{"id":7227,"date":"2009-06-23T19:52:29","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T03:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moosepeterson.com\/blog\/?p=7227"},"modified":"2009-06-23T19:52:29","modified_gmt":"2009-06-24T03:52:29","slug":"how-to-get-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/how-to-get-close\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from the BT \t\tJournal<\/a>, Vol. 7, Issue 1, February 2002<\/p>\n

\"GreatIt’s February and there’s \t\t\tsnow on the ground at my home. The XC skis are in the back of the truck \t\t\tall the time; snowball fights are a way of life. Yet I can’t help that \t\t\tmy mind races to the sands of Florida when I sit back and clear my \t\t\tthoughts. Don’t get me wrong, I like snow and don’t wish to escape \t\t\tit. Rather, I long to be out with my long lens over my shoulder, feeling \t\t\tsand between my toes as I photograph wading birds. I have always found “wading \t\t\tbirds”, a generalization for herons, egrets, ibises and storks, to \t\t\tbe rather comical. When I hear the term wading bird, I think of some \t\t\tcartoon character pulling up its skirt of feathers as it tiptoes through \t\t\tthe water. Perhaps comical at times, these birds are some of the most \t\t\tgraceful members of the avian world.<\/p>\n

Like most wildlife photographers, one of my first subjects was a \t\t\tGreat Blue Heron. That pathetic image of a lone GBH, dead centered, \t\t\tperched on a boat buoy a thousand miles away still resides in my files \t\t\tas a reminder of my beginnings. One of North America ‘s most common \t\t\tand recognizable birds, the Great Blue Heron is also one of the most \t\t\tpoorly photographed birds over and over again. The very nature of the \t\t\theron, tall, vertical, living in a watery world and in many locations, \t\t\tincredibly shy, all lend themselves to poor results. Regrettably the \t\t\ttime I have with these beautiful birds is limited, they just don’t \t\t\thaunt my typical locales. But over the decades, I’ve gotten my feet \t\t\twet more than once, photographing the Great Blue Heron and other members \t\t\tof the wading bird family. The successes I’ve had and my switch to \t\t\tall digital combined with my desire to improve all my conventional \t\t\tfiles in digital, keep me striving to improve my wading bird files. \t\t\tThese are some of the lessons I’ve learned in my quest to capture these \t\t\telegant birds on film that I’d like to share with you!<\/p>\n

Just how do you get close?<\/h2>\n

Biology<\/h3>\n

As with any subject, getting close is the name of the game. There \t\t\tare a number of techniques available to solve this problem. Quite often, \t\t\twe’ll commonly combine a couple of these techniques to get the shot. \t\t\tSome of the techniques are obvious, others may not be. Common sense \t\t\tlike most things in photography wins out and captures the best image.<\/p>\n

You probably can already think through our first option, biology. \t\t\tOne reason why I love to photograph wading birds in Florida in February \t\t\tis because biology is thick in the air at that time of year; it’s the \t\t\tbirds and the bees time of year. It seems that the bigger the subject, \t\t\tthe larger the libido and the greater the distraction sex brings. You’ll \t\t\tfind this is true for wading birds. Another great advantage to photographing \t\t\twading birds this time of year is that they are all in their breeding \t\t\tplumes. Their beautiful breeding plumes, which was the cause of their \t\t\tnear extinction in the early 1800’s is still a powerful magnet for \t\t\tthe wildlife photographer.<\/p>\n

Using breeding biology to get close physically can best be explained \t\t\tby closely looking at the common Great Blue Heron. Anyone who has been \t\t\tto Florida in the late winter months has most assuredly been to the \t\t\tVenice Rookery (a scenic locale behind the local highway patrol office). \t\t\tThis is a hot bed of breeding especially considering the rookery is \t\t\tsmaller than a tennis court. It’s here that you can see all cycles \t\t\tof the nesting biology of the Great Blue Heron in one day! Understanding \t\t\ttheir story pretty well explains what’s up with all wading birds when \t\t\tit comes to the birds and the bees.<\/p>\n

