May 30, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
My Thursday morning was anything but a yawn! I’m incredibly fortunate to have so many friends here in Florida. One of those friends is simply the sweetest lady whose giant heart and arms are always open. Knowing I was coming down I dropped Kathy an email to see if she had a morning to go shooting. She’s just a hoot to be with so couldn’t think of a better person to spend time with. Well we meet up today at 06:30 and hit the beach. We went to a Black Skimmer colony you can access during the week that is a photographer’s paradise. At this point in time, it appears most of the skimmers are on eggs and the start of hatching is just starting.
I’ve worked Black Skimemr colonies before but never one where you turn one way and shoot the colony, turn the other way and photograph them skimming. That was pretty cool. We started photographing them in the shadow of a large condo and then as the sun peaks over, it backlights some of the skimmers for a while like you see above. It set them crazy bills to glowing which is very cool! There are about 250-300 individuals in the colony so it’s pretty packed and very busy. This keeps you constantly looking for photo opps which are non-stop. We shot the entire time kissing the sand creating intimate images.
You probably noticed them crazy bills the skimmers own. The lower mandible is longer that the upper one (something they are born with). The lower mandible is dragged in the water as you see and when they feel a fish, the bill snaps close. In our four hours at the colony we photographed nesting, copulation, fights, fish exchange, eggs shell disposal, feeding, preening, bathing and a whole lot more depositing 3k image on the hard drive. And the whole time enjoying the company of great friend who filled me in on all the natural news for the area. Good shooting, good friend, good conversation early in the morning. Simple blessings! Thanks Kathy!!
May 29, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
There is no finer way to bring out the uncommon from the common than with the simple art of beauty. All critters have a beauty about them even if it’s just a moment in time during a day. That moment is one that as humans, we can impose our own feelings and connect to that critter. And this is just part of the equation because to bring that back in our photos, we need to tell this story along with the world in which the critter lives. In this example, it’s the world of two birds that spend their lives at the edge of the sea. The Sandwich Tern is a small bird that isn’t really a big fan of us humans. The Semi Palmated Plover is even smaller than the tern, smaller than a tennis ball. They both find comfort being around other small birds as they go about the beach foraging, sleeping or preening. And in telling their story and bringing their beauty alive in our photos calls for the same basic approach.
First is the light. You simply can’t go wrong with the soft, diffused light early morning brings especially with a slight layer of overcast. With sand bouncing up and filling in what shadows there are, you can take advantage of side lighting to bring out shape, color and texture. To make them visually pop out from their busy world of the sand, getting down low makes all the difference in the world. And by lying on the sand shooting, they figure you’re so stupid to lay in the mud with your expensive gear, you can’t be a threat so come close to you. Shooting with the D4s / 800mm on the Panning Plate, the Sandwich Tern stood in place as the tide slowly came in and wrapped around its feet. The Semi Palmated Plover walked over to see what I was doing looking right down the lens barrel. And the final photos, well none of this screams out. All they do is reach out and grab heart strings and in doing so, brings to life the simple art of beauty
May 29, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
Yes, YOU can take this same photo! No matter the lens you have, there is a formula and it’s no secret. I’ve and others have written it many times. Here it is, don’t miss it.
SUN and WIND on your back
That’s it, nothing more! This is simple photography and simple flight we are using to make the photo. When birds come into land, just like planes, they fly into the wind to help them slow down. When the sun is on your back, the subject will be frontlit. When the wind is on your back, the birds will land facing you. This Osprey is coming to its nest, knowing the light and feeling the wind, no guess work involved in making the shot. The only thing I was wondering was if shooting with the D4s / 800mm I would be too tight when it flew in. But capturing the action is just a simple formula, the rest is being there.
May 28, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
The Great Blue Heron, there are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of wildlife photographers who owe they start in wildlife photography to this bird! Big, good lookin and for the most part, very cooperative, they are one of the first subjects wildlife photographers find and shoot and shoot. So to say there are lots of common photos of the GBH might be putting it lightly. Well, if you want to move your photography forward, you’re looking for the uncommon. You can start by putting your GBH in front of a clean background like you see here, I nice clean blue with a touch of green is a great start. It tells about the world in which it lives, makes it visually pop and compliments its color. But this is just a step into making the uncommon from the common.
