Wing Tippers add elegance and grace to a photo

Dec 31, 2015 | News

What the heck is a Wing Tipper.  It is a hard shot to get and doesn’t happen all the time.  Waterfowl at times use the tips of their wings to glaze the water for balance.  Sometimes it is just sloppy navigation too.  Be on the lookout for this special shot. The other hard to get shot is the toe dipper. This is the shot when just the bird’s claw  skims the water. This is even harder to get. Graceful Take Off Peek a Boo Wing Tipper If the eye was not showing this shot would not be good. Power Wings This mute swan gracefully skimmed the icy lake.  The wings touched the ice surface with each beat of his wings. I am sure it helps with stability, balance and navigation....

Action is better than no Action

Dec 19, 2015 | California Wildlife Photography, News

It is really hard to get an animal to do something other than sit, when you have limited time.  I once had a mentor tell me that, “let them see the blood and gore”, if you want a better score in competition. It needs to tell a story. Here is a simple example to get the point across.  This California Brown Thrasher caught my attention while he was singing away. California Brown Thrasher- Mouth Closed California Brown Thrasher-Mouth Open- The title could be “Chatter-Box” Same bird, same position, only one photo has the mouth closed and the other has its mouth open. Does the title fit the photo? Which do you like the better? The morale of the example is let them see the guts and...

Adding Impact to an OK photo

Dec 10, 2015 | California Nature Photography, California Wildlife Photography, News

As I said in a previous post, one of the three most important essentials to a good or great photo is IMPACT. So what do you do if you have a photo that looks pretty good but you feel it needs a little more juice. Based on my competition experience, I find that the judges know too that a certain photo needs a little more umph to get it in the merit classification. Often, the piece of advise is to add a border with the possibility of  a stroke or key-line to hold the focus on the subject.  These two items can really change how a photo looks. I know the purists will not like this but I think for the  beginner photographer this is one easy approach without knowing a lot about Photoshop etc. Ready for Take-Off This shot was taken in Cape May, New Jersey. It was one of those anticipate and be patient shots. This Red Wing Black Bird never stayed still and it was windy in the marsh.  When I looked at the photo in the computer I liked the action of the wings. It was perfect. I always wanted to get something like this but the situation never presented itself as it did on this day.  As I looked at this image, I asked myself how can make this image even more impactful. When I do use Photoshop it would be for  borders and key lines. Click here for description of a key-line. Ready for Take-off , with border and key-line This photo now has a black border and a little line that goes...