Courtship rituals start and continue on through the nesting process \t\t\tfor GBH. A big part of it has to do with the presentation of a stick\/twig \t\t\tby the male to the female. If you want to mess with the mind of a male \t\t\tGBH, collect a ton of small twigs and make a pile of them. The male \t\t\tGBH’s first thoughts are, “Wow, I’ve died and gone to heaven!” Next, \t\t\tit’s “Man, am I going to score!” And lastly, “which one to select first?” The \t\t\tmale GBH goes through testing a lot of different twigs before he selects \t\t\tthe one he wants to present to his mate. The twigs eventually get used \t\t\tin nest construction so I’m sure the stage the nest is in construction \t\t\tdetermines the twig he selects.<\/p>\n

How does this help your photography and getting close physically? \t\t\tFind the twig source and stake it out! All you really have to do is \t\t\twatch because very quickly you’ll see where the birds are gathering \t\t\ttheir twigs. You set yourself up with the right lighting, background \t\t\tand start shooting. Now you don’t start ten feet away but rather farther \t\t\tthan you want to be for the image size desired. You slowly work your \t\t\tway in as the birds come back to get more twigs. This is just one biological \t\t\ttechnique you can use to get close. (A very important photographic \t\t\ttechnique at Venice Rookery is simply moving. Too many folks set up \t\t\ttheir tripod and never move all morning long. Your tripod has legs, \t\t\tso do you, so use them!)<\/p>\n

When the GBH takes the twig back to the nest, he presents it to the \t\t\tfemale. More often than not early in the season, copulation occurs. \t\t\tHere’s another biological event you can use to get close physically. \t\t\tAnd don’t forget that anywhere during all of this are other great photographic \t\t\topportunities you can capture on film, like the male flying back to \t\t\tthe nest with the twig. If you keep your mind open and don’t drink \t\t\ttoo much coffee early in the morning, you can score too!<\/p>\n

Another year round biological event you can use to get close physically \t\t\tis when the birds are feeding. Whether feeding alone or in a mass, \t\t\tfood usually keeps wading birds’ attention pretty well focused (get \t\t\tit? focused, photography – hah, bad pun!). You normally know when wading \t\t\tbirds are foraging because they are frozen in some sort of funny pose, \t\t\tstaring off into the water. This is not a guaranteed way of getting \t\t\tclose physically though compared to sex.<\/p>\n

When using food\/feeding as a distraction to your approach, you need \t\t\tto watch for a couple of things. While it’s not life threatening, you \t\t\twant to avoid causing the subject to miss its opportunity to eat, so \t\t\there’s the game plan I use. I start the approach so that the background \t\t\tI want is the one that is always behind the subject as I move closer. \t\t\tI don’t want to even do any fine-tuning of the background if at all \t\t\tpossible so as not to disturb the subject. My camera is set before \t\t\tI approach: f\/stop, film counter, everything. And quite often I will \t\t\thave a teleconverter attached so I don’t have to get as close physically \t\t\tcompared to shooting without one.<\/p>\n

I watch the eyes! The subject typically isn’t making much if any \t\t\tbody movement, but it will be moving its eyes as it tracks its prey. \t\t\tBy watching the eyes, you’ll know things like if the food source is \t\t\tmoving, how close it is to the bird and if it’s close enough to be \t\t\tcaught. You’ll also know if the subject is being bothered by your approach. \t\t\tDon’t be in a hurry to get nothing! Move slowly, ever so slowly to \t\t\tget close physically.<\/p>\n

The photo of the Reddish Egret with the flying fish (right in front \t\t\tof its breast) is a great example of this technique in use, with a \t\t\ttwist. This Reddish Egret was photographed at Ft Myers Beach while \t\t\tit was foraging. What was unique about the situation is that I’m standing \t\t\tin water, the same as the subject. In approaching a subject while walking \t\t\tin water, you must make real sure you don’t disturb the water! This \t\t\tmeans that you walk by shuffling your feet along the bottom, not picking \t\t\tthem up out of the water and then setting them back in and splashing. \t\t\tThis is essential and in the natural process of doing this makes you \t\t\twalk slower! At the same time, when you pick up your tripod to move \t\t\tforward, you want to bring it up slowly and set it down slowly so it \t\t\tdoesn’t splash as well. Once you’re in place, be sure to push the front \t\t\ttripod leg in the mud a ways for a stable platform to shoot from.<\/p>\n

