This Unsettling Thought Might Bring Some Comfort

We’re sitting at our favorite coffee shop in Bozeman taking care of some work before heading out to the airport. In between emails and blog posts, we stop to sip our coffee and reflect on our weeks up in Yellowstone. It is such a grand place, and we’re so lucky that in the past, others have thought so much of it to preserve it just for us to enjoy. I always take comfort in knowing that it was a photographer, WM Henry Jackson who came, shot and shared his images with congress that got protection for Yellowstone in the first place. It’s with that thought that I’m often saddened when I see the actions of other photographers.

In all honesty, it’s just a damn photograph! I don’t know how many times I’ve said that yet we still see photographers do things that common sense in the very least says not to do, all in the efforts of getting that one photograph. On two separate days, we saw two different groups of photographers way too close to a group of bull Elk. We even had a talk with a ranger who stopped to watch one group, very interesting his take on it and why he didn’t write them up. We heard from a wolf biologist how another group of photographers chased a wolf through a forest, technically a Federal crime. All of this in the name of a click?!

This movie requires Flash Player 9

Oh yeah, there are times when I feel the pressure of the click. When I was the first and only photographer permitted to go in and photograph the Palos Verde Blue Butterfly that had been rediscovered after it was thought of being extinct for a decade, I felt pressure. Especially since I was stupid enough to not have a “macro solution” in the bag to function in the two-hour window I had to get the photo. I was working on a secure military depot and only 3 male butterflies had been seen. My solution, get the biology of the PVB from the biologist and camp at one food plant in hopes it would fly by. Trampling down the habitat chasing a butterfly is pretty stupid, camping out at least didn’t hurt any habitat but up until the last minute, seemed just as dumb. As it turned out, I got the shot and within two weeks it had been published 110 times. Even with the pressure, common sense kicked in and said not to harm the habitat, don’t risk the species. That ain’t going to happen with an elk photo from Yellowstone and not with a wolf photo either. The photo won’t change the world or be seen by thousands within weeks. So then why the pressure, why the risk?

With the Palos Verde Blue photo, at least there was an end need. But the efforts some people go through into getting a photo just to add to their collection is why in some National Parks, photographers are not looked upon with the same high regards as they were just a decade ago. Ever ask yourself why that is? Ever stop a ranger in Yellowstone or Yosemite or Grand Canyon or any other busy national park and ask why they watch photographers now with suspicion? I do, I want to know, I don’t want to be part of the problem! You hear a story from a ranger in Grand Canyon tell you about talking to a group of elementary kids about the need to stay behind the fence so they don’t fall over the rim only to then have a photographer do exactly what he warned against right in front of the kids, go over the fence and you can start to understand the distain for our profession at times.

Sharon & I were just sitting back, watching bighorn sheep this past week. I wasn’t up with the mass of shooters on the edge of the road keeping the sheep from crossing because not only was that potentially dangerous for the sheep, it’s clearly against the rules. We were just watching the sheep and the chaos when a shooter who recognized me came up and asked why I wasn’t shooting. When I replied the shot wasn’t worth the price, he just scratched his head and wondered off. Didn’t ask what I meant, just took it as weird and left. A minute later, he was part of the mess adding to the problem and not being the solution. Why, what the hell was he going to do with that photo that made it so damn important?

I often don’t put the camera to the eye, I don’t rush out to get the shot because I know my actions could possibly lead to the endangering the critters welfare. I passionately believe that NO photograph is worth sacrificing the welfare of the subject. Period! And there is no need for it. Heck, just in the free pages on this site you can garnish enough biological trivia to prevent this from happening. But more importantly, when did the damn click become so damn important?

For nearly an hour with the 600mm mounted to the tripod, Sharon & I stood in 9 degree temperatures just listening to wolves announce they were so happy to be fed and alive one more day. Even if a wolf or the whole pack appeared, would a single click, video clip or full-length feature movie capture that moment? I doubt it so why even try, why not just take it in and let it enrich the soul? I mean seriously, why don’t wildlife photographers just simply take comfort and peace in the moment, and not have the silence be broken with the sound of a camera shutter? There are always plenty of moments when the slam of the shutter should be heard and must be heard and those images captured shared with everyone. But there are those moments when the silence is golden. It is very possible that not shooting is the right shot for that moment, letting the experience be forever engraved on the thin emulsion of your mind and in the pulse of your heart. Is it possible that for most photographers, this unsettling thought might bring some comfort?

