For quite a while I was in a rush. A panic, motivated, rush, to see, shoot, get, photograph, share. I'm not anymore. It took about 4-5 years of that before it really changed.
So, what was previously a daily task of posting an image, something hopefully grabbing, something cool, is now a weekly, or monthly, or who knows task. I really no longer feel a drive to share. I feel a drive to try to take good images. But not to share, not to 'feed the machine' or keep 'posting to flickr daily'.
I don't know that I am shooting any less. Maybe slightly here or there, but I'm still trying to get out and could be shooting 100's a day, nearly a couple thousand over a weekend when I am at it.
The photo in this post is a foliage shot from Vermont taken a couple years ago. I did not post anything from this trip prior to today.
One of the things I've hoped to do is to shoot during an event, a season, and then share just prior to it when it happens again, say a year or two later. This is now one of those things, I waited about 23 months to finally post some foliage images.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Not in a rush anymore
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Osprey update June 30, 2011
I haven't been to visit "my" nest in a couple weeks. Last I checked the 3 chicks were doing well.
(6/19/2011)
I visited tonight and was met with a sad sight. One of the 3 osprey died, and is still in the nest.
(6/30/2011)
The chick in the background was really bothered by the situation, just looking at its sibling that wouldn't move any more. And it bothered me too.
I couldn't tell what the cause was for sure until I got home and reviewed the images closely, but I had a suspicion. I thought maybe a hook from a snagged fishing line had managed to be eaten by the osprey. But it appears that the osprey chick got tangled in the line and died from that.
There wasn't much to do, but I reported it to someone that can hopefully get a visit from someone that can remove the dead bird.
And to be expected, mom was still mom, and yipped a couple times. And dad came by with a fish, circled a few times, and then delivered a fish. And then mom fed the (2) chicks.
Life goes on.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Have Fun - Flickr
Every few days or weeks I notice that someone has favorited one of my flickr multi-image posts, and often especially this Red-Tailed Hawk set of posts.
There was someone on flickr, and it hit facebook too, where ppl turned posted individual images in to posting collages or multi-tile images one post at a time....
I first saw it on flickr, but soon realized ppl were doing something similar on facebook to create sets that when viewed as thumbnails created a single image.
Whatever you do with your images, have fun. Post. Print. Sell. Share. Donate. Take images and do something with them - and have fun.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Maine Osprey 2011
My brother has been getting in to photography a lot lately and found an awesome spot for Osprey in Maine. There's a river and a run of fish going on now, and well, the river's pretty narrow and there's lots of fish and osprey. It's an awesome spot.
A half hour's walk through the woods and then there it is.
Continued...
In a few days I've gone a few times and spent quite a few hours there. There are all show with a 500mm handheld and cropped some...
The spot is setup pretty nicely, by late morning the light is working its way to the side of the river and behind the spot to shoot from. 
While there my brother and I were both initially put off because of some hikers and people fishing there along the river. But after a while, I realized that by this not being an untraveled spot the osprey are actually more accustomed to people being around. 
Nikographer.com / Jon
Read more On "Maine Osprey 2011"!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
All I get is butt shots!
Ok, so, I haven't posted in months. I ran in to someone today and they said "All I get is butt shots!"
I think I might be able to help, and this seemed a like a good topic to tackle.
It just so happens that while browsing past images this one struck me. I had already done the edit, and tonight framed it and added a logo.
So, first thing is - sometimes a butt shot is ok and cool.
But if what is happening is that every time you see a bird it flies away, then yeah, that's a problem.
Birds will do what they are doing until they want to do something else. If you are not there they will do their own thing. If you are there, you can either watch and see what they'd do on their own, or you can influence things and then see their reaction. The trick really is to be observant, and to tell when your presence is affecting things.
With some observation, you can start to guess at what might or might not cause the flight-response.
I've even used that simple premise as a way to get CLOSER to birds. Here's how - if I see a bird, I'm watching, and I see someone else on a trajectory towards me and the bird, I will back off. Give the bird lots of room, so I am no longer a part of the equation. Then I (sometimes, and sometimes succeeding) have tried to predict what the person approaching might do, and what the bird might react by doing. Then I've moved and sat or positioned myself in a non-threatening position, and waited. It doesn't always work out, but some times it does.
Butts shouldn't always be seen as a bad thing.
But if that's all you get to see you need to rethink your approach and try to think like the bird a little.
If you are approaching to the point that the bird always flies away, then, you need to not approach so close and learn to read the birds better. Some birds don't like friends and will always fly away (like a kingfisher) but others will tolerate you if you do it right.
Other things you can do to limit your impact when out looking for birds are:
Good luck,
-Jon
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Cape May - Skimmers and Light
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
Cape May is a hot spot for bird watching during fall migration. The way the state tapers off to the cape/point of New Jersey acts like a funnel where birds follow the land south and end up there, running out of coast/land and then momentarily stuck to think it over.
