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Upcoming Workshops
Epic Iceland Photo Instructional Tour July 12 – 20, 2013
Autumn in the Tetons September 22 – 26, 2013
Great Smoky Mountains Autumn October 20 – 23, 2013
Arches and Canyonlands, Utah November 6 – 9, 2013
Yellowstone in Winter February 16 – 22, 2014
Ultimate Patagonia: Argentina and Chile March 10 – 19, 2014
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Tag Archives: Wildlife
Loose Ends and Random Thoughts
“Haunted By Waters” Spruce Flats Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
The image above was taken in April of this year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. This is an excellent example of what I try to teach my students when photographing waterfalls: We are not taking a portrait here. We are creating a landscape image with a waterfall as one of the elements. Walking up on the rocks and filling the frame with the waterfall would have been an easy thing to do but the end result would have been boring and banal. This composition includes the waterfall as a crucial element – as well as the primary focal point – but the image has an elegant visual design that goes beyond being just a portrait or documentary photo. Primarily, the flow of the stream and the placement of the rocks below the falls gets the eye moving back and forth through the frame giving it a dynamic quality that a static portrait would lack.
“Haunted by Waters” is a new addition to my Smoky Mountains Galley and depending on the conditions, is a location we will be visiting on the Smoky Mountains Autumn Workshop in October.
WORKSHOPS
Speaking of workshops, there are two new workshops listed for the first quarter of 2014. For the 4th straight year, Ian Plant and I are leading another tour to Patagonia on March 10 – 19.
For the very first time, I am offering a Winter in Yellowstone photo tour and workshop in February that will combine the very best winter landscapes with wildlife photography. Jackson Hole professional wildlife photographer, Jared Lloyd will be my partner on this trip.
I’m sorry to announce that Arches and Canyonlands, Utah in November is now full, as is Acadia in October. Joe Rossbach and I still have a few openings for the Tetons in September so let me know if any of you have questions about this trip.
Photographer Christina Donadi has written a detailed review of my Smokies workshop from this past spring. Check out the rest of her blog for more excellent photography!
TRUE MODESTY
Last week I was listed as one of the top 100 travel photographers in the world for 2013 by ChiliSauce, a travel blog in the United Kingdom. When I made the announcement on Facebook and Twitter, as a courtesy to the the owner of the blog, I made the announcement with a controversial preface: the words, “For whatever it’s worth…..” This was met by more than a few emails and private messages by annoyed fans and followers. Most began with a mocking, “For whatever it’s worth….” and eventually got around to making the point that I was not being grateful or gracious about the “honor.” For whatever it’s worth, you’re acting like an ass.
Look, this is not merely false modesty on my part. I do appreciate being listed with at least 99 other very accomplished photographers. But the list is just one person’s opinion and there are some very conspicuous names missing as well as some people I’ve never even heard of. So that’s what it is, one person’s opinion and that’s about what it’s worth. Sorry to offend.
So now I’m off to Africa for two weeks. I’ll try my best to post some crappy phone images here as well as a report or two on how I’m doing. Be sure to Subscribe to Earth and Light to keep up with my latest travels realtime.
May 13, 2013
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Here Comes The Rain Again: Tips For Shooting in Crappy Weather
Angry Bird: Drenched Cattle Egret in St. Augustine, Florida
I went down to Florida and it rained. No this wasn’t your refreshing spring shower variety either, it rained 12 inches in 72 hours – most of it sideways.
As I mentioned in a previous post here, bad weather is often welcomed by landscape and nature photographers for all the reasons you’ve heard over and over again. Bad weather can inject drama and mood to your images and then there’s the soft, diffused light that comes with cloudy skies, etc. And all of this would indeed be true. But sometimes bad weather is just a royal pain in the ass. I’m sorry, but there’s just no better way to put it. Last weekend’s rain would be one of those times.
During our bird photography workshop in St. Augustine, we managed to dodge the heaviest rain and got some photography in during the lighter showers and brief lulls between the squalls. Yes, productive photography can be done during light or moderate rain and it won’t kill you or your camera. Here are a few tips on how to manage rainy weather photography:
1) Keep yourself as dry and comfortable as possible. It’s difficult to think creatively when you are feeling miserable. A waterproof shell and pants helps keep you dry and happy, otherwise you’ll look and feel like our friend, the angry bird.
2) Use a rain cover over your camera to keep it as dry as possible too. In light rain, I really don’t worry too much about my camera getting wet. Most modern DSLRs handle light rain without any problems short of submerging it (the same cannot be said of saltwater, however). Still, if you need some piece of mind consider one of the following products: Think Tank’s Hydrophobia, Lens Coat’s Rain Coat, and the Vortex Storm Jacket. A shower cap, on the other hand – complementary at most hotels, works just as well.
