Jul 31, 2013 | Landscape Photography
Next to Moose & Griz, Bison fill my files more than any other mammal. Them “Shaggy dogs” just suck me in every time! The challenge is always to get something new, though what “new” might be until you’re in front of them is often a question mark in the process. This was my first opportunity to photograph Bison with the D4, that was what I was going to start with as my “new” this time out. May in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a great time. Especially at Custer State Park where the Bison are dropping their calves.
The herd is always on the move, even during calving season. It’s pretty simple biology, a whole bunch of mouths to feed and only so much grass. The system is pretty cool though because the Bison never mow down one spot to nothing. In a very generalized looking at a week of grazing, the Bison tend to be back at the same spot within 8 days. You could easily think of them as walking lawn mowers and the prairie responding to them like your lawn. It’s pretty simplistic compared to the color of them calves. I mean really, orange? They can walk almost seconds after birth and run within an hour, all to avoid predators. So you’d think with that evolution, they would have come up with a better color than orange. Photographically of course, the color is very cool. And watching calves, you can’t help but get hooked on Bison! On this morning, we were fortunate to be in the right spot as the herd, on the move came up a valley and rolled over the ridge and down in our direction at sunrise. It’s just one of natures’ great spectacles!
Shooting with a D4 , 200-400VR2 with TC-20E III mounted on a Wimberley / Gitzo, I wanted to see if I could do some fancy zooming while shooting. Getting more serious about my video, this is the first time I used the DP-6 which makes a HUGE difference in following action and smoothly. Shooting my first time with this rig, I was happy with the results but know a year later, they can get way better! This is an edited down from the 2hrs of video shot to just 4min. I did the editing on the iMac with all the vid residing on the ioSafe N2 and doing the editing right in Premiere Pro CS7. I wanted to convey the sweep of the herd coming over the ridge and down in front of us, kind of a “How the West was Won” kind of feel. I didn’t get it. I needed to be shooting with more than one camera. When I do it again, one thing I’ll seek is permission from the Rangers to drop some GoPros out on the ground. Mother Nature is just amazing!
Jul 30, 2013 | Landscape Photography
Jake and I had been up on the Arctic Plain for a four days chasing the never before photographed Alaskan Marmot. As part of that project were getting photos by us of Hoary Marmots, a population not habituated. For example, you can basically pet the Hoary Marmots in Denali at Savage Rock as well as many other locations. The Hoary Marmot range is south of the Yukon River, the Alaska Marmot is north of the Yukon River but really now is just north side of the Brooks Range. Well, the biologists knew about this one Hoary Marmot colony not too far north of Fairbanks but way in the hell up a mountain and away from anybody. So Jake and I made the trek to spend time with them. The plan was to spend a couple of days at the colony.
The key phrase with this entire project is, “that was the plan.” Mother Nature has a mind of her own and when you combine that with politics and money, well nough said. Eating blueberries we picked as we climbed, we reached the rock out crop that is the home for the colony. We were guided by the two biologists who, once we were in place went back down the hill and left us to our photography. Now marmots have really only a couple of predators, the most common being Golden Eagles (since we don’t fly, we don’t look like them) and bears (which we could be mistaken for). So like normal, for the first few hours, the good light time, we saw only the occasional eye staring at us from a rock crevice. By late afternoon, a good 6-7 hours into our shoot, they started to go about their daily routine within site of our lenses. What you’ll see in the video is the fun unfold. Many have heard me joke about flying dust spots. That reference normally pertains to gulls flying about. In this video though, flying dust spots take on a whole new meaning! Those aren’t dust spots…them are flies!
The Alaskan Marmot for comparison
All the still shooting was done with the D3x. For video I swapped out the D3x for the D3s with both stills and video being shot with 600VR2 with TC-14e mounted on a Wimberley / Gitzo, carrying the entire rig over my shoulder through the forest and up and down that mountain. That’s because if we came across something like a Wolverine (which were in the area), I didn’t want to miss a shot taking time to set up. That’s my general MO. I did the editing on the iMac with all the vid residing on the ioSafe N2 and doing the editing right in Premiere Pro CS7. With the way the day turned out, we didn’t make the trek back up the next day. While it was a really, really, slow start, the end of the day was great! One of the Hoary Marmots ended up coming right up to me so with that, Jake & I knocked out the rest of the photos we needed for the project. And those flies you see in the video, lucky for us they only plagued the marmots, they left us alone.
