It was 04:30, and we’re on the ramp in Minot, ND, positioning aircraft for our A2A Photo Clinic. Yeppers, it’s dark and cold with the prairie breeze sending a chill down the spine. The romance meter, though, is peaking big time as the silence and skies conjure up times and history. I’m looking at the lights on the field, the moon in the sky, and as I was chalking the Hurricane, the thought came, and I said to myself out loud, “I wonder?” The exposure range between the Hurricane and the moon is such, I knew the moon would have no detail. Then there are the lights on the runways, would they draw the viewer’s eye. I had nothing to loose so once all the aircraft were staged, I set down the camera and went click. I’m so glad I did. There was just enough light to open up the Hurricane, there were a couple of stars that poped out, and shooting at the low angle minimized all the light at the airport. I love the results, and it comes from knowing when the thought crosses my mind to follow it. I wonder …

Lake Kissimmee and its birds, especially the endangered Snail Kites are a special part of our wild heritage. In this short video, I go through some of the basics of when, where, and why you want to shoot at this location. Enjoy!

ProGrade just sent out an email to its folks reminding us how to get the best performance out of our cards. As one who does a Full Format in the camera after every shoot, I thought their advice was not only spot on but needed to be shared. Here you go, courtesy of ProGrade.

Format In-Camera, Every Time:
Always format your card using the specific camera you’re shooting with. This ensures the file structure is perfectly optimized for the host device, significantly reducing the risk of file system errors during high-speed burst.

Power Down Before Ejection:
Removing a card while the camera is still writing buffered data is a leading cause of corruption. Always turn your device completely off to ensure every bit of data is safely finalized before the card leaves the slot.

Avoid Mid-Shoot Deletions:
Deleting individual files in-field can fragment the memory and increase internal wear. It is a best practice to shoot until full, back up your files, and then perform a fresh format to keep the data path clean.

Protect the Physical Interface:
Contaminants on contact pins can lead to read/write failures. Avoid touching the pins and store cards in a dedicated protective case when they are not in a camera or a high-quality reader.

Maintain Factory-Fresh Speeds:
Over time, heavy usage leaves behind data fragments that can throttle performance. Periodically “sanitizing” the flash memory will restore your card to its original, peak factory performance, a process made seamless by utilizing our Refresh Pro software.

In the spirit of a small, light, and powerful video camera, I went searching for a hood for the LCD. The LCD is big and bright, but it’s no match for the sun hitting it. One cannot see well with that glare. I came across the MID49 Monitor Sunshade, and it’s a thing of beauty. It’s only $19, yeah, $19! It’s made of a cool plastic/rubber like material, so it’s not rigid, but it is. It comes to slip on the monitor, as you see in the photo above. It won’t slip on in any other direction. I often use the ZR with the monitor turned so you can see it when standing in front of the ZR. It took seconds to make some simple mods so now, the MID49 slips on in any direction. I simply love it, the MID49 Hood, simple solution!

There are a lot of quotes attributed to the late Ansel Adams. One I enjoy is his answer to the question, “How many photos does it take to have a great one?” His answer was to the point, “One.” I had the good luck to have a couple of conversations with Ansel back in the day, and kinda think he meant personal best rather than world’s best. It just takes, one.

The aspect of this photo I love the most and why I think it’s the best is because how the image came to be. The amazing Deb Sandrige was on the boardwalk and, without hesitation, signaled me over to shoot next to her. Then the community on the boardwalk swallowed me up with jokes, information, introduction, simply with the joy of all sharing at grand experience. Deb then shared that the male spoonbill in the afternoon will often go to this one spot to bathe. And as if on Deb’s que, it flew off and down to the water.

Deb suggested where to go stand for the best and said give it time. Give it time. That was the beauty of this moment, this experience, this group of photographers. No chasing required, not thousands of images praying to get that one,  just smelling the roses and knowing that nature will offer up the best opportunity if given time. It’s why I think Ansel got it so right.