No, neither of these are a great photo. The bottom one is better than the top but that’s because I just gave the earth a little time to spin. Wildlife photography is this funny thing, many look for that great shot. This is understandable. Perhaps because I’m getting old, I’m looking for that great moment that if I’m lucky I can turn into a good photograph. Those great moments more important then the photograph. The only way I know of doing this is with time. This Great Horned Owl nest at Fort DeSoto is an example of this. The top photo, light is hard taking the eye totally away from the incubating owl. Two hours later, the light is just kissing the owl, the light on the trees framing it. Neither image by itself means much. But when you take this information and add to it what will happen with time, the hatching of the eggs, then the branchling stage, and this knowledge of the light on the trees, it is essential if seeking that great moment. So that great moment might not happen the moment you’re there. The great photo neither. But you put in your time and the odds start to add up in your favor and with that, you can create that great moment and if really lucky, that photo to express that pursuit!
I love being able to set up the camera, turn it on and let ‘er rip! This is one of my favorite locations to do it. Monument Valley is where time seems timeless to me so to tell that story, I love to do time lapse. Now the D4, D800 and others have a time lapse features which, once you push the button, when it finishes you have a done .mov. The problem is the resolution is not as high as doing it the old fashion way. What is old fashion? The camera clicks of one Jpeg every 30sec (I use the MC-36) for however you want to let it rip. It is then assembled in Photoshop by simple putting all the images in one folder, open that folder in Photoshop, click on the first file and then click on Sequence and click open. Then all you have to do is File > Export > Video and you’re good to go. Just need to make sure the file numbers go from 0001 – 9999. If your camera creates a new folder during the Time Lapse, you’ll have to renumber. Enjoy!
I love being able to set up the camera, turn it on and let ‘er rip! This is one of my favorite locations to do it. Monument Valley is where time seems timeless to me so to tell that story, I love to do time lapse. Now the D4, D800 and others have a time lapse features which, once you push the button, when it finishes you have a done .mov. The problem is the resolution is not as high as doing it the old fashion way. What is old fashion? The camera clicks of one Jpeg every 30sec (I use the MC-36) for however you want to let it rip. It is then assembled in Photoshop by simple putting all the images in one folder, open that folder in Photoshop, click on the first file and then click on Sequence and click open. Then all you have to do is File > Export > Video and you’re good to go. Just need to make sure the file numbers go from 0001 – 9999. If your camera creates a new folder during the Time Lapse, you’ll have to renumber. Enjoy!
I’m out on a project and my hosts tell me the internet is sporadic at best, cell coverage nonexistent. So apologize if is takes a day or two to answer emails the next couple of weeks.
Jake & I made another what we call a “suicide run” where we hit the road at 3am (on a snowy morning) and drive to SoCal to do a shoot and then drive back home. Twelve hours of driving for a couple of hours of shooting. Like this one, the majority to turn out to be more than worth the time invested driving. And the drive up and down the Owen’s Valley is always gorgeous! We’d just come past Owens Lake where a Air Guard F-16 had crashed 30min earlier when we saw this unique snow flurry on the eastside of the valley. Being so cold, the weight caused this cool little snow storm which for us photographers, was a great shot. So we stopped and shot a couple of frames. After making the couple of shots, we got back in the truck and merged will all the skier traffic heading to our town and proceeded north.
I’d left the D4 / 24-70 out because, well, you just never know what Mother Nature is going to do. We were watching the clouds when all of a sudden what seems to be an updraft took this cloud and gave it a very bad hair day! Loved the shape, loved the light and loved the “bad hair” look to the top of the cloud. The thing that always amazes me is that the really cool shots just take a minute to happen. Then a minute later they are gone. It’s your being there that minute that counts! It was a great road trip with a great ending. Oh, and that plane crash, it was reported the pilot was seen ejecting and then later walking across the lakebed carrying his parachute.
It’s the perfect day for writing, it’s snowin outside, the fire is goin, the coffee hot and plentiful. And I was able to get some shooting in. I have the D4 / 300f4 AFS set up and sitting next to me waiting for my friend. This Sharpie loves to perch right outside my window so I can see what it’s up to. This afternoon he launched and came right back with a Pine Siskin in its talons. I grabbed the camera, slipped around the corner and make some clicks before the storm drove me back in. If you want to learn more about the Sharpie in our yard or bird photography, be sure to check out the FREE (for subscribers) ipad version of the BT Journal released a few weeks ago.