According to the local bird watchers who are in the know, approximately 80% of the birds that pass through the cape are immature/juvenile birds. The main reason being it is easier to migrate south 100% over land, avoiding the Delaware Bay and the water crossing. Adults know enough to take the easier inland route, while the first year birds don't. These young ones can cross but they have to stop and think about it, and then muster up the courage to make the trip over the open water.
In 2009 I made a couple trips to Cape May and this year I did 6 or 7 trips (multiple days each trip). The migrating hawks and falcons, and little birds / song birds (passerines) are most people's favorites. And they are mine too, except for the black skimmers, they are so fun to watch, and offer such great chances.
Last year I shot the skimmers a lot at sunrise and sunset and this year I did the same. Trying to get the flock and some nice light together is what makes them extra special. The skimmers might sit on the beach most of the day doing next to nothing, but around sunrise and sunset they are full of action. 
As the fall season passes most of the early skimmers to leave are mature ones. By November the flock of black skimmers in Cape May is mainly juvenile birds.
Birds of Prey
This year I finally got to experience what the big big push of birds is like - seeing hawks and falcons on the frequency of seconds, not minutes or hours. Seriously. All this year it was just a couple of the days I was there, and one especially, when the action was just crazy.
The best days I had were a day or two after a storm passed through, with the backside of the weather creating winds out of the ~west which groups up the migrating birds along the coast. Perfect.
Next year I am going to visit lots again, and I will try to focus more on the migrating birds of pray. It is (too) easy to split time between them and the skimmers. Most of my visits this year were in October, and next year I am going to go a bit more earlier.
--50--
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Chincoteague NWR, Fall 2010
From: http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
A couple weeks ago I had my most productive visit to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.
The thing that set the visit apart was the morning encounters I had with some herons and egrets.
Color and good light makes normal things special, and great things extra special.
I've taken lots of heron and egret photos but really just about none when there was such magical light. Two things combined - the sun was rising behind me a bit, and there was a touch of fall foliage in front of me. The two combined to bathe these birds in light and color.
Shooting at Chincoteague can be a little tough, mostly because lots of people go there, and they are often tourist types that see someone or some thing and stop and all get out at once. On the day I got these shots that happened a couple times and I left and came back hoping the birds that all flew away would come back - and it sort of worked.
While there I also saw the roughly 1000 snow geese, and a few skimmers, hawks, falcons and some shovelers and other ducks...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Hide and Seek - Cape May NJ
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
My plan to hide a bit and have hawks or falcons land near my at the beach in Cape May worked.
I managed to get a handful of shots of this kestrel eating a dragonfly.
And this Video:
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Bodies, Glass, and Making Images
I have very few hobbies, and in the past 5 years photography has gone from something I do with a point and shoot every awkward once and a while, to something I eat, sleep and breath probably more than most folks.
Averaged over 5+ years I shoot about 200 images a day - I haven't updated that stat in the past 6 or 8 months, but it has to be consistent and around 200 still. In 5 years I've past a few hundred thousands shots and hundreds of outings. It is that persistence and repetition that makes more and more things second nature.
Gear
In 5 years I've now bought 5 bodies (d70s, d200, Fuji S5, D300 and D300s) and even more lenses but nothing huge until 2 years ago I got the 200-400mm f/4 VR lens.
The 200-400mm lens is pretty sweet and I've meant to do a review / write up, but Thom (ByThom) has one that is way more detailed than I could make and he's right on. Very good lens, struggle with converters and is weak at long range optically.
But with that and all of my other gear, I've always managed to take images with whatever I have that I like, that keep me going, motivated to learn and keep trying.
This is with a D70s and 70-300 G lens, with one off camera flash, through glass at the zoo.
With lots of time and work, and gear, I broke down and got a 500mm f/4 lens. It should be a big leap gear wise / optically over the 200-400mm. I plan to hand hold it often - and have been actually working out in an effort to hand hold the 200-400mm longer and with less strain, and the 500 is just a pound or so heavier. (If I end up carrying both around at the same time I might just need a formal Gym Membership).
Skimmers at Sunrise - Fuji S5 w/ 200-400mm f/4 vr:
Always want more, and don't blame the gear - every setup is capable of producing amazing images be it a Holga or a Hasselblad.
Probably one of the biggest things I've focused on in the past 12 or 13 months is learning to see and understand light, sunrise and sunset, and how that is key to images that aren't "Normal" or "Average". The good light is not at mid-day when it might be easiest to head out for some shooting.... Sunrise or bust.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Not just clicks but photos
From: http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
Nature and Wildlife Photography is a strange thing in a way. It takes so much trial and error, repetition, exploration, and discovery to move forward and learn and see things. Then capturing meaningful images is another thing, and doing it in a way that others will also appreciate the nature/wildlife of it, that too takes time.
Luck is certainly one way to make that all happen. Luck is a major part of things, you can't usually wake up and know that wildlife will do something, and you can capture it, with any certainty. It just doesn't play out that way. But if you get lucky, many things click and can lead to images.
Planning, research, and making circumstances that embrace luck is another thing though. Being ready to be lucky will make for much more *good* luck.
