Mar 7, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
We had a real fast moving, nasty storm come through on Sunday. I was stressing under a deadline to get a project completed by 17:00. It was a perfect day to shoot with the weather but I simply couldn’t afford the time to get the gear out since I was hitting the road the next day at 08:00 and everything was already packed. Finally, Sharon had enough and told me to go get in some shooting time. I quickly grabbed the D500 / 300PF and attached the TC-14eIII and got in ten minutes of shooting. The birds were going nuts in the nasty weather taking advantage of the free food. None so much as the Mountain Chickadees. We have a bumper crop this winter at the house, at least thirty are constantly darting about. Now I love Chickadees, especially one that comes to my hand for seed. With the clock ticking, I focused on the one perch with the most character hoping I would get the one click I had in mind. And sure enough, I lucked out, got the photo, made Sharon happy and was able to get back to the project. Them Chickadees, they have such character and attitude and when it’s cold and they want their food, I just love their tenaciousness!
Mar 2, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Both the Pronghorn and Mule Deer are “catching air,” all four hooves are off the ground. But which one can you actually see that air? While the D500 is firing as fast as it can, the 300PF shot wide open for minimum DoF, to actually see that air takes more. What more?
The one thing I talk about so much, background! While critters are on the move, it’s not like you can move to improve the background. It’s really all about luck as much as seeing it. But seeing that background before putting yourself through the pain of trying to capture it helps avoid getting frustrated. Good handholding, panning, fast FPS and clean background are what you need for catching air.
Feb 14, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Arctic Ground Squirrel
Remember to tell those you love, you love them everyday!
Feb 8, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Bobcat
captured by D5 / 800mm
For the last 24hrs, we’ve had rain here in the Sierra. Our snow is slowly melting under the 3+ inches we’ve received at the house. As I look out at the slush, I’ve been watching our critters. It might be blowin a storm out, snowing like mad and they tend to just go about their business of getting food and staying warm. But with the rain, they hunker down and try to wait it out. But as the day goes on and the need for food for calories to stay warm grows, they venture out grudgingly. And that’s how most spend their winter, seeking those precious calories for mere survival.
Long-tailed Weasel
captured by D4 / 600mm
And as wildlife photographers, we need to recognize this basic yet vital biology and not get in the way of this activity. You can summarize their daily life simply with, calories in – calories out, basic survival. In the winter time when food is not as plentiful in snow bound habitats makes this basic biology a challenge. If photographers hamper critters seeking this basic life requirement, there is the direct issue of not getting those calories. You can take it further because photographers can stress a critter further stressing the calories equation.
Mule Deer
captured by D3 / 200f2
Photographing critters in winter is grand quest. When you think about all we do to keep ourselves comfortable and camera gear happy, you can quickly appreciate the critters challenge. We can come back into warmth and food with ease. Our subjects, well they are still out there looking for both of those things on a hourly bases. When looking to make those great photos then, remember this simply thing when you tread with care. No photograph is worth sacrificing the welfare of the subject.
Jan 26, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
I had a couple of folks ask why I’m using flash when photographing birds in snow. The reason has to do with the same reason anytime you need to pull out flash, light. In this case, it’s the quality of the color of light that is most important to me. The bottom photo was taken with no flash. Notice not only the down nature of the light, but the lack of life to the light? The perch the female White-headed Woodpecker is a stick I’ve screwed to the railing of our deck. Above her is the suet she came in for and she’s waiting in line to get her bite. The dull texture on the perch, the white head and black body all bring us to a dull photo.
White-headed Woodpecker (female)
captured by D5 / 800mm
The flash is literally in the snow in fact, out the door and right next to the perch. Using the Hexi 24 Speedlight Softbox with the SB-5000 inside, brings a big light just eighteen inches away from the birds. This big light wraps around the bird and if you didn’t have the bottom photo for comparison, the top photo would look just like you would imagine and that’s the point. It’s a very subtle thing and that’s when flash is at its best. One other small technical point, the SB-5000 is talking to the D5 via the WR-R10. I can directly change the exposure comp via the D5 body and in this case, the body was set to -1/3 and the flash was set to -1/3 exp comp. And that’s why and how I did the flash in snow.
Jan 23, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
While the snow isn’t pillin up on her keyboard at her desk, the 25 degree breeze is coming in as I shoot. I love shooting our birds in winter and Sharon has them stacked up like cord wood waiting to get to the feeders. The Clark’s Nutcrackers are 7 individual thick waiting to get to the suet. These amazing bird are sitting on eggs right now which considering all the snow and temps, is amazing! Normally a shy bird, they see Sharon making her morning rounds to fill the feeders and they come right one down. They are a ton of fun and warm up our days! The photography is pretty straight forward, D5, 800mm with the SB-5000 in a Hexi 24 Speedlight Softbox with Shoe Mount Flash Bracket (24 x 24″) Fabric Grid for 24 x 24″ Quikbox Air-Cushioned Light Stand (Black, 8′) with the WR-R10 doin the talking. The only challenge is to not let Sharon freeze!
