Oct 15, 2015 | California Nature Photography, California Wildlife Photography
These two words will help you get THE SHOT. For most it does not come naturally. You have to train your self to anticipate what the subject will do. Plus a little patience helps too. Yes, I always wonder if I had just stayed a little longer could I have made a better shot. Coulda woulda and shoulda are always sitting on my shoulder. Red Wing Black Bird- Cape May, NJ I watched the red wings flying and landing on the cattails. It was a clear windy day. The birds would not stay long on the cattails in addition to the cattails swaying in the steady breeze. I had no time constraints so all I had to do was anticipate the movement of the bird and the sway of the cattail and be patient. One trick that I used is to set my camera up on a particular cattail that seemed to be a favorite of one of the red wings. When the bird is just approaching as well sitting start firing away. You have a good chance of getting a winner shot. Caveat- get your settings set before the action starts. I also used a tripod with a gimbal head for ease of movement. Dinner on the Run- Marina del Rey, California I watched the squirrel and the young inexperienced hawk play cat and mouse. The squirrel knew just how far he was to his tree escape. The hawk would swoop/glide down from a distant tree when it thought the squirrel was far enough away from the tree. The trick was to catch the two in action. Hence, anticipation of what...
Sep 30, 2015 | California Wildlife Photography
One of my Words of Wisdom (WOW) tenets is to look behind you when out in nature. I know it is hard to remember or it just never occurs to you that the really good shot could be behind you. It is a simple tenet but I can’t tell you how many times I have taken a potentially great shot just by turning around. Here are a few shots I took when I turned around. These are not competition ready but there is potential in each shot. Sea Gull– I was done for the day and headed back to the car. I am always doing 360 degree turns to see what I am missing. I just caught this sea gull on the fly for some easy food. In another blog, I will talk about anticipation and patience. If I had stayed and watched for awhile I would not have had to turn around. I could have just waited for the action to happen. Note the color of the foreground rock. By the way, I am red, brown and green color blind so we all have our handicaps. Foreground is another blog topic. Spotted Towhee-I was sitting at the waters edge waiting for one of my best of shows to turn up. Fat chance right. I happened to turn around and who should be right behind me about 10 feet away was this curious Towhee sitting up in a tree on a branch. I was positioned in the wrong direction and had to move ever so slooowly in order not to spook this little guy. Crab– Another on my way to the car shots. The sun...
Sep 28, 2015 | California Wildlife Photography, News
It must be from my old Eagle Scout days that I always prepared ahead of time. By continuously preening, these Pelicans are Fire House Ready. With that thought in mind here is a list of tips before you go out and shoot: Gas the car up the day before Have your cloths laid out ready to go along with broad brim hat and sturdy shoes/boots Pick your camera(s) – I usually bring two cameras Pick your tripod(s) – I have two depending on the size of the lens Clean your lens Put fully charged batteries in your camera(s) and turn the camera(s) off Put water in your car- lots of it Have your destination in your GPS if your not familiar with the place your going to Pack your backpack or satchel if you are going to use one. You can put water, extra memory cards, hoodman loupe, lens cleaner, first aid kit and various other lenses, tools and gadgets you may frequently use in your bag in your car or someplace near the car. If you park your car in the garage that has a secure door then stow everything in the car. If you don’t have a secure parking place then stow your equipment in one place so you can put it quickly in the car. Be Fire House Ready and save yourself a lot of time and stress. Click Here to see Fire House Ready Award Winning...
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