Join me with special friends Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito on our exploratory trip for a Texas Bird worksop next spring…

Bird photography at the the ranches in South Texas is legendary in its ability to produce the highest quality bird images that you can imagine. It is the kind of photography where you end up throwing out “keepers” because you just have sooo many of them! I’ve been there and photographed a lot and have always meant to add the trip to my workshop schedule. I never put it on my schedule because none of the ranches had the facilities that I deemed important. Now that has changed, I’ve found the perfect spot, great species diversity, great facilities and a willingness to work with us to get great images, so it is going on the schedule for next year.

Wait, what 2013? Yes 2013! Here is the thing, I’ve spoken to the owners, I’ve spoken to others that have been there, I’ve seen the images and it all looks perfect, BUT, I’ve never been there. One of my rules and one of them that I will never break, is that I will not lead a workshop someplace that I’ve not been. You are paying for my expertise and I cannot be an “expert” on a location without that first hand knowledge. If you are still reading you are likely wondering at least two things! First, why are you telling me this now? Simple, we are inviting 3 guests to come along on the facility review and shoot with us. It won’t be a workshop, no formal instructions, and we’ll likely shoot more than you! Of course, we’ll still help you out and answer your questions, but there will not be any sort of classroom or that sort of thing. It’s a great opportunity to see behind the curtain and get some insight about how we work on getting the best possible images. I can fill one of the 3 spots and then will take a waiting list. First one to send payment is locked in…

Second question, you keep saying “we” it is normally just “you”, what gives? There is a bonus co-leader on the trip! The incomparable Denise Ippolito will be co-leading the trip with me next year. She is a remarkable photographer, the best flower photographer that I know and kicks all sorts of photography ass in general. The reason there will be two if us, is we will split in to two groups on the workshop because of space constraints in the blinds.  This way both groups will always have an instructor with them!

Details

May 14-17, 2012
We are going to Texas May 14 and leaving on the 17th. You should plan to arrive in McAllen (MFE) at 4PM on the 14th. We will be leaving on the 17th at 1:30PM. We’ll photograph the 15th and 16th as well as the morning of the 17th.

Only 3 people will be able to participate and the fee will be $999. This includes, ranch access and shared accommodations. It does not include meals. Due to the short time frame, payment in full is due at the time of your reservation.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? BOOK IT? Email me, jeffwendorff@gmail.com

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You can see all of my hummingbird images and order prints…HERE.

Add your name to my mailing list and let me know if you have interest in a hummingbird photography workshop, you never know!. Join the mailing list…HERE.

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Birds of Prey – that’s what this workshop is all about, those magnificent avian predators that we all love to photograph. In conjunction with The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey, Wildlife Workshops will provide you a unique opportunity too not only see, but to photograph these incredible animals. On this workshop you will be able to photograph eagles, falcons, hawks, and even an owl in natural settings. You would have to travel the world and spend countless hours and tens of thousands of dollars just to see some of these birds, and on this workshop you’ll get intimate portraits as well as opportunities for dynamic flight shots! Did I mention the Harpy Eagle? Oh, yes my friends one of the largest and most magnificent birds in the world will be posing for your camera!

At a Glance

• Location: Boise, ID
• Arrive by: 6 PM October 12, 2012
• Depart: October 17, 2012
• Cost: $1895 – Pay before August 15 and save $300!
• Participants: 12 max, 6 min
• Contact: Email Jeff
• Download: Birds of Prey PDF

Full Details…HERE.

Register…HERE.

Here are the types of images that you can expect to take on the workshop!

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My idea for the image was to take this very graphic owl photograph and add a forest texture to give the illusion of the owl in a forest. This is already a departure from the normal approach, where you add a texture layer to grunge, or tint an image in some artistic way. See my original post via Denise Ippolito for a refresher on this concept. My original high key image had no background per se and although I love it as it, I always want more. Don’t we all? I didn’t have the right foresty image to use as a texture and so I looked through some of the stock texture images that you can find online. Most of these images I found would work fine if I just wanted to composite my owl in to a forest. I was wanting something more artistic. My moral compass on modifying images moves rather freely with the only real no-no, is putting a subject in a different setting. I’m OK with “fixing” wing tips and feet and other Photoshop gardening, but I don’t like huge additions or subtractions that make the viewer think this is what I saw and photographed when it was not. An artistic and obviously no longer photo real presentation is fair game for anything you can dream up…

Since I could not find the image(s) I needed for plan A, I went veering off course with plan b. I decided to use another very graphic image of a forest in the fall that I made with a vertical blur technique in camera.

