First Light - Andy Long

January 2005

USING LINES IN YOUR PHOTOS
Line is important in helping the viewer work their way through the image. The effect of line can be looked at in different ways. One of these is by using line as a lead-in to the main subject. When doing this, the leading line can be either a supporting part of the picture or the main part.

How the leading line is used is up to the individual photographer but the main thing to keep in mind is that the line needs to start at the bottom of the frame and work its way back toward a strong subject. The leading line can be tracks in the snow or a trail or anything that helps take the viewer into the photograph.

Another way to use line is to compose your shot so that intersecting lines for diverse subjects in the frame work together. While it's nice to be able to have one of the linens coming from near the corner to help with the impact, this doesn't always have to be the case. Creating intersecting lines within the framework of the image can help lead the viewer's eye up, around and through the image.

When using this technique it's helpful that the different elements where the lines come together vary in color so the change in direction is obvious. The color change can be subtle, but the more drastic the color change the more impact the lines will have. Sometimes, though, you can use this idea where the viewer will not realize this is your intention even though it is your purpose.

A third way to create the feeling of line is with repetition. One way to achieve this is to make an image of mountain peaks. This type of shot can be made stronger if the mountains have fog or clouds between them. Another way to use repetition in lines is to shoot through a stand of trees once the leaves have fallen. You will have a strong feel of looking through a group of trees without the clutter of leaves.

Lines do not have to be straight. Curved lines can add to the intrigue of a shot as opposed to the stark direction of a straight line. An example of this can be seen when making images of lines in the sand where the wind has created different shapes yet the line is the main subject of the photo.

ALASKA EXPLORING
Anyone interested in doing some exploring in Alaska this year have a couple of options. I'll be heading there in late February, late March or early April to scout out areas and techniques for the Northern Lights trip scheduled for later this year. In June, I'll be spending five days checking out a couple of locales between my eagle and bear trips. If you sign up for either of these you can tack on a couple of extra days to join me on some free-form exploring. Costs for these consists of pitching in for vehicle rental, gas, food and lodging. The eagle and bear trips only have two spots left on each so if you're interested in either of these you might want to consider contacting me early as these should fill up.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
Talk about a photo web site that covers all of the bases. Sue and Bob Hanson's site at http://www.sueswedeimages.com/ certainly does that. Offering a variety of services ranging from photo restoration to stock photography, the Hanson's site is very easy to navigate and has some wonderful pictures of their travels around the globe. With a wide variety of images in the collection, they have set up lots of photo pages by the subjects. Take a look at their world and let them know what you think about their site and their photography.

If you have a web site you want others to know about send me an e-mail and I'll get it listed in a future issue. Need a web site (every photograapher does nowadays as it's a great tool to show your images to photo editors) contact me and I can build one for you at very reasonable rates.

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES IN TROUBLE
The following list appeared in the Denver paper recently and I thought it might be of interest to everyone. The list, as chosen by the Defenders of Wildlife, includes the refuge and the threat related to it.
Arctic NWR, Alaska - Proposals to drill for oil in the refuge.
Cabeze Prieta NWR, Arizona - Increasing illegal drug and immigrant traffic.
Delta NWR, Louisiana - Effects of gas and oil companies.
Desert NWR Complex, Nevada - Plans to drill water wells.
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR, California - Rapid suburban development.
Klamath Basin NWR, Oregon, California - Presticide pollution.
Lostwood NWR, North Dakota - Air, water pollution from coal-burning plants.
Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR, Texas - Development surrounding the refuge's fragments parcels of land.
Pocosin Lakes NWR, North Carolina - A landing field for Navy fighter jets.
Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa - Agricultural runoff, habitat loss, and water pollution.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
I'm not big into sending politically-based messages but I have recieved an e-mail from several people with the issue that has now come up regarding the oil drilling issue within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. If interested in reading about this please go to http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/.

COLORADO WILDLIFE E-MAIL SERVICE
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has set up a free service for anyone interested in getting up-to-the-minute news on what's happening with wildlife issues within Colorado. Subscribers can choose to recieve information from different categories or a combination of categories including fishing, habitat, hunting, species conservation, Wildlife Commission action, wildlife viewing or all of the above. To sign up for the DOW Insider, go to www.wildlife.state.co.us. Once there click on "personalize this site/sign up for DOW Insider," then go to the "sign up for My DOW," and create a user profile.

KENTUCKY INFO
Recieved an e-mail from a subscriber with some good information on some photo opportunites in Kentucky and Tennessee. Thought everyone might be interested in the information she provided. Thanks to Dr. Marsha Logsdon.

I am a full time professor and have become an amateur hobby nature photographer. I do photography with my son-in-law and daughter-in-law. We often go to the same places to do photography together but all come home with different photographs. It is interesting how each of us “sees” the same thing but capture it in photographs so differently.

Kentucky has some gorgeous state parks and many of them have photography contests in the spring and fall. Eagles are common tours in many of the Kentucky parks in January and February. You can visit their web site at this address: www.state.ky.us/agencies/parks/events

Kentucky also has 13 covered bridges, which are located in the beautiful rural areas of Kentucky. We did the two day tour in the fall and got some great photographs. You can get a map and see some of the bridges at this address: www.hultgren.org/things/bridges/

Another scenic location that we have visited three times this year is Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee. We just went there last week to view the eagles and mallard ducks. The lake was formed by an earthquake in the late 1800s and looks like a Louisiana swamp that got misplaced in Tennessee and some of it in Kentucky. It is only about a mile from the Mississippi. You can visit their web site at www.reelfootlake.com

Anyone who likes nature photography would absolutely be on a high at any of these sites.

MAKING CONTACTS
Making contacts with photographers from around the country can be a great help when planning trips or finding out where something is when you're visiting an area. While in Florida over Thanksgiving I found out about an area for nesting skimmers that I checked out and will include in my trip to Pinellas County in early March. Many people exchange business cards while travelling and some even get in contact with people they trade cards with.

With this in mind, I'm opening it up to subscribers of the newsletter who might be interested in creating a photographers database of contacts around the country. It will only be available through a link on the newsletter and will only include those who want to participate, not everyone who recieves the newsletter. It will be sorted by state and will only include your first name and e-mail address. If interested in being added to the list please e-mail me and give me your info.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Nature's Best It's time again for the annual Nature's Best Photo Contest. One of the most prestigious competions available for wildlife and nature photographers (along with the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year). Entries for this year's competition are being taken now through April with more than $10,000 in prizes being awarded.

* Quantum Leap Strategies Every month, they select one winning photograph for which the photographer receives a prize of $100. Plus, we donate $100 – in the Winner's name – to the Winner's choice of a charity organization that focuses on helping the blind. Theme: The beauty that surrounds us. Categories include Nature, wildlife, landscapes, and more.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

* Photography Unlimited This is a really neat contest. Visitors to the site rate the photos ... and additionally an independent judge(s) also rate the photos. You can take the photos with any kind of camera, but they must be uploaded to the site digitally. You can enter 5 photos per month per category.

* AGFANet Every month, 24 photos entered in the competition by AGFAnet users are exhibited in the latest gallery.Visitors can cast a vote for a photo and thus help decide which of the photos presented are to be chosen as the three photos of the month. The winners are the entries receiving the most vote.

February 2005

ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE
Every wildlife photographer has experienced it. Many sports photographers can relate to it as well. You're trying to capture that perfect action shot and everything seems perfect. You know you have a great focus on the animal, the light is in the perfect direction, and you know you caught that perfect timing just when the peak of action occurs. You can't wait to take a look at the resulting image.

Then, when you look at the image on film or in the lcd monitor that dreadful feeling comes over you ? you've cut off part of the animal. Several thoughts run through your mind. One is that you'll never get another chance to get a shot like that again. If you're still shooting film and the action was the only one where the animal took flight, or the battling elk locked antlers, you might be right. The same holds true if you're like some digital photographers who don't review their shots until later. Even if you do review your shots after every few clicks, the animal might not do the action again.

What to do? There are several ways to make sure you get the animal action shot you're trying to get. The first is to go to places where the chance of a particular behavior happening more than once is a high probability. This comes from a bit a research.