I just don’t like working when I don’t have an unobstructed, intuitive feel for the camera and all its controls. The cover is always in the way and I can’t concentrate on what I’m trying to do. Therefore, in the rain I prefer to shoot naked.
3) Use your lens hood. I’ll admit that this lens accessory is one I rarely use, but it does keep drops off the front element of the lens – a major annoyance when shooting in the rain.
4) When not worrying about getting yourself and your camera wet, look for some unique photo opportunities in the crappy weather. Reflections off wet surfaces can offer creative options that fair weather doesn’t provide. Backlit raindrops are yet another. The image above is a good example of that.
5) Have dry cover nearby. Don’t leave yourself exposed to a torrent of a downpour. If you are going to photograph in the rain, plan on having shelter that is relatively close in case the bottom falls out of the rain clouds. This makes infinitely more sense if there is a chance of a thunder storm in the forecast.
6) Dry your gear as soon as you return to your home or hotel room. Storing it while wet just invites mold growth in the camera and lenses.
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May 10, 2013
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Posted in General, Images, Photo Instruction, Uncategorized
Tagged birds, florida, landscape photography, Wildlife
Spring Ahead
Warm sun, green grass, new life, love, and spring. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Canon EOS 5D MarkII, Canon 100-400mm @ 400mm, 1/400 second @ f/5.6, ISO 200
“The spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.” Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast
As I write this, it’s March 14 at 8:52 am and 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 Celsius) is measured on the thermometer just outside the window of my office. In this lovely part of South Carolina in which I live, it’s usually much warmer by this date. Although the first day of spring is still a week away, at this latitude the passing of the vernal equinox is a mere formality. I can usually feel the warm breath of spring by late February. Not this year. I’m still waiting.
And it appears I will have to wait some more. On Saturday I leave for the Patagonian regions of southern Argentina and Chile. So as the sun passes over the equator next week, the hemisphere of the Earth on which I will set foot will be tilting away from the sun’s warmth once again and the days will be getting shorter. My acute case of spring fever will be protracted.
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A Beautiful Relationship
Capybara and Cowbird, Tambopata River, Peru. Canon EOS 7D, Canon 600mm f/4, 1/1600 second @ f4.5, ISO 400
This is a beautiful, mutually-beneficial relationship between the capybara and the cowbird, or what science would refer to as symbiosis or mutualism. The poor capybara, the world’s largest rodent, is unmercifully pestered by biting insects. Just have a look at all the bloody bite marks on its outrageously bulbous nose. The opportunistic cowbird stays perched upon the capybara’s head or back and just feasts away on a seemingly infinite source of food while the capybara gets some temporary relief from the constant torture from above. The patient look of near bliss on the capybara’s face almost tells the whole story in one single image frame.
Capybara, Tambopata River, Peru. Canon EOS 7D, Canon 600mm f/4, 1/1200 second @ f4.5, ISO 400
I could not find a single image frame without biting insects on its nose or flying in the vicinity of its head. The Capybara is native to South American rain forests and has an average height of 20 to 25 inches and can weigh between 75 to 150 pounds.
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Red Howlers
Red Howler Monkeys, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru. Canon EOS 7D, Canon 600mm with TC 1.4x extender, 1/100 second at f5.6, ISO 320
As many of you already know from my two previous posts to Earth and Light, I have just returned from Peru where I had the opportunity to sample much of what the country has to offer in terms of natural beauty. One of these places is Tambopata National Reserve, one of the most biologically diverse areas within the Amazonian basin.
I spent a week in Tambopata – in the same set of clothes – while leading a photo tour and workshop with my friend, Ian Plant. Each and every morning the dawn was greeted by the roar of red howler monkeys, one of the loudest animals on the planet. Their howls could be heard from several miles away and are at the same time both awesome and haunting.
Photographing them was usually difficult. Red howlers live high in the tree canopy and rarely come down to the ground – except during times of extreme drought, which is rare in a rainforest. Everything they need is up in the trees – food, water (trapped in the leaves), shelter, and other red howlers. Trying to photography up high into the canopy is as difficult as it sounds. Mixed lighting, bright overcast skies as a backdrop, and awkward body positions behind the camera were all part of a perpetual challenge.
This group of howlers was different. They were hanging out – literally – right in front of our lodge at the Tambopata Reseach Center. Soft, late evening light brought out the bold orange and maroon hues of their fur and the sky behind them was a lazy blue.
We are possibly leading another trip to Peru next year and will offer it as a workshop and tour once again. Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley could be added to Tambopata for an unforgettable Peru experience. Stay tuned for details.
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