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
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Play the Seasons and Learn
Monday, July 5, 2010
DC Fireworks July 4th 2010
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was the 4th of July and I made my second serious attempt to shoot the DC fireworks.
Like any major event downtown or nearby Washington DC it takes the right mindset and a plan to avoid unplanned pitfalls or something which might make the night a bust. For the 4th of July the things to plan for are the spot to shoot from, transportation to and from there, and having the right gear and supplies to make it somewhat comfortable.
I was leaning towards trying to shoot from near the Iwo Jima Memorial and did just that. I started surveying the area, road closures, access to various places around 1PM - a full 8 hours before the fireworks. I parked in a grassy area setup by the park police near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery when heading north on the George Washington Parkway. By 2:30 or so I had walked to the Iwo Jima Memorial and picked a spot in the shade to wait and finalize my plans from. By around 7PM the area started to get fairly busy and I picked my final spot - where I took this shot looking back up the hill from.
For supplies I packed a Gatorade, 4 frozen waters, a soda and some trail-mix.
read more...
For gear I packed my D300 and D300s, 80-400mmVR and 18-200mmVR and my two tripods. I also had a cable release and stereo microphone. Last fall I got a VariND, a variable Neutral Density filter and I brought that, and a circular polarizer too. I also brought a bag chair, and a couple of camera bags to carry the stuff in. In all I probably had like 30 pounds of stuff, maybe more.
I posted this one last night right after I got home. It might be the best of the night I got.
What Worked Well
The gear I picked was enough. Lol, I brought a ton, but I did leave another camera home (Fuji S5) and a video camera. Since I knew I'd be walking a lot and heading back to my car in the dark, I didn't bring my 200-400mm. It is a great somewhat fast lens but is huge and weighs a lot. The 80-400mm worked better because I had a ND filter for it, and could shoot long exposures without having to stop down to f/18 or more and go past the sharp range of the lens (and avoid highlighting dust spots on my sensor).
Part way in to shooting I had to adjust my exposures a bit and remembered something from a podcast I had just listened to regarding low ISO. Nikon makes the ISOs below 200 low-1, 2 and 3. The reason these are low is that below ISO 200 the camera doesn't perform as well, possibly with more noise than at ISO 200. So I adjusted my ISO up to ISO 200.
The VariND on the 80-400mm lens also worked well. I wound up using it to adjust my exposure once I was setup and rolling. I chimped some shots, and increased the ND a bit.
While reviewing last year's images I realized I was not zoomed in nearly enough. This year I made sure to try to get tighter shots, more full frame. Part of my thinking was that fireworks are set off all over the country, but the thing that makes seeing them in Washington DC so special is the surroundings / the monuments, the Capital Building, etc. I did way better than last year, but it wasn't until almost the end that I zoomed in on the 80-400 past around 250 or 300mm.
What Didn't Work Well
Operating two cameras led to many more shots than what I could have done with just one camera. However I think I did two things wrong. I had the tripods very close and touching eachother, or at least the stuff I had hanging from the tripods (to add weight) were touching. This led to shooting with one camera and adjust the other and moving that first camera a bit. I have some images that show movement in the camera.
I shot in manual focus on both cameras. This speeds things up, prevents focusing on close trees and makes for consistency. However, I didn't pay close enough attention on the 18-200mm and D300s and a large group of early shots are out of focus, focused closer than what I wanted.
Shooting two cameras at the same time isn't something I've ever done like this, so all in all I did ok.
What I Might Try Differently Next Year
Shooting from near the Iwo Jima Memorial was pretty cool. I got the shots I wanted and had planned for. Getting all 3 Washington icons in tight formation was what I'd seen in my minds eye.
Next year I might see about shooting from downtown DC or somewhere else. I've seen some shots from behind the Capital building looking west that were very good, and made the Capital build the major "dc" element...
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Keep Exploring & More Vertical
GVP #40 to #48 - From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/keep-exploring-more-vertical.html
A couple weeks ago I went to the Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base. This was my 5th year going, and I'm starting to get my fill of it all. The highlights of past years have been the F-15 which is awesome and so fast when they kick on the afterburners. The F-22 Raptor is amazing too. It can basically defy normal laws of physics, and hover, flip, flop, slide, go backwards, sort of crazy.
