He's Not Just Another Pretty Face!

Oh no, he most certainly is not! Jeff Snyder, I talk about him a lot here on the blog because he is not only my good friend, my dear glass pusher, but also a darn good shooter! He’s at the Super Bowl this weekend and is bringing us all (along with his son David) a behind the scene look. It’s pretty cool and since I know I won’t be making it here, it’s fun to see. You might want to check it out.

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.

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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.

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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

RC's influence

My bud RC is not only a great friend (and designer of this site), but a killer sounding board. We talk about all sorts of things and one of them is HDR. Na, we’re long past the is it Elvis on Velvet or Art thing, but rather on how can we use it to communicate the wonders we see in our daily life. Applying it at the time of click in our mind and then see it come to life in the DD.

This photo is just an extension of those conversations. It’s a real simple single image HDR that is used to bring out and otherwise quite scene. It’s the warm tones in the century old cabin that made me thing, frame, expose and process this into the final image you see. You could call it no more than a fancy simple click because that’s all it is.

Photo captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film

Success & Failure, That's How a New Technique Go

This one works, like wow! Look at those clouds come to life!

I really love the subtleties that come to life in the foreground, the little hints of definition to the snow really works for me.

This one failed, the sky looks like Tonal Contrast over applied!

Here’s the straight image, you can see what I mean about the sky.

The difference between the two images? The amount of gray sky in the photograph. There’s your next hint. Yeah, I’ll tell you what I’m doing at the end of the week and will post a video on it next week. Hey, I’m stuck in the room doing boring business between posts. I’ve got have some fun some way

Photos captured by D3s, 14-24 on Lexar UDMA digital f ilm

I'm So Excited!

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Yeap, the light was just that suckie as Old Faithful blew. I put myself in the best possible place but gray steam against gray skies in gray light, was there really a prayer? On the way to Old Faithful I thought about something I learned in post and thought that just maybe, maybe there would be a way to beat this kinda typical scenario. Well, as you can see, I was able to pull out the detail in the steam and with absolutely no pixels were harmed and no brain cells used.

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How’d I do it? I taught all my folks with me this week how and it’s not in the B&W conversion, that’s just icing on the cake. Nope, if you want to learn how, you’ll just have to tune in all week as I drop a hint here and there. I’m so excited!

Photo captured by D3s, 50f1.4AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

Yellowstone Adv – Yeah, Where's the Snow?

Have you ever seen that photo of a Coyote frozen in mid air as it pounces on a mouse under the snow? Well right now in Yellowstone if a Coyote tried that, its nose would be smashed back into its head. There is no snow here for all tense and purposes! This Coyote demonstrates the hunting style when there is no snow, cocking the head and licking.

With that said, we had a great day! No, not a Bison to photograph. No, the sun didn’t make an appearance. Yeah, it’s literally +50 degrees too warm but it still produced some really cool images. How? Simple, you push the envelope, you open your mind to new ideas and try a lens you would never thought of using before. Yeah, coming back to the lodge in the snowcoach I thought to myself I didn’t do so well today behind the camera. Total frame count for the day was only 287 but then I looked at my images and now I’m very excited to go out again tomorrow when the forecast is for more the same. It’s going to be a great week, I just feel it!

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

UpRighting the World with Photography's Greatest Reward

Photographic rewards come in many flavors. You’ve got contests, that’s pretty cool. Who hasn’t had one or more of their family members tell you that you should go pro. That’s rewarding. There is getting your photographs published in a magazine, getting your own book and of course there is the sale of a print for a handsome price. That’s just downright sweet. Topping this is that moment when you think you’ve made that great click and then when you’re looking at your images later, you know you’ve made that great click. Now we’re talkin rewards. But I think there is one even greater that comes from photography for many of us fortunate shooters.

