Nature Images Online Magazine

The Power of the Photo Essay - by Dave Waddell

2012-01-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

A photo essay sometimes gives me the ability to see something that i have never seen before. In assembling photos for a photo essay, i will sometimes come across a series of photos that show me something unexpected, despite being there and aware.

Usually a few days will go by before I realise the photos i have taken show something interesting. I have also noticed that the photos are almost always taken in a burst of shots.

If you take a lot of photos and throw away all of the photos that do not meet the criteria of greatness that most professional nature photographers subscribe to, you will definitely not see much of an animal's character, behaviour nor day to day activities as they meet the almost insurmountable hurdles of their short lives.....but meet them they do and it is that they live fully for the time that they have, that I hold my deepest respect.

In the above 4 photographs taken way back in 2008, I seem to have recorded in the space of 8 seconds, a series of shots of 2 Hoverflies that are doing something interesting on 2 different wildflowers so synchronously that it is just too noticeable to be written off as coincidental behaviour given the fact that they are at different levels, one almost directly above the other. To me it seems possible to think of 4 or 5 different things that might be going on here....but as i am not an expert on insects perhaps you will tell me what you think.

So here are some things that i think might be going on in these photos;

1) This is normal behaviour (counter-clockwise search) to locate food...... and there is a 50% likelihood that this is true.

2) This is just competitive behaviour (somewhat like a large group of European Starlings that land and check out the ground only to suddenly take flight when one, perhaps the leader, jumps back into flight.... only to fly a short distance and land. And when they spread out, each bird will constantly be searching and at the same time be watching others who look more successful than themselves. To whom they run because they think they have a more productive location for food) ......and there is a 50% likelihood that this is true.

   3) Courtship behaviour.........i think this is unlikely for i think they are both males...again...consult an expert as i just don't know but i would say there is a 0% likelihood that this is true.

   4) Some kind of insect communication is going on here. I think there is a good possibility that these 2 Hoverflies are in communication of some sort for to be out of each other's sight as definitely these photos show and to behave as they do in what looks like synchronous behaviour speaks to that. For behaviours that are "good" and help maintain the "health and vigor" of their society are indeed a worthy end in that enviable direction. And the likelihood, i personally think, in this event is very high.

A simple conclusion to this article is that a series of photos is a valuable tool in constructing a Photo Essay which provides considerable weight when one tries to convince others of the merits of a particular point of view.

......and to all of you.....

Keep your camera running hot and be cool.

Cheers..... Dave Waddell

The Art of Critique by Alfred and Fabiola Forns

2011-12-12T12:09:00.003-05:00

Some of the beginners have a hard time offering critique or
evaluating an image.

Let’s do a general guideline on the aspects of a photograph
that we look at when we are viewing as critics:

1- Exposure
2- Composition
3- Sharpness and detail
4- Subject

Now, elaborating on each of them:

1- Exposure-
Formal definition: exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall
on the photographic medium(film or image sensor) during the
process of taking a photograph.

What do we look for? Highlights and shadows in check, meaning
you will see detail in both light and dark areas.
Whites should not look solid white (referred to as burned or clipped)
and blacks should not look solid black (we called them blocked)

Whites should not look muddy (underexposed), darks should not
look washed out (overexposed).

If the whole image looks too light or too dark, it may
not be correctly exposed.

2- Composition-
Formal definition: composition is the placement or arrangement of visual
elements or ingredients in a work of art.
This may be more complicated than exposure and very elusive to some.

Basics:
Do not frame too tight (subject bigger than 75% of the total frame),
especially for printing. Web presentation can be tighter.
Rule of thirds: Divide your frame into thirds, both vertically and
horizontally, and try to place your main subject on or close to the
intersections. Horizons or frame divisions work well in thirds. Centered
placing worksbetter in symmetrical compositions and in vertical format.

Leave room in front of subject rather than behind. If the body
is facing one way and the head the other way, try and leave room in
front of the face. Avoid distracting elements, especially big blobs
of white or black, they take attention away from your subject.

Consider perspective when choosing your angle of view. Eye
level is more intimate and appealing. Branches or lines shooting
out of the corners emphasize the rectangular or square shape of the
frame and are to be avoided.

Some strong compositional elements are diagonals, patterns and textures.

3- Sharpness and detail-

Formal definition of sharpness: Having clear form and detail.
It is just as easy to over sharpen when you are preparing an image
for the web, as it is to go the opposite way, referred to as soft. Soft
images do not appear crisp. Over sharpened images have lines that
are too crisp and look frozen.

4- Subject-
Formal definition: The dominant element of a composition.
It is important to have a clear subject. In avian, wildlife or macro,
this is easier that it may be in landscapes. We need a main element
that holds the viewer attention. If you have two subjects, it is
best if they interact. Subject placement and space was discussed in
composition.

Subject cropping should be done carefully, and it is
preferable to cut half a wing or leg, rather that just clip. You cut as
composition. You clip as mistake. In the case of live subjects, a nice
specimen will always be better than a less fortunate one, unless you are
trying to illustrate a point.

Ex: Butterfly with broken wings, flower with decaying petals.
Eye contact and catch light are positive elements. Eye contact
meaning looking at you or if two subjects, looking
at each other. A catch light implies life and vibrancy.

Head angle is important for two reasons: It looks more intimate
when the subject is looking at you, rather than away from you. And,
when the subject (bird or mammal) is giving you a profile, the
eye and tip of bill or nose are on a different plane in regard to the
sensor, depending on the size of the subject, this may mean
not enough depth of field to get both eye and tip in focus.
A slight turn towards you will improve the situation.

Using the sun behind you in the most common and easiest light,
followed by the sun in front, side light being the most difficult
to handle. Try for clean, un-obtrusive backgrounds. Shooting
wide open or close to it, is a good way to get this. You may
have to walk around the subject, stand on your tip-toes or
get on your knees looking for that all green or all blue
background, but when you do it, you will be
more pleased with the results.

Eye level whenever possible. This would give a feeling of more
intimacy to your picture and it may take you flat on the ground for
some animals, provided the terrain permits it.

It is much better when the animal is looking into the picture
instead of out of it. In other words, there should be more distance
from the tip of the bill to the edge of the frame, than from the tail
to the opposite edge. The subject should not be too
tight, no more that 75% of the image.

For flights, the bird landing towards you with the sun to your back is
ideal, when he’s flapping parallel you may get unwanted shadows in
the wings, which get to be real harsh when the sun is strong.
The upward and downward strokes are more attractive than
the gliding “pancake” look and the wing position
can improve or kill a picture.

Bird small in frame should go close to the corners, unless the
composition calls for it, stay away from totally centered positions, and
the bird should be coming at you, not going away from you.

These are all general guidelines, you can stir away sometimes
and it may work or not work. Experimenting is a great tool
for improvement, and practice makes great, if not perfect!

Alfred and Fabiola Forns

Entering the World of Nature Macro Shooting - by Ashley Hockenberry

2011-11-09T10:41:00.011-05:00

As I scan through literally thousands of online photo galleries, I see all types of images and collections from very skilled photographers- many more skilled than me - wildlife, bird, landscape, portrait and the like. But often conspicuously absent are macro images.

I suppose a lot of photographers have mixed feelings about macro photography. Some perhaps think it is too much trouble or that you have to have too much special equipment. Others may feel as if it is not ‘real’ photography. Still others may give it a try and get frustrated with the results. And then there is the ever-present problem of getting your little teeny subjects to cooperate with you and stay still long enough for you to set up and squeeze off a shot.

The classic definition of macro photography is where the reproduction ratio (the subject size on the film plane / image sensor to the actual subject size) is greater than 1:1, although there is now a more loose definition which I adhere to which involves photographing smaller plant, animal and insect life with either a macro lens or a traditional zoom lens which may not be a 1:1 reproduction ratio

Equipment

There is a mind numbing array of gizmos and gadgets for macro photography – everything from ring flashes and extension tubes to focusing rails and various types of reversing rings and special clips and tripods – all of which have a role to play- but I like to keep things simple and mainly shoot free hand without the aid of all these devices or may simply use a tripod and a remote switch.

I guess the simple question is this – why invest in tons of gear for an art form that you may not be totally sold on? My suggestion is to start small – invest in a good macro lens and also a good medium focal length zoom lens with a sturdy tripod. A remote switch will reduce camera shake. I will assume if you are a serious photographer that you already have an external flash. If not, invest in one and more importantly get a simple flash diffuser which you can buy from any camera store. Now you are ready to go.

Note: A good macro lens will cost some money. Try not to compromise here because your image quality will suffer. This is the one area where you don’t want to cut corners.

Subjects

My favourite nature macro subjects are insects, spiders, butterflies, dragonflies, reptiles and frogs. Also, there are flowers, plants, fungi and lichens.

Approach

When approaching anything alive I try to move slowly and keep a certain distance and wait until the insect or dragonfly, for instance, has landed and then start to set up my shot. It is a common mistake to start blasting away with the camera only to have the subject get spooked and fly off never to be found again. So try not to get in too much of a hurry.

ISO

I like to keep mine as low as possible, say around ISO100; however, there are exceptions to this like anything but macro images will show up noisy, grainy backgrounds and artefacts pretty easily so be careful – if you need more light you can bump up the ISO but I do not like going beyond ISO400, unless it is really cloudy.

Depth of field

This can be tricky. I find that the ideal depth of field is f/10 or smaller however, this can be hard to achieve when there is minimal light or you need a faster shutter speed but to overcome this you can use flash. It is possible to shoot 1/200 second with a flash and have f/16 or f/18 and you get the best of both worlds – depth of field and light.

