Category Archives: Photography

Keeping Up

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I remember when I was a little boy. My dad and I would go on long walks behind our house in the fields and woods. It was difficult for me to keep up with dad. His legs were longer and he was stronger. My little legs worked okay but just couldn’t keep up. My lagging behind might also have been attributed to any number of distractions that sidetracked me, too!

Keeping up with one photo shoot after another is not always easy. Good intentions are not enough. Part of the problem is time. You get back from a photo shoot and are tired and hungry. You need a break, so you put your equipment in its place, kick up your feet, and relax. Or you get a bite to eat, start talking with your family, and completely forget about the flash cards that need uploaded.

Two days ago I had to upload several flash cards that were well overdue for attention. It turned out that I did upload about half the batch, but it was a pain to take the time to go through them to double-check and upload the previously forgotten cards.

Getting into a routine is the best approach. It is similar to how we actually approach a photo shoot. Before we leave the house we go through a checklist to make sure we have everything. Then, on a photo shoot, we again step through a well-planned routine to help us capture the right moments. So why do we get so lax at the back-end of a shoot?

Prudence is the key for a successful photographer. Don’t be lazy. Do it now or you going to have to do it later, and it will be more difficult and take more time.

Keeping up isn’t always easy, but it is important! Just ask my dad!

Motivation in Photography

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What is your motivation in photography?

In other words, what keeps you excited about photography and what drives you to keep reaching for your camera? Think about it. There are any number of things you could do in a day and perhaps just as many “should-do” items in your daily routine. So what is it that keeps you photographing subjects day after day?

Motivation is that inner drive that keeps you behind the viewfinder time after time. It is that driving force that never says die and certainly never says quit. Perhaps it is no different from what keeps athletes practicing and working out. Maybe it is similar to great musicians who not only rehearse over and over, but actually appear to enjoy the rehearsing!

How do you describe or explain this motivation? What words can you use to describe it as clearly as possible?

I am honestly curious about this because sometimes I lose my focus and get distracted by things other than photography. These distractions recently kept me from blogging on a regular basis as I had done previously, but they did not prevent me from keeping my camera busy. In fact, I’ve been as busy as ever with my photography! After all I do love my time spent in photographic endeavors.

Maybe it’s the drive of capturing that priceless, once-in-a-lifetime shot. Or maybe it’s the challenge of capturing the exciting action and freezing the motion for all to see. Perhaps it is simply an inner feeling that keeps encouraging you to keep shooting.

I know, for me, a whole lot of motivation comes from fellow photographers. I hear about their photo opportunities and hear how they excited about a photo trip or some cool subject they photographed recently. These collegial relationships and friendships are certainly great motivation for me!

In this vein, I thank Willard Hill who recently contacted me to say that he missed my blogging. That was more than enough to motivate me off my lazy backside and re-enter the wonderful world of photo blogging. Thank you very much, Willard!

Where do you find your motivation in photography?

Lens Fixed!

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I have the Nikon 2.8/f 70-200mm lens and I love it. However, in the past year or so I’ve been having problems with it. The autofocusing mechanism wasn’t working correctly. It worked sometimes but then it wouldn’t–and as you can suspect, it always quit working at the absolute worst time!

The problem was when trying to focus on an object that was near infinity. I found myself using the override focusing ring way too often. In fact, it felt almost like I was using a manual focusing lens. This was okay for some subjects, but elk, deer, and baseball players were often out of focus. I was not a happy photographer!

Part of my dilemma was when to send out the lens for repair. It was under warranty, but I need this lens most of the year. Sports, wedding, nature photography and photo trips all require the ability to have my favorite lens within reach or on my camera body. I finally decided to send it out after my trip to the mountains over the New Year holiday.

The process was very simple. I first consulted the Nikon website to read all the directions and made sure to follow the directions. I sent it out, insuring the package and waited. I was told by others that it could often take well over six weeks to get a repaired lens back. This worried me but I bit the bullet and sent the lens out. Happily, I could see the progress Nikon was making with my lens online. This was very helpful and kept my fears at bay. I could see that my lens arrived to their facility in New York. Then it was being examined. Once the problem was located, I was informed that they were waiting for parts. Finally, it was in for the actual repair and then it was it shipped back to me. The whole process took less than a month.

Now the lens works beautifully. I cannot wait to try it out at a baseball game, but there’s still too much snow on the ground for that to be a possibility right now. So I am hoping to get the mountains soon so I can put the repaired lens through the paces with the elk.

All-in-all, I am very pleased with the repair service Nikon provided me. I was not happy that the lens needed repair, but in the end, it was handled well and quickly. Nikon definitely stands behind their product and now I have a well-functioning lens back on my camera again.

