Slack - I know I know!

I realize that the blog entries have been rather slow.  I wasn't really near a stable internet connection on my last trip to the US, so image management and blog uploads wern't really possible unless you wanted to spend hours staring at a little screen into the virtual world.

Since returning to Australia 10 days or so ago, time has been a little tight - mainly because I have been busy catching up on other things - which also included a brief trip to Brisbane, Queensland for 4 days.

Hopefully I'll have an update on my recent trip to Yosemite National Park with some images in the very near future.  I promise!  I really do!   TRUST ME.

Ranch Shooting, Carmel California

I've spent the last two days at a property (called a ranch in the US) located 30 miles inland from Point Lobos and approximately 3 hours drive south from San Francisco.  The ranch is located within an area called the fly zone and comprises rolling grass and shrub covered hills, and is dotted with numerous oak trees, some of which are as old as 400 years.   The fly zone is an area in which migratory birds fly along during their migratory routes.  As such, numerous birds can be observed at differing times of the year.

The owner has established a number of small permanent watering holes (ponds) with a drip water system.  This permanent water is favourable to any birds living in the area or migrating through the region as California is a desert environment and water is a relateively scarce resource.  During my stay temperatures reached 102 F and were stifling until an warm afternoon breeze started.

The main target species we were after were the numerous birds that visit a small pond located on the property, however, other wildlife seen include the Common Gray Fox, bats, jack rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks.  

All the shooting was conducted from a camoaluged blind set up adjacent to the pond.

This fox, made a very fleeting visit to the pond on the second morning of shooting and was probably attracted to the pond by a large family of California Quail that has taken up residence in the area.  Unfortunately, the fox did not hang around and only made three passes in front of the blind, stopping only to mark a tree with its scent.

I'll post some of the bird images in the next few days.

Next Venture - San Francisco & Yosemite NP, California

In 2 weeks time, I am off again. This time to San Francisco, California.

I fell in love with this city when I passed through in the early part of the year.  At that time I used the city a base to visit some other locations within California.

I never thought I would hear myself saying that I love a city - as most cities I dislike with a passion!  But San Francisco has ponash, flare, culture, mystic - and most of all is exceptionally picturistic.  And I'm not just referring to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and popular tourist haunts such as Alcatraz Island.  There are other hidden attractions that just beckon a photographer: stunning architecture, immense parks & gardens, cultural delights such as the Legion of Honor, impressive museums, art galleries, and the natural splendour of the California coast. This is not even mentioning the wide assortment of ethnic food available.

Research as always is the key to the success of any trip, and weeding through the maze of information can be exceptionally daunting and time consuming.  Where to photograph, the best time, and how to actually get on location are major challenges to overcome when you lack local knowledge!  Not too mention, I'm an Australian and we have differing road rules, customs, and drive on the other side of the road!

In addition to shooting locally in San Francisco and hopefully at a few other locations firther afield, I am visiting a ranch on the outskirts of the city that is, I have been told, a mecca for birds.  I am particularly keen to photograph hummingbirds and have been informed that a number if hummingbird species can be observed at the ranch.

I will then be joining a small group of like-minded photographers to hike and camp within the high altitude regions (High Sierras) of Yosemite National Park.  To be honest, I'm not exactly organising and researching anything for this part of the trip as all the logistics has been accomplished by local individuals - I'm just an add on!!

Blog & Website Improvements

Well it certainly has taken considerable patience, resolve and time to get things to the next level with regard to the BLOG and website. The last month has been very hectic - challenges were presented that required overcoming and issues needed to be resolved. Which has meant minimal time to be out and about actually shooting anything!

PHOTO SHELTER, WEBSITE & BLOG IMPROVEMENTS

After spending a considerable amount of time researching various backend image gallery sites that could be attached to my website and BLOG, I decided that Photo Shelter was the best option. None of the commercial sites are perfect, but until you customize the site to your requirements you have to be slightly flexible with your requirements.

The good thing about Photo Shelter is that it provides a searchable database based on keywords. This was lacking in my existing website (see website tab above). I believe a searchable database is a key feature that is required if you expect anyone to seriously look at your work.

