Feral Rock Dove

This is a photograph of a Feral Rock Dove taken this past May.  The more common name given to this particular species of dove is "pigeon."  They are not very well liked among city residents as their flocks can become a nuisance in public marketplaces or squares, scavenging for food and leaving droppings on the ground and on statues.

Characteristics of many Rock Doves do not vary very much.  For example, most have purple and green colored feathers on their neck.  My favorite feature of this photograph is the beady orange eye.

Salem Seagull

Wait, let me guess!  You are saying "He's back and he's talking about birds again?  WTF!"  I don't blame you but I did say that airplanes and birds were my favorite subject matter when it comes to my photography.  And it turns out that the latest subject is rather photogenic if you ask me.

Now one thing I like to do with my blog post (as you have noticed) is to inform as well as report as I do not want to get stuck in a reporting mode when it comes to photography.  I want all as visitors to be able to learn something when they/you read my posts;  something that you might not have known beforehand. 

One thing I notice (which is not uncommon at all) is that many just refer these birds as "seagulls."  It is a very general and broad term of which I have no problem or will ever have a problem with (as I do call them "seagulls" in company).  However, this specific type of "seagull" is called a Ring-billed Gull.  If you take a close look, you can see that this bird's bill (beak) has what looks like a black ring around the tip, hence its name.  I was very glad to be able to capture one of these as I do not see very many from my normal spotting areas.  I did get very lucky today as I took a drive up to Salem, MA on the north shore which yeilded me some fantastic opportunities to get close up to these creatures.  There are a couple more photos to come from this shoot.  Please stay tuned, and please check out the new website http://www.maxmatteraphotography.com/.

New Website Up and Running!

Hello everyone. Please sustain from firing blunt objects in my direction as I know I have not posted since June. Reason being is that I have been working on a website to be able to sell my protographs as prints. The URL is www.maxmatteraphotography.com.

This is a project that I have wanted to start for a long time and now finally, it seems as though it has become a reality. The prints that will be offered for sale at this new URL are ones I consider to be my best work, the highest quality of my collection. Right now, I only have six (6) photos up for sale, but more will definitely be on the way. Check the site for frequent updates and new additions.

Please! Don't write this blog off! Keep following. Keep coming back. I will still be making posts on here similar to those that I have written before. Both sites will be updated very often (yes, I really do mean it this time). Links from my new URL to this blog will be up shortly. I am very excited about all of this and hope you enjoy.

--Max

Aircraft on Approach

First post of June! And what better to do that than to include photographs from February! Haven't been able to get much new material lately so I decided to go back a few months (maybe a little more than a few) to a time when I was getting out a little more often.

As you can see from a previous post, I live in very close proximity to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. The most unique aspect of this airport is that it is on the coast but at the same time, surrounded by many different communities. There is always a place to spot for almost any situation. Last time I chose to photograph taxiing aircraft. On this occasion, I chose to focus on aircraft that were on final approach.