Since this was going to end up being very graphic, I wanted to punch up the colors so I used the Brilliance/Warmth filter in Nik Software’s  Color EFEX Pro 4 to punch it up.

I added the texture layer to my image and I experimented with the Blending Options and found multiply was the best choice for this project. I also felt like the forest was too dominant and my owl looked like he was in jail and not in a forest.

I took the jail bars err, I mean the trees out of the forest. Can we still call it a forest? Goodness, but Content Aware Fill in Photoshop may be the awesomest gardening tool ever!

I also felt like the original owl composition was wrong for the “forested” look I wanted so, I reversed things and I added the owl on top of the forest.

Fortunately my image was high key and so I could knock out the white with the Blending Options menu and use Blend if Grey slider to get rid of the white background. This gave me a much smoother blend. I suppose I could have just gone back and used the un-cropped version of the owl here, but then I could not have told you how to do in Photoshop.

Much better, but now that my owl is flying in the forest, the perch that he was landing on is a distraction…clone tool to the rescue.

Hmm, OK now what can I do to it. I think it is still a bit flat and so, I’m going to add some more depth by using a another Photoshop filter from Fractalius. Play, play, and then play some more here. This filter is super easy, but the effects are quite variable and a bit unpredictable. The key lessons, use a layer and the opacity slider is your best friend.

I actually really like this crazy version, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do today. I tamed it by setting the opacity  to 28%. In doing so, the Fractalius layer had the unexpected, but welcome effect of bringing back the forest!

I still wasn’t done playing…my inner child was on a role of 3rd grade proportions! Let’s see what my filters from Topaz labs can do to it. I actually did have a plan and that was to brighten it up and see if I could get a bit more depth. I used their Micro Contrast Enhancement Filter found in Topaz Details 2. I just went default here, there are a zillion options, but I was already happy with what I got.

One more quick adjustment in Photoshop, I tweaked it a bit more with levels, curves and vibrance…

Lastly….I signed it!

This technique is on the advanced side of the spectrum, but if you have a working knowledge of Photoshop, you should be able to make it work for you. Of course, I’ve also used several filters that are not free and that makes this one out of reach for the casual fan to play along.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave a comment, I answer them all.

I was with my pal John Cornell and while we didn’t find any rarities, we got a few species for the portfolio.

If you’d like to order prints and/or see more of my bird photography, you can do that…HERE.

One thing that you will notice in the gallery is that I took the time to photograph other parts of the beach. Eventually when I put this together as a collection of images, having these “extra” images will greatly enhance the story that you are telling…

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Here is a map of the area showing you where I made these images.

Leave me a comment if you have a better collective noun for a group of shorebirds! Or just to say, Hi…

I hope you enjoy this Bowl of Roseate Spoonbills…yes that is the way cool collective noun for the spoonbill! Love that one!

You can see all of my spoonbill images as well as order prints…HERE. You can read about all of my photography at the Houston Audubon Society’s Bird Refuge on High Island…HERE.

In case you were curious:

• Their horny bill is equipped with sensitive touch receptors that detect vibrations given off by prey.
• spoonbill’s nostrils are located at top of the bill, making it possible for the bird to breathe while the bill is under water
• In the early 20th century, there were only a few dozen nesting pairs of roseate spoonbills on this continent. Conservation efforts have been successful.

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Share the boardwalk and facilities with the bird watchers and others enjoying the spectacle at the rookery. The map below will show you where I was photographing the “spoonies”.

You can see all of my cormorant images and order prints…HERE. I wrote a blog post about my trip to High Island and the Smith Oaks Rookery…HERE.

In case you were curious:

• the only cormorant known to plunge-dive into water to catch fish
• fish cooperatively, forming a line across swift-flowing streams and striking the surface with their wings
• Wingspan: 40.2 in (102 cm) Weight: 37.7–52.9 oz (1070–1500 g)
• Alternate Names: Olivaceous Cormorant, Brazilian Cormorant, Mexican Cormorant

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You can find the rookery from this map. Please be courteous to the birds and other photographers. The area is small and can be crowded…be a good sport about sharing!