With all of those beautiful long feathers, preening is a common activity \t\t\tof wading birds. This is something you can take advantage of to get \t\t\tclose physically! While they can preen anytime of the day, it is most \t\t\tcommon in the early morning before they head out foraging and in the \t\t\tlate evening before they go to roost. You must be slow in approaching \t\t\ta bird that is preening because even though they might have their mind \t\t\ton straightening their feathers, they are also on guard for predators. \t\t\tAnd as far as they are concerned, photographers are predators.<\/p>\n

Another excellent opportunity to photograph wading birds is when \t\t\tthey are asleep! This is something you might want to tackle only if \t\t\tyou have patience. Obviously getting close physically isn’t a challenged \t\t\tas long as you’re quite. This means that you’re all set to shoot prior \t\t\tto setting down the tripod to fire. If the bird is a little ways out \t\t\tin the water or up in a branch above eyelevel, you’ll have the best \t\t\topportunity to find a bird that is deep asleep.<\/p>\n

The patience part comes in as you wait for the bird to wake up. You \t\t\tnaturally take a couple shots of the bird asleep with its eye’s closed, \t\t\tbut that’s not the most desired of posses. The last thing I want you \t\t\tto do is cough or slam a car door (yes, I’ve seen this done) in an \t\t\tattempt to wake the bird either. You just wait because unless it’s \t\t\tstanding dead, it will wake up. Most of the time when they awake and \t\t\tthey find your standing there, they will perform rather than take flight. \t\t\tSo waiting can pay big dividends!<\/p>\n

With wading birds all being big or bigger than most birds, watching \t\t\tthem to learn their biology is really simple. Unless they have been \t\t\tbothered in the past by humans, they are generally on the friendly \t\t\tside. If you find a place in Florida where fishermen are cleaning their \t\t\tcatch, you’re sure to find at least one wading bird you could probably \t\t\tpet! Learn their biology and you’ll get close physically!<\/p>\n

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Optics<\/h2>\n

You’re probably saying, “Well yeah.duh, go buy a big lens and you’ll \t\t\tsolve all of your problems.” Well I hate to say it, but in some sense \t\t\tthat is the truth! For an excellent example of how and why this is \t\t\tso, I turn again to the Venice Rookery. When it comes to getting physically \t\t\tclose to the action on the island, you can only get as close to the \t\t\tisland as the edge of the lagoon (unless you can walk on the backs \t\t\tof alligators!). This means that optics are required to get the image \t\t\tsize desired.<\/p>\n

I see lots of folks at the rookery, shooting with 300mm lenses while \t\t\tI’m shooting at 840mm and I’m wishing at times I had more. What are \t\t\tthey seeing I’m not, or, what am I capturing that they aren’t? Wading \t\t\tbirds in general live in a watery world, typically a large body of \t\t\twater. All it takes for them to move out of camera range is to walk \t\t\t50+ feet away, further out into the water and we’re out of business! \t\t\tWhile it’s true in some locations that you can proceed right out into \t\t\tthe water as well, more often than not you’re going to need more glass.<\/p>\n

So, what’ the minimum? If we’re photographing birds in every situation \t\t\texcept flight, I can’t imagine shooting with anything shorter than \t\t\t600mm. Can you reach 600mm with a 300mm and 2x teleconverter? Sure, \t\t\tbut then you’re battling the fact that you can’t go any longer, two \t\t\tstops of light loss and an incredibly shallow depth of field. For myself, \t\t\tI can’t start with anything less than 600mm, but I typically don’t \t\t\tstop there. More often than not, the 1.4x teleconverter is attached \t\t\tto the 600mm. This gives me 840mm to work with, the focal length I \t\t\tmost prefer to photograph birds, any bird.<\/p>\n

There is another HUGE benefit to the longer glass that you’ll come \t\t\tacross at places like Ding Darling NWR in Florida. Wading birds live \t\t\tin a rather busy world, one with sticks, grasses, roots and the like \t\t\tall around them. All of this living matter can really ruin a great \t\t\tphotograph! There is nothing worse than having a Green Heron in gorgeous \t\t\tlight at Alligator Alley with a background of roots going every which \t\t\tway! Not that a long lens will make all of the roots go away, but the \t\t\tlonger the lens, the narrower the angle of view, which means the less \t\t\tbackground you’ll see.<\/p>\n