All of these photographs were taken right underneath the final approach flight paths. This is a Continental Airlines Boeing 737. My favorite feature of this airplane is the hamster-cheek engine shape. As you can see, the air intake or inlet for the engine is not a perfect circle like most other aircraft engines are. The original version of the 737 (737-100) and its follow up variant (737-200) had smaller (albeit louder and less fuel-efficient) engines that were positioned directly beneath the wing. When Boeing decided to re-engine their 737s, they ran into a little bit of a problem. The 737 design (based on the earlier 707) already sat very low to the ground. The larger engine made ground clearance an issue. Boeing and their engine supplyer for the 737 solved this problem by moving the engine forward of the wing instead of directly underneath. Then, in order to increase ground clearance, they moved the gearbox to the sides of the engine instead of putting it directly at the bottom (which gives the engine its unique shape). This low ground clearance for this airplane is an advantage to any airline that operates it. It is so low that ground and ramp crews at airports are able to easily reach up and open cargo doors. They can easily interact with the fuselage of the airplane instead of spending extra time bringing in equipment that brings them up high enough. This really increases turnaround time.This aircraft is a JetBlue Airbus A320. It is the direct competitor to the Boeing 737 in the commercial aircraft market. It looks like a pretty average aircraft. It does not really have any notable features that really stand out on the outside. However, for a domestic short to medium haul aircraft, it does have a slightly more spacious interior than the 737. It is for that reason why an airline like JetBlue opts for this aircraft instead of the 737. Although the 737 is a cheaper aircraft to operate, JetBlue does have flights that go from coast to coast. For example, JetBlue flies from Boston to destinations like Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose. They use their A320s on routes like these ones. For the shorter domestic routes, they will use their Embraer E190s more often (although A320s are also used on these shorter routes as well). They want their passengers to be more comfortable when flying long distances. Some people say that the 737 feels a little less comfortable on those longer routes. One reason for them to fly JetBlue is to have that "comfort." However, "comfort" can mean something totally different to others. Many people instead choose to fly Southwest Airlines, a direct competitor of JetBlue. Southwest operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Since the 737 is a more economical aircraft to operate, Southwest is able to offer much cheaper fares than JetBlue. Southwest passengers choose them for the "comfort" or "piece of mind" knowing that they saved much more money on what would have been the same route.
To finish off this post, I give you this American Airlines Boeing 757. This photo was taken as the sun was going down. I really like how the sun shines off of its silver fuselage and how the winglets make the wing look more elegant (not all 757s are equipped with winglets). In a way, I really don't want to write about this, mainly because there is really nothing I can say about this airplane that is going to do it justice. I feel that whatever I say will just not be enough and I will leave something out. However, I feel as though I should try. The 757 is and has been a workhorse in so many airline fleets. Delta Airlines alone operates more than 140 of them. United Airlines and Continental Airlines together operate 158 of them. It is invaluable because of its versatility. It has been constantly pushed to its limits and has always seemed to deliver. Whether it be a short, medium, or long, domestic route, or a transatlantic flight, airlines can always count on it to handle the job. There are a few things that make this airplane special, other than the reasons I listed above. For one, it was designed in tandem with the Boeing 767, a longer range and widebody aircraft (757 being a narrowbody single aisle aircraft). The systems on these two aircraft are, for the most part, identical. This gave (and still gives) airlines the advantage of being able to have pilots certified to fly both aircraft. For example, if you were licensed to fly the 757, you became automatically licensed to fly the 767, and vice versa. Another thing about this aircraft is that it is one of the longest, if not THE longest, single aisle passenger aircraft in service. It allowed for more passengers to travel on popular short to medium domestic routes than the 727 and because of its economics, increased revenue for its operators. The 757 is also known to produce higher amounts of wake turbulence than other aircrafts. Because of this, air traffic controllers have to make sure other aircrafts hold a little longer before taking off or landing behind one. You can actually hear its wake pass over you about 10 seconds after the aircraft passes over head. I am not a frequent flyer, but most of my flights have been on this airplane.

As you can tell, my favorite subjects so far are birds and airplanes (apparently things that fly) and I enjoy sharing what I know about them with everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to share something I might have missed, feel free to comment or email me.

Locust Silhouette

Warm weather on the east coast makes for some fantastic nights to just sit out the deck, have a drink, and just relax. That is precisely what I was doing! I figured a fantastic, productive week at work deserved as much. My backyard is lined with trees behind my fence. There are two types of tree that grow back there. One is the immediately recognizable maple. The other is the Robinia, more commonly known as a "locust." Locusts make up the majority of trees that hang over into my yard. I never really knew what they were called. I guess it was because there is nothing really overly spectacular about them. I remember one person describing them as "tall, overgrown shrubs." Trees like maples, elms, willows, oaks, and beeches all seem to have very distinguishing features whether it be the bark, leaves, or the seeds it drops. Pardon me please. I seem to be straying. Every June, without fail, I will have to clean up all of the small, white petals that this tree drops in my backyard and in my pool.

While sitting out this past weekend, I did notice a pretty cool looking sky. I took the original shot without really tring to include any of the trees. However, I quickly realized that the locust silhouetted very nicely against the evening sky. I then took this one to include more of the tree but also with enough sky for some color.

I haven't done silhouettes in a while. If anyone has any opinions, please feel free to comment!

The Yardbirds continued...

