In The Right Light

In the Right Light - Glencoe, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 300mm f2.8L IS 

A dark roast is the only thing that looks good at 3:30 a.m.; so when I left my home for Schaefer Prairie twenty-minutes later, a strong cup of joe was my most valued traveling companion. On this Saturday morning, I was breaking with tradition. It was “the day after,” but I wasn’t sleeping in. The academic year ended on Friday, and the day after is reserved for mindlessness. Foolishly, I accepted an assignment to photograph the “Birds and Blooms” event at Schaefer Prairie Preserve, and I wasn’t about to let mental fatigue stand in the way. I pointed the Cooper due west and drove  one hundred and twenty miles in a sleepless stupor.

I committed to the project because I love a prairie sunrise. The sea of grass reminds me of safaris in Africa and feeds my imagined conception of pre-settlement North America. The American prairie is one of many threatened ecosystems. Fragmented by farms and urban development, less than three percent of indigenous grasslands remain. On this morning I chose to document a restored habitat instead of sleep. So, it is with great irony that I post this image of Taraxacum, the dandelion.

Pest to lawn-lovers across United States, the dandelion is a perfect model of evolutionary success. Adapted to disturbed habitats, the forb blooms fast, and can produce from 54 to 172 seeds per flower head. One estimate suggests that as many as 240,000,000 seeds are produced per acre of dandelion (http://fyi.uwex.edu/weedsci/2002/11/12/dandelion/). It was during the final stretch of my drive to Schaefer Prairie that I began to feel the photographer’s panic. The light was brilliant and I wasn’t on site. I was listening to the pings of gravel striking the undercarriage of the Mini, when I decided to slam on the breaks. This wasn’t the prairie, but the light was too good to pass up... I ran with the lens mounted to the tripod, lied prone on the edge of a farm field and shot into the dawn’s haze. In the end I seemed to have confirmed an oft uttered statement in photography, “almost anything looks good in the right light.”

©2000-2013 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.

Tip #63: Keeping up with the Joneses

Sharp-tailed Grouse Drumming (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
8MP of Old Canon Goodness + Sigma 300 f2.8 w/ Sigma 1.4x Converter

Don’t look now, but the guy next door has a new camera! That new bauble probably takes great picture, but don’t be fooled by its curvaceous form, it actually requires a photographer to make images. 

Short Flight after the Drums (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
8MP of Old Canon Goodness + Sigma 300 f2.8 w/ Sigma 1.4x Converter

Captivating photographs are produced by artists who study their subject, understand light and make the time to be there. Do not succumb to the limits of your technology... the best camera is the one in your hands today!

Sharp-tailed Grouse Displaying (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
8MP of Old Canon Goodness + Sigma 300 f2.8 w/ Sigma 1.4x Converter

New tools come and go, but real talent resides within. I say, wear those blinders, follow your passion, and embellish the inner artist.

Time out at the Lek (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
8MP of Old Canon Goodness + Sigma 300 f2.8 w/ Sigma 1.4x Converter

©2000-2012 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.

Road Tripping Through Ecosystems #7

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. 

©2000-2011 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.