1. Shoot Big!

With digital photography there is no penalty for shooting a bit bigger (zooming out a scrunch) than you normally would. In other words, you don’t have to exactly frame your shot because it is so much more precise to crop in your computer than in your camera. Your camera crops proportionally-every side moves in or out when you zoom in or out. In the computer, you can crop just one side of the picture. You all know this but you still frame up your pictures too tightly. If there is something you don’t like on one side of your picture what do you do? you zoom in to cut it out or you change your composition to get rid of it. What do I do? I’ll take the picture including the bad spot and then when I am processing the image on my laptop I’ll crop just what I need to cut out and leave the rest alone.

2.Digital photography is the process of capturing data.

Remember, when you take a picture all you are doing is capturing data. You still have to process it, just like in the old film days. Processing happens in your computer. So don’t be overly critical with the image you see on the back of your camera. Be critical of the data- your histogram, your depth of field, your point of focus, your shutter speed, your ISO. If these are all good you will be able to process the image into the best it can be.

3. Find your compositions hand held.

The first thing my students generally do when they get to a location is to grab their tripods, extend the legs,pick a lens, mount their cameras and charge off into the field. The problems with this process is that it leads you to look for compositions that fit your set up- eye level with the lens that is on the camera. To me it doesn’t make sense to look for compositions that fit your gear. I think you should fit your gear to whatever your composition demands. So instead of mounting your camera and extending your tripod legs put your camera around your neck, your tripod in your hand and look for a composition free of all the other stuff. You will find it much easier to move around and therefore much easier to find great compositions.

4. ISO is also something you can adjust.

I see this all the time- the ISO that is set at dawn is the same ISO that is used two hours, six hours, ten hours later. Your ISO is also a tool that can be adjusted just like your f-stop or shutter speed depending on what your are shooting. If you are shooting something that is moving- a flower in the wind, an animal- or you are moving crank up  your ISO to get a higher shutter speed. Part of doing this is knowing how high you can go on your camera with your ISO. You should know at what number beyond which the quality of your ISO disintegrates. On my Nikon D300s I can’t shoot past ISO 1600 but I prefer not to go above 1200. On my D3s I am happy shooting at ISO 2500 or even ISO 3200. I don’t always shoot this high but if I need to I will gladly. So move your ISO around to best meet your needs for every shot you take. It’ll make a big difference.

5. HDR is not a cure all.

Lets be clear about this, there is a place for HDR. That place is for times when the light is very strong making the photography very contrasty AND you don’t have any other options such as waiting for a passing cloud, shooting the scene later with better light or using a diffuser or reflector to cut the contrast. At any other times good old one shot photography will work just fine. the problems I have with HDR is it is designed to be used when the light stinks but why are you photographing when the light stinks? HDR allows you to capture a scene in bad light but why would you want to? Just because you can use HDR doesn’t mean you should us HDR.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

black bear along the shore, Pacific Rim National Park

Here is my tentative schedule for 2011. I am pretty sure the dates are good but I still finalizing some of the arrangements so I don’t want to put it in stone quite yet. There is also a good possibility that I will add a few more workshops. I will put more information about each of these workshops and lots of pictures on my website soon.

May 17-22 Pacific Rim National Park – Vancouver Island, Canada- with Brenda Berry

Perhaps my favorite workshop. Magnificent wild beaches, bald eagles, old-growth rainforests and point blank bears!

For more information and to sign up please contact Brenda – bberrygreen@gmail.com

June 19-25 Shooting like a Professional – Manchester Center, Vermont- with Scott Rouse

Learn the secrets of the pros- how to shoot, what to shoot, what works, how to get published, how to get more out of your photography!

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January

July 13-17 Digital Intensive- Newport Oregon

Taught with digital guru, Scott Rouse, we will take you from capture to editing, organizing, processing and presenting in a beautiful location!

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January.

Newport harbor at twilight, Oregon

July 20-24 Oregon Coast- Newport, Oregon- with Brenda Berry

Lighthouses, tide pools, crashing waves, puffins, jelly fish, long beaches, rocky coves, working harbors, piles of fishing gear and great sunsets. What more could you ask?

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January.

Oct. 5-9 Digital Intensive- Manchester Center, Vermont

Taught with digital guru, Scott Rouse, we will take you from capture to editing, organizing, processing and presenting in a beautiful location!

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January

Oct. 12-16 Fall Color of Vermont – Manchester Center, Vermont- with Jeff Wendorff

The best of Vermont fall color in my favorite places. We will also go to the magnificent Bromley farm- the most photogenic square mile in the state!

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January

Bass Harbor at dawn, Bass Harbor, Maine

Oct. 19-23 The Maine Coast & Acadia NP – Bar Harbor, Maine- with Brenda Berry

The best of the New England coast on its most beautiful island-plus my favorite lobstering harbors and lobstermen  from my most recent book.

For more information please contact Santa Fe Workshops when their summer/fall schedule comes out in early January

There are no bad times to photograph at Triple D, but winter is special. The animals have great thick fur coats and they love to romp in the snow! You’ll come back from this one with amazing shots from a winter wonderland in Montana.

The complete details are on my wildlife workshops website…HERE.

Here are a few images to give you a taste of what to expect. I’ve taken a lot of images there over the years and love going there. If it is a mammal and it is in the snow, I likely photographed it on one of my workshops. You can browse the images…HERE.

[View with PicLens]

I will be leading the workshop again in 2011 and while the dates are not yet set in stone, you can get the details on my wildlife workshops…HERE.

You can see all of my birds of prey images as well as order prints of images that you enjoy…HERE.

In case you were curious:

Taita (also Teita) Falcon

• Very rare and endangered. Only 25 live in South Africa.

Peregrine Falcon

• Size: Body, 14 to 19 in (36 to 49 cm); wingspan, 3.3 to 3.6 ft (1 to 1.1 m)
• Weight: 18.8 to 56.5 oz (530 to 1,600 g)
• Speed: dive that can top 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour)
• Peregrines have also been called Duck Hawk, Great-footed Hawk, and Wandering Falcon.

The Northern Harrier

• The Harrier has a remarkable sense of hearing more owl like than hawk like.
• The species is often called the marsh hawk because it inhabits open marshlands and wet meadows. It got the name “harrier” due to its habit of raiding or harrying its prey.

[View with PicLens]

My birds of prey photography workshop was held in conjunction with the Peregrine Fund and the World Center for Birds of Prey. They have an amazing story and facility. They are also open for tours, however if you want the kind of photography that you see here, you’ll need to join me for one of my workshops.

Visit their website to learn about how they are saving the world’s raptors one bird at a time…HERE.

I sent it out as my Halloween card this year!

If you would like to see more of my hawk images you can do that…HERE.

If you would like to join me on another Birds of Prey Photography Workshop in 2011, you can check that out…HERE.

In case you were curious:

• Swainson’s Hawks are the long distance champions of the North American hawks, traveling as far south as the Argentina’s Pampas.
• These hawks vary in length from 19 to 22 inches (48-56cm), and have a wingspan of 47 to 57 inches (119-145cm).
• Its diet consists of insects, small mammals and birds, and occasional reptiles and amphibians.
• This hawk is also known as the Grasshopper Hawk, Brown Hawk, and Black Hawk.

[View with PicLens]

My birds of prey photography workshop was held in conjunction with the Peregrine Fund and the World Center for Birds of Prey. They have an amazing story and facility. They are also open for tours, however if you want the kind of photography that you see here, you’ll need to join me for one of my workshops.

Visit their website to learn about how they are saving the world’s raptors one bird at a time…HERE.