Finally! Out with the bad weather and in with the good! Unfortunately, work has been hectic resulting in less time for shooting. I did manage to get these just before and after the weather broke though. Hope you enjoy!

A continuation of the last post with another photo of Mourning Doves. This time, I finally had some better light. Combine this with the low ISO setting and I got a nice sharp and colorful image.
Unable to identify this one. My best attempt at classification would be some breed of house sparrow as they are frequent visitors to my yard. If anyone knows for sure, please comment or email me as I would like to know exactly what kind of bird it is.

Sun was in and out when this shot was taken. This Common Grackle looks a little fatter than normal. This is a result of its courtship ritual. It consists of puffing out its feathers and making quick herky jerky movements with its head.

I was surprised to get this close (about 15 feet away, zoomed to 250mm). Common visitors to my lawn, this North American Robin was feeding on the new seed and worms. Quite disappointed about the position of the walkway lamp. The location of the bird and the position of the lamp make it difficult to crop effectively (in my opinion that is) as I am not a very good photo editor.

First post in over a week, I know. My consistency will improve for sure. Please stay tuned!

The Yardbirds

No, not the English rock band of the 1960s. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, and Chris Dreja will not appear in this post except for in this sentence. As the rain works its way through the northeastern United States, I have gotten little chance to get out and really get lost in a full day shoot. However, in the small amount of time between rain showers, I was able to capture a frequent visitor to my back yard.If you ask me, Mourning Doves just seem like a cleaner, less colorful pigeon. Almost seems like a bird that you would expect to see hanging around a local underpass (or overpass, whatever you prefer) or perched inside the "a" of a Shaw's Supermarket sign. Take this one for example (above). There doesn't seem to be anything overly spectacular about it at first look. It just sits there perched on that branch seeming very uninterested about the man with the camera pointed at it. But, that is what I started to find very likable about this bird in particular. My normal experience when trying to photograph birds up close involves me trying to find out how close I can get before the bird starts to turn and walk away or shows me that it is aware that I am there. This proves to be irritating at times as I will frequently miss out on a good shot because I was trying to get to close. This one, however, just seemed to hang around. It definitely seemed to know I was there, yet it didn't really seem frightened enough to fly away so I used this to my advantage.This is the same bird pictured above. Since he was intent on staying around, I started to inch closer and closer. No sudden movements were involved as I did not want to take the current situation for granted. As I moved closer, it started to inch down the limb of the tree into a different position but it was still not frightened enough to leave. I was able to take position about 4-5 feet from the limb with the bird about 10 feet above me. About 30 seconds after this shot, the skies opened up again and the sound of thunder frightened the bird enough to get him to fly off to a different location.

The forecast for this week doesn't look to promising, but I will try to look for some opportunities between the showers to sneak out and see what I can find.

Commercial Airliners

Logan International Airport is Boston, MA is a great place to go plane spotting. The main reason for this is its proximity to the city and surrounding communities. This allows me to get some decent close up shots of some nice looking commercial jets.

This is a photograph of a United Airlines Airbus A320. This particular airplane was part of the original United fleet. When I say "original," I am referring to the fact that this plane was not acquired through the merger between United and Continental Airlines (Continental Airlines had an all-Boeing airplane fleet). The post-merger livery for United got a lot of flack from airline enthusiasts, many wondering why United conceded so much of their identity to Continental. To an extent, I can see why there would be some frustration (especially since I do fly United whenever I fly). However, the "United" logo type on the side does look very nice and the blue and yellow globe logo that United adopted is not that bad as I thought it would be.

All American Airlines's airplanes are immediately recognizable. Their silver livery with red, white, and blue stripes is really and will always be one of a kind. In this instance, this AA Boeing 757 is taxiing for departure during the late afternoon. It really is a nice sight when you can see that sun shining off its silvery surface.

Time to go international! This monster is an Airbus A330 from Air One. Air One was the main competitor of Alitalia before their merger in 2009-2010. It still retains its logo and livery and is considered to be the leisure subsidiary of Alitalia. These A330s were designed by Airbus to compete against the very popular Boeing 767 (a staple of long distance domestic, and transatlantic flights). This particular aircraft is just turning off of the taxiway onto the active runway for take off. A few features of this picture that stood out to me immediately were the curvature of the wings and the heat coming out of the engines.