Stationary subjects

The ideal situation is to get out very early in the morning and photograph butterflies, insects and dragonflies while they are still on their night perch and sitting quietly waiting for the temperature to rise. Now you can use your tripod and take your time. You can set up for a long exposure with a small aperture. Again, use a remote switch for best results.

Flash

I have an aversion to flash for a lot of reasons. First of all, I prefer natural light and will do whatever I can to work with it no matter what. However, if situations demand it, then I will bring out my flash and set up accordingly, but it is not my first choice. Flash should not be overdone and used just enough to illuminate the subject and fill in the shadows.

Shutter Speed

Your lighting conditions will dictate your aperture which will limit your shutter speed. Lots of light can make for great shooting conditions and allows for the greatest flexibility. I try to shoot as fast a shutter speed as I possibly can and will vary the aperture to get different results which will allow me to move to the fastest shutter speed possible, especially if the subject is moving a bit – such as a butterfly. Try to preset your aperture whenever possible with your

Focal Points

I have learned the hard way on this one. I know my 3 camera bodies’ focal points pretty well and use them very carefully. Setting the focal point is critical to have an ‘in-focus’ shot. Sometimes I use a pattern of focal points and at times I will use a single focal point. If you are photographing a snake or a frog you will typically want a single focal point focused on the head or more specifically the eye.

Background

I have become almost obsessive about this. The background is almost as important as the subject. This means doing what you can to set up the shot and shooting from different angles to avoid unnecessary glare, reflections, and visual distractions. Try to aim for a clear, clean background without anything else competing for attention with the main subject. A blurred background is preferable in some situations, and of course for this you need a greater depth of field. Depth of field can be achieved literally with distance or by using a smaller aperture.

Posing subjects

Yes, I have posed snakes, frogs, insects, flowers and so on. Some may object to this practice, but I am always gentle and do this because I prefer one background to another and sometimes find a preferred subject in a less than desirable photographic setting. But each subject has a limit to how much they can be handled so my advice is to limit this and move on to the next subject. After all, we want to respect nature.

I hope this has helped and if you have not tried macro shooting in nature that you will give it a try. You may be amazed at your results. But remember it takes a lot of practice.

Good luck!

Ashley Hockenberry

No Light!! by Raymond Barlow

2011-10-07T17:21:00.004-04:00

(Click on the images for larger views)

Birds in flight photography is difficult enough during the best of conditions., we all struggle to get sharp images. for the most part, I do not even bother trying unless the conditions are pretty close to awesome.

Since I never use flash, and I refuse to crank up the iso unless the situation is so cool I can't resist, this past weekend (Oct 1st and 2nd, 2011) were definitely challenging. Very low clouds, and heavy!

We were shooting at the Canadian Raptor Conservancy, two workshops, (with several guests cancelling due to poor conditions!) so the bunch of us that turned out gave this our best "shot!".

Depending on the bird, its speed, the background, etc., I shot mostly manual exposure, wide open aperture, and iso 640 - 800. These perimeters left me with shutter speeds anywhere from 1/400 - 1/1000 sec. Using the D300 and my 200-400 at f4, I was looking forward to cleaning up a bit of noise, but it really wasn't too bad.

A bit of noise on the background is easy to clean up, separate the bird with the quick selection tool, and blur the background. I applied no noise reduction to the the birds in these images. The key to getting sharp images is good panning, and a steady hand. also, proper AF settings.

Af continuous with the Nikon Cameras, and AI Servo with Canon is a must., many times, with high contrast backgrounds, I use single sensor., and try like heck to keep it on the bird. also, one key setting is to close off the shutter AF actuation with the front button, and use AF ON button for all focusing activation. Separating these two functions is critical.

There are many other factors, and setting for birds in flight photography., I try to teach all this during my workshops, and hope to release a CD soon.

Each type of bird, background, flight pattern, location, distances, size in the frame, tones, etc requires a different approach, all of which will be explained in the CD.

This CD will sell for $24.95, and will be released on December 1st, 2011, just in time for Christmas!
Pre-orders are available for $20.00 USD, just email me here...

ray@raymondbarlow.com or raymondjbarlow@yahoo.ca

Re-sizing an Image - by Socrate

2011-07-27T11:34:00.006-04:00

The “Image Size” Panel (from the” Image” Menu) can be
used to RESIZE an Image or to RESAMPLE (or Scaling)
an Image. Re-sizing an Image means that
all the changes you do to an Image will be “non destructive”,
you will not touch any pixels. Re-sampling means you
are changing the size of the file, the pixel
dimension.

The Default Panel in PS is to have an image
Re-sampled (Resample ON).

The Dialog Box is divided in two Parts:

-The Pixel Dimensions – The upper part. It tells
you how much data you have available.

-The Document Size- The lower section.

The Document Size it is harder to understand because
it has one more thing to think about: Resolution

When you uncheck the “Resample Image” check box you will notice that the Pixel Dimension section becomes unavailable. In the example above the Image size is 8 x10 as you can see.

That means you cannot change or touch the pixels whatever you’ll do with the values of the Document Size section. Al what you can change is how the image is going to be printed, what size it will be printed, since you cannot change the amount of information (pixels) or data of the file. This means that if you want to print the image at a smaller size of 8x10 the Resolution has to change because you are not changing the pixel number, but rather you are fitting the same number of pixels in a smaller area.

So the pixels are getting smaller. That means the smaller the pixels the higher the Resolution, the higher the number of pixels in the same area. In our example I halved the size, so the Resolution had to double.

Now, one thing that is confusing is that once you choose the smaller size and click “OK” it appears that nothing happens to the image on screen, it doesn’t look smaller or different on screen.

That is exactly what it is supposed to happen because you did a Re-size and not a Re-sample. You haven’t changed the number of pixels, just how the file will be printed.

Now, let’s turn the “Resample Image” On by checking the check box. Now the Pixel Dimension section becomes available, so now I have access to the pixels. I can change the pixels number: a potentially lossy operation!

If I now change the Width in the document size box you’ll notice that this time the resolution doesn’t change because they are not connected anymore. You can change them independently.

After you change the width in the Document Size section you can get a clue of what happened to the original file of 6.8Mb by looking on top at the Pixel Dimensions. You get the actual size, 1.72M, compared to the original size. Since we made the dimension smaller and we didn’t change the resolution, PS throws away a large number of data (pixels). If you click OK you will notice that this time the image gets smaller on the screen, because it now contains fewer pixels.

So when you have “Resample Image” ON you are not just changing how this image will be printed, but you are actually changing the physical size of the file.

While it is Okay to through away pixels (Down-sampling), some problems may occur when PS is adding pixels (from nowhere) (Up-sampling) unless you use a dedicated program such as On-One’s Genuine Fractals.

Now let’s get to an important question for those that do some printing: How Big a Print can I make with my image? Do I have enough information to print the Image the size I want?

This is how you can figure that out.

1 – Turn OFF (uncheck) “Resample images”, so everything you’ll do now will be non-destructive.

2- In the Resolution box put the value of the resolution you want to print your image. 240 to 300 is a good range. 240 is a great number for inject printer and, believe me, 240 is plenty enough and you won’t tell the difference. Look at the values of Width and Height in the Document Size section. Those are the max sizes you can get at that resolution without re-sampling the Image.

How do you get the exact right size you want to print? Let’s say the size you get with the new resolution is 11X15 and you want an 8x10?

3- If the image isn’t the same proportions than you need to crop it. After you select the crop tool type the width and height (8x10) AND the same value of resolution you used in the Image Size Panel.

4 – Crop it and Print it. Done! You may have some sides off, so it’s up to you to decide what you don’t need.

And that’s the ENDJ

Socrate

Why Tanzania? by Raymond Barlow - Part 1

2011-04-07T02:38:00.006-04:00

Well, let`s say for starter's, the freaking place is un-believable!

Tanzania is an amazing country. Finally, the government is
taking charge of poaching, controlling hunting, and
promoting tourism. The wildlife resource is extraordinary!

My recent tour to this country was a dream come true,
imagine - a trip to Africa, and it`s your job! We had five guests
to support my program, 10 days in several different areas
withing this country, Arusha, Lake Manyara, Serengeti NP

and Ngorongoro Crater. All were awesome in their own way.

Our guides, Nas, and Nickson did a fantastic job., Nas and
his wife Donna own this tour company as they specialize
in preparing tours for photography groups. The lodges, driving,
wildlife knowledge, skills are amazing. And both of these guys

love to take pictures!

After 14,000 frames I did learn a few things about photography

in Tanzania. One issue is we are restricted to life in the
safari truck while around dangerous animals... makes
sense, but I want out!

On a few occasions I was permitted to leave the vehicle,
and get down low for the right angle, but for the most part,
shooting took place from the top opening, or through the window.

Most of the time this works fine, but there are times when
we are just too close, and shooting down to our
subject was not the best angle.

Next, I found the weather fantastic in February. Warm afternoons,
and cool evenings. We were amazed that none of the
accomadations had air-conditioning! I guess we
are at just the right altitude! But! Sunscreen is needed... as
we are very close to the equator, and during mid day

you need to be careful.

Flies are not as much of a problem as I expected. When we
were around large wildebeest herds, the flies were a bit
annoying, but we were able to deal

with them, and bug spray did not seem to help.

One thing that amazed me was how calm all the animals were,
when we got close! Some lions were resting road side, and our
driver, Nas, had to make sure he didn`t run over their

paws!! They just didn`t bother moving! Talk about relaxed!

ok, so this will be continued in a bit, there is a lot to
tell about this trip,

so please come back for more next time.

