The Way We See It

Tip #48: Be Flexible

2012-02-09T21:30:00.001-06:00

Winter Frost - Stillwater, MN
Canon 5D MarkII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Observation #1: Life is unpredictable.

Observation #2: When faced with the unexpected, humans can adapt.

Inference: A good plan does not ensure a predictable outcome; flexibility is a requisite for succeeding in spite of extenuating circumstances.

Needles on Needles - Stillwater, MN
Canon 5D MarkII + Canon 100 f2.8L IS-Macro

In my scramble to assume control of the uncontrollable, I am comforted by the lessons learned during my photo walks. Faced with the limitations of life and work, weekend mornings are sacred. Although they are poorly planned, my participation is almost certain. Some are quiet moments in a lonely wood, while others are excursions with my closest friends. Regardless of the company, these pre-dawn adventures rarely turn out as planned. Rather than wallow in disappointment, I embrace the opportunity to transform the unpredictable into a creative expression.

Drip - Stillwater, MN
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Rigidity is the enemy of creativity; flexibility is an essential ingredient for realizing your vision. Try not to predetermine your experience as light, climate and life will conspire against you. Rather than force the moment, be a witness and capture life as it happens.

Tip #47: Use Your Ears

2012-02-05T20:47:00.001-06:00

Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus swainsonii)
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @ iso 640 and f2.8

Strange advice for a visual artist, but the ability to listen may be the difference between a missed opportunity and getting the shot.

As wildlife photographers we are faced with an endless list of challenges. Patchy light streaming through a dense forest makes for a metering nightmare that places bright hotspots adjacent to deep shadows. Despite the futile pleas, animals can't perceive our benevolent intentions and flee the moment we enter their comfort zone. Blood parasites mob exposed skin during frantic journeys through thorn infested thickets. All of this and more conspire against us, distract our attention and adds haste to the process. The products of our efforts are glamorous, the process is not.

Looking for a Mate
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @ iso 640 and f2.8

Long hikes to less than spectacular locations or tough shoots in sub-zero temperatures often lead to the need to be done. As the body shuts down so does our receptivity to the sensory rich world. Once finely tuned when the day began, we are broken as dusk approaches. However, it is when we reach this terminal point, that we must stop and give ourselves a moment to listen. It is this breaking point where an elusive opportunity will present itself. Every photo adventure I have lived, has had one. Exhausted and hungry, I begin to walk fast and ignore my surroundings. I hear the noises pepper me through the woods, but I ignore their calls. If it were not for my intense curiosity or obsessive drive to make just one good image, I would miss many of my best wildlife encounters. So, as you try to block the distractors at the end of a day, do not shut down your sensory system... stop and listen!

Photographers Note:

After missing breakfast to catch first light in a tropical valley, we spent the rest of the morning working macro subjects. By noon we were famished and began to hike back for lunch at the lodge. The calls of mating toucans competed with my desire to be done; thankfully, I chose to listen. After seven trips to Costa Rica, I finally have images of toucans that make me smile.

Tip #46: Love What You Have

2012-02-02T18:32:00.000-06:00

In Dawns Light - Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f3.5

G.A.S.

noun: Disease of the mind and heart. An obsession leading to irrational decisions. Suffered by many, conquered by few. Acronym for Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Tree House - Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Canon 1D Mark II + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS w/ 1.4x converter @ f4.5

Learn to love the lenses your have. Shoot them often, be a scientist and experiment with them. Discover how the image will change depending on your point of focus. Use it wide open (largest aperture), closest focus, or stopped down (smallest aperture). By experimenting with your optics, you will know how they respond when you need to get “the” shot!

After the Burn - Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Canon 1D Mark II + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f3.2

Tip #45: The Correct Exposure

2012-01-31T21:35:00.002-06:00

Impala on the Mara - Masai Mara, Kenya
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

There is no one correct exposure in nature photography. Understand how “over-exposure” can excite an image by isolating your subject and underexposure can deepen shadows and add drama to an image.

Tip #44: Go Manual...

2012-01-29T19:57:00.001-06:00

Opuntia in Bloom - Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Canon 5D + Canon 100mm f2.8 USM Macro @ f7.1

Manual focus and manual exposure will slow you down. When you turn off the autopilot and assume the controls, you also create the opportunity to study the composition and think about the light. In the end, you’ll stop taking pictures and begin making images.

Winter Ice Cave - Osceola, WI
Canon 5D Mark II + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 @ f22

Tip #43: Add Light to White

2012-01-26T21:33:00.002-06:00

Shades of White
Canon 5D MarkII + Canon 17-40mm f4.0L @ 17mm

It’s been a long and cold day. Frozen to the core you wait for the light, the mist rising above an icy river, or a fleeting moment that crosses your path. You bury yourself in the snow to create a natural hide or lie prone on the ice to frame a dramatic composition. Regardless of how you contort your body, wrestle with the tripod or endure the cold, your suffering is for naught if you can’t nail the exposure.

White subjects on a bright background will appear to confuse the meter and confound the photographer. Knowing how your camera “perceives” the light is the key to making your white subjects white.

Ice Falls
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Our eyes see reflected light - radiant energy redirected from a subject onto the retina. This reflected light is the same light that strikes the camera meter. Unfortunately your camera lacks the brain you have, and cannot distinguish bright from dark, or highlight from shadow. In the place of a brain, the meter is calibrated to a standard. The standard, middle gray (often incorrectly described as 18% gray), allows the photographer to predict the way light will be translated into the final image. What follows are three key concepts about reflected light striking the meter:

The meter averages the reflected light and suggests an exposure that makes your subject neutral (middle gray).
Because white is lighter than middle gray, your meter will suggest that you underexpose a white subject. If you underexpose white, the subject appears to be middle gray.
Because black is darker than middle gray, your meter will suggest that you overexpose a black subject. If you overexpose black, the subject appears to be middle gray.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
Canon 1D MarkII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

To make white subjects appear white, you must first realize that the meter suggests how to make them middle gray. This is the the moment of liberation, as once this is accepted as fact, your brain can define the correct exposure. When photographing white subjects, do the following:

Switch the camera to manual.
Fill your frame with the white subject or use your built-in spot meter to meter white.
Choose the aperture and shutter speed that balances your exposure.
Now follow Tip #43 and Add Light to White... To do this, compensate for the middle gray calibration by adding 1 and 2/3 to 2 stops of light to whatever your meter suggests.
For example... if the meter suggests that the “correct exposure” is a shutter speed of 1/500 second and aperture of f/5.6, you should change your shutter to 1/125 (that’s plus two stops...) at f/5.6. Alternatively, you can keep the shutter speed fixed at 1/500 second and change your aperture to f/2.8 (plus two stops). Either exposure adds two stops of light, and you will have added light to white.

Tip #42: Know the Biology

2012-01-23T19:58:00.000-06:00

Danaus plexippus - Spring Migrant

Don’t underestimate the power of knowledge, the acquisition of which often takes time and careful study. As photographers seeking to capture intimate details in the natural world, opportunities are lost whenever we fail to make the intellectual investment.

Asclepias tuberosa

Prior to our travel to Tanzania in 2008, we purchased field guides, photographic essays, and Hemingway novels about Africa. I studied the work of masters, and scoured the pages of old National Geographic magazines in search of inspiration. In photography, the moment of capture is an ephemeral thing; preparation leverages our opportunity to slow time.

Danaus plexippus - Brief Encounter
Mated pair

The image maker knows natural history and can anticipate the way climate, light and seasons influence behavior. This type of knowledge empowers the nature shooter and sharpens their vision.

Asclepias syriaca - Fruit of Labor
Seed Dispersal

Before photography, I was a field ecologist. I studied pelagic birds in the arctic, rodents in the desert and migratory butterflies that are iconic visitors to the midwest. Real scientific knowledge allows for an insight that other photographers lack. My vision is unique, my approach is deliberate, and knowledge is a secret weapon.

The posted photographs tell a story about a species and its North American habitat. Careful study of the species and its niche made each of these images possible.

Great News... and many Thanks!

2012-01-21T14:57:00.001-06:00

Link To The Nature Conservancy Photo Contest Site

We would like to thank all of our friends, family and blog followers who cast a vote in the Nature Conservancy Photography Contest. Our image of two Red-eyed Tree Frogs (Agalychnis callidryas) climbing an Easter heliconia (Heliconia wagneriana) received the most votes. Because of you, the picture will be featured on the cover of the Conservancy's 2013 Calendar. Tamy and I have been long-time supporters of the Nature Conservancy and the work they do to protect threatened habitats. We'd like to encourage you to consider the plight of vanishing ecosystems as our human population continues to expand. By supporting non-profit organizations like the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Foundation, Audubon Society and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), you are protecting our biological history and the biodiversity that defines our tiny blue marble in this vast universe.

One More Frog
Tight Rope Walker - Caribbean Slope, Costa Rica
Canon 5D markII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f3.5

Tip #41: No Excuses!

2012-01-17T20:46:00.000-06:00

Ice Cave - Apostle Island National Lakeshore, WI
Canon 5D Mark I + Canon 20mm f2.8 USM

It’s early... I’m tired... It’s hot... I’m cold... It’s raining... I’m sick... Nothing to shoot... The light is flat... It’s a long drive... I have the wrong camera... My lenses suck... The subject’s boring... I’m hungry... It’s late... I have work to do... Nobody cares...

Tree Bones - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 24mm f2.8

So there it is, an incomplete list to justify your unmotivated disposition. I’m sure that there are as many excuses as there are photographers. Get it out of your system, make it a good whine, now grab the gear and practice your craft. No Excuses!

Tip #40: Simplicity

2012-01-14T11:15:00.001-06:00

The Simple Life - Kelly Farm, Minnesota
Canon 50D + Canon 17-40L

The following photo-tip builds on a prior discussion about photography and the art of extraction.

Our capacity to experience the essence of a place, stretch the landscape, or focus on subtle details can be attributed to the computational complexities of the human brain. Well adapted to a world of bright lights and deep shadows, our visual cortex is the largest system within the cerebral hemisphere. Like our ancestral primates, whose evolution relied on careful navigation throughout the narrow branches of a tropical canopy, visual acuity is the difference maker. A misperception of distance or branch location is the difference between finding food or being food. We, the giant and most populous primate on earth, are sensory mongers. Like the iconic astronomical arrays that dot the New Mexican landscape, we are satellites for auditory, visual and olfactory inputs. Collectors and interpreters of stimuli, the brain is our filter.

Morning Layers - Tamarack Nature Center, Minnesota
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8IS L

You, the photographer, must learn to be a filter. With inputs emanating from all directions, the photographic artist needs to decide what to exclude. A cluttered image littered with too many subjects or random movements will distract your viewer from the intent of your vision. Photography is a deliberate process in which the image maker contrives the intent by defining what to subtract from the observer’s field of view. Here in lies the art of photography ...we seek to simplify the infinite complexities in the visual landscape.

