Churchill Birds – A Short Slideshow

I created this simple slideshow to answer a common question of late about our K&M Adventure to Churchill. And if popular, I might post more on various topics.

Freeze the Clicks

Just posted over on the Lexar site, tips for shooting in the cold.

Share the Season – Of Course there is Humor!

What can I say, it makes me smile and that’s one of the greatest gifts of a photograph! Martin did a great job with the capture and Photoshop to bring a smile to us all.

Share the Season – I’m Enjoying This!

Having a great time with the Share the Season photo contest! Some truly marvelous images like Lisa’s snowy New York barn. She originally posted the photo and a made a simple suggestion that might make the image stronger and a heartbeat later, she had the image reposted and you see it here. Being that I live in snow country, I love these kinds of photos where the sky is gone but your can see the snow falling. Very well done. Here’s the story behind the photo.

I was driving in my hometown on a country road during the first snowfall of the season. This old barn sits close to the road on a corner and no one really pays much attention to it, other than the farmer who stores his tractor in it. As I rounded the corner I noticed the gray colors up against the snow driven white and loved the composition. So I pulled over and snapped a quick photo. To my surprise I realized from my photo how much character this old barn really has. I have a new appreciation for it.

Camera: Olympus SP-600UZ, Lens: Olympus 5.0-75.00mm, Location: Vernon, NY

Share the Season – Idea#4 Bias the Judge

There are some great images already submitted for the Share the Season photo contest. Even better are some of the stories, I’m loving them! And we’ve just begun, we have over a month of time for more entries. I’m excited! The one thing I’m surprised about though it the lack wildlife photos. I mean, if you want to get the judges attention, wildlife photos is the way to go. Of course, great light never hurts.

This Mule Deer doe was photographed up in Yellowstone a number of winters ago. Across the cyn, everyone was focused in on the bighorns, it was quite a commotion! I didn’t want any part of that mess so I was just lookin around when I spotted her just chillin. It was a real simple click, D3, 200f2 VR2. Always loved this shot.

Sharing the Season – Gorgeous Light!

I just LOVE the light! On the girls, the tree, the wall, it has just a rich, warm, seasonal glow, Michelle created a gorgeous photo! Of course, I love the camera she used, check out her story from the Share the Season photo contest

Our extended family all came together for Thanksgiving and my girl was able to see her cousin that she doesn’t get to see often. They were off exploring together and I found them sitting by the Christmas tree looking at the nativity under the tree and gabbing, you know how little kids do! I listened closer and I heard my girl telling her little cousin all about how Jesus was born. It was one of those moments as a parent you are proud that they actually listen, and it was difficult to keep from laughing at the seriousness in which she shared the story!

I shot this with the quickest camera I could get to in the moment, my iPhone, in my sister’s living room in good old potato country Idaho. November 24, 2012.

Share the Season – Hitting the Mark

Craig uploaded this marvelous image on the Share the Season contest site this morning. I just love the whole feel, a very simple click (HDR) with a very simple yet powerful message. The best part is the upside down wheelbarrow. Well done Craig and thanks for entering! Here’s the story behind the photo.

Saw this on the way home from work the other day. It is near the town of Harwood Ontario Canada. Had been listening to the news on the radio. This set of lights really made me think. Simple and to the point. Peace. This is what we should all share. (Shot with a Fuji X-10 – 18mm, ISO 3200, 1/10 at f2.5 handheld)

Share the Season – Let the Posting Begin!

Yeap, let the posting begin!

2013 Share the Season Photo Contest

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER.

1. Eligibility:  Contest is open to anyone 18 or older at the time of entry. Employees of B&H and WRP or their affiliated or subsidiary companies, and their immediate family members, are not eligible to enter the Contest or to participate in the voting process. Contest is governed by the laws of the USA. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.

2. Entry: Entry for the Contest begins on Nov. 20 2012 and ends on Jan. 31, 2013. All entries must be uploaded by Jan. 15, 2013. To enter, you must have your image uploaded by 15 Jan, 2013 to compete. Judging will be done solely by Moose Peterson and winners will be announced Jan. 31, 2013. To be considered for entry, along with your photograph going with the theme of the contest, you must include camera, lens, location used in the creation of the photograph. In addition, you must include at least three sentences about the taking of the photograph. You can enter as many times as you’d like but more entries does not improve your odds of winning.

3. Rights: You retain all rights to your images. By entering you agree to permit your image and details to be posted on Moose Peterson’s website as a contest highlight.