Research can come in various forms. The best is by talking with other photographers to see where great wildlife areas around where you live are located. Web searching is another way to find good locations for wildlife. A third is to check out where some of the different photo workshop / tour operators are running trips. Trip leaders usually only go to places where the main subject is guaranteed to be so trip participants are pleased with the results.

Once you find a hot spot for wildlife go there as often as possible. The more time spent at a given place where the animals are the greater the probability of capturing the peak action you're looking for. Persistence pays off and eventually you'll see what you want to capture through your viewfinder.

This leads to a second part of not just seeing the action but getting that action - being ready. Standing there looking around or talking with someone nearby will definitely cause you to miss the shot so you have to be looking through the viewfinder with your finger at the ready waiting for something to happen. We all know the peak action also comes when we're changing film or flash cards but that's when you tell the person next to you to be ready. This doesn't mean you can't be away from the camera for a few seconds, but you need to know when there's a good chance of something happening.

Here's where the third thing comes into play. Watch and study. The more you watch an animal the more you can predict their actions. Many animals will do something just before the peak action occurs. These are the animals you like to find, those who give a warning. A perfect example of this is with raptors. If you've found a raptor sitting on a pole or in a tree and you want to get a shot of it in flight just after it takes off, you know what to look for if you've seen it before. Almost every time a hawk takes off, it raises its tail and relieves itself before taking off.

By spending time with an animal and paying attention to actions and behaviors you have a much better chance of getting the shot you want. Other cases where animals do something before acting is with hunting coyotes. Before pouncing, they will tense up and arch their backs before jumping on their prey. Even so, they might jump higher or further than you anticipated when you framed the shot or panned with the action.

Anyone who has been to Bosque del Apache to photograph sandhill cranes taking off from the outer ponds in the morning knows they lean forward quite a bit before running a few steps and taking flight. With several people nearby you can warn others of the leaning in a particular location so they can get the action of the cranes running on the water as there is a several second pause between the leaning and them running to take off.

Other behaviors to look for in different animals include birds during nesting season. For cavity dwellers, most adults will land just outside the hole and sit there for a second or two before entering if the babies are still very small. If the hatchlings are larger, they might stick their heads out of the cavity to be fed. Once you see the adult nearing the nest get ready for some shots.

Another setting with lots of opportunities for action is at a bird rookery. With lots of nests in one clustered area, you will see all sorts of action going on. The key here is to stay with one nest for awhile capturing the action before moving on to another nest. If you do the shotgun approach and look all over the place and then try to move in when you see the action you'll miss what happened. While staying with one nest for a period of time you'll miss something happening on another nest but you know it will probably happen again once you move to that nest to work it for several minutes.

Not all animals are quite as cooperative, though. Some do their action without any warning at all. This is where you have to be ready at all times and hope you catch the shot you want. Anyone who has tried to get bighorn sheep butting heads can attest to this. During the rut season you can have several rams in the area and when they get near each other you need to keep at the ready at all times. They give no warning before rearing up and ramming into each other. They can stand there looking at each other for what seems like and eternity and then all of a sudden rear up and bang heads. Unlike lightening where you can sometimes time it between cracks, there is no pattern to the rams' action. Stay with them as long as it takes as getting the heads together is the shot you hope to get.

Most every camera today has a servo mode setting to keep a focus on a moving object. Whenever doing wildlife this is a setting you want to make sure to set. Press the shutter button down halfway and keep it on the subject. This takes a bit of practice on birds in flight and you'll lose a bunch of shots to start off, but the more you practice the better you'll get with this technique. Even with lots of practice, you'll still get rid of a bunch of shots so don't feel bad about missing a flight shot.

Camera position is another point of just missing a shot by cutting off a bit of the animal. It never fails that just after you've switch from horizontal to vertical because of the position and shape of the animal that it does something where you wish you were in the other format. Hopefully, something decent was captured but it's a case of Murphy's Law for whatever can go wrong will go wrong.

Oh well, there's always Photoshop to fix those missing wings or head.

DIGITAL CLEAN-UP
Trying to figure out where those dust specks keep coming from on your digital camera files? Keeping the sensor clean is critical when it comes to getting rid of the dust devils that show up once you start looking at your shots on the computer. In addition to your normal cleaning a good thing to do is minimize the amount of time you have a lens off the body. On some of my trips, I've seen people casually take their time when changing lenes. Do this as quick as possible by having the new lens you want to put on ready to go as soon as you take the other one off. Using your body as a shield if there's any wind will also help. You might also want to take the camera in to a good repair shot, at least once a year and maybe more if you're an extremely heavy shooter and have them do a good cleaning of the sensor. It's amazing how much it acts like a magnet to grab any dust that's nearby.

ALASKA EXPLORING
Anyone interested in doing some exploring in Alaska this year have a couple of options. I'll be heading there in late late March (22-28) to scout out areas and techniques for the Northern Lights trip scheduled for later this year. In June, I'll be spending five days checking out a couple of locales between my eagle (only one spot left) and bear trips (two spots left). If you sign up for either of these you can tack on a couple of extra days to join me on some free-form exploring. Costs for these consists of pitching in for vehicle rental, gas, food and lodging.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
Artistic Photography - By Sylvia E. Rempel is the title of this subscribers website and it includes some nice images of landscape photography from Alaska, Yellowstone, the California Coastline and an Inspiration section. Sylvia sells cards and prints of here work and the inspiration section has some nice saying on the cards. I was particularly fond of the Alaska page as this is where my heart keeps wandering to - with three trips up there this year it's no wonder you would think I like Alaska. To view her site go to http://www.artphotonet.com/index2.htm. Take a look at her site and let her know what you think.

PHOTO TIP - ARMED AND READY
Many of you with a big lens probably already know this, but there might be one person who this might help out. While out at a favorite spot of mine doing some waterfowl recently there was another photographer there with a somewhat large lens and a Wimberley Sidekick head. We bagan talking about action shots of the birds and he said he can't quite seem to get extemely sharp images. Upon watching him I noticed he wasn't providing some counter-balance to his lens. A good thing to do when using a large lens, even with what you think is a stable tripod head, is to lay your arm over the lens to help provide a little more stability to the lens. This can't be done with birds in flight very easily, but for other critters, try it out and see if you see any improvement.

Anyone who has been on a workshop with me will have heard this one before. Another way to help get that sharp image is to keep the center post of your tripod down. Cut it off if at all possible. By raising the center post all you're doing is creating a monopod with a nice base. The next time you raise your center post, tap on the camera and see how much camera shake you get.

CALYPSO IMAGING
If you have never tried any of the following Calypso services they have an attractive offer for you...

Any time during 2005 you can get a 30% discount from their web prices on BetterLight Digital Copy/giclée prints/framing services - up to $300 on each one that you haven't previously tried. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that this offer is only if you have not used their service before. Look at their website for pricing information. If you are not ready to use this right now - file this for later in 2005. http://www.calypsoinc.com

FREE BOOK
Now that I have your attention. I don't know exactly what this is, but I recieved an e-mail advertising this. A new, free book is available giving you some excellent tips on how to improve your photography. To get your copy of this free book, all you have to do is e-mail publishing@theglobaldomain.com, With FREE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS as the subject header.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* New York Institute of Photography has ongoing contests with vatious themes. The current themes are for winter action and bridges. Be sure you check the entry dates. Prizes include gift certificates and money.

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Los Angeles Center for Digital Art invites you to enter our "TOP 40" juried competion for digital art and photography. Entrants submit three JPEG files of original work. All styles of 2D artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to the creation of
the images are acceptable. Forty winners recieve one print up to 24x36 on museum quality paper to be shown in an international group exhibition in our gallery from March
10-April 2, 2005. Registration fee is $30. Online registration only.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

April 2005

PHOTOGRAPH AMERICA DISCOUNTS
If anyone is interested in receiving a 5% discout to Bob Hitchman's Photograph Americal Newsletter, send me an SASE and I'll get you an order form with the proper info on it to recieve the discount. The discount is good for subscriptions or back issues.

GOING TO EXTREMES
March was a month of extremes when it comes to photographic trips. The month started out with a workshop in Florida to do birds in and around Pinellas County (St. Petersburg). The birds in Florida this year were way down in numbers from previous years but anyone who has gone there knows all you need are a few cooperative birds to make for a good trip.

