May 26, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
“Just how much background should I include?” This is a very common question that I receive all the time. It just came in as a possible podcast topic. Being a visual answer in my mind I was waiting until I had the same subject with three different backgrounds to answer it. My recent time at Magee Marsh with its waves of busy warblers provided the images I needed to explain how I look at the background and its role in telling the visual story.
Northern Parula Warbler
captured by D500 / 800mm
In answering this question for myself, I first start with the gear I’m going to use. With birds in order to control the background, I use either the D5 or in this case, the D500 on the 800mm. That combination provides an incredibly narrow angle of view permitting easy tweaking of the background with slight movements to right or left, up or down with the gear. With that it comes down to your own style of photography and that’s really to the heart of the question of background.
Northern Parula Warbler
captured by D500 / 800mm
There are three classic examples here of backgrounds for birds. No background, just a touch and fully occupied. As you can see, I like to use all three because each one tells a little different story based on the subject and that’s what photography is all about to me. At the same time, it’s the subject and the light on it that truly determines which background will work best. There are a number of things that takes the mind’s eye to the subject and then through the whole image. Knowing these and applying them really determines the background to me. With critters, their gesture, their attitude, their character really impacts the background and visa versa and which photo I’ll put out. In these three images, it’s the bottom image I love the most and it’s all because of the gesture in the Northern Parula Warbler. While it might have the “busiest” background but because of the light on the background and the subject, you can’t help but see that gesture. So rather than have a fixed background in my mind I have to have for a photograph, I work with what’s presented by the subject at the time of the click. I don’t know if that answers folk’s question but that’s how I visually think about how much background.
May 10, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
It’s a real simple formula for capturing birds in flight. You want the sun and the wind on your back. Here’s a real simple illustration of the point. This pair of Forster’s Tern on day one had the wind coming in from the right. Because of that when the mate came in for a landing, it was going sidewise to the camera. While OK, it’s not the most desirable.
The next day the light and the wind were hitting our backs and the terns, were landing while flying right into the lens barrel. It’s really just the simple. The rest was having the reach (shooting with the 800mm w/TC-1.25e) and the FPS (shooting with the D5) to capture the slow decent to the stump. So with that the photo was made as the wind has it!
May 9, 2017 | Landscape Photography
Central Park
captured by D3x / 50f1.4AFS
It might sound like some awful disease, but when I say photo consumption, I’m talkin something much worse! As I mentioned yesterday in my podcast, I consume every photograph I get in front of me. And one of the weird things about me is I remember the photos I see, which includes small details. Because of that when I go to locations and in particular new locations, my mind often races back in my memory for images I’ve seen that I really like that I would like to have myself. I’m not out to make exact copies but rather the same photo but with a “Moose” twist. There are times when this makes all the difference in the world in my success. And there are times when it just brings great frustration. But then, that’s photography … right?
Case in point is the photo you see here. You might not know this about me, but I’m really into spring greens. The multitude of shades of green in spring is simply a wonder of nature. Sharing all those shades of green in a photograph while bringing the feeling of “spring” to life in a photograph I find very challenging. On this particular day while walking through Central Park, NYC, the light was perfect for all the shades of spring but bringing all the elements together in the frame eluded me until I remembered a photo I had seen long ago and liked. It was taken with a 50f1.4 at f/1.4 so I took mine out and made the click. It’s still a favorite because it’s just a simple click. You might help your own photography by having some “photos” in your mind by looking at all the published photography you can, the horrible disease I call photo consumption!
May 5, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Dunlins
captured by D5 / 800mm w/TC-1.25x
For thirty-six years, I have traveled in search of the natural wonders of this planet. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness some of Mother Nature’s finest, sights that have inspired me for a lifetime. Reaching a lifetime location to witness the annual shorebird gathering on Delaware Bay tops the list of her miracles! Seeing tens of thousands of birds packed into a hundred yard stretch of beach simply takes your breath away. And while they are packed on the beach, there is a celebration of life in the skies as the Dunlin fly their aerial ballet moving from a piece of beach to another. It can’t help but effect and inspire you, the sites and sound in this explosion of life. Go out this weekend and find your lifetime wonder and celebrate it in your photography. Then be sure to share that wonder with everyone else. Because it belongs to all of us and everyday we need to celebrate Mother Nature and all her splendors and wonders!
May 3, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
I’m in Cape May having the time of my life photographing birds! We found on our first day this pair of Forster’s Terns that hang on the same sunken stump every afternoon. I’ve captured some absolutely delightful images there I need to share. During the “down” time between their “spring activities” I wanted to get some panning practice in with me new favorite rig, D500 / 300PF and to make it exciting I added the TC-14eIII. The extra mm’s narrows the angle of view so handholding has to be spot on. There were Forster’s Terns feeding right in front of us so that was my target. When the light got good and they hovered in front of us, I would shoot. I wanted the slower shutter speed to blur the wings to show they are hovering but knowing their head stays in the same spot when they hover, knew I would get the eye sharp. It was great practice and fun and produced some cool images. That’s why I took a tern at handholding :-)
May 2, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
It’s spring so love is in the air. This male Osprey is sitting on an artificial nesting platform after bringing in fish and nesting material. Reading human emotions into the situation and his gesture, you might quickly think he’s tired of it already and it’s just begun. Then within seconds the humor is replaced as an interloping male attempts to come into the nest and get in between the mated pair. The aggression you see in the frame below was very real and for a moment, the resident male was battling for either his mate, his life or both, who knows. In the end the resident drove off the interloper and things went back to the boredom experienced just moments before.
Osprey
captured by D5 / 800mm AFS
Making the shot required a couple of basics so concentrating on the action was all that was required to make the shot. First, the background needed to be clean which required our simply moving to the right. Next, was using enough glass to eliminate some items while not too much so there was room in the frame for wing tips (I went with D5/ 800mm). Lastly, went with Group Area AF because Auto Area would have grabbed the from of the nesting platform focus as it was closer. With all the basics nailed down, just had to shoot. A simple combination of biology and technology recorded a cool moment in life.