-click for more-
The part that has gotten pretty old this time is the crowds. My basic routine for the past few years is to be on one of the very first buses from Fedex field so I can get a front row spot near the middle. Doing it this way makes it a very long day but there's not a better place to shoot from really. With no one in front of you, you can have an unblocked view of just about all of the show. They have restrictions on what you can bring to the base/show, but you're allowed to bring a chair, a tripod, and whatever camera gear you might want to carry (but bag sizes are limited to 1 cubic foot). The problem is that even if things go smooth it is a stressful day. Carrying around a couple cameras, a few lenses, a chair, a tripod, and being out in the hot sun on the tarmac takes a toll. Add to this the fact that the crowds are usually around 100,000 people, and being up front makes your space a target. Every one that was home sleeping at 7am now wants to stand in front of you. So it turns in to a defensive struggle to not get ousted from the front row, or just stepped on and bullied.
The other thing that I found some this year is that it is somewhat hard to get unique photos when you and 99,999 other folks are there too. I guess it is not impossible, but it is hard. My vertical project helped a little to keep me trying new stuff, but, more and more I want to keep advancing my photography and being where lots of other people are shooting isn't part of the plan.
Maybe next year I will take a different approach to it to keep it fresh - like sleeping in, or not bringing a big lens and tripod or chair, etc. Doing it completely the opposite way, and shooting the static display stuff more, or maybe the people of the air show.
(I realize that I am posting this to my nature&wildlife photography blog, but to me all photography is part of the same continuum - the learning, exploring, and processes involved.)
The sad news of the zoo's lions loosing their new born cub was a real downer. But the work involved in the zoo's effort to build a lion pride has been going on for around 5 years! The fact that they have a male, 2 females, they've settle in to the zoo well, and now are a pride of 3 - and there's been mating and a single birth (this recent one) is a success. And this setback is temporary, and I am still hopeful and proud of the hard work the zoo has done to come this far.
And now on to some WILDLIFE! Last year I went to Cape May New Jersey for the first few times ever. I stayed over night both times, and had a real blast. During Fall Cape May is a major hot spot for migratory birds. I saw hawks, and a variety of other birds but the Black Skimmers were my absolute favorites.
In October (2009) there had to have been 500 birds (black skimmers) along the beach - in just one or two groups. By November (2009) the group was down to roughly 50, and of those only a handful for adults. For reference as to how much I enjoyed watching and shooting them - I probably spent 50% of my time just with them on the beach, and maybe took 3000 shots. The hawks, raptors, etc which motivated me to go in the first place weren't my favorites or even a big highlight. Just this one image stands out - and the close encounter I had with a Cooper's that flew by me at around a distance of 5 feet and plunged in to a bush to try to catch a meal.
This weekend I went again but didn't find any Skimmers. There were some on the other side of the Delaware Bay in DE. The highlight of this trip was probably the Piping Plovers and Laughing Gulls. Much like the Skimmers, the Laughing Gulls are pretty common but they have some character and aren't too skittish.
I was keeping Cape May a "secret". Lol. The thing is that people do follow where I go, and I wanted to keep the spot to myself. But in actuality the spot is probably the most famous and known birding spots of all the east coast north of Florida. I realized this (obvious fact) and also that I should be able to get my unique images regardless of who knows I shoot there. I am still going to try to keep my smaller spots off of my publicly shared spots (just going to share the images themselves) - but a spot like CM, it's like Blackwater or Bombay Hook - the locations are very well known already.
Later in the weekend I checked in on one of the osprey nests I visit, and the female appeared to be sleeping when I got there. She woke up when some other birds chirped to alert the neighborhood to my approach. But she didn't fly off the nest, and just watched me for a few. There's gotta be chicks already or maybe by this weekend. I didn't see any feeding last weekend, and have high hopes for this nest this year.
I've been shooting video on and off, trying to keep at that. Here's a short clip of the osprey from above, sitting on the nest and yelling to the skies!
Those are some of my recent travels. My goal of late is to see and shoot differently as much as possible. The vertical thing has opened some doors. Going to new places like Cape May, and oh yeah, I took the ferry there this time. That was interesting.
Other ways I changed it up this year was in February when I took a day trip to Assateague State Park. That's around a 150 mile trip ONE WAY! I got there within 10 minutes of sunrise! I shot there for a few hours and had some fun/success. I went to Blackwater Refuge also that day. And to show just how crazy/motivated I can be - I went to Great Falls for sunset too - all in the same day. Was about a 15 hour day door to door. And I got some great shots. And because that day was so good at Blackwater, I went again the next day and probably got my best / most different Snow Goose shots to date. That weekend I drove around 500+ miles and "worked at it" around 25 hours.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Great Falls National Park Spring 2010
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/2010/04/great-falls-national-park-spring-2010.html.