Honeymoon Island in Dunedin is always good in early March with osprey in various stages of nesting. While it was a little early for newborns in the nest, quite a few nests were up and activity was very good. The great horned owls moved their nest this year and during the morning hours there was good light on it for working. The time we came upon it both the mother and newborn were in the nest making for some nice shots of the two of them together.

At Fort Desoto, a couple of great blue heron nests were very accessible. A good deal of time was spent on one nest as the male kept bringing in new nest material which provided for some great flight shots and behavior at the nest.

A pleasant surprise was found in Tampa when a pileated woodpecker showed up and began feeding at a feeding hole. It's not often you get mad at a barred owl for showing up but we did as one came swooping in to try and catch the pileated and chased it away. What made it worse was the the owl perched behind a branch so we couldn't get any shots of it.

For some reason the skimmers that usually congregate at Fort Desoto's North Beach were not showing up. In talking with several other people, they mentioned that there hadn't been many in the area for awhile. The number of egrets hanging around the area were also way down. I haven't head if the skimmers showed up to nest at Sand Key in Clearwater like they usually do in late March of each year but I would be surprised if they didn't. Next year's trip to the Pinellas Suncoast will be later in the month so as to have a little different activity with the osprey nests and skimmer nesting.

Sawgrass Park is always good for a stop a couple of times as all it takes is just a couple of cooperative birds to make a stop there enjoyable. While there we saw a wood stork, anhinga's frying, a little green heron fising, little blue and tri-colored herons, galinules and pie-billed grebes as well as the ever-present alligators.

Last year's hurricanes, although they didn't make a direct hit on St. Petersburg, may have been a cause for some of the birds seeking out new locations to spend their time.

Making for a corner to corner of the country month, a scouting trip to northern Alaska took up the second part of March. If you 've never seen the northern lights before, make sure you try to get to Alaska to experience this at least once. You do it once, and you're sure to want to go again. All this trip did was whet my appetite for when I go up there in October and then again next March for leading a trip. This will probably be a yearly trip on my schedule as long as a couple of people show interest each year.

If you have made the switch to digital and have worried about how noise from long exposures creates problems with this subject, don't be overly concerned. With the proper circumstances, you can get some great material with shooting around 10 seconds at 400 ISO, which both of these were shot at.

What helps with the digital side of doing northern lights is going when there's a full moon. Because of the light put out by the moon, you can see that the longer exposures provides some great light on subjects in the foreground. Whoever thought you could get white snow at 1 o'clock in the morning.

The first time you experience the real light show of the aurora dancing across the sky is something you'll never forget. It's moments such as these that make us as photographers appreciate with awe the beauty that is before our eyes when we go into the field. Seeing the northern lights the first time was exciting, but when for about 10 minutes the ske looked like a ballet in motion another night is was an event I'll never forget.

An article on full moon aurora photography will be up in the next several days on the apogeephoto website. If you're interested in attending the trip this October, contact me soon as I'm going to limit this to just 3 or 4 people maximum due to some of the logistics involved and there are a couple of people already committed.

CENTER FOCUS SENSOR
Have you tried doing some shooting with your autofocus lens in low-light or low-contrast conditions and had trouble getting it to give you a focus - knowing that one of the sensors is on a good delineating line? The problem is that you might be using the wrong focusing sensor. Although it can't be found in any of the manuals, the center focus sensor is the strongest of all of the sensors no matter what camera model you have and using this one increases the liklihood of obtaining a focus without having to switch to manual focus.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
This issue's member website was provided by Danny Lesnick. If you want to see some really interesting photos, especially check out the jellyfish shots, go to http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=30960. Having been a sports photographer before making the move to outdoor photography many years ago, I also like the way he handled his bicycle racing images.

MESSAGE ON A GOOD SPOT FROM ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPHER
I have not personally been to that reserve, however I can tell you about one about 115km or a 75 minute drive northwest of Montreal (in Quebec, Canada) called Omega Park.

Omega Park is a privately run, enclosed 1,500 acre wilderness reserve that has timber wolves, grey wolves and white arctic wolves. Additionally there are red foxes, wild boars and herds of moose, deer, and elk. If you like to photograph big animals, there are also some black bear there too, with some young cubs.

As Nature chair and field trip leader of the Lakeshore Camera Club in Pointe Claire, Quebec I have led a couple of well attended and successful outings to this park.

Recommended lenses range from 28mm to 600mm (or a 300 with a 2x converter/doubler). Most of my stuff is shot with an 80-200 f2.8 hand held.

No matter where you decide to go, bring some long lenses if you have them, a good pair of hiking boots and small rubber cushion, the latter for your knees to kneel on to keep a low profile, or to sit on as you wait for your subject!

The website for Omega park is http://www.parc-omega.com/

Happy shooting!
Fred

CREATE A BACKYARD BIRD NESTING HABITAT
Do you have some room in your back yard for another tree? It doesn't have to be a large area since this tree will never have many branches or leaves. Go out into the woods and find a tree that has fallen down which has at least one next cavity. Put that up in your yard and position it so that you have a good light and shooting angle, and when birds are looking for a nesting site you've have your own nursery in your yard and plenty of good shooting opportunities without starting your car.

Another good thing you can do is go find some fallen branches and build a frame with them and use them as a natural looking bird feeder. You can dig out some hole to place the food and your shots will look like the birds are sitting on a tree limb.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

May 2005

NOISE NINJA
PictureCode has a great Photoshop plug-in call Noise Ninja. This tool is the most effective and productive solution for removing noise and grain from digital photographs and scanned film images. It is a must-have for anyone shooting in low-light or fast-action situations -- including news, sports, wedding, and event coverage -- where high ISO photography is required and the resulting noise compromises the image.

Now through the end of July you can get the product for a 15% discount off of the regular price. Prices for the various options can be found at http://www.picturecode.com/purchase.php. Contact me directly to place your order and I will make a batch order in early August. This is a one-time offer and the order has to be placed through me. E-mail if you're interested.

iView MediaPro 2
MediaPro 2 is an award-winning media management, presentation, editing, publishing and cataloging application. It offers a rich and intuitive feature set essential for creative professionals and digital photographers. MediaPro incorporates powerful slide show presentations, custom annotation fields, and support for more than 120 file formats including all professional digital camera standards. You can use iView MediaPro 2 as a media browser and organizer, media presentation system, or as a drag-and-drop palette side by side with your favorite media editor, multimedia scripting system, or HTML authoring application.

Single or multiple files can be easily converted, tagged, and edited.You can easily create multi-grid custom slide shows, Web galleries, movies, catalog layouts, and contact sheets to distribute and publish your media quickly and easily. The strength of the program lies in its ease of use, customizability, and intuitive look and feel.

Use this link to save15% off the regular price.

SPRING
Spring is the time of year for new life to come into the world. We need to take the time to go out and enjoy all there is and take tons of photos. The first days of spring have flowers popping up around us. They are the messengers of hope after a long winter. Their natural beauty creates a crazy quilt of color across the ground for us to enjoy. And each time we go out, there are more and different types of flowers springing forth from the ground.

Look closely after the buds open up to become beautiful blooms. The intricacies of the colors and details in something so small can be amazing. To capture some really amazing shots of extreme close-ups of flowers, try some experimenting. You can put a teleconverter on your camera body, then some extension tubes and finally your macro lens - or any other lens. This allows you get get extremely tight down into the flower to bring out the details.

You can also do some experimenting with other techniques involving wildflowers to create some abstract feels to your shots. One is to put a zoom lens on that has a wide focal length range. I use my 80-200 and this seems to be a good range. Stopping down all the way to allow for a long shutter speed, start zooming the lens and depress your shutter button. Try it both ways and a bunch of times as it can take several shots before you get one you really like.

Another wais to hand hold your camera and while using a slow shutter speed, move your camera from one side to the other. If you do a little movement up or down partway through your movement you can get some interesting effects as seen above.

