Fly High In The New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

It's a brand new year with great new opportunities ahead. 

Wishing you a year filled with great times, 

great images, and great experiences.

I hope to see you at a photo conference, 

or an Awake The Light photo workshop or trip in the months ahead.

 Mollie

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/3200 sec.  Aperture f/8.  ISO 800.  Lens: Canon 200-400mm f/4L with 2X extender for an effective focal length of 784mm.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Season's Greetings

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

As 2015 draws to a close, I want to thank you for your support, 

your friendship, and your good wishes throughout the year. 

I wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday season, 

and a new year filled with happiness and adventure. 

Hoping you will join me on an Awake The Light 

photo tour or workshop in the coming year!

GREETINGS OF THE SEASON AND WARM WISHES

Mollie

Northern Exposure

Properly exposing a snowy scene can be a bit tricky, but once you understand the basics it will become easier. Essentially you want snow to appear white in an image. You do not want it to be too gray or dark, or too light so that there is no detail or texture in the snow.

The trick is to first evaluate the scene you are looking at, and the kind of lighting conditions that exist. Exposing for snow in sunlight will be different from the exposure needed on an overcast day. This image was made on a very overcast day at the Grand Canyon with low, even light. In addition, the scene has a mix of dark and light tones. In this kind of situation, the basic meter reading your camera gives you will most likely be close to accurate.

But on a sunny day, OR when most of the scene is snow-covered with very little if any darker tones, the basic meter reading will result in an underexposure most of the time.  Why? Because all camera meters are designed to provide a reading for middle gray tones. Aim your camera at an all-white scene, OR an all-black scene, and the camera's meter will provide a reading of middle gray in both cases. An all white scene will be underexposed and appear middle gray, and an all black scene will be overexposed and appear middle gray.

So what do you do? When shooting a snowy scene on a sunny day, or a scene that is mostly snow, use your exposure compensation dial and set it for a one-stop overexposure. Take the shot and look at the histogram. If you do not have any blinkies, and / or if the histogram is not too far to the left (the dark side), then your exposure is good. If you have blinkies in large areas, go back to zero on the exposure compensation dial. If the histogram is too far to the left, increase exposure compensation to 2 stops. 

The more you understand your camera and how light meters work, the easier it will be to know how to set your camera in a variety of shooting situations.

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/100 sec.  Aperture f/10.  ISO 200.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Lens: Canon 17-40mm f/4L, set at 25mm.  Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together."  --Vista M. Kelly

Beauty On Ice

These gulls and kittiwakes were cooling their heels on a small floating iceberg in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. This is an amazing place with its many glaciers, icebergs, and incredibly blue-green water. Were it not for the icebergs and rugged mountain scenery, you might think you were looking at water in the Caribbean.

The glacial water is just one of Alaska's many charms. It provides opportunities to photograph some of the most enticing sea animals like humpback whales, sea otters, and puffins still in breeding plumage, plus those spectacular mountain scenes.

We will be among one of the greatest concentrations of glaciers left on our planet, while comfortably lodged at the edge of one of the last wilderness areas.

This was an incredible sold-out trip last August. And it is being repeated in August  2016. Glacier Bay is a wonderland of whales, sea lions, puffins, sea otters, mist-draped mountains, and a huge variety of wildlife. We will have 3 day trips on the water on boats chartered just for us in search of whales and all manner of sea life. Our naturalist captain knows where the action is and will do his best to get us there. The waters are generally calm and we can easily shoot from the boat.

For more details about this trip, email us at awakethelight@charter.net, or call 757-773-0194. Only 5 spaces left.

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed  1/1000 sec.  Aperture f/14.  ISO 800.  Lens: Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II, set at 255mm.  Camera: Canon 7D Mark II.  Handheld.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE

Family and friends asking for gift suggestions this holiday season? Here's the perfect solution  -  a Gift Card good on any of our Photography Workshops and Tours!

Use Gift Cards toward any of our offerings 

coming up in 2016 or 2017!

Getting a Gift Card is an easy two-step process:

1. Either treat yourself or your photo buddies, or forward this information to family and friends. (Subtle, huh?)

2. The giver can either email or phone us, select an amount, 

and we'll take it from there.

That's it! Simple.

We will email the personalized Gift Card to the recipient in time for holiday giving.

Holiday shopping is done, and the recipient will be on the way toward improved photographic skills, greater creativity, and a super time.

Gift Cards are available in $100 increments up to $5000.

Questions? Contact us at awakethelight@charter.net, or 757-773-0194.

TECHNICAL DATA

Shutter Speed 1/15 sec.  Aperture f/22.  ISO 100.  Lens: Canon 17-40mm f/4L.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Gitzo tripod with ballhead.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."  -Maya Angelou

Call Of The Wild

Hearing the bugle of an elk in the wilderness is a primal experience not to be missed. This male in Yellowstone National Park was in prime condition and was announcing his presence to any rivals who might be tempted to invade his harem. He had begun gathering females for the fall breeding season, and was determined to keep them all for himself.

Even though there is no sound coming from this image, his lowered stance, curved neck, and open mouth convey the moment of his echoing call.