Do you ever feel that you’ve got everything backwards and perhaps you’re looking at the world upside down? Not so much as the world as a whole, just the photographic world. For example, have you heard this silly competition thing between Nikon and Canon owners? Or how about Mac and Windows? While there are some great jokes for one side or the other, what gets me is when folks actually take it all really seriously, like the future of the planet depends on determining which is best. And it seems like just yesterday there was the pixel race, who’s got the most. Glad that’s cooled down so now we can debate who has the best high ISO. Now there’s a debate that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

One of my all time favorites that come up almost yearly for the last 30 years I’ve been involved in the sport, is the question, “Do I buy the current model or wait for the next, best body that surely is coming?” One of our best selling images still to this day, was taken with a D1 body, an image with a little noise, not super dupper tack sharp but yet, the light, color and gesture just keep it selling and selling. Even with that knowledge, I’m always one of the first to jump on new technology just because…because history has proven for us it’s a wise business move. But this doesn’t bring the greatest reward in photography I think.

Photography is a struggle, at least it has been for me. I’m talking the whole package, from the content creating to the image selling to maintaining business . It’s a struggle. In the beginning I remember bad times when selling a lens was the only way to pay bills. I remember passing on projects because there simply was no capitol to fund it. I painfully remember those projects I didn’t do to my best ability for lack of knowledge. Yet even with those struggles, somehow, we managed to keep moving forward. There isn’t a day that Sharon & I don’t wake up and look at our home and pinch ourselves knowing that photography paid for it. Even this to me isn’t close to the greatest reward photography has to offer.

Since our oldest son Brent was two weeks old and Jake at two days old, they have been out there with me when I was shooting. Brent’s first word, seriously, was Nikon (he had a damaged FM-2 he played with as a kid). When we went camping, speaking engagement, a party, a conference, or nearly any social function, photography was somehow involved. And so it has been for 22 years. Today was an example of exactly what I’m talking about. Working on a new project, Sharon, Jake, Brent & myself spent the day flying in WWII warbird T6 Texans. The air to air photography was amazing and I was incredibly fortunate again to be working with our youngest son Jake. You can see him being ninja shooter, a little bit of forehead peaking over his camera as he photographs the plane I’m in. And as you can see, I’m photographing him photographing me (or he’s photographing me photographing him).

Then after our morning flight, we landed and Brent & Sharon went up and flew and Jake and I photographed their flight. Afterwards we all got back together and went to a hamburger BBQ in the hanger with other pilots on the field and talked planes. Stories from WWII, Korea & Vietnam as well as “ramp rumors” filled the air. It was just a helluva day!

And now we’re getting to what I think if the greatest reward photography has to offer. And that’s permitting us to follow our passion and share it with others. This can be done in many ways and all day long. I’m so fortunate that I have a great family who not only have supported my craziness for all these years, but actually participate in it. And what’s still amazes me that the one type of photography that gets us all out together and incredibly excited is not wildlife, landscape, skiing or fly fishing photography but is aviation photography. Anything that brings and keeps a family together is a good thing. I’ve seen photography work its magic on other families and I’m so glad its part of ours.

In our family, Dad gets away with nothing and this is particularly true with photography. I have a house of very qualified critics who have no hesitation telling me their opinion of my images (I wonder where they got that from, must have been Sharon). It’s a reality check I relish because their comments are not just based on technical or artistic merits, but also how Dad’s photography should be felt. That’s when the world all turns upright again and I experience photography’s greatest reward. Forget everything else and just open your lens, shutter and your heart and let the light in and then share it. You too will experience photograph’s greatest reward!

Photos captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film

Lexar's Perfect Video Card is Here!

Lexar has announced and is shipping their new 300x 32GB CF Card. I’ve been shooting one for awhile and rely on it as my Slot 2 card in the D3s. What’s a Slot 2 card? In the D3s, you can assign all video clips be stored in one particular slot. With the Lexar 32GB card in Slot 2, where I have it assigned, I can store as many as 16, 5min clips. It works great and I love the speed. I have no doubt that someone will post a speed performance review shortly, it just won’t be me. Just the size makes it great for my shooting needs. What’s in Slot 1 you wonder? I have the Lexar 16GB 600x in slot one for all my still shooting. I remember getting excited when the 128MB card came out in 2000 and now I have 48GB loaded in the camera….Wow! But wait, there’s more!

Lexar’s 64GB Echo ZE Backup is so small, I think I’ll loose it but I know it won’t loose the data. How small is it, click here to see just how small I’m talkin. I’m told this will be available in a couple of months. Not soon enough for me. Oh, did you go check out just how small it is, isn’t that bloody amazing! And to top off this Lexar feast, I want to remind you of my favorite PCIe slot reader.