Tip #39: Macro in 3D

2012-01-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

Lupine Bloom - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Nikon D2h + Tamron 180 f3.5 Macro @ f4

I have a love/hate relationship with macro photography. I loathe the patience required of the photographer. It is the infinite wait between breezes, ephemeral light, and shallow focus that inspires a short-lived rage. However, I love the details that can be extracted from the near microscopic, obscure, and cryptic. The delicate trichomes (tiny hairs) on the surface of leaves and poisonous spines that envelop larvae captivate my imagination. Razor sharp edges in the foreground contrast with blurred details in the background as leaves or bodies fall out of focus. Layers form when telephoto lenses are combined with large apertures and short focal distances. The soft bokeh at full aperture (out of focus regions) enhances the point of focus and makes an image "pop."

Tip #39

Make it 3D - Use Your Macro or Telephoto at Maximum Aperture and Minimum Focus

Tip #38: The Vertical Landscape

2012-01-09T20:01:00.000-06:00

Fall at the Falls - Gooseberry Falls State Park, MN
Canon 1Ds markII & Canon17-40L @ 28mm

Here is one simple way to shake up your landscape photography... rotate the camera and shoot vertically. With our eyes lying flat on a horizontal plane, we take it all in and see nothing very well. We live the panorama and reproduce this perspective poorly with our tiny cameras. It is rare that I see the untrained photographer who flips the body and shoots the vertical landscape. Should you risk breaking your paradigm, you might find that you will enjoy a more restrictive perspective and the ability to focus the attention of your audience.

Tip #38: Flip that Camera and Shoot the Vertical

Tip #37: Live the Moment

2012-01-07T14:59:00.002-06:00

Red-Eye Tree Frog - Caribbean Slope, Costa Rica
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 180mm MacroL

What follows is a retelling of the Zen view of Past - Present - Future...

Strolling through a bamboo forest, a zen monk is consumed by the beauty and harmony in nature. He banks left through a narrow wood and sees a tiger in the distance. Fearful of his fate, the monk begins to run. Instinct, adrenaline and hunger makes the tiger give chase. The tiger bounds through the forest with ease and begins to approach the monk who now labors with every step.

Fleeing with all of his speed, the monk discovers that it is all about to end. You see, the forest terminates at a cliff.

Giving little thought to the ramifications of his actions, the monk hurls himself over the edge. As gravity pulls him down he spots a tree snag emerging from a rocky shelf. Reaching out, the monk catches the snag and rejoices in his good fortune.

The tiger, frustrated, now sniffs at the monk from above, while the monk ponders a way to descend the remaining 15 feet. Looking down, the monk now observes that another tiger has arrived and waits from below.

Thinking he will wait them out, the monk secures his body to the branch that now hangs precariously between the two hungry tigers. It is at this point that two mice scurry out of a crevice in the mountain and begin to gnaw away at the branch.

From the corner of his eye, the monk spots a ripe, red, and luscious strawberry growing on a nearby vine. He Grasps a the tendrils of the plant in one hand, and plucks the strawberry with the other. Tossing the ripe fruit into his mouth, the monk thinks to himself.... delicious.

Zen teaches us that we can’t run from our past nor fear our future, rather, we must embrace and savor the now.

The way I see it, photography is about the experience. We need to learn how to silence the peripheral noise that clutters our minds, unlock the shackles of our past, and worry less about the future. Grab a camera, find some light, and live the moment.

Tip #36: Study Images

2012-01-04T21:23:00.000-06:00

Black Rhinoceros - Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Canon 1D MarkII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + 1.4x Converter

This may be cliché, but I’ll say it anyway... study lots of photographs.

Seek out the images that inspire wonder and compel you to ask the big questions:

“Where was it taken?”

“When was it shot?”

“How’d they do it?”

When I began making photographs in the late 1970’s, I became a book seeker. I’d visit local shops, used book stores, swap meets, libraries and garage sales in search of old books and magazines about photography. I was the bargain book boy compulsively looking for images to study. A connoisseur of texts by nature photo masters like Adams, Rowell, Lanting, Muench, Wolfe and Brandenburg, I also reveled in unearthing the work of obscure or lesser known photographers. It wasn’t the personality that I was seeking to emulate, it was the imagery being produced by talented seers of the nature.

Winter Spring - Marine on St. Croix, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

With the ever-rapid expansion of the internet, photo web-galleries, photo-streams, and photo-social network sites, it has never been easier to find amazing work to study. As a photographic enthusiast for more than thirty years, I am still on a mission to study the images produced by masters of this craft. I am forever amazed by the things people see, the way it is interpreted and passion inherent in their work.

Tip #37: Study Images - The work that precedes you - The work of your peers - The work yet to be done.

Fall Migration - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

Tip #35: Twilight Can Be Magic

2012-01-02T19:21:00.003-06:00

Twilight in Joshua Tree - Joshua Tree NP, California
Canon 5D MarkII + 15mm f2.8 Fisheye

Twilight occurs between dawn and sunrise or dusk and sunset. With the sun sitting just below the horizon, light scatters throughout the upper atmosphere and gently illuminates the land. I live for the twilight hours; this is the time when birds sing and crepuscular species are out and about. The soft light brings out the magic in an otherwise rugged landscape that is too contrasty to photograph during the day. You need to prep for your twilight shoot. Pre-scout the landscape for a strong photographic subject or key point of interest before the sun begins to set. Be prepared to work fast and know how to use your camera as the twilight hour is an ephemeral event. Effective twilight photography will require a sturdy tripod, remote release, and patience. Just when you think the moment is over, wait it out. Just prior to darkness the sky can turn indigo, magenta, or green... there is just a bit of magic dust in the physics that illuminates the landscape.

Tip #34: Use a Slow Shutter Speed to Pan a Moving Subject

2011-12-31T17:34:00.003-06:00

Landing Gear Down - Crex Meadows Wildlife Management Area, WI
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ 1/20 sec Shutter Speed

In Tip #3 I challenged you to purposefully defocus your subject to accentuate form and color. This technique produces impressionistic-like photos reminiscent of paintings from the 19th century art movement. The blurred natural and human landscapes by Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro demonstrate that the mind takes great pleasure when it fills in the gaps. Artists like Degas used softened brush strokes to construct the body of dancers while van Gogh employed choppy lines to make his portraits. As with painting, realism is not a prerequisite for photography. While we may pay a premium for our sharp optics and fast autofocus, the details they produce may mask the story that a blur might otherwise convey.

Tip #34: Use a Long Shutter Speed to Blur a Moving Subject.

To produce this image, I studied the flight pattern of cranes returning to their evening roost. As thousands of birds flew by, I decided to forgo the production of one more sharp picture. Instead, I began to wonder what it must be like to be a crane approaching a narrow strip of land illuminated by the setting sun. Using a long shutter speed and small aperture, I panned the passing birds as they lowered their landing gear for their final descent. Here, the blurred wings, defocused bodies, and streaked background emphasize form and color at the expense of detail.

...the mind takes great pleasure when it can fill in the gaps.

Tip #33: Be a Documentary Artist

2011-12-29T09:34:00.001-06:00

The Watering Hole - Nairobi, Kenya
Canon 5D + Canon 70-200L f4.0

It is all too easy to claim that photography is an art for those who lack the skills to be “real” artists. Millions of images captured each day on portable handheld computers are posted to photostreams across the globe. The purist of journalistic motifs, the photograph conveys the here and now, and tells a story about the moment captured. Yet, the photojournalist - the point-and-shooter - is the decider. The choice of what to extract and the noise to omit is at the heart of documentary photography. We image makers are documentary artists. The pre-capture decisions we make about the lens, camera, shutter speed, and aperture determine our point of view, point of focus and interpretation of time. Often described as the art of exclusion, the documentary artists will become invisible as they survey the landscape, make the key decisions and convey the essence of the story.

Pacifier - Nairobi, Kenya
Canon 40D + Canon 100-400L IS f4.5-5.6

Note: The Images from Tip #33 were originally used in a prior blog post from June, 2010. Follow the link to read the original entry titled "An Elephant Story."

Foster Dad - Nairobi, Kenya
Canon 5D + Canon 70-200L f4.0

Tip #32: Set Goals and Dream Big

2011-12-27T12:42:00.001-06:00

Young Male - Ngorongoro, Tanzania
Canon 1D markII + 300 f2.8L IS + 1.4x Converter

Tamy and I met each other in a field research camp in 1986. Back then, we were students of biology, ecology, and evolution and working towards B.S. degrees at UC Irvine. Both passionate about all things nature, we bonded during a feverish discussion about travel, Africa and conservation. Nearly three decades have past since the day we met, and I still recall that first conversation... we were dreaming big.

Where's Dinner - Masai Mara, Kenya
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS

It took twenty years to do it, but we managed to see East Africa... twice! We set the goal by planning the safaris, and made it happen by saving the money. We never fought the obstacles that blocked our progress, but rode them like surfers on a turbulent wave. Our goals were targets without clear paths to follow.

Beauty - Serengeti, Tanzania
Canon 1D markII + 300 f2.8L IS + 1.4x Converter

For many, dreaming big is all about getting stuff, climbing the ladder and being noticed. We continue to dream big, but to us, the goals are about how to live and not the stuff we have. Travel enriches our life, and photography helps us fulfill the compulsion to live the journey. We set goals so that we can document nature, make art and share our vision about the tenuous state of our planet.

Tip #32: Set Your Goals and Dream Big

Solitary Vulture - Masai Mara, Kenya
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS

Tip #31: Make a List... and Check it Twice!

2011-12-25T11:34:00.000-06:00

Cottonwood Landscape - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 100mm f2.8L IS Macro @ iso 400

Yesterday’s outing reminded me of something that I’ve been meaning to share. However, age and work have conspired to cloud my focus and perpetuate my tendency to forget the little things.

I typically make a mental needs-list prior to a local shoot, and will prepare a comprehensive packing plan before traveling abroad. The narrow niche of a nature/landscapes/wildlife photographer requires specialized clothing and gear, and the cost of leaving a key tool at home can make the difference between a success and failure in the field (I will save my list of my photo-travel essentials for a future tip).