Raymond Barlow

Tanzania Workshops - Tours

Make the Shot! by Tim Kuhn

2011-03-11T09:47:00.003-05:00

When most of us started out in nature photography our main drive was to find and photograph our subjects. That’s exactly what we did; we photographed them without giving any thought to the composition of the image. What we did was create, at best, documentation shots. There was clutter in the image, objects in front of and behind the subject, this and that were all wrong. When I was beginning, upon seeing shots from the photographers I respected I can remember thinking “man he is so lucky, the bird landed in just the right spot for him”. I didn’t realize that it was the photographer that probably made the shot good and there was little luck involved. I, like many others I would imagine, took a while to figure that I did indeed have a fair amount of control over how my images would come out. It isn’t all luck after all. What I would like to do is to offer some tips and explanations on how to create your own luck and make the shot.

So how do we go about controlling nature? Well we don’t, instead we work with nature and what it is offering us. There are always many ways to look at something. We need to use our eyes to see not only the subject but how the subject really looks. At first we may see a bird setting on a branch. If it is the first time we have seen this species, the excitement grows. As the excitement grows our objectivity seems to go down. We don’t see the twigs blocking the breast of the bird. We miss that the background is just a mess of clutter. We are so excited that we just don’t see these things. That is until we slow down and really think about the shot we are going to take.

There are many things we can control or use to our advantage, let’s look at how we can do that. In the preceding example, we were so excited to see a lifer that we really didn’t think about what we were seeing. When you first spot the subject take a careful look through the viewfinder and really think about what you are seeing. Look really closely, is there a fine stick between the lens and the subject? Is there some foreground blur of objects blocking the subject? Take the time to look carefully; it is so very easy to overlook this kind of thing out in the field. Okay there is a stick in the way so now you have to reposition yourself. Now that you have a clear shot pay attention to the background. Is it too busy? Are there distracting elements to it such as bright spots, twigs that appear to be coming out of the subject’s body? Will the bokeh be complimentary?

Sometimes moving left or right, up or down just a little bit can make all the difference in the world. Other times it is a timing issue. Recently I was photographing Pelicans on a rocky shoreline overlooking the surf line. I had the Pelican nicely composed, posed and positioned, the sea and rocks in the background created a wonderfully complimentary bokeh. I was just about to press the shutter when the waves crashed changing the background from a nice mottled background to bright foamy white! The white background would have been blown out by the sun absolutely ruining the shot.

Timing can also be an issue when it is windy. The background and the foregrounds both are quite dynamic on a windy day. Keep that in mind and time your shutter releases accordingly. The subject’s position and or pose are something else you have to keep in mind. Most of the time you want to have as much of the bird in focus that you can. How you can control this is either with the subject’s position or you aperture. As for the former having the subject as parallel as possible to the cameras sensor is key. Another aspect to keep in mind is isolation of the subject.

Shots with multiple birds, for example, are a lot more difficult to pull off. Yes they can work sometimes, usually with the secondary birds playing a supporting role to the main subject or adding symmetry. The difficulty with more than one subject is getting all of the subjects in focus. Shots of a train of birds in flight work wonderfully well if all of the birds are nice and sharp. If some of the birds are out of focus the image may not work as well. One way to use multiple subjects is to have one of them in the near background in semi focus, therefore supporting the subject that is nicely focused. When you don’t want multiple subjects sometimes a small change in your position will isolate the subject from the ones around it creating a nice clean shot.

The last item I will address is lighting. Of course we want the sun to be at our back if that is possible. When approaching a subject keep that in mind, line yourself up with the light early on during your approach. Keep checking the subject as you get closer, often a slight change in angle will pull more details out of what you are shooting. A bit of angle on the light brings up some shadows that help to define the fine details.

Tim Kuhn

Nature Photography at the Garden Pond by Norbert Schuster

2011-01-21T13:19:00.006-05:00

(please click on the images for a larger view, then use your back button)

Since nearly two hours I am laying on the ground watching and photographing frogs. In early spring they come back to the pond where they have been born to find a partner to mate. The male frogs are quite aggressive and sometimes the females seem to suffer from the males’ efforts. My back and my neck start aching because I am trying to have my camera as low as possible above the ground. Therefore I am using a bean bag and a right-angle viewing attachment on a Nikon camera which is equipped with a 150 mm macro lens from Sigma.

It is a perfect day for nature photography. But today I did not travel to a remote place; I stayed at home in the garden at the pond!

Another interesting time to stay at home is early summer when the dragonflies leave their exuviae. The metamorphosis starts after a female dragonfly has dropped the eggs in the pond or attached them on a water plant. After a while the eggs will hatch into small nymphs which look like little aliens. The nymph stage is the longest period in the life cycle of a dragonfly and can last up to five years. Then in early summer mostly in the early morning the nymph climbs out of the water up the stem of a plant. The skin breaks up behind the head and the dragonfly slowly crawls out of the old skin, slowly the wings develop to their full size and get slowly hardened. Only then the dragonfly can fly away and start hunting for insects.

This final step of the metamorphosis can take a few hours, a period in which the dragonfly is very vulnerable. I could watch several times that a dragonfly was eaten piece by piece by a wasp.

To photograph the dragonflies I also use the Sigma 150 mm macro lens sometimes with the 1.4 converter on a bean bag or a tripod. To obtain a sufficient field of depth I close the aperture to f/11 up to f/16 which can result even with ISO 400 or 800 in rather slow shutter speeds. For maximum sharpness I prefer the mirror-up mode and take a lot of shots hoping that the wind is not shaking the dragonfly too much.

Norbert Schuster

(Cameras used for the images above: Nikon D200, D300 and D700)

2010-12-31T09:44:00.004-05:00

Flight Photography 101

Written by Alfred and Fabiola Forns

Fiight photography doesn’t have to be an unreachable goal for you. As difficult as it may seem, making consistently good flight images is possible if you practice and keep a few principles in mind.

There are two elements to consider for successful avian flight photography: motor skills and technical skills.

Motor skills refer to quick reflexes, the ability to track the bird and pressing the shutter at the right moment. To practice your motor skills, it would be ideal to find a colony of Gulls where flight is frequent and use a medium telephoto lens to practice tracking them. Super-telephotos will be an additional challenge because of the extremely narrow field of view. If you are using a zoon lens, it’s better to acquire the bird in the wider setting and then zoom in to fill the frame once you have it in focus.

©Alfred Forns

Before we get to the technical part, let’s talk equipment. You can shoot from a tripod or by supporting the camera entirely by hand. Shooting without any means of mechanical support is easier in some respects because of the freedom of movement and ease of acquiring and following the bird, but it requires a steady hand and strong arms. If you are using a super telephoto, you will need a faster shutter speed to counter act camera shake.

A tripod set-up for flight should have a swivel head that permits panning as well as rotation, such as the Wimberley head, the lighter Mongoose or Wimberley sidekick. The tripod needs to be sturdy enough to hold you gear securely, yet light enough for you to carry it around. Carbon fiber is a very popular material. Leveling the tripod and balancing your lens is important.

Holding medium telephoto lenses entirely by hand should be fairly easy. The challenge is to use the heavier super telephotos, like the 500mm or 600mm.

©Fabiola Forns

As a general rule, we recommend the use of a tripod. However, if flight patterns are erratic or unexpected, removing the camera and lens from the confines of a tripod can be beneficial. However, keep in mind that holding a heavy lens for extended periods of time can result in fatigue or unnecessary injury. Additionally, you need a lot of coordination, a steady hand and very high shutter speed. The palm of your support hand should serve as base for the lens tripod collar and you should strive to make panning as smooth as possible. When not shooting, place the lens back the tripod, on a handrail, etc., to avoid fatigue.

©Alfred Forns

Technical skills refer to achieving a perfect exposure with the right shutter speed. For static subjects, you can shoot and look at the histogram, and adjust your settings if necessary. For flight subjects, you only have one chance to get the exposure right.

When photographing birds in-flight while they are banking, flapping or landing, the easiest way is to handle exposure is to use manual metering mode. Once the camera is set to manual metering mode, meter the sky roughly 30 degrees over the horizon and add one stop (meter will indicate 1 stop of over exposure). Providing the bird is under the same light, it will not matter whether the background is sky, clouds or trees - your exposure will be correct. This is the equivalent of using a gray card and the same reading is achievable using green grass. Both will give you an even exposure. The exceptions would be to adjust a bit for a black or white bird – less exposure for black and more for white, or if you are shooting into the light (towards the sun) in which case you will need to add light unless you want a silhouette.

©Fabiola Forns

©Alfred Forns

©Fabiola Forns

For photographing birds directly overhead, bear in mind that you are shooting the shaded side of the bird. Your normal exposure would be to add one additional stop of light to your base exposure, for a total of 2 additional stops when metering 30 degrees over the horizon. If shooting under heavily overcast conditions you may add up to three stops of light.

©Alfred Forns

Generally you want to be shooting with the sun behind you. Visualizing a clock, shoot between 11 and 1 o’clock to avoid harsh shadows across the body and wings. Early and late in the day, your chances of even light are better. Cloudy conditions, although they require more exposure compensation, are great because of the decreased contrast and lack of intruding shadows.

When the bird is flapping, it is desirable to keep the images with the full wing beat either up or down versus the dreaded hanging wings or flat profile. Birds coming directly at you are the hardest for autofocus systems to track because they are moving rapidly against the sensor plane - you may need to “pump” the shutter button to re-acquire focus more often.

©Fabiola Forns

Good flight photography also depends on the wind. You usually want the wind coming from behind you because birds tend to fly and land against the wind. If wind conditions are not favorable there is very little chance of success.