The River's water levels are coming down, and the herons are fishing in the main falls some. Over the last week I saw Great Blue Herons flying around with nesting material, as well as competing for spots to fish from.
There's a rookery up river that is pretty active, and an eagle's nest too. The eagle appear to now have a chick. I didn't follow the exact dates, but the chick might be 2 weeks old now.
I forgot and now remembered some of why I like Great Falls so much. The herons and water are such great attractions, and not having to drive a hundred miles (bombay hook refuge, blackwater refuge) is a nice change of pace.
While there I also saw a couple bluebirds, as well as many vultures (turkey and black). There was also a Red-Tailed Hawk with some crows dogging it on more than one occasion over the main falls.
I highly recommend folks visit Great Falls National Park. Bring a tripod and a short and long lenses.
-50-
Nikographer.com / Jon
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Adventure of it all
I put in a 14 and 1/2 hour day today, roughly, for my door to door travels.
The days are longer than the shortest, but it is still a long way from Summer and the longest days. By 4:15 am or so I was on the road, and I made it about 140 miles to Assateague Island within just a few minutes of sunrise.
The past 6 months has been a bit interesting for me related to travel and photography. Some of my favorite photos have been the result of hard work but with a very random component. All the Black Skimmer stuff was the result of some risk taking and random chance.
Today I found (what I think was a group of 300+ Dunlin) on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
I don't normally even try for compositions like that! A little reading and exposure to different thinking can go a long way I suppose. Traveling around, I didn't even spot them, I got to where they were and it all just sort of happened.
What's weird in a way is that I went to like 5 places today, all different, each with some resulting images, but I just liked this - it seemed to touch a chord in me. It's different.
--50--
-Jon
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Planning for March, Spring and Beyond
It is almost that time again, time for seasonal change and time for planning to see new thing, approach things with a fresh eye, and take new images.
There are going to still be some Snow Geese at blackwater and sunrise is getting earlier, so it is getting slightly 'harder' to make a sunrise... But then DST is going to kick in too soon.
March will bring the return, long overdue if you ask me, of some warmer weather and people and new chances for unique or different images... Walking around downtown along the mall and monuments was new to me once. I'd only really made it down there for snow or the cherry blossoms.
The above are from March, and the below are from April... Birds will be returning from their long Fall/Winter trips. Time to build nests, or maybe just freshen them up...
And with the Osprey back at Blackwater Refuge, the Bald Eagles will be ready to wait, and steal the fish of said Osprey...
What I plan to do in pursuit of new:
-- Go to new places, or places in months/seasons not done by me before. I've started by visiting Assateague Island a couple weekends ago.
-- Use a blind to hide from wildlife, disturb it less, and get even closer/natural photos
-- Think different, be open to new approaches or spots, take risk and not *just* do what's worked in the past.
-- Improve my long-lens-technique so I get sharper photos. Try with a converter on my 200-400mm some, but not *too* much.
-- Find more new *local* spots. Many of my local or closer spots, well there aren't that many. I have a few, and most of my so called spots are refuges that are 80-100 miles away. I plan to continue to poke around and look for good close spots. This is often fruitless work, effort with little or no reward. But it is still worth it. Last year I found a spot, after 10's of visits that proved to be a gold mine for Heron photos....
I may end up with a big new toy, but I keep going back and worth on that one. Until then I have more than enough gear to get good photos. I'm still kicking myself for that D300s I got - I now have a fully functioning Fuji S5, Nikon D200, D300 and D300s... The D300s has opened up new video opportunities, and I've gotten a few things I like... but I swore I'd wait for a next generation to upgrade again, a full next gen not just mod adding video...
This blog is to help me work through ideas, share that effort, and maybe help someone else in the process. One thing I've learned in the last few years - there is no easy answer to any of this. It is just too complicated. Seeing one photographer, reading one book, signing up for one newsletter, going on one photo trip, buying one new piece of camera gear - they may and should all HELP, but they will never provide 'the answer' or be a magic bullet. For what I like to do and shoot, it is all about being thoughtful, experimenting, putting in boat loads of effort, and seeing what works and course correcting along the way.
The fuel to all that is seeing new things, capturing new images, and sharing it in some form with some one - I mostly use flickr for the sharing part but have other means as well (photo clubs, in person, friends, at work, etc).
--50--
-Jon
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