4. Categories: there is only one, Share the Season. The photograph must be taken during the duration of the contest and cannot be from earlier dates. The season can be everything from fall / winter to the holidays or combination thereof.

5. Judging: is done by only me, Moose Peterson with all decisions final.

6. Prizes: Top prize Nikon D600. (Other prizes TBA)

7. Shipping: The prizes will be shipped within the US free of charge. All winners outside of the USA are responsible for all shipping, taxes and tariffs where they apply.

8. Email & Phone Calls: in regards to the contest are automatic grounds for disqualification. (kidding…maybe)

9. Rules: might change at any moment, it’s my contest and it’s all about fun!

Sponsor reserves the right to terminate or modify the Contest at any time for any reason. In such a circumstance, Finalists Category Winners and Grand Prize Winner will be selected based on entries received to date of termination. In the event that two similar entries are received, only the entry judged to best meet criteria as set by Moose Peterson will be included in the final judging. All prizes will be awarded.

All Finalists, Category Winners and the Grand Prize Winner will be notified by email within one week of the closing date.

Share the Season – Idea #3

I love all aspects of photography…except one. That’s macro photography. I’m really not that good at it. It takes me a whole bunch of time, and I really don’t like sticking my butt up in the air to get a photo! With that said, I’ve been seeing this photograph all week thinking, “This would make another good example for the Share the Season photo contest.” So, after looking at the idea for a week, I finally decided to get the D800 out, attach the 70-180macro (damn fine lens) and go for it.

When I take our dogs out in the morning, the sun hits the frozen drops of water on our Aspens just right. I see all these sparkly, specular highlights dancing on the limbs like Christmas lights. I thought there might be a photograph there so off to capture it I went. Below you can see my first attempt, it goes in the “suck” category but at least you get the picture. So with it being obvious that what I was seeing wasn’t going to translate into what I want you to see (or, I wasn’t going to take the time on a macro shot to make that happen) I went off to see what else there might be. I was as usual looking for light. I needed a darkish background to make the frozen drop come to life. I found one and racked the lens out to 170mm, focused to MFD and moved the whole unit to compose and get sharp. And then the very first thing, the main reason why I hate macro photography, the limb started to move! Up and down, back and forth, yikes! I couldn’t feel a breeze so started to look around to see what was moving the limb. Damn, it was me! I hate that! So I moved to not touch the limb yet still keep my angle of view and background and not get in my own light. Anything has to be easier than macro photography! Well, I ended up with the image after all of that and only deleted 98% of the frames, but it only takes one to tell the story.

And there you have another example for your idea folder for the Share the Season photo contest. We need the image, camera trivia and story along with the photo to enter. I hope to have the website up this weekend and announced on Monday for you!!

Share the Season Contest – Idea #2

Our snow storm this past weekend brought all sorts of ideas to my head to share with you for my Share the Season photo contest (did I tell you I’ve giving away a brand new D600 as the prize?). So I grabbed the D4 and 50f1.4 AFS and rushed outside in the storm. What you see here then us the thought process for creating the final image that would be the one used in the contest (I might just enter myself…kidding). Keep in mind, the story behind the photo is just as important as the photo.

After working to keep the blowing snow off the front element, I made an exposure for the trees more than the snow. What does that mean? I shot with no exposure compensation, I wanted the blacks in the wet tree trunks and branches. With that, I went into ACR and processed normally except I changed the Contrast which I normally never do. I then took that photo in Photoshop and used Silver Efex Pro 2 just like I demo in the videos on the site there. This was all pretty cut and dry stuff. And as it stands, that B&W photo of snow works perfectly for Share the Season photo contest. But I wanted to add a little extra touch.

So I went and created the red ornament and starburst (hard to see in this small version) in Photoshop (plenty of tutorial online how to accomplish this). The only difficult thing for me is deciding where to hang that ornament. It literally took me 20min and lots of “placements” to decide where you see it here. And it might move in the next version. But that’s all part of the contest, sharing how you saw, made and created the photo. Still working on the website for posting so keep shooting! mtc

2013 Moose Workshops / Classes & a Gift

Star Trails – Alabama Hills, CA Feb 15-17
Photoshop for Shooters – Mammoth Lakes, CA April 27-28
Mono Lake – Mammoth Lakes, CA May 17-19
Short Lens Course – Mammoth Lakes, CA 22-23 June
Photo Bi$ – Mammoth Lakes, CA 13-14 July
Photoshop for Shooters – Mammoth Lakes, CA 28-29 Sept
Mono Lake – Mammoth Lakes, CA 19-20 Oct
Short Lens Course – Mammoth Lakes, CA 2-3 November

There are all based in the beautiful Eastern Sierras, a region John Muir called the Range of light. A photographers paradise, it’s here waiting for you and your passion!