Besides just doing different things with your camera, you can also use other objects to some up with some different views of your wildflower photography. Using mylar, which can be purchased at any hobby shop, creates reflections of your subject. You can either lay it on the ground around your subject or you can be creative and line it inside a Pringles tube. If you do this, you'll want to put a wide angle lens on your camera and put it right to the edge of the can. You can then place the other end near the flower, making sure you get light on the subject, and have some fun moving the tube around to get the effect you like best.

Other objects you can use to create an abstract are shooting through water glass or plastic. Both can bring out some unique designs in the resulting images.

With longer days, we can take the time to go and bask in the beauty as well as the sweet smells that accompany this season of rebirth. The new leaves on trees, the budding flowers, the warmth in the air - all of this makes for a perfect setting.

Being able to go out an experience newborn animals in the wild is also something most people never have an opportunity to experience. Having been able to see an eared grebe hatching several years ago as well as going out to see two-day old bluebirds last year makes being a photographer worth every moment of it.

Sit. Look. Listen. Taking it all in is a joy to experience. Too often the sights and sounds of nature are taken for granted. A bird chirping while sitting in a flower-filled field - or even a field with just a few flowers - can take away all concerns and worries we had when we first went out. If we soak up this wonder, we can be recharged to face what life throws our way. The next time you see newborns frolicking around, take time to appreciate what you're able to experience because too many never have this opportunity.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
This issue's member website was provided by John Braddock and can be found at http://www.hiscreation.biz. John has some very nice work on his site that he sells as prints and note cards. He has used some very nice effects for both of these. His work is centered mostly aroundwaterfalls, cascades and other similar subjects. The images are very pleasing and calming to look at. Check out his site and let him know what you think of his work and his site.

If you want others to know about your site, drop me an e-mail and I'll included it in a future issue. Right now I'm out of other links so if you get one to me it will go in the next issue.

OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER SEMINAR SPONSORSHIP
If you live in the Denver, CO area and plan on attending the Outdoor Photographer magazine sponsored seminars on October 1-2, stop by the First Light display table. I am one of the event's co-sponsors and there will be information on my remaining 2005 schedule as well as the full 2006 schedule. Click here for more information. Seminars are also being held in other locations around the country so check the schedule to see if there's one near you.

JUNE ISSUE
Don't be surprised if you don't receive an online issue in June as I will be gone almost the entire month traveling to a bunch of different spots as well as doing an art show when I am in town my one weekend at home. Look for an update in July.

PHOTO CONTESTS

NATURE'S BEST has extended the deadline to their new Backyards Photo Contest. Deadline is July 15 and there are more than $10,000 in cash and prizes for the winners. For more info go to http://www.naturesbestmagazine.com/index.php?nav=awards&subnav=contests& PHPSESSID=ea64bf54f95c21c15cd8038ca398f95c

2005 NEW ENGLAND EXHIBITION, CCAA (Cape Cod Art Association.) Deadline:
May 27, 2005. Cash awards: $2,000+. Fee: $25/per entry/non-member, $20/per entry/member. Five entries per artist may be submitted. Contact: Cape Cod Art Association, PO Box 85, 3480 Rte 6A, Barnstable, MA 02630. Phone: 1-508 362-2909. Web: http://www.web@capecodartassoc.org .

2005 NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION, Camera club of New York. Deadline: June 17, 2005. Awards: Chosen artist will receive a one-person exhibition in our Alfred Lowenherz Gallery and a cash award of $300. Other finalists will be given a group show. Fee: each entry $35/6 slides. Contact with SASE: 2005 National Photography Competition, Camera Club of New York, 853 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. Web: http://www.cameraclubofnewyork.org

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

June 2005

2006 SCHEDULE
I'm in the process of putting together my 2006 schedule. Exact dates have not yet been determined but the month for numerous trips are set. I have five trips that can be done at different times. If you see a trip you'd like to take that does not have a month attached, let me know when you'd like to see it take place and I'll use that in determining when to schedule it.

I'm also planning to plug in at least one scout trip for adding a new location to the schedule for 2007. If there are any trips people would like to see added, let me know and I'll see if I can get it worked out.

March - Northern Lights
March - Ft. Desoto / Honeymoon Island / Pinellas County, FL for birds
June - Glacier National Park
July - Colorado Wildflowers
July - Mount Rainier
August - Bears of Alaska
October - Colorado Fall Color
December - Bighorn Sheep
December - Bosque del Apache
TBD - Arches National Park - any month execpt in the summer
TBD - Grand Teton National Park - June (baby moose), July (flowers), September (fall)
TBD - Oregon Coast - any month
TBD - Eagles of Southwest Alaska - June July or August
TBD - Historic New Mexico - any month except in the summer

MARKETING INFO - WEB SITE Part 1
I've recently been exchanging e-mails with someone on the benefits of having a web site showcasing their photography. Their main interest was in putting images out there for others to see and buy prints for hanging at home or in an office. While this seems like a good idea, the fact is that very few images are sold online through this venture. A sale here or there is not worth the effort of getting a web site if theis is your main reason for having one.

I have made a few sales of prints from my photo gallery to interior decorators, but there's a much better reason for having a photo gallery of your work. If you try to make sales to various magazines, stock agencies or calendar companies, a gallery is a great place to showcase your talents. Setting up a gallery with lots of different subjects will allow photo editors / researches an easy view of your style and quality of work.

You first get your site online with only showcasing your best material in a variety of subject areas. After the site is up and running, use a recent Photographer's Market and find publications that use the type of work you like to shoot. Drop the editor an e-mail pointing them to your web gallery so they can get a quick first-look at your work. You can let them know you can put together a more detailed submission in case they're interested or you can ask them to put you on their photo needs distribution list.

By doing it this way, you can save the time and money of putting together a lot of submissions for yourself and time on the editor / researcher by them just taking a quick look at your material online. Some may then want to see your work either by a slide submission or cd of jpegs for initial review. Give them a little time as all of these people are very busy and might not get to it right away. Wait a month and then touch base with them again as a reminder. If you don't hear back from them and do want to be considered for future work from them, then you can put together an initial review submission and get it sent off. Remember to include a SASE for the return of your material.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE WEATHER
You're on a trip and hoping to do some nice landscape photography. But, as you're getting ready to go and you check the weather forecast you see clouds and rain is planned for the next several days. No need to despair. Use the weather to your advantage.

Storm clouds can add another element to your shots that you don't get on nice, clear days. In spring and summer, thunderstorms and good rain gushers offer up some incredible cloud formations that can be incorporated into landscapes. Some subjects work better for this than others. No matter what the scene, the viewer can look at the photo and put themselves there at the moment it was taken and have a feel for the conditions.

This was just the case on my recent workshop to the Tetons over Memorial Day weekend. While the first morning provided nice light for shooting at three different locations, the rest of the trip saw a sky filled with storm clouds. That didn't stop the shooting though.

One thing to look for is a storm on the opposite horizon than the sun or some breaks in the clouds where the sun is located. With some warm light hitting the subject and dark storm clouds behind it, this makes your subject be even stronger to the eye than what it might have otherwise been.

If there are some heavy gray storm clouds around where the sun is, when it breaks through the light cast by it can be more intense on the subject than normal. A good location for shots such as this is at Arches National Park in Utah. If the sun is at a low angle, the colors of the rock formations are a deeper red. Add to this some dark clouds in the sky and the sunlight bouncing off the clouds intensifies the color even more.

If it is cloudy over the entire sky, all it takes is just a minute or two of the sun sneaking through a break to provide a chance of some great shots. Being set up and ready for this makes the difference in getting a great shot or just seeing a great scene in front of you. This is where watching the sky to see what it's doing comes into play. As much as photographers are in the field, we should have a good idea as to what the clouds are going to do. Yes, there are times when we're caught off guard but this helps for future ventures out in so-called 'bad weather' situations.

Midday is another time where storm clouds can extend an otherwise slow shooting day. A good example of this can be found in the mountains. If the peaks in the shots have great character by their shape, dramatic clouds over them can make for creating impact to the shot. To intensify the feel for the storm clouds in this setting you can underexpose the shot by -1/2 to -2/3 of a stop to darken the sky even more.

Tight shots of the peaks and surrounding clouds tend to bring out the feel of an impending storm more than a very wide view. If there is heavy rain in part of the scene, the wall of water can really show the impact. These are great images for stock photography as many places look for images of storms.