There can be no better way to finish off a post with the "Queen of the Skies" herself. The Boeing 747 is and will always be the most iconic and revolutionary airplane ever created. This particular 747 belongs to Air France, taxiing to the active runway to take off for Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. It is immediately identified by the quad engines and the double deck hump towards the front near the cockpit. The 747 has undergone changes over its 40+ years of service but has always managed to keep its distinctive shape and curves. Previous models of this aircraft include the 747-100, 200, 747SP, and 300. The current model pictured above is the 747-400. One reason for the 747's distinctive "hump" is for flexibility. Boeing also planned to design this airplane as a cargo aircraft. They figured that if they move the cockpit up higher, they can have room for a massive nose hatch to load and unload cargo through. By keeping this design on the passenger version, they kept the door open for it to be converted into a freighter. The 747 has long dominated the VLA (very large aircraft) market but has recently been eclipsed by the new Airbus A380 as the largest commercial airliner on the market. Boeing has since launched a new variant of the 747 called the 747-8 Intercontinental. It is scheduled to enter service with three airlines at the end of 2011 to ensure that the "Queen of the Skies" will continue to fly.

Logan International Airport in Boston, MA is one of the 20 busiest airports in the United States and handles over 25 million passengers per year. It is so close to the city and surrounding communities which is very convenient for airline enthusiasts. It ranks as the 12th busiest airport in the United States based on international traffic, so you can always catch some good shots of the larger aircrafts arriving and departing.

Boston Street Theater

As spring starts to roll in and the weather starts to get warmer, Boston finds a way to transform itself into a more interesting and/or exciting place to be after a brutal winter such as this past one. I was able to experience Boston last week in a way I haven't been able to in a while. On a very ordinary Thursday morning, I decided to take myself and my camera into the city for no other reason except that I had nothing to do. It turned out to be a good decision.

Now, as I walked through Government Center towards Quincy Market, I started to hear some cheering. Naturally, I became curious and started to make my way to the source of the sound. The crowd was starting to get large so I started moving a little quicker and luckily got a spot in the front with a nice view. These two guys, who I later found out to be circus performers (ironically not part of the Big Apple Circus that happened to be in town at Government Center), were already into their act by the time I got there. Camera out and ready, this was the first shot I got of their street performance. Looks like a very simple pose for two people described as circus performers. However, this pose was achieved after landing a back flip on top of the other man's shoulders. Quite an impressive maneuver! As you might be able to tell from the faces of the people in the crowd, they were quite entertaining to watch. What you cannot see in this photo is the young boy that volunteered from the crowd. He is out of frame to the left holding juggling swords. After being instructed by the two men to pick up the swords and bring them back, they ("they" meaning the man on the ground and the one on his shoulders going for a ride) began to run away in "fear." This got a good rise out of everyone watching, including their volunteer.

This next photo was the immediate aftermath of the volunteer handing the juggling swords to the performer. This performer, whose name I believe was Tobin (maybe coincidental, maybe not, because of the fact that they are in Boston), showed excellent control in less than ideal conditions. Even though it was warm and clear out, it was still very windy. It proved not to be that much of a factor though. One thing I do like about this photo is the backdrop of the building. Quincy Market is in the downtown section of the city where there is some very nice architecture.

After this performance, I took a stroll inside to grab a snack. Chili cheese fries at The Brown Derby proved to be a phenomenal choice. After eating I walked around for about 15 more minutes before seeing another crowd starting to form in the same place as the previous show.

Luckily I found another spot near the front of the crowd for this new performer. This man apparently went by Prop Comic Lucky Bob. Just like the other performers, he was extremely good at getting the crowd involved in the show. He would use a lot of young volunteers, including this little girl whose name I believed was Mia. In this photo, Mia was bringing this plate back to the performer for his next stunt. A little earlier on, he instructed her to keep the plate safe until he was to use it as part of the show. It really was a cool moment. The performer really made her day by showing his gratitude for returning his plate to him. He really made the day worth it for this young spectator as he did for all of those watching.