Sharon & I wanted to make signing up a little more special so for those who sign up for one of these workshops before 31 Dec, 2012 will receive a 22×17 autographed print of their choice (an image you find on either of my two websites that I’ve taken). Now, you can keep the print or give it to someone as a gift this Christmas. To sign up, give Sharon a call (9-5PST M-F) @ 760.924.8632 or 661.204.1506. Looking forward to shooting with you!

Here’s a couple of love notes from our recent Mono Lake & Photo Bi$ Class

The Sierra’s are an awesome location to photograph, having your insight from a photographic and historic perspective adds imensly to enhancing the experience. This was the best workshop I have attended. The kick off dinner at Giovanni’s really helped set the stage and alowed folks to meet. Focusing on shooting only helped us grow a bit at each shoot, I know I did. I really liked the diversity of the locations as it forced us to adapt. shooting Mono Lake three times really helped me. i know I said after the first sunrise that I had a hard time photographing Mono Lake but, the sunset was much better and I like the images from Sunrise better too. I like how you don’t setup a shot for everyone and we all shoot the same think. Rather, you expect and encourage us to make our images our own, very cool.
Tom Walker

fantastic Mono Lake workshop. I like your style of teaching and active critique in the field. I’ll be back!
Barney Koszalka

Wanted to thank you both again for a great weekend at your photo biz class.
Good news, I’ve been shooting a touring horse show that’s starting out in San Diego as the design firm that I work for is branding the show and we are using my images to create the show collateral. Yesterday our client emailed saying that they have the cover of Horseman’s News magazine. So while I haven’t sent a text photo package out yet, and my client paid for the cover I still wanted to share with you that one of my images will be on the cover of the December issue of Horseman’s News.
I’m putting what I learned to use, the first thing I did was research the magazine and I found out that they are the largest equine publication on the West Coast, printing 25,000 copies a month. Based on those numbers I was able to negotiate a nice usage fee with my client. Thanks for sharing all of your insight in the biz class and giving us the tools of the trade.
Ryan Skinner

It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with you and Moose, and to learn so much. Oh my gosh, that business class has absolutely changed how I look at everything. The night the class ended, I started a complete re-write of my 1500 word article (desperately needed), have started shooting new pictures for it and am looking for an avenue to publish it.
I am looking at where photos are used everywhere…I had kind of looked at that before, but now I am looking harder than ever, which is opening up my mind to more ideas and possibilities. I just can’t express enough how great that class was and how thankful I am that I was able to attend.
Kristina Jacob

3 Days Left – iBook / iPub SALE

I’ve always wanted to do this and now we can. Our digital iBook Taking Flight and iPad version of the BT Journal are on sale now (until the 27th)! Taking flight is $9.99 (regular $14.99) and BT Journal Subscription is $7.99 (regular $11.99) and single issue is $1.99 (regular $2.99). Our success with these iPad publications is due to your support. We want to say thanks by offering this sale for a week.

And as you might have noticed, yesterday a FREE issue, Backyard Studio, was released for those who have subscribed to the iPad BT Journal. So if you take advantage of the sale, you will also get the free issue. Now the timing between when this post appears and the iTune Store shows the sale price might not be exact. So if you head to Taking Flight or BT Journal and it’s not there, give it an hour or two. And know that we are working on other goodies, fun, entertainment and education for you!

Thanks again for your support…there is much more coming!

Your Response has been Killer – The Sale Continues!

I’ve always wanted to do this and now we can. Our digital iBook Taking Flight and iPad version of the BT Journal are on sale now (until the 27th)! Taking flight is $9.99 (regular $14.99) and BT Journal Subscription is $7.99 (regular $11.99) and single issue is $1.99 (regular $2.99). Our success with these iPad publications is due to your support. We want to say thanks by offering this sale for a week.

And as you might have noticed, yesterday a FREE issue, Backyard Studio, was released for those who have subscribed to the iPad BT Journal. So if you take advantage of the sale, you will also get the free issue. Now the timing between when this post appears and the iTune Store shows the sale price might not be exact. So if you head to Taking Flight or BT Journal and it’s not there, give it an hour or two. And know that we are working on other goodies, fun, entertainment and education for you!