Frosted Fencepost - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 100mm f2.8L IS Macro @ iso 400

Before I succumb to further absentmindedness, I should explain part II of this tip: “Check it Twice!” The modern digital camera is a complex computer whose interface often requires a third hand to manipulate. Tiny buttons and rotating dials are easily altered during the mounting of lenses, switching of cards and stowing of gear. The ease in which settings can change may result in lost opportunities. For example, mirror-up mode might be active when rapid fire is expected, or spot-meter is engaged when evaluative-metering was the plan. This type of error can be catastrophic when an owl flies into your frame and offers a mesmerizing gaze and full expansion of its wings ...I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of lost opportunities because I didn’t check it twice! Yesterday morning I ventured out on a 17 ˚F (-8.3 ˚C) day to catch the pastels of first light. My fingers were numb and my mind wandered with fatigue. The pre-dawn light was captivating so I mounted my camera and lens to the tripod, attached the cable-switch and fired away. Beautifully unique moments ...all at iso 400! This was not my intent. The tree was not running away, the landscape was static, and iso 100 would maximize image quality. So, I’ll say it again... Make a List... and Check it Twice!

Frosted Focus - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 100mm f2.8L IS Macro @ iso 400

Tip #30: Focus on the Eyes

2011-12-23T20:00:00.000-06:00

Kirk's Dik Dik (Madoqua kirkii) - Lake Manyara, Tanzania
Canon 1D MarkII + Canon 300mm f2.8 + 1.4x converter shot at f4.5

When photographing wildlife, we will typically shoot at the widest aperture possible. A long telephoto with a shallow depth of field will allow you to isolate your subject against a busy background. The drawback of this technique is the narrow zone of focus. At maximum aperture, there is little room for error between nailing the focus and producing an unsharp image. Because the human brain is drawn to the eyes of others, we seek eye contact when viewing images of nature or people. This need to see the eyes is deeply rooted in our evolution, and failure to capture eye detail will cause the viewer to dismiss an otherwise beautiful image.

So Tip #30 is a simple one... Given the choice of the Nose or the Eyes, Focus on the Eyes.

Banded Mongoose on Alert (Mungos mungo) - Masai Mara, Kenya
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8 @ f3.2

Tip #29: Use a Teleconverter

2011-12-21T20:36:00.002-06:00

The wildlife photographer is a master of compromise. Rarely faced with an ideal composition in great light, we are forced to strike a balance between getting the shot and missing a fleeting moment. The proximity of our quarry is never close enough, and we are forever fighting uncontrollable distractions. All too often, the field of view is obscured by branches, highlights create overexposed patches, and parasites distract our focus. Furthermore, safety and respect for the animal forces a cautious approach, and should always temper the impulse to move in. While few hobbyists can afford the $6000 to purchase a super-telephoto, there is one inexpensive technique for making something distant appear close... the tele-converter. Generally produced by the camera manufacturer in two flavors,1.4x and 2x, these lenses can reduce distracting elements by narrowing the angle of view and increasing the focal length of a lens. With a price of $300-$500, the real cost of a converter is the loss light (one or two stops) and the moderate reduction of sharpness and contrast. However, when paired with a high quality fixed focal length lens, a teleconverter is a great compromise that allows us to capture distant objects without draining the college fund.

Tip #28: Gear is Good Travel is Better

2011-12-19T18:36:00.001-06:00

The Herd - Lake Lake Manyara, Tanzania
Canon 1D MarkII + 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0

What value is a bag full of gear when it has no place to go? Rather than sink more of your hard earned cash into a shiny new bauble that is obsolete the moment you buy it, look towards the future. Fight back the “gotta-have-it” impulse, and plan your next photo adventure. Sure cameras and lenses are treasured tools that facilitate our art, but travel feeds the vision, stimulates creativity and inspires the mind. Vision monger, travel and humanitarian photographer, David duChemin, has made a living by claiming that “Gear is Good, Vision in Better.”

Tip #28 builds on the framework that duChemin has constructed... Use the gear you have, spin the globe and be there with your camera.

Tip #27: Take What You Can Get

2011-12-17T11:23:00.003-06:00

Sailing The Apostle National Lakeshore
Canon 30D + Canon 17-40L @ 17mm

The leafless woods, deep overcast, and short days of December remind me of advice I was given during my first photo-safari to Africa... “Shoot it now, and take what you can get!”

I, however, interpreted this advice in a way that deviates from the intent of the message. My somewhat “Zen” approach to photography inspires an optimism whenever opportunity is lost. Burned by many excursions to distant places where reality fails to meet expectation, I have discovered that “Take What You Can Get” is really a synonym for “Make the Image Happen.” While the first statement appears to be a forced compromise, my interpretation strikes at the heart of our art. Nature is nature. It is subject to the whims of a climate, that conspires to make the predictable random. While planning often counters this randomness, the best of plans is still subject to a cascade of chaotic collisions between meteorological, ecological and human activities.

Tip #27: Take What You Can Get... and Make the Image Happen

The morning walk was much like a prior excursion to the Apostle Islands. With our kayaks fully loaded, campsites prearranged, and photographic goals pre-visualized, we embarked on a virgin tour of the sea caves. The light was nothing short of mediocre, Lake Superior tossed our crafts about, and we were stuck on an island forced to wait out a storm. I expected a cornucopia of photographic opportunities, but the climate would not cooperate. Two days later the storm moved on and we had one evening for some serious photography. Reality failed to meet expectation, but life goes on and we were determined to make the image happen.

Tip #26: Intensity in the Moment

2011-12-13T20:32:00.000-06:00

Dominance - Lake Manyara, Tanzania
Canon 1D MarkII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Have you experienced the rush? It is a primordial flood of emotion, tension, and excitement triggered by the release of adrenaline. Beats reverberate the walls of the thoracic cavity with each contraction, palms sweat, and the little hairs stand at attention. It is the thrill of the hunt, a connection to a less civilized past, to a time when we were one with nature. This is the intersection between fear and passion, the point where anything can happen, it is the endorphin... the wildlife high. Conservation, preservation and education are the public tagline, but our pursuit of art in nature is fueled by the thrill of the experience. Make images that convey the intensity of the moment.

Ssssnake! - Selva Verde, Costa rica
Canon 5D MarkII + Canon 180mm f3.5L Macro

Tip #25: Be an Image Maker

2011-12-11T09:13:00.001-06:00

Blue Jeans Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates pumilio) - Costa Rica
Canon 5D markII + Canon 180 f3.5L Macro

What is the difference between the travel snapshot that says “I was there,” from a compelling image that makes an artistic statement about a place and time. With the ubiquitous image capture device in billions of pockets and purses, our challenge is to make pictures that give pause for thought. In a world where time is ephemeral and immediacy is expected, it is the image that captures the imagination and focuses the viewer’s mind that will garner more than the obligatory two-second glance.

Hanging Around Prague
Canon 5D + Canon 24-105mm f4.0L IS

The image taker is the snapshooter. The snapshooter walks haplessly with the cell phone in hand, arms extended, and calling for smiles. These images have slanted horizons, national park signs, and generic pictures suitable for the “magic albums” of the 1970’s. Photography can become a transcendental experience for those who learn to slow time.

After the Storm - Minnesota
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f3.2

Tip #25: Be an Image Maker

Turn the cell phone off (even iPhones can be shutdown), extract the camera from its hiding place, and “go walkabout.” Mount your camera to a tripod and slowly investigate a place. Study the patterns in leaves, the atmospherics in a habitat, and the details of your subject. Turn the autopilot off and take back the controls. To be in the moment, you will need to select the optimum shutter-speed and aperture for your subject, ponder an intriguing composition, and make a thoughtful lens choice. We all can become image makers when we deviate from the norm and slow time.

Tip #24: Follow the Path

2011-12-08T21:23:00.001-06:00

Between Light and Dark - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

“At the foundation of everything is Nature” Lao Tzu

Dao or Tao (道) is the Chinese word for the way, path or route. It is a philosophical doctrine that attempts to explain the underlying order of the universe in what might appear to be a contradiction... being and nothingness. I will not pretend to be an expert or even knowledgeable about the ‘Way,’ however I can’t help but admire a philosophical objective that attempts to bring practitioners closer to Nature. Becoming “one with the tao” is to seek balance and harmony with the natural order of things.

One Leaf - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 5D markII + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 @ f16

Tao of Photography, by Tom Ang has influenced my work more than any other book about photography. This is not a text about nature, equipment or exposure theory, it is a discussion about seeing and feeling. With its focus on “less is more” and the value of “the journey,” readings and images from this book continue to impact my vision today.

“Treat the large as small and the few as many.” Lao Tzu

Tip #23: Include the "Hand of Man"

2011-12-06T19:29:00.001-06:00

Black and White Colobus Monkey - Kenya
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8IS L

Include the "hand of man" when it contributes to the story you want to tell. Not all nature images need to be void of humanity. Like the flora and fauna that populate the planet, we too are the product of biological evolution, subject to ecological processes, and impact environmental stability.

Keepers of the Crater - Masai walking the Rift Valley, Tanzania
Canon 5D + Canon 17-40L @ 20mm and f11

Tip #22: Time Machine

2011-12-04T12:29:00.001-06:00

Surrounded by Fire - Wonder Lake, AK
Hasselblad Xpan + 45mm f4.0 w/Central Spot ND Filter
Fuji Velvia 50

Relax ...while I am a long-time Mac OS™ advocate, this is not my covert attempt to inspire creatives to leave their antiquated mock-Mac (Windows™) machines. Rather, I’ll offer a tidbit of advice that suggests you go “retro.” Like the blinders restricting the vision of a carriage horse, digital photography now dupes us into ignoring the past. No longer constrained by the cost of purchasing and processing film, digital capture restricts reflective practice. In the film era, budget limitations forced photographic “time-outs,” so we spent hours reviewing old images. The practice of selecting the best of the best refined our vision, emphasized the importance of technique, and suggested a path to pursue. In contrast the modern digital photographer rarely invests the time to process their work let alone seek an honest self-assessment and critique.

Not the Falls - Sol Duc Olympic National Park
Nikon F100 + Nikon 28mm f2.8 @ f16
Fuji Velvia 50 - Converted to B&W w/Topaz B&W Effects

Retrieved from old chromes that now sit dormant in file cabinets and digital captures from an “ancient” 4-megapixel SLR, these are pictures from a prior photographic life. They are images from places I have visited in the near present, but are unique moments in time that I could only capture in the past.

Tip #22: Get into your Time Machine, Mine your Archive, and Learn from the Past

After the Sun Sets on Moro Rock - Sequoia National Park
Nikon D2h + Tamron 180mm f3.5 Macro @ f8

Tip #21: Try Black and White

2011-12-02T21:42:00.001-06:00

Ubiquitous Iguana iguana - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @ f4.0

There was a time when a photographer had to choose between black and white or color prior to the shoot. As travel/nature photographers, our default plan was to load the bodies with chrome film and shoot for color. While the film bodies of the 80’s and 90’s were amazingly rugged, they could be painfully inflexible. Forced to shoot the entire roll or forfeit multiple images at a cost, black and white was little more than an afterthought.

