Serendipity

Early morning. Cranes everywhere in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. Squawking, stretching, flying, dancing, and fighting. It can be hard to know where to point your camera to capture an action shot. Things change very quickly and moments are fleeting.

I was watching this group of sandhill cranes when suddenly the one in the middle decided to do a quick two-step and spread his wings. Sometimes luck is in your favor and a good shot develops right before your eyes.

At those times you have to be ready. You have to know your equipment, you have to have your exposure set, and you have to be quick on the trigger finger. The more you practice with your camera gear, the more comfortable you will be with it, and the faster you can react when rapidly changing action occurs.

So practice, practice, practice. And get out there and have fun!

TECH SPECS
1/640 sec., f/7.1 at ISO 400.  Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II set at 328mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To be prepared is half the victory."  --Miguel de Cervantes

Bosque Birds Bonanza

The winter migrating birds at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico always provide a spectacle, and this year has been especially exciting. I am here with a talented and motivated group of 8 photographers, and we have been having a blast.

Our days start early, before dawn, in order to be on-site to get spectacular images of snow geese in flight. After a mid-day critique and a break, we return to the ponds to photograph the sandhill cranes returning for the night.

This shot was taken around sunset. I used a slow shutter speed to create a more artistic look. This technique gives a more impressionistic look to images, and shows the life of the subject rather than just freezing its motion. In addition to a slow shutter speed, I panned the camera to smear the background which adds to the artistic look.

TECH SPECS
1/30 sec at f/11, ISO 100.  Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens with Canon 1.4x extender for an effective focal length of 560mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The principle of true art is not to portray, but to evoke."  --Jerzy Kosinski

Flying High

The bird activity at Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in New Mexico has been superb. This beautiful snow goose was one of many coming in for a landing on their overnight roosting pond. Their wings are beautiful, and this image caught a lovely forward sweep.

Bird photography is a real joy, and really keeps you on your toes. Rapid burst helps, but even so you have to pay close attention to how and where the birds are flying or landing. A fast shutter speed of at least 1/1250 sec. helps freeze the wing motion. I always use Shutter Priority when photographing birds and wildlife. That allows you to keep control over the shutter speed at all times. Of course you also have to pay attention to the Histogram to be sure your exposure is good. As the light levels drop, often you have to raise the ISO in order to keep the shutter speed where it needs to be.

TECH SPECS
1/1250 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800.  Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens set at 300mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."   -- Henry Van Dyke

The Calm After The Storm

I am just finishing up my programs and teaching duties at the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. It has been a fabulous 4 days with tens of thousands of birds - snow geese, sandhill cranes, a wide variety of ducks, and more.

I'll be here for another week leading a photo tour, so it will have been a real treat to be here for 2 weeks. The birds at Bosque are legendary, and they have certainly lived up to their reputation. The snow geese have put on a superb show each and every morning with raucous lift-off's, and the sandhill cranes have been their usual calm selves, soaring serenely overhead.

This image was taken just after sunset when the geese were settling down for the night in an adjacent pond. I had already put my camera away, but grabbed my iPhone to capture this quickly disappearing moment.

TECH SPECS
1/40th sec. at f.2.2, ISO 32. iPhone 6 camera.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Be like a duck. Calm on the surface but always paddling like the dickens underneath."  -- Michael Caine

Flying High With The Birds

I have arrived at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico for the annual Festival of the Cranes week. I was honored to be asked to be one of the speakers presenting programs and workshops through the week.  Thousands of people come for this special event, to view and experience the thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes who migrate through this area.

The fall migration is massive. The birds are attracted here because of the large ponds and surrounding fields that provide much needed food.

This shot was taken at the dawn liftoff of snow geese. As if responding to a silent signal, they all lift off together at sunrise, creating a cacophony of sounds. The sheer mass of life is awe-inspiring.  The sound of their honking and wing beats surrounds you, envelops you, and the entire show lasts all of 45 seconds before they are gone, flying off to the fields to feed for the day.

It is an amazing show and one that is exciting day after day. It is a treat to be here, both for the Festival and for my private bird photography workshop that starts next week.

TECH SPECS
1/1000 sec. at f/11, ISO 800. Canon 500mm lens on Canon 5D Mark III body. Gitzo tripod with ball head and Wimberley Sidekick.

TODAY QUOTE: "Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain."  --Douglas Coupland

Brown Bears of Alaska

This world class Alaska brown bears photo trip is one of the very best offered! We photograph bears up close and personal every day. Limited to only 8 photographers, we have an entire classic Alaska lodge to ourselves. We have our own private bear guide who takes us and all our gear on an ATV and gets us very close to where the bears are. No slogging through hip-deep water, no long hikes, no daily flights to get to the bears. We are RIGHT where the bears are each and every day.

The lodge is lovely and has its own chef who prepares all our meals. Each day we have opportunities to photograph moms and cubs, cubs playing and fighting, clamming, nursing, and bears traversing the fields and the streams.

AND we also take half a day to travel by boat to a puffin breeding island. We spend several hours photographing these beautiful and comical birds.

Read details about this exciting trip here  

http://awakethelight.com/brown-bears/

It doesn't get any better than this - bears AND puffins!

ONLY 4 SPACES LEFT

July 15 - 21, 2019 

Call or email me for more details, or to register. 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To those devoid of imagination, a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part."  --Aldo Leopold

Daylight Savings Time - Nice While It Lasted

I love the last couple of weeks before Daylight Savings Time ends because it means the sun rises as late as it ever does during the year. I love sunrise, but it just comes too darned early!

The sunrise colors at this time of year can be spectacular. Magenta, purple, blue, yellow, all combine for a beautiful scene. The oceanfront gazebos silhouetted against the colors add extra visual interest, and the line of dark clouds stretching across the sky provide a finishing touch. The dark foreground creates a powerful base to the entire image.

So enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight! And please VOTE on Tuesday. Having the privilege of voting is a vital element of democracy, but often we take it for granted and think our vote does not matter. It always matters - make your voice heard.

TECH SPECS
1/120 sec. at f.2.2, ISO 40.   4.15mm lens iPhone 6.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised for breaking down injustice, and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others."  --Lyndon B. Johnson