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...
Sep 26, 2015 | California Nature Photography, News
Welcome to Jim Akers’s Photography Blog. It seems that I am taking more photos of birds than anything else over the past few years. I think this is because they are more available. It doesn’t mean it is easy just more available. Plus I live on the West Coast along the coast so it makes the availability easier. I shoot exclusively with Canon equipment. The other day I got up early as in 4 AM to go to Bolsa Chica State Park. It is one of the premier birding preserves on the West Coast. When I am bird shooting I use a Canon 500 mm f/ 4l IS lens or the 70-200 f/2.8 with an extender. Here is one of the shots I took at Bolsa Chica. I watched the pelicans diving into the water but from the distance I was at I could not see if they caught anything. I did not know the pelican had the fish in its mouth until I got home and loaded the shots into my computer. The 7:30am golden sun was to my back. My Canon 1DX settings were 1/1000, f/8.0 and the ISO was 800. My Canon 500mm was sitting on an Induro 314 tripod with an Induro GBH2 Gimbel Head. I was ready, I had the right equipment and I anticipated the movement of the pelican. Now all I had to do is be patient. As I continue to blog, I will share my secrets and wisdom of how to get good shots, particularly bird shots. In fact, I have a WOW list that is 4 pages long and still growing. WOW stands for Words of Wisdom. The WOW tenant...
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