Great Places

Great Places / Photo Tips — 4 Comments
30
Aug 10

Preconceptions

I think all of us have planned a photo trip only to come home disappointed with the images we captured. Then we trot out all the usual excuses for why the we didn’t get any great images—the light was poor, the weather was bad, there weren’t any wildflowers, etc., etc. I know I’ve done my share of finding excuses for my images. But the more I learn about photography, the more I’m coming to realize that the most important element in a photograph is me, not the light, not the weather, or anything else.

 

If I set out with my mind set on shooting a particular image or type of image, the more likely I am to be disappointed. No matter how hard I try, nature does not do what I want it to do when I plan to be there. After a lot of disappointing shoots, I’ve come to the conclusion that the problem isn’t nature, it’s me. My preconceived ideas were forcing me to focus on what I wanted to shoot. It blinded me to what nature was doing. Nature is always doing something, but I couldn’t see past my preconceptions.

This point was really driven home this past weekend. I was conducting a photo seminar at St. Vrain State Park, near Longmont, CO. St. Vrain is a great place for bird photography—in the spring. At the end of August, however, it’s a different story. The hatchlings have fledged, so the nests are abandoned, many of the birds have dispersed to other roosting and feeding grounds, and some may have begun their migrations.

I arrived at the park a day early so I could scout out some shooting possibilities for the seminar. I didn’t expect find much, and I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t find much. When we gathered before sunrise for the shoot, I was almost in a panic. There were a dozen people waiting for me to show them how to take great photos where I couldn’t find any. Disaster was about to come crashing down on me like a mountain.

After about 20 minutes of frantically looking for something to shoot, someone stopped me and asked, “What is this plant?” It was a simple milkweed, very common in the area. The flowers were gone, so its only distinguishing feature were several large, knobby seed pods. This woman was totally fascinated by the shape and texture of the pods. Pretty soon, a number of people were photographing milkweed pods. Then they started to notice other things, things that I had overlooked as being too common or not interesting enough.

To make a long story short, these folks found beauty in what nature offered rather than in what they expected to find. They turned out some very impressive photos of what I had considered to be insignificant subjects because I was focused on more glamorous subjects.

It was a very good lesson for all of us. If you’re shooting this Labor Day weekend and can’t find what you want, cast aside your wants and see what nature is offering. The beauty is always there if we’re able to see it.

Good shooting

Frank

Great Places / Photo Tips — No Comments
21
Apr 10

Pasque Flowers on Mt. Falcon

Spring is slowly creeping into the high country. The snow is mostly melted and one of spring’s harbingers has made its appearance in the foothills west of Denver. The Pasque Flowers are beginning to bloom at Mt. Falcon Park. There are a lot of buds showing above the damp ground, but only a few are opening up, so far. As you can see in these shots that I took this morning, the blossoms aren’t fully opened, yet.

Pasque Flower and pine cone

The Pasque Flowers at Mt. Falcon don’t usually get as tall as some at lower elevations, so photographing them takes a little extra effort. I like to get very low, meaning that I was lying on my belly in the pine needles and mud to get down to their level. That makes it easier to throw the background out of focus.

I also like to use extension tubes to allow me to get in really close to the blossoms. Whatever lens you use, you will most likely want to get in as close as you can since these flowers are not very big.

Pasque Flower blossoms just starting to open

With the unsettled weather that we’re having this week, this is an excellent time to photograph wildflowers. The clouds and hazy light provide a nice, soft illumination that really brings out the subtle color variations in flower petals. If we’re lucky, we might even get some morning dew or a few raindrops to add a bit of sparkle to the flowers.

Enjoy.

Frank

Great Places / Photo Tips — 1 Comment
13
Apr 10

How big can a shadow be?

This is one of my favorite examples of the earth's shadow taken at a very dramatic location, Grand Teton National Park.

There’s an interesting phenomenon that most of us have seen, but probably didn’t realize what we were looking at. It happens right before sunrise (for the early birds) and right after sunset (for normal people). A band of pink, transitioning quickly into blue, appears above the opposite horizon. It can be very intense, but usually is fairly subtle. This transition from pink to blue is actually the edge of the earth’s shadow be projected through the atmosphere. The blue is in shadow while the pink is in sunlight.

The earth’s shadow is best seen when the skies are clear. Typically, photographers find clear sky sunrises and sunsets to be rather dull. Clouds make the sky much more interesting. In the arid west, clear skies are more the norm than the exception. So this earth’s shadow is one way to add a little drama to an otherwise uninspiring clear-sky sunrise/set.