You can order all these goodies (and a lot more) from my bud Jeff Snyder (at Adorama). Keep in mind the Echo 64GB isn’t available yet but I bet you can order it and be the first on your block to receive it! And on the note of full disclosure, I am not paid for any of this. I receive early product as a beta tester and have the ability to purchase cards first which sadly, I do with reckless abandon! Why? I know that Lexar stands behind their product. If something goes wrong, you can count on them.

How does FPS & Buffer Effect Your Photography?

I’ve received a couple of emails and even a call asking about my posting of a couple days back and reference I made to the D3 and D3x. I made the reference that “I switched from the D3 and its 9fps, big buffer to the D3x and its 1.8FPS and smaller buffer.” It is a little confusing and perhaps a body attribute that photographers don’t take into consideration, so let me try to explain what I’m talking about and how I employ it.

When photographing action such as warbirds screaming around a pylon at Reno Air Races, the goal is to capture the shot showing the action in a still image while having critical elements tack sharp. You could translate this to photographing birds in flight where you must have the eye(s) sharp. Using important techniques such as panning and making the most of your AF system, one can approach the problem by simply blasting away, letting the camera rip and in that process knowing that one of the 30 some odd images, the perfect action and sharpness will be captured. With this strategy you want a camera that cranks the FPS (frames per second) and has the large buffer. The D3s fits the bill perfectly (formerly the D3 with buffer upgrade)!

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The other old tried and true method is the much more technically challenging technique of Peak of Action. Peak of Action is best described by a bouncing ball. When the ball is bouncing, it travels down, stops for less than a heartbeat and then bounces back up and then stops for less than a heartbeat before traveling back down again. Those moments when the ball stops for less than a heartbeat, that’s Peak of Action. The goal then is while you’re panning with your subject and making sure its in focus, when you see that Peak of Action, you make the one click. When using this technique, the 1.8FPS of the D3x works perfectly. You only need the one frame to make the image.

What I did at the Reno Air Races is go back to the “old” way of making the image in order to get the amazing image quality of the D3x to produce one of a kind aviation 24×30 prints. I sacrificed the ease of blasting away to make the shot to the stressful one click get the shot method. Neither method and neither body is right or wrong, they are both valid techniques and valid bodies. I simply wanted to make amazing prints so switched bodies. I hope this helps explain it all better.

Photo captured by D3x, 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Moose's Camera Bag

What does Moose Use and Why?

07.15.10

The gear you own in large part makes your life as a photographer easier, makes you visual communication as concise as possible. Since as a photographer you are constantly learning and as a person you’re continually growing bringing more to your photography, your camera bag contents will naturally change. At least, that’s how it is for me. What you see here is the gear in my photopack as of the date you see above. With my opening statement, you know it changes and it changes at times faster then I can keep up this page, but you get the idea.

We all need to be unique and true to ourselves in our approach to photography. So cloning what I have in my camera bag in your camera bag not only does not guarantee you photographic success, but possibly robs you of your own potential. So why is this page here then? To be totally honest with you, to keep the email load down to just hundreds a day rather then thousands because photographers want to know about equipment. You must understand this though, the contents of my bag are based on my style of communicating photographically the projects I am currently working. And that’s based on my years behind the camera photographing wildlife, biologists, landscapes, life. There’s a lot that goes on in gear selection, the biggest part being the constant push to improve. It’s what I call the Darwin Theory of Photography – evolve or parish!

How do I select my camera gear? That’s a damn good question since at times, there is no logic to it. First, it’s normally in the Nikon line up because that’s what I shoot. (And why Nikon, they still make the best flashes and now, the amazing D3x/D3s). I don’t care if you shoot Canon, I just care you shoot and use your images to change the world! After that, it’s the tools (bodies, lenses, accessories) that permit me to visually interpret the world in my viewfinder so I can communicate the wonders I am so fortunate and photograph. The first twenty nine years behind the camera have literally been focused on wildlife and wildplaces. This information is here for that self serving reason, make it easier for you to do the same thing and make a difference! You could sum it up as I select the gear I have then by the simple mathematical formula of: What I’m Photographing + What I want to Communicate = Gear Used.