The image galleries at Photo Shelter are on there way to completion, although I still have to post process, keyword and upload considerable work from several overseas assignments conducted in 2008 and 2009 - not to mention many black bear, squirrel, bison and pronghorn photographs captured on an American trip in late 2006. Then there are images from several trips to Papua New Guinea (ahhh - will it ever end).

Now all that is left is to customize the Photo Shelter template, however, I'll wait a few months to see if I'm happy the services offered by Photo Shelter before I delve too deeply into this.

A search link box has been added to the blog to search for images directly within Photo Shelter as has a direct link tab (above tabs).

I finally found time to mess about with the title banner of this BLOG page and include my motif - the anaspides shrimp. For those who have a good attention to detail, you will notice that the banner matches my website in motif, style, colour and design. The design and motif also matches my business cards and letterhead. In my opinion, branding is very important for all your work; it creates consistency across various media mediums, inspires client confidence, and is professional.

WHAT'S PLANNED NEXT?

I want to include a dedicated gallery on this BLOG site and add several short articles on pressing conservation issues.

So that a wrap work wise for the last 4 weeks!

Pan, Motion and Zoom Blur Technique - Improve Your Creativity

You know sometimes when your in the field and things get slow; the animals are hiding, the weather is bad, or the images are just not there. Well, instead of packing your gear away, why not try something new and creative.

Recently, when I was in Yellowstone National Park, there was a few hours which were quite dead wildlife and landscape wise. Rather than hide, I decided to play around with a zoom blur using my Canon 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens. The results do not please everyone, however, this technique is well worth mastering and adding to your palette of skills.

So how is a zoom accomplished?

The technique is relatively easy, but results vary depending upon how fast or slow you manipulate the zoom on your lens and what combination of shutter speed, ISO and f stop you select.

1. First, switch your camera to M mode (manual mode).
2. Auto focus on a subject conducive to zooming (such as the trees in the image), then turn off auto focus once focus lock has been acquired (or use manual focus).
3. Next, ensure you have a relatively slow shutter speed. I prefer 1/25 or slower, so using a tripod is advantageous. It's important to have a slow shutter speed to allow time for you to zoom the lens while light is falling on the digital sensor. Play about with different settings to achieve the results and blur that you desire - The f stop is not that important, but obviously in well lit situations you will need a high f stop (ie f16) to enable a slow shutter speed.
4. Depress the shutter and while the lens is open smoothly zoom the lens. Depending on the effect you desire, you may want to zoom in or zoom out.

Have fun with the new technique and watch as you creativity increases.

Pan / Motion Blur

Animals move, and most species can move very fast when they want to.

Traditionally, the idea has been to capture the animal in the moment; in other words, the bird will be frozen in mid flight or the wolf will be frozen in mid stride. There is nothing wrong with this technique, however, the image won't show fluidity, movement, or speed.

To instil movement into another wise still subject can be tricky, but not impossible. The idea is to use a slow shutter speed and pan the camera and lens at the speed the animal is moving. I usually start left and move towards the right panning the camera as the animal moves. it's important to always follow through with the pan; do not stop halfway but follow the animal fully to the right to the end of the pan. How slow a shutter speed depends on how much you want the background blurred and whether you want additional movement in the animal. I would suggest starting out at 1/25th and going from there.

This will create a sharp image of the animal and blur the background. The image of the animal is sharp because the camera and lens are moving at more or less the exact speed of the animal as you pan. The blurred background instils movement.

Motion Blur

But, as with many things in life there are usually several subsets to the above rule. When photographing birds, I like the bird to be blurred somewhat as this implies power and speed to the image.

For example, I made several photographs of this Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Alaska. The sharp images we're nice, but they lacked motion; they appeared very flat and descriptive looking. By lowering the shutter speed and waiting for the bird to fly, I panned the camera and lens left to right. The shutter speed wasn't quite high enough to freeze the movement of the wings and body of the bird, and this created the appearance of movement. The pan/motion was quite fast and the shutter speed was 1/320th at f10 ISO 400.

Don't believe me - Go the park, find some pigeons or sea gulls and trial the technique.