That’s when a little biology can really make a difference. You can see here the two photos and make the call which is more interesting, I’m betting it’s the bottom photo. One thing about GBH is they don’t do a lot of “biologically” interesting stuff other than feed, crap and fly. But after they eat, if the prey they munched it largish, they have to work it down their crop. It’s this process that they pop open their bill to work down the prey. In this case, it was stuck pretty good so the GBH popped his bill looking left and then looking right. Now why does this make the common, uncommon? Well, GBH tend to not eat items that cause this problem. At the same time, having the light, background and biology come together at the same time cuts down the odds as well. So getting the shot requires knowing that this is possible, have your finger on the button and willing to rip when the action happens. Just another technique to put in your arsenal aiming at the viewer’s heartstrings!
May 27, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
There is only one rule in wildlife photography. The eye has to be sharp. To repeat that, the only thing that has to be sharp is the eye. This can be a great constraint as well as a liberator in our wildlife photography. It gives us permission to bring to life to our stills, evoke emotion from motion. Building on gettin down, we take this thought further when presented with the right opportunity. We start this then by lying on the sand and getting down with the birds.
Still using the same set up, D4s / 800mm mounted to the Panning Plate. Photographing this foraging White Ibis on this particular shoreline, care had to be used when placing the rig down so not to be lower than the water’s edge or you’d have a heck of a time keeping the rig steady (besides getting wet). The next thing is to think about what’s unique about this opportunity taking the common and making it uncommon? The majority of White Ibis photos you see besides being taken at eyelevel is that the ibis are in still, blue water.
Ibis feeding at the water’s edge is unique. But if we freeze the waves with a fast shutter speed, then you’re right back at that still blue water. The common reaction to shooting before the sun comes up these days is, “raise the ISO, get a fast shutter speed.” In this case, I continued to shoot my usual ISO100 working at 1/60. Between shooting with a long lens, having it resting in the sand and shooting at a slow shutter speed, this is a low percentage shoot. That’s to say, best shoot a ton of images if you hope to get that one that works. But then again, it just takes one. The waves because they are moving are blurred and there is no doubt they are waves. This brings emotion through motion. The peaking sun and D4s killer exposure and color does the rest. This permits us to move our photography forward and is a great example of applying the Maisel factor to wildlife photography, color, light, gesture!
May 27, 2014 | Wildlife Photography
Taking the common in an uncommon way while bringing in the art and craft of photography is a simple way of grabbing the viewer’s attention. I’m down in Florida having the time of my life photographing birds on the beach. As I remind folks all the time when working with birds, it just takes one to make your morning. When you have over twenty five species and you’ve cached over 5k images in two mornings, well we can safely say you’ve found the one. But once accomplished, how do you get the viewer involved with your one and feeling the same exhilaration as you? There are lots and lots and lots of ways of doing this. I’m going to explore a number of methods we can use to make the uncommon out of the common this week. Now, it’s gettin down with birds.
What we have here is the Black-bellied Plover, a rather largish shorebird that is normally in the Arctic this time of year making babies. This individual is in his breeding plumage which makes him a hot target in my book. In the winter, you don’t see the white or black. The top photo was taken with the D4s / 800mm on top of the Gitzo 5561SGT w/ Wimberley Head so shooting basically at eyelevel. The body and lens are not as important here as the shooting at eyelevel. This is where 99.9% of wildlife photographers shoot. What if we just change this by taking that lens out of the tripod?
A favorite tool I can’t recommend enough to wildlife photographers is the Panning Plate. This very simple tool is incredibly simplistic. It permits you to put whatever lens you’re shooting with right on the sand. Shooting birds at eyelevel does two HUGE things for your photography. First, it completely changes the point of view to one that is anything but common. Second, it eliminates the detail in the foreground and background so the subject pops. You can’t help but see the visual difference between the top image shot from the tripod and the bottom image shot from the sand. It’s that simple starting to make your uncommon photos and grabbing the viewer’s attention. Just be forewarned, our necks aren’t made to be bent to shoot on the sand for long periods. It does take a tool. Yes, there are more techniques and we’ll explore them all week. mtc.
