Feb 23, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Definitely NOT one of the most attractive members of our wild heritage, the Black Vulture. That head, black, withered, craggy, nasty skin tends to be, I don’t know, a turn off? And the fact they eat dead and smelly stuff, just doesn’t endear them to anybody either. Photographically though, they are a bitch to shoot. That’s because they are all black. In the Costa Rican rainforest they are everywhere and a very important part of its ecology. In the spotty light of the rainforest, a black subject on a white branch is an exposure nightmare! In making the uncommon out of the common, the Black Vulture needs just a kiss of light to bring out the cool texture in their plumage. At the same time, that head no matter how ugly needs a little love too. Making this shot was actually, pretty easy once you made the walk and dealt with the humidity. Walking down the steep trail into the valley, you are able to shoot right across at eyelevel where the Black Vultures like to roost as the sun rises. Reaching them with the D4s / 800mm w/TC-1.25 once zooming with with your feet is a synch. Then, it’s simply fine tuning where the rig is set up to peak through the vines and make the shot. And making the whole click come together is that small spot of light barely kissing the Vulture but not the branch. Look for that light, think of making the common uncommon and use the lens to bring it all together in the viewfinder!
Feb 17, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Gary with amazing skill followed the trail up from the surf, up the beach and over the top. There the trail ended in a small clump of grass. Feverishly he digs down below the grass clump. He’s found a nest that has hatch under the grass. He knows sites like this, some hatchlings get caught in the roots. After a few moments he emerges from his digging with two newly hatched sea turtles in his hands. One is dead, the other is still alive. To finish the cycle, the hatchling must travel to the surf from its nest on its own. Only by doing so will it mark on this locations and years from now, comeback to lay its own eggs. That’s only if it beats the odds and survives all the predators waiting for it on the sand and in the water. Following behind it down the beach with Df / 18-35AFS shooting away, the struggle of this endangered species had me thinking.
As photographers, we often start off all tangled up. It feels like all that goes into making a photograph intwines us holding us back from ever moving forward. Then we get that helping hand and we break loose and our path appears to be clear. Yet, with ever step there is one obstacle stopping us for a moment until we start moving forward again. And this we go through for years as we grow photographically. Then, we emerge. Photography like so many things in life is not an easy path, nor one where we ever have all the answers or find the one answer. It is and should be, a journey that with the wisdom that comes from age improves our photography, our story. As long as you keep moving forward one step at a time, you are making the journey and winning the race. But more than likely, there is no end but simply a life long adventure. Like the small sea turtle, we do break loose to experience it all.
Feb 11, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
One of the BIGGEST “things” in being successful in wildlife photography is, just be there! For example, I know and it bugs the bejiggers out of me that while I sit here and create this post, there are great wildlife photographs out there I am missing. It’s real simple, when we’re not out where they, we’re missing those shots. Ya, it’s part of life but with wildlife who you just can’t set an appointment with, it’s kinda important. And then when you are out, being in the right place at the right time for the moment is the next big challenge. And that you can kinda help that along by simply recognizing from biology and act on it to move.
We were cruising the lagoon in Costa Rica on our second day on the water. The Boat-billed Herons like to hang out in this one location. Being a night heron, they are pretty secluded during the day time hours. They are also on the shaded side of the lagoon so I waited until the sun was pretty high in the sky so some light would bounce into their shadowy world where they like to perch. I was watching the area when I saw some commotion. I paddled over because usually that kind of commotion means birds are moving around and one might be out in the open. Still shooting with the simple rig, Df / 80-400, I paddled and then stopped paddling far enough away so that I would “coast” up to the location of the commotion. I got up there to find the Boat-billed Heron you see in the top frame.
Now what I didn’t know was the reason for the commotion I’d heard. It’s that time of year and this pair of Boat-bills were … well … I’ll let your imagination fill in the blanks. I didn’t know this until just moments after I arrived and got the top click when this Heron reached over, broke off this branch and stood there with it in its bill and that silly expression. And it was all grand, planned luck! While you might preconceive wanting this photograph, you can work to be in place, but with wildlife so often the key to success is just be there!
Feb 10, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Have you ever photographed monkeys (the animal), in the wild? My first attempt was two years ago and I went bananas coming back with nothing. The main issue is, they are high in tree canopies nearly directly overhead all in shadow with the bright sky screaming in from behind. The other thing working against photographing monkeys in the wild are all the photos of captives which show of the very cute and “human” nature of monkeys. These preconceived ideas of what a monkey does look like, puts even more pressure on photographing them in the wild. Well, on our K&M Adventure to Costa Rica, we totally lucked out!