Once the sun begins to set, you still have opportunities to get flight images. This will require a speedlight and a flash extender, such as the Better Beamer, in order to make your light output effective at that distance. For exposure, start by keeping your shutter speed at twice the synch speed of the camera and lens aperture set wide open. Control your exposure by setting the ISO to attain 1 stop of over exposure. Keep in mind that you will have at least one stop difference if shooting east or west. Once the ISO reaches 800, start lowering shutter speed as needed, finishing your session shooting blurs until the lens will no longer focus. This should happen about half an hour after sundown.

©Fabiola Forns

Tips to remember:

• Acquire the bird while small in the frame

• If you use a zoom lens, acquire the bird using a wide setting and zoom-in after

• Keep your idle hand under the lens barrel

• Shoot during the golden hours of light – just after dawn and just before dusk

• Overcast conditions? Add more light to your exposure and shoot all day

• Pump the shutter button to reacquire while tracking

• Keep your panning motion as smooth as you can

And most important, have fun!

More is Better? by Kyle Horner

2010-12-20T13:38:00.001-05:00

Working with a Shallow Depth-of-field

In nature photography – especially macro nature photography – depth-of-field (the amount of an image that is in-focus) is an ongoing concern. When shooting small subjects that are close to the lens, it seems that one can never get enough. Photographers are perennially trying to squeeze out just a little more, and to work within the confines of what they’ve got.

Shooting in low-light complicates the depth-of-field problem even further, and this is often the case when photographing small wildlife. Insects, salamanders, lizards and other tiny creatures are often found under the forest canopy where there is little sunlight. To compensate, the photographer may increase the camera’s aperture (f-stop) setting, which allows more light onto the sensor or film. This produces the undesirable side effect of reduced depth-of-field.

Keeping perpendicular to your subject mitigates the problem, but is compositionally and creatively limiting. Recently, some computer-savvy photographers have taken to digitally “stacking” multiple images to extend the depth-of-field. While this technique can generate remarkable results, it requires ample time spent in front of a computer and is not suitable for situations in which the composition is changing (for example, if the subject is moving or the camera is hand-held).

Perhaps it is best to stop thinking of ways to solve this problem, and concentrate on ways to work with it. There are several strategies in which a shallow depth-of-field can be used to the photographer’s advantage.

Isolating a Subject

Perhaps the most obvious and frequent use of a shallow depth-of-field is isolating a subject. In this technique one attempts to capture the entire subject in-focus, while allowing the background to be rendered out-of-focus. This permits the viewer to concentrate on the subject without being distracted by elements of the background. It also produces a blurred background (or bokeh) that is pleasing to the eye. This technique is amply used in bird photography, where there is often considerable distance between the subject and the background.

Isolating a Specific Part of the Subject

When the depth-of-field is extremely narrow, it can be used to pull the viewer’s attention to a certain part or feature of the subject. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the part of the image that is in-focus, accepting the out-of-focus elements as part of the background. When shooting wildlife, the in-focus element is nearly always the eyes or face. This can create an interesting and intimate portrait of the subject.

Framing the Subject

While photographers often direct their attention to the in-focus portion of an image, the out-of-focus portion can often play an important role as well. In some situations, it is possible to use out-of-focus foreground and background elements to “frame” a subject. Often, this isolates the subject completely from its surroundings and strongly directs the viewer’s attention.

Creating Artistic Images

There are undoubtedly countless ways that a shallow depth-of-field can be used to create artistic and provocative images. It can blur the lace-like wings of a dragonfly, or provide a new perspective on a caterpillar. Creativity and imagination are important tools here, and you never know what you might capture! Whatever your approach may be, the technique allows the photographer to guide the viewer through the image.

Next time you’re faced with too little depth-of-field, experiment! Remember that the human eye cannot focus on everything at once, and neither can the camera. Try different compositions and focal points, and think about how you want people to see the image. You might gain a new perspective on a familiar subject, or produce an interesting shot of a new one. Working with a shallow depth-of-field is a great way to turn an old problem into a new adventure!

Happy Shooting!

Kyle Horner

Ashley Hockenberry

2010-11-26T10:40:00.003-05:00

Destination Photography

If you are a nature photographer, no doubt you have a number of places you would like to visit for the purpose of photographing a certain species of bird, animal or landscape. If planned properly, these kinds of trips can be very rewarding. Here are a few suggestions for such a trip:

1.) Do your homework. Plan as far as possible in advance. There are a lot of things to consider – travel, weather, air fares, car rentals, logistics, lodging, locations, not to mention how much equipment to bring and who to bring along. One very important thing to consider is weather conditions. Find out the best times to travel for the purposes of your target species or objective. Air fares are typically more affordable at off-peak periods when people travel less.

Warmer and tropical places tend to have a rainy season or hurricane season. Big snowfalls can occur at higher elevations even in late spring or early summer. I experienced a foot of snow in Yellowstone in June! Also bring proper clothing to protect yourself (and your equipment) from the elements, insects, the sun, and the rain. Bring a hat and make sure you have enough water. Wet wipes and lens cleaning supplies are good to have along.

2.) How long will you stay? It is important to give yourself enough time to get to all the places you want to go for your photography objectives. Be realistic otherwise you could end up trying to do too much with too little time. Perhaps you want to shoot a number of different types of birds in several different locations all of which are dispersed over a significant area. Consider how long you will need at each location and how long it will take to get from place to place. Keep in mind also that if you are in unfamiliar territory, it will take you a bit longer to get from place to place. It also helps to put together a general itinerary to plan which days you will shoot where and for how long.

3.) Navigation. Perhaps this is so obvious that it goes without saying, but having a number of good maps is essential. A GPS is also useful. I bring several types of maps, each with a different level of detail and specific maps also on how to get to and from the airport and hotel. You really do not want to spend valuable hours lost, driving aimlessly that you could be spending in the field getting the shots of a lifetime!

4.) Equipment. I have to be honest here and admit that more than once I have left behind valuable pieces of equipment which I regretted not having. Make sure you bring everything you need but not too much. You will also want to bring any really valuable as carry-on luggage in the airplane. Leaving it to the mercy of checked baggage is too risky. Bring a backup camera body if you have one and extra lenses. Also, make sure you have enough CF cards and batteries.

Something else I do is making sure I rent a car with a trunk and I put my equipment in there. I have heard of more than one case of someone having their vehicle broken into while out shooting and the very expensive gear, lenses and CF cards with images being stolen. What a horrible loss!

5.) Eliminate surprises. Visit photography forums and ask lots of questions. Get information from those who have been there and know from experience. Ask the locals! Browse others’ photographs who have traveled to the destinations you intend to go. If you are a member of a Flickr or Pbase or similar community, then you can ask members of your photographic community for advice. I have found people to be very helpful in this regard.

6.) Go with a group. Why? Sometimes getting out with others who know the area and have similar photography interests makes a huge difference. I was fortunate enough to have several friends in Louisiana take me to very remote areas of the state to photograph many species of wildlife I would have otherwise not be able to do and give me numerous pointers.

There is another reason to go with a group – safety. There is safety in numbers and if you are in an unfamiliar, even isolated place, especially very early in the morning or late in the evening, it is not only nice to be with a group, it is preferable. Group photo tours can be very useful as many of the details have already been looked after. You just need to get yourself there and focus on getting the right shots.

Good luck and good shooting!

Ashley Hockenberry

Alfred and Fabiola Forns

2010-11-09T19:35:00.001-05:00

The Magic of Blurs

A guide to creating artistic images.

Blurs have always been an intriguing part of photography. The best part about them is the technical challenge that they pose.

Blurs require practice, technique, and luck.

They could be have a variety of subjects, such as birds, flowers and even landscapes. Who has not tried to blur a bird in flight or a waterfall?

Low light is almost a prerequisite to blurs, providing the conditions so your camera can easily go for slow shutter speeds. In case you want to try blurs with stronger light, the use of neutral density filters can make it possible. The most practical strength to get would be a .9, which is three stops in density. There is also variable filters, that will let you dial in your desired strength. The Vari-N-Dual, by Singh-Ray, goes from 1 2/3 stops to 8 stops and it includes a warming polarizer. Although you can still add another ND filter on top of this one, the darker you go, the more difficult it will be to autofocus.

We will be covering a serried of blur technique, from panning to multiple exposures and will dedicate a section to each, with examples.

Practice is the key to many of the techniques included, so do not despair if you do not get perfect results at the beginning.

Panning blurs.-

The most common type, panning requires a steady hand and smooth tracking of the subject. It is recommended that you start following the subject before you press the shutter, in order to synchronize your movement to the subject’s speed.

The shutter speed of choice is dependant on the subjects speed, distance and angle.

The further away, the slower your shutter speed will be. Example, a bird across the filed could be rendered successfully at 1/8 of a second, while the same bird, much closer to you would require 1/60 of a second.

It would be desirable to have sharpness or at least some definition in the head, having the body and background blurred. Of course, you can have pleasing images where nothing is very sharp, but the human eye feels more comfortable having some degree of sharpness as reference.

Technique: Use a single point, not necessarily the center, depending on the size of the subject. Once you acquire focus, follow smoothly and when you feel your speed and the subject match, fire a burst, following through after your burst is over. The smoother you can pan, the better you will be. You can experiment with different shutter speeds, depending on the effect desired. As in any other type of photography, composition and exposure are important. Don’t forget to check your histogram. This type of blur can be done hand held or with a panning head.

Zoom blurs._

This technique works with zoom lenses and slow shutter speeds. We recommend starting this with the use of a tripod and very slow shutter speed (like on second).

