Dec 28, 2012 | Landscape Photography
Jake & I made another what we call a “suicide run” where we hit the road at 3am (on a snowy morning) and drive to SoCal to do a shoot and then drive back home. Twelve hours of driving for a couple of hours of shooting. Like this one, the majority to turn out to be more than worth the time invested driving. And the drive up and down the Owen’s Valley is always gorgeous! We’d just come past Owens Lake where a Air Guard F-16 had crashed 30min earlier when we saw this unique snow flurry on the eastside of the valley. Being so cold, the weight caused this cool little snow storm which for us photographers, was a great shot. So we stopped and shot a couple of frames. After making the couple of shots, we got back in the truck and merged will all the skier traffic heading to our town and proceeded north.
I’d left the D4 / 24-70 out because, well, you just never know what Mother Nature is going to do. We were watching the clouds when all of a sudden what seems to be an updraft took this cloud and gave it a very bad hair day! Loved the shape, loved the light and loved the “bad hair” look to the top of the cloud. The thing that always amazes me is that the really cool shots just take a minute to happen. Then a minute later they are gone. It’s your being there that minute that counts! It was a great road trip with a great ending. Oh, and that plane crash, it was reported the pilot was seen ejecting and then later walking across the lakebed carrying his parachute.
Dec 22, 2012 | Landscape Photography
It’s the perfect day for writing, it’s snowin outside, the fire is goin, the coffee hot and plentiful. And I was able to get some shooting in. I have the D4 / 300f4 AFS set up and sitting next to me waiting for my friend. This Sharpie loves to perch right outside my window so I can see what it’s up to. This afternoon he launched and came right back with a Pine Siskin in its talons. I grabbed the camera, slipped around the corner and make some clicks before the storm drove me back in. If you want to learn more about the Sharpie in our yard or bird photography, be sure to check out the FREE (for subscribers) ipad version of the BT Journal released a few weeks ago.
Dec 19, 2012 | Wildlife Photography
I’m often asked what is my “favorite” image. I’m incredibly fortunate that life has presented an amazing number of grand opportunities permitting me to have a number of favorite images. With the Bison image I posted yesterday, I had a couple of folks asking if it was my favorite winter shot. That had me thinking what I might consider my favorites for big game in winter. I couldn’t find just one and even three doesn’t quite cover it but it gets me close. This first photo was taken at -10 up in the Yukon territory with a D1H and 400f2.8 AFS. I’m looking down slope and the background for this Dall Sheep ram is a lake. It was snowing, cold and gorgeous and that probably makes it one of my favorite photographs more than the photograph itself. That was a great week!
It wasn’t nearly that cold when we were up in the Arctic with Polar Bears. In fact, it was bloody warm, so warm you see the Beaufort Sea and not pack ice! And that’s what I was thinking about when I saw this male walking the beach. It was like it was lost, couldn’t figure out which way to turn and was all alone. Of course I was projecting all of these feelings onto this poor male. We watched it stroll until we could see it no more except the lonely flock of gulls that followed it. To this day, for me it reminds me of the fate of this majestic northern traveler. This was a real simple D2xs / 70-200 shot.
Bighorn Sheep are just cool! They live such a simplistic, complicated life and depending on when you find them, it’s one or the other. This winter scene was definitely the simplistic when just walking the slope and munching was all that mattered. This big curl ram was fun to watch as he went wherever he wanted to and the younger rams just parted. He was a real easy shot to make as he walked on past us up on the slope. He would stop only long enough to see what the rest of the herd was up to. This is a D3, 200-400VR2 click. And like I said, this aren’t like killer images of a lifetime, just favorites from my winter travels that have great memories.
Dec 17, 2012 | Landscape Photography
So much of my photography are “what if” moments. That’s when I ask myself, “What if” I did this or that? During our brief snow shower yesterday, I headed out with the D4 (my preferred body) and 70-200f4 VR3 to make a couple of clicks. The snow was backlit by the sun so shooting against something dark made individual flakes stand out from each other. I shot at 1/40 because I wanted to blur the movement of the snow because in the wind, it seems to dance to me.
Then I wondered just how the snow was actually moving so I opened up the lens to shot at 1/200. To me, there is a bunch of difference! To make both of these images, I did rip a whole bunch, about 20+ of each. That’s because the pattern the snowflakes would make is something I couldn’t see in the viewfinder. I made the selection of my “favorite” in post looking through the multiple captures.
Dec 4, 2012 | Wildlife Photography
Life does get in the way of life so we have 1 opening in our Grizzly Bear Adventure in 2013. Now this isn’t your normal, run of the mill grizzly bear shoot. I’m not even saying where I’m taking folks as it’s not a place photographers normally get to venture to. It’s rather unique, it a locale where you’re just as likely to see and photograph wolves as your are griz. For me, watching these two top predators use the same area is fascinating as all get out and photographically makes for some unique opportunities.
Don’t snooze and let this opportunity pass you by! The beauty of the locale, you really don’t need more than a 200-400 lens, a big appetite (great food) and the desire to see wild, unspoiled Alaska. Click on the big box to the right if you need more info or just call Sharon (who is going as well) @ 760.924.8632 to join us!
Nov 29, 2012 | B&W Photography
You’d think for a guy who’s been on the road for three months, he might just stay home after just getting home. What can I say, moss doesn’t grow under my %&#)&.With a presentation in Los Angeles and a “big” snow storm coming in, Sharon & I threw the dogs in the truck and headed south to the warm home of our marvelous friends. I’ve written many times and shared many an image from the Eastern Sierra when a storm rolls in. The skies, the light, the texture, the mood is just something else. Not every storm is the same, each has its own character and this one was no different. This one had wicked winds and at two different altitudes which created some amazing skies. The big problem was, I would be driving and see some amazing photo but by the time I found a place to pullover, the winds had scrambled everything. I would stop, scene changed so I went then stopped again, get out and shoot, jump back in and repeat. I did that for nearly three hours. I loved it!
Shooting with the D800 & 24-70AFS mostly, and what you see here is a 24mm shot (top) and a 70mm shot (bottom) but both taken knowing I was shooting B&W. Why one focal length vs another? It has to do with the light and bright ratio to the clouds with dark character. I love to play those two against each other so I’m always looking at that ratio in the viewfinder. At the same time, I’m looking at the lines those clashing tones create to lead the eye around the frame. It’s all of that in combination which for me, determines the focal length.
And this photo? This is what it looked like behind me. That peak which is just short of 12,000 feet has disappeared all but its base in the snow storm that chased us out of town. We did finally make it down to a very warm home with great friends and food with a whole lot of images on the flash card and little gas left in the tank. A perfect road trip!