What follows is what I typically have with me based on the main focus of the project. What you see is what I have with me but not what i carry out into the field. I only select from what you see the tools needed at that moment. Moral: I don’t hike in the field with a photopack on my back. What is listed except where noted is packed inside the Photopack in which it is under. Those items not packed in the Photopack are now (click here to learn how I pack to fly) FedExed to the location in a Pelican Case 1660. I no longer trust any gear to check-in when flying.

And strictly for trivia, here’s how the product shots were taken. They were all done with the marvelous 70-180macro. It’s a common question so generated a simple page with the info.

WRP’s MP-1 Photopack

The MP-1 is the photopack I grab the majority of the time. This is because the 600mm is the longest lens I need for my current projects (and it’s easier to ship the 200-400VR than the 600VR). The list you see here is what I have with me on projects all the time. Items with a single * listed below tend to go FedEx in a Pelican case. Since I first started to use the MP-1, a few hundred thousand air miles ago, I’ve yet to have a problem getting it on any plane as carry-on on any plane. While it does weigh more than my ol’ back wants to carry, it does get my gear to where I need to work.

Here’s info on the MP-1 I use and here’s a video how I pack it .

• Nikon D3x (Text) (Video)
• Nikon D3s (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 600f4VR AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200-400VRII AFS * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200f2 VR * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 70-200VR2 (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 105f2.8VR (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 50f1.4 AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24-70AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 14-24AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 85f2.8 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 45f2.8 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f3.5 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f1.4 AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 16f2.8 Fisheye (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-20e III (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-17e II (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-14e II (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SB-900 w/Dome (Text) (Video)
• Nikon GP-1 (Text)
• Nikon R1C1 * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SC-28 & SC-29 (Text)
• Nikon SD-9 (Text) (Video)
• BetterBeamer (Text) (Video)
• Nikon NC filters on ALL lenses (Text)
• Nikon Slim Polarizer (Text)
• Lee .9 Soft Split Grad (Text) (Video – tk)
• Nikon MC-36 (Text)
• Lexar 16/32GB 600x cards (10) (Text) (Info)
• Buffalo 500GB MiniStation portable (2x) (Text) (To Buy)
• Epson P7000 (Text)
• Gitzo 3540XLS w/RRS BH-55 * + (Video)
• Gitzo 5560SGT w/ Wimberley Head * ++ (Video)

* = FedEx to location
** = carry-on shoulder
+ = Gitzo 3540XLS for everything but 200-400VR & 600f4
++ = Gitzo 5560SGT is for 200-400VR & 600f4 only

WRP’s MP-3 Photopack

The MP-3 has been a workhorse of a photopack for me! The only difference between the gear in the MP-1 (above) and MP-3 is the selection of the longest lens. For projects where I’m depending on the 200-400VR is when I grab the MP-3. My MP-3 has a little over a hundred & fifty thousand air miles on it being shoved in more overheads than I care to think about without ever having a problem. It’s also been in more rain and snow and no matter what I’ve thrown at it, when I unzip the flap my gear has always been ready to go.

Here’s how I pack the gear into the MP-3.

• Nikon D3x (Text) (Video)
• Nikon D3s (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200-400VRII AFS * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200f2 VR * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 70-200VR2 (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 105f2.8VR (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24-70AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 14-24AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 45f2.8 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f3.5 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f1.4 AFS (Text-TBP) (Video-TBP)
• Nikon 16f2.8 Fisheye (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-17e II (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SB-900 w/Dome (Text) (Video)
• Nikon GP-1 (Text)
• Nikon R1C1 * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SC-28 & SC-29 (Text)
• Nikon SD-9 (Text) (Video)
• BetterBeamer (Text) (Video)
• Nikon NC filters on ALL lenses (Text)
• Nikon Slim Polarizer (Text)
• Lee .9 Soft Split Grad (Text) (Video – tk)
• Nikon MC-36 (Text)
• Lexar 16/32GB 600x cards (10) (Text) (Info)
• Buffalo 500GB MiniStation portable (2x) (Text) (To Buy)
• Epson P7000 (Text)
• Gitzo 3540XLS w/RRS BH-55 * + (Video)
• Gitzo 5560SGT w/ Wimberley Head * ++ (Video)

* = FedEx to location
** = carry-on shoulder
+ = Gitzo 3540XLS for everything but 200-400VR & 600f4
++ = Gitzo 5560SGT is for 200-400VR & 600f4 only

WRP’s MP-5 Photopack

The MP-5 is simply not used by us very often. We just too much gear with us, more then the MP-5 can carry. When it does go, quite often, the MP-5 is packed with excess accessory gear like chargers are packed in my checked luggage to be pulled out once on site (with most gear going in the MP-1). When in use, I depend on the MP-5 to “down size” once on site and on the trail with the big lens on the tripod over my shoulder.

