GREAT LIGHT BUT STILL ADDING SOME MORE

January 27, 2017

Winter is back here in eastern Iowa since a couple days. Time to put the best reflector nature provides for us to work. Yep, I’m talking about the fresh snow on the ground. The quality of light becomes very good for bird photography as soon a little sun hits the snow. The reflection from underneath the bird, even if they sit a little higher in a tree, makes the big difference to any other time of the year. In addition I’m testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag of tools. I’m not ready to talk about it today but might be soon. My flash extender of choice was the Better Beamer for many years (click HERE to see how it looks like). So why throwing more light at the subject if the overall conditions are sufficient? “Tree hugging” birds like this young male Red-bellied Woodpecker like to stay quite often on the shady side of the tree. I still can expose halfway correctly but a little hint of flash (and I mean a little hint) will reveal the beauty of all the colors in its feathers.

This is the tree I call “Woodpecker-Tree #1” in our front yard. A suet feeder is nearby and this tree is quite often the starting point for the birds approaching this feeder. The Red-bellied Woodpecker seemed to be in some competition today about the best spot with another woodpecker, a Northern Flicker. As you can see, it was all about display. Catching the colors and gesture was important to me to tell the story with my photo.

AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER

July 27, 2016

Yesterday, while working with the camera at the nest box, photographing the young House Wrens, I saw out of the corner of my eye one of the Giant Swallowtails drinking nectar from our flowers. I have made hundreds of pictures over the years from that species and it isn’t really special anymore, but it was the way the light was shining through its wings that triggered my interest this time. The flash fill helped to reveal the colors of the purple cone flower and despite a very harsh overall light I was able to maintain the luminosity of the scene.

By the way, the little House Wrens left the nest today. I wasn’t there when it happened, so I will never find out how many have been in the nest. They are probably somewhere around here in the woods right now. I saw and heard the male parent bird singing this evening again and I now wonder if he already tries to attract the female again…

NOT SO FAMOUS LOCATIONS

January 19, 2016

The chance that we can create a good nature photo increases dramatically if we go to an interesting location. Period! Well, we all know this is not always an option. Sometimes life stands in the way. So should we leave the camera in the bag or even at home any time we think the location is not worth any efforts? Of course not! Watching the light and colors, looking for interesting perspectives, or focussing on details can sometimes lead to a photograph at places that usually cannot compete with Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon.

On our way home from North Dakota last October we camped for one night at Lake Carlos State Park in Minnesota. Not a bad campsite, and at least at the end of the season there were not too many people. But every way I looked around, there wasn’t much I really wanted to photograph. It wasn’t until the sun had disappeared and left us with a nice glow on the shore, that I realized the potential for a shot. There was some “camping and boat clutter” between the trees in the background, which were cloned out for this image. The moon and the last light of the day made all the difference.

Earlier I tried to take some pictures of these Pied-billed Grebes on the lake. At that time the reflections on the water were just to bright and I didn’t get a shot that I liked. Ten minutes after the photo with the moon was shot I saw still the colors of the sky reflected on the water. Suddenly it wasn’t about a detailed shot of the birds anymore, it was just all about color and positioning the silhouettes of the grebes in the frame...

JEWEL CAVE

November 19, 2015

As a visitor of the Black Hills you have several options to visit a cave. We decided to see at least one and our choice was Jewel Cave, which is also a National Monument. There are books and websites out there that will tell you every geological and historical fact about this cave. We really enjoyed this visit and all the information we got from a very passionate ranger during our tour in the cave. Don’t miss it if you ever go to the Black Hills!

Within a few minutes being in the cave I figured out that it is impossible to catch the magnificence in just one “signature photo”. Instead I approached it with just composition and color in mind. I did not want to make just documentary shots. When the ranger asked who would volunteer to be the last person of the tour, to make sure nobody is left behind, my arm went up immediately. I may have missed some of the ranger talk, but being the last one leaving any part of the cave gave me a little more time for the extra shot without being pushed by another person.

The first image was made with the help of a speed light, which was used to throw some light into the foreground by pointing it towards the ceiling. Everybody who has a phone in their pocket can be a photographer these days, and I really believe this is a very good thing. As you can see in the lower right corner, I have not been the only one who was impressed by this cave and tried to capture the moment.

No flash light here, and by exposing strictly for the highlights, the black space around separates the viewer from this side track of the cave. Shapes and colors are talking.

This geological formation is called the “cave bacon”, and if you have ever watched how a piece of bacon changes its color if heated up in a pan, you know why… Oh boy, my good friend Anja will love the “meaty part” of this blog post…😉

RAIN AND COLORS

October 27, 2015

We set up our first camp for a few days in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. We were there before twice in the last ten years, but always only for a brief stop on the way to Yellowstone. This time we wanted to explore the park and the surrounding grasslands much more and also spend time with the wildlife. The name Badlands suggests nothing really good but I can tell you, colors, landforms, and wildlife will surprise the visitor with every turn you take.

From our previous visits we knew that landscape photography can be very tricky during the day because the harsh light mutes the colors quite often. We were lucky on our second day that a few rain drops came down, not much, but just enough to bring out the colors of layered sediments, volcanic ashes, and of the prairie grass and plants. The Badlands are a place of extremes between summer and winter and sometimes it is hard to imagine that much can exist there. However, the biological diversity is rich and wildlife abounds. But more about this later...

CLOUDS AND COLORS

June 28, 2015

*Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4, @24 mm*

This shot was not difficult to make. The train was parked aside from the main track. To be honest, if it wasn’t for the nice clouds I may have skipped this one. The blue of the sky and the red of the engine in combination with the puffy clouds drew my interest. There is constant train traffic in the Mississippi Valley but most engines look kinda worn out and are not so photogenic anymore but this one is still a beauty. The bridge in the background helps to tell the story, even if the Mississippi is not part of the picture. The same scene without the clouds and just a plain blue sky would have had a lot less impact. In this case I probably would have moved in a bit closer to keep much of the sky out of the frame. As so often, the clouds made the difference…