I’ve written about the trip…HERE, but wanted to share some more images than were in that post. Enjoy!

You can see my egret portfolio and order prints…HERE.

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Here is the map that will show you where the rookery is located. There are signs on the Island that will direct you as well. It is a small place, so respect the other photographers and birders.

I went with the intent of photographing migrating warblers, alas it seems I was about a week early, so I was “forced” to photograph the birds at the Smith Oaks Rookery. I say forced because the birds there were mostly Great Egrets and I have a portfolio full of egrets and well, just didn’t think I wanted more. Yes, I am bird photography snob. However, the one thing that happens when you are in a situation like this is that you are able to experiment with different ideas for images. There are a zillion (Ok, not really) birds and they do the same thing over and over again. If you “miss” the shot, you can probably get it again the next time around.

My biggest piece of advice, play with shots and get creative…get out of the box!

For some reason the spoobills were always trying to land on this twig. I finally got one with the right “expression”. By that I mean, there was eye contact and the bill and more importantly the eyes were not intersected by the twigs.

Because this is a rookery, birds were always coming and going. I was watching for a group of spoonbills, so that I could get a flock flying in to the rookery. You want all sorts of images for your portfolio, so that your images tell the story of the rookery. Grab, singles, pairs, behavior shots etc and not just tight portraits.

This rookery is situated such that the sun is behind the rookery in the morning. This is a golden (sorry!) opportunity for silhouette shots. Play with these in post process to really make them pop.

When you are at a rookery it is always a good idea to spend some time just watching, yes you may miss a shot, but it will pay off with some gems. I noticed as these cormorants aggressively defended “their” perch. I waited for birds to make an approach and fired in rapid bursts to catch the action. I ignored everything else so as not to be distracted, this was the shot that I wanted!

I’ve seen egrets fight in the air over prime nesting space. I was always watching for the action to start. Once they get in the air these fights can last a minute or so giving you time to get in on the action.

The other artsy sort of thing that I like when the opportunity arises is the pan blur. The idea is to use a somewhat slow shutter speed and then pan at the same speed that the your subject is moving. The tricky part is to get at least the eye in focus. As you can see it looks like the cormorant is flying super fast, wait it was! Well it makes the background blurred in motion with the bird. Fun effect, when you get one. BTW, 1 in 25 would be considered very good for this technique!

I hope these tips help you make some fun images during your next visit to a rookery. It can be a very rewarding photography session as long as you think about what you want and take a few minutes to watch and learn the rythm of the place…

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know, leave a comment. I answer them all.

I drove the back roads between Houston and Austin looking for flowers and was amazed by the carpets of flowers. I am sure that the heart if wildflower country around Fredericksburg was spectacular, I really didn’t have time to go that far, but I was pleased with what I found.

I used a combination of gear to create the images. You need a wide-angle for the grand vista images and then a telephoto lens to pick out the more intimate shots.  A fast (2.8) lens will let you control the depth of field and isolate flowers from the background for that dreamy creamy smooth background.

You can see more of my flowers and order prints…HERE.

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You can see where I found the flowers on this map. Everything was easily accessible from “safe” to pull off of the road areas.

I’m working on the details for this years workshops, so stay tuned or subscribe to my newsletter…HERE.

You can see my portfolio of images and order prints…HERE.

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My birds of prey workshops are tpically in Montana or Idaho. These birds were from Idaho as you can see from the map below.

A benefit of taking one of my birds pf prey workshops is that we get to photograph these amazing animals in great light and great settings with great results..really it’s just great! All of these owls are being cared for by a rehab facility and their damages were too substantial to allow them to be re-released and so they’ve become ambassadors to teach people about the wonderful world of owls.

You can read more about my Birds of Prey workshops…HERE.

You can see my portfolio of owl images and order prints…HERE.

In case you were curious:

• Great Horned Owls are the only predator that routinely eats skunks
• Great Gray Owls  can crash through snow that could support the weight of an 180lb (82 kg) person
• Saw-Whet’s got their name because when they call it sounds like a saw being whet or sharpened.

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My birds of prey workshops are tpically in Montana or Idaho. These owls were from Montana as you can see from the map below.

This particular hawk is quite famous in Boise, Idaho as he is a wildlife ambassador at the Peregrine Fund. His name is Griffon and his falconer/mother Trish are quite attached to each other. You can visit the center in the fall and watch her fly him around the property. Or better yet, you can sign up for my workshop at the center and we’ll work to get you images like these for your portfolio. Details for the workshop will be…HERE

You can see more of my hawk photos (including Griffon) and order prints…HERE.

In case you were curious:

• migrating flocks sometimes number into the thousands
• the longest migrations of any American raptor – from Canada to Argentina – 10,000 miles!
• monogamous species, with the males spending up to two weeks building the nest
• Length: 18.9–22 in (48–56 cm) Weight: 24.4–48.2 oz  (693–1367 g)

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I’m a bit behind in posting these shots, but I think I finally have all of them properly identified. It is important, vitally so, that you ID all of your images accurately. There is nothing worse than submitting images for publication and discover that you’ve made a mistake!

You can see more of my butterflies and insects as well as order prints…HERE.

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This is an advanced process and does require a working knowledge of Photoshop CS.

In this mini-tutorial Denise will walk you through some creative texturing applications as well as multiple filtering applications to bring your textured images to life. You will learn how to blend an image with the right textures as well as some highlighting techniques that will help you create an artistic stylized image.

Choosing the Texture

You should generally, Ok always in my opinion, choose a texture that matches or compliments the features of the image. In other words, don’t use a strong pattern on a dainty flower. Similarly, don’t use colors that are more dominant than the color pallet in the image. We are trying to compliment the image with additional textures and colors, not overwhelm the image. Don’t confuse strong contrast with strong colors. Contrast can be used with great effect.

When you choose a texture think outside the box. Remember that not only are you going to change your image, but you can also change the features of the texture you are going to use. For example, if your image has strong horizontal lines and the texture that you really want to use has vertical lines, just rotate the texture image to match what you want. The same goes for hues in the texture image. If you need azure not teal, just tweak the texture image rather than trying to find a “perfect” match.

Applying the Texture

OK, now let’s have some fun…!

Open the image and the texture in Photoshop and tile the images.

Drag the texture on top of the image. The original image should now be the Background Layer and the texture will be Layer 1.

Adjust the size and position of the texture layer so that it covers your image completely.

Now that you have the texture layer on top of the base image you can begin to experiment with the Blend Modes. This is somewhat of a trail and error phase so experiment with all of them. Multiply, Soft Light and Overlay are the ones that I use most often.

Fine Tuning Your Art

Usually you will want to reveal some details form the image. Add a layer mask to the top layer and start by using a soft brush set to 40% opacity and feathering it outward by starting at the center of your subject.

Finishing the Art

Add a new Layer and then apply filters to the image.

Filter>Distort>Diffuse Glow

Start with settings Graininess 0, Glow Amount 1, Clear Amount 9. Experiment with these number with your image. I often adjust the opacity level or even a new blending mode to get an effect that I find pleasing. Remember you are the only that has to be happy, have fun with and play with the settings.

Add another new Layer and apply some light.

Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Start with Light Type Omni, Intensity Slider 35, Focus 40. As with this whole adventure in the world of textures: experiment, experiment and experiment!

Before and After Image Gallery

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Resources

Shadow House Creations has a ton of free textures on their website. http://shadowhousecreations.blogspot.com/

RADLAB has a plugin called “Dirty Pictures” that will automate the process of adding the textures. It is $149 and available on their website. http://www.gettotallyrad.com/products/dirty-pictures/

Denise Ippolito shares more tutorials as well as her workshops and eBooks on her website. http://deniseippolito.smugmug.com/

Some key new features.

• Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights.
• Photo book creation with easy-to-use elegant templates.
• Location-based organization lets you find and group images by location, assign locations to images, and display data from GPS-enabled cameras.
• White balance brush to refine and adjust white balance in specific areas of your images.
• Additional local editing controls let you adjust noise reduction and remove moiré in targeted areas of your images.
• Extended video support for organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to video clips.
• Easy video publishing lets you edit and share video clips on Facebook and Flickr®.
• Soft proofing to preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.
• Email directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.