Another way to handle images with lots of dramatic clouds is to have the clouds dominate the shot. Unlike a clear sky where it's best to minimize the sky, dramatic clouds can be the main focus of the shot and take up two-thirds or more of the frame.

Anyone who has ever seen any of Ansel Adams' shots where the clouds are prominent knows the feeling he was trying to impart in the photo. Bad weather. No problem. Go out and use it to your advantage.

PHOTO MOUNTING
Want to try something different in the presentation of your images? Picture This Superior, based in Lafayette, CO, has a great process for mounting images on board and then adding a special UV protection on top of the final presentation. If you're doing art shows this is a great alternative to framing. The final product is quite impressive. For a promo piece about the company click here. To go to their web site click here. Besides being a great product, the prices are also quite reasonable. If you are a reseller and have a tax license, you pay half the amount that's advertised on their website - you just need to send them a copy of your license. In addition to the mounting services, the can also make prints from your digitial files or slides. The have two printers, Chromira and Noritsu that are used by the top digital labs in the country and prices better than most. When you contact Rick, the owner, let him know you heard about their services from me.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
This issue's member website was provided by Jessica Tidswell and can be found at www.pbase.com/jtidswell. I met Jessica and her husband, Ben, while on the Teton trip over Memorial Day weekend. She has recently jumped into photography with both feet and by the looks of the material on her site she is having a great time. There are a quite a few different gallery sections with some nice shots from around the world. Be sure to check out the Tetons page and let her know what you think of her work.

If you want others to know about your site, drop me an e-mail and I'll included it in a future issue.

OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER SEMINAR SPONSORSHIP
If you live in the Denver, CO area and plan on attending the Outdoor Photographer magazine sponsored seminars on October 1-2, stop by the First Light display table. I am one of the event's co-sponsors and there will be information on my remaining 2005 schedule as well as the full 2006 schedule. Click here for more information. Seminars are also being held in other locations around the country so check the schedule to see if there's one near you.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

August 2005

2006 SCHEDULE
My 2006 trip schedule is now available on the website on the Tours page. Check it out as there are some good offerings including a new trip to Southwest Colorado for my annual fall color trip. I'm going to try and get in at least one scout trip next year for adding a new trip in 2007. If there are any trips people would like to see added, let me know and I'll see if I can get that as my scout trip.

I am in the process of putting together a brochure for the 2006 schedule and if you would like one of these, or several to pass out at your local camera club, let me know and I'll get it sent when they are printed.

MARKETING INFO - WEB SITE Part 2
In the last edition of the newsletter I told about how to use a photo gallery on your web site as a good way to make initial contact with photo editors of publications you would like to submit material to. This two part series stems with a series of e-mails I did with someone wanting a couple of questions answered. This time I want to tell you about the best way to show what material you have available for potential photo buyers.

To let people know what you have available, you need to have a good, in-depth stock list. This details all of the stock photography you have readily available for photo buyers. Your stock list can be set up in various formats but a good way to start is by breaking out your coverage by location. If you've only shot in the United States you can list material by state and then by location within each state.

After the geographical listing, you should then look at breaking images out by subject. A good example would be sections for birds, waterfowl, wildlife, wildflowers, travel, general stock, sports, and any other special grouping you might have. List individual subjects within each of these and if you have anything unique to that listing include that with the species or event.

How you present your stock list is another factor to keep in mind. Creating a pdf file that people can download is a nice way to do your stock list. That allows photo buyers to dowload your info and have it available for quick reference should they want to look for a specific photo need.

Another way, and probably a better way for a couple of reasons, is to have a page on your web site with the information typed out. Having your stock list online allows you to add keywords to the site and when a photo buyer types in a specific shot they are looking for your site might come up with that particular subject. Words in pdf files on the other hand do not come up is search engine queries. An example of this is on my stock list I have 'pouncing on food' as a description and when doing a search that is the first item listed on Google, showing that adding detail adds to the chance of a photo buyer finding your material.

You need to keep the stock list as up to date as possible, adding new material to it after a trip somewhere. This also allows you the opportunity to keep in contact with your photo buyers. Keep an address book containing the e-mails of your regular contacts and do a blind copy to the list letting them know you have updated your stock list as well as your gallery if you have done so. This way you are fresh in their minds and when needing material they will search you out.

Once you've gotten a decent list of places your work has been published you can then add a Credit List section where potential buyers can see where you have been published. This lets them know that you are serious about your work and have dealt with buyers before and know what you're doing.

I hope this helps gives you some ideas about how to best handle the different ways to use a web site to your best advantage. If anyone else has any questions relating to photography in any way don't hesitate to send me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do to answer it for you.

WHEN TO HELP
Having recently returned from my two workshops in Alaska as well as five days of roaming around between the two trips I kept thinking what to do for an article for the newsletter. The shooting was great throughout with eagle flight shots in Dutch Harbor, bears in Lake Clark, sea otters in Seward and some great landscapes north of Seward. One thing kept coming back, though - the beached orca we came across in Dutch Harbor on the eagle workshop. While it's great to come across a magnificent animal such as this, the sight of the young orca - about 16' long - can tear at you.

After a day of shooting and then dinner, the group had returned to the hotel where I had a message on my phone from someone in town letting me know of the young orca that had beached itself and where it was. Although it was late at night, nearly 10 pm, I contacted everyone to see if they were interested in heading out again to see this and possibly get some shots. Everyone was on board. Even with the late hour, there was plenty of light available as this was Alaska during the summer.

Upon reaching the site, we saw this young orca by itself not far off the beach, laying on its side on the rocks. We each started taking photos of this. It might seem strange to take photos of such a tragic event as a beached animal, but it's opportunities such as this where photographers can provide material to researchers and for other documentation uses.

A couple of the locals went out to try and do what they could to get the orca back out into deeper water so it could swim away. Calling on others who had ventured out to see the orca, they ended up with a good group of people out in the chilly water doing whatever they could to, in their minds, help the orca.

After about an hour of struggling with the orca, they were able to get it directed back into deeper water where it then swam away.

Was this a good thing to do or not? It was found out that the orca was first spotted there at about 2:30 am that morning by a boat captain who was brining his boat in to the harbor. By the time the people had gotten the orca back into the water at 11:30 that night, the orca had been beached for 21 hours or longer.

While it might seem like the right thing to do in trying to save the life of a large marine mammal such as this, there were several signs that they should not have done their good deed for the day. After such a long time of being beached, the young orca probably was too weak to be able to take care of itself once in the open waters.

The big key in this was that the pod of other orcas it was traveling with, including its mother, had abandoned it on the beach. If it had accidently beached itself, the pod would have stayed in the area calling out to it and trying themselves to do something to prevent it from getting as far up on the beach as it had. Animals know when there is something wrong with another one in its group so obviously they knew there was something wrong with this young orca. That's why they left it there to die.

All the work the people did in trying to help just meant the young orca was going to have to find another place to beach itself in order to go through the same process again. With so many islands in the area, this young orca had to choose one that was inhabited in which to try to let nature take its course.

What should we do, as photographers, when it comes to a situation such as this? With many small animals rehab centers can offer an avenue of hope for many injuries. Timing is important in getting an animal to one of these facilities. For larger animals, contact some local authorities to let them handle the capturing of the animal. For beached animals, you should just leave them alone as more often than not they have beached themselves for a reason, especially if they travel in groups and the group is nowhere around. If the group is still in the area, then the beached animal would have a better chance of surviving.

Whatever the case, try to use good judgement in dealing with the animal to protect both it and yourself.

PHOTO GALLERY UPDATE
I have updated my photo gallery to include images from around Alaska from my workshops and roaming in June and July as well as some baby blackbirds.

PHOTO MOUNTING
Want to try something different in the presentation of your images? Picture This Superior, based in Lafayette, CO, has a great process for mounting images on board and then adding a special UV protection on top of the final presentation. If you're doing art shows this is a great alternative to framing. The final product is quite impressive. For a promo piece about the company click here. To go to their web site click here. Besides being a great product, the prices are also quite reasonable. If you're a reseller and have a tax license, you pay half the amount that's advertised on their website - you just need to send them a copy of your license. In addition to the mounting services, the can also make prints from your digitial files or slides. The have two printers, Chromira and Noritsu that are used by the top digital labs in the country and prices better than most. When you contact Rick, the owner, let him know you heard about their services from me.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
If you want others to know about your site, drop me an e-mail and I'll included it in a future issue.

OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER SEMINAR SPONSORSHIP
If you live in the Denver, CO area and plan on attending the Outdoor Photographer magazine sponsored seminars on October 1-2, stop by the First Light display table. I am one of the event's co-sponsors and there will be information on my remaining 2005 schedule as well as the full 2006 schedule. Click here for more information. Seminars are also being held in other locations around the country so check the schedule to see if there's one near you.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

September 2005

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question - I currently have a Nikon film camera but I want to upgrade to a digital. Although I'm not married to this particular brand. And I thought since I'm interested in taking pics of the same things you have on your own site I thought you could help me?

What of the dizzying number of choices of cameras and lens would you recommend to take pics of deers, birds and whales? Plus the occasional beetle. I know you have put a partial general list but based on your personal experience and that of your students what has stood the test? I mean who makes the cameras and lens that in your opinion function well in the field? I am an artist who uses pics mainly for references but who knows in the future.

Thanks again and I appreciate any help you can give this Canadian living in Ontario.

Answer - Since you have a Nikon and some lenses you might want to stay with that so you won't have to get all new lenses. I myself shoot Canon and from what I've read and heard they are further along with advances than the Nikon. I read somewhere that 70% of all digital cameras sold are Canon and I know their research and development is a couple of years ahead of Nikon.

If you like doing birds, and especially birds in flight, you should look for a body that can give you numerous frames per second and a large buffer. Canon now has cameras that do 8.5 frames per second and a 40 shot buffer. I'm not sure what Nikon has in this range. What you get for a body depends on how much you want to spend. You can get something really great in the $3,300 range with the new Canon 5D which has some great capabilities.

As for lenses, the beetle shots can best be made with a good macro lens, something like a 50mm or 100mm macro. With the 50mm you have to get closer to the subject to get a good shot but the cost is a bit less than the 100mm. I have a 100mm and then use other attachments such as extension tubes and teleconverters to increase the magnification by as much to 4:1 life size.

Again, for the wildlife lenses it depends on how much you're able to spend. Some decent adequate lenses for wildlife on the less expensive end are a 100-400mm, a 400 f/5.6 and possible a 300 f/2.8. If you have extra money to spend you can start looking at the 400 f/2.8, 500 f/4 and 600 f/4. These last three start at over $5000 but you can find decent used ones at several locations. For used equipment I check with Hunt's Photo as well as Roberts Imaging (very good for the larger used big lenses).

I hope this helps you out. You'll probably see this discussion again in the newsletter as I sometimes use people's questions and my answers in there as other people might have the same question.

Question - I just read some of your online articles (just joined Apogee) and especially love the one on the Blue Herons. I was lucky to come quite close to one of them on the beach and almost punctured my tush by sitting on a very uncomfortable rock, waiting for him to move. Aren't they beautiful? They are so still, you gotta wonder if they breathe at all. I shot that one in March so his plumage was still a bit pale (compared to the summer colors) but he was sure worth it.

Below is a link to one of them if you want to see. Please bear in mind that the photos were taken the day after I bought my digital SLR so I was a little frazzled, trying to figure it out. I also had just bought my telephoto zoom lens an hour before and didn't have much of a clue what to do with it but boy, that bird was worth 45 mins sitting on a pointy rock.

I checked your website - fantastic photos! If I can be just 10% as good, I'll be happy.

Cheers, keep up the good work.

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=881512&catID=&style=&rowNumber=34&memberID=116019
Liandra,
Vancouver, BC

Answer - Thanks for the e-mail. Glad you liked my apogee articles and photos on my website. Nice shots for just getting out with a new camera and lens. One thing to always keep in mind when doing wildlife - make sure the eye is in focus. If you're able to change the focusing square on your camera keep changing it so that it's located as close to the eye as possible. Just like when you talk with a person and you make eye contact, the same is true when you look at a photo of an animal - you look at the eye. If the eye is out of focus, then the viewer might not bother to look at the rest of the shot with a good feeling about it.

I see you found out about how much photograhy can be a pain. Sometimes we have to get ourselves into precarious positions for a long period of time in order to get a good shot. But it's worth every minute of it just by being close and taking part in a small portion of their life. Getting good shots is the bonus. There have been many times I've watched great action but didn't get shots because they were a little far away to shoot, but watching their behavior helps you the next time you see them and can anticipate what they're going to do so you can get a good shot.

When hunting, herons and several other birds have to stand motionless so what they're going to try and catch can't tell they're there. Their long thin legs resemble branches or twigs in the water so their prey can't tell a predator is standing there waiting for them to swim by and grab them. Mostion could give them away so they have become very adept at standing there for a long time without moving.

Try to get as much practice in with your equipment and the more you use it the better you'll get.

Keep in touch and whenever you have a question don't hesitate to contact me. I respond to all questions but sometimes it takes a little longer to get back than other times.

PHOTO GALLERY UPDATE
I have updated my photo gall ery to include images from around Alaska from my workshops and roaming in June and July as well as some baby blackbirds.

PHOTO MOUNTING
Want to try something different in the presentation of your images? Picture This Superior, based in Lafayette, CO, has a great process for mounting images on board and then adding a special UV protection on top of the final presentation. If you're doing art shows this is a great alternative to framing. The final product is quite impressive. For a promo piece about the company click here. To go to their web site click here. Besides being a great product, the prices are also quite reasonable. If you're a reseller and have a tax license, you pay half the amount that's advertised on their website - you just need to send them a copy of your license. In addition to the mounting services, the can also make prints from your digitial files or slides. The have two printers, Chromira and Noritsu that are used by the top digital labs in the country and prices better than most. When you contact Rick, the owner, let him know you heard about their services from me.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

October 2005

DELKIN PRODUCTS - First Light now carries the full line of Delkin Products ranging from all compact flash cards to pop up shades to media storage devices. Contact for pricing information.

DIGITAL CORNER
With more and more people switching over to the digital world, I'm going to try and include some information and tips to help make the transition a little easier. And for those who have been shooting digital awhile, there's always something else you can pick up to help with getting the most out of your camera.

Camera RAW - While you get more photos on a card shooting in jpeg mode, you'll find you get much better quality when shooting in RAW mode. While most people won't be needing the larger files for making extremely large prints there are other advantages to shooting in this mode. The best of these is that when shooting in RAW you have much great exposure latitude and you have the capability of recovering overexposed highlights. Make sure you expose for the highlights as you can recover up to a full stop in Photoshop when shooting in RAW mode.

A word about using the histograms and setting parameters when shooting in RAW. The overexposure warning and histogram views on the camera is for the jpeg file only. Don't fully rely on these when shooting in RAW. You can use them as a baseline but it's better to just view the image on the LCD screen and make adjustments from there. Creating a parameter set - contrast, sharpness, saturation, color tone - when shooting RAW is not necessary as these really only work when using the jpeg mode. By using these you can also lose some of the detail in the resulting image.

Hopefully you will find this information useful. Look for more information regarding digital and Photoshop tips in future editions. As always, if you have a question please feel free to contact me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. It'll probable end up in the newsletter as well so others can maybe pick up something new.

RECENT Q&A

The following are some recent questions I've received I thought I'd include in the newsletter as others might have the same questions or concerns. If anyone has a photo or equipment related question feel free to ask as I'll answer every e-mail I get and try to help out with your question.

QUESTION - I saw your ad in Nature Photographer and I thought I would follow up and email you. I currently have a Nikon film camera but I want to upgrade to a digital. Although I'm not married to this particular brand. And I thought since I'm interested in taking pics of the same things you have on your own site I thought you could help me?

What of the dizzying number of choices of cameras and lens would you recommend to take pics of deers, birds and whales? Plus the occasional beetle. I know you have put a partial general list but based on your personal experience and that of your students what has stood the test? I mean who makes the cameras and lens that in your opinion function well in the field? I am an artist who uses pics mainly for references but who knows in the future.