Enter the digital era... We millennial photographers are now like painters with an infinite palate. Regardless of the software you love or love to hate, you can now make any image monochromatic, dichromatic or polychromatic. The “new” post-processing options are so vast, that we are only limited by our imagination. More than ever I am thinking like a black and white photographer. I am looking more closely at form, tone and pattern prior to squeezing the shutter.

Tip #21: Put on those Monochromatic Glasses and See it in Black and White

Fulgora lanternaria (aka: Peanut-head) - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D markII + 180 f3.5L Macro

Tip #20: Converging Lines and Vanishing Points

2011-11-30T19:35:00.001-06:00

The Earth is a Sphere - Costa Rica
Canon 1Ds + 15mm f2.8

I’m no student of art, but I know the power of converging lines. Convergence creates a sense of depth and dimensionality. Strong lines can transport your audience into your pictures.

Tip #20

Use lines to provide your viewer with a pathway to Walk, See and Dream

Tip #19: When You Include the Landscape, You Tell the Whole Story

2011-11-28T18:57:00.001-06:00

Bison Panorama - Grand Teton NP, WY
Five Image Pano-Stitch - Canon 5D Mark II + 50mm f1.4 @ f11

While animal portraits excite the shooter, a landscape conveys the ecology of your subject. When photographing wildlife, put down the long lens and become a landscape photographer. Use leading lines to frame your subject, wait for a unique composition, and tell a life story by including the land.

Solitude
Masai Giraffe - Serengeti NP, Tanzania
Canon 20D + 300mm f4.0 IS L

Tip #18: Take the Camera

2011-11-26T17:34:00.001-06:00

Looking for Nature - Pasadena, CA
Canon 5D markII + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 @ f2.2

Tip #18: On Business or Visiting Family - Take the Camera

Travel with a camera even if you’re not on assignment or taking a photo-vacation. Pack light by selecting a few pieces of essential gear, and embrace the self-imposed constraint. Having only one lens and a body can be both limiting and liberating. Take a hike with your minimalist kit or shoot from the street. Study the way small changes in camera position, aperture and shutter speed can influence your final composition.

The posted photo was taken along a walking trail that parallels one of California’s cement rivers. Known as the Arroyo, these sterile aqueducts symbolize a great environmental paradox. Fully aware that we are dependent on limited resources, we modify, manipulate and engineer nature to meet our basic needs. Short-term need masks judgement and thus, long-term sustainability. An eyesore in the valley and throughout Southern California, the Arroyo is void of native vegetation and rich with exotic species. Ironically, these concrete waterways are perceived as quiet retreat for those seeking to escape the throngs of humanity.

Tip #17: Don't Fear Post Processing

2011-11-24T15:27:00.001-06:00

The Grand Canal - Venice
Canon 5D Mark I + 24-105L @ f16

Tip #17: Experiment when processing your images

Redwood Trail - Redwood NP, CA
Canon 1Ds + 15mm Fisheye

Don't just take pictures... make pictures. The final image is the sum of your skill as a photographer and a processor. When sitting down to a file, stretch the image making process by pushing the contrast, desaturating the color, or over-sharpening the picture. Now, reverse it all. Study how changes in color, tone and detail influence the final picture. Experiment with plugins and presets to match your final vision.

Sneaking a Peek - Masai Mara, Kenya
Canon 40D + 100-400L IS @ f5.6
Processing: Topaz B&W Effects - Diffusion w/Color

Tip #16: Dress for the Occasion

2011-11-22T19:25:00.001-06:00

Tree Study - First Snow
Canon 5D MarkII + 100 f2.8L IS Macro @ f16

You're not shooting the wedding, so leave your fashion sense at home. For the nature photographer, it's not about how you look, but how to stay alive. Dress for the environment. Selecting the right clothes is just as important as choosing the right lens. If you’re photographing a hawk owl on a -17˚day and you have the wrong gloves and the wrong shoes, you'll be more concerned about survival than photography. Dress smart because the right clothes makes photography in extreme places possible.

Lake Superior
Canon 1DS + 200 f2.8L @ f4

For more winter photography tips, check out this link: When it's Cold...

Temporary Tip Time Out

2011-11-21T20:44:00.001-06:00

I realize that today's image is not a new one for the blog, but I need to resurrect it and make a public plea. I entered this picture of red-eyed tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas) in a contest and we've made it to the final round. Public voting determines which image appears on the Nature Conservancy 2012 Calendar. So... please follow the link and support Tamy and I. You can see the final 14 images and cast your votes at http://vote.nature.org/?src=Email.nature.AG7.SL19.112111&autologin=true
Thanks for the votes!

Tip #15: Take A Risk

2011-11-19T18:18:00.001-06:00

Poisonous Automeris (I think) Moth Larvae - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D Mark II + 180 f3.5L @ f3.5 in the Rain

Repetition makes the moment of image capture automatic. The tools we use to produce art should never impede the process, but instead enhance the opportunity. Yet, the very practice that facilitates mastery can also stifle vision. Let’s call this apparent contradiction “the photographic rut.”

Yellowstone at Sunrise - Color Tweak in Aperture 3.1
Canon 5D Mark II + 17-40L

Rut - A fixed mode and course of life that is dull and uncompromising. Alternatively, a technique for producing boring and uninspired images.

Wedding Theme - Malibu California
Canon 30D + 17-85mm IS

While there is no one recipe for busting established paradigms or enriching a dogmatic pratice, consider the following ideas when you try to break free from those self-imposed shackles of mundanity.

Use your least favorite and most uninspiring optic (lens) for a week. Leave the other gear home and force a new type of vision.
Pump up your iso to enhance the noise in your images. Noise is reminiscent of grain and it adds texture to an otherwise flat image.
Suffer through inclement weather. Shoot the atmospherics, the wind, and the precipitation.
Go for long exposures. Purposefully allow your subject and background to become a blur.
Change your genre. If you are a nature photographer, try photographing a wedding or people on the street. Bring your skill-set to a new subject.

Tip #15: Take a Risk

Twilight Fowl - Rieks Lake, WI
Nikon D100 + 300mm f2.8 ED-AFS w/ 1.4x TCE Converter

Tip #14: Tell A Story

2011-11-16T05:47:00.001-06:00

"Damn Vultures" - Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Canon 1D markII + 300 f2.8IS L w/ 1.4x converter

Tip #14: Be a Story Teller with your Pictures

Today’s suggestion might seem obvious given the axiom “a picture is worth a thousand words,” however the story within an image is often cryptic to your audience. Distracted by color, complex interactions or the beauty in a moment, it is likely that the viewer will offer nothing more than a passing glance. More than freezing bite-sized moments in time, we photographers strive to paint a narrative with light. The goal, captivate the audience... create the incentive to take a second glance. As my own photography matures, so do my goals. I find myself searching for the stories in nature, waiting to capture the “decisive moment.” To illustrate this point, I’m sharing a seriously flawed image. The subject is centered, branches to the right distract, and the lioness is looking out of the frame. Yet, with all of its shortcomings, this was the decisive moment. One can’t help but ask... “why...” She is a solitary lion protecting a kill, competing with a pride to the South and frustrated with the vultures from the above.

Tip #13: Be an Amateur

2011-11-13T19:57:00.001-06:00

After the Sunset - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 5D MarkII + 30L f2.8IS L - 8 second exposure @ f18
A Shot Purely for Fun...

“Did you do it for Love? Did you do it for money? Did you do it for spite? Did you think you had to honey?” (© EAGLES - Long Run)

Yellowstone in Black and White
Canon 5D Mark II + 50mm f1.4 @ f16

Amateur - “Lover of” ...from the Latin amatorem nom. amator, “lover.” It is a word with no shame, yet viewed with disdain by those who are. Strive as we may, we are not professional photographers ...so why pretend? You are no less an image maker than one who derives an income from the craft. In fact, it is likely that you, passionate about this discipline, are more of a photographic artist than those who shoot for money. The amateur can choose his or her subject, pursue a goal and immerse themselves fearlessly. In contrast the pro, eking out an meager income, is often forced to photograph the mundane, work from recipe, and beholden to a client. According to “The PayScale Report” (May 2010), the average starting professional photographer makes between $25,000 and $37,500 annually. With experience comes a raise, but when the twenty-year photographer makes between $28,000 and $60,000 per year, one has to wonder if it’s so bad being an amateur.

Foggy Morning on Clearwater Lake - Ontario, Canada
Canon 40D + 100-400IS f4.5L @ 350mm

We amateurs can shoot for love and be passionate about our art. We are free from the hassles of a business and don’t need to balance the books to shoot another day.

Tip 13: Shoot it for Love, Make your Art, Embrace your inner Amateur

Tip #12: Shoot it Low

2011-11-11T20:15:00.001-06:00

Baru Beach - Dominical, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 50mm f1.4 @ f11 + Variable Neutral Density Filter
Shot from my Belly using "Live View" to frame the image

While life at 5 foot 9 inches might be typical for the average American male, it's not the only point of view. My nature photo tip of the day... "be the ant." Spread your your tripod legs, take out that center column, and get real low.

Tip #12: Change your perspective, get on your belly, and shoot from the ground.

A cautionary message to you wannabe beach photog's... immersion in your photography takes on a whole new meaning when you're shooting near the ocean!

Tip #11: Shoot RAW!

2011-11-09T20:07:00.000-06:00

White-faced capuchin - Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @ f2.8

Shoot RAW images, but don’t rely on RAW to save you from a poorly exposed or poorly composed image. RAW files allow for more aggressive changes in post-process, but they will not save you from your poor technique.

The image that accompanies today's tip was made under very challenging conditions. This white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus) was moving hurriedly through the canopy. Unlike the more deliberate locomotion of the larger mantled howler (Alouatta palliata), these petite capuchins jump nervously from branch to branch. Your best chance at photographing a capuchin occurs whenever these gregarious monkeys congregate around a fruiting tree. The subject pictured here stopped and hesitated prior to making its leap. While I would have rather captured it in mid air, I fear that the contrast range between canopy and sky would have made for an image of a flying blob. Here, the raw file provided me with the flexibility to preserve the detail between the monkey's dark hair and pale face. Had I shot a jpeg file rather than RAW, it is likely that the highlights would have lacked detail and the shadows would have been dark and muddy.

Tip #11: Shoot RAW images, but never depend on a raw processing to save your from poor technique.

Tip #10: Get out of the Car

2011-11-07T18:49:00.000-06:00

Tropical Doe (Odocoileus virginianus) - Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8IS L

Tip #10: Get out of your car and take a walk

The car point of view is now ubiquitous with "wildlife photography." So common are these images on the web, I make every effort to avoid the classic "from the car shot." Images taken from a vehicle lack intimacy, are poorly composed, and exhibit a top-down perspective.