This will allow you to press the shutter, hesitate and them zoom, yielding for a more recognizable center of attention. Once you have more experience, you can increase the shutter speed to 1/8 or 11/15 and even hand hold.

You can use the Zoom from wide to tele or vice versa. We favor starting at the long end and zooming out. You can experiment with the focus in the center, or move the point of focus to a side for a stronger composition. Centered captures can also be cropped if needed.

Once you have a bit more practice, you can combine panning and zooming for interesting effects. Colors and shapes play a major role in the success of the images.

Motion blurs-

This technique requires a long exposure and a very small camera movement and it works extremely well in very colorful subjects, such as flowers. Do not shake or move the camera too much, less is more here. The idea is to get a subtle movement that resembles brush strokes on a painting.

Another way of doing this is keeping your camera steady, a let a live subject travel through your frame. If you want to exaggerate the movement, pan in the opposite direction, keeping in mind that your blur will be much stronger and you may loose definition.

Multiple exposures.

Most high end Nikon cameras have the multiple exposure feature. Technology at your service, the camera will calculate your exposure and divide by the number of frames and will mix and give you one NEF file. It is important to keep the “Auto-gain” option on, in case you decide to take a different number of frames to the one you indicated, as not to offset the final exposure. We normally use about nine frames, in a rapid burst, with minimal or no movement, hand held. The way you will move the camera will depend on the subject’s shape, like vertical movement for trees.

You can also play with a tripod mounted camera and rotate the lens in the collar for each frame, maintaining consistent focus in one central point.

For Canon users, you can still acquire images the same way. Mixing them in post processing, with Ellen Anon’s technique as described in Tony Sweet’s book

“Fine Art in Nature Photography”.

First/background layer: 100% opacity, of course.

Second layer: (100 divided by 2) 50% opacity

Third layer (100 divided by 3) 33% opacity and so forth.

Change the blending mode of the last two layers to Overlay.

Coopyright Fabiola Forns f/11, 1/640, ISO 800, 24mm

Blurring with Lensbaby.-

Lensbabies are revolutionary little lenses that have a special blurred

look in the edges. The lenses do not communicate electronically with the camera (use your histogram to guide you) and the aperture changes with a ring that you place inside the lens. They are fun, they are light and they can get your creative juices going.

The Muse (originally named 2.0) gets bend to find the “sweet” focus point and is still our favorite today. If you need to replicate a certain look, the Control Freak will do it, and the latest, Composer, has a turning element to focus in the front.

Here are two examples of what you can do. It is important to approach this lens with an open mind and discover the possibilities.

Focus blurs.-

You can do blurs with high shutter speed. If you want to just show colors or shapes without detail, as abstracts, or with maybe just with minimal focus, going to manual focus and play with it, remembering to leave at least some trace of the original shape that is recognizable.

Copyrigth Fabiola Forns f/3.5, 1/1250, ISO 250, 180mm

Abstract blurs.-

Similar to focus blurs, you portray colors and shapes, with a slight movement of the camera, depending of your inspiration. Your shutter speed will be dependant on the camera movement.

At times, blurs will be your best choice, if the light is poor or the surroundings are cluttered. If you have to shoo in the middle of the day, using the neutral density filter and creating a blur may solve the problem. They are not for every day use and some people will not like or understand them, but they do have a place in artistic photography and learning to appreciate and capture them will open your mind as a photographer.

Alfred and Fabiola Forns:

A husband and wife team, they share the same passion for nature photography and love teaching others to make the best of every situation.

They are both award winners, including NANPA and Nature’s Bet Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

Since joining the Photographic Society of America, they both became Mentors for new members.

To learn more about their work and custom workshops, please visit their website:

http://avianscapes.com

Tips! by Tim Kuhn

2010-10-25T09:20:00.003-04:00

Often times when I’m out in the field taking pictures, tips that others have given me come streaming into my head. I thought I would compile a list of things to keep in mind and or good practices to follow when shooting out in the field. Most of the time in nature photography we only get limited chances to get our shot, anything we can do to increase the odds of getting the shot can pay back in spades. I’m sure most, if not all, of the photographers reading this knows each and every one of the items I will be addressing. There is nothing wrong with a little review. So let us start at the beginning.

Before leaving, preferably the night before check a few items for their readiness. Is the battery charged? Simple enough I know but it happens all the time, some shooting partner has a dead battery! Is there a memory card in the camera? Now would be a great time to look at your lenses. Are they clean? Some of us forget to clean our lenses often enough. Were there dust bunnies on that last batch of images? If there were clean the sensor/s on your body/ies. All of these are very basic items, none the less, they are important items. Another good idea is to pack your camera bag the night before. No need tempting fate with a foggy head in the morning. Be sure to check for extra memory cards and batteries if applicable. There is nothing worse than being in the field and finding out these vital items are on the kitchen table!

Now you have arrived at your destination and you just can’t wait to get out there. Hold on, now would be the time to get few things set up just in case an opportunity for a shot catches you by surprise. Check the camera for shooting mode. I shoot Manual all the time. That doesn’t mean that the setting didn’t get changed by some gremlin while I wasn’t looking! There are few surprises worse than some bird comes flying by and you lock on focus and fire away only to find out you were in some other mode and shots are all lost. I have heard the grunts, groans and cussing caused by this plenty of times. Check your lens for the appropriate settings. Most Super – Tele’s have numerous settings on them for different circumstance, set it before you head out for the most likely scenario that you’ll come upon. Set the exposure. One can usually get the exposure close to, if not spot on, by using one of nature’s grey cards. Find something neutral in the distance and set the exposure for that. While doing that set the shutter/f stop for the type of shooting you will most likely be doing. I always default to an in flight setting. Static subjects allow more time to spin knobs and push buttons that a bird that suddenly flies by!

Now that we are out in the field there are some rules of thumb, best practices and tips that come into play. One rule of thumb that has been hammered into my head but so many seem resistant to is to use whatever ISO is needed to get the proper shutter speed. A blurry picture is worthless; a noisy picture can be dealt with, to a degree, in post. The same can be said for depth of field. If you need more depth because of a poor position on the subject you may have to bump the ISO. Now that you are snapping away, check the LCD/histogram. The built in light meter is only a guideline, trust the histogram/ LCD instead. If there are any clipping drop the exposure. If the clipping is absent bump the exposure. It is a fine dance to execute properly. So many subjects are both white and black/brown that the proper exposure is truly difficult. It would behoove oneself to check often. Proper exposure is something to be addressed in camera and not in post. See the Razorbill image for an example.

Once you acquire your subject take some time, at least some quick thought, about what you are doing. There are so many things that go into making an okay shot awesome. Top notch photographs are the culmination of many things; the smart photographer understands what and how to work the subject. Check the foreground. Are there sticks and twigs between you and the subject? See that in the field and you won’t have to worry about deleting that shot when you get home. How many times have you deleted a shot because you were in too much of a hurry to pay attention in the field? Now positioning for the background comes into play. Look behind your subject and see what will be in the bokeh. Is there a manmade object there? Bright spots of light? These all make for poor backgrounds.

Try to find something pleasing in the background and work around the subject to include that. Well while we are composing the shot we need to consider the lighting. Ideally we want the light to our back or a bit to the side. A bird for example with a bit of side light will offer a lot more detail as the light gets under the feathers and creates texture with shadows and a layering effect. See the Killdeer image for an example.

A proper light angle will create nice catch lights in the eyes of the subjects. Lighting can also be used to create drama; such as a well lit subject and dark background. Sometimes a dabbling of light can really set a shot off. Positioning of the subject is important for depth of field. For example, a head on shot means that most of the subject will be out of focus. This holds truer the larger the subject, with a small bird one may be able to pull off of a head on shot all in focus but I do doubt that would work with a Buffalo. A subject parallel to the sensor is much easier to capture with the whole body in focus. See the Great Blue Heron image for an example of being parallel and a deep DOF. Still keep in mind the F stop, close it down for the proper depth of field.

I hope the explanation of these techniques will help the reader when you are out in the field. There is so much to think about and usually very little time to think about it. With a little practice these things will come naturally, without any thought at all and your photos will benefit.

Frank Hildebrand

2010-10-04T09:04:00.000-04:00

Photographer’s Higher Calling by Frank Hildebrand

This past Spring I stumbled upon a Red-tailed Hawk nest. Nothing too unusual about that except this one was smack dab in the middle of a golf course. I could hear the Red-tail parents scream as each golfer walked by. That scream was a sure sign to me that there were babies in the nest. I surveyed the area for an adjacent tree to climb in hopes of getting a lookout point to photograph the nest using a telephoto lens, and of course there was no such tree to be found.

OK, now what. After scratching my head for ideas on how to get some shots, I decided to climb the very tree that the nest was in. Now remember, this nest is in the middle of a golf course and I wanted to keep a low profile. Stealth and timing was of the essence. After a group of golfers walked by I proceeded to climb like a Ninja, not being seen. Not really, I huffed and puffed up the tree like the 50+ year old man that I am. I was delighted to see two fluffy babies in the nest and I knew I just had to figure out a way to photograph them in a natural calm setting without “the scary human” looking down on them. I scampered back down and started to develop some ideas on how to shoot from the same vantage point that I just witnessed.

The next day I went back to the nest with a backpack full of gear – tie wire, tubing, monopod, and camera - and again like a Ninja climbed back up the tree. I was able to jerry rig a homemade camera mount just above the nest. I had pre-programmed the camera to shoot an image every 30 seconds. The wide angle lens was set at focal length 14mm and was literally less than two feet away from the nest. Now while my entire hubbub was going on, the babies were lying down flat on the nest and didn’t move, and of course, Mom and Dad weren’t too happy with me invading their home and were quite vocal about it. I was doing my very best not to fall out of the tree.

