I was in Auburn today and returned to a small park I discovered a few days ago, tucked away between Auburn Ravine Road and I-80, to see if I could get some photos of the fish in the small pond there, using my polarizing filter to reduce the glare on the surface of the water. The pond is surrounded by grass, reeds and cattails. There are a few ducks, lots of dragonflies, and a single picnic table next to the pond under a large tree surrounded by a large grassy field. It is a very quiet and serene park; it seems to have a calming effect on one. I was sort of vegging out as I strolled around the perimeter of the pond. I realized I fit right in with the two groups of developmentally disabled adults having lunch in picnic areas some distance away from the pond. One of the people, a middle aged woman, came over to me as I photographed the ducks and extended her hand and told me something about what was in store for her that evening. She ignored the calls from the caregiver after I replied with the word “fabulous” to describe her impending activity. As the woman was led away by her caregiver, she looked over her shoulder, laughed, and repeated the word “fabulous” over and over at the top of her lungs. Like I said, I fit right in!
Whether it was the mesmerizing effect of the park or just my usual inability to remember to reset the White Balance, once again I screwed up the settings. It was only after I got in my car to drive home that I realized the White Balance was set to “white florescent” and has been since Friday when I took photos of the blood drive in the gym. I had been wondering about the color on my photos the past couple of days. Now I know why. I did manage to use the polarizing filter with good effect and was able to tweak the white balance with software after I downloaded the photos to my computer. I cropped this photo and applied Auto Curves. The dried grass on the upper left side of the photo is on the surface of the water and the white spots are surface reflections. Everything else is under water.
Focal Length 200
ISO 100
f/5.6
1/100