Think before you take another image of that roadside elk! Get out of your car, take a hike in the woods and learn how to approach your subject. Many miss amazing photographic opportunities because so few are willing to carry their gear. Images from a trail evoke the emotion of the moment and offer your viewer the feeling of "being there."

Tip #9: Practice

2011-11-05T16:34:00.000-05:00

At the Rookery
Shot from a Canoe on the St. Croix River
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @f2.8

Strive to become a better photographer...

My deliberate focus on the art of photography began after a research excursion to the Pribilof Islands, AK. I was a data grunt; a field ecologist gathering data about seabird species reproducing on two island colonies in the middle of the Bering Sea. My three years of research became a pivotal moment in my life, and laid the foundation for the work I do today. My responsibilities varied, but my interests leaned towards the documentation of behavior. I carried a staff camera wherever I went as well as my own Pentax point and shoot body. This was 1987, digital was a thing of dreams, and autofocus was in its infancy. The field kit included an old NIkon F2 whose meter had long died and a 300mm f4.5 lens. While I had a teenage interest in photography, I left all that behind to focus on my studies in biology. After returning from Alaska I hurriedly processed my Kodachrome and black and white negatives. To my disappointment, the images were nothing short of crap. From that point on, I vowed to re-learn the art and science behind photography. I spent thousands of hours studying images, exposure theory, and optics. While I know little about the physics behind the construction of a lens or the translation of light to bits and bytes, I now intuitively understand the essence of image making.

In 1988 I returned to the islands with a Contax SLR and two lenses. Far from proficient with a camera, that summer of research began my deliberate practice in photography that continues today. I am a compulsive shooter. While I rarely produce images that make me proud, I’m on a daily quest to fulfill a vision and translate my perspective about the nature of life for others to see.

Chicken
Canon 5D Mark II w/ Zeiss 35mm f2.0 ZE @f8

Tip #9: Practice your Craft!

Practice your focusing technique by shooting a familiar subject. Practice your exposure by shooting in challenging light. Practice changing lenses and memory cards quickly. You never know when you’ll be at the right place at the right time. Practice will make these mental stressors automatic.

Tip #8: Fill the Frame

2011-11-03T20:46:00.003-05:00

Don't Touch - Porcupine - Pine Barrens, WI
Canon 1D MarkII + 300mm f2.8L @ f4

Want to make your images more compelling? Here's a tip... move in, change your lens, or crop it tight. The way you get there matters less than the overall effect. If you've got the pixels to burn, the focal length to narrow your perspective or the skill to make an approach... do it!

Tip #8: Fill the Frame with your Subject!

Bison Bison - Yellowstone, NP
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L @ f4
Cropped Vertically to Tighten the Composition

Tip #7: Don't Forget Your Memory

2011-11-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

Tug - Samburu National Park, Kenya
Canon 40D + Canon 100-400L IS @ f5.6

Tip #7 is a no brainer, but even the brainiest of us will forget to do it.
Always bring extra memory cards and stuff them in your pockets not in the car or camera bag! It sucks to be in the heat of a shoot, working a changing scene or miles from your cards, when that camera stops working and says "FULL."
Been there, done that, don't want to do it again... ;-)

Surrounded - Moro Rock, Sequoia NP
Nikon D2h + Tamron 180 f2.8 Macro

Landing Gear - Crex Meadows Wildlife Management Area, WI
Canon 7D + Canon 300 f2.8L IS + 1.4x @ f4.0

Tip #6: Tripod = Creativity

2011-10-29T22:28:00.002-05:00

After Sunset - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 5D Mark II + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 / 30 Second Exposure

Can a piece of gear really inspire the inner creative? While equipment will never replace an idea or vision, it can be the facilitator. If I were to rank the value of each item in my “bag,” my tripod would always be number one. In fact, during a recent camping/photo excursion I managed to leave my three-legged companion in the woods. The mere thought of losing this friend set off a chain of events that included a bit of panic. Fortunately for me, I was able to retrace my steps and find this pillar of stability waiting for a comfortable shoulder to escort it back to civilization.

After Sunset #2 - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 5D Mark II + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 / 30 Second Exposure

A tripod will enhance the image-making experience, promote creativity, and slow time. The mere act of setting the legs and leveling the horizon diffuses the immediacy in the moment. Constrained by the limitations of a bulky yet stable platform, the burden of the "sticks" will suppress the impulse to shoot. Here, the emphasis is on fewer refined compositions that capture the essence of a moment. A tool for the creative, the tripod is a friend to those who embrace a thoughtful and deliberate approach to photography.

Tip #5: Go for the Shallow Depth of Field

2011-10-27T21:19:00.003-05:00

Matled Howler Feeding on Canopy Leaves
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8 @ f2.8

Cameras are great, but lenses are better. While ambient light reflected off the subject is capable of producing an image through a glassless aperture (see pinhole cameras), it is the lens between the subject and photographer that focuses light onto the image sensor. We photographers will often speak about the character of a lens. Difficult to put into words, we use terms like "micro-contrast," "color palette," and "depth." As someone who values the experience of image making above all else, I have a confession to make... I am obsessed with quality glass. There is something seductive about a brilliant lens that can focus light with a clarity that has to be experienced in order to be understood.

Red-eyed Tree Frog on Heliconia
Canon 5D markII + 180 f3.5 Macro @ f3.5.

So Tip #5 is about using this quality glass that we attach to our image making devices. Shoot the Lens at its Maximum Aperture. The maximum, or widest, aperture is the smallest number on the aperture ring or dial. Often listed as f/1.4, f/2.8 or f/4, these maximum apertures focus the reflected light with a shallow depth of field. While the ultimate sharpness of your lens may be compromised by its maximum aperture, the softly blurred fore and background will increase the perception of image clarity. Simply put, the maximum aperture isolates your subject and makes the image "POP!"

Tip #4: Be There

2011-10-25T19:47:00.004-05:00

Migrating Pair - Crex Meadows WMA, WI
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8 + 1.4x Converter

The heading says it all... Be There!

Grab your camera and whatever lens you have and be the photographer. Do your research, find an event, a festival, or migration. Make the great images happen by placing yourself in the right place at the right time.

At the Landing Strip - Crex Meadows WMA, WI
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8

Every October Sandhill Cranes migrate to the Crex Meadows Wildlife Management Area. With over 30,000 acres of wetland, brush prairie and forest habitat this is an oasis for spring and fall migrants. While the photography is seldom easy, this refuge is a little known hotspot for birders and wildlife watchers. Being There is about making opportunities, chasing the butter-light and welcoming serendipity.

Sunset Flock - Crex Meadows WMA, WI
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8

Tip #3: Out of Focus

2011-10-23T19:50:00.003-05:00

Summer Flowers - Yellowstone National Park
Canon 5D Mark II + 300 f2.8 @ f2.8

Tip #3: Purposefully defocus your image and shoot at your widest aperture. In doing so, color, tone, and form become your subject.

Lilly Pads - William Obrien State Park, MN
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8 @ f2.8

While I am fairly certain that this will not be my most popular photo tip, I am compelled to toss it out and see if it sticks. In a world of DSLRs where high resolution and "micro-contrast" are king, we suffer a vision deficit. The never-ending search for the sharpest lens and most pixels now lead us astray. Take a break from the perfection compulsion. Search for the good light, rich tones, and pattern... translate these things into your personal vision.

Snow Storm - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 20D + 400 f5.6 @ f5.6

Tip #2: Block the Sun

2011-10-21T08:34:00.002-05:00

Tip #2 : Sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park
Canon 40D + 17-85mm IS Lens @ 85mm

Use a tree or animal to block the sun and make a silhouette. This technique will allow you to emphasize the graphic form of your subject and capture the burst of color that accompanies sunrise and sunset.

Project 101: Tip #1

2011-10-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

Acaciascape in Black and White - Tanzania, Africa
Canon 5D + 17-40L w/ polarizer

With over 140 posts and three years devoted to this blog, I’ve decided to mix things up a bit. The Way We See It has been a gallery to me and a writing exercise. It is a place where I’ve discussed our biological heritage and the importance of respecting the evolutionary history of life on Earth. This blog is my soapbox and my place to vent; it has been a cathartic experience and an abject failure. For all the things that this blog is, it has not tapped into my key skill.

I make the abstract simple. Both a learner and an educator, my life is devoted to teaching. While biology is my subject and photography is my art, I excel in finding the easy where others see the hard. Here lies the core objective of Project 101. While I may not be the best nature photographer on the web, among my readers, or in my town, I am a store of ideas, knowledge and experience. This information, bottled-up and under pressure, is crying to released. So I’ve decided to uncork the fountain and share 101 Tips for the beginning and experienced nature photographer. My goal is to share one image and one tip every other day...

Tip #1:

There are no rules in photography and no one person can be the “Rules Police.” Photographic “rules” are suggestions based on compositional patterns and exposure preferences that appeal to the average viewer. Breaking these rules can transform a photograph into an artful image.

Tip #1: Break the Rules
Looking out of the Frame - 'Ol Pejeta - Kenya
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8IS L

I have decided to begin Project 101 with “breaking the rules” because many of my tips are suggestions. If you don’t like them, don’t use them. Be the photographer you want to be, rely on your experience to define your vision.

I’d love your feedback as this tips list progresses!

Searching for Fall

2011-10-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

Infrequently invoked and rarely sought, luck is not a part of my vernacular. Some live the “Life of Riley” with good fortune following their every move, while others tend to be in the right place at the wrong time. In photography, good timing is one element that can inspire creativity, in its absence creativity must be borne from within.

In a rare move, I decided to pre-plan a Fall excursion. As the school year approached, I requested a personal day in early October, reserved a campsite in the woods, and prepared the camera gear for Autumn’s technicolor. A wet summer and mild September promised an explosion of color. News headlines fed the enthusiasm: Peak of Fall - First Week in October. “Damn I’m good,” I thought to myself, filled with pride in my skill at predicting ephemeral events.

Driving north and west towards Itasca State Park, I began to question the wisdom of my decision. Forty-mile an hour winds hammered the Jeep and pushed the pop-up camper as we sped towards our "idyllic" destination. Founded in 1891, Itasca State Park is one of the oldest in the nation. Known for its contiguous expanse of old-growth red and white pines, this park is a remnant of Minnesota’s pre-logging era. With trees that approach a rarified bicentennial status, there is no other location in this heavily forested state where you can walk among the ancients. Better known as the headwaters of the Mississippi River, visitors can navigate the width of this iconic waterway by wading through an ankle deep stream.

As we approached the park, majestic pines were mixed with skeletons of deciduous trees. Magnificent maples, aspen, and birch swayed in the wind as leaves flew about and settled to the ground. The receptionist at the park boasted about last week’s display “...the best color in twenty years, too bad you missed it.” I tried not to let my disappointment show, and shrugged off the loss as an opportunity. Timing can inspire creativity... but creatives find inspiration from within.