Since there's no film to buy, and with dSLRs you can click-click and see what you've got, and move on... You have to pursue things with a passion, try and try, and get what you get, and try to learn and just be more prepared next time. And take risks, not standing on a cliff's edge, but trying something new, a new location or new technique, etc.
With time - I've learned to really look forward to each new season in the mid-atlantic area. There's always something new just around the corner and as Fall is only a month on, the future always seems to hold something worth looking forward to, something to plan for, strategize for, and hopefully make great new images as a result of the process.
-J
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Play the Seasons and Learn
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
You can't fight it, you have to go with the flow. Let the salmon go up river to their death, struggling to survive, but as a photographer - learn the seasons, research the places, scout them, make friends, make visits, and over time get to know places and what works best.
I guess in a nut shell that's what I've been doing for a few years or more. Traveling mostly a hundred miles this way or that way, and when it works well either learning about a location or getting some good and new images - and on the really good days both. A day with learning but no stand out images, that's still got to be counted as a success.
Cape May New Jersey is sort of my new favorite place. Last year I went a couple times, but this year I am even more in to it.
Having gone to spots here and there at Cape May and tried sunrise or sunset at a few spots I now have more info and more local knowledge. The folks that live nearby, or visit lots, they know what's up - and it can largely be a matter of asking, and also trial and error.
The hawk landed on that fence post - I was just 20 feet away, and when I moved the camera over and started to shoot he saw me and flew off a moment later. That brief encounter, what it really highlighted for me was - hawks will do anything and land and then scan the area - IF they aren't spooked off to begin with. I was there already, but when I moved and focused on him, THAT bother him.
So, that was a couple weekends ago. What happened a few minutes later was a group of ~15 birders came up to the spot near me, and walked up and started looking around. Needless to say, no more hawks landed on the fence.
A week later I was back and it was like ground-hog-day, but I had just a little more info. I was at a similar spot along the dune and the hawks were all over the place, and migrating, and flying mostly south.
What I tried differently was to not be in a spot so often traveled by people. It was still pretty close to the beach, at a dunes spot, and basically equally good for hawks.
Here's the spot I picked and how I setup with some cover. Having shot a few places where I just made the seemingly minor choice of picking some cover to try to blend in with, it really made a difference. 
The thing about shooting raptors flying by close and fast though is that shooting from a tripod - that's not so good. I couldn't move around and adjust fast enough. I wound up hand holding most of the time. I'd rest the camera and lens on the tripod, and then when something was approaching I'd hand hold the camera and get ready...
What actually happened next THREE TIMES though was I was too hidden, I blended in too much for my own good. Last year I got a camo coat, and hat, and have wrapped my lens in camo too. So, THREE times at this *other* spot a hawk landed on the fence post, so close that by the time I reached for the camera and began to adjust and move to just begin to PREPARE to take a shot, the hawk was so spooked by my new found presence that it took off before I even came CLOSE to getting a shot. Three times. Once the hawk was just on right of that tall grass perched on the fence maybe 4 feet from me and the camera.
Sigh.
So, I tried to learn from that, expect things, and plan and move around differently... It didn't quite work out, but I think if I had done what I did later during the earlier encounters, it could have worked. So, for me, I learned and will try new things next time.
-
One of the great things about this time of year and Cape May also is that there are so many knowledgeable and friendly people there. In just a few visits this year, I really learned a bunch already. I will still basically say much of the bird IDs I tell people are "guesses" because I know I have so much more to learn, but, with hundreds of raptors passing by, often per hour, I kind of feel like I know more every day of every visit I'm there.
Taking time to blend in, dress right, move slowly, and predict things is something I've picked up more in the past 2 years I'd say. It's like being a hunter... The input influences the output. If you don't know what you're doing the best you can hope for is being lucky. But there more you know, the more you can predict, the more you can steer chance in your own favor.......
Find spots and go with the seasons, learn the lay of the land, patterns, and NEVER be afraid to get info from a local or fellow visitor.
-Jon
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Cape May - Skimmer Sunrise - Shot Details
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
I took this one a little after sunrise when the sun hid behind some clouds for a moment.
Shooting at sunrise (or sunset) really makes for a much better starting point for nice images. The low angle and shadows or side lighting can't be beat. And the warmth of it, and orange light is way better than any mid day light might be.
The bulk of the editing done on this shot were two things. First I cloned out a person that was along the shore and distracted from the light and birds. The eye just wanted to go to it. The second thing I did was to clone out the birds that were partial and along the top edge of the shots. They too seemed to be distracting. There were about 4 or 5 of the bird parts, and the parts you could see weren't enough to make an entire bird out of...
I recently commented that editing (and cloning, etc) for content was something I didn't like or do much. In the case of this image I was ok with it. I don't consider myself a purist on things like this. What ever seems to work or what my eye wants is what I go with. But as a rule I guess, I don't shoot and then edit with a mindset of "hmmm, I wonder which parts I should clone out?" That's not how I shoot/edit.
Posts
