Jul 15, 2013 | Landscape Photography
Being it was a gorgeous morning, we decided to have our breakfast on the deck. It is most definitely one of the great summer perks of living in the Sierras. And of course wherever I go, the camera comes along so set up next to me was the D4 / 800. One of the bird species that nests on our property are Brewer’s Blackbirds. A very, very, very common species but why they are nesting up on the slope where our home is rather than by a creek like they should be is a mystery to us. We had eleven nests in our manzinettas this year fledge young. Other than watch their antics when they dive bomb our dogs right when their eggs hatch, I really don’t take note of them. But this morning, this one male was noteworthy. First, the angle of the light was just right to bring out the sheen in its black feathers. Next, it saw a female and well, you get the idea. So while I only have a minute or two with it, the final image makes me smile. I love the expression the stare and cocked head brings.
Jul 15, 2013 | Landscape Photography
No, that’s not a translation of their Latin name, but it might as well be as far as we’re concerned. This is a Band-tailed Pigeon and in most regions of the country, it’s a hunted species (and I’m told tasty). Ever since our first fall in the Sierra, we’ve had this very wary species at our feeders. That is for about ten minutes which is about how much time it takes for them to suck them all dry. Now you know what we call them vacuum cleaners.
Prior to moving to the Sierra, we had seen the pigeons in other regions of the state, but never got close enough to get glass on them. I suspect that comes from the fact they are hunted. And even though they are coming to us (my preferred way of getting close to critters) and are here what seems like the hundreds (probably only 50), the slightest movement inside the office and it sounds like a Huey lifting off from the driveway. Though they’ve been sucking down our seed for nearly twenty years, I still have to stand way back in the depth of the office and shoot with the D4 / 800. Why go to all of this for a “pigeon?” Simply business actually, hunting magazines need photos of them and with them being so difficult to photograph nearly everywhere, they are money in the bank. Now I have a deal with them, they pose, they get to eat. No posing and we walk through our office and they fly off. And when you take a moment and look at them, they are a pretty cool bird.
Jul 11, 2013 | Landscape Photography
With the D4/800 in my lap and Puffin Pad beside me, Sharon & I took off to check out Upper Souris NWR outside Minot, ND. The Upper Souris is a location I’ve long heard about so wanted to see it for myself. I was really hoping our timing would be perfect for the hatch of grebes but such was not the case. We were about 10 days late, the chicks too old to be floating around on their parents backs. But the trip was anything but a bust!
I put the 800mm away and grabbed the 18-35AFS and 24-70AFS and worked the amazing fields of Mustard that seemed to stretch to the horizon. The skies were nearly perfect for landscape photography even though the sun was high in the sky. In fact, I don’t think I would have wanted the sun any other place. The bright, cheery yellow screams for bright and cheery. There is no filters, no post processing, these are simply images out of the D4. The ones I like the best are the ones that show a little topography to the mustard fields. A little creek at a diagonal was something I seeked. To say getting back, earlier to the area is on the calendar. We saw nearly 50 species of birds and that with being technically “late” so I can’t wait to see what we’d find being ontime.
Jul 9, 2013 | Landscape Photography
It’s summer time and the afternoon thunderstorms are rolling through. I love it! Is there a trick to lightning photography? These days, you can capture the bolt pretty darn easily with tools like Ligthning Trigger, which permit you to capture the bolts even during daylight hours and not even touch the camera. And that’s when I think some of the best lightning images are made. Like many aspects of photography, just capturing the “one” aspect doesn’t make it a good photo. Just capturing a lightning bolt in itself doesn’t make a good photo. It’s just the subject and like all photographs, elements around it should support it. What are those elements? In the top photo, it’s the glow of the bright skies that are behind the storm. Summer thunderstorms typically are “regional” so getting to their edge, there is bright skies behind them that can light up the clouds giving them a unique glow all their own.
Some of the strongest are simply clean landscape photos that can stand on their own without the lightning bolt. My favorite which is above was taken many years ago in Montana at sunset. The great color is courtesy of a forest fire and by simply turning the camera to follow the fast moving storm, the Lightning Trigger did the rest of the work. The “tricks” to this is first staying dry because often you’re in the rain. I have a large, golfer’s umbrella we use. It has a carbon fiber post that in theory help prevents being struck but lightning. And that is a concern you need to take into consideration. The other “trick” if there is one is to underexpose by at least one stop. It doesn’t lower the intensity of the bolt but the rest of the scene which then makes the bolt look brighter. Lastly, never leave home without your Lightning Trigger because the moment you do, you will witness the most amazing lightning storm, ever!
Jul 1, 2013 | Landscape Photography
Like most in the west, even the Sierra got warm this past weekend, getting up to 86 which is warm for 8000′. The new shooting gallery is getting more and more active which is fun. Over the weekend chipmunk love found it. It’s that time of year when the Panamint Chipmunks find each other and in the process, make baby chipmunks. It’s fun to watch them as they watch each other looking for a partner. Their tails just go nuts wiggling with excitement. This female took a breather resting on the roof of one of our nesting boxes as the males circled below. Shooting with D4 / 800mm, it’s a test of my panning, vertical panning as they go up and down the tree trunk using them like a vertical highway. But it’s a ton of fun and permitted me to stay inside and cool and still shoot.
Jun 28, 2013 | Landscape Photography
Have I ever told you, I really hate bald skies! But what is one to do when you have bald skies? Gotta make lemonade as I see it. So with all the annual hoopla over the “big moon” I thought I would make the sun into the moon. How? Shoot right at it, closing the aperture all the way down and underexpose. Then went to a landscape that would support that “moon” like feel leaving the viewer asking, “Is it the moon or the sun?” Shooting with the D4 with 16Fish attached, I did just that. Then in the DD, I used ACR to “straighten” out the Fish. The only real thought given to the image was the landscape, (Horseshoe Lake during the drought), the shoreline and placement of the sun. Won’t go on my wall but was fun and being about getting skunked behind the camera beats anything else I can think of!
