tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176616822024-03-07T14:09:20.789-05:00Andi Wolfe's BlogJack-of-all-trades, master of some pretty much describes my life. This blog has several themes: wood turning, photography, travel, science, fieldwork, family, friends, music, and miscellaneous things I encounter. I hope you enjoy it - feel free to leave a comment to let me know you've been here.Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.comBlogger1482125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-20423565960868035242016-05-02T07:19:00.000-04:002016-05-02T07:19:12.870-04:00What happens to the time?Spring has sprung in Ohio and it's time to start some fieldwork after a busy semester. I'll be starting my work in the southeastern states this year. I've neglected the penstemons east of the Mississippi for far too long. Here are a few glimpses of wildflowers in bloom this week in Ohio (plus a moss sporocarp portrait). All of these photos were made at Clear Creeks Metro Park.
Fire pink (Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-88333867932261306832015-12-07T08:09:00.000-05:002016-02-16T17:10:20.901-05:00Bigger and Better? Perhaps....I recently acquired a Wisner 4X5 Technical Field Camera. This means I am now experimenting with large format film photography. Oh my!
This is an entirely new set of skills to me. My camera is basically a box where the lens is separated from the film plane by leather bellows. The camera can be adjusted in the front and back: front rise, tilt, swing, and shift; back rise, swing, and tilt. This Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-24676447965292810072015-08-29T10:58:00.000-04:002015-08-29T10:58:02.397-04:00Phillips 66I had one of the busiest summers I can remember, beginning in May. The new semester has started and so my travels are done for a few months, which is a huge relief. Most of my travel was for field work - first to Utah, then northern California, and, just last week, to southern Mexico. I've been working on a huge photo project for our Penstemon grant, but during our field work, I was also working Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-87632027375358273472015-03-25T07:24:00.000-04:002015-03-25T07:24:12.370-04:00First film venture in Washington, DCI had a long afternoon of walking in DC last week, which was the perfect opportunity for doing some street photography with my Yashica Mat 124G twin lens reflex camera. Here is a sampler of some of the photos I made. All were with Ilford HP5 film. All photos ©2015 - Andi Wolfe; all rights reserved.
In the Metro station. Long exposure and aperture open as wide as possible. The shallow Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-32600931977356028532015-02-05T08:35:00.000-05:002015-02-05T08:35:05.182-05:00Shades of gray (256, not 50)...Last week we had a bit of snow, and I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day with all the light reflections on the buildings around campus. I took a half hour walk to my favorite places, saw how the light was filtering through the trees onto the side of the building and sidewalk along University Hall, and just waited for a student to walk into my frame. This was during the time between classesAndi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-14647357798699469452015-01-19T09:35:00.003-05:002015-01-19T10:38:29.539-05:00Adventures with filmA little less than two months ago, I walked into a used camera store to support Steve in his search for a 35 mm rangefinder film camera. I walked out with a Yashica Mat 124-G Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera (Steve did get his camera, too, which he broke on one of its first outings). The TLR is a medium format film camera, and I've been experimenting with different brands and ASA ratings of film.&Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-69178230712869071182014-12-14T09:56:00.001-05:002014-12-14T09:56:23.203-05:00Columbus, Ohio is a beautiful cityAs Steve and I continue to explore Columbus in the early morning hours, I've come to realize that it is a very interesting city with many beautiful spots that are quite photogenic. Here's another skyline - this one was from yesterday morning. I have a feeling I will be exploring different angles of the city skyline, especially as the Scioto Mile park continues to progress. The riverfront Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-7091456975431065822014-12-08T07:34:00.000-05:002014-12-08T07:34:09.843-05:00Columbus is festive now....The weekend here was rainy and cold, which means that, of course, Steve and I had to be downtown for a photo walk. Steve has a project in mind that requires bad weather, so I'm along for the company. However, I find this kind of setting to be interesting, too, and so I took the opportunity to make a photo I've been visualizing for a long time. I wanted a skyline of Columbus when the colors are Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-79655058292286355772014-11-25T08:25:00.000-05:002014-11-25T08:25:15.758-05:00Nature's love...
We've had a bit of interesting weather the past week or so - snow, really cold temps, lots of rain, more cold. Despite these challenges, it's been possible to get out and do some photography every once-in-awhile. This is a photo from October, and I'm posting it here to demonstrate what I've been learning in Photoshop. I set a goal for myself to learn how to use this powerful, but very Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-88647321626228484472014-10-08T08:49:00.000-04:002014-10-08T08:49:34.911-04:00Blood Moon Over Waterman FarmThis morning we were treated to a full lunar eclipse. Steve and I grabbed our gear and headed to Waterman Farm to do some photography. This image is my favorite from the morning
Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-33737187464402411522014-10-05T09:15:00.001-04:002014-10-08T09:10:11.782-04:00First light for my Canon MP-E65 mm lensI met my students from the "Communicating Science Through Photography" seminar at Sharon Woods yesterday morning. It was a cold and blustery Autumn morning with temperatures in the 40's (°F for my non-American readers), and rain and sleet coming down at various intervals. The wind made it challenging for macro photography, but I had something in mind that wouldn't matter if the wind was shaking Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-86726532264301267942014-10-03T13:48:00.005-04:002014-10-03T13:48:54.443-04:00Photographers generally need to be up before sunriseWaterman Farm this morning - pretty spectacular!
Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-61145904486453847712014-08-31T09:07:00.002-04:002014-08-31T09:40:00.932-04:00More from Whetstone PrairieI took my "Communicating Science Through Photography" students to Whetstone Prairie yesterday. It was our first fieldtrip of the semester, and the prairie was the perfect place to do nature photography. Late summer is the time for sunflowers, grasses, Queen Anne's Lace, ragweed, a variety of cone flowers, and many other prairie species to be in bloom. The goldfinches and hummingbirds were very Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-57420587596047663912014-07-14T08:00:00.000-04:002014-07-14T10:31:31.311-04:00Insects from Whetstone Prairie - 2014I've been finding mostly the same insects around my garden, so I decided to branch out and visit Whetstone Prairie. The variety of plants there is very good, which means that there should be a good diversity of insects as well. I didn't spend a lot of time since we had a party to go to Saturday evening, but I managed to find some different beetles and bugs, and lots of activity on the flowers. Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-57814421640112040992014-07-11T07:39:00.002-04:002014-07-11T07:39:46.277-04:00From my garden series - Interesting insects part 2I've been experimenting with my twin flash, Canon 100 mm f/2.8L lens, and two extension tubes. It's much more challenging to maneuver close to an insect with such a large contraption on the end of the camera, and I've discovered that the long legged flies do not like the flash at all. Everytime I click the shutter button and the flash begins, the flies jump. Sometimes I get lucky and the fly is Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-62790254986055436782014-07-08T08:23:00.003-04:002014-07-08T08:35:59.128-04:00From my garden series - interesting insectsSince dusting off my Canon 100mm/f2.8 L macro lens last week, I've been finding a lot of interesting bugs in the garden. I'm particularly interested in the diversity of fly species - most of them predatory on other insects, some are nectar or pollen feeders, though. I showed some of these photos to my son and he was creeped out. I guess some people aren't into interesting Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-14136880972173891082014-07-04T08:46:00.000-04:002014-07-04T08:49:14.661-04:00Scenes from my garden - July 2014I've spent the past few years building up my perennial collection in the front and back gardens. The nice thing about perennials is that you can divide them after a few years to increase the number of flowering plants. This is great for attracting all sorts of insects and the local birds. Every-once-in-awhile I take some time to do some macro photography, or to just photograph the flowers. Here'sAndi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-68318363895733425812014-07-01T08:09:00.001-04:002014-07-01T08:10:57.291-04:00Leaf hopper on the mirror
Last night as I was brushing my teeth in the upstairs bathroom, Steve called me from the bottom of the stairs, "Andi - come look at my bug!" He was brushing his teeth in the downstairs bathroom and found this little critter clinging to the mirror.
It's a species of Gyponana - one of the leaf hoppers found in the garden during the summer months. I've no idea why it came into the house - maybe itAndi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-67532187516413470252014-06-25T10:03:00.002-04:002014-06-25T10:04:38.193-04:00Busy, busy, busy....The past few weeks have been very busy for me. I was in Phoenix for the American Association of Woodturners symposium. I did the photography for the event and have been posting the AAW archive photos to the AAW Facebook page as well as my own. You can find the link to my FB page in the sidebar of this blog.
I'm also working on a lot of research for my presentations next month at the Botany2014 Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-63785663081893022682014-06-03T08:17:00.001-04:002014-06-03T08:17:28.867-04:00BeardtongueI've spent my career studying a very interesting genus of plants that is native to North America. It's the genus Penstemon, which has the common name "Beardtongue." From this photo of Penstemon palmeri, you should understand why....
Penstemon palmeri ©2014 Andi Wolfe
Penstemon is the largest genus of plants that is found only in North America, having nearly 300 species. The diversity isAndi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-51971079080633459662014-05-27T07:59:00.001-04:002014-05-27T07:59:42.428-04:00A way to honor one's ancestorsOne of the interesting things about Bhutan is the way ancestors are remembered. After someone dies, they are usually cremated. Not all of the body is consumed during cremation. The bits and pieces left over are gathered and pulverized, mixed with clay, and molded into these figurines, which are then painted and left in holy places in the mountains. Usually they are placed under rock overhangs to Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-3361936300102027932014-05-22T09:30:00.001-04:002014-05-22T09:32:01.068-04:00Penstemon petiolatus - at last!Last weekend I was in Utah for the American Penstemon Society meeting. We stayed in Springdale, Utah - the gateway to Zion National Park. Field trips included hikes in Zion National Park, a road trip to visit unusual and rare species of Penstemon, and a Monday excursion to visit some of the more unique species that occur in Utah.
One of the highlights for me was Penstemon petiolatus - a Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-7078977330365589742014-05-11T09:37:00.000-04:002014-05-11T09:41:14.236-04:00Civil War Encampment at the Ohio StatehouseSteve and I got back late on May 8th. The trip to Bhutan was awesome, and I'll post photos in the coming weeks. However, this post is about an annual event here in Columbus - a Civil War encampment that takes place on the Ohio Statehouse lawn on a Friday and Saturday. This year the weather was pretty miserable - raining all day yesterday. The participants were really good sports about the Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-17275317121958150992014-04-30T19:12:00.000-04:002014-04-30T19:12:45.786-04:00Made it to Thimphu today
We left Paro and drove some interesting mountain roads to Thimphu. We'll be here just one night, but we packed a lot of sites into today's schedule. The first place we visited was a giant statue of Buddha that overlooks the city.
Jon Miller brought along a GoPro drone to shoot video of sites we visit. This created quite a stir.
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan and has aboutAndi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17661682.post-37421133264494796942014-04-29T10:49:00.003-04:002014-04-29T10:49:55.311-04:00Bhutan is beautifulWe left Kathmandu yesterday morning. Drukair was our airline for a flight to Paro, Bhutan. This is an interesting airport in that in order to reach the runway, the pilot navigates several turns within a long valley. This lovely country is in the eastern Himalayas, and much of the country represents the foothills of these majestic mountains. Steve and I were sitting on the wrong side of the Andi Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01692640504138596272noreply@blogger.com0