Category: Photo Tips
Making Photographs
Snapshot- An informal photograph taken quickly. Snapshots are not my intent. I am a photographer, I want to make photographs. Cameras, lenses, filters, flash, aperture, shutter speed, these are some of the tools of my trade. I use these tools to create the images I have in my head. More importantly, I make conscious choices…
High Speed Photography – Bullfrog
I have had this image in my head for quite some time. The first step was to build the stage for our star “Billy Bullfrog”. A trip to the local swamp with a couple five gallon pails was required to collect all of the materials for the set. A lovely moss covered rock would be…
Floating Blind Photography - 6
The sun won’t be up for another hour on this cold crisp March morning in Southern Michigan. It has taken three trips to carry my gear down to the water’s edge. As I begin to assemble my craft by the narrow beam of my headlamp, I hear splashes and the rustling of my quarry from…
The Yin and Yang of Photography - 2
One of the things I love about photography is it appeals to both the geek and the artist in all of us. On the geek side you have the technical considerations of making an image; the f-stops, shutter speeds, depth of field, histograms, dynamic range, all the stuff we must all master in order to…
Friday Photo Tip: Creating Silhouettes
Silhouettes are some of the most graphic images we can make as photographers. Silhouettes take vision! They are a bit of “photographic magic” the scene before the camera very rarely looks like a silhouette with the naked eye. They are created when we expose for the bright background. This under exposes the subject rendering it…
Friday Photo Tip: Wide-angle Wildlife
You don’t get many opportunities to use this technique, but you should take advantage of them when they arise. This Sandhill Crane is from a park very near my home. Having grown up in the park he is totally acclimated to the presence of people. I created this image by lying on the ground and…
High Speed Photography Pallid Bat Getting a Drink - 4
Just returned from a great scouting trip to Southern Arizona. While there I spent a couple nights photographing bats drinking on the wing from a small pond in the dessert. To create this image an infrared beam was wired up to four high-speed flashes. My tripod mounted camera was set on a twenty second…
Friday Photo Tip: Set the Mood
I just love the quiet peaceful mood of this image. There are many factors that help to create that mood. First and most obvious is the restful pose of the birds. Secondly, the beautiful warm late afternoon light, which accentuates the warm tones of the birds and golden grasses reflected in the still water. Lastly,…
Friday Photo Tip: Animal Abstracts
Here is an example of a type of shot I love to make, an animal abstract. It is a tight close up of a group of Marine Iguanas sleeping. These Iguanas are from Espanola Island. The Iguana of Espanola are nicknamed Christmas Iguanas because of their unique red and green coloration. It is believed this…
Flight Photography
Do you want to work on your flight photography skills? I am pleased to announce that I have just joined forces with The Friends Of Bosque Del Apache, Hunt’s Camera, and Sigma to lead a January workshop at Bosque Del Apache. With tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese present in January Bosque…