You can read about the new version and order Lightroom from Adobe by clicking…HERE.

At number 10 – Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum

I’ve included this one because my friend David Middleton had a waxwing image that he took from his kitchen window and was always bragging about it. I know it may be bad karma, but now he can’t brag about his anymore…

At number 9 – Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus

This was a great story during the beginning of 2011 with the birth of a new eagle on Tierra Verde, Florida. I watched for weeks and captured a lot of images of this circle of life. This one was a particular favorite from them all. You can read about the whole encounter…HERE.

At number 8 – American White Ibis, Eudocimus albus

I can never stress enough during my workshops how important getting low is. You really want to be at eye level to get the most impact. In this shot I am actually knee high to an Ibis and that is low!

At number 7 - Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

It may seem like I am picking on David (Middleton) again, but I like to do that when I can! If you know David this is one of those he was right, but he was wrong and you might guess which way l chose to tell the story. You can read it…HERE.

At number 6 – Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis

One thing that you will find if you pursue bird photography is that the hardest thing to photograph is the most common of birds. Mostly because everyone with a camera has already photographed the beast and so finding that unique look is hard to do. I am always looking for that moment and I think I found it with this one. The backlight on the feathers and in particular the bill along with a dramatic near black background made this one really stand out in my 2011 bird photographs.

At number 5 - Coppery-headed Emerald, Elvira cupreiceps and Green-crowned Brilliant, Heliodoxa jacula

I made my first of what I hope is many trips to Costa Rica and these hummingbirds were among the many treasures that I brought home. We were setup with perches of our choosing and I liked this exotic heliconia for them to feed on. You can read more about how to setup hummingbird photography in your backyard in an article that I wrote…HERE.

At number 4 - Blue-grey Tanager, Thraupis episcopus

This parent feeding the chick image is also from Costa Rica. August was a good time to be there as we saw this scene played out several times. Fortunately with digital you can shoot a lot of frames to get just the right moment with good separation of the interaction between the birds.

At number 3 - Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni

During my Birds of Prey Workshop we had this great hawk as one of our subjects. It is a falconry trained bird and we were able to free fly her and that was just awesome. This image was selected as the cover image for The Peregrine Fund. This workshop will be held again in early October of 2012. Details will be post…HERE.

At Number 2 - Least Tern, Sterna antillarum

I’ve always said, “I would rather be lucky than good!” and this one is a perfect example. I had just focused on the tern on the ground and not yet zoomed in tight when the second tern came flying in over the top of me at just the right moment!

And finally at Number 1 - Scintillant Hummingbird, Selasphorus scintila

Another image from Costa Rica is this hummingbird. It is rather special species bing the second smallest hummingbird in the world, behind the Bumblebee Hummingbird and endemic to Costa Rica. This bird is only about 2.5″ (6.35 cm) and to give you an idea of scale the Verbena cluster is about the size of a quarter! I only saw this one a couple of times and only took about 5 frames and that is why I’ve nominated it as my favorite bird image of 2011.

So, what was your favorite?

I encourage all of you to join or at least buy the calendar and support their good work.

The calendar will be available soon and you can learn more on their website…HERE.

I found that when I was importing my images I was making the same small tweaks to the image mostly adding a touch of black, maybe clarity, maybe saturation…you get the idea. I was always just giving them a bit more pop. I’ve used the camera profiles in the past, usually when I really needed help to fix an image I’d mangled in camera. When looking at the profiles supplied by Adobe, I discovered that I really prerferred the “Camera Standard” setting vs the “Adobe Standard” setting. If you shoot with other brand cameras the name might be different, I think that “Camera Faithful” is what the Canon setting says. At any rate, I’ve now changed the default setting so Lightroom and ACR in Photoshop apply my preferred setting to all images on import.

This small change really adds up when you are editing hundreds of images. And since I shoot in RAW, if I don’t like it I can always change it back.

I made this short video to show you how it works, not that I am lazy or anything, but it sure was easier than typing!

This gallery has all of the images from the video. The only change was to the camera profile and a bit of a crop. They are labeled with the setting that I used for each.

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These birds are in the same family as blackbirds and orioles. You can see all of Oropendola images and order prints…HERE.

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