Thanks again and I appreciate any help you can give this Canadian living in Ontario.

ANSWER - Since you have a Nikon and some lenses you might want to stay with that so you won't have to get all new lenses. I myself shoot Canon and from what I've read and heard they are further along with advances than the Nikon. I read somewhere that 70% of all digital cameras sold are Canon and I know their research and development is a couple of years ahead of Nikon.

If you like doing birds, and especially birds in flight, you should look for a body that can give you numerous frames per second and a large buffer. Canon now has cameras that do 8.5 frames per second and a 48 shot buffer. I'm not sure what Nikon has in this range. What you get for a body depends on how much you want to spend. You can get something really great in the $3,300 range with the new Canon 5D which has some great capabilities.

Again, for the wildlife lens it depends on how much you're able to spend. Some adequate lenses for wildlife on the less expensive end are a 100-400mm, a 400 f/5.6 and possibly a 300 f/2.8. If you have extra money to spend you can start looking at the 400 f/2.8, 500 f/4 and 600 f/4. These last three start at over $5000 but you can find decent used ones at several locations. For used equipment I check with Hunt's Photo as well as Roberts Imaging (very good for the larger used big lenses).

QUESTION - I just read some of your online articles (just joined Apogee) and especially love the one on the Blue Herons. I was lucky to come quite close to one of them on the beach and almost punctured my tush by sitting on a very uncomfortable rock, waiting for him to move. Aren't they beautiful? They are so still, you gotta wonder if they breathe at all. I shot that one in March so his plumage was still a bit pale (compared to the summer colors) but he was sure worth it.

Below is a link to one of them if you want to see. Please bear in mind that the photos were taken the day after I bought my digital SLR so I was a little frazzled, trying to figure it out. I also had just bought my telephoto zoom lens an hour before and didn't have much of a clue what to do with it but boy, that bird was worth 45 mins sitting on a pointy rock. Blue heron photo link.

I checked your website - fantastic photos! If I can be just 10% as good, I'll be happy. Cheers, keep up the good work.

ANSWER - Glad you liked my Apogee articles and photos on my website. Nice shots for just getting out with a new camera and lens. One thing to always keep in mind when doing wildlife - make sure the eye is in focus. If you're able to change the focusing square on your camera keep changing it so that it's located as close to the eye as possible. Just like when you talk with a person and you make eye contact, the same is true when you look at a photo of an animal - you look at the eye. If the eye is out of focus, then the viewer might not bother to look at the rest of the shot with a good feeling about it.

When hunting, herons and several other birds have to stand motionless so what they're going to try and catch can't tell they're there. Their long thin legs resemble branches or twigs in the water so their prey can't tell a predator is standing there waiting for them to swim by and grab them. Motion could give them away so they have become very adept at standing there for a long time without moving.

Try to get as much practice in with your equipment and the more you use it the better you'll get.

QUESTION - My Flash Trax's picture has died and Iam looking for a replacement. Have you heard anything about Digital Partner storage devices. They are a lot more inexpensive but I can't find anything about them. Thanks for your time responding.

ANSWER -I haven't head of a Flash Trax doing that before. You might want to contact them as from what I've heard they are one of the better one's on the market. Another option is to get a Lacie portable hard disk drive you attach to a laptop to load your files on. Other things you can look at are the Epson P2000 40 gig - $479. It has a viewer. There is a device that doesn't have a viewer and costs quite a bit less, a Wolverine. A 40 gig is $169, 60 gig is $229, 80 gig $259. These prices are from Gary at Hunt's Photo. You can call him at 800-924-8682, X2332.

THAT SPECIAL MOMENT
One of the great things about doing photography is being out there when a special moment happens and everyone around is having a great time. Too often we take our time in the field for granted and it's these times that bring our energy level back up and get the juices flowing. One of these moments happened last week as a friend, Morris McClung, and I were traipsing around western Colorado chasing the fall color.

Throughout the week we had pretty good luck with shooting. Sunday evening we made our way down Castle Creek just north of Aspen near the Maroon Creek Road. The road leads out to an old ghost town. Along the way we explored some side roads that proved to be more than just a diversion. Anyone who has taken a side road just to see what was there can echo the sentiment that more often than not they're better than the main road. This side road was really fun and matched the good shooting on the rest of the road.

Next was the Maroon Bells on Monday morning. The color there was not quite peak but still nice with a small gathering of about 50 people lined up on the shore of Maroon Lake. With no clouds the light on the peak became flat fairly quick but it was still worth the visit, especially seeing that it was my first visit to the Bell's since I moved to Colorado in 1992. With so many places to go and the Bell's being in everyone's photo inventory I never made it a point to have to go. Now that I've been, I'm already planning a visit in winter when they're covered with snow.

Next stop was Ridgway and two nights there with some friends. The Sneffels range and side roads were quite pleasing with the color being mixed around every turn. Some areas were peak while others were as green as green can be. Winding tunnels of aspens along Last Dollar Road made for some fun shooting. Another hidden road suggested by a local will be one that will definately be on the list of stops next year when I'm in the area running my fall color workshop. Sorry, can't divulge it now, you need to come on the trip to find this hidden treasure.

Wednesday morning had us going over Owl Creek Pass on our way to Crested Butte where the weather was not the most cooperative (or so we thought) for our two nights there. Having been to Crested Butte quite a few times leading wildflower trips I had taken lots of mental notes on places where the aspens looked good. The notes paid off as these areas looked great, if the light had cooperated.

The downer of the trip also came here. Anyone who has ever gone up Washington Gulch just before Mt. Crested Butte knows there are some great fields of flowers a couple of miles in with some nice peaks to the north. This has always been a stop on my wildflower trip and was going to be one this time around. But, there's always a but, with new housing going up near this area someone has decided to make this pristine area off limits. There's a trailhead here that was a popular National Forest trail but a new sign over the trail marker states that there is no trespassing and the trailhead is only open for three months during the summer by permission of the owner but it doesn't say who the owner is. Another area nearby that had a nice road that led up and over to a lake has been completely closed by new housing.

It's unfortunate that people who probably will only use these monster houses a few times a year take away access to some of the best shooting in the area. This was two areas within a couple of miles of each other. I imagine this is going on all over the country as well.

After more exploring that day and seeing storm clouds brewing, we decided to check out Kebler Pass and The Dykes. When we first arrived we were the only ones there and there was some nice light on the peaks and the aspens with storm clouds brewing in the background. After doing some more exploring along Kebler Pass we went back up for some potential sunset shooting. The storm clouds has increased and as we and about 8 other photographers were standing there the conversation came up as to which would come first, the light or the rain.

It was shortly after this that the special moment greeted us. All of a sudden there was the faint view of a rainbow coming up out of a section of The Dykes. The intensity of the colors grew as did the size of the rainbow. Shotters were clicking and those with 4X5 cameras were changing film sheets as fast as they could - except one poor person who had a very wide angle lens on. He went and grabbed his 35mm and joined the action. One person couldn't hold in their enthusiasm and was whooping and hollering about the scene that was in front of him. After the rainbow faded and everyone finished shooting, someone there told the excitable person they made the moment even better because of that excitement.

It's amazing that sometimes when we're in the field the light just doesn't want to cooperate with us but then there are those other times when things click to make for that perfect shot. Luckily, this was one of those special times when being at the right place at the right time made for a memorable shoot and some great shots. Think back to some of your special moments out in the field. Everyone should have at least one. Right now I'm thinking about numerous I've had and enjoying the recollections. Isn't it great to be able to have these and then share them with others?

2006 SCHEDULE
My 2006 trip schedule is now available on the website on the Tours page. Check it out as there are some good offerings including a new trip to Southwest Colorado for my annual fall color trip. I'll also be adding a wolf trip for later in the year to northern Minnesota as a television production company in Minnesota wants to follow me around on this trip. Let me know if you're interested in this trip as well.

My scout trip in 2006 for 2007 will be to the northern shore of Alaska for doing the wildlife and other things in the area. Not sure which city it will be but you can count on it having a bunch of great wildlife opportunities. I already have two people who are interested in the trip so state your interest early as this is sure to be a trip you won't find anywhere else.

