Flying Fish

VA Osprey taking a fish for a ride.  It was soon to be a meal.

Read more On "Flying Fish"!

Flying Fish

Going Old School - Osprey Drawings

When I was a kid, I used to like to draw.  I would draw cars, trees, boats, whatever.

Fast forward and now I like to take photos.  A ton of photos.  I usually take more than 100,000 photos a year.  A typical day could be 500-2000 images depending on how many places and cool things and action I encounter.

A month or so ago I bought a couple of sketch books and some pencils, erasers, etc.

Thursday I sat down with a pad and pencil and stared at it for a while.  Then I drew a box with a vertical line through it.  And I scratched my head so to speak...  What is that and why did I draw it?  I didn't know.  I still don't know, but it was a starting point.  I figured out that was NOT what I wanted to draw.  Usually my doodles are boxes, three dimensional distractions that are a waste of time but accomplish the goal.

Then from somewhere the idea of drawing a bird came to me.  I decided to try to draw an osprey, and drew about 8 that first night, each roughly a quarter of the page I had to work with. Here are 3 from the first night.

I drew some #osprey today. This is the second one I did of about eight. #drawing #pencil #instabird #nikographer #first #draw #linedrawing #art #bird #birdstagram #nature #birds #ig_birdlovers #ig_nature #nikonpencil #sketch #face #expression #shock

A post shared by Jon (@the_real_nikographer) on Mar 23, 2017 at 5:12pm PDT

I drew some #osprey today. This is the first one I did of about eight. #drawing #pencil #instabird #nikographer #first #draw #linedrawing #art #bird #birdstagram #nature #birds #ig_birdlovers #ig_nature #nikonpencil

A post shared by Jon (@the_real_nikographer) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:02am PDT

I drew some #osprey today. This is the third one I did of about eight. #drawing #pencil #instabird #nikographer #third #draw #linedrawing #art #bird #birdstagram #nature #birds #ig_birdlovers #ig_nature #nikonpencil

A post shared by Jon (@the_real_nikographer) on Mar 24, 2017 at 11:15am PDT

Then on the second night I used most of a page and drew this single portrait.  It's got some light and shadow...

#tonight's #creation - #osprey #instabird #pencil #drawing #linedrawing #nikographer  #drawing #pencil #instabird #nikographer #first #draw #linedrawing #art #bird #birdstagram #nature #birds #ig_birdlovers #ig_nature #sketch #nikonpencil

A post shared by Jon (@the_real_nikographer) on Mar 24, 2017 at 4:44pm PDT

Tonight (3/25/2017) I drew another osprey portrait but I didn't like the way it came out.  It was too dark and there some issues with the proportions being a little bit askew.

So I drew a second image and here's what I came up with, it is from an image I took today of an osprey eating a fish.  All these drawings are based on photographs I took at some point.  I put the image up on my iPad and then drew...

#osprey with a #fish #drawing #sketch #linedrawing #day3ofdrawing #nikographer #pencil #nikonpencil #art #birdsofinstagram #ig_birdlovers #ig_drawing

A post shared by Jon (@the_real_nikographer) on Mar 25, 2017 at 4:55pm PDT

Tonight's second drawing (above) is the first that has the tail and the repeating patterns in the feathers, and the first with talons.  I drew it quickly and probably because I had done another image and given up on it, I was fast to call it done.  Looking at it more I could work on the eye more and the left leg might need some adjusting.  But part of this exercise is to go quick and make drawings and learn and move on.

I'm still playing with a few modes of doing the drawings.  2 days ago I started with the eyes and then added around that slowly.  Today I tried starting with the tree branch and then added the eye and then more of an outline of the bird.  In the future I want to try to do more of an outline of the entire bird/subject and then as I go fill in the details.  That should help me get the scale and proportions better.  But I also know from some past drawings that starting with small details and adding slowly to that can have a surprisingly good result because it is details added to details and the scale is considered for each small area vs. trying to get the scale correct all up front...

Hope you like the drawings, I had fun making them and plan to make more.

-Jon Read more On "Going Old School - Osprey Drawings"!

Going Old School - Osprey Drawings

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
Read more On "Planning for March, Spring and Beyond"!

Planning for March, Spring and Beyond