Dec 23, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
My post about Blue Ripples brought in all sorts of emails asking if its only works with blue? Actually, it can work with many possibilities. The key is you see the light, recognize the reflection and find a complimentary color to the main reflection. Here’s two variations on the same theme. The above photograph is a sunrise shot and the bottom is a sunset shot. What’s the difference because they both have lots of red (which means I’m shooting in Cloudy WB).
First is to isolate the main reflection which in this case is the color red. Shooting with the D4s / 800mm, I move laterally so the few clouds that are red and reflecting in the water and filling the viewfinder. The next important factor is you have to select cranes that are moving. If they aren’t moving, they aren’t creating ripples and with no ripples, you don’t see the “yellow” rings in the water around them. Ya, you’re shooting at a slower shutter speed because it’s dark. That’s why you take more than one click at a time to increase the odds of getting that one shot you love that has sharp elements. So in a very long winded answer to the question if it only works with blue, no :-)
Dec 22, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
This trip to Bosque brought a new idea to my photography, critter reflections. Ya, I’ve played with them before but this time I find a couple of more pieces to the puzzle so the photos are good enough to finally post. Ya, that means I’ve had a whole bunch of failure playing with this but I keep working it. Now shooting long and in this case shooting D4s / 800mm, moving quickly to get the reflection of the critter and the reflection of the background all at once is key. Then there is the percentage of reality left in with the illusion. Like I’ve said, there has been lots of failure but I do enjoy this one success. (BTW) You can see the background I had that I left to capture the ripples in this photo.
Dec 22, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
Reflections bounce their magic in our photographs in many different ways. A way I like to play with them when working water birds are ripples of blue water. The ripples are created by the critter in the water but they only show up by using reflections to bring them out. It starts by picking the right background. Dark is best so in this case, I moved laterally with the D4s / 800mm to the right so the Black Mountains were the reflection in the water. Where I was standing I only saw blue water and some scattering of white clouds reflected in the water. You need the dark reflection because the ripples are going to be lighter tones. You need apposing tones to make it work.
While this will work with overcast skies, who wants to see gray water. Na, we want our water to be blue so we need blue skies. That’s because the ripples are reflecting the blue skies, it’s an old principle in photography … angle of incidence equals angle of reflection. The flat surface of the water is reflecting the mountains but the ripples which are valleys and peaks radiating out from the critter reflect the blue sky. Using a telephoto to isolate the subject against the background, you can use reflections is a whole new way to bring a little romance to your photos.
Dec 19, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
It was one of those magical mornings at Bosque when the night time temps went down for the count so at sunrise, it was a brisk 19 degrees. While the cranes and geese stay warm, the water does not and ice forms. Not thick enough to form around the birds but enough of a freeze to create a thin layer on the pond. So thin that bigger birds punch through and lighter birds walk on top. Thin over the deeper portions of the pond and thicker nearer the shallow portions. The cranes which slowly move from the main flock to wake up, socialize and then take off have to negotiate this ice field and while they have big feet for walking in muck and mud, they are not made for ice. You can hear the laughter amongst the photographers as they watch all the slipping and sliding as the cranes try to maintain their elegance while falling on their butt is quite loud. And once the cranes are in the air, all you hear from the photographers besides the camera clicks is the admiration for the beauty of cranes as they fly off. They are gorgeous!
As I stood there watching this, laughing and in admiration, I thought what we were watching is so applicable to photography. While we look good standing their with our camera gear glistening in the morning sun, more long glass than a dozen football game sidelines combined, there is a whole hell of a lot of slipping going on. Missed shots from everything like chimping to simple inexperience. It’s part of the photographic process and once the humiliation is over, we have to laugh it off. And there is that one or two photo that we see later on our monitor that sums up our experience perfectly and all that slipping slides away and we’re just in awe of our subject and how we’ve told its story. Photography is such an amazing pursuit no matter what genre you practice your art. Just understand that a lot of the time just like in nature, that often we will find elegance while slipping.
Dec 14, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
Still in New Mexico at Bosque del Apache and this morning was one for the books! Lots to say, lots to post and now time. This was just a happy second in a morning of splendor. Oh, and the lighting … the shadows are created by all the photographers lined up shooting and the crack between them, the shaft of light lighting the Snow Goose.
Dec 12, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
It’s been twenty-five years since my first visit to Bosque del Apache and it’s just as magical now as it was then. It’s not the same but it is as magical! For those who have never been here, it’s the winter resort for Sandhill Cranes (mostly Greaters) and Snow Geese (with some Ross’). The count is 60k Snow Geese and 12K Cranes on the refuge right now. This morning was like every morning on the refuge, gorgeous as the sun slowly rose and kissed the birds sleeping on the ponds. This is a sample from the morning shot with D4s / 800mm as the crane shook off the night and ready itself for the day. Seen some good old friends, both two legged and feathered so I’m looking forward to a grand weekend in the sanctuary of Mother Nature!
