Nov 14, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
The coats of mammals are essential to regulating their core temperature. It’s really a marvel of adaptation when you look at the color, length, molts, patterns and distribution each mammal has which is what in large part makes each unique. There is one thing we can generalize, mammals coats become their most luxurious in winter. This is a biological fact we can use to grab our viewer’s heartstrings!
We start by being more intimate in our photos in telling that story. Top photo was shot with a 600mm and the bottom with a 200-400VR2 at 400mm. Using these longer lenses permitted manipulating the background so the subject, story, pops in the photo. Along with that is the light. The softer light like in the top photo makes the fur appear, thicker because there are no hard shadows to define it. And by emphasizing the thicker fur we play into folks stereotypes. Most associate thick fur with winter so by playing into that, it makes our storytelling easier. It’s fall so that means, the fur is coming.
Oct 27, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Spotted Towhee
captured by D5 / 800mm
There are two types of photographs, memories, to me, those for the refrigerator and those that go out to the world. The difference being is those that go on the refrigerator and the personal memories, the ones where only we understand the inside story so for the most part, there is no story other than that inside knowledge. This photo goes on the frig and is here only to illustrate my point. Sharon and I love the fall because a group of birds always move through the property. One is the Spotted Towhee. We only have them for a couple of weeks but we celebrate it! This year they were around when we had a splattering of snow. This one photo sums that up great for us. But unless I told that story, the only real true attribute the photo has going for it is, it’s sharp. That’s not enough to share with the world so it’s only to go to the refrigerator gallery.
Oct 20, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
I had the itch to spend some time with my birds. So I set up the D850 / 800mm on a bird bath where I could work on the computer and shoot. I actually had a great time, photographed over a dozen species and made a couple of images I really like. What I love seeing in the photographs was the dramatic change in the light. Over the couple of hours, the light on the birds and the background really changed, changing the entire photo. What you see below is Cassin’s Finch, Red-breasted, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatch, male & female Red-shafted Flicker, White-headed Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak and Stellar’s Jay. I just love my birds!
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Oct 9, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
White-crowned Sparrow
captured by D850 / 800mm
I’ve had a whole lot of folks ask about the D850 for wildlife photography. The honest answer is, I’ve not really had the time nor opportunity to truly photograph critters with it yet. It’s a valid question because, on paper, the D850 appears to be perfect. For example, I’ve always needed myself a minimum frames per second of 5.5FPS which the D850 blows by with 7 native and 9FPS with the MB-D18. Even better is the buffer which for all intent and purpose is endless (yes, technically there is a limit). After a week of focusing in on the backyard critters, I can easily say the D850 does a great job with wildlife!
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
captured by D850 / 300PF
I first went with a D850 / 300PF combo chasing squirrels around the wood pile. This small, light package was pretty darn easy and fun to shoot with. The rockin D850 AF system made shooting in the low light a snap which is really important in wildlife photography. With that checked off the list for first tests, I switched to the big gun and birds. With fall color quickly disappearing from our meadow, I set up on a bird bath for the birds coming in. White-crowns just showed up for fall so I focused in on them while saying fall in the photo. The first thing I noticed with the D850 on the 800mm was the balance. To really make that work for my style of photography, the MB-D18 needs to be attached. The balance on the rig as well as vertical firing button it provides is needed for my style of shooting. But when it comes to performance, the D850 rocked it. Many have asked if the D850 will be my main wildlide body. It won’t be because I not only love the D5, I don’t need those huge files for critters. Will I use the D850 for critters though? From time to time, you bet. Can the D850 be your main body for wildlife? Oh heck ya! With that choice, you’d never have to look back, but only forward to killer performance and images!
Sep 27, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
I’ve written many times about getting down low when shooting. The whole thing about getting down low is to control the background so the subject pops. This need comes from shooting a subject low to the ground and pointing the lens down captures too much background or, shooting up not only controls the background but adds drama. When standing up how do you know how low you need to go, or even if you need to go low in the first place? It starts with seeing that the subject is blending in with the background. After that, it’s just getting down a lot and knowing if it’s worth it or not.
Here are two photos of the same American Golden Plover and one is working and one is not. Can you tell which? I love the action of the tail in the top photo and the biology and calm of the bottom photo. That said, the light at the top of the frame in the top photo drives me nuts! The eye goes up there and there it stays. The bottom photo the background permits the eye to go around and around searching through the information to gather the story. Now getting down with a D5 / 800mm gracefully and quiet enough not to bother a nesting bird is a challenge in itself. Using the Gitzo GT5563GS takes no more than pull out the lock on the collar and flattening the rig. So when you get in position and you see you’re too low, simply take just ONE leg up just ONE notch and you can fine tune the background like you see above. The key is to SEE that bright light at the top of the frame because when you do, you know the answer to how low to go!
Aug 30, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Fall is less than a month away and with it comes colder temps and thicker fur. At the same time for many mammals, it’s time for fall mating rituals. When you add into this mix the colors of fall and the gorgeous light and you have a wildlife photographer’s nirvana! This all can bring to the table a huge challenge as a visual storyteller. You might think gear can be an issue, but I think that’s the least of them. The basics of photo creating gets in there quickly. There can be a lot going on in excluding those elements that take the eye away from the subject while including those that tell the story. But on the scale of the biggest, it has to be the romance. Here are some thoughts.
Dall Sheep
captured by D2H / 400f2.8
I’ve selected the images I have illustrating this post based on all the varied gear used to make the photos. The only common thread is it’s all Nikon and all digital. After that, it’s kinda all over the map on bodies and lenses. This is to make the point that while I might prefer the 200-400VR2 for my big game photography, I’ve used all sorts of varying focal lengths with success (you can click on links in the captions to learn more about the lenses). What’s the key to the right lens? You need a focal length that YOU are comfortable with to tell YOUR story. How to find that focal length? I quick way is to rent a lens like the Nikkor 200-500, and then photograph a big dog/horse at 200mm, then 300mm, 400mm, 500mm (nothing in between, not zooming to frame your subject) by using your feet to zoom. You will find the focal length you prefer to tell the story pretty fast. That is as long you don’t go to the “eyeball” camp. But there is more to this than just gear.
If you take a moment and look at these four images, they all have one important thing in common. At least I think it’s important, and that’s the light. Showing off that thick fall/winter fur, I prefer and overcast light that has direction. And that direction is backlight. Why? Lack of contrast I feel is very important because too much contrast brings shadow and that makes the fur look “thinner” because individual hairs appear. The lack of shadow makes the fur “thicker” as the hair is in mass. The backlight gives a slight sheen to the hair as well as poop the critter from the background. But most importantly, this combination of light brings out the bulk of the critter, its muscle and fur bulk that comes with fall. These are important ingredients leading down the road of romance. But there is still more to get to that final image.
Wrapping all this up into a photo that reaches out and grabs the heartstring is a combination of background and biology. Where does your critter live, how does it survive, what makes it unique, how does it procreate? These are just some of the questions you can ask and answer in your photograph that begins to tap the viewer’s imagination. And this is still not enough! The final punch has to come from gesture in the entire photograph, critter, and its world. And the time to work all this out is not while you’re standing in front of battling Moose, perched Dall Sheep, foraging Polar Bear or dozy Pronghorn. The time to work this all out is with that big dog/horse. It’s from that practice that you can make the most of those precious moments with that critter in the wild. It’s only by thinking it through and working out the kinks that you’re ready for the season of fur!
