The Way We See It: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Tip #97: Keep a Level Head

In Flight (Grus canadensis) - Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge, WI
Canon 7D + Canon 100-400L f4.5-5.6 IS

Bad puns deserve loud groans, but slanting horizons really drive me nuts. When film was king, photographers worked more purposefully because every image had a cost and laziness became lesson in economics. Sloppy technique at a pinnacle moment detracts from an otherwise perfect moment and causes your audience to question the laws of physics. I can't stand seeing birds and boats paddling up some fictitious aquatic hill. The cure for this ailment is a quick fix, and your choices are quite simple.

Use a sturdy tripod, a quality head and a bubble (or in camera) level. Frame your landscape, step back for a moment to clear your preconceived vision, and give the image a second look. Find an anchor on which to level your horizon and only then make the shot.
No time to level in camera, then level it during the post process edit. Every image editor has a leveling tool. While some are quicker than others, there is no excuse to share an image with a blown horizon.

In photography, it is often said, you are judged by weakest image in your folio. Like bad grammar and the tendency to lie, blown horizons may define you to your audience in ways that will be hard to change.

Before Sunrise - St. Croix River, MN
Canon 5D mark II + Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Biodiversity

Tropical Deer - Odocoileus virginianus
Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Wanting to break from reality, I'm diving into the archives in search of orphaned work. Trapped between travels and obligations for the "A" job, I need my past to see my future.

Peanut Head - Fulgora laternaria
Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Mantled Howler Monkey - Allouatta palliata
Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Variegated squirrel - Sciurus variegatoides
Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

All images in this post are from Costa Rica. The pictures were shot in 2011 and they represent a fraction of what we saw that year. During the summer of 2013 we travel back for our 8th visit and are looking forward to enjoying the experience with good friends who share our passion for photography, biodiversity and the evolutionary process.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tip #96: Instinct

After the Sun - Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 40mm f2.8 STM @ f11

Listen to the voices inside and follow your instinct. Be in the present, block the distractions and go where the light takes you. While any photographer can capture the reality in a moment, it takes an artist to convey the manifestation of a vision.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Tip #95: It Might Be Your Only Chance

Steep Climb (Ovis canadensis)
Icefields Parkway - Canada
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Is it half empty or half full?

I won’t bore you with this tired cliche, but I do believe that the tension inherent in the question offers a photographer some pause for thought. Photography is fraught with compromise, especially when considering the stark contrasts that life has to offer.

Should I expose for the shadow or for the highlight?
Do I select a slow shutter speed to convey the motion of a moment, or do I shoot it fast to stop the action?
Could a shallow depth of field isolate my subject, or would it be best to capture the infinite space of a landscape.

Salt Lick and Grit (Ovis canadensis)
Icefields Parkway - Canada
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

While I might lack a religious conviction, I am a Taoist photographer. I see balance in nature and seek to understand the contrasts inherent in this world. I see the yang at a peak moment, and the yin as the sun begins to set. Taoist accepts the contradiction between light and shadow and sees this as a part of the whole.

Watch for Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Icefields Parkway - Canada
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

When you approach a novel subject do shoot as if you’ve reached diminishing returns or do you immerse yourself in the cornucopia of a limited opportunity. I suggest that you shoot as if every encounter might be your last, and you approach your subject from diverse perspectives. By accepting the contrasts inherent in nature, you make the most every every photographic opportunity.

About the Images: The posted photos are of Canadian bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) captured along the Icefields Parkway and Kootenay National Park. We spent several hours with the sheep seeking to capture a diversity of perspectives and behavior.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Piqued by Autumn's Peak

Reflection
Bearhead Lake State Park - MN
Canon 7D + Canon 50mm f1.4

This was our first trip with the pop-up since the blowout, and we really wanted to get back on that "horse" again. Because time management's not my strength, photography has been relegated to brief opportunistic moments. Long days and endless hours devoted to motivating the unmotivated has finally taken its toll. So, with the need to recharge my drained batteries, we pointed the Jeep north a began our search for the ephemeral.

Reflection II
Bearhead Lake State Park - MN
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Reflection III
Bearhead Lake State Park - MN
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Cross Processed
Bearhead Lake State Park - MN
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS