Take A Virtual Break To Patagonia

 

It's the weekend so it is time for another virtual trip. This time let's go to Patagonia. I was fortunate to have traveled there last December before the Covid-19 pandemic began circulating around the world. It is an incredible place with huge craggy mountains, thousands of wild guanacos (a relative of the llama), and almost constant high winds. The winds can make photographing challenging at times. Heck, at times it even made standing up challenging! But it is all part of the entire biome that one must embrace when traveling to some of the southernmost parts of the world.

December in the southern hemisphere is summertime, so the grass was green and flowers were blooming. And the guanacos were having babies. On our first day there we saw a few guanacos and got so excited that we were asking our guide to stop at almost every sighting. He kept telling us that we would see so many that eventually it would not be a big deal, but we did not believe him. And of course the wildlife photographers philosophy is to never pass up an opportunity. 

But sure enough, after a couple of days we became much more selective when asking for stops to photograph guanacos. This one's too small, that one's fur is not as nice, too many trees in the background, or not enough trees in the background. It got to be a running joke. 

And almost everywhere we went we had an opportunity to photograph the looming peaks that are the signature skyline of Patagonia.

TECH SPECS  1/1000 sec at f/8, ISO 400. Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens set at 105mm on Canon 5D Mark III body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."  -- Oliver Wendell Holmes 

In The Pink

 

Hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is just a couple of weeks away. In spite of this bizarre and surreal year, the time seems to be flying by. So since we are approaching the end of summer, I thought a flower would be a good subject for today. Even though this azalea is a spring bloom, flowers are a timeless subject throughout the year. And for many of us, just looking at flowers has an uplifting effect. 

This basic, garden variety azalea had beautiful color, but the main bloom got lost amid all the other nearby blooms of the same color. So I used the Gradient Filter tool in Lightroom to lighten all the surrounding flowers, helping the central flower to stand out.

I chose to place the main flower in the center of the frame, but cropped the image to put it slightly below the middle. That added a small amount of visual interest while still providing a very balanced, mostly symmetrical feel. 

Even the simplest subjects can be helped with a bit of a boost in Lightroom.

TECH SPECS

1/1250 sec. at f/3.5, ISO 200. Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld. 

TODAY'S QUOTE: "If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."  -- Buddha 

Bathing Beauty

 

I want to take you on another virtual trip, this time to Alaska. This beautiful Harbour Seal was basking in the soft sunlight along a fjord tucked away just off the Inside Passage. We were on a spectacular week-long photo trip on a private chartered yacht when we spotted each other. 

The seal was utterly unafraid, never moved, and gave us a careful once-over. The beautiful glacial green water and the warm rocks were the perfect counterpoints to this bathing beauty. 

Once we can safely travel again, I look forward to many more trips to Alaska, which is one of my favorite places. 

TECH SPECS

1/1250 sec. at f/8, ISO 800. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens with Canon 1.4x III for a focal length of 560mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld. 

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Life is just as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures."  --The Dalai Lama

Incredible Iceland

 

Lately my thoughts have turned toward Iceland, one of my favorite places. The scenery, the wonderful people, and the incredible variety of waterfalls, volcanoes, and glaciers provide an ever-changing palette of options. 

While traveling there will not happen in the near future because of the pandemic, I wanted to share this image to give you a brief visual trip away from home! It is the famous Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain in Iceland. Its volcanic cone shape and the triple waterfall in the foreground combine to make this a thrilling scene. 

I chose to convert this image to Black and White in order to showcase the beautiful shapes and to enhance the contrast between the white waterfalls and the deep black volcanic rock. It adds drama and punch to this image. 

I had seen many shots of this location before actually being there, and I was surprised at how small the waterfalls actually are. They look much larger in photos. 

There are always a lot of tourists in the area, and I confess to having removed some people and cars from this shot. Having done that, I cannot enter this image in a nature competition. But for personal use, I much prefer to see just the natural scene rather than portraying it as a tourist destination. 

TECH SPECS:

1/2 sec. at F/22, ISO 100. Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens set to 17mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead. 

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To see in color is a delight for the eye, but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul."  -- Andri Cauldwell

Tree Geometry

Experimenting with creative options can be fun and freeing. This image was done in one exposure in camera. It is quick, easy, and lots of fun. 

The main technique is a slow shutter speed plus moving the camera during exposure. When you do this sort of experimenting, you never know what you will end up with. It helps to do a lot of exposures and hope for the best. You can do these sorts of images from a moving car, or walking around outdoors. 

You just have to be willing to try a variety of exposures and camera movements. And always handhold your camera and leave the tripod in the car. You also have to be willing to accept a lot of loser images. But if you take enough images, you will most likely end up with a few that you like. 

TECH SPECS

1/5 sec. at f/16, ISO 100. Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens set at 105mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld. 

TODAT'S QUOTE: "All life its an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."  --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jaunty Little Jokester!

Since it is blazing hot in many parts of the country, I thought a quick trip to the cool climate of Antarctica might be a fun thing to do. My trip there this past December was beyond spectacular,  and I came away with many lifelong memories.

We were so lucky that the trip was right before the Covid-19 virus began sweeping the globe.

This jaunty Gentoo penguin was making its way to the top of a small hill of snow. Penguins are absolutely adorable in so many ways. I could have watched them for hours and never tire of their antics, their beautiful feathers, and their endearingly gawky movements.

So if you are dealing with the summer heat, absorb some of the cool air in this image.

I am working on building an exciting and educational series of workshops for 2021, so stay tuned. As soon as we are past this terrible pandemic, we will begin traveling again! But for now, please be safe and stay healthy.

