Mar 9, 2016 | Landscape Photography
Next fall I’ll look through my files of the images I took this winter looking for inspiration and I know I’ll say, “Why didn’t I get out and shoot more?!” I know already I didn’t shoot enough of the birds at the office this winter and I’ll regret that. My gut tells me I didn’t get out and brave the wx enough and shoot the magnificent landscape right out my front door. So all I want to do is enlighten to the mistakes I know I’ve made this winter so in these last days, you might not make the same. I was fortunate enough to spend a grand week in Yellowstone in January and was able to scratch one off the bucket list, shoot at West Thumb in winter. That hint of color in the white landscape is something I love to do. Shooting the 18-35AFS, in the cold to capture the steam, in the overcast to create a monochromatic landscape, with a sweeping view, is one winter scene I wanted in my files. What eats away at me is, how many others views are out there waiting I didn’t make it to? I hope it’s not too late to get out with the camera for the last days of winter.
Mar 2, 2016 | Wildlife Photography
The Roseatte Spoonbill is such a gorgeous bird, especially in the spring. It’s then their pink becomes almost neon as they dawn their best for attracting the opposite sex. The beauty of them is the subtle shades of pink that sculpt their form. Then there is their bill that gives them their name. A resident of our southern Gulf states the majority of the time, they take on the allure of being a tropical bird making them even more mysterious as beautiful. In the search for photographing these magnificent creatures going beyond the basic portrait seems like it might be a challenge. But the only challenge is finding them early in the morning, the rest is pretty simple.
It’s when the sun first kisses them that they tend to get cleaned up for the day. Better known as prenning, they are putting all their feathers in order while water proofing them once again. Of course, we could say the males are grooming themselves to look good for the ladies and we might not be too far wrong. The challenge then is to find those locales where they spend the night where the sun first kisses them. There are actually lots of locales where that happens, I’m fortunate to know a few. Then once there, the next challenge is having a long enough lens to control the background because you are often shooting up on them on perches. The light coming through the canopy in the background, that bright highlight, can ruin the whole early morning feel. In this case, I was shooting 800mm / D4s and moved constantly to keep up with the birds and the background (underexposing -2/3. Lastly, I wanted more then just a portrait. Early in the morning when they are “grooming,” those wings spread and the bill moves about. That little bit of biology brings interest and a storytelling brings life to the Spoonbill. With that color, that’s all it takes to make someone stop and look at your photo.
Feb 24, 2016 | Wildlife Photography
Spring always brings one question to my mind. “Who thought way back when, this was the way to attract a mate?” When you watch the Great Egret perform their ritual, one surely must ask. Part of their ritual is what is called sky pointing. This is when the male Great Egret at the nest starts crouched down, bill down in the nest platform and then they rises quickly, completely stretches their bodies with their bills pointing into the sky. Briefly, they are as straight as a post. If you’re a female Great Egret or a wildlife photographer, this is pretty darn exciting! And catching the sky pointing in action takes skill for both the female and the photographer.
There are a couple of factors to take into consideration. The first and most important to me is the background. I feel the longer the lens, the better you can select and control the background you like best. I was shooting with the 800mm and in both of these images, I moved so I have a nearly all dark background in one or one with some light. Both have drama and both have a totally different feel. Next is catching the action within the frame with some elegance. I shot with the D4s because of its fast FPS cause I wanted personally to capture the sensual curve of the neck/body with the tip of the bill in the frame. Now this pose is not the “sky pointing” because it’s not quite the entire pose. But the sensual curve of the neck it gone in sky pointing when completed. So getting this shot requires gear, biology, light and patience. Or, the basic ingredients to every successful wildlife photograph.
Feb 17, 2016 | Wildlife Photography
I knew that after posting on my Instagram account one of my favorite bird photos of 2015, I’d be asked if I have a favorite mammal, landscape and aircraft. Most equate favorite with best or perfect. Understand, I don’t. Favorite means just that, it’s my favorite, no more and no less. In this case, this photo of Cous’ has a lot of back story that I know and feel when looking at the photo. It’s no secret that photographing Moose, a favorite subject of mine, can be a challenge and that certainly plays into the favorite filing. And the photo has “issues” that will really drive some photogs nuts. But none of that really comes into play why I love the photo. Favorite for me encompasses all that went into making the photo, but more importantly the relationship between the subject and myself. That’s a very personal thing that there is no way for the viewer to know and most of the time, feel. So, this is one of my favorite mammal photos from 2015. Will I post more? Probably not, my favorites tend to be a private and personal thing.
Feb 2, 2016 | Landscape Photography
With greeting the sun comes surprises and photographically, always something fun to work. In the 21 degree fog of Fargo, Hoar Frost blanked the landscape. Chuck had never, ever, never, seen Hoar frost let alone photographed it! His head was spinning and spinning and it wasn’t from the Clover coffee and Starbucks, so off we went looking for great examples to photograph before he jumped on his flight home.
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What really made this location so sweet was the light on the horizon. The sun was up and hidden in the overcast but there was a stripe of light still with the morning glow. That stripe of light sets the mood and being yellow, makes the white that much visually white. The last element to setting off the hoar frost were the dark tree trunks. The shooting was simple, D4s / 70-200f4 AFS and the finishing was ACR, Nik Pro Contrast, Tonal Contrast and Detail Extractor. And Chuck, he was all smiles when he boarded his flight. Can’t ask more from a simple morning greeting the sun!
Feb 1, 2016 | Landscape Photography
It was like a syfy movie, one moment blue skies and the next a dark, ominous fog rolled in and covered the landscape. At first, it kinda put a blanket on our fun but then we started to drive about looking for targets of opportunity. There are rows of trees between the large plots with most not having any real character, just serving their roll as wind breaks. This particular row though with its shape and the fog caught our imagination so we stopped. The photos came easily, the top photo taken with the 24-70VR and the bottom taken with the 70-200f4AFS. The finishing is right out of ACR, even easier. I really love these kinds of photos and simply don’t get the opportunity enough to make them!