For several days I would go back to the golf course around 5:00pm, climb the tree and set up the camera. I would leave the camera up in the tree for a few hours and then once again, climb the tree to retrieve the evening shoot. Now something I have failed to tell you is that each time I climbed the tree the Red-tail parents were not happy and would swoop past me, especially the big female. A few times she got really close to smacking me in the head. Once I got situated at the top, they would carefully watch me and their babies from a nearby tree.

Not every evening’s shoot was successful. For the first 50 shots the babies would just be sleeping and not moving. One windy day, a wind gust rotated my camera so I ended up with 300 wonderful pictures of the tree trunk. Another time I think one of the parents perched on my camera, and again caught the wonderful tree trunk.

It was always interesting to see what was captured on camera, and so here are some of the results. Hope you enjoy looking at them. I had an adventure getting them.
Frank Hildebrand

Denise Ippolito

2010-09-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

PHOTOGRAPHING AT THE BARNEGAT JETTY

The Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, NJ

which is located at the northern end of Long Beach Island is where you will find the famed “Barnegat Jetty”

If you are a birder or bird photographer as I am, this is a must visit destination during the winter. Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and Herring Gull can all be viewed easily from the jetty.

Horned Lark and Snow Bunting can usually be seen on the sand dunes. In some years Snowy Owls have been spotted on the dunes. The water way is a great place to see Harlequin Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks (formerly called Old Squaw), Common Loons, Red-throated

Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Surf Scoters, Black Scoters, Common Eider and Brant.

Last winter I saw several Harbour Seals. I was able to create some great images of a few that were sun bathing on the rocks. I did see one small seal that was bleeding from it’s tail and side. I’m not sure if it was hit by a boat that was going through the inlet or from a fight with another seal.

The Harlequin Ducks often preen themselves and rest on the rocks, if you are patient and slow moving you will be rewarded with some great intimate shots. There is a colony of 25-30 Harlequin Ducks that over winter at Barnegat. Jetty photography has some unique issues to deal with. For one thing the rocks are spaced unevenly and that will make using your tripod more difficult. I always use a sturdy tripod and I have learned to be very careful where I place the legs. Sometimes the rocks are slippery and they can also be icy. Be careful where you walk. Knowing what rocks are wet or slippery (from algae) is important. Good shoes with a strong grip are important. A lot of fishermen wear spiked shoes similar to golf shoes. I wear Merrell hiking shoes with a Vibram outsole.

During the winter it is important to dress warmly. I wear gloves, a hat, a scarf and a down jacket. I also wear water proof pants over top of my jeans. Sometimes you will need to sit in duck muck, water or even ice to get the shot. I know a lot of photographers that shoot at the jetty and never kneel or sit. They are still able to produce lovely images. When I am photographing birds in flight I stand. I recommend going with a friend. It can be dangerous to be alone on the jetty in case you fall. I remember one elderly gentleman who was alone and fell between the rocks. He used his cell phone to dial 911. He was lucky he brought his phone.

The Long-Tailed ducks often fly back and forth through the inlet. They often fly close to the jetty to take advantage of the very swift currents. This makes photographing the ducks at fairly close range much easier.

Some interesting facts about

Sea Ducks:

They are capable of diving to depths of 200 feet.

Many sea duck species have specialized salt glands

that help them tolerate salt water.

Their feathers are thicker and have more down to provide

insulation against severe cold.

They eat primarily fish, crustaceans and mollusks.

Three out of the four migratory birds on the endangered species

list are sea ducks.

Sea Ducks are the least studied group of North America waterfowl. Harlequin Ducks are on the endangered and threatened sea ducks list according to The Sea Duck Joint Venture. Here is a link to their site for some more in-depth information http://seaduckjv.org/endangthreat.html

Direction to Barnegat Lighthouse:
        Take Garden State Parkway South to Exit 63 to Highway 72 East for Manahawkin and Island Beach
       Go over the bridge into Island Beach/Ship Bottom         Turn left (north) onto Long Beach Blvd north /N. Central Ave
which  will become Central Avenue
        Go north for about 8 miles all the way to end of Central Ave, then Turn left

(west) onto 4th Street west. Turn right onto Broadway (north) The Park entrance is on the right at the corner of Broadway and 3rd Street.

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, New Jersey
(609) 494-2016

The parking lot closes at 4:30pm sharp and your car WILL get locked in if you are not back in time to get your car out. I recommend parking outside of the main parking lot. There are several parking spaces that are in front of the main gate.

The Park Office building next to the parking lot has public restroom facilities. The restrooms and office are closed on holidays.

For additional information about the park

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/barnlig.html

Join me and Roman Kurywczak Saturday December 18th (rain-date 19th) for a half-day workshop at Barnegat Jetty in New Jersey. Barnegat is a great birding and photography spot during the winter months. Afternoon session available. $195.00 dinner included.

This is a very popular workshop and should sell out soon. Early booking is advised.

e-mail me for more details.

photographybydenise221@gmail.com

or visit my blog

http://deniseippolito.com/

page 2 by Tim Kuhn

2010-08-24T21:06:00.007-04:00

Machias Seal Island Alcids Tour by Tim Kuhn

The day starts in the cozy harbor in Cutler Maine, a very well protected finger of a harbor off of the Grand Mannan Channel in the Bay of Fundy. Early in the morning the passengers assemble at the primitive boat launch waiting for the skipper to finish prepping the tour boat for the day. Once confident all is well he heads over to the ramp in his harbor tender to shuttle us from the ramp to the tour boat. The passengers climb aboard in two batches for the short ride to the lobster boat come tour vessel. We chose this tour because this one has the shortest passage out across the channel to Machias Seal Island.

The day is crystal clear, hardly a cloud in the sky and the seas are dead calm. A rare day in these parts for sure. After the passengers are briefed about the area and the tour we head out. It is low tide as we idle our way out of the harbor and we notice the large tidal ring around the harbor. The tides in this part of the world vary greatly from high to low; the band appears to be about 15 feet thick at this time.

As we make our way through the harbor we pass many of the local working lobster boats and the floats that mark the location of pots setting on the bottom hopefully collecting many of the delicious local lobsters. As we hit the open water the throttles are opened and we hit cruising speed for the 45 minute ride out to the island. For most of the way out the passengers sit and chat as there is little to see, during this part of the tour wildlife is scarce.

We do see some seals and harbor porpoises and the occasional sea bird. As we get within a couple of miles of the island all that changes as we see our first Atlantic Puffin! For most of the passengers that is what they came to see and the excitement starts to pick up more and more as the Puffin sightings become more frequent. Mixed in with the Puffins are bunches of Razorbills and Common Murres, all three of these Alcids are nesting on the island.

Alcids, for those that aren’t familiar with the term, they are the northern hemispheres equivalent to the southern hemispheres Penguins. They are somewhat similar in appearance and the Murres even make similar noises to those of the Penguins. The big difference is Alcids can fly and Penguins are flightless.

As the birds float or fly by the shutters are clicking away as all the photographers are busily snapping pictures. For many of us these birds are first timers for us making the sightings all that much more important and exciting. Before we know it the skipper is setting the boat anchor in preparation for our departure from the boat to the island. He has towed a small skiff along that will serve as our shuttle from the tour vessel to the island. He hops into the skiff, brings it alongside and we make our way gingerly into the small boat. This is no easy feat as both boats are rocking to their own beat and a lot of us are carrying a lot of valuable camera gear!

Once on the island the passengers all assemble and are put into the capable hands of the staff on the island. We are given instructions for how to behave on the island so as to keep the disturbance of the birds to a minimum. There are 16 of us and we divide into groups of 4 as there are 4 blinds that we will be observing and photographing from. As we head out towards the blinds we can see and hear the birds gathered on the rocks and even upon the tops of the blinds! Once inside we break out our gear and slowly open the sliding hatches revealing an amazing scene, there are Puffins all around! And close at that! There are also Razorbills about and some Murres but the dominate birds are the Puffins. They are the cutest birds, almost comical looking with their large colorful beaks.

We see them flying about and landing, courting and fighting, all of the things one would expect in a large breeding colony. Occasionally one will land with a beak full of fish and dart into a burrow to feed the young. The Razorbills are engaging in what appears to be a courting display, rubbing each other’s beaks and throwing their heads back with mouths agape revealing a brilliant yellow inside of the mouth. The sounds emanating from the flocks are incredible. The Puffins are making a chainsaw like snoring sound, the Razorbills a primitive growling sound and the Murres a shrill rolling sound.

The time in the blind passes very quickly, all of us were so busy taking photographs we lost track of time. Leaving the island was the reverse process of landing on the island, gingerly transferring from land to skiff and skiff to lobster boat. We all made back onto the tour boat, dry and with all of our gear! During the boat ride back across the channel we share some of our best shots and recount our experiences. We did see the occasional Shearwater and Gannet in the distance adding just a bit more fun to the experience.

On the ride back into the harbor the captain brings us by Little River Lighthouse, a charming Maine Coast lighthouse in a beautiful setting. Back on dry land we bid each other goodbye and spend the rest of the day trying to wipe the smiles of contentment off of our faces.
As for the gear to bring; I shot with a 500mm at times to bring in a distant bird but for the most part I used it for portraits. I did use it for flying birds both from the boat and on the island while waiting to head into the blinds. I also shot with a 70-200mm on a full frame body for close in birds and some wider shots. I even shot some wide angle (17-40mm) for wider environmental shots.