I have my brochures for the 2006 schedule and if you would like one of these, or several to pass out at your local camera club, let me know and I'll get some sent to you.

NEW WIMBERLEY TRIPOD HEAD
Wimberley will be releasing a new tripod head on November 14. The new head will replace their original head with numerous modifications.

How is the new head different? The new head is approximately 2 inches shorter and one pound lighter than the current model (WH-101). The upright is a permanent mold casting rather than a sand casting. The platform and quick release clamp are a single integral machined piece. The pan base knob has been relocated to the side beneath the tilt axis knob for better accessibility and improved performance and ease of use. This relocation has required a complete redesign of the panning base. The vertical swing arm has a “true” Arca-Swiss style dovetail.

The New Wimberley Head is compatible with the same Arca-Swiss style plates and replacement feet you have been using with your current Wimberley Head. However, there is a compatibility issue with the M-5 Wimberley Head Flash Module.

If you would like for me to mail an order form to you for getting the new head please e-mail me your mailing address and I'll get this off to you. The first production is limited to 250 and these will go to retailers and WPS members so there might be a little delay. Depending on how may orders there are you might get one from the first run.

SUBSCRIBER WEB SITES
If you want others to know about your site, drop me an e-mail and I'll include it in a future issue.

PHOTO CONTESTS

* Global Domain Amateur photo competition put on by the PSA but run by a British organization, the the winners payout in pounds. £3000 for first price and other awards.

* Picture.com Picture.com is awarding over 250 prizes totaling $58,000. The contest is open to everyone and entry is FREE!

November 2005

NEW WIMBERLEY HEAD
Production problems at the new fabrication shop Wimberley is using has caused a delay in the release of the newly redesigned Wimberley head. The latest release date is now December 15th. The first batch of 500 heads will be available shortly after that time. If you'd like to get on the waiting list please contact me as I have a special order form for getting on the list. For those who haven't heard, the new head is two inches shorter and one pound lighter than the original. The panning know if set off to the side and the arm and plate assembly is different. The new head will be well worth the investment of $595. You can also order through me and that will help in getting on the first waiting list.

My major scout trip in 2006 is already scheduled and I have 4 people signed up for the trip in 2007. The trip will be to Barrow, Alaska to do the wildlife of the area. Not sure what month the actual trip will be in 2007 but I'll be doing the scout trip proir to my 2006 bear trip. Some of the wildlife to be found on this trip will include walrus, waterfowl, arctic fox and possible some polar bear (not sure based on when the 2007 trip will be scheduled). With only 2 spots left for the 2007 trip, you might want to plan ahead.

DIGITAL CORNER
This month we'd like to address two of the things a lot of photographers fairly new to digital photography find perplexing. First, why do digital cameras give an apparent magnification and what are the tradeoffs? The apparent magnification of a digital camera starts with the relative size difference between 35 mm film and the electronic sensor used for digital image capture: "35 mm" film has an effective image size of 24 mm high and 36 mm wide for a "horizontal" image. When we photograph something through a lens, we record a certain size image of the subject on the film.

Digital cameras have sensors that vary in size, and except for a few very high end cameras, the sensor is smaller than the 35 mm image size. In the case of the Canon EOS 20D, the sensor is 15 mm high and 22.5 mm wide. If you do a quick calculation you'll see that the dimensions of the 35 mm image are 1.6 times bigger then the digital sensor.

If we assume the same conditions when we photograph the same subject, that is camera to subject distance and focal length of the lens, the image on the digital sensor will be the same size as the image on the film plane. That's just standard photographic optics. But remember the size of the sensor is smaller than the 35 mm film frame.

Now the real impact of digital! The software in the camera enlarges the image to give an equivalent 35 mm image size. In doing so, the software magnifies the image on the sensor by the same amount that is needed to make the image sensor look like the 35 mm image, in our example of the Canon EOS 20D, this is 1.6x.

We now have a l.6x magnification, what did it cost? If we had used a 1.6 teleconverter we'd have lost some of the image because the angle of view would have been decreased as the effective focal length of the lens increased, the same happens with the digital, but in this case, the information that the lens gathered was focused beyond the edges of the sensor so it was lost; the same effect as reduced angle of view. The second thing we lose with a teleconverter is light, namely the effective f stop of the lens is increased by about 1 stop. (f4 to f5.6 for example) In the case of a digital camera, this is not the case. The camera will still show the f stop as the same. BUT, the resolution of the sensor (number of pixels per unit of area) is fixed so a slight increase in what is equivalent to grain will be seen. Digital camera noise reduction software does a very good job of smoothing out this grain effect, so the apparent magnification gained is pretty close to free.

Now let's think about a few other things that may have slipped by in our discussion. First is the aspect ratio. That's a fancy mathematical term for the relative size of the horizontal and vertical dimensions. 24 x 36 or 15 x 22.5 have the same ratio, 2 to 3. This has a real impact in printed image size and can readily explain the popularity of printing image in 8 x 12 size instead of the venerable 8 X 10. 8 X 12 does not require cropping of one dimension. When digital scanning and printing became popular, the long held 8 X 10 dimension was challenged and quickly abandoned.

The second thing to think about is some of the new lenses being marketed. If you look at the magazine adds for some new products, such as Canon EF-S lenses, you'll see a note indicating these lenses are only for digital cameras like the 20D. This is because they focus the image not to a full 24 by 36 mm area but to the size of the image sensor. Remember we said earlier that the equivalent of reduced angle of view was due to the information falling off of the edge of the sensor? This doesn't happen with these new lenses. The effect if these lenses were used with a film camera body, assuming the computer in the camera would allow the photo to be taken, would be a smaller image on the film plane.

Thanks to Bob Dean who wrote this article for the Colorado Urban Wildlife Photo Club newsletter. Be sure to check out the club website at www.couwpc.com for some shots by club members as well as other information.

ON THE ROAD
Late September and all of October was pretty much a non-stop road show. My travels started in Western Colorado doing a scout trip for a new Colorado Fall Color trip in 2006. Plenty of great locations were found that should make the trip next year a great one. While there will be a bit of traveling around hitting numerous locales, the seat time will be well worth it.

Included in my scout trip as well as for the trip next year will be the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen as well as another area nearby. I've lived in Colorado since February 1992 and this was the first time I've ever been to the Maroon Bells if you can believe it. It was one of those things that I'd get there eventually but never took the time to actually go. With having gone, I now plan to go there at other times of the year as well such as during winter for some different type of shots.

If you've never been to this spot, the first rule during fall is to get there well before sunrise. You might have to stand around for a half hour or more but once the crowd of photographers starts showing up you'll find the extra time there was well worth it so you can get the best spot. While it's not quite like Mesa Arch in Canyonlands where there's only two or three places to stand to get the great shot, the prime locations along the shore of Maroon Lake go quickly. The morning I was there about 50 others were lined up with their tripods.

Next on the route was and will be the area around Ouray, Ridgway and Telluride. There are some great back roads with lots of great fall coloir spots. One back road a local told me about that not too many people go will bring a great sunrise spot with Mt. Sneffels in the background for those on the trip next year. After several days here, it was up over Owl Creek Pass to Crested Butte. Kebler Pass outside of town brought about an evening of unbelievable shooting. Storm clouds were rolling in and with light on the mountainside and clouds behind, the lighting was well beyond compare. And then the rainbow appeared, causing everyone there to burn lots of shots. One person shooting 4X5 cranked out about 15 shots it was so good.

After a few days home to catch my breath is was off to North Carolina for my Blue Ridge Parkway workshop. Even though the weather in this area had been unseasonably warm and the colors were going to be about 10 days late, the group had a great time. The six people on this trip were the best group of people I've been around on a trip (no offense to everyone on all the other trips I've led over the years but one has to be the best). The camaraderie was just great and it made for an enjoyable week of shooting.

Even without great color, every session in the field brought about great shooting with plenty of subjects still available. Foggy mornings had us exploring some back roads, finding lone trees in the fog and some nice reflections on a lake. Luckily, one of the spots I raved about there being a great cabin with a red tree behind it happened to be in fine form. A nice waterfall finished up a wekk where those on the trip learned how much there is to an area to photograph when what you went there for doesn't cooperate like you planned. (Look for an article on