Eye Candy

2011-10-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

Sweetwater Sunset - Kenya
Canon 5D + 70-200 f4L @ 175mm

We've packed the pop-up, grabbed the gear, and are off to chase some Fall color. With predictions of forty mile an hour winds, I've left expectations at home and will let the conditions define our vision. Two days in the woods await... So, with little time to conjure anything of note, I'll take my leave and let today's image do the speaking for me.

Poetic Reflections

2011-10-02T10:42:00.001-05:00

One Tree Hill - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 5D mark II + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 @ f16

Teacher’s Lament

Educator, biologist, artist - a distilled biography for the minimalist.

Ego and need dictate behavior. The id, dependent on accolades, forces the artist to yield its creativity to the educator.

Call it partition. The artist owns summer; Fall belongs to the realist - worker bee.

It is a beautiful day in Minnesota and a free spirit walks the woods in search of discontinuities, patterns and color. At the whim of a muse, the mind wanders gazing deeply into shadows cast by the directional light of sunrise. Streaks of light strike the landscape like haphazard blotches of oil point. North America is ablaze in Fall color.

Mired by the need to eat and stay warm, papers must be graded.

Before the Cranes - Crex Meadows, WI
Canon 5D mark II + Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.0 @ f16

It’s Fall in Minnesota - Free Your Inner Artist

Capturing a Mood

2011-09-24T20:55:00.005-05:00

Morning Fog and the Lift Bridge - Stillwater, MN
Canon 5D MarkII + 35mm f2.0 Zeiss ZE

September 23rd has come and gone and with it went the summer. For a brief moment, our planet neither leaned towards nor away from the sun. Residing in the same plane, this ephemeral point in time, the equinox, has happened biannually in the past and will repeat twice every year into the future.

Summer Reflections - Bearhead Lake in Ely, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

It is September 24th and the Earth’s axis now begins to tilt. Here, in the North, we are beginning to lean towards the cold emptiness of space while our brethren to the South are moving towards the warmth of the sun. How I envy the equatorial inhabitants of our planet. Everyday is an equinox on the equator. Never leaning towards or away from the radiant energy that fuels the tropics, the Equatorials need not fear the long dark that accompanies a life closer to the poles.

Seeds of Summer - William O'Brien State Park, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

Autumn signals a shift in my own mood. No longer free to frolic in the woods, pursue my craft, and live the life of a nomad, September requires disciplined adulthood. My inner adolescent who craves the aimlessness of summer now must resume the maturity expected of a 46 year-old man. With the loss of freedom comes moodiness to my work. As Labor Day approached, I found myself seeking drama in the ordinary. Waking early to catch a thick fog or chasing harsh light to juxtapose against deep shadows.

High-Key Sunrise - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

Photography is an amazing outlet for the latent creative in us all. A medicine that heals and a therapist for the mind, image capture can ease the discomfort of life’s transitions. I encourage those of you in the north obsessed with your harvest, the stowing acorns, and the digging of shelter to put these preparations aside, grab a camera and shoot your mood. This is the time when the inner artist needs to be nurtured, freed and allowed the opportunity to express itself.

Guilty

2011-09-17T21:27:00.002-05:00

I suffer from a failure to be objective. This, no doubt, will be met with disbelief by those who know me. However, there is more than a grain of truth to the statement. Educated as a scientist, promotor of empiricism, experimenter and truth seeker ...all of this applies to me. Yet, my capacity to be objective falls to the wayside whenever I wear my photographer shoes.

The struggle to assess my images, edit good from great, and leave the emotion of a moment in the past are among my greatest weaknesses. I am paralyzed by the thought of discriminating the winners from the losers, and often fear that I place my best images in the bin while sharing the refuse from a shoot. I live this paradox, a scientific mind that values objectivity above all, while I turn to mush whenever I critique my work.

Today's image should probably be trashed or relegated to the abyss of an aged hard-drive rather than placed on display. Nonetheless, I proudly offer it up, warts and all, for one simple reason ...it moves me. Maybe there is something visceral about the experience that I can't let go, be it a beautiful moment or opportunity that I wish to relive. Whatever it is I conjure in my own mind, some false memory or stretch beyond reality, this picture speaks to me. The warm glow of a sunrise on Yellowstone Lake is solitude lost. Sixty minutes from the moment of capture, cars and campers will usher the countless mass of humanity across this ancient landscape. When I look into this picture with all of its simplicity, I can imagine a time when humans have yet to evolve and giants roamed the volcanic landscape. Warm monochrome tones, deep lifeless shadows, and the glow of an emerging sun seem primordial to me. While I am not certain that the image really works or can stand on its own, it definitely feeds my imagination.

I am guilty of being a poser... an artist and dreamer in a scientist’s world.

INTP: Introverted - Intuitive - Thinking - Perceiving

2011-09-11T11:50:00.001-05:00

Lone Yearling Buck - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8IS L

Living a life of theoretical possibilities, where obscured patterns are made vivid, and logic trumps emotion. This is the loaner that tolerates others but bristles with discomfort when forced to interact. We try to create large personal bubbles and process our realities in the comfort of our own minds. We like others, but can’t express the warmth they seek and thus retreat to the solitude of home and nature.

Where's Wilburrr? - Manning Trail, MN
Canon 5D MarkII + Zeiss 35mm f2.0

I do my best photography when I’m alone. While I crave the companionship of my wife and photo-friends, I am lost in my thoughts despite their presence. I envy those who thrive on personal interactions and can work a crowd with ease. To me, the noise of human banter is the distraction; big ideas are derived from the quiet of my thoughts, the melody in birdsongs, the repetition of falling water.

Burning off the Fog - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8IS L

Siblings or Friends - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8IS L

My students now visit me each day in their patterned entrance to their classroom. Enthusiasm emanates from their youthful exuberance as they excitedly recount their summer exploits. The noise is everywhere. It clouds the clarity I crave. I am distracted by my responsibilities and I feel the photographer in me giving way to my real reality. I am an introvert who now is a poser. I will act the role of the extrovert and pretend to seek pleasure from this noise. But every five days, I will seek the solitude of nature, ground myself in my photography, and purge my thoughts in this blog. ...end of summer 2011.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - Tamarack Nature Center, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8IS L

Tomorrow...

2011-09-05T20:42:00.002-05:00

Road to the Mara - Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Tomorrow marks the first day of the 2011-2012 school year. The two weeks spent prepping lessons and cleaning labs are now as ephemeral as my memories of Costa Rica, Wyoming, and Northern Minnesota. With only a few hours separating summer from fall, I sincerely hope that my students are as excited about their return to academia as am I. Nervous anticipation gnaws at me as I try to relax on this final evening. Tomorrow, "Summer Bruce" will fade into the past as Mr. Lev takes the stage. It's Labor Day in the United States... summer is all but over.

Juxtaposition (III)

2011-09-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

Before the Rush - Piazza San Marco, VeniceCanon 5D + 24-105L IS @ 24mm

Venice is a Mecca for the street photographer. Being a guy who's a bit more comfortable among a swarm of mosquitos than a day at the State Fair, I was a bit out of my element. As a way to stay within the comfort zone, I woke up early and pursued the quieter moments. While I tried to remain unobtrusive, I am not a voyeur of human behavior. Rather, I played my familiar role of an ecologist. I studied the changing light reflected against ancient facades and the way it scattered to warm the buildings that surround dingy canals. I warily watched for people and tried to understand their patterns as they lived their lives among the throngs of tourists that visit the fabled city each day. The triplet of images is my juxtaposition of time, angles and lines; it is the way I like to remember Venice.

Canal Express - Venice, Italy
Canon 5D + 24-105L IS @ 45mm

On the Mobile - Venice, Italy
Canon 5D + 24-105L IS @ 105mm

Juxtaposition (II)

2011-08-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

The Future of Nairobi
Canon 40D + 100mm f2.8 USM

Both "Tension" and "Juxtaposition (1)" illustrate how an image series can be used to convey a story or theme. To me, "Tension" is a drama. The interaction of predator and prey are juxtaposed with the unpredictability of nature. Weather defines the ecosystem with its predictable patterns, yet it can be a foil to the animals that must endure it.

"Juxtaposition (1)" plays with both language and imagery. Here, the first three images are about a day in the life of a tropical species. This icon of Costa Rica always brings a smile to my face and those who have a chance to see them. Similarly, the elk portrayed are whimsical to me. The young bull filled with forage contrasts with the unique form of mature hind quarters. From my perspective, this juxtaposition is just funny.

Today, I offer a single image for Juxtaposition number 2. I will let you draw your own conclusions about how juxtaposition defines this story.

Juxtaposition (I)

2011-08-27T19:03:00.000-05:00

...an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Compulsion for a compulsive,

...a play on words or “clever” juxtaposition between a noun that describes an obsessive state of being with the adjective that describes one who can’t stop. Much like my dog who is compelled to chew her bully-stick to the bitter end, I (the compulsive) am compelled to experience the nature of nature through a lens.

A lifetime of conflict between my left brain (the empiricist) and my right (the whimsical imp), has forced an uneasy truce. Though anatomically similar, these two halves connected by the fibrous corpus callosum respond to the world in very different ways. The right brain feeds on the abstractions in life, the color of nature and the risk in adventure. In contrast, the left seeks order, calculates outcomes and clings to rules.

Two adjacent halves cooperating to meet the needs of the one, while competing to define the identity. The brain is the ultimate juxtaposition, ...pair of a kind but of a different suit.

Henri Cartier-Bresson (HCB) is a master of juxtaposition. Single images with multiple elements tell a story about a moment in time. Famous for capturing the decisive moment, HCB juxtaposed action with geometry, and emotion with time. Far be it for me to emulate Cartier-Bresson’s style, as his genre is very different from my own. Yet, the goal of seeking a juxtaposition within and between images is a compelling idea. Throughout the week, I will share some juxtapositions, these images will appear as triplets, pairs, or isolated pictures. In some cases the stories will be painfully obvious, while in others, they will be obtuse. Nonetheless, my goal is to challenge myself and stimulate you to see the juxtapositions in photography and life.

Tension

2011-08-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

Images from the crater...
Waiting for the drama to unfold...

All pictures displayed were photographed at Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzania

Up North Photo Diary

2011-08-19T10:02:00.006-05:00

Wide View - Bear Head Lake State Park, MN
Canon 5D markII + 15mm f2.8 Fisheye @ f8

After what felt like an endless winter, it's been a summer for the record books. The moderate temps, intermittent rains, and stormy skies have been my ingredients for photography. We've traveled to the tropics, ascended mountains, and driven extreme distances to capture new memories. This summer has been kind to my inner artist, and the adventures it seeks. To feed this beast one last time, we headed north for the solitude of the deep woods.

