Apr 30, 2012 | Landscape Photography
Then when I was finished with the forest, I turned around to see the gorgeous light skimming across palms. I remembered a long ago great shot of these palms in the same light so I went off on a quest. The first problem I found was I couldn’t get high enough. Vantage point is everything! I tried to get on top of our van, but they just don’t make them the way they use to (sorry rental car company for “impression). So then it was off to find some type of elevation.
I finally found the right combo for the most part of elevation and subject. So then it was time to work the elements. The area is managed as it should be with fire so I want to include that in the photo. I also wanted the free of the palms and their patterns and then the openness of the area they grow. So multiple shots were required.
With that, it was real simple finishing in ACR and then into Nik’s Color Efex Pro > Glamour Glow & Darken/Lighten Center. While I like my shots, they are not as good as the one in my memory that someone else took long ago. I now am on a quest to find that photo to see if in reality of my memory, which is the better. It was good to have something though to inspire me to work what was at hand rather then to just blow it off and blah. There was a photo there, just had to go find and make it.
Apr 30, 2012 | Landscape Photography
We started a new tradition at our K&M Adventure Monument Valley of going to some place new neither Kevin or I have been to before. It’s a way to see not only how we deal with a new location, but share visual ideas as they come to us. So this morning on word from some birders (which turned out irronious) we headed to Myakka River State Park. It’s really a gorgeous place, when it’s not hot and there is moody light. We arrived when the ground fog was amazingly thick so we slammed on the brakes and stopped in this great forest area.
I remembered this photo of Jay Maisel’s of light streaming through the redwoods and his joke that he used a smoke machine to get the image. I thought of that because we could smell a fire and see the tint of it in the light streaming through the trees. So that’s what I went after with the camera. My composition was based on a couple of factors. The first was the sun itself, whether I used it as a star burst or hid it behind a trunk. Then there were the God Beams and finally the forest. So I did a dance working those elements into the frame.
Then there was the shooting. These are all 5 image handheld HDR starting at -1exp comp. Shooting with the 18mm, I could “cheat” DOF by shooting at f/8 which gave me a relatively “fast” slow shutter speed. Then the images were assembled with Nik HDR Efex Pro and then finishing with Nik Color Efex Pro > Glamour Glow. When it comes to my favorite, it’s the bottom image and that’s probably because the light is subtle and not in your face. That might change with time though. I do know it was a gorgeous morning and a lot of fun!
Apr 27, 2012 | Wildlife Photography
So we arrive at North Beach lagoon at Fort DeSoto to see nothing, zero, nada bird but a lonely GBH way off in the distance. For the start of our 2nd day of our K&M Adventure FL, I was a bit nervous. I mean, the idea is to be shooting cool subjects. Well, I really didn’t pause, walked right over to the beach. And at first, didn’t see much but then after a couple of minutes, the birds started to appear at the wave line and we never looked back! It was a killer morning, I filled 2009 images from two and a half hours of shooting and like you see above, they don’t suck! I love shorebirds! You’ve got here are Willet, Marbled Godwit, American Oystercatcher and Ruddy Turnstone.
I started out with my rig on the tripod but as soon as I got to the shoreline, I knew I had to get down. Here’s the deal, while shooting from a tripod is just fine, the angle of attack to me is too steep, it includes way too much background which is sand. Yes, sand is where they live but it doesn’t really aid in visually making them pop. So I wanna get down on their level. While this really restricts your movement, when you watch their biology, you can find places to get down and make the shot. If you want to learn the entire technique, head to Kelby Training. The whole thing is about backgrounds, my favorite pet peeve.
And if you’re not shy, like asking questions and want to learn from guys who have been doing this stuff for a combined 60yrs, come along on a K&M Adventure. We have an opening next month in South Dakota, a couple this fall and two next winter in Grand Canyon. For more info or to register, call 760.204.1506. Now, back to the sand, there are more birds to photograph!
Apr 27, 2012 | Wildlife Photography
K&M Adventures in down in FL with a great bunch of folks and killer subjects. To get everyone on the same page, warmed up and pixels workin, went to a favorite, secret beach that’s great for cool birds. We had a White phase Reddish Egret come in and then this Tricolored. While note rare, the Tricolored is simple a fun bird as they go through their gyration foraging. For wildlife photographers, they are great practice for long lens panning. With the low light levels, there is an even greater challenge to the photography. What a perfect start!
Then the sun popped up. Right then I was focused in on this Laughing Gull. The sun bounced off the puddle in front of the gull really giving it a “weird” light that for some strange reason, I like. So I clicked and after the first click, off the gull flew.
Then there are the shorebirds. I love Willets and this one coming into its breeding plumage is schweet! Whenever I find a shorebird in breeding plumage, I’m like a bulldog, I just can’t let go. I worked it looking for the elegant portrait like you see here and anything interesting biologically. Never got the biology but sure had fun!
Apr 16, 2012 | Landscape Photography
See if this answers this very common question
Apr 12, 2012 | Landscape Photography
Here’s some of the clicks I like from my Winter Feeder Fun. Like I mention in the video, my goal wasn’t to make the image of a lifetime but do some real world testing of a new feature. The fact I got some images I like is just simply icing on the cake. And I like cake! Why do I like these? The top one has a little “human” gesture in it, the next I like the action, the next because of body gesture and the last, it just makes me smile. None of these are magazine covers but simple rewards from simple shooting. I’ve asked why am I using the antler for a perch? When it snows the wind blows. When the wind blows perches move. When perches move when you’re shooting at 1/60, nothing is sharp. Antlers are not only unique, they don’t move in the wind :-)
Many ask how I’m processing my D4 images. Like I’ve always processed my wildlife images. I open Photoshop > Mini Bridge > Select image, hold down the Shift key and double click. All done!
Some read the fine print (unlike my Moose Settings post) and asked about the Custom Setting e4, what’s up with that? Well, I highly recommend you read the IB and do some testing. If you’re looking for info from me, it will be in the upcoming issue of the BT Journal along with a bunch of other info making the D4 an evolutionary tool.