Jul 29, 2013 | Wildlife Photography
For years and years, I’ve gone to Yellowstone in the heart of winter looking for one opportunity. I’ve gotten up and entered the park long before sun up in search of that opportunity. And only once have I been rewarded for that persistence. That’s the very nature of wildlife photography. But that one time is one I wouldn’t trade for all the camera gear at B&H! On a dark and snowy day, we came across a fresh elk kill, the carcass hadn’t even been broken open. Over the next ten hours, we witness the carcass nearly disappear and countless coyotes and wolves come and feast. What you’ll see in the video is just one of the coyotes, the one that seemed to have the greatest nerve to deal with pressure that comes eating at a carcass in winter, especially one brought down by wolves. You can tell it’s the same coyote because of the “Z” scare on its nose.
What made this kill really amazing was its location. We could pull the snow coach off the road at an official turnout and be legally far enough away from the kill permitting us to park and stay. If you’ve ever been to Yellowstone, you know that set up is rarer than seeing a Great Gray Owl! So, sitting in the van with just the tripod legs outside, I was able to shoot out of the wind (it was -12). Shooting with a D3s, 600VR2 with TC-14e mounted on a Wimberley / Gitzo, I would shoot stills and video. Shooting in AWB A6 before the sun somewhat brighten the skies (also shot ISO3200 then) was a good idea (but you’ve gotta remember to dial it out once the light appears) The video quality and technique leave a little to be desired but it still brings back a rush of the find to me. This is an edited down from the 4hrs of video to just 4min. I did the editing on the iMac with all the vid residing on the ioSafe N2 and doing the editing right in Premiere Pro CS7. What I wanted to convey in the video can be seen in the first frames and the last frames when you look at the elk carcass. It was amazing that 24hrs later,there wasn’t a single shred of evidence, not even blood on the snow, that any of this had ever taken place. Mother Nature is just amazing!
Jul 25, 2013 | Landscape Photography
As the sun kept creeping lower, the drama in the color increased. The separation of clouds and smoke at times was very dramatic. Looking for that drama kept me spinning because the wind was constantly upending everything. These images were taken at Minaret Vista, a location behind our home with dramatic views. Shooting with D4 / 80-400 / 18-35 was all that was needed. The WB was set to Cloudy to capture the deep red and a little Photoshop was used to remove the tops of trees that were at the bottom of the frame. Otherwise, what you see is what we saw last night.
Jul 25, 2013 | Landscape Photography
We’ve had some very weird weather for the Sierra. While they keep predicting rain, we’ve had enough to spot our windshields and that’s all. And with that was to be some lightning, but we’re only heard distant rumblings. Well a couple of days ago, they had some south of us and it started a fire. The cloud cover trapped the smoke until just a little bit before sunset and then it was just a swirling collage of pastel colors. It was gorgeous so I grabbed the D4 / 80-400 and went clicking.
Now those who have talked in person with me about photography know one of my first questions is often, “What’s the subject?” These photos instantly could lead one to ask that question. That’s because there is no subject. There is texture, color, pattern and emotion, but there is no subject. When you remove that subject, you risk failure because without the subject, there is no story. No story and it’s up to the viewer’s imagination to make sense of the photograph. That’s real risky. In this series, there are stronger images than others when you see them small like here. None the less, I wanted to share the soft moments of sunset with you,
Jul 24, 2013 | Landscape Photography
We’ve had really cruddy weather that last three days, deep cloud cover, a little lightning and even less rain (which we so need). With the cold, the hummers have been pounding our feeders. Well, Monday around noon a Allen’s Hummer came in and really challenged Caesars dominance to the one feeder. The rest of the day Monday and then all day Tuesday they flew the most incredibly aerial battles around the feeder. Felt sorry for Caesar, it couldn’t drink enough to keep up with the constant challenge. Well this morning we woke to find the Allen’s on Caesar’s perch and no Caesar! Been watching for hours now but no sign of him. The Allen’s that took his place is a male that appears to be going through a molt. That along with the fact that he lets me walk right up to him, within a foot, makes me wonder if Alvin is back. Only time will tell.