Where this is truly effective is when you have just one twig, one \t\t\tother bird or some small thing in the background you want to disappear. \t\t\tWith the long lens and its narrow angle of view, moving slightly to \t\t\tthe left, right, up or down can make it disappear.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you don’t have money for a long lens, I can understand that. \t\t\tYou have an option open to you that you might not have considered, \t\t\tgoing digital. How does this gain you greater optical reach? Because \t\t\tdigital cameras only capture half of a lens’ optical path, the result \t\t\tis an increase in focal length by 50%. You can pick up a used D1 for \t\t\taround $2500 and when married to an 80-400VR, you have a 120-600mm \t\t\tlens! This combo is a lot less than a new 600f4AFS II. Something to \t\t\tconsider!<\/p>\n

I can honestly say that on my last trip to Florida when I shot with \t\t\tthe D1, 600f4 AFS<\/a> and TC-14e<\/a> at 1260mm, it was really fun and incredibly \t\t\tproductive. And in a pinch I could use the TC-20e 2x and have 1800mm! \t\t\tWhen I first used this combo for photographing wading birds at the \t\t\tVenice Rookery, man was it ever fun. Getting up close and personal \t\t\twith some of the subjects was killer, incredibly easy and most of all, \t\t\tyielded marvelous quality.<\/p>\n

What about flight shots? Photographing their massive wings is too \t\t\tway cool to describe in words, so by all means you want to go after \t\t\tflight shots. Whenever I’m in Florida photographing wading birds, I \t\t\talways have a second body on my side with a lens attached just for \t\t\tflight photography. Last year when I was in Florida I used the 80-400VR. \t\t\tThis lens is tack sharp but when it comes to focus acquisition from \t\t\ta dead stop, you might as well go for a cup of coffee (unless you prefocus \t\t\tbut that’s hard to do from a dead stop). I did come back with some \t\t\tmarvelous flight shots, but it was more work than fun.<\/p>\n

If I were to be shooting right this moment I would have the 300f4 \t\t\tAFS. When attached to the D1\/X\/H, this is a 450f4 AFS lens, it screams! \t\t\tWhile this can be too much lens at times for photographing a six foot \t\t\twing span in flight, the speed of acquisition is just too good to be \t\t\ttrue!<\/p>\n

I don’t want you to think that flight photography is for handheld \t\t\tglass! Photographing birds in flight is a no-brainer using the Wimberley \t\t\tHead and a long lens. The only real trick is to be sure you use proper long lens technique<\/a> and stand between the legs \t\t\tof your tripod when shooting. Looking at my files, I figure that it’s \t\t\t50\/50 the number of flight images of wading birds I capture handheld \t\t\tversus tripod bound.<\/p>\n

The best of all worlds is to get close physically with long glass. \t\t\tYou’ll find the vast majority of great wading bird images were taken \t\t\tin that manner. But that’s just the start to photographing wading birds \t\t\tsuccessfully!<\/p>\n

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Hey, aren’t these white birds on blue water?<\/h2>\n

Of course they are, so we automatically dial in +1 stop compensation \t\t\tso we can shoot. NOT! The old “white bird on blue water” let’s get \t\t\trich articles really should be retired, along with those writing them. \t\t\tThere is no such thing as a subject that requires automatic compensation \t\t\tand white birds are no exception. Actually, photographing white birds \t\t\ton blue water is a no-brainer if you use your brains!<\/p>\n

What’s the key to this, a gray card? NO, not that either!!!! The \t\t\tkey to getting the exposure correct is the light. You must shoot within \t\t\tthe three-stop range of light that the film can hold if you want perfect \t\t\twhite bird on blue water exposure. You can get it when the light is \t\t\tnot within three stops, but your birds are going to be dark or your \t\t\twater is going to be dark; you can’t have both.<\/p>\n

Probably more than most birds, these graceful creatures require an \t\t\teloquent light to be shown off at their best. When a soft breeze off \t\t\tthe Gulf of Mexico is fluffing those breeding plumes, I can’t think \t\t\tof any other lighting than less than two stops of early morning or \t\t\tlate evening light. When you work within this range not only will you \t\t\thave ZERO metering problems, you’ll have captured in my opinion the \t\t\tessence of the wading bird.<\/p>\n

Can I tell you one time not to photograph white birds on blue water, \t\t\tthat’s when the water is gray! Any bird, wading bird or not should \t\t\tnot be photographed on water when there is overcast skies in my opinion. \t\t\tI don’t think there is anything worse than this type of images! Yeah, \t\t\tyou can dial in plus compensation to brighten up the image, but it \t\t\twill now just be a brighter shade of gray.<\/p>\n

