Mar 31, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Many, many, many years ago I got a photo of the magnificent blue eye of the breeding Double-crested Cormorant. It was back in the days of film and I needed an extension tube on my 800mm to get physically close enough to make the shot. I’ve always liked that photo because with that magnificent blue eye they get during spring, the Double-crested Cormorant is really cool. The rest of the year, not so much. So whenever I’m around them in spring now, I’m always going after that blue eye trying to make a better photo then I already have in my files. Above you can see that blue eye that is just crazy cool. Both of these photos are of the same cormorant taken just a week ago, D5 / 800mm w/TC-1.25x.
I had a very preconceived idea what I wanted to see in the viewfinder in my “better” eye photo. First, I needed to see the eye and I wanted to see just the eye. Next, I wanted to see the crazy pattern in the black plumage that comes only when it’s in full, nasty sun. But I didn’t want the eye in nasty light, it needs soft light. I want to see the whole eye and want it looking back at me. Lastly, I wanted just a touch of the yellow of the mandible to bring the mind’s eye to the blue eye. I didn’t get close to seeing in the viewfinder what I was envisioning, you see here what I did get. What you don’t see is my standing there, and standing there and standing there waiting for “the” moment to appear in my viewfinder. The cormorant kept adjusting itself over and over and over. Sometimes preening, other times just adjusting its head. And every time I would rip off frames trying to get the one shot. The thing is, it’s really not an amazing shot. The criteria I had set for myself to make the better shot, bettering what I already had wasn’t meet from the get go. The light really sucked but I was wrapped up in getting that shot so I ignored that criteria. That’s until something came over me to ask, “What are you doing?” That’s when I came to my senses and moved on. Ever get so tied up with a photo that you forgot, the photo? I do that all too often to this day. So when it comes to adding definitions to what is a professional, one has to be, know when to bail!
Mar 28, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
One of the hardest things for photographers to grasp is where can they crop a critter in the viewfinder. There is no guide or book on where you can crop a neck or leg or body. The best I can ever do to help is describe it as the awkward crop. There is one area though that I have a little more substantial aid and that comes to birds feet. Above is an example of not only an awkward crop but and general rule of thumb.
When it comes to feet, if you crop them, you need to leave enough room that mentally the viewer can put the feet with the critter. The photo above, there is great action going on but the feet are gone. In the bottom photo, the one foot is cut off by the water but there is enough room in the photo to mentally see them. It’s such a small thing but it can make or break a great photo. We need to have that finally connection with earth. Folks keep asking for cropping assist, hope this little one helps.
Mar 24, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Barred Owl Branchlings
captured by D5 / 800mm
It’s real simple, there was no “shot” when we found the Barred Owl branchlings. They were high up against a horrible bright background when they themselves were in shade with all sort of distracting branches between them and the lens. It was a no win situation from the get go. Worst of all, stuck on a narrow boardwalk with everyone stopping to ask what we’re looking at. That’s because the branchlings were so far away in such horrible light, folks couldn’t see them. The D5 / 800mm wasn’t a secret weapon making the magic happen. No shot … simply none!
Yet we stood there for nearly three hours. Why?! For starters, how often do you have Barred Owl branchlings to photograph? If you live on the west coast like I do where there are no Barred Owls, the answer is rarely. And if you’ve spent anytime with branchlings, you know that they will move. The question is will they move while you’re still watching and more importantly, will they move where you can make a photo? Now if you leave, you just answered the question because you will never know and take no photos away with you. Staying, you might have the answer if they move but there is still no guarantee you’ll have the photo. And that’s kind of the point. When we go out shooting, be it owls or mammals or even a stamp collection, you don’t know if you’ll comeback with the photo or not. You have to put in the time, where it’s five, ten minutes, 2, 4, 24 hours or days or months. The essential ingredient in every photograph is time and for me, it adds up to forty years and counting. Because after all that time I still know that something will come even when at first it appears, no shot … simply none!
Mar 23, 2017 | Wildlife Photography
Pileated Woodpecker
captured by D5 / 800mm
I have an amazing partner who is also my wife. Too often though, we are separated as I go off on this project and that event. We’ve been together a long time so I know the majority of her favorites and one of them is the Pileated Woodpecker. Goes way back in time when we watched them in Yosemite Valley in the ’80s. Well on my last adventure in FL last week, I was in a couple of locales where there were Pileateds. I wanted a photo to sent to Sharon just so you knew I was thinking of her. I saw one fly by here and another there, but never saw any opportunity to make a click. Then the last day in the last hour I received a text from Jake. He had two Pileateds in his viewfinder. So I grabbed the D5 / 800mm and booked it back down the boardwalk. Jake is really good at learning and applying all the lessons over the years shooting wildlife. The most important, go slow and look 360 for the great light and then the subject in that light. Doing that he found two which was just one when I reached him. Another important lesson we practice everyday is knowing our camera gear intimately for just such as an occasion as this. I saw the small avenue through the trees I could shoot as I walked up. By the time the tripod was on the boardwalk, the camera exposure compensation had already been set, aperture selected and focus approximately set for the distance. So once on the boardwalk all I had to do was get the glass on the Pileated and shoot. No, it’s not a great shot but that’s not what I was after. The point of this shot was to share a memory and moment with my best friend. But isn’t that what photography is really, truly all about>
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.