Keep an eye out for the earth’s shadow the next time you watch a sunset—and impress your friends with a little natural trivia.

Next time I’ll show you an smaller, albeit unusual, shadow of the earth.

Enjoy

Frank

Great Places / Photo Tips — No Comments
5
Apr 10

Shooting into the Wind

If you haven’t noticed the 30-40 mph winds we’ve been having through much of Colorado, especially the Front Range, the past week or so, you really have been working too hard. As a nature photographer, I tend to dislike the wind. Everything is bouncing around, even your camera (beware your tripod doesn’t blow over). I like my trees, flowers and grasses to be still and sharp. But there’s another approach to photographing in the wind. Use the wind motion to create abstract images. Tim Fitzharris discusses this briefly in the April issue of Popular Photography magazine. It’s worth reading along with other points on making spectacular wildflower images.

American White Pelican

I’ve found another way to use the wind to my advantage—birds. They are heavily influenced by the wind, particularly the large soaring birds, like hawks, herons, pelicans, ravens, to name a few. I wouldn’t try it with small songbirds, but it can help with swallows flying at warp speed. I’ve found the marina at Cherry Creek State Park is good place to capture soaring birds. What wind does for you, is slow them down, provided that they’re flying into the wind. At times it can even hold them nearly motionless in the air. It gives you a little more time to compose and shoot some great shots. On the other hand, if they’re flying with the wind, they’re bullets.

Experiment a little and try shooting into the wind. You might be surprised at the results.

Enjoy,

Frank

Great Places — 2 Comments
20
Mar 10

Sandhill Fashion Trend

As long as I’ve been photographing sandhill cranes in the San Luis Valley, there is one phenomenon that I’ve always wanted to see. To avoid predators, the cranes spend the night standing in the water. This time of year, the nighttime temperatures usually get below freezing. It isn’t cold enough for the open water to freeze over, but it is cold enough for ice to form along the edges. When the cranes are standing in the water, their legs create an edge on which ice can form. Come morning, the cranes are wearing ice bracelets on their legs.

Sandhill crane wearing ice bracelets

At least that’s what I’ve been told. Try as I might, I have never been able to observe this phenomenon. This trip was no exception. I still did not see any ice bracelets. That is, until I got home. As I was editing the photos that I took I noticed something strange around several of the cranes’ legs. After enlarging the images and searching each leg very carefully, I found a crane with some very nice ice bracelets. This is so cool.

Closeup of ice bracelets

I got so excited I just had to share my discovery of the sandhill’s ice bracelets.

If you’re wondering why they’re only on one leg, it’s because cranes frequently stand on one leg with the other folded up in their feathers. If I were standing in freezing water all night, I’d probably try to stand on one leg, too.

Enjoy

 Frank

Equipment / Great Places / Photo Tips — No Comments
17
Mar 10

A Camera in the Hand…

The weather here in the San Luis Valley has been fantastic, although not necessarily the best for photography. There hasn’t been a cloud in the sky, so scenic shots aren’t very dramatic. But the 50 degree temps are easy on the photographer. I don’t think the cranes are complaining, either. The cranes are making sure that they are photographed in good light–early morning and late afternoon. They are most active in the early morning, right after sunup. They do a lot of preening and mostly they’re taking to the air in search of suitable feeding grounds. During the day, they’re mostly interested in feeding. With their heads down, they look like featureless lumps of gray feathers. They don’t move around too much so they’re not too exciting for photos. In the evenings, they head back to the marshy areas where they spend the night standing in the icy water to deter predators.

Precision flying

All of the photos I’ve posted here were taken within an hour of sunrise. Fortunately, this time of year it’s easy to get out early. Because we just changed to daylight savings time, the sun doesn’t come up until about 7:10. Last week, it came up at 6:10.

I find the shots of the cranes flying to be the most fun and the most challenging. I end up throwing out most of these shots. The biggest problem is composition. It’s tough composing on a fast moving object, especially if there are several birds flying together. This is where digital cameras shine. You can shoot a lot and easily throw out the bad ones. Fortunately, the cranes are big birds and their incredible numbers provide ample opportunity to get that good shot.

Flocks of cranes take to the skies at sunrise.