This pertains to flight shots as well. DON’T DO IT on overcast days! \t\t\tThe other giant problem besides the horrible gray background is exposure. \t\t\tShooting up on a bird with a gray background is a no win situation \t\t\twhen it comes to metering. The underside of the bird that you are photographing \t\t\tis going to be dark to black while the sky is gray. This will well \t\t\tbeyond the three stops of light you want for the best images.Wait for \t\t\tthe blue and three stops of light, you and your images will be much \t\t\thappier!<\/p>\n

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Which way do I turn the camera?<\/h2>\n

Do I shoot these critters horizontally or vertically? This is a very \t\t\tcommon question in which you might not find a comfortable answer for \t\t\tyourself for some time. Do I have my own personal set of guidelines \t\t\tfor shooting one way or the other? I sure don’t. When deciding which \t\t\tformat to shoot a subject, vertical or horizontal, I ask myself (in \t\t\ta heartbeat in reality) a couple of questions. First and foremost what \t\t\tdoes my gut say? If I don’t have a firm feeling one way or the other, \t\t\tI ask myself other questions.<\/p>\n

With my main focus always being the background, I wonder if I can \t\t\tremove unwanted elements in the background by going either vertically \t\t\tor horizontally. There are times that a smaller subject can be made \t\t\tto appear larger by going vertical, so I ask myself this question. \t\t\tGoing through this very informal checklist which at times I might not \t\t\tbe able to do at all because time doesn’t permit is simply my own requirements \t\t\tof what I’m looking for in my images.<\/p>\n

I wonder for example if there are elements in the subject itself \t\t\tthat one format over the other will emphasize or de-emphasize. At the \t\t\tsame time I look at the watery background and see it’s really cool. \t\t\tWill one format or the other emphasize it? These are not rules you \t\t\tneed to commit to memory; they are just questions I ask myself in deciding \t\t\tif I’m going vertical or horizontal.<\/p>\n

I have a good friend who is emphatic about framing in regards to \t\t\tthe bird’s feet. Whether you can actually see the feet or not (hidden \t\t\tbelow the water’s surface) you need to leave space for them to be present. \t\t\tIn other words if you can’t actually see the feet, leave room in the \t\t\tphoto for them anyways, don’t crop them out. As you can see from my \t\t\timages, I don’t hold to this rule myself. My point is that each one \t\t\tof us must find the style that we like from our own vision to make \t\t\tthe images magical!<\/p>\n

I’m fortunate that now after two decades much of this is so second \t\t\tnature that I really don’t rationalize through the decision process \t\t\twhen I’m actually shooting. What’s right for me might either be right \t\t\tor wrong for you, and that’s perfectly fine! Photography has lots of \t\t\tvariables built into it, use them to your advantage and you’ll come \t\t\tout a winner!<\/p>\n

I’ve included two images here, both of the same Snowy Egret shot \t\t\tlate one afternoon at Ft Myers Beach. Both shots were taken just seconds \t\t\tapart of the exact same bird. The subject size is nearly the same in \t\t\tboth frames. The natural orientation of the Snowy Egret is horizontal. \t\t\tIt’s strolling along, shifting its feet in the mud trying to scare \t\t\tup a Goby to eat. Its very intent stare into the water and the lighting \t\t\ton its breeding plumes is what caught my attention. Instead of my having \t\t\tto move closer to the egret, I let its foraging path bring it to me.<\/p>\n

You’ll notice there is nothing in the background that needs to be \t\t\tremoved. The water itself is nothing special and there is no reflection. \t\t\tOf the two formats, which do I prefer? I like the vertical because \t\t\tfor me, it captures what it was that moment to be a Snowy Egret. There \t\t\tis no right or wrong answer, but perhaps one that is simply better \t\t\tfor you and what you want to communicate!<\/p>\n

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One exception to V or H<\/h2>\n

There is one thing that when I see it, I automatically go vertical \t\t\tand that’s reflections. When the air is still and the water like a \t\t\tmirror, my mind starts looking for reflections, which means I turn \t\t\tmy camera vertically. If I have one rule, that’s got to be it.<\/p>\n