For the most part I was using a 300mm both for stationary birds and for in flight shots out of the blind. There are plenty of birds in close and the 300mm is easy to use in the tight quarters of the blinds. Be prepared for chilly foggy weather even during the heat of the summer. We were lucky and had fair weather but it was still cool during the passage.

This was an amazing experience, definitely one to put on the list.

Tim Kuhn

Page 1 by Ashley Hockenberry

2010-08-06T12:09:00.009-04:00

“Lucky Shots” by Ashley Hockenberry

A friend of mine who is a very accomplished photographer and film editor told me once – “There will be times when you capture the most amazing images just by virtue of being in the right place at the right time with your camera and clicking the shutter button.”
I didn’t realize how true that was until years later, when certain situations presented themselves which afforded me the opportunity to photograph subjects and situations I virtually never would have otherwise been able to do. Some would attribute this to luck. Perhaps that is part of it – but having your camera gear and the right lenses at the ready is not luck – it is preparation.

Expect the Unexpected
I cannot count the number of times that I have been out in search of one target species of bird or wildlife only to encounter something entirely different, unexpected which allowed me a great wildlife photo opportunity. The key is to always expect the unexpected. There will be times when we least expect to see what we end up encountering – perhaps we are photographing Songbirds and we encounter a Deer. Or maybe we are shooting landscapes and notice a butterfly or an insect.

Of course, the trick is that we along with expecting the unexpected, we need to bring along the right gear for various other photographic subjects we may encounter along the way. This is easier said than done – especially if you have to carry or “pack” it in on your back, along with a tripod and series of lenses. A camera body or two, along with a couple of zoom lenses, and a macro lens can get heavy.

Be Prepared
While I have been guilty of bring too much and also of bring too little gear, I can say, it is much better to have too much! However, it is wise to use discretion and keep the list of items to a minimum and limit it to only what you really need – perhaps one macro lens, one camera body and one zoom lens it you are on foot. If you are in a vehicle, the sky is the limit; however, the objective is to have the equipment with you when your dream shot presents itself.
Having a couple of lenses at the ready, preferably mounted on separate camera bodies can really help – or at the minimum – have your gear at the ready as your drive or hike so that you can respond quickly when the you need to.

I remember distinctly seeing amazing wildlife photography opportunities in places like Yellowstone National Park, and seeing other photographers pulling off the road, getting out of their vehicles, unpacking their tripods and assembling them, then unpacking their camera gear, setting it up with the appropriate long zoom lens, calibrating, adjusting, etc.

You know the rest of the story – by the time they were finally ready to squeeze off the first shot – the Moose or Deer or Bear or Eagle has long since vanished. In some cases, I had already collected all the shots I wanted before they even squeezed off the first shot.

Here are some real life examples:
I was out photographing birds at a local marsh near Jackson, Wyoming, when someone said – there is a Red Fox with newborn kits a few blocks away – you should go over there and see if you can get a few shots:

While out looking for Blue Herons in Pennsylvania, I stumbled onto this doe and fawns:

These little guys popped up while out photographing reptiles in Singapore:
Green June Bug:

Atlas Moth:

This Loon with baby was photographed while out fishing for bass in Ontario:
(Always bring your camera)

Look what I found while out searching for Big Horn Sheep in Wyoming:
Pronghorn Antelope:

You get the idea. I have probably had an equal number of situations where I said – “if I had only had my camera!” So, having equipment is one thing, but that is not everything. There is one other thing…

Be aware of your Surroundings
This may sound like the most obvious thing in the world, but it can pay big dividends. The best shots go to those who have keen wits and sharp senses. Try not to have “tunnel vision” and look all around. You will see more than you expect. There will even be situations where you have more than one photo opportunity happening simultaneously and you will be forced to choose which one to shoot.
It also helps to have another pair of eyes looking out for you – son, daughter, wife, husband, whomever. My son has spotted more hawks, owls and the like that I never even knew were there and was then able to photograph. Another side benefit of this is that you can avoid an accident while driving if you have someone else looking out for wildlife while you watch the road!

Ashley Hockenberry Nature and Landscape Photography

page 2 Raymond Barlow

2010-07-23T07:48:00.011-04:00

Flash?? Yes or No? by Raymond Barlow

How about never?

Looking back after 5 years of birds and wildlife photography I can remember only one time where I tried to flash for light. Costa Rica Humming birds, and I will never forget how frustrated i was with the images. Keeping in mind, I had no practice, and no training, so really we could not have expected much.

I have seen images where photographers used flash, wondering if they may have looked better without any flash. A flash seems like a band aid to poor light. Naturally, we always cannot find the optimal light, and the right situation for a clean shot of our subjects.

So picking the right time, right place, right subject, right background / environment becomes even more challenging! Realistically, it takes years of hard study, and practice to master these sort of opportunities, and this is the fun of nature photography.

Each day presents a new and interesting situation. Experience and a drive to succeed, or do your best with take you to a higher level. The concept "I will fix it in photo shop" is nothing but bunk. These are only my suggestions and opinions, but I feel photographers can always improve their skills, and that goes for everyone holding a camera.

As a workshop host, one of the most difficult things to deal with is a closed mind. people are sometimes un-willing to learn, or accept different techniques... the funniest line I hear... " I have been doing this for xx years" and nobody is going to tell me! (pathetic)

I am learning all the time, every time I go into the field with a guest, it is a fantastic experience. I learn the most from the best listeners. People who seem to be the finest at this sport are the ones who are open, and with good ears. Every species, time frame, set of colours, weather conditions present a new photographic equation. Knowing where to go, and what time, in a particular light is the key to ridding ones dependency of the band aid flash.

Set new goals, and try harder!! For sure this is not for everyone so the most important advice is to find a way to have fun!

Added footnote:
One last comment, my opinions here are nothing more than that, several of my friends use flash for bird photography and they get fantastic results. Fabiola Forns proves this in her article previous to this one. We all have our own vision of nature photography,
mine is different than most.
NIOM is providing different viewpoints so photographer can make their own decisions, and take the opportunity to learn from others.

Have a look at my new book!!

click here

Raymond Barlow

Page 1 by Fabiola Forns

2010-07-15T19:35:00.012-04:00

Bird Photography Off The Beaten Path

Written by Fabiola Forns

Bird photography is my passion and has been for many years now. There is nothing like finding a bird you’ve wanted and then capturing an image of it, the way you had dreamed. Creating beautiful bird pictures can be very rewarding. However, sometimes we want even more by pushing the envelope a bit and creating something unusual.

Once you learn the basic rules for creating a successful bird image, it’s natural to try to get off the beaten path. I like to create an image that follows the rules and defies them at the same time. My personal challenge is to be creative in a manner that still appeals to the majority of the viewers.

I have a few images that I would like to share with you, as well as my thought process that led to them.

Color Wash #1

I had used the color wash technique with flowers, and this was my first try with birds.

Color wash refers to placing a solid object between you and your subject, in a way that only the color of the out of focus object remains, partially covering your subject, but showing the latter as if it was covered with a veil.

The egret image above was captured from the ground, using a beach rock as my veil.
I used f/8, 1/400 and ISO 500. The image below shows me making the composition with the rock. Minimal processing was applied, with no contrast added to keep the veiled effect.

Color Wash #2

Again, using the vegetation very close to the camera can provide for a very painterly look, almost diffusing the entire subject. This look does not need a lot of contrast, basically just darkening the pupil slightly, if you must. Image captured at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm

High Key

Working against the light can be handled two ways: 1-Exposing for ambient and using flash to put detail in the subject that is in the shade in relation to the sun, or 2-The high key approach, exposing for the subject.

This technique blows the background to white, creating a very sophisticated look. High key may be an acquired taste, not preferred by everyone. This image is cropped from a horizontal 21 megapixel file, again with minimum processing.

Creating Stars

Another way to work against the light is to go for a silhouette. When the sun is getting low on the horizon, you place the subject in the light trail, using a very small aperture, like f/22, that will create a starburst in some lenses. I worked in Aperture value, experimenting with different compensation. The one I liked the best, this one, was + 0.3 EV.

I though the bleeding of the stars into the silhouette was interesting. I applied minimal processing, and I was able to frame in camera, with no need to crop.

Chaotic Blurs

Whenever there is a feeding frenzy, natural or provoked, using Shutter priority can lead to a dynamic image. This was captured at 1/40 of a second and processed creatively, eliminating a couple of distracting elements on the right margin and using some Nik color filters to substitute for the poor available light.

That Out-Of-Focus Moon

Our eyes are able to focus on our subject and the moon at the same time. Unfortunately, depth of field is not as perfect in our modern lenses. In a case like this, if I wanted to duplicate what my eyes saw, capturing two images with different focal points and merging them into one image would be my approach. Placing the subject in the upper corner and looking out of the picture will give the main role to the Moon, my subject of choice in this image.

Flash as main light.

Well, almost. Technically, our background should be all black, but after sunset, we can create very dramatic flight effects with the help of flash, keeping in mind that when it’s darker, a bit of flash goes a long way. The exposure of your subject comes all from the flash; ambient has nothing to do with it. You expose the ambient for the sky, flash for the subject.

Setting the flash for ETTL should help you obtain the right amount of flash.

Going for the Rim Light

Last, but not least, capturing and exposing for the rim light can lead to an attractive picture. This time, the subject would be almost a silhouette, with the rim providing the tracing of the bird’s shape. In this case, the backlit bill provides interest.

