Dec 14, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Bosque is so good for the soul! And it doesn’t suck for photography either. But mornings like today make those statements pale by comparison! Timing is everything at Bosque, and that timing all centers around light. The light for the inflight of Geese to the pond and the outflight can make magic turn into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the camera and soul. Here are two quick pics from this AM which barely scratch the experience but for me, will always remind me of the moment, forever!
Dec 12, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Gtr Sandhill Crane
captured by D5 / 800mm
A very special place for critters, birds, Sandhill Cranes, in particular, is Bosque del Apache NWR. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been coming here forever and this week being here with dear friends is extra special. Sandhill Cranes are an amazing bird coming to Bosque to overwinter, storing up reserves to make the flight back north in the spring to raise the next generation. Their biology at Bosque is pretty straightforward, eat, eat, eat and not be eaten. They roost at night is the very shallow ponds so the approach of predators can easily be heard, then head to the fields during the day to forage. They do all of this with amazing grace and elegance … except ….
Gtr Sandhill Crane
captured by D5 / 800mm
Those shallow ponds that afford the Cranes a prewarning can turn this otherwise elegant birds into a comedy act. There are mornings like this morning when the air temp gets down there (13 degrees this AM) and a surface layer of ice forms. It’s not so thick that the Cranes are frozen in place but frozen enough they can walk on it and it leaves a ring of ice around their legs. Now to get airborne, the Cranes have to take a few running steps which, with their long legs is easy in the shallow water. But when there is ice, that can’t gain any traction and that’s when their elegance goes out the window and they seem to know it. You can see them look around, you know that look of “hope no one is watching” as they take that first step. That’s the fun to try to photograph. This morning was full of that kind of fun which what makes wildlife photography so enjoyable!
Dec 5, 2017 | Landscape Photography
I just love winter, but you all know that already. I love the cold and photographically, I love the white. And there is no better photographic example of that then when the trees are all dressed in white. But getting those photographs take a little planning because winter doesn’t mean automatically you get white trees. There are a couple of factors required to capture the white, here’s some details.
Cold is the first essential. Snow sticks (or hoar frost forms) when the air temp is really low, below freezing. It starts with moisture, either wet snow or in the air (hoar frost) that the cold temps then freeze to the limbs of trees. Next is the lack of sun because this means warmth. With these conditions, you then need to personally deal with the cold (gloves, jackets and the all-important footwear) and your gear is warm. Then you need to deal with technical. White balance is the first thing. We associate the color blue with cold which might not be the right WB but it’s your story, what do you want to say? Everyone knows snow is white, is that the color you want? You then have to answer this color question via WB for your photo. Then there is exposure, is the winter storm coming, happening, or leaving? Based on how you have that determines how you expose. So plan your trip to be in the right place at the right time with the right gear and the right technique so you can capture the trees draped in white!
Nov 28, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Douglas Tree Sqrl
captured by D5 / 800mm
Think he’s been watching Peanut Cartoons through the window?
Winter has come to the house … and we love it! One of the best things is how it concentrates all the critters at our feeders, free water, and houses (be it shrubs or birdhouses). It makes observing them easy, fun and always entertaining. Nows the time to stock up on supplies and make sure you have those unfrozen sources of water available for them. It’s 13 degrees outside as I write this which means any water not warmed with a heater will be a rock. This little Douglas Tree Squirrel is waiting his turn to get to the bird bath. Free water is so important to critters, no more so than in the winter.
Nov 17, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
One of the great things about wildlife photography is the simple pleasures a simple click can bring! We’ve had 36hrs of rain here at 8200′, over 4 inches so the critters have been hunkered down. The sun came out this morning as did the birds in great numbers. Often with storms this time of year, migrants that normally fly on by stop to wait out the storm. It’s one reason the 800mm is left set up, ready to shoot at the first shout of “BIRD!” Then when conditions are right, they greet the day in the sun refueling on our property. This morning a secretive favorite of mine appeared. Sharon first called him out and for the next twenty minutes, we watch the Varied Thrush rummage through the underbrush looking for morsels (not been on the property that we know about since ’08). Then it hopped up and T’d up long enough for me to make a couple of quick portraits. And now my day is made. Simple photographic pleasures!
Nov 14, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
The coats of mammals are essential to regulating their core temperature. It’s really a marvel of adaptation when you look at the color, length, molts, patterns and distribution each mammal has which is what in large part makes each unique. There is one thing we can generalize, mammals coats become their most luxurious in winter. This is a biological fact we can use to grab our viewer’s heartstrings!
We start by being more intimate in our photos in telling that story. Top photo was shot with a 600mm and the bottom with a 200-400VR2 at 400mm. Using these longer lenses permitted manipulating the background so the subject, story, pops in the photo. Along with that is the light. The softer light like in the top photo makes the fur appear, thicker because there are no hard shadows to define it. And by emphasizing the thicker fur we play into folks stereotypes. Most associate thick fur with winter so by playing into that, it makes our storytelling easier. It’s fall so that means, the fur is coming.
