Nov 6, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
We were blessed with snow earlier this week (and more coming this weekend), 7″ at the office and with the cold temps, it has actually stuck. That’s great for lots of reasons, the biggest is bird photography. Snow brings many opportunities starting with making our bird baths the place to be! With free water frozen, our heated bird baths get hit harder than our feeders. But our feeders are busy as well as the switch in characters continues with the change of the season. The best thing about snow as far as I’m concerned though is, it’s a natural reflector. The flashes are for the most part retired because the snow reflects light so nicely, the light is naturally filled in. It’s a beautiful thing!
The Red-shafted Flicker (above) is a “kid” that is not even a year old yet. Its parents who have been coming to our feeders since they were kids brought him and he’s not left. So unlike even his parents, he is not shy and sticks no matter what we do. And the Common Raven, that’s Sharon’s pet we call Edgar. He’s a character! Sharon’s been feeding him dead squirrels, mice and other delicious things. He follows her around the property waiting for the next hand out. Both of this photos are being kissed with reflected light from snow which creates the unique lighting. I’m shooting with the D4s / 800mm rather than the 300PF to eliminate the snow that is bouncing the light, needing that narrow angle of view so you just see only the subjects. Since snow is not flat but curved, the light it bounces is to some extent directional and that’s why it’s unique. Edgar, the light brings out some of the iridescence in his feathers which I really love. The best part is, the light is never the same as snow comes and goes providing continual new opportunities. mtc
Nov 5, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Size isn’t everything! Size of your lens for example, this photo was taken with 1000mm. Size of your effort to get the photo, we just had to walk a mile for this photo. Size of your subject, that bull Moose couldn’t be any smaller in the frame. The size of your heart that drives the size of your imagination, now we’re in a conversation where size matters. When you put your eye to the viewfinder, be sure you’re concern on size is the right size. Then and only then will the subject reach out and touch the viewer and the story resonate.
Nov 4, 2015 | Landscape Photography
While fall color is on its way out, I pose this question to give you a year to think of YOUR right answer. I do love saying, “less is more” and in this instance, it might give way to a better photograph. I shot all three images with a Df / 24-70AFS and used my favorite tool, my feet to change the photograph. But before you move your feet or change your lenses, you gotta answer the question, “can you see the trees from the woods?”
What are the factors that might help you answer this question? For me, it’s the light, that’s the biggest factor. With fall color, you have the “color” that sucks the viewer into your photograph. Be it yellow, red or a combination thereof, those colors help the mind’s eye see into the frame and travel about. Next then are all the vertical lines, the trunks. Light does help here but what if there is no magical beam of light, how does the eye move through the frame to experience the same feelings you had being amongst the trees? This is where less is more comes into play.
You see here three photos, the same grove that I simply moved physically closer to as I zeroed in on the one grouping that I liked from the start. Any one of the photos might or might not be your seeing the trees from the woods. The bottom image is mine. There’s an old saying, your tripod has legs, so do you. In seeing the trees from the woods, not planting but moving might be the best way to finding the photo that expresses best for you what you’re feeling in that beauty. Just yourself if less is more and go looking.
Nov 3, 2015 | Landscape Photography
Ya baby, it snowed! Only 5″ so far but that means the fire danger is reduced for the moment and that’s huge. It also means our Beagle needs more outside time, she loves the snow. More importantly, I get to photograph birds in the snow again. I used the opportunity to take the 24-70VR out in the inclement weather to see how it would do. It was only 36 degrees, pretty warm, but it had no effect on its operation. It got plenty of snow on it, no effect either. I know for some it’s too early to be seeing or dealing with snow but for drought ridden California, it’s good timing. Let it Snow!
Oct 30, 2015 | Landscape Photography
I have a well earned reputation, I love greeting the sun each day! Ya, this means getting up early but the rewards out weigh the pain (and afternoon naps feel so good!). On our recent visit to Bryce, we greeted the sun each day and while some days were not as spectacular as others, just listening to the world come to life as the birds sing and the deer stroll, makes each and everyone one a celebration for the soul. And those mornings when we did see the sun, it didn’t disappoint!
Shooting is really rather simple. Armed with the D750 / 14-24AFS and closing the lens down to f/22, all one had to do was look and click. The first thing you might be asking is, “what about exposure?” Well, I’m “pinching” the sun to increase the starburst at the same time, minimizing its brightness lowering the range of light, slightly. So I dial in -1.7, shooting Landscape Tone Curve and then simply finish in ACR. I run my Nik recipe of Pro Contrast & Darken/Lighten Center and all done. Now that bright spot on the left does pull the mind’s eye there but the texture and beauty of Bryce sucks it back making it a perfect marriage. I know it’s the weekend but greet the sun, it always says hello back in a spectacular way!
Oct 29, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
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Those racks, it’s what fall is all about when you’re a wildlife photographer! Just as trophy hunters look for the biggest set, so do wildlife photographers. But how do you make them look as big if not bigger in your photo than they are in the wild? This 50-52″ rack isn’t a huge one but it is respectable. The first thing in making the rack appear large in the frame is to shoot UP on the subject. Not eye level, not down, but an upward angle is a must in making the antlers appear large. This is just a basic human response to shooting up. It appears more masculine, more majestic and for a bull Moose, bigger! Next is the lens you shoot with. Longer is not always the best choice. In this case, I’m shooting with the 200-400VR2 (with D4s) because I love how 400mm communicates the strength of the animal. My preferred focal length is 300mm but getting that opportunity is a challenge. Lastly, it’s the pose the bull Moose takes, or you capture.
Personally, the pose you see right above is my favorite way of making the rack appear it’s largest. The way antlers grow, there is a large space between the head and the palm of the antler. That space visually makes the rack appear smaller in a photo when shooting straight on since you have no other visual reference as to size. You don’t know how great that space is in the photo like you do when you’re there in person being starred at by this magnificent critter. So when you have a side profile, that space between the head and palms is smaller and so making the rack looking larger. At the same time, minimizing how much of the Bull’s body you see makes a difference as well. Moose are freakin big and that mass dwarfs the size of their rack in the photo. So cropping into the body or hiding part of it adds to the illusion of massive antlers. Understand that without that rack, it’s just a cow Moose and most don’t want to photograph a cow. They want a Bull and Bulls with big racks simply grab the viewers attention. So when you find it, keep in mind that you photograph has to scream giant rack just like the impression it left when you saw it in person.
Oh … and the post title? You can’t imagine all the search engines that grab that title and all the disappointed folks who click on it thinking they’re going to get a helluva show. I gotta get a LOL whenever I can :-)