We were on the lagoon in sea kayaks photographing the phenomenal birds that inhabit it. I was shooting with a very simple rig, Df / 80-400 as it’s light, small and easy to work in the kayak (yes, hand holding shooting from a kayak). We had a very light overcast, bright but diffused light. Perfect light for the birds. I was working my way around the edge, working the birds as I came up to them when I saw the trees on the bank start to move. Now monkeys in trees make them move in a very specifc way, the branches go up and down rather than normal sideways with a breeze. So when I saw this, I instantly paddled over to them. At first, we had a troop of Spider Monkeys but they left after a short time. Then came the White-faced Capuchins and the fun began!
These guys are about the size of your basic house cat, just longer limbs and tail. This opportunity was so cool because we weren’t shooting up through the canopy but on the edge of it. The trees came right to the edge of the lagoon with some branches handing near the water’s surface. And the light was gorgeous and not some horrendous backlight junk. The white blossoms you see them eating are a night blooming flower that closes during the day (they are actually licking the pollen from the base of the blossom). For whatever reason they weren’t closed and the Capuchins were having a feast! I “parked’ the kayak at a point putting me closest to the tree and waited. What you see here are the Capuchins coming closer to me to feed on the nectar in the blossoms. Shot at 400mm the whole time, just used biology to get closer and the image size. At the same time, I really wanted the photo of all the pollen collecting on their cheeks. It was a great thirty minutes of shooting, all monkey business.
Feb 2, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
There’s an old adage in wildlife photography that still applies. When there is nothing else for a background, throw something green behind the subject. Why Green? Well, referring to my own Psychology of Color, you find that green, “is the most restful color for the human eye. It’s the universal color of nature as well as represents fertility, rebirth and freedom.” The background is so important, in content and color when we want to tell our subject’s story. As with this Golden-naped Woodpecker from Costa Rica’s rainforest, that green not only talks about where the woodpecker lives, but makes its golden nap, pop!
Here’s the same subject with a different background color to illustrate my point. By switching from green to yellow, look at the impact it has on making the woodpecker (the male, the red top notch) visually pop as well as the overall feeling of the photograph. The manipulation of the background was done by shooting with the D4s / 800mm (w/TC-1.25) and physically moving the whole rig just two inches to the left. The primary reason I shoot with the 800mm is the total control of the background with ever so slight a physical movement. When working with wildlife, you don’t want to have to make big physicl moves. It tends to scare them off. Now to get the bigger images size in the vertical shot, I simply was closer, physically.
So you can get a sense of how the photo came to be, it was really rather simple. We had stopped on the road to photograph eventually the White-necked Puffbird (a rather rare bird). We stopped for one species and while walking toward the Puffbird, I saw the Golden-naped Woodpecker. With a couple of other shooters, I got as close physically as I could and started to shoot (the vertical). Since the woodpeckers were on the road and the female was on the same trunk, pretty safe bet the male wasn’t going anywhere. So with those close up shots in the can, I physically moved back and over. Why? Two things. Image size is not a priority in my photography and, I want to tell a story. By moving back and going horizontal, you now see more of the tree and that tells you the species of tree and its location on the globe (if you’re into trees). More importantly, I’m telling you in the frame the woodpecker is smaller rather than a larger species. Yep, all of that goes through my mind when looking through the viewfinder which permits me to compose all the elements in the viewfinder rather in post, later. Just remember, when there is nothing else …
Jan 28, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Learning, it’s a constant process. Improving, even more so. And that challenge is one of the greatest reasons in photography and why I go out everyday with camera in hand. Building on past experiences, while that’s the goal, one has to remember the past to not repeat the failure and build on the success. So on the beach of Costa Rica as the raft after raft after raft of Brown Pelicans floated past us riding the waves, I searched back to the last time I photographed them and what I wanted to improve. On our recent K&M Adventure to Costa Rica, after our morning on the beach, I was asked, “What are you looking for?” The question was in regards to photographing the amazing flocks of Brown Pelicans floating by. Harry is smart, since he had never photographed Pelicans on the wing before let alone with his new 800mm, he asked a very good question. He had no previous experience to build on. It was all new which is so exciting!
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I knew exactly what I wanted. The Pelican when on a glide and riding so perfectly the ground effect of air it has trapped with its wings over the water, they are the most graceful creature on the sea. They sneak up on a wave as its about to curl and crash and ride the crest with expertise and beauty. And it’s that moment I was looking for in my viewfinder. Getting “the” shot, at least the one I had in my mind is not easy. With the D4s / 800mm perched on the Gitzo, I watched the raft after raft of Pelicans approach. I would look for the adult males, singles or with enough spacing that looked like they would ride the wave in my kill zone as they past. As they went by I panned with the selected individual hoping that moment would come together of light, wind and gesture expressing that grace. As you can see, there is only one in the six images here that comes close. One is the typical “tips and tails” and others simply don’t communicate the grace that moment they sail the crest exudes. I shot a couple of hundred images and only captured a couple that come close to my intentions. And that’s OK because I can think of no better way to spend the morning than on a beach in Costa Rica watching the pelicans float by.
