Jan 5, 2012 | Landscape Photography
I was climbing the walls and Sharon knew it so being the good partner she is, she kicked my ass out to go shooting some I’m down in FL! It is great to see all the birds just doing their thing here and there and where no snow right now is correct (still have just dirt at my home). So with a week of shooting to clear my head, what am I going after? Where am I going? I’m after anything that hold stills and is in good light. That’s my plan. It’s just me and the critters with no clock or objective. I wife knows how to spoil me!
Now there are two species I am looking for in my lens. The Wood Stork right now just prior to breeding season looks great and are very active, I would love to get into a feeding group that get fat and happy then go to preening. I would love to find a FL race Red-Shoulder Hawk that is as mellow as this one was that’s perched in nice light. Now some folks come to think that just because I go out with a lens, the birds line up to have me take their portrait. Such is not the case. I have my ideas, I have my hopes but until the sun rises and I’m in the field, I just don’t know what life will present me. I’ve got all the toys so if I make a good click or two, I’ll post the stills and the vid. Wish me luck.
Jan 2, 2012 | Wildlife Photography
We have a whole lot of bird feeders on our property. They serve a couple of purposes, one of them being bringing in species that otherwise wouldn’t stick around long enough to get any glass on them. One popular food source we put out is commercial suet. It brings in all sorts of birds, most being nuthatches and woodpeckers. Red-shafted Flicker are real common at our feeders though you rarely seem them about in the forest. We love these guys, especially in the spring when the males go to attracting mates. The males attract a mate by drumming on choice branches and trunks, those that are hollow and resonate really loudly. Well the males that visit our feeders have found that the aluminum chimneys on our homes make a really loud should when they drum on them. Our neighbors don’t take kindly to them, but it makes me laugh. I normally don’t photograph the birds directly on the feeder but rather perches beside them. I really focus on this during the winter and in the spring when the birds are in their finest. But here’s the problem…
We’ve got nothin but dirt! We have not one stitch of snow on our property where we should have a minimum of ten vertical feet. This presents a whole bunch of problems but for my photography, two kind of big ones. The first being with no snow cover, there is a ton of food available for critters. There is no need to gather at our feeders for food when the critters can range near and far for food. At the same time, photos like this one above of a Flicker waiting its turn for the suet with the snow falling during a break in a storm aren’t possible. It’s so bad, I don’t even have my 600mm set up by my desk (where it was when I took these two photos) because there ain’t no snow! Can you say bummer in the sierra?
Can you see the difference between the two Flickers? One is a male and the other a female. On our property, the females are really scarce so whenever they appear, I try to make clicks. The bottom photo is the female, you can tell by the lack of the red mustache. If you look at the bottom of the perch or her breast, you’ll notice lots of white light. That’s not flash fill, that’s natural fill…snow! That’s the other reason why I’m bummed right now because even if I had birds, without the snow I would have to work harder because I would need flash fill. As it is though, we’ve got nothin but dirt!
In the Bag
D3x
600f4VR AFS
TC-17e II
Gitzo 5561SGT w/ Wimberley Head
Lexar 32GB 600x cards
with snow most definitely not in the bag!
Dec 20, 2011 | Landscape Photography
I’m so wishing for the white stuff because right now, our front yard meadow is just brown. Argh! So I went skiing through the files to find some of the white stuff from days past. I didn’t have to go far, Feb in Yosemite. I found these two images which I hadn’t processed yet. I know why they weren’t processed, they are a reminder that I still haven’t got this one shot I’ve always wanted from Yosemite.
When you walk into the Mountain Room on the far wall is this sweet photo of cedars in the fog. I’ve always admired and wanted that photo but have never been presented with the opportunity to create my own version. But I’m always looking and when I see the fog mixing with the trees, my lens points in that direction. Now there are three elements in that photo in the Mountain Room I like. First is obviously the fog. Next are the trees and lastly is the color contrast of the trunks of the trees in the fog. Now the top photo is a total looser in my book. While it has the three elements, they just aren’t working. I like the bottom image better but it’s missing that color contrast which I’m looking for. So, if it ever starts to snow again, I’ll be out looking.
Now when it comes to the camera capture end of this process, exposure is the first thing. This is one instance where I overexpose in the camera and then yank back the blacks in post. This is the first time I finished images using the improved Graduated Fog in CEP4. It did a really nice job enhancing the fog that was present without increasing the noise or blur. So while I don’t have the image, I a camera and finishing battle plan. But dang, where’s the snow?!
Dec 19, 2011 | Landscape Photography
Our annual Night of Lights here in Mammoth was this past weekend. You bundle up in warm clothes, grab some xmas spirit and head up the mountain to Canyon Lodge for the show. It’s always a great time and a good place to have a camera. I headed up with simply with a D3s and 24f1.4AFS, shooting at ISO 3200 and f1.4 the whole time, making it simple and fun. Now us mountain folks do this Christmas lights thing a little different then most. The first thing you should notice is the groomers have their cats in the shape of a Christmas tree (a fat, short one). Then with the fireworks, the top two images, you’ll see the Christmas tree shape again. The last image, it’s just a big explosion, I like big explosions. All the images were taken handheld at around 1/200. The one element I was trying to capture but really didn’t were all the folks with their iPhones up in the air trying to take pictures. You can see some glows from them in the foreground. It was a lot of fun with a lot of friends, great way to start off the week!
Dec 10, 2011 | Landscape Photography
Starting Thursday night and running through Friday night, every time we came back to our room, I would hang out the window and take a shot. I just love the view, I’m sure it’s just a Moose thing, but I really love looking at all the architecture, history, humanity that I can see hanging out the window. And with the Empire right there, I cannot take its photograph. The second from the bottom is my favorite from this day, it’s the last gleam of light of the day. A number of folks have asked if I’m shooting this with the 24PC-E. Some have asked how with shooting with the 24f1.4 I’m not getting the buildings leaning in. Some of asked if I’m fixing them in PS. Well, the buildings aren’t leaning because I’m shooting out the 22nd floor. I’m not shooting up on the, I’m kinda shooting across to them. It’s that simple, I like simple, I can handle simple!
Dec 8, 2011 | Landscape Photography
OK, I have stood by the window all night and no, I can’t stop! Top frame the skylights get turned off and the water towers really pop. The bottom, basic B&W to bring out the drama in the clouds. I’m not getting any sleep tonight!