Thanks again for your support…there is much more coming!

iPad BT Journal Issue Released Today

We have released today a Special Issue of the iPad version of the BT Journal (it will not be coming out in hardcopy). If you are a subscriber to the iPad version of the BT Journal, you’ll receive this special, 5th issue for FREE! If you’re not a subscriber, you can buy the single issue, or subscribe. As the cover states, this issue is all about YOUR Backyard Studio. It complements and in many ways continues on from my very successful Kelby Training Beginning Wildlife class. You can access the issue through your BTJ app in the Newsstand on your iPad. Enjoy…and thanks for your support! (Hardcopy subscribers, latest issue is on press, thanks for hanging in there!)

Saturday Fun & Teaching

Saturday we spent the day with some great folks looking at light. We went to the Great Falls, NJ to take advantage of this little slice of nature in the middle of industry to play with light. We worked with nature and with models, this is the very lovely Olena. This first photo was taken in broad daylight at highnoon! Can you tell? Shot with the D4 and 50f/1.4AFS (@ f/2.8), there is a Lastolite 1 stop Trigrip diffuser literally resting on the lens barrel just out of frame. This is right out of the Joe McNally magical world of great lighting play book that I learned from him. It’s real simple, big, wrapping light source in relationship to the subject. The light is the sun, a small light source far away. The Lastolite makes that light much bigger and wrapping. And Olena, well what a great subject to wrap in light!

Then I saw this killer stairway and at first, shot it as just a cool stairway. Then the top that Olena was wearing got me thinking and you see the outcome. I would have love to had more light shaping tools to make more of the situation. What we did was a real simple click shot with D4 and 70-200VR2 (@f/11) and the light falling on the sign. Really doesn’t do justice to Olena but she had fun working it.

I was very fortunate to co-led the teaching with my good bud Jeff Cable. During his session, he had Olena working this large wall in the shade. I mean, deep shade! Using though a Soft Gold Lastolite Trigrip again just out of the frame even though it had no direct light hitting it, you can see how it opened up the shadows and lit up Olena’s gorgeous brown eyes. The background is very important to me, so Olena was leaning in a specific spot and the Lastolite was not flat but bent and curved to sculpt the light to wrap it around Olena’s feature. What we did was a real simple click shot with D4 and 70-200VR2 (@f/8)

It was a great day exploring light. We started with fall color, then worked with our models and then finished up with Great Falls. The whole time, we were looking at light which, not matter if your subject is a leaf, rock, person or critter, you learn light and you can apply it to anything to tell it and your story. Thanks to all for a great day!

It’s Out! 16.1

Startin with Friends!

K&M Adv Me begun with our taking our new friends to meet some of my old friends. Unbeknownst to anyone, arrangements had been made at the beginning of the year to be Wacasset for the “airshow” featuring my good friends at the Texas Flying Legend Museum. We got the field before anyone else and found Cub (what I think of as a happy little plane) parked on the grass. We had a lot of fun with it to start. Then I popped open the doors on the boys B-25J “Betty’s Dream” and they got to go inside one of the nest restored planes and shoot till their heart’s content! Smiles all around!

Now this is a different way for sure for folks to experience fall color (or lack there of). I come to find out that only 1 of our adventurers had ever been to a airshow before! Ralphie put us all to shame by shooting 5400 images! He said in true Ralphie fashion< "It was all right!" Of course, being spoiled by the TFLM boys made it all that more special for these first time airshow shooters.

The best part was it was really fun learning for all! They learned about photography, things like panning and planning and placement to how planes move and the best part, about our aviation heritage and the men who flew these magnificent craft. It was a great day and great start to our ME adventure!

Alabama Hills Star Trails Workshop

15-17 Feb, 2013 we’re pulling a couple of all nighters as we stare at the heavens and photograph the stars. We’ll meet in Lone Pine, CA on Friday evening to go over strategies, gear check and howdies and then head to the Alabama Hills for our first all nighter. The next day we’ll meet up long after the sun is up and go through our images, look at the different methods of assembling our previous nights work and get ready for Saturday night shooting. After grabbing an early dinner, we’ll go out for sunset and getting into position for a fun night of shooting and ghost stories. We’ll finish up after breakfast on Sunday morning. The price is $495 which includes preclass materials, instruction and guiding only. This is one workshop where bringing a sleeping bag might just be a must. Look forward to shooting the stars with you! 760.924.8632 / 661.204.1506 9-5 M-F. (no cancelation, refund for bad weather)

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