One question that comes up is whether to hand hold the camera or mount it on a tripod. I’ve tried both. Even with vibration reduction on my lens, I find my images aren’t quite as sharp as I’d like when I hand hold the camera. By mounting the camera on the tripod, but not clamping the ball head down so it can move freely in all directions, I usually get a sharper image. I also turn off the vibration reduction. I guess I’m just too shaky. Try both and see what works best for you.

Enjoy

Frank

Great Places / Uncategorized — 1 Comment
16
Mar 10

Crane Spectacular

I slipped out of town right behind the snowstorm we had Sunday night heading for the San Luis Valley for one of springs mystic rituals. Mid-march marks the annual migration of the sandhill cranes through the San Luis Valley. Every year the entire Rocky Mountain population of about 20,000 sandhill cranes migrates through the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge en route to their northern breeding grounds. I’ve seen an incredible number of cranes, but I don’t know if I’ve seen all 20,000 since I quit counting at 100.

Sandhill cranes, Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

These are large birds, 3-4 feet tall with a wingspan of 6 feet. Seeing the sky filled with thousands of these birds reminds me of the flying monkey scene in the Wizard of Oz. They’re literally everywhere. And their tooting call reverberates across the valley, particularly right after sunrise.

Sandhill cranes

If you live in Colorado and have never witnessed the crane migration, you truly are deprived. This mass migration is one of nature’s spectacles that lift the spirit. And it is but a fraction of what it was before the valley was settled. What an indescribable tragedy it would be if it were lost.

The cranes will probably be here for another week or two, then they’re gone until next year.

Enjoy

Frank

Great Places — 2 Comments
5
Mar 10

Spring is sneaking up on us

If you look closely, you can see that winter’s cloak is getting a little threadbare. Even here at 8500 feet in the Colorado Rockies, winter’s grip is slipping. Sure, we’ll still get more snow, but it warms up quickly and the snow doesn’t last. And you know what that means—wildflowers! I know, it’s only March, but the Pasque Flowers will be appearing on the plains this month and in another month Colorado’s foothills will be sprouting these early wildflowers.

Pasque Flower about to open

Named because they appear around Easter time, these lavender to purple beauties are fairly easy to find since they’re about the only wildflower blooming at this time. Being large, about 2” across, you don’t need major macro lenses to get good, close photos.

You can find Pasque Flowers in open areas in the foothills all along the Front Range. One of my favorite places is Mt. Falcon Park, west of Morrison. Sometimes you can find them poking through recent snows, making for an interesting image of winter snow and spring flowers.

Keep an eye on this blog for tips on how to photograph wildflowers.

Start thinking spring.

Frank

Great Places — No Comments
20
Feb 10

Black & White in Color

One of the things I love about winter is the absence of color. Don’t get me wrong, I love a colorful field of wildflowers or a dramatic sunset as much as anyone, but winter offers a unique opportunity to experience black and white photos without having convert color images to black & white. This photo was shot last week in South Park—in color. I have done nothing to convert it to black & white. This is the scene as it was presented by Mother Nature.

In all fairness, I have to give credit for this image where credit is due. I was shooting with a with a talented photographer, Lauren Bucholz, and she is the one who actually found this little gem. I had noticed that she was hunkered down on her hands and knees for quite a while, so I wandered over to see what was so interesting. She graciously allowed me to share in her discovery. I think you’ll agree, she has a great eye. You can see more of her work at Natural Visions.

Just because it’s cold and dreary out, the trees are bare and everything is shades of gray, don’t bury your camera in the closet until spring. Winter offers an incredible wealth of opportunities to see the world in a different light.

Great Places — 4 Comments
14
Feb 10

Lilliputian Frost Forest

Lilliputian Frost Forest

I have just returned from a few days in beautiful South Park, CO. One thing that they really got right in the South Park cartoon series is the cold. The warmest temperatures while I was there was about 25o F which was downright balmy after early morning lows of -21o F. Most of us don’t really enjoy being outdoors when it is that cold and I must confess that I had a hard time going out when it was that frigid, but there are some benefits. Unusual weather makes for some unusual photographs. In spite of the severe temperatures there were portions of the South Platte River that were not frozen over. Mist rises off that warm water (warm is relative) and freezes when it comes in contact with that bitter cold air, resulting in delicate frost crystals on everything it touches. A Lilliputian frost forest grows everywhere, including the ice on the river.

 Keep an eye on this blog as I’ll be sharing a few other gems from this trip soon.

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