A Downy Summer, MN
Canon 40D + 100-400 f4.5L @ f5.6

Thoughts of the "A-Job" are now beginning to resurface from the depths of my cerebrum. My left brain is whispering to me... be responsible, be prepared, be the scientist ...my right brain, the muse, is fighting to hold back the inevitable. It clings to control by a thread. This creative continues to corrupt my thoughts by seducing me with dreams about adventure, photography, and art. Sadly, the battle will soon be over and the left brain will win like does every September. I will be transformed to "Lev," the biology teacher, and relegate my moments of creativity to weekends and holiday breaks. Until that time... I will continue to let my right brain pretend to be the master of my thoughts and enjoy what remains of my "endless" summer.

Sunrise Reflection - Bear Head State Park, MN
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8IS L @ f4

Cinnamon Sow, MN
Canon 5D markII + 300 f2.8IS L @ f2.8

View from the Canoe, MN
Canon 40D + 100-400 f4.5L @ f5.6

Sunrise Dock - Bear Head Lake State Park, MN
Canon 5D markII + 50mm f1.4 @ f16

A Life Cycle in the Rainforest

2011-08-13T20:41:00.003-05:00

Dendrobates auratus - Canon 5D markII + 180 f3.5L

Organisms adapt to the environment as a result of selective pressures. Here the phrase, selective pressure, refers to the sum of ecological factors that influence the survival of an individual. These individuals exist within a finite niche. Ecologically, a niche includes an organism’s conspecifics (members of the same species), competitors, predators, mates, food, space, and so on. These factors define the “n-dimensional space (niche)” of the organism and influences the way a population adapts and evolves through time.

Green and Black Poison Dart Frog - Canon 5D markII + 180 f3.5L

The green and black poison dart frog, Dendrobates auratus, is uniquely adapted to its rainforest habitat. Skin secretions contain a potent venom, pumiliotoxin-C, which cause unsuspecting predators to regurgitate the distasteful meal. Rather than wearing a cryptic camouflage, this frog announces its presence with bodacious color. Like the monarch butterfly whose bright orange and black patterns are impossible to ignore, the neon green frog with black stripes hops unencumbered throughout the forest understory. Ubiquitous within the leaf litter, once you find your first green and black frog, you begin to see them everywhere.

How can this be?

Montane Forest - Canon 40D + 300 f2.8IS

Unlike most frog species, this frog is diurnal. Ever present during the daylight hours, the bright colors are a key adaptation. Known in evolutionary biology as aposematic coloration, high visibility acts as a warning. The neon green yells, “Don’t mess with me ...I’m poisonous!” Yet, the eggs and tadpoles of this species are quite tasty. Given the opportunity, fish, turtles, snakes and birds will snack on the protein-rich larvae and thus reduce the overall fitness of egg-laying adults. Unlike their parents, the pre-frog progeny lack the poisonous trademark of mom and dad. In biology, Biological success is defined by fertility, and those who have babies that have babies are considered to be evolutionarily fit.

What is the poison dart frog to do about its tasty eggs?

Flowering Bromeliad - Canon 7D + 300 f2.8IS

In a world where role-reversal is rare, the male poison dart frog bucks the trend. Male frogs call out to females and induce the ladies to lay a tiny clutch of eggs in an ephemeral pool of water. With each new day, there is a new female and new eggs. The male tends to each clutch waiting for the tadpoles to emerge. As eggs hatch, the tadpoles climb onto the back of their father where they will hitch a ride. One by one the male ascends a tree and transports the froglets to a place where no fish, turtle, or bird will hunt. He seeks a pool of water within the leaves of a bromeliad. These epiphytic relatives of the pineapple attach to branches of trees and are repositories of the daily precipitation. It is here that the tadpoles emerge and feed, hidden from the eyes of hungry predators.

My Twist On Icons

2011-08-11T15:34:00.002-05:00

In short, today’s post is a brief interpretation of icons. Our brief road-trip to Wyoming and Montana collided with the peak travel season. There’s no irony here, I’m a teacher and most of my adventures overlap with this peak. I’m off, my students are off, the weather is moderate and we all want to get away at the same time. So, as I’ve shared previously, we hitched the pop-up (mobile photo-lab) to the Jeep and raced west for 1500 miles. Our campsite bisected the road between the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, and we were prepped for some amazing photographic opportunities.

I made my list of must see icons and pursued these with predefined goals. I’ve written about this trap in the past (check here & here), and have become better at shaking off the disappointment and moving on. We saw the icons, but light wasn’t right, there were too many people, or we were at the right place at the wrong time.

So what!... rather than sulking about these lost opportunities, I embraced the unexpected and dreamed up new ways of capturing tired and over-photographed subjects.

Image #1 (top): Barn on Mormon Row. Made famous by Ansel Adams, this may be on of the most photographed barns on the planet. Because there were no clouds to produce dramatic light, I chose a fisheye lens to create the drama. Using a 15mm fisheye on my Canon 5D mkII, I stabilized the gear at ground level with a tripod. I then used a remote trigger to fire a flash to the left of the camera. The flash added a bit of light to tired old wood that make the walls of the barn.

Image #2: Bubbling Pools. Both Tamy and I were intrigued by the unique geology that defines Yellowstone National Park. We both agreed that we could spend at least three days hiking throughout the geyser basin. The geothermal activity creates a moody atmosphere that is ideal for landscape photography. In the second image of this post I decided to isolate a single geothermal pool. It was nearly 4:00 pm, and the light was very contrasty. My goal was to shoot a long exposure in order to smooth the droplets of water that boiled up to the surface. To do this, I place a variable neutral density filter on my 50mm lens, and put the camera on a tripod. I used a cable release to make a ten-second exposure that produced the etherial image pictured above.

Image #3: What the Grass Sees. How many more incredible images of male elk with a giant rack do we all need to see? Like the deer in Minnesota, Elk are everywhere throughout Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Rather than shooting this icon in the same way, I got low... I got close... I saw something different. Canon 7D + 300 f2.8IS L

Upon further review...

2011-08-08T09:01:00.003-05:00

Sunrise in the Geyser Basis - Yellowstone NP
Canon 5D mkII + 50mm f1.4USM

Upon further review... What was I thinking?

When I Googled the directions from my home in Stillwater to the Flagg Ranch, the internal siren should have fired in my brain.

Lower Falls - Yellowstone NP
Canon 5D mkII + 50mm f1.4USM

Estimated drive time: 19 hours, 42 minutes. I read and reread the mapped directions, repeated the drive time, “19 hours, 42 minutes,” and even dragged out the road atlas. With the aid of my trusty index finger, I traced the route ...Hwy 36 East to Interstate 94... Fargo (ya, you betcha), Bismark, and Billings. From Billings we would head due south on Hwy 90, make a few rights, lefts, and bingo ...National Park city! We had seven days off and we were determined to see some real mountains.

The Rising - Yellowstone NP
Canon 7D mkII + 300mm f2.8L IS

I should have respected the estimate... 19 hours 42 minutes, but much like the climate change deniers, I refused to believe the data... Clearly, it was subject to interpretation. Google did its mapping thing, spit out directions, and calculated a distance. But these estimates are dependent on many variables. If I drove fast, made only a few stops, and left early, we could beat the Google hypothesis.

Sunrise on Jackson Lake - Grand Teton NP
Canon 5D mkII + 17-40mm f4.0L

Upon further review, much like the climate change deniers, I was wrong. With only seven days off, we spent 22 hours driving to Yellowstone and 22 hours driving home. Need for sleep required an intermediate campground on the way to and from Wyoming, and this left us with only four days to see the parks.

Tree Plague - Yellowstone NP
Canon 7D mkII + 300mm f2.8L IS

Now that I am in edit mode, I know that I need to visit these places again. The finite schedule required fast analyses, and forced us to shoot and run. With no time to study patterns or retrace our steps, the quality of our work suffered. Our self-imposed time limit quieted the creative muse, and we are now left with little more than memories. Yes, we went to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, but we did not really see these places...

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #7

2011-08-04T16:40:00.004-05:00

Incoming Storm - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND
Canon 5D MarkII + 17-40L @ 17mm

This will be my final post in the "Road Trip" series. With so many images produced in a short period of time, it's been a challenge to select a few to share. Ironically, the final image is among the first taken during our most recent trip West. After eleven hours of pulling the pop-up across Hwy 94, we arrived at the campground in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We were beat, but the RV required our attention, and the rains were quickly approaching. By the time the trailer was set and coffee brewed, the Park Ranger knocked on our door. "You know about the severe weather, right?" she asked whimsically. We looked at each other and then at her with tired eyes and said, "no." Looking around the campsite, I queried... "where's the shelter?" The ranger paused, glanced at the Missouri River, the mountains to the rear, and road to the campsites, and stated... "We don't have one."

No time for small-talk, she walked towards some other campers to share the hollow warning. Unfazed, we finished our coffee, and grabbed the gear. I'm no fan of severe weather, but I love the soft light produced by the sun's rays bouncing throughout an ominous sky. The winds were whipping, and my tripod was whistling a tune as air passed through its legs. I braced rig with the weight of my body and took fewer than ten images that evening. The wind was so intense, it almost toppled my gear. As rain began to pelt my face, I succumbed to fatigue and retreated to the camper. The picture above is a composite of three exposures. The wind-whipped grasses serve as a contrast to the rigid mountains that stand fixed awaiting the impending storm.

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #6

2011-08-03T11:24:00.005-05:00

Bull Moose - Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon 7D + Canon 300 f2.8ISL w/ 1.4x converte

Why don't they call two Meece?
Five days following our travels through Teddy Roosevelt, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks time has made me reflective. Our journey traversed 2500 miles and 54 hours of Jeep time. We inaugurated a pop-up RV, survived severe straight-line winds and endured searing afternoon temperatures. While I'm sure that time will temper my thoughts, I can comfortably claim that I've never worked so hard to see so little. The landscapes are spectacular, my country has stunning beauty, but the distances between here and there are immense. I won't call it a disappointment, but Yellowstone was not the safari I expected...

Bull Moose - Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon 7D + Canon 300 f2.8ISL w/ 1.4x converte

You'll have to make a return visit to my blog next Monday for an elaboration. Until then, I couldn't choose which moose to post, so I'll offer you three. These males were feeding at opposite ends of a wetland in Grand Teton National Park. I waited out the swimmer, as he was browsing some leaves at one end of the pond for over an hour. As sweat poured down my face, I began to pack up and move on. As Murphy might predict, that's when the action began. The bull bounded into the water and swam towards its adversary. While the two males never met, the tension of a potential clash made for an exciting photographic moment.