Light & Exposure, light & dark

When I blogged about my minor discovery of how Vivid in Picture Control helped with contrast in a flat lighting situation, all sorts of emails, tweets and wallpostings came in. Then when I blogged about Exp Comp, even more showed up. Understandably, there is a lot of confusion in these regards stemming I think from a “Post Fix Generation” and general lack of understanding light. If you don’t understand light, you’re behind the eight ball at the camera and in post since light is what photography is all about.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

The blog and it’s limited space only affords me so much in the way of help, but here’s something that I hope you can easily see on your monitor and it has to do with light and back engineering images to learn from them. When shooting in snow, as I’ve written about in the last few weeks, you have this magical, giant white reflector that bounces light everywhere. That’s if, you have light to bounce. Looking at the Bison photo above, you can see with the gorgeous filtered light the Bison’s great brown coat. To me, this is near perfect Bison light because you can see so many shades of brown. And with the white nearly a perfect white value, the exposure is about as good as it gets, technically.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

Now look at this photo of a Bison, one from the series I posted from Vivid. Do you see any brown on the Bison? Do you see any white in the snow? No, the Bison is black and the snow is gray which indicates the total lack of light. The lesson photographers need to grasp. While both images were shot in overcast light, a must for Bison, the top photo is a very slight overcast and the bottom one, it’s snowing dood, there ain’t no light value sneaking in. The top image, the snow has light to bounce, the bottom image, the snow if yuck. In that scenario, the image will be dark because there is NO light. And light is everything!

Could either image be brightened up? You bet, you could use Exp Comp (if you’re shooting in Manual, this won’t work. But that begs the question, why are you shooting like it’s the ’60s?). Exp Comp on the Plus side would brighten up the scene. Should you do that? That’s your call, it’s YOUR photograph and YOUR story to tell. Do you need to technically? Who the %^#*# cares about technical, I sure don’t! Exposure = Emotion, plain and simple. You dial in Exp Comp to express the emotion you feel and want to communicate! And that’s the real problem for most photographers, they just don’t understand how to connect the emotion they feel looking through the viewfinder to the image they share.

Hummm…someone should write a book about that

Photo captured by D3s, 200-400VR (handheld) / D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Light & Exposure, light & dark

When I blogged about my minor discovery of how Vivid in Picture Control helped with contrast in a flat lighting situation, all sorts of emails, tweets and wallpostings came in. Then when I blogged about Exp Comp, even more showed up. Understandably, there is a lot of confusion in these regards stemming I think from a “Post Fix Generation” and general lack of understanding light. If you don’t understand light, you’re behind the eight ball at the camera and in post since light is what photography is all about.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

The blog and it’s limited space only affords me so much in the way of help, but here’s something that I hope you can easily see on your monitor and it has to do with light and back engineering images to learn from them. When shooting in snow, as I’ve written about in the last few weeks, you have this magical, giant white reflector that bounces light everywhere. That’s if, you have light to bounce. Looking at the Bison photo above, you can see with the gorgeous filtered light the Bison’s great brown coat. To me, this is near perfect Bison light because you can see so many shades of brown. And with the white nearly a perfect white value, the exposure is about as good as it gets, technically.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

Now look at this photo of a Bison, one from the series I posted from Vivid. Do you see any brown on the Bison? Do you see any white in the snow? No, the Bison is black and the snow is gray which indicates the total lack of light. The lesson photographers need to grasp. While both images were shot in overcast light, a must for Bison, the top photo is a very slight overcast and the bottom one, it’s snowing dood, there ain’t no light value sneaking in. The top image, the snow has light to bounce, the bottom image, the snow if yuck. In that scenario, the image will be dark because there is NO light. And light is everything!

