Protective Mother Elk

By | |
Leave a comment

The elk behavior is an absolute joy to watch and observe. I always feel privileged to be on the elk range with the elk. This past Thursday evening my son and I came across a mother elk and her calf. By now the calf can probably run fast enough to avoid the danger of most predators, but mothers continue their protective behavior nevertheless. I saw this calf laying in the grass. Her mother stayed close by as she ate the grass and here she is providing a protective frame with her legs with her baby in the background. I think this photograph does a decent job of telling some of the story about protective mother elk.

20090819-133

Elk in Distress Rescued by Pennsylvania Game Commission

By | | ,
17 Comments

Thursday morning on August 20, 2009 found this Pennsylvania bull elk in severe distress as it was caught up in a swing in the old school grounds of Benezette, PA. Brad & Shane Myers found this bull in distress and reported what they found immediately to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. They will be posting amazing photographs on their blog. Willard Hill and Tom Murphy were also there to record the elk rescue with their video cameras. I am sure that more detailed photos and video footage will be forthcoming, but I wanted to share a few of the photographs I captured during this transition from elk distress to rescue.

My son, James, and I happened onto the scene just as the Wildlife Conservation Officers were tranquilizing the bull. We could see that his antlers were hung up in two swings and he was in obvious distress. The following photographs tell the story of what we witnessed as this stressful situation was handled with professionalism and obvious expertise.

Bull with tranqualizer in hindquarter

Bull with tranqualizer in hindquarter

20090820-11

Bull's antlers hung up in swings

20090820-19

Freeing the bull from the tangle of swings

20090820-21

Free at last

20090820-39

Removing the broken antler

20090820-61

Checking the bull's heart rate

20090820-68

Willard Hill and Tom Murphy videographing the rescue

20090820-70

Removing the tranquilizer

20090820-72

Inspecting the tranquilizer

20090820-78

Checking the time into the rescue attempt

20090820-84

Administering the antidote

20090820-95

Caring for the patient

20090820-109

Beginning to wake up

20090820-113

First steps to recovery

20090820-116

Running from distress to relief

20090820-150

Wondering what happened

20090820-154

Some scars from distress, but relief at last!

Elk County Wildlife

By | |
Leave a comment

20090819-109

My son, James, and I just returned from our treasured spot in beautiful Elk County. James is in-between baseball seasons, so this was an opportune time for us to journey to the mountains in search of wildlife. We were not disappointed. Within the first hour we saw a mother bear with three cubs! We later saw a hawk and then a small heard of elk!

Over a short period of about 48 hours, we saw a lot of wildlife. And while the elk viewing was skimpy, the other wildlife species we did see more than made up for it. For example, just today we saw 44 turkey!

I still have quite a few photographs to sort through, but I wanted to post this one of the hawk we saw on Wednesday evening. I will share more of our Elk County wildlife experiences tomorrow.

Sharing Photos

By | | ,
Leave a comment

One of the great things about photography has always been sharing the photographs with others. Whether you are a beat photographer for a daily newspaper or an amateur on a family vacation, you just cannot wait to get the photos out for people to see.

Years ago this took some time. First the entire role of film had to be exposed and then the film had to be sent out to be developed. All the while you were waiting impatiently to see how they turned out. This lapse of time was the main reason that the Polaroid camera was such a success. After snapping the photo you only had to wait a few short minutes to see the photograph.

Today we have a variety of ways to share our photos with others. We can burn a cdrom, send the photos by email, post them on our website or Facebook page. The time lapse has been almost completely removed with digital images now instantly available for viewing.

Still, far too many photos are sitting on hard drives never to see the light of day or even be shared with others. The digital age has helped us take more photos but I fear that it also results in far more photos never being shared with anyone.

So be sure to share your photos with others. Print them out, post them on the internet, or send them to friends by email. Whatever you do, be sure to share your photos with others!

Focus

By | | , ,
Leave a comment

Autofocus is a feature that many of us take for granted. Today’s cameras can capture the action and focus even on moving objects extremely well. I cut my photographic teeth back in the old film days when autofocus wasn’t even available. I was thrilled when it first came out and I am an even bigger fan of it now with the current digital cameras. My Nikon D300, for example, has fantastic autofocus accuracy.

Some photographers look at a photograph and wonder why their main subject or the subject they were trying to focus on is not in focus. Several contributing factors could be the culprit in this situation. One possibility is that the camera’s autofocus may have tracked on to a different subject in the frame. One of the problems I used to see happen frequently was in composing a photograph. The photographer focuses on a subject but then wants to re-position the frame for a more pleasing composition. If the shutter release is not kept pressed down halfway, the camera may re-focus on a different subject.

This is why I like to use separate buttons for focusing and exposure instead of having the shutter release do both. A simple change in the camera’s menu can set this up properly. On my D300 I use one of the buttons on the back of the camera as the focusing button. The shutter release still sets the exposure. I like this because I can focus in on a subject by pressing the back button. When I release this button the focus stays locked on that subject. I can then re-position the frame to get the composition I want. Of course I only release the back button if the subject remains still. If not, I can keep the button pressed, track the subject, and keep it in focus.

Separating the focus and exposure by using two different buttons can take some time to get used to. I recommend trying this on a free day when you do not have an important photography shoot planned. Just experiment with it but stick with it at least for one full day. Eventually you will get the hang of it and the technique will become second nature.