There are actually times you can plan for reflections and make them \t\t\thappen. The best example is pre-dawn at Ft Myers Beach and post-sunset \t\t\tat Ding Darling. The first obvious thing here is, there is no one else \t\t\taround at these times which can really help you succeed! This is essential \t\t\tbecause I find myself often in the water at Ft Myers Beach in the early \t\t\tam. And at Ding Darling, most folks pack their bags and fold their \t\t\ttents and go home once the sun sets which to me is when some of the \t\t\tbest photography is just beginning. In either case, it’s the weaning \t\t\tlight levels that I’m looking for as well as certain biology.<\/p>\n

It’s at these hours that wading birds preen. I’ve already discussed \t\t\thow we can use this activity to get close physically, but I didn’t \t\t\tmention the other really great part of preening. When birds preen, \t\t\tthey open up their feathers and show them off for all of their magnificence! \t\t\tIn spring that means breeding plumes and I can’t think of anything \t\t\tbetter to show twice in a photograph than breeding plumes all fanned \t\t\tout!<\/p>\n

This activity is a two edge sword though when it comes to photography. \t\t\tIt lends itself to some of the best poses of wading birds to be captured \t\t\tin a reflection. At the same time, this activity involves movement \t\t\tas the bird cleans each bard on each feather. This is something you \t\t\tdon’t want when there is no light (no, VR or IS will not help in low \t\t\tlight when the subject is moving!) and of course, no shutter speed. \t\t\tOne of my favorite ways to photograph wading birds then is one of the \t\t\ttrickiest!<\/p>\n

After getting up early or staying late, after finding the subject \t\t\ton a mirror surface, after turning the camera vertically, there is \t\t\tone other very important thing to do. That’s dial in exposure compensation! \t\t\tWe’re working in basically no light and while our meter will deliver \t\t\tthe right exposure, who wants the right metering reading for dark! \t\t\tI generally start by dialing in +2 stops and work my way down to 0 \t\t\tfrom there. How do you know how much is enough compensation? If you’re \t\t\tshooting conventional, you bracket for effect and if you’re shooting \t\t\tdigital, you check your monitor and histograms. Bracketing for effect \t\t\tmeans just that, you have no idea what effect the plus compensation \t\t\tis going to render so you bracket and make your selection once you \t\t\thave your film back. With digital, you simply view your image and information \t\t\tand compensate accordingly.<\/p>\n

Most importantly your exposing for personal preference! There is \t\t\tno really right or wrong but rather, personal taste in what you want \t\t\tto or not to communicate in your image. I can guarantee you that the \t\t\tviewer of your image will have no clue how you exposed for the scene, \t\t\tlet alone the time of day you actually took the photo. If you thought \t\t\tyou had enough on your mind selecting vertical or horizontal, you ain’t \t\t\tseen nothing until you get into these unique scenarios where the truly \t\t\tspectacular images are captured!<\/p>\n

One last tidbit on photographing the reflections of wading birds \t\t\tthat are preening. Quite often they will flare out their wing, turn \t\t\ttheir head upside down and preen away. This is an awesome photographic \t\t\topportunity if you’re ready for it. Besides all that I’ve already written \t\t\tabove, to capture this shot, you need to wait for peak of action. In \t\t\tthis case, the peak of action is when the bird has finished running \t\t\ta feather through its bill and stops for just a heartbeat before grabbing \t\t\tthe next feather. You either need to have a lightning fast trigger \t\t\tfinger or no problem depressing the shutter release and letting the \t\t\tcaptures fly! Of all my wading bird images, it’s this pose in this \t\t\ttype of light that I love the most!<\/p>\n

There are some photographers out there that I’ve met who do nothing \t\t\tbut photograph wading birds. Who can blame them? Waders are both eloquent \t\t\tand challenging! I know that if they were where I am, I sure would \t\t\tspend one heck of a lot more time photographing them. For beginner \t\t\tto experienced alike, they make for great subjects to learn from and \t\t\tphotograph. I’m still learning after twenty years and I hope you too \t\t\thave just as long a time learning from these beautiful members of our \t\t\tavian world!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from the BT Journal, Vol. 7, Issue 1, February 2002 It’s February and there’s snow on the ground at my home. The XC skis are in the back of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-7227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-whats-new"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=100&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"

How To Get Close<\/a><\/blockquote>