It’s fun to get off the beaten path. I find that unusual approaches energize me. They force me to get out of the unconscious rut of continually reusing the same methods for making my images. I hope this article motivates you to try something a little bit unconventional, even if it is just for fun. Hopefully it will help you open your mind to new possibilities and contribute to your growth as a photographer.

By Fabiola Forns

page 2 Nate Chappell

2010-06-23T10:45:00.004-04:00

Using Slow Shutter Speeds to Produce Artistic Shots with Blur by Nate Chappell

Learning how to use blur to impart the feeling of motion can add an artistic touch to photos and allow the photographer more options when they are out shooting. On our last workshop at Bosque del Apache for example, I took a lot of pan blur images when we had a cloudy morning at the crane ponds. There wasn't enough light to produce high quality sharp images
and I already had many sharp flight crane shots.

When shooting blur shots you typically want to shoot at a low shutter speed, anywhere from 1/4 of a second to 1/125 or so depending on the lighting condition and what you are trying to achieve with the photo. One nice thing about having to use a slow shutter speed is that to get down to that low shutter speed you will often be shooting at a low iso which improves the quality of the image.

If you are trying to create an image like the shot of the flock of godwits pictured here with the stationary birds sharp and the moving birds blurred, it's important to have the lens fixed on one spot and not panning, so a tripod is essential. In addition to a slow shutter speed I will also usually use a wide depth of field when trying to capture a flock of birds in this manner. On the shot of the flock of Marbled Godwits which was taken at Willapa Bay, Washington I used this technique.

The shot of the flock of cranes was also taken using this method. On the other hand if are looking to have the bird or birds all blurred then you will want to pan along with the bird (follow the birds flight path with your lens moving) in flight. The shot shown here of a single Sandhill Crane and the group of 4 Snow Geese was taken with this technique. It’s fun trying to create artistic shots with these techniques and they give you more options on bad weather days and when the light is low.

Nate Chappell leads bird photography workshops and trips in the US and around the world. His website is www.trogontours.net .

www.ebirdr.com

2010-06-14T06:55:00.009-04:00

What is eBirdr?

eBirdr is a new Web 2.0 bird guide that combines the search ability of Google and the photographic focus of Flickr.com. It is designed to aid birders of all experience levels. Not only does eBirdr provide an easy reference for all the birds of Canada and the US, it also provides an area for bird photographers to showcase their skills. Birders may submit their bird sightings and/or photographs to eBirdr, thus providing a unique community for birders to share their experience and to learn and grow from the experience of others.

eBirdr is for the birder in all of us, for birders young and old, novice and professional, for birders and photographers alike, for the weekend birder to the back yard feeder watcher, to any level from novices to professional.

The retro name, eBirdr, reflects the original moniker. Both Larry Bond and his programmer son, Kevin Bond, maintain the birding experience to be found here.

Where did eBirdr come from?

eBirdr evolved from the oldest electronic bird guide for North American birds, The Electronic Birder. Larry Bond, a wildlife biologist, began developing The Electronic Birder as a text-based expert system. By simply answering questions about field marks it helped to identify a bird. This helped birders improve their skills in the identification process by focusing on what to look for. It was designed as an alternative to Roger Tory Peterson’s patented method of arrows pointing to field marks. What better way to identify a bird, the author thought, than (like a game of 20 questions) to answer questions helping you to narrow possibilities down to probabilities, similar to how a birding expert would do it. However, it was only available on floppy discs for IBM compatible computers. When computer graphics emerged, The Electronic Birder developed into Birdstar and was available on CDs. Birds themselves are so multimedia that it was a natural progression to incorporate pictures and sounds to assist in the identification process.

A more detailed description of the guide's transformation including packaging layouts may be viewed at:

http://ebirdr.com/about
eBirdr now represents an evolutionary advance to the Web 2.0 format.

Why a web application?

With ever changing computer operating systems, a software developer must constantly struggle to keep a program up-to-date and compatible with multiple systems. Small developers with limited resources usually choose to support a single operating system which is why The Electronic Birder and Birdstar were developed only for PC compatible computers. Larry Bond was flooded with requests for updates for new systems and for an Apple compatible version of his program. He decided on a web-based application that would be available to anyone, anywhere - at work or in the field. Anyone on the internet, whether they use Windows, Mac, Linux, Blackberry, Android or iPhone, can now use this birding reference and join the eBirdr community.

How do I search for a bird?

eBirdr has an intuitive search engine based on the birds common name, alternate names or general categories such as sparrows or warblers, sea gulls etc. From any page a user can simply type in a name such as Blue-winged Warbler. Input a general term such as "warbler" and the search will lead to a list of all birds in that category. From there the user can select a specific warbler or enjoy exploring all warblers. Any link from that page directs the user to a Profile Page for the chosen bird. The Profile Page shows a profile picture of the bird, a short description, the sound the bird makes, a distribution map of the bird’s territory, links to related birds, scientific classification of the bird, and a photographic gallery where supporters may provide additional images. This makes eBirdr an excellent website for novice birders and even those simply curious about birds. It is also an exciting way for children to learn about birds.

The Profile Page for the Blue-winged Warbler, for example, may be seen here:
http://ebirdr.com/bird/Blue-winged_Warbler

From the species Profile Page, where the scientific classification is provided, one can easily skip to related birds. In this case the Profile Page for the Golden-winged Warbler can be easily accessed by touching this name in the list of related birds. Or by touching the Family Warblers (Parulidae) you are directed upward to a list of all Genera for this family. Similarly, you can advance upward through this relationship structure to the Order level or Songbirds (Passeriformes). Above this level to the Class Aves (Feathered Animals) all the underlying Order of birds may be selected from.

Experienced birders can choose the "Bird Tree" option from the home page and begin directly with the scientific classification of birds. Using such a system quickly reinforces a relational perspective and understanding of the classification system.

How is eBirdr different from other birding software?

Most guides do an excellent job in referencing birds. In fact, so much so, that many birders have multiple guides from which to glean knowledge. eBirdr is another source for this learning experience.

eBirdr was developed by a passionate birder/photographer. Some of Larry Bond's photographic material, much of which appears in eBirdr, may be viewed in The Joy of Birding at:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1147669#author-bookshelf

The eBirdr site therefore doubles as a photographic gallery. Not only for the author's photos but also for anyone wishing to support this community and improve eBirdr's reference library of birds. Photos are selected for their ability to depict unique attributes of a bird such as in flight, feeding, posing etc. The goal has been for the Profile Pages, for example, to depict this bird's identification photograph, exhibiting not only key field marks but also in a high quality "portrait" fashion. If users of the site wish, they may contribute their photographs for inclusion in the reference section of the guide. Ray Barlow, for example, has contributed over 30 pictures to the guide. His latest contribution is:

http://ebirdr.com/bird/Scarlet_Tanager

There is nothing wrong with an illustrated guide but eBirdr aims to provide the best photographs of each bird species in an easy to find and display format.

Bird shots are some of the hardest images to get in photography. It is hoped that this site will provide a forum for birders, many who are becoming excellent photographers, to showcase their talent and in so doing allow countless beginners and veteran birders to enhance their joy of birding.

What about the authors?

That's easy. It's in the genes. eBirdr was developed and is maintained by a father and son team, Larry and his son Kevin Bond, both middle named James. Ian Flemming chose the name "James Bond" for the character in his book series after looking in a Jamaican bookstore at The Birds of the West Indies by James Bond, a famed ornithologist. So perhaps bird guides are in the Bond's genes.

What's planned next?

At present eBirdr serves as a point of reference for all birds found in North America, north of Mexico. This will remain the focus. The older guide, Birdstar, included features such as birding games, slideshows, a question and answer expert system for identification. The intention for eBirdr is to eventually include all these features and more. Automatic submissions for sighting and photographic contributions are also planned. And a mobile phone version will be available within a few months.

At this point, eBirdr is a fledgling site. It doesn't have all the features of other software systems. However, site development and feature addition is ongoing and derived from a long history of electronic bird guide development. It is hoped by the developers that eBirdr will become a go-to site for birders across North America wishing to share their joy of birding.

Larry Bond

Page 3 Ray Barlow

2010-05-29T06:39:00.010-04:00

Nothing Like the Rain!! by Ray Barlow

Shooting in the rain always presents a challenge. The first concern is your equipment!! Soggy soaking wet cameras and lenses can be expensive to repair! The newer high end equipment is protected with weather seals, so a little rain on my gear has not been a problem. (so far!)

I have been using a plastic wrap for my camera gear when the rain is anything more then spitting. It looks like a huge bread bag, with a string threaded through one end to tighten around your lens hood., locally we can buy them ... 2 for $8.00.

The next interesting adventure would be the lack of our basic necessity... Light! usually I am pretty stuck on low ISO setting, 320 max for the D300, so this in itself creates the challenge. In a typical scene at ISO 250, f4, my shutter speeds are around 1/50 - 1/100 sec.

So, at 400mm a sharp shot is not easy to come by!! The next issue is how do we keep everything still? We can't!!

At least not for very long! We are photographing birds, and many species in the spring rains are small, and very "jumpy". Waiting for the bird to be still for that split second is the key.

Lens movement is usually more of a contributing factor for blurry images. A short burst of high fps (frames per second) seems to work well. Get a good lock on your subject using your cameras static subject locking AF system, and hold still without breathing, and fire 4-6 frames. If the bird has sat still and you’re steady with your kit, you will have at least one sharp image.

The beauty of shooting in the rain is the colours!! Water on the bird, foliage, bark etc. really enhances the image!! Last weekend, I had a workshop with my guest Lee-Ann, and we really had some excellent shooting, all of the images here on this page were taken during that day... thanks Lee-Ann!

Ray Barlow