This photo was taken towards the end of Lucky Bob's performance. He selected this boy in the orange for the task of throwing him the juggling pins while balancing on top of a rolling board. Now, it was still windy at this time which made balancing on the board and the throwing of the juggling pins more difficult. In this photo, one would say that the volunteer is handing the pin to the performer. What makes this funny is that he is actually doing the opposite. The performer is reaching for the pin and the volunteer is actually holding the pin far enough away from him to make it an extremely uncomfortable situation. I do not think that Lucky Bob had this in mind when he chose this young boy to be his assistant for this part of his show. Nevertheless, I would figure the smiles on everyone's faces (the boy and the performer included) definitely showed that he made a good choice.

Warm weather in Boston brings about some very unexpected, yet entertaining, events. I highly recommend that if you have a chance to see any type of street theater or street performance, don't just walk by. Stay and enjoy!

Herring Gulls at the Beach

This is basically a continuation of yesterday's post. While there was only one Great Black-backed Gull on the beach that day, there were many Herring Gulls to be found during the low tide hours.
Most of my shots of gulls and any bird for that matter are done with a telephoto lens so I can get a close enough shot without spooking the animal. During high tide, these rocks that the gull is perched on would be close to 100-120 feet (that is a guess) out into the water, completely submerged. During low tide, they are perfectly visible and provide a good perch to this Herring Gull who is more than content just sitting in the morning sun. One of my favorite shots because of the seaweed covered rocks and water in the background which, to me, seems to add some nice color and detail. This photo can be viewed on Alamy as well where it is available for multiple uses under a Rights Managed license. If interested, please visit its location on Alamy.

This Herring Gull was digging for clams right before this shot was taken. Many times when walking the shore during low tide, it is possible to be sprayed by the clams who have burrowed jsut underneath the surface of the sand. This guy had just finished eating one and was starting to call to others. Even though the wings were spread, he did not fly away. It almost seemed as if it was letting it be known that food was found. Just like the photo above, this one is also available at Alamy for multiple uses under a Rights Managed license. Click here to view this at Alamy.

I chose to display this photo just for the expression that the gull seems to be showing. Now, while birds do not frown or smile, is sure seems like this one is giving that clam some attitude. Right before this photo was taken, the gull dropped this clam from the sky in order to open it (with the attempt being successful) and is now looking at it with a face that is saying "you're screwed." While that is obviously not the case, I chose to display this to show that gulls are very opportunistic feeders. In this case, the clam shell was sitting there cracked open after the gull dropped it from the sky. It is certainly not going to pass up the meal. It would be the exact same thing if you or I were to throw a french fry or any other piece of food at the beach. The gulls are not going to ignore it. They are going to take that opportunity to eat. However, what I have observed is that if the gull is unable after multiple attempts to break open the clam shell, they will move onto another one or move to another area where feeding might be better.

This last photo shows the result of that nice meal that was pictured above. If you look very closely, you can see the gull swallowing the clam meat while its shell now sits on the rocks empty. I do find this photo the most comical of the series mainly because of the expression. It looks like it is actually telling me to "back off" or "my food, get away." In reality, the only thing that it is probably concerned with is finishing off its meal. While it is possible that it could be looking at me, I find it very unlikely that it thinks I am going to try to steal its meal.

Living near the coast does indeed have its advantages. It gives me access to a broad range of things to observe and photograph. While I do not claim to know the inner workings of a Herring Gull's mind (or any animal for that matter), I do hope you enjoyed this read and my photographs. Feel free to comment or send me an email.

Great Black-backed Gull

Living near the coast has its advantages. In my case, it gives me the opportunity to photograph a wide range of gull species. This particular photo shows a Great Black-backed Gull (Larus Marinus) calling to others near by. This was the only one of its kind on the beach that morning. Low tide is the best time to shoot, mainly because this is the easiest time for the gulls to find the clams and other food sources they scavenge for. Click here to view this photo on Alamy.

Introductions

Welcome! I am Max Mattera and I have made this space to show my work. I consider myself to be a serious amateur photographer. My photo collection consists of everyday things-things that I find interesting and things that I just enjoy shooting. I am also a contributor of stock photos at Alamy and many of the photos you see here can be found with them for Rights Managed and Royalty Free licensing. Feel free to visit both this blog and my page with Alamy as both will be updated frequently.