What I Like about Photography

By | |
Leave a comment

For today’s blog post, I decided to do something a little different. I am going to present a list of some of the reasons why I like photography. Are you ready? Here goes:

  • The challenge of capturing a beautiful scene with the camera
  • Photography can be a solitary experience
  • Photography can be a group experience
  • Learning to see the light
  • Experimenting with “painting with light”
  • Capturing the action in a sporting event
  • Capturing a facial expression that is priceless
  • Shooting digitally–without the mess of darkroom chemicals
  • Shooting with film–smelling the developer and fixer in the darkroom & watching a photo appear on paper
  • Being out in the golden light–early in the morning and at dusk
  • Sorting through photographs to find the keepers
  • Framing a print to display on a wall
  • Posting a gallery on my web page
  • Getting a photo right in tricky lighting
  • Learning to use flash
  • Finding different perspectives and angles to shoot a subject
  • Working/talking with a person in a portrait session
  • Getting to meet new people
  • Learning how to use new technology
  • Playing with new photography equipment
  • Adding a lens to my repertoire
  • Saving for that dream lens
  • Sharing photos with others who appreciate them
  • Trying to get better photos

What did I miss? What is on your list? What do you like about photography?

Social Media

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, blogging, and email all allow us to stay connected. It is a great age that we live in these days because we can connect with people literally across the entire world. And we can stay connected thanks to all the social media that is available at our fingertips. Not only that, because there are full-fledged businesses that use the help of websites like themarketingheaven.com to promote their brand and reach out to more people, making social media a place of business. At indexsy.com are the biggest benefits you’ll experience when you work with an expert SEO company.

I was first introduced to Myspace a couple years ago. I created a page for myself but did not really see what the hype was all about. Then someone introduced me to Facebook and it all started to click for me. Not only could I share something about myself with others, but friends who I haven’t talked with since high school days were now only a mouse click away!

In fact, just tonight I receive a Facebook message from on my very best friends who I first met in kindergarten. We were best buddies all through school and hung out together all the time. We were typical teenagers, talking about cars, sports, and girls and we were always there for each other. After graduation we went in different directions and lost touch. Now, after 25 years I receive a Facebook message from him. Amazing!

Social media is also helpful in sharing our photographs, too. My Facebook page also includes the content of this blog and allows me to share my photographic endeavors such as my current photo exhibit, the Photo Walk I led, the Pennsylvania elk photography experience that I co-lead, and more.

Utilizing the social media can help us share our photos with others and keep us connected. Do you have a Facebook page? Check out mine here.

Get Closer

By | | , ,
Leave a comment

My college photography professor was rarely satisfied with the photographs we brought in for our assignments. There was always something he suggested we could have done better. A different angle, a deeper depth of focus, a less busy background, or being too far away were all lessons we learned throughout the semester.

Get closer. This is probably the one I remember the most. I have since heard someone put this advice this way: Get closer, and then get closer again. When you think you are close enough, get even closer.

Far too many photographs are too busy. Instead of drawing the viewer’s eye into a pleasing scene, they force the viewer’s eye to dart this way and that while the observer is left wondering, “What is the subject of this photo?”

Moving in closer helps to avoid distracting backgrounds by keeping them out of the frame. Getting closer also provides more detail in the main subject. This is where zoom lenses can be helpful, but don’t forget, you can walk closer to a subject, too.

Here is a challenge for you the next time you are out with your camera. Take a photo as your normally would. Then move closer and taking another shot. Move even closer and snap another photo. Now, finally, move closer yet and release the shutter again. Now, back at your computer, compare all four photos and see what  you think. Did you get close enough? How are the photos different? Which one is more pleasing to your eye?

Natural Light vs. Flash

By | |
Leave a comment

Modern speedlights help us to bring light to our subjects in just about any environment. This technology is very much improved from the old flash bulb days and we can even use a variety of flash units off-camera and control them wirelessly.

The power and ease of use of these speedlights presents a dilemma of sorts: When shooting a subject should we use natural light or use these flash units?

I have to confess that I still prefer natural light whenever possible. I suppose part of the reason is that I am more comfortable with this since most of my photography uses natural light. Sometimes natural light is not available so it is a no-brainer that in these cases a speedlight needs to be used. But what about when this deciding factor is not so clear or when fill light could be helpful?

A photography could bounce natural light to be sure, and yet a speedlight can be adjusted precisely to provide just the amount of light you are looking to include in the photograph.

Natural light, especially in the golden hours, is hard to match or imitate. This is another reason why I prefer using natural light. However, there are times when this will not work for a variety of reasons. Maybe the natural light is quickly fading. Having a flash unit available in the camera bag is certainly a nice option.

I suggest that you experiment with all kinds of lighting. Recently our family was on vacation and of course I had my camera gear with me. Two nights, after the rest of the family went to bed, I stayed up in the living room of our hotel and experimented with my SB-900. I tried to bounce the light from all kinds of positions. This taught me a lot. Experimenting with light is something we all should do more often.

Seeing the Light

By | |
Leave a comment

The old saying that a professional photographer has learned to see the good light is no stretch of the imagination. Light is necessary for photographs to be made and good, quality light makes for better photographs.

Light has several qualities and light is also directional. There is front lighting, side lighting, and back lighting. You can imagine that each of these will produce different results. For example, front lighting results in rather flat subjects while side lighting brings out the texture and shadows of a scene. Back light can be a little tricky to work with but can result in beautiful silhouettes.

Photographers often refer to the “Golden Hour,” which is the special light just around sunrise or sunset. Photographing a scene in these dawn and dusk hours can result in amazingly breath-taking photos. I am not much of  a morning person, but I recognize the importance of capturing photos in this special and unique light, so I am always up early in the mornings of a photo shoot.

Cloudy and even rainy days can also provide incredible light. Many photographers put their cameras away in these unpleasant conditions, but this is a mistake. They are missing a prime opportunity to work with some beautiful light. Colors in these conditions show up much more brilliantly.

The next time you are out on a photo shoot or just scouting a location, take notice of the light. As you learn to see the light, your photographs will get better and better!