Beaver Pond Journal 2010

Journal entry for August 1, 2010  "I wanted to be sure to photograph a series of images for this year's abandoned beaver pond panorama. This wasn't going to be as easy as during the past three years because Indian Lake Road has been closed due to impassable road conditions.
Reaching Otter Brook bridge the road was blocked with a closed gate. Parked the truck in one of the campsites then Mary and I arranged our packs for the three mile hike to the abandoned beaver pond. Along with the camera gear already in my pack I added my old laptop and rain gear. Mary packed lunch, her rain gear, a book and insect repellent.
It was 8:30 A.M. when we made our way around the closed gate, crossed Otter Brook bridge and entered the solitude that lay ahead. The dirt road made the walking easier than a trail, but I knew we had some elevation to gain and the high humidity wasn't going to make it pleasant. In addition to my large camera pack I had my LowePro Toploader 75AW chestpack loaded with my Canon 20D / 100-400 mm lens in the event we happened on any cooperative wildlife. As it turned out the hike to the pond was uneventful and not as difficult as I had anticipated.
Arrived at the pond at 9:40 A.M.  Unpacked my equipment, set up my tripod over the flagged shooting location and mounted my camera. Next I got out my old Averatec laptop and studied the 2008 panorama to be sure of the starting point for the first frame. I had gotten that slightly off when shooting the 2009 panorama. That done I waited for some cloud cover to block the sun and tone down the high contrast the direct sunlight was providing. The number of billowy clouds were increasing and finally covered the sun. Shot the first series of eight images that would be stitched together in Photoshop to produce the panorama. I immediately shot a backup series of images in case my frame spacing was off.
I wasn't very pleased with the light so I kept waiting for better light as new clouds took their turn blocking the sun. By 11:49 A.M. I had shot a total of ten series of images. It was quite hot and humid, Mary and I found some shade where we could eat lunch. Fired up the laptop and downloaded the images so I could review the results so far.
After lunch and reviewing the images I decided to try another series of images if the light got better. Thicker clouds were off to the west and headed our way. One of them did a good job of providing much better light. At 12:27 P.M. I began shooting two more series of images. The last set was the one I picked to assemble as this years panorama.
In spite of the heat and humidity the return hike along Indian Lake Road was quite pleasant, very quite, no vehicles and no people. Unfortunately no wildlife either, but that changed in an instant. As we walked along the side of the ridge above Falls Pond Outlet's bog, suddenly a large black bear appeared on the road about one hundred and fifty feet ahead of us. Without stopping it turned and ran down the road ahead of us with an easy, slow, fluid  gait, then up a short but steep slope and was swallowed by the forest. Not a sound could I hear, it always amazes me how something so large and bulky can move so silently..
Arrived back at the truck at 2:10 P.M."

The black bear photo I forgot to take!

Beaver pond on August 1, 2010 

A single frame showing the beaver lodge in disrepair

Journal entry for October 31, 2010  "At 12:10 we gave up on a moose sighting and headed back to the abandoned beaver pond, arriving at the pond at 1:00 P.M. A light dusting of snow on the bare trees would make a nice contrast with the summer panoramas. 

Got out my tripod, positioned it and leveled it over the flagged location. Set up my camera, mounted it on the tripod then began shooting the eight required frames, finishing at 1:41 P.M.

While I was repacking my gear a hunter, who was from Vermont, stopped to visit a few minutes. We had a pleasant conversation."

Beaver pond on October 31, 2010

A single frame showing the beaver lodge in disrepair

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You can view more beaver pond photos on my website:

bunchlewisphotography.com

More beaver pond journal entries are coming up soon

Thanks for visiting my journal,

Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal 2009

Journal entry foe August 9, 2009  "Arrived at the beaver pond about 10:15 A.M. under a threatening sky. Made a quick check of the pond then returned to the truck for my camera gear. Located my tripod over the flagged alder stumps, then set up my equipment using measurements documented in my journal. Once the set up was complete I shot three series of seven images for the 2009 beaver pond panorama.
I wasn't pleased with today's conditions, very hazy and lots of wind. My polarizing filter didn't do much to cut the haze, but did help with the glare from the wet vegetation.
Clouds were spitting a little rain while I was packing my gear. I hope to improve on today's images with another shoot before the end of the month, but at least I have something for 2009 if I'm not able to get back."

Beaver pond on August 9, 2009

Journal entry for August 30, 2009  "Arrived at the abandoned beaver pond about 10:15 A.M. After parking the truck I walked down the road to check out the pond before setting up my equipment. The first thing I noticed was the remains of the old dam had washed out even more.

Passing the dam I was scanning around the pond as I walked along when my peripheral vision detected a sizable track in a muddy section of the current shoreline. Staring down at the track I could hardly believe my eyes, four toes, no claw marks and a pad. The only conclusion could be a cat; retractable claws and a pad with four toes. Mary and I measured the track, 3 3/4 x 3 3/4". It must be a cougar track, there have been many sighting over the last few decades. I photographed the track plus a second track that was a good imprint. The tracks appeared to be quite fresh. (On September 7th while adjusting one of the cougar track photos I had to leave the office for a moment. Upon returning I was looking at the photo from the far side of the room and I was able to make out a nearly imperceptible fifth toe imprint. So, it wasn't a cougar track after all but rather a black bear, probably a yearling. The unanswered question is why aren't the claw marks visible?

Found my set up location then went to work getting my tripod level and the panoramic equipment in place and leveled. I didn't record any of the 2007 panorama set up measurements but did so for the 2008 panorama. I shot two panoramas in 2008 and I chose the wrong one for my set up measurements when I shot the August 9, 2009 panorama. Now I have recorded the set up parameters and will shoot all future of the beaver pond using them. My goal is to shoot this same panorama set up during the month of August for as long as I'm able.

Beaver pond on August 30, 2009

Before leaving I shot a few images of the pond using my 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens using both horizontal and vertical formats.

The fisheye shots

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You can see more images of the beaver pond by visiting my website

bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting my journal,

Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal 2008

Journal entry for July 27, 2008  "Last August I thought it would be interesting to photograph the succession of the pond back to dry land. I accomplished last years panorama by shooting 7 frames that stitched into a 220° panorama of the pond. Today my goal was to photograph a 2008 duplicate of last years panorama.
Found the location where I set up last year, then positioned my tripod as close to last years set up as my memory would allow. I shot three 7 frame series of images under different lighting conditions. This would allow me to use the series with the most pleasing light for the final stitched image."

 Abandoned beaver pond July 27, 2008

Note, my memory was incorrect, the 2007 panorama was shot and assembled with 8 frames not 7 as I shot last week.

Journal entry for August 3, 2008  "Drove on to the abandoned beaver pond just east of Squaw Lake trailhead. Ate a snack while Mary and I waited for the rain to stop. Finally, about 10:45 A.M., the rain ceased and I got set up to shot the panorama of the abandoned beaver pond. This time I decided to use the 50 f1.4 mm lens rather than the zoom lens I used last week and last year. This set up required 8 frames as opposed to 7 frames at 46 mm that I used last weekend. Worked great with the fixed focal length lens, a much better chance of getting a duplicate field of view each year.

 Beaver Pond August 3, 2008

Mary picked blackberries while I shot the panorama, then I helped with the picking. Quite good!

A single frame of the abandoned beaver pond and lodge

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You can view more of my images on my website

bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting my journal, more posts on the way,

Bunch