Moosey Paddle - Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon 7D + Canon 300 f2.8ISL w/ 1.4x converter

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #5

2011-08-02T08:23:00.001-05:00

Courtship
Selva Verde - Caribbean Slope - Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8ISL + 1.4x Converter

The noise, "yo-YIP a-yip a-yip," broke my trance. I was transfixed by the red-eyed tree frog clinging to a vine, when the cry pierced through the air. Ditching the macro gear, I grabbed my tripod, a telephoto, and camera to make a run towards the nest. A pair of chestnut-mandibled toucans were courting. These aggressive nest robbing, lizard eating, fruit licking birds were engaged in a moment of tenderness. An icon of the rainforest and cereal box celebrity, these toucans were among my favorite finds while road-tripping through the tropics.

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #4

2011-08-01T12:45:00.002-05:00

Ficus Buttress - Hacienda Baru on the Pacific, Costa Rica
Canon 5D markII + Canon 15mm Fisheye

When we traveled to Costa Rica earlier in the year, we knew that this would be the first of three summer road trips. I've driven throughout the country in the past, and have reflected on the fun and challenge of tropical roads here. Confident from my prior excursion, I decided to rent an AWD vehicle and drive from coast to coast. Many of July's blogs (greetings, venomous tale, megalopygidae, one-eyed monkey, fifteen years later) showcase images from the Caribbean Slope near or at the Selva Verde Lodge. In contrast, today's post is of a Ficus sp. tree (fig) that we found along the Pacific Lowlands. I first photographed this tree in 2009, and planned my return visit before we left the country that year. This is a survivor. It is an ancient fig whose buttress peaks at nearly two meters. The giant with its web-like roots has survived to "see" logging and floods in what is now a secondary forest.

To produce this image, I bracketed my metered exposure by one-stop; taking a total of three pictures. With the Canon 5D markII and 15mm fisheye lens mounted to a Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod, I positioned the legs to shoot vertically at ground level. I worked slowly to frame the image to ensure that the tripod legs would not be visible. While this might sound obvious, it is no easy task when using a lens that has a 180 degree field of view. In post process, I exported the three files into Photomatix Pro to generate an HDR image. This software examines the three exposures and combines them to produce the widest dynamic range possible. The effect allows the picture to exhibit detail in both the highlights and shadows. Finally, I opened the HDR file in Apple's Aperture 3.x and converted the final image to black and white.

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #3

2011-07-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

Pre-Dawn on Jackson Lake - Grand Tetons National Park
Canon 5D markII + Canon 17-40L Lens shot @ f11

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #2

2011-07-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

Dawn
Yellowstone Lake
Canon 5D markII + 100 f2.8 USM Macro Lens

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #1

2011-07-29T19:03:00.004-05:00

Hot Spring Morning - Yellowstone National Park
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

In this blog, "The Way We See It," I have tried to honor the tag line... We work to Travel - We travel to Explore - We explore to Learn - We learn to Teach - We teach to Conserve.

While brevity is not my strength and I am prone to excessive analysis, I do believe that images inspire. I use photography to tell stories, to provoke a response, and to teach. As an educator in a bedroom community, I see the xenophobia that grips our society first hand. Communities at large stress that if you are not "one of us," then you have little value to us. The current debate about budgets, fiscal irresponsibility, and debt crises completely cloud the important things in life.

So what does this rambling have to do with photography, ecosystems and road trips?

Throughout this summer I have made a commitment to travel and photography. In one brief month, I have traversed multiple time zones, crossed the continental divide, and straddled the equator. I have endured the discomfort of twelve hour drives, showerless days, and straight-line winds to see my planet with fresh eyes. The monotony of responsibility is replaced by a devotion to my craft and admiration for the planet's biodiversity. So, as politicians continue to debate minutia, and people live in fear of each other, I think that it is only appropriate for me to ask... WTF?! Crawl out of that damn shell, hit the road and take a risk. There are more important things to our survival as a nation and a species than taxes and balancing the books. A good old-fashion road trip across the country or the planet hold lessons for us all. You will be reminded about the fragility of our ecology, recognize our unchecked opulence, and develop respect for simple living.

So, to unleash your latent road-tripper, I plan to share seven images in seven days. Each picture will be captioned with little more than a location and photographic data. I sincerely hope that these photographs will inspire you to leave the comfort of home and do some living...

Rant: On Art, Nature and Photography

2011-07-20T11:52:00.001-05:00

Baru Beach at Dawn
Canon 5DII + 50mm f1.4

Can photographs of nature become something more than a frozen moment ...more than a data point?

Let’s face it, anyone can pick up a camera, put it on auto, and frame a subject. Today’s tools are so sophisticated that vision has replaced knowledge. It’s not that technical knowledge ever made the photographer, it’s just that it was once an obstacle between the artist and the art. Our sophisticated tools now allow everyone to express their vision.

Bamboo Orchid - Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

Consider the following: iPhoneography. According to the “urbaN DICTIONARY” it is ...the act or practice of snapping quick digital pictures and performing post-processing and sharing from within the mobile phone itself,...

My take, ...art for the masses; a powerful tool in a portable box that says, “Vision first, knowledge later (or never).”

Some people just get it. They see the light, isolate the details, and convey a feeling with their images. The iPhoneography movement mirrors my observations of the American society at large. It’s all about the quick fix. We have no tolerance for the hard work or the thinking required to solve our problems. As such, we are in need of some serious help, and have chosen, instead, to erect a giant “help wanted ad” on every stoop, wall, and bulletin board. The ad reads: “Help Wanted, ...No Knowledge Required.”

Mantled Howler Monkey - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300mm f2.8L IS

Some other current ads might be summarized as...

Help Wanted, Biology Teacher ...No Knowledge Required.

Help Wanted, Environmental Reformer ...No Knowledge Required.

Help Wanted, Politician to F#$%-up Reputation of Admired Country ...No Knowledge Required.

Frog on a Wire - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180mm f3.5L

Really, ...Is this what the the future has to offer? No Knowledge Required?!

Before the digital era, we all shot film. There were no histograms, variable ISO’s or memory cards. This was an unforgiving discipline because it required knowledge about light and how it interacted with particles of silver on sheets of cellulose. In the “Dark Ages of Photography,” art was created with knowledge, not in spite of it. The pioneers of environmental photography, Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, and Clyde Butcher (still alive and working with film), are more than just visionaries, they are artists. Their success followed a simple formula:

Technical Knowledge + Subject Knowledge + Unique Vision = Art

So there’s my rant, inspired by a simple question. When do pictures of of nature transcend photojournalism and become art? We live in a world of quick fixes, mindless solutions, and dreams that everyone can do everything at any time. While, I don’t wish to denigrate those who have discovered a vision without experience, I need to believe that experience matters. In an age when automation is a substitute for knowledge, how do we distinguish the litany data points from the unique vision that makes art?

The Trap - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 300mm f2.8L IS

Tropical Eye Candy

2011-07-16T20:26:00.006-05:00

Shangri La Valley - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 15mm Fisheye - HDR Processing of three images @ +1, 0, -1 stop intervals

Our second day at Selva Verde began with an ass-whooping hike into the primary forest. We met our guide and friend, Michael Sevilla, at 5:30 a.m., shared a quick cup of café con leche, and crossed the Sarapiquí River. At first, the walk seemed somewhat pedestrian as we traversed the suspension bridge and hiked the river trail. Walking along the Sarapiquí, the birdsongs at first light was a chorus for the musical river that crashed along the rocky shore. Michael stopped at what appeared to be a random point, withdrew his machete, and hacked at a palm that was blocking the poorly worn path up the mountain. Barely awake and feeling the heat of a tropical morning, we began our ascent. It wasn't that the hike was particularly challenging, steep ...but not too bad; the disconcerting part of the journey was in the unknown. We had just swept a poisonous viper off the trail, and now we were hiking through thick vegetation. Our path was unmarked and seemed to be worn down by the feet of a peccary, coati, or some other small animal. We climbed higher, but I had no clue as to our final destination. Thorny vegetation, colorful palms, and spider webs slapped against my sweaty arms with each step into nothingness. At some point I turned to the rear and realized that Tamy and my sisters were gone. We all began as one, but now it was Michael and I. Sucking in the thick air, I yelled... "Marco...," and listened. "Polo, we're here..." So we continued the climb. All along, I couldn't help but think, "Where the hell are we going?!" I didn't dare ask the machete wielding man who had so kindly awakened on this Monday after Father's Day to take us on an adventure, but I couldn't help wonder "...would it be worth the hike?" Just as the doubt crept in, I gazed, breathlessly, into the valley. The sun was now peeking above the horizon, the thick virgin forest was to my back, and dew filled the landscape. This vista was my mornings' reward, this was my 'Shangri La.'

Fifteen Years Later

2011-07-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) on Heliconia Flower - Selva Verde Lodge, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180 f3.5L - June 2011

Tamy and I made our first trip to Costa Rica in June 1996. A photo excursion to the tropics had been among our many travel dreams, and memories of this first visit continue to linger today. In preparation for this adventure to the rainforest, we viewed endless National Geographic videos, books about the Amazon, and watched the movie Medicine Man. If you've since forgotten or are too young to know, Sean Connery was the Medicine Man. He was the ecologist who famously propelled himself through the canopy in search of yet to be discovered drugs. Hoping to emulate his research methods, we spent a week in Rara Avis. This deep jungle eco-lodge is continuous with Braulio Carrillo National Park and only accessible by tractor. Rara Avis is the research facility and lodge where the "real" medicine man, Donald Perry, did his pioneering research on tree-top ecology. After four nights at Rara Avis, "the tractor from hell" dragged us down the mountain, and we headed towards the Selva Verde Lodge near the Sarapiqui River...

Hognose Viper (Porthidium nasutum) - Selva Verde Lodge, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180 f3.5L - June 2011

So here I am, fifteen years later recalling our first adventure to the tropics. Since that time, we've returned to Rara Avis, been to Costa Rica on six occasions, traveled to Africa twice, camped throughout Alaska, and road-tripped across the Californian and Washington Coasts. In all of our travels, we never planned a return trip to Selva Verde... that is, until Tamy said, " hey let's go back..." So we did.

Blue Jeans (Dendrobates pumilio) Poison Dart Frog - Selva Verde Lodge, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180 f3.5L - June 2011

The images displayed are ones that we've always hoped to make. They are some of Costa Rica's signature species in soft light. All of these herps were found throughout the primary and secondary forests that are contiguous with the Selva Verde Lodge. During our most recent visit, I've rediscovered the beauty of the Caribbean Slope and realized the amazing insect, amphibian, and reptilian treasures waiting to be discovered.

Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) on a Wire - Selva Verde, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180 f3.5L - June 2011

Green & Black (Dendrobates auratus) in a Banana Flower - Selva Verde Lodge, Costa Rica
Canon 5D MarkII + 180 f3.5L, June 2011