Go Nikon!

Winter Projects

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Winter is hanging on with ferocity here in the Poconos of northeast Pennsylvania. The sun is shinning nicely today but we were in single digits last night and there is still a lot of snow around!

This makes me think of all the photo projects I should be doing while the weather is cold. One, for example, is tidying up my external hard drives. I originally used two different external hard drives to store my digital photographs. Then I bought a Drobo since it redundantly backs everything up and is so easy to use. The Drobo is just plug and play–plug a new or bigger hard drive in and start storing and backing up photos. It’s sweet!

The problem was that my external drives now contain many duplicate files as well as some new photos that need to be migrated over to the Drobo. I did this on my first external drive to be able to back up my broken laptop and restore on my new laptop. That was a 500 GB drive. Now I have a 1 TB drive to work through. I started last night and it is slow going. This is definitely a winter project!

I hope to be done fairly soon so I can gain some much needed space on my one drive and then use the other exclusively for backing up my new MacBook Pro. There is always something to do!

Join Us for our next Amazing Photo Trip!

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How would  you like to capture some amazing photographs of the majestic Pennsylvania elk?

Our Pennsylvania Elk Photography Experience is a great opportunity to learn more about wildlife photography and make great memories at the same time!

Click on the photo above for a sample of photographs you could capture on one of these trips.

These photo trips offer complete lodging and food for three days. You will experience three photography workshops and have plenty of chances to be out photographing these amazing creatures. It will be an experience of a lifetime!

Along the way you will meet some terrific people, experience the elk culture of Pennsylvania, and learn some valuable wildlife photography tips.

Our upcoming Winter Experience is scheduled for February 21-24. More information is available here.

Please consider joining us for an amazing photography experience. And if you refer a friend to attend with you, we will take 10% off the regular price for you.

Some Things are Changing and Some Things Remain the Same

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I enjoyed watching the old television series, “Wild America.” It was a weekly half-hour show that featured some animal or place related to the wild outdoors here in America. Not long ago, I caught some re-runs on television that brought back the fond memories of watching this show when I was much younger. I also enjoyed the old series, “Grizzly Adams.” I remember my uncle telling me that wild animals are not as tame as Ben, the grizzly bear of that show. But to me it was one of the few shows that pertained to the outdoors, where I loved to spend my time!

This past week I read in our local newspaper that John Serrao, a local naturalist here in the Poconos is moving away from the Poconos to Florida. His newspaper column always talked about some wild topic of the Poconos. He also led nature walks and helped to educate us on the wild-side of the Poconos. His newspaper articles and outdoor presence will be dearly missed!

This time of the year, with the fast-approaching New Year’s Eve celebration, often turns my thoughts to how things change. Some of this change is sad to me, like the passing of fond experiences turned into mere memories. I can be nostalgic at times, but I also believe that the passing of time reveals some consistency in our lives and even in the outdoors. While some people and television series come and go, the outdoors has a regular consistency to it. The sun comes up on schedule and the moon phases are just as predictable. The wild creatures still demand our respect and admiration, while continuing to need advocates at the same time. The people who fight for outdoor causes may have different names tomorrow than they do today, but their presence and voice will still be very much needed!

The land changes, too. Properties are bought and sold. Some land is developed and the landscape changes for the wild creatures inhabiting it. Some land is scarred for a season or two, and then is sometimes reclaimed to bring it back in line with the needs of animals. Food plots are constructed and some land is reverted back into wild habitat. Some species bounce back to amazing numbers while others are at risk of being lost forever.

Yes, some things are changing and some things remain the same.

Today I am posting an image of a Pennsylvania elk I captured years ago on our property in Elk County. It depicts the majestic elk in the foreground with a cross standing at attention in the background. It seems, to me at least, to show the connection between different times or eras. And in both times there needed to be a voice to share the important news with the people. The brutal crucifixion of Jesus and his miraculous resurrection as good news to be sure! Ever since, the cross has represented those events and still speaks volumes today in a voice of grace. In a different way, the animals in nature need to have a voice, too. They cannot speak with human words but their amazing existence and their continuing needs also yearn for a voice to be heard.

I am just a photographer trying to give voice to the creatures I love and enjoy seeing in the wild around me. Perhaps these photographs will help to at least give a voice of awareness to these beautiful creatures. After all, while some things are changing, at least one thing remains the same–the beautiful wild creatures need to be seen and heard!

End of Year Madness!

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Well, we are just about ready to say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. Can you believe it?

Looking back over the past year, I have assembled some great photographic memories. Some are recorded for posterity in digital format, some of which you can see on my website. Other memories are etched in my mind and consists of terrific shots missed or great people I’ve met over the past year. 2010 has been a photographic blast for me!

In this end-of-season madness, I find myself doing some things that are important. I just upgraded my old wireless network router to a 300Mbps N Gigabit router. The main problem I was having on my network were IP address conflicts and slow speeds. I hope the new router will rectify these annoying problems. Upgrading equipment is important. I still have about 500 GB of empty space on my Drobo, so  an additional hard drive is on the short order list. I am still working on the Photoshop CS5 learning curve, which is pretty steep and will take me some time but will be well worth the effort.

All photo print orders have been fulfilled and it was a good year for me. I continue to learn the ins and outs of the photo business, which is exhilarating for me. Sometimes I stumble and fall, but most people are patient and a complete pleasure to work with. I am learning to streamline the process and am now able to offer more product services than a year ago.

And, of course, I continue to take time behind the viewfinder–my most favorite place to be these days, especially outdoors on a wildlife or sports shoot. Moments spent with the camera are “precious and few” to quote an old song.

I am excited to discover what the New Year will reveal for me photographically. I am looking forward to new opportunities and new learning!

Yes, 2010 was a great year, but I believe 2011 is going to be even better!

 

Light

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Photography is literally defined as “writing (“graphy”) with light (“photo”).

So as photographers we need to do everything we can to understand light. Without understanding this basic component of our craft we will be severely limited. This is so important and yet overlooked by so many. It is easy to get all cranked up over a new camera body or lens, but without the right kind of light our photographs will be substandard.

Light has several qualities that we need to pay attention to and learn about. Light has color, direction, and quality.

The color of light is something we know a little about when we start thinking about the proper white balance in our camera settings. As a test, turn your camera’s white balance to flourescent and take a photo. Now turn the white balance to incandescent and take another photo. Depending on the existing light, you  will see different colors of light in these two photographs. Light can be, for example, blue, green, orange, yellow, and many other colors. The color of light tends to evoke certain emotions and feelings-blue is cool, orange is warm, etc. Paying attention to the color of light is the first step in understanding light better.

Light also has direction. From where is the light coming? Is it side-lit, back-lit, or front-lit? This component of light is also critical to understand and learn about. Front lighting is perhaps the least attractive directional light. Side-lighting creates deep shadows, revealing depth and character in a subject. Back-lighting can create silhouettes as well as interesting halos.

Quality of light is the most difficult component to describe, but when you see great qualities of light you will certainly know it. Quality can range from horrible to average to sensational and even breath-taking. “The golden hour” is one description but it can happen almost anytime and a photographer should always be vigilant and ready for this superior quality of light to appear.

The following photograph is not sensational or even an above average photo. However, the color, direction, and quality of light make it interesting; at least in my humble opinion. When the light is right the photograph will be right!

Depth of Field — Is the Right Thing in Focus?

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Depth of field changes depending on the f-stops we use, the lenses we use, and the distance between us and our subject. Focus is one of the most important elements of a quality photograph so we have to get focus right and understanding depth of field goes a long way towards this goal.

Depth of field charts are helpful and can really help in any situation if we take the time to use the chart. The older lenses that had aperture rings were helpful, too, because they provided a distance range that was helpful as a guide for the photographer. Today’s G-type lenses don’t have these guides.

Probably the most reliable and best used resource for depth of field is experience. With your favorite lens and a subject at 40 feet away what can you expect the depth of field to be at say f/2.8? Do you know? Well you should. Not only is this information helpful but can be critical to have your subject sharply focused. Will the whole animal be in focus or just the eyes and face?

In this photograph you see three objects. The closest subject is a tree stump that is clearly out of focus (how’s that for an oxymoron?). The most distant subject is a spike that is also out of focus. The main subject I was focusing on is in the middle. This calf is clearly focused. The photograph serves as a good example of how shallow depth of field can help bring the viewer’s eye to the main subject. For example, if I had used a smaller f-stop, say f/16, then all three items may have been clearly focused. This would distract the viewer from seeing the intended main subject of the calf. Obviously, eliminating the two distracting elements would make for a stronger photograph here, but I wanted to show and explain depth of field. This important subject needs to not only be mentioned, but should also be studied and then put to good use. Depth of field is important!

Red Berries, Yum!

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This bull elk was content to eat and keep eating the red berries on this bush. We watched him eat his supper for a nice long time!

As you can see in this photo, it was late summer when the velvet was still on his antlers. The soft-looking stuff makes for some beautiful photos! The background helps to tell the story in this photo, and isn’t that what we try to accomplish in our photographs–to tell a story? If there is any truth to the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” then we have to make sure our photographs contain the elements we want to tell the story we are trying to convey.

Shouldn’t a photograph stand up on its own without the photographer having to explain it?