Here’s how Moose packs gear into the MP-5.

• Nikon D3x (Text) (Video)
• Nikon D3s (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200f2 VR * (Text) (Video) or
• Nikon 70-200VR2 (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24-70AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 14-24AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 45f2.8 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f3.5 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f1.4 AFS (Text-TBP) (Video-TBP)
• Nikon 16f2.8 Fisheye (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-17e II (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SB-900 w/Dome (Text) (Video)
• Nikon GP-1 (Text)
• Nikon R1C1 * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SC-28 & SC-29 (Text)
• Nikon SD-9 (Text) (Video)
• BetterBeamer (Text) (Video)
• Nikon NC filters on ALL lenses (Text)
• Nikon Slim Polarizer (Text)
• Lee .9 Soft Split Grad (Text) (Video – tk)
• Nikon MC-36 (Text)
• Lexar 16/32GB 600x cards (10) (Text) (Info)
• Buffalo 500GB MiniStation portable (2x) (Text) (To Buy)
• Epson P7000 (Text)
• Gitzo 3540XLS w/RRS BH-55 * + (Video)

* = FedEx to location
** = carry-on shoulder
+ = Gitzo 3540XLS for everything but 200-400VR & 600f4

WRP’s MP-7 Photopack

The MP-7 is my go to photopack for most of my event and convention shooting. It’s my location / landscape photography photopack. I don’t think you’ll find any other photopack like the here to see how I pack the MP-7.

• Nikon D3x (Text) (Video)
• Nikon D3s (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 200f2 VR * (Text) (Video) or
• Nikon 70-200VR2 (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24-70AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 14-24AFS (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f3.5 PC-E * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon 24f1.4 AFS (Text-TBP) (Video-TBP)
• Nikon 16f2.8 Fisheye (Text) (Video)
• Nikon TC-17e II (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SB-900 w/Dome (Text) (Video)
• Nikon GP-1 (Text)
• Nikon R1C1 * (Text) (Video)
• Nikon SC-28 & SC-29 (Text)
• Nikon SD-9 (Text) (Video)
• Nikon NC filters on ALL lenses (Text)
• Nikon Slim Polarizer (Text)
• Lee .9 Soft Split Grad (Text) (Video – tk)
• Nikon MC-36 (Text)
• Lexar 16/32GB 600x cards (10) (Text) (Info)
• Buffalo 500GB MiniStation portable (2x) (Text) (To Buy)
• Epson P7000 (Text)
• Gitzo 3540XLS w/RRS BH-55 * + (Video)

* = FedEx to location
** = carry-on shoulder
+ = Gitzo 3540XLS for everything but 200-400VR & 600f4

The "Miniature" explained?

The “miniature” is no more than an optical illusion for those who once played/play with Matchbox cars and model railroads (guilty of both). By “distorting” the foreground and background by throwing it prospectively out of focus, when you let yourself fall into the photo, your mind replaces reality with fun. I’ve attempted to explain this in the past with little success. When shooting at Laws, it came to me to try to communicate the effect by shooting a video with the D3s during the process of tilting the lens.

I reprocessed a couple of the HDR I did that day, like I mentioned I only liked about 50% of what I produced. While I’m liking this a little more, the feel of the “hot” Owens Valley light still doesn’t come through. More work, more experimentation, more fun ahead.

Photo captured by D3s, 24PC-E on Lexar UDMA digital film

Eastern Sierra Adventure – April '10

We’re announcing our next Eastern Sierra Adv, April 08-11, 2010. Basing out of Lone Pine, CA, we’ll shoot until we drop for four days some of the best and least known treasures the Eastern Sierra has to offer. From snow to wildflowers, to the highest and lowest point in North America, we’ll try to see it all. Locations such as Alabama Hills (photo below), Stovepipe Wells, Bristlecone Pines (if open), Mt Whitney, unnamed canyons and never explored washes to ghost towns are on the menu.

