A Passion for Wildlife, the Stories Behind the Images

Road Runner

Program scheduled for 2 Jun @ Assateague Island National Seashore Visitor Center has been postponed until late Aug or early Sep. Will post new date as soon as available. However identical program Saturday, 12 May at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge visitor center at 11:00 as part of the International Migratory Bird Celebration. For info, contact: www.ospreyphot@aol.com; http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco

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A Passion for Wildlife, the Stories Behind the Images

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2 June, 2012 (11:00-12:30), Assateague Island National Seashore Visitor Center. 

This program is based on my 30 years of experience photographing birds and other animals. It covers the considerations, strategies, techniques, and equipment required to produce high quality wildlife images.  Topics of discussion include composition; lighting; safety in the field; ethics; and tips for locating, attracting, and approaching wildlife.  I include several entertaining stories behind the creation of some of my favorite images.  (Program Free to the Public)    http://www.nps.gov/asis/index.html    http://ospreyphoto.com

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Free Wildlife Photography program, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Photography Program at Chincoteague, 12 May, 11 AM.

Covers equipment, techniques of locating, attracting, and approaching wildlife plus tips on lighting, composition, and exposure. Entertaining stories behind images. Photo rich presentation.  Free to public. See the following links for more info on the lecture and Assateague island.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco

http://www.chincoteaguechamber.com

http://www.nps.gov/asis/index.htm

Speaker Irene Hinke – sacilotto.

www.ospreyphoto.com

 

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Spring at Ladew Topiary Gardens

Last Friday I visited Ladew Topiary Gardens just north of Baltimore to prepare for the field trip portion of the Nature Photo class I am teaching at Johns Hopkins University.  Because of the warm spring, the tulips, azaleas, and other flowers which should have been at their prime at this time were beginning to fade.  At first disappointed, I changed my mind as I saw a number of interesting photo subjects and began to experiment with unusual subjects and abstractions.  The tulips petal was shot with a 105 mm Nikon Macro lens at its closest focusing distance.  For the fern I hand held the lens so I used 1600 ISO and the ripples were shot at 1000.  The iron face was from a chair and its shadow. The results were surprising.  See the photos that follow and catch one of the classes I teach in nature photography at Johns Hopkins University and Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  Check my web site for details.  www.ospreyphoto.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Quality Images & High ISOs

Over the past two years my appreciation for D-SLR cameras capable of producing quality images at high ISOs has grown exponentially.   My early experience with D-SLR cameras and ISOs of 400 and higher was disappointing.  Images contained random specks of color and were grainy in appearance due to high noise levels.  Because of the negative results of the past, I have been hesitant even on newer cameras to use high ISOs unless absolutely necessary.  With the purchase of my Nikon D4 camera, I have begun to seriously explore the possibilities of using ISOs of 640 and much higher on a somewhat regular basis.  For my applications, resulting images have been remarkable.  See the photos that follow for examples. (1) The waterfowl shots were taken late in the afternoon as the light was fading.   To freeze the splashing action of the ducks, I used ISOs of 640.  (2) The interior of this tulip was shot under soft light.  Since the magnification was high, light low, and the use of a tripod was difficult due to the camera angle, I shot this image with an ISO of 1200 to capture the needed depth of field and fast shutter speed to assure image sharpness. 3) The jelly fish was photographed under low light inside the Martine Museum in Solomon’s Island, MD at 10000 ISO with the camera hand held.  The use of a tripod and flash were impractical due to space constrictions and reflective surfaces.  Pleased with these results, I am continuing to explore new applications so see my next blog. See www.ospreyphoto.com for photo workshop details.Image

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Check out your local camera club

 

 

 

 

On several occasions I have served as a judge for camera club competitions.  The experiences reminded me of the benefits of belonging to such organizations.  They are great places mix with others of similar photo interests and share info on equipment and techniques.  There are often opportunities to participate in club sponsored field trips and attend lectures by expert photographers.   You can participate in digital and print photo contests where the constructive criticism given will help you refine your photo skills.  Participation in club activities both boosts your enthusiasm and creative energy.  Clubs are in most communities.  Check them out.  Osprey Photo Website:  www.ospreyphoto.com

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An Eye for Photography

 

 

 Just one of the tips from the Creative Digital Photography class I am teaching at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens this weekend.  See www.ospreyphoto.com for details.

As you move about, always be on the lookout for potential photo subjects.  Take note of graphic elements such as lines, shapes, forms, and patterns, plus the direction and quality of lighting no matter whether you are photographing or just driving to the store.  This is a way to constantly train our eyes to recognize future photo opportunities.ImageImage

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Easy to understand book on Layers and Masks. Great for those new at digital editing.

In addition to my nature photography classes at Norfolk Botanical Gardens, http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/programs-events/calendar, programs at Johns Hopkins University http://odyssey.jhu.edu/, and weekend photo workshops at Chincoteague NWR Virginia and in Southern West Virginia, www.ospreyphoto.com, I have been teaching introductory digital editing classes based on Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. I am always searching for good books to recommend to students.  While preparing for an upcoming class, I found an excellent book explaining the use of layers and masks in a way that beginners might be able to understand. The text and screen captures are useful and easy to follow.  For those interested, I recommend the following book which can be purchased as a soft back or Kindle version from www.amazon.com. “Layers: The Complete Guide to Photoshop’s Most Powerful Feature (2nd Edition)”

Photos from my Argentina photo tour in Dec. 2011.

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HyperDrives – great asset for long photo trips

On recent trip to Argentina, to avoid carrying laptop, I took my IPAD2 and 1 HyperDrive Colorspace UMDA and a second HyperDrive iPad2 Hard Drive. I copied by images from my compact flash cards to each HyperDrive (750 G capacity). Therefore I had 2 copies of each image file.  The data transfer rate from the compact flash cards to the HyperDrives is very rapid, saving time.  In With the HyperDirves I could see small versions of my files to confirm transfer and judge the quality of the images to some degree. . With the HyperDrive made for the IPAD2, I could download select images to the IPAD2  where I could enlarge them and edit them to see their quality.  I could then share the images with others or send them via e-mail. I could get my e-mail and connect with the internet with the IPAD2 in locations where there was a WIFYaccess. Therefore a laptop really wasn’t necessary.  Nice alternative for handling image data on long trips.HyperDrives – great asset for long trips.

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Great Photo Opportunities – Argentina and Southern Chile

Looking for a great place for photography, try Argentina & southern Chile.   This past December I spent two weeks leading a small photo tour from a tropical rainforest north of Buenos Aires to the dry wind-swept Patagonian steppe and snow-capped Andean mountains.  Capturing great wildlife and scenic photographs was our goal as we explored Valdés Peninsula, Los Glaciares National Park (NP), Torres del Paine NP in Chile, and the steamy jungle surrounding Iguazú Falls.  Breaching whales, penguins by the thousands, sea lions sunning themselves, iridescent hummingbirds sipping the nectar from tropical flowers, flightless rhea mother leading her family across the road, and male guanacos on hind legs, spitting and fighting for the right to breed.  Visit www.ospreyphoto.com for more programs.

Upcoming photo tour – Iceland in late June.

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