When shooting wildlife we  have no control over where the animal is in the landscape, but we can still do our best to create a strong composition by changing our camera position and its height (if there is time and the animal is not moving). I was sitting on a low log for this shot which helped to line up his antlers perfectly, as well as provide separation between his belly and his shadow. In addition, a bit of cropping (in post-production) helped to make this image stronger.

As you can see in the uncropped version here, a scruffy hillside at the top of the image was cropped out, as well as some excess grass at the bottom and along the sides. Those decisions were based on the need to eliminate extraneous elements and use what was there to enhance the composition.
 
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: If you interested in getting out into the wild for birds, check out this photo workshop coming up in January in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico. It is being run by Hunt's Photo and Video. My travel schedule prevents me from attending, but I have found this location to be great for photographing thousands of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes.  Info here  

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebg0xxdpc6acb674&llr=sj7lnxqab

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/500 sec.  Aperture f/13.  ISO 200.  Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6L.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders."  -Edward Abbey

Ready For Takeoff

Ready for takeoff? When photographing birds and waterfowl, it is important to always be ready for the subject to take flight. This scaup on a small pond in Denali National Park in Alaska was calmly sitting on the surface when suddenly he decided it was time to go. With very little warning he cut a path through the water and was up, up, and away.

Be ready and set your camera for a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1250 sec. Slower than that and it will be difficult to freeze most of the wing motion. You don't have to completely freeze the action, since a bit of wing blur helps convey a feeling of speed. But you want the head and body to be relatively sharp.

If you do not receive our free monthly newsletter, subscribe today. Just email us at awakethelight@charter.net with "YES" in the subject line, and your free subscription will begin in December. You can view the November issue here      http://conta.cc/1lDgrl6  

Be assured that we never share or sell your email information.

And if you are looking for some good Black Friday camera specials, check out the Hunt's Photo and Video offerings here   http://www.wbhunt.com/specials/black-friday/   If you see something of interest, or just have questions, email Alan Samiljan at Hunt's at alansamhunts@gmail.com   or call him at (781) 662-8822. Hunt's is great and they can help you out. Tell them Mollie from Awake The Light sent you, and you will get great service.

TECHNICAL DATA

Shutter Speed 1/1250 sec.  Aperture f/5.6.  ISO 800.  Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6L.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before."  --Maya Angelou

Happy Thanksgiving

At this time of year we should sit back and consider all that is good in our lives. While in each life there are often setbacks, heartache, disappointments, and all manner of other negative things, at the end of the day we all have much to be thankful for.

So take a few minutes to consider all the positives in your life, all the people who care about you, all the things that bring you joy. It will be the best few minutes of your day!

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving, and a joyous and peaceful start to the holiday season.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

With warm wishes,

Mollie 

TECHNICAL DATA

Shutter Speed 1.6 sec.  Aperture f/22.  ISO 100.  Lens: Canon 17-40mm L, set at 17mm.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Gitzo tripod with ballhead.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If  you are really thankful, what do you do? You share."  --W. Clement Stone

New Spring Workshops Announced

The November newsletter is out! View it here 

http://conta.cc/1lDgrl6  

If you do not currently receive the newsletter, you can subscribe for FREE simply by sending an email to awakethelight@charter.net and put the word YES in the subject line. That's it. Your subscription will begin right away.

This macro image was shot at mid-day, using backlight to punch the yellow color. Because most flower petals are translucent, when they are backlit they seem to glow from within. 

Learning how to identify the quality of light and its direction is crucial to becoming a better photographer. All Awake The Light workshops and tours incorporate training on lighting, and much more. We always strive to provide individual attention and a huge of amount of information. Education is the hallmark of all our workshops and tours. I hope you can join me on an adventure or workshop soon!

TECHNICAL DATA

Shutter Speed 1/500 sec.  Aperture f/2.8.  ISO 200.  Lens: Canon 100mm macro f/2.8.  Camera: Canon 5D Mark III.  Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."  --Benjamin Franklin

Balancing Act

Balance. Symmetry. Color harmony. Those are the basic building blocks of this image. The two Sandhill Cranes are virtually parallel - look at the positioning of their necks, their bills, and their legs. Notice that the wings are perfectly balanced - one crane has wings up and the other has wings down.

In addition, the color harmony of the birds and the background ties everything together. It was very early morning and the entire scene was bathed in soft warm light, making the colors of the birds and the background virtually identical.

This is a very simple image, but many factors came together to make it successful. Did I have this shot in mind when I went out to shoot that day? No. I merely hoped for some good opportunities, had my equipment set up and ready, and took many many images. With wildlife, and especially birds in flight, taking a large number of shots is crucial to guarantee that you will end up with at least a few successful ones.

TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/400 sec.  Aperture f/9.  ISO 400.  Lens: Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS set at 330mm.  Camera: Canon 7D.  Gitzo tripod and ballhead.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is the harmony of the diverse parts, their symmetry, their happy balance. It is all that introduces order, all that gives unity, that permits us to see clearly and to comprehend at once both the ensemble and the details."  -Henri Poincare