TECH SPECS
1/4000 sec at f/8, ISO 800. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II set at 227mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It's practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry."  --Joe Moore

Was Surprised With Great News!

I was happily shocked to open the box with my copy of this book to find that my image had made the cover! This is the annual hard-cover coffee table book published by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) that showcases the images selected for their prestigious Loan Collection.  While I knew that the image had been selected for the Loan Collection and would appear in the book, I had no idea that it would appear as the cover photo.

This image, titled "Blowin' In The Wind," was taken in St. Augustine, FL. The great egret was perched in a tree on a very windy morning, and when the wind caused its breeding plumage to go a bit crazy, I was in the right place at the right time to grab a few shots before the moment passed.

I thought long and hard before deciding to enter this image in the competition since it is certainly not a typical "beauty" shot of an egret, and not generally what judges look for in a successful image. But I loved the unique moment, and the the high-key white-on-white look. So I threw caution to the wind and took my chances.

I have been competing in the PPA annual photo competition for over 3 decades, and have been fortunate to have many of my images selected for the Loan Collection during that time and published in the annual book. But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think an image of mine would be selected for the cover.

The reason for that is that the majority of photographers in the PPA are portrait and wedding photographers, and most years it is a portrait or wedding image that makes the cover. There are a few of us wildlife and nature photographers who are members, and often it is an uphill battle to have a wildlife or nature image do well in the annual competition. Nevertheless, we persist in trying year after year!

So in the most recent 2019 competition, I was thrilled to have two of my bird images selected for the Loan Collection. The other bird image is an eagle in flight taken in Alaska (see it in the August 25, 2019 Blog post).

The lesson for all of us is that if you love an image, you should go ahead and enter it in completion. After all, the worst that will happen is that it will not be accepted. So go for it!

TECH SPECS
1/1250 sec. at f/11, ISO 1600. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 400mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "All competitions are a crap shoot. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. The trick is to keep going, keep striving, keep improving. And at the end of the day, believe in yourself."  -- Mollie Isaacs


  

Soft Yet Fire-y Sunrise

This dramatic sunrise was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. It was quite unusual to see both soft pinks with a backdrop of fire-y orange and yellow tones.

Admittedly I have enhanced the colors quite a bit in Lightroom. Generally I do not go quite so far in making modifications in post-processing, but I felt this image needed some punching in order to convey the sense of drama I felt when viewing the scene. I would not enter this in any nature-based photo competitions since the modifications take this image well beyond the actual look of the scene. But for artistic purposes, in order to convey the feel of the place, I was OK going a bit overboard with artistic license.

When using software to improve the look of images, it is all too easy to go too far. Over-sharpening and over-saturating are common pitfalls, especially when entering images into competition. Normally all you want to do is to bring the RAW image close to what the scene actually looked like. But there are times, as in this case, when your personal decision is to add drama and mood to an image.

Since photography is essentially a communication device, there are times when communicating YOUR take on the image outweighs the general rule to preserve the actual look of the scene. It is best to choose your battles, and not add extreme drama to all your images. But for those images that can be made more powerful in order to communicate your message, you should feel comfortable going farther than normal.

TECH SPECS
1.3 seconds at f/22, ISO 800. Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens set at 76mm on Canon 5D Mark III body. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."  --Marcus Aurelius

Missing Alaska

I am SO missing Alaska this summer. The pandemic has certainly had a major impact on travel near and far. So today I want to share this breaching whale image. To me, it shows the exuberance all of us will feel once this terrible pandemic is over and we can freely and safely be with friends and family. AND be able to travel again!

So for now, we can travel vicariously by reviewing our images from past trips. Often when reviewing older images I find some hidden gems that I had overlooked before. So I highly recommend taking a walk down memory lane with some of your travel photos from past years and see what you can find.

For now, stay safe and healthy. And watch for news of 2021 trips and workshops!

TECH SPECS
1/1250 sec. at f/7.1, ISO 1600. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 214mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "And let us remember too that life, in its exuberance, always succeeds in overflowing the narrow limits within which man thinks he can confine it."  -- Jacques Yves Cousteau

Snuggled In For Safety

This Black-necked Swan signet was snuggled under its mother's wing. It looks so at peace, secure and protected. I thought it was a perfect antidote for the still tense times we are living in. 

While officially things have begun opening up across the country, we are being told to stay at home as much as possible for our own safety. So I have chosen to listen to that advice and am working online in our virtual world at this time. I hope you are staying close to home and are not putting yourself or others at risk. Patience and tolerance are the watchwords of these surreal times. 

This shot was taken at a bird breeding facility in North Carolina. Because the facility has large ponds with a variety of birds that are not too far away, and walkways surrounding them, it is relatively easy to get close-up images. 

This black-and-white conversion was done in Lightroom, my post-processing software of choice. After converting it to black-and-white, I moved the Clarity slider to the left to reduce mid-tone contrast which gave the image a soft, dreamy look. When working on images of soft subjects,  flowers, or misty scenes, I find that reducing Clarity adds just a touch of softness that enhances the overall look and feel of the image.  Be careful not to go too far, however, since the image can quickly become too mushy and lose detail. For this look I usually move the Clarity slider to approximately minus 15 to 25, but this image could handle more softness, so I moved Clarity to minus 50. 

TECH SPECS

1/1250 sec. at f/6.3, ISO 400. Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens with Canon 1.4X extender for an effective focal length of 280mm, on Canon 7D Mark II. Handheld. 

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A healthy tomorrow, for yourself and all those you care about, is the reward for practicing safe behavior today."  -- Mollie Isaacs