Could either image be brightened up? You bet, you could use Exp Comp (if you’re shooting in Manual, this won’t work. But that begs the question, why are you shooting like it’s the ’60s?). Exp Comp on the Plus side would brighten up the scene. Should you do that? That’s your call, it’s YOUR photograph and YOUR story to tell. Do you need to technically? Who the %^#*# cares about technical, I sure don’t! Exposure = Emotion, plain and simple. You dial in Exp Comp to express the emotion you feel and want to communicate! And that’s the real problem for most photographers, they just don’t understand how to connect the emotion they feel looking through the viewfinder to the image they share.

Hummm…someone should write a book about that

Photo captured by D3s, 200-400VR (handheld) / D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

The Log and the Coyote

Have you done much Coyote photography? If you have and spent time with them in a forested area, you know that if there is a log, a Coyote will most often jump up on it. The problem is at least for me is even though you know that, I don’t always prepare for it. I’m just slow sometimes, the obvious just ain’t obvious. Well, this time I thought about it.

Coyotes in winter in the mountains are just gorgeous animals. Their thick coat often leads folks to believe they are wolves. They are very much opportunistic hunters eating almost anything they can kind. And they are expert mousers, using their keen sense of hearing to listen the mouse’s movement under the snow. There are lots of shot of them in mid air, bouncing on a mouse they’ve been listening to and waiting until the right moment to bounce. That does take energy and that requires calories. That, along with it is easier for mice and voles to follow air pocket along fallen logs in snow is why they jump up on logs. Now, if I can just remember that when it comes time to shoot!

Photo captured by D3s, 200-400VR (handheld) on Lexar UDAM digital film

So Close….but

There’s this shot I’ve wanted for a long, long, long time. I saw it in my minds eye once, back in the days of film and traipsing around in the Bitteroots. It’s a shot in the perfect light of just a Bighorn ram’s eye and a little bit of its curl. I had the light and had a ram approaching me to where I thought I might get the shot. But no, it wasn’t to happen right this moment.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

Thoughts of biology and possible biological events that could occur along with images I want constantly go through my mind when I’m shooting. I find that having those thoughts up front in my thinking helps me be prepared for then they occur to make the shot. I demonstrates at least to myself the importance of not thinking photography but thinking subject. I don’t know about you, but my mind can only process so much at one time. Thinking biology and possible images is where I reach my limits which is why I keep saying the technical side of photography must be dealt with on a subconscious level.

Photo captured by D3s, 200-400VR (handheld) on Lexar UDMA digital film

The Wonders of a Howl

“Moose, watch carefully, the pack is trying to cross the road.” We crept down the road and set up under the OP. From less then 100yrd away, over the ridge, a chorus of howls filled the air. Then on the ridge, 642F appeared and then disappeared as it jogged towards the pups. Then from behind us a lone howl bounced off the falling snow and down to us. It was greeted with another chorus from over the ridge. The beauty of the silence of the falling snow then filled with the howls from Blacktail and Lave Creek Packs was one of those great wildlife photography treasures we’ll never forget!

The black wolf is the beta 642F (F=female) of the Blacktail Pack. They made a big move north during the night, something they’ve not done for a while. They had made a kill just prior to our arrival at daylight near the heliport at Mammoth Hot Springs. Nate, the wolf biologist who told us the whole store and so much more was standing there telling us how cars on the road were keeping her from crossing (also told a few horror stories of photographers chasing these magnificent creatures) when she finally crossed and appeared on a ridge to the south. It was a great view and we really love this photo because it sums up the morning for us. These magnificent creatures are critters of the wilderness and that’s what we heard, saw, experienced and felt this morning of wolf work.

There was more action with the Canyon Pack since our leaving the Madison. My new friend Jesse has a blog (the wolf biologist) which covers what it is he does as a wildlife tech in Yellowstone. For any wildlife photographer, working with biologists is essential and readers of my work know I credit my success to these selfless folks doing amazing work. Give Jesse’s blog a read, you’ll learn a lot!

Photo captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Just How Clean is a D3s File?

This movie requires Flash Player 9

I just love the ladies! I spend as much time with them as I can and today I was surrounded by them so I made some quick portraits. I was shooting with the 200-400VR handheld with the D3s attached. I thought I would share this one because it pretty much demonstrates the quality the D3s is delivering. The focus point is the eye, shot at f/4, 1/250. Keep in mind you’re looking at a 8bit Jpeg when you click on the link. So just check out this image, as in click here, now!