The four days are crammed between shooting, talking, a couple of meals and post processing. This is a landscape photography adventure. Those who attend should do so because they see something in my landscape photography that intrigues them and then want to learn more about it. There is a lot more to the landscape photograph then f/stop and shutter speed and that’s what we spend our time exploring. You can see a small sample of what we’ll explore here or searching the blog further. There is a staff of 3, Moose, Sharon & Stephi and a participant group of 6. The price is $1095 and included instruction only. If interested, call Sharon at 760.924.8632.

It's the Jetson's?

How freaking cool is this?!

Nikon just put out an announcement that NASA purchased 11 D3s & 14-24AFS to go into space. I was cruising around looking for trivia on past flights from the announcement and found a bunch of Nikon in Space photos and liked this one the best. Check out that hand holding technique! Now that’s a type of air to air photography I would love to do!

It's a Learning Process, A Slow One

So there I am at Bosque, shooting with the D3s (through the 600mm) and Moose Cam (Canon HF-10 attached as normal above the lens barrel). I’m shooting stills and two types of video, working at figuring out a system while trying to make quality images/video clips. I came back from Bosque with one image I’ve always wanted, a down the barrel shot (which you can’t really see here)

The eyes are both lit and sharp. Not that it’s the greatest image, it was just a personal challenge.

At the same time challenging myself with this, I was shooting video like I mentioned with both the D3s and HF-10. The D3s since I was focusing manually via the Monitor, I knew those videos were sharp. The HF-10, I just went along as always with it because it has always delivered. Having no time at night to review the days’ video, I didn’t suspect any issues. Spent the weekend though going through 8hrs of video from the HF-10 and to my horror, found it’s all out of focus. I checked the HF-10 and found that I changed the focus from AF to MF! If I had followed my own insistence of reviewing everything I shot that day for video like I do for stills, I would have found the problem first thing. But no, didn’t do that.

What other issues could come up, well, see if you can figure what I goofed up here

It helps if you flip the switch to ON (doh!). I’ve incorporated video into my shooting now for 18month now and I still feel like a beginner. My brilliant assistant came up with the perfect filing system for video which I’ve been searching for this entire time (job security for her) so we’ve made our first step into a workflow, still miles and miles away from perfection. I see more potential for all of this a month ago but I also see a steep learning curve for me as well.

Nikon announces new 300f2.8VR II & TC-20eIII

Info on 300f2.8VR II is here and TC-20EIII is here

First Morning at Bosque & Base Camp

Ah, back at the flight deck at Bosque, the glow of the promising sun just starting to glow in the east. The faint calls of the Snow Geese  are just starting to kiss the morning chill, it’s hard to beat the romance of a Bosque morning. And I have to admit that is sucked me back in for a while and I fell back on old photographic pursuits.

But can you blame me? I mean look at that color in the water reflecting from the amazing color on the horizon. The geese flocked up it a cool shape in that color, the graphic a powerful one. That is the power of Bosque and the lure that seems to keep calling me back. Unlike prior visits here though the aperture is not closed down trying to pull in DOF but rather, I’m shooting wide open. I’m watching the background and working on making it still work for the subject without telling everything sharply. I’m loving this “retrospective” in minimum DOF and how it’s pushing me and my photography. Dang, great start to the day!

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

America's Hottest Species

Once you start reading, you’ll realize that Hottest isn’t what you think and not really a good thing. America’s Hottest Species highlights 10 species in trouble NOW from climate warming.  What’s sad, there are actually more than these ten and IMHO some worse off then they list but that really doesn’t matter. I hope you take a second and give this a read, YOU and YOUR photography can make the difference!

A D3s Advantage You've not Heard About

The D3s has an improvement over the D3 that’s not been documented nor that’s been in the press. I know what it is, seen it in action and can tell you that it’s a nice improvement. What is it? This photo of the Osprey shows off the improvement, can you tell what it is? And being the rotten person I am, I’m not going to tell you here but you can read about it in the upcoming BT Journal

Osprey fly with such an unique pattern that making an image with an unique pose really isn’t a challenge. The tip toeing here makes me smile.

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

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