Feb 9, 2017 | Landscape Photography
When a storm breaks in the Sierra, it’s a gorgeous thing! The question is, where to the point the lens. The moon made it a pretty simple answer. I grabbed the D5 / 70-200f4 AFS and made the click above. I liked it but it just didn’t seem complete. Then I took a simple two image pano putting the moon dead center (below) and I knew it that was the answer. It was easy after that, Photoshop to make the pano and Luminar for the B&W. I love it when making the story is so simple!
Feb 8, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Bobcat
captured by D5 / 800mm
For the last 24hrs, we’ve had rain here in the Sierra. Our snow is slowly melting under the 3+ inches we’ve received at the house. As I look out at the slush, I’ve been watching our critters. It might be blowin a storm out, snowing like mad and they tend to just go about their business of getting food and staying warm. But with the rain, they hunker down and try to wait it out. But as the day goes on and the need for food for calories to stay warm grows, they venture out grudgingly. And that’s how most spend their winter, seeking those precious calories for mere survival.
Long-tailed Weasel
captured by D4 / 600mm
And as wildlife photographers, we need to recognize this basic yet vital biology and not get in the way of this activity. You can summarize their daily life simply with, calories in – calories out, basic survival. In the winter time when food is not as plentiful in snow bound habitats makes this basic biology a challenge. If photographers hamper critters seeking this basic life requirement, there is the direct issue of not getting those calories. You can take it further because photographers can stress a critter further stressing the calories equation.
Mule Deer
captured by D3 / 200f2
Photographing critters in winter is grand quest. When you think about all we do to keep ourselves comfortable and camera gear happy, you can quickly appreciate the critters challenge. We can come back into warmth and food with ease. Our subjects, well they are still out there looking for both of those things on a hourly bases. When looking to make those great photos then, remember this simply thing when you tread with care. No photograph is worth sacrificing the welfare of the subject.
Jan 26, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
I had a couple of folks ask why I’m using flash when photographing birds in snow. The reason has to do with the same reason anytime you need to pull out flash, light. In this case, it’s the quality of the color of light that is most important to me. The bottom photo was taken with no flash. Notice not only the down nature of the light, but the lack of life to the light? The perch the female White-headed Woodpecker is a stick I’ve screwed to the railing of our deck. Above her is the suet she came in for and she’s waiting in line to get her bite. The dull texture on the perch, the white head and black body all bring us to a dull photo.
White-headed Woodpecker (female)
captured by D5 / 800mm
The flash is literally in the snow in fact, out the door and right next to the perch. Using the Hexi 24 Speedlight Softbox with the SB-5000 inside, brings a big light just eighteen inches away from the birds. This big light wraps around the bird and if you didn’t have the bottom photo for comparison, the top photo would look just like you would imagine and that’s the point. It’s a very subtle thing and that’s when flash is at its best. One other small technical point, the SB-5000 is talking to the D5 via the WR-R10. I can directly change the exposure comp via the D5 body and in this case, the body was set to -1/3 and the flash was set to -1/3 exp comp. And that’s why and how I did the flash in snow.
Jan 23, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
While the snow isn’t pillin up on her keyboard at her desk, the 25 degree breeze is coming in as I shoot. I love shooting our birds in winter and Sharon has them stacked up like cord wood waiting to get to the feeders. The Clark’s Nutcrackers are 7 individual thick waiting to get to the suet. These amazing bird are sitting on eggs right now which considering all the snow and temps, is amazing! Normally a shy bird, they see Sharon making her morning rounds to fill the feeders and they come right one down. They are a ton of fun and warm up our days! The photography is pretty straight forward, D5, 800mm with the SB-5000 in a Hexi 24 Speedlight Softbox with Shoe Mount Flash Bracket (24 x 24″) Fabric Grid for 24 x 24″ Quikbox Air-Cushioned Light Stand (Black, 8′) with the WR-R10 doin the talking. The only challenge is to not let Sharon freeze!
Jan 13, 2017 | Landscape Photography
Ever since Saturday, we’ve been in the grip of a pretty big winter storm here in the Sierra. There are times, like when the drive has just been cleared of snow and a big dump of new snow covers it, that we mumble about the storm. But then there are moments like what you see here that we really treasure being able to be amongst the clouds. Making the photos simply required being out in the elements waiting for the right moment to go click.
Shooting with my favorite, D5 / 24-70VR, I ventured out when I saw the wind gauge on our wx station hit 20mph. Why that wind? Well with the nice powder that was falling, I new that with that wind, it would be blowing about dramatically. That drama in the blowing snow and being backlit is what makes the intensity in the storm come to life. Once the combo comes to life in the viewfinder, I make the click. Then I came back into the digital darkroom and with Luminar, quickly made the B&W you see here. Just remember, some of the worst weather can make some of the best photography!
Jan 5, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
They are smaller than a dollar bill but take prey twice their size without batting an eye! The No. Pygmy Owl has long been a favorite bird of mine. A lifetime ago we rehabed them and ever since, I’m always, always looking for them. This one was photographed years ago in Yosemite at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls on my first outing with the then new, 200-400VR. We have them at our the home and every so often, we get a glimpse of them. Years ago I was out shoveling snow off the driveway when I heard this sharp shriek behind me. I turn around to see our friendly Pygmy Owl just ten feet behind me tightly holding a Siskin in its talons it had just caught. Shovels don’t make a very good camera so all I have is the memory. Yesterday while out shooting with the new Wildlife Kit, I saw a Morning Dove dive down while flying down the alley (our name for a group of trees on our property). Just then out of nowhere a Pygmy Owl, half the size of the dove, stooped on the dove, missed, and then landed just out of site. By the time I got the D5 / 300PF out, it was flying off. While I keep the gear out all the time for just such subjects, I’m amazed how many times they kick my butt. It’s just the fun, challenge and reward of backyard bird photography.