Photo captured by D3s, 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

The Ridge Line

You might be getting tired of all the sheep photos but I just can’t help myself (and there’s still more to come). While I love showing them off, I want to help you get the same image if you have even a hint of the passion for Bighorns I do. I wanted to talk about ridge lining.

This movie requires Flash Player 9

These are the masters of the cliffs, literally! Their hooves are designed so they velcro to sheer rock on impossible faces in the nastiest of weather with no effort. This makes them love the high ground, making any predator coming up to them which is really, really difficult. So you often see sheep on ridge lines which is not only biologically very sheep, it’s photographically very cool.

And Sharon’s eye once again make the shot possible! I’m watching one slope and Sharon’s watching another. I have rams staring me in the eye and she’s scanning the ridge line for the cool photo opps. You have a young ram, old ram and a young ewe all demonstrating what it is to be a Bighorn. Once found, it’s a matter of light, background and image size to make the image speak sheep. I love the challenge, I love the results.

Photos captured by D3s, 600VR / 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

The Nikon 50f1.4 AFS

This movie requires Flash Player 9

Those sparkling eyes, they get me every time! The lens to capture that sparkle, the 50f1.4AFS…check out why and how.

Simple Click – Crows Nest

I don’t how many times I seen and shot this pose, I still can’t pass it up. That kiss of light on the right, that stately pose, I just love Bighorns!

Photo captured by D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Simple Click – Breaking Rules?

A pair of love struck coyotes in the falling snow stroll down the frozen Lamar River. They are incredibly small in the frame, butts are to the lens, breaking all the rules. I love the photo!

Photo captured by D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

What About Exp Comp?

My blog about using Vivid in Picture Control brought in some interesting questions. The first one I want to address is what about exposure compensation, why not just use that rather than switching to Vivid? The main reason I didn’t use exposure compensation to obtain the contrast I wanted because that just moves the curve, doesn’t alter it. Sliding the curve up or down doesn’t change the relationship between black and white. I wanted to alter that relationship even slightly which is what was accomplished by going to Vivid. For my taste (which might not match yours which is fine), I’m not satisfied with just a “brighter” image. The upper image is 0 exp comp, the bottom image is +.5 Exp Comp.

A number of folks threw out the “why don’t you just set it in post” or “isn’t it the same so just set it in post” or “fix it later” which is always my favorite. Since it’s Raw, can’t you do that? Of course you can and in fact, it’s your photography, you can do whatever you like which is one of the greatest things about photography. Personally, I take the time to set all the settings in the camera because the camera is still the best processor of our images and that includes Raw. The camera does not process the Raw file in camera but does create the Instruction Set that programs like NX2 use to first generate an accurate preview of your image and then if you do just a Save As (and not change settings because you screwed up at capture), the Raw file is finished using those settings set in the camera. And lastly I’m a photographer and take great pride and challenge in being a craftsman. It’s an old fashion thing I’m told.

Overcoming Old Habit?

I think it comes from film days when I had just enough money to buy film but not get it all processed right away. Shooting brief action was something I got low returns of success and when it cost money with every click, I wouldn’t take the chance on photographing brief action. Whatever the hesitation is on hitting the shutter release, I push myself now that whenever I see action no matter how brief if the image looks sharp, I hit the shutter release. It does pay off.

We were out in Lamar Valley seeing lots of critters, especially coyotes. There was a wolf kill and they seem to be pairing up, the combination brought them out of the woodwork. This pair was quite enamored with themselves and for a while, ignored the vehicles piling up to photograph them. In fact, most drove off, bored with the two just piss on this push and crapping on that, typical coyote behavior when in love (sound romantic, doesn’t it?).

Then they decided it was time to move and move they did. They ran down the hillside right towards us. I didn’t hesitate, got glass on the single animal, the D3x locked on and I fired. The combination of the action, spraying powder, dried weeds the same color as the coyote scattered about the frame, I really like the image and the whole time with the pair. When love is in the air, critters tend to ignore us and great images can come from that opportunity. With encouragement like this, gotta keep working on that old, bad habit.

Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR (handheld) on Lexar UDMA digital film

Habitat is Everything!

Said our good-byes to a really great group of photographers, moved our base of operation and headed over to the Lamar Valley region of Yellowstone. Even if I never make a single click, I just like the total change the north end of the park provides. How many times have I cruised the road in the last 30yrs? Oh man, no clue but it never gets old. In fact, it offers up challenges and new opportunities each pass of the road which is probably why we love it so. And it’s one place I can easily indulge my passion for Bighorn Sheep.

The herd that travels through the North Entrance in fall / winter is a great herd to work because they are so busy just being sheep. I also really love to photograph them in habitat not typical snow covered slopes or brown rocks (though I do plenty of that too). This day brought some great opps working with the rams in sage.

Another thing I love to do is photograph sheep in low light. Shutter speeds are often down around 1/60 but the quality of light on the pelts speaks about each individual uniqueness. While photographing the sheep today, I recorded 32GB of video clips. I hope to get a little sheep photography tutorial created and posted in the future. That aspect of the D3s I find very appealing.

Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Shooting with a SuperHero….

Of course, Sharon & I think Jake is a helluva of a kid (we’re blessed with two) and I think he’s a damn good shooter, but it’s a whole other thing when our dear friend who we deeply admire thinks the same thing. Last week, Jake made Joe’s Blog in grand fashion (get’s his looks from his mom, thanks Joe). It’s pretty damn cool and we couldn’t be prouder!

Not one to rest on his laurels, Jake even though is back in school with a full schedule, spent time shooting with us the last three weeks, he manages to keep on cranking out great images and a very successful blog. Just check out the very cool images he just posted on his Blog Gallery. Dang Boy…cranking up the heat on the old man, aren’t ya?! Cool, I really like shooting with a superhero!

Simple Click – H.A.F.E?

H.A.F.E

And The Secret…..?

Actually, it’s no secret. How’d I get the extra detail in the gray when there really wasn’t much if any to start?

A saw one correct guess on Twitter but had not a one correct answer come via email though I actually gave you the answer last week.

When it comes to pulling out more detail in the exposure, what’s the most popular solution right now? Take a whole bunch of frames and process them through Photomatix Pro. But that’s not what I did here.

Nope, these are all single frame images shot with no filter on the camera and no filter used in processing. They are all Psuedo HDR as inspired by RC and Matt. When I get back to the studio I’ll record a simple how to. But that’s it, that simple! And for my own photography, if someone looks at my images and says, “You used this or that” in post processing, I feel the image is a failure. The folks in our Yellowstone Adventure saw me sink and swim all week in striving this high standard I set for myself. Sometimes I loose, and sometimes I win.

The Thought Just Popped In

It’s Friday morning and we’re cruising for bull. No, not for me…Bison Bull and in particular one called Crusty. We had a good snowfall and the air temp was just hovering around double digits so there was a possibility of finding him. We headed to the one place where there are always bulls, Gibbon Meadow (and we were told the Canyon Pack from the day before were heading that way). We made the turn in the road and….nothing! We had some nice hoar frost so we worked it and then kept heading down the road. We made the turn in the road and off in the falling snow is Crusty so we slammed on the brakes and started to walk.

We ended up walking a couple of hundred of yards in the snow to get the cleanest background possible while staying on a rise to shoot down a little and stay out of the grasses. It’s snowing and the light is kinda flat. I’m shooting along and not really thrilled with the results, the flat light just grayed out the bull and that made the snow less white. Then the thought just popped into my head.

What if I switched the Picture Control from Standard to Vivid? Would its tonal curve pump up the contrast even though there isn’t really any vivid color to bend? I checked my results on the camera’s LCD which I totally don’t trust so I asked Tom & Jim to try the same and tell me what they saw. This is what we all saw.

Yeap, just a little pump in the contrast which makes all the difference in the world to the photograph. Keep in mind I am a fanatic about getting it right in the camera. I wouldn’t even go so far as to pump up the contrast in post when it comes to my wildlife images so I really like this in camera solution. The top & bottom images shot on Vivid, middle photo on Standard, WB=Cloudy, Exp Comp=0.

Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Next Page »