSE-17 mm, while keeping the camera level. As a result, none of these exterior infrared images required any perspective correction in processing. All had beautifully straight vertical lines!!!

The dog walker. Is it just me, or does this guy look like Alfred Hitchcock? Front entrance to the Handley Library. I added the red color to make the dog walker stand out in the scene.

Shooting low on the porch of the library, using the railing and the portico to create receding lines toward the center of the image.

Once inside the library, the first thing you encounter is a beautiful four-story entrance foyer, featuring a stained glass ceiling at the top of the interior dome. The real star of the show, however, are two spiral staircases that connect the first, second and third floors. Depending upon where you placed your camera in relationship to the stair railings, you can make some very different images. I really loved the curves and repeating shapes in the stairwells. To capture these amazing interior scenes, I experimented with the Canon R5 and the RF 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens. The 10-20 mm super wide’s expansive field of view was a great tool for taking in these interior architectural scenes while adding some interesting distortion from the very wide angle of view whenever tilting the lens off center.

Looking up into the stained glass dome at the library entrance. Taken with the 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 10 mm. Shooting straight up, this lens compresses everything vertically (the top of this dome is easily four stories above the foyer floor).

View from second floor hallway. Taken with the 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 13 mm.

View from the third story hallway. Taken with the 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 10 mm. At this widest setting, there is some noticeable stretching of the image the further away you get from the center of the image as a result of the extremely wide field of view.

The oldest portion of the library had glass floors/ceilings, as seen here in the overheads of this alcove. The bookshelves shown on the second floor are load-bearing structures that support the building floor above it.

Winding railing at the bottom of one of the two main spiral staircases. 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 20 mm. At this narrow setting, there is very little distortion within the field of view. With these portrait oriented shots, having the windows vertically aligned up and down works well.

At 10 mm on the super-wide angle lens, the balusters create spokes leading to the heart of the spiral. This image reminds me of a breaking wave on the ocean. Do you see it?

Multiple floors of winding rail and curving steps from the third story of the spiral staircase. Taken with the TSE-17 mm. Leaning over the edge of this rail and including the floor in the image without capturing your feet (in this wide field of view) is a real challenge. Think leaning over forward without any support while holding the weight of your camera in your hand, and doing abdominal crunches to steady your upper body. I was sweating by the end of this photo session!

10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 14 mm. Another total ab cruncher here! Also a bit of vertigo!

Taken with the 10-20 mm super-wide angle lens at 16 mm. A tighter crop that gives more emphasis on the spiral on both sets of stairs. The light coming through the windows was extremely bright, as this was mid morning. Most of these interior stairwell images were taken handheld using a three image burst set for exposure bracketing. I manually merged the window from the darkest image with the interior from the brightest image using layers and masks to create a single balanced exposure.

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Sunflowers and Summer Sunset Skies!

September 10, 2023 by John Caplis

I really enjoy sunflowers at sunset. They offer up some amazing opportunities to experiment with colorful lighting, deep shadows, textures and repeating (but also uniquely different) shapes. Here are some of my favorites images from this year’s short but colorful sunflower season!

Beautiful red glow on the horizon!

Surprising pink sunset clouds over over the top of a dark storm cloud.

Pink turns to red!

Smoky skies (from the wildfires in Canada) create purple and pink hues and a diffused sun high in the sky, framed under a ceiling of passing rain clouds.

Another smoky sky creates a reddish pink ball before the sun sets.

Sun streaks shoot out of rim-lit cloud while warmly illuminating the yellow flower petals.

You can view more sunflower sunsets in my Summer of Sunflowers image gallery.

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In Search of the Almost Mythical “Blue” Green Tree Frog

September 12, 2021 by John Caplis

Green tree frogs are common along the edges of marsh areas in the coastal areas of the Mid Atlantic. They can be found clinging to cattail reeds, or the stalks and leaves of various soft green marsh plants.

Getting ready to jump off a cattail.

Enjoying the warmth of the morning sun.

Green tree frogs range in color from light to dark green or olive-brown. They can change their tones to more closely mimic their surroundings in an attempt to evade predators. This tactic works well as these frogs are often very hard to spot.

This frog has mastered the art of disguise, and has become one with the cattail.

I had heard reports that there was a “blue tree frog” at Neabsco Boardwalk Park. In my quest to photograph this elusive animal, I made several trips to the park. During a late afternoon visit, I saw many frogs, but no blue ones. Nevertheless, I enjoyed photographing the green frogs in the warm light before sunset.

During my mid morning trip, I was joined by four or five other photographers, all scanning the marsh looking for this ghost of a frog. We looked for over two hours without any luck. I was getting ready to pack it up and head home, when out of the thick marsh brush emerged the mythical “blue” green tree frog. Perched on a stem ten feet from the boardwalk, surrounded by plants swaying in the wind, sat the object of my desire. I questioned whether this shot was going to happen, but patience and repeated efforts to snap the shutter as the plants swayed away from the frog finally resulted in several images with a clear view of this stunning sky blue tree frog.

“Blue” versions of the green tree frog are caused by a rare genetic abnormality that results in the frog having no yellow pigment in its skin.

Update: I returned another morning, and found a different “blue” green tree frog. This one was like a leopard version. It was blue with green spots!

Update #2: On another morning outing at the park, we discovered another unusually colored tree frog. This one was not blue, or spotted, but lemon yellow! Nature is full of surprises….

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