Macro

I just bought a new macro adaptor...10 bucks...took it out for a few trial shots today and was impressed with it's performance. Everything was obviously set to manual. You can find the adaptor at http://www.dealextreme.com Test your exposure and go have fun with it. I will be taking this out in the field to try on the smaller animals of the world shortly.

If you can be the first to guess what this image is of I will send you a free 8 by 10 print of your choice of any picture on my website. Good luck. First right guess wins!!

WINTERY SPRING

While fishing season seemed only moments away we were once again blasted with a few weeks of winter weather. Therefore this blog is dedicated to one of my favorite animals. The bison.



I went to Yellowstone in search of some spring bear photographs...but no such luck yet. Most of the roads are closed until the middle of next month....which once open will help in finding them. In the meantime here are a few bison shots. The first was obviously very close up. I was protected inside a barrier which consists of 4 wheels.




This second shot portrays the hardship these animals endure. WINTER in the park is not a nice creature and sometimes you can see the look of despair in bison's eyes.



This last image shows fresh tracks after a snow-storm passed through. The herd continues to move until they can find food. Temps here are incredibly cold for many months....and how they maintain the will to stay alive fascinates me. They truly are an amazing creature.

SPRING FISHING

Fishing season is here!!! This is a warm up trip for the year and it produced some nice images. The first shot is a low angle shot of the fisherman(Diesel) prepping to net a fish.




This image was taken in the early morning with frost still on the ground. The background is a campfire, camp chair, and orvis boots drying off by the fire.





Here is a 22 inch rainbow Jeff is releasing. Dark simple colors on the fisherman help set the mood of how cold the water and weather is.



Colorful big fish!!! Again taken at a low angle and add a bit of flash to enhance the colors. There is a lot more to photographing trout than walking up and snapping a shot. The first, and hardest is to have guys who can catch big fish. The second is find guys who know how to handle them properly. Then they have to be willing to keep their hands in 36 degree water for 5 minutes while you set up and shoot. It all is worth while in the end.

WINTER MORNING SCENICS

Compare this first image to the previous post...the same shot with a few upgrades. Though after looking at them more closely it is a toss up...depends upon one's mood.






Yesterday's shoot was another that was snowy and overcast. I mostly shot video on assignment, but had time to stop and take a few scenics and wildlife shots. Here are a couple of images. This first one, above, is very similar to one from the last posting. With a little added snow and foreground light it is completely different. Again I backed the truck up to it, forgot the ladder for added height, but got high enough to make the shot work.

This second shot is another scenic to show how miserable it was out in the snow. Cold and empty the setting was. Nothing special but a fun shot to mess around with later in post...where I can add a cepia-tone to it.




This third shot is my favorite, though it is going to be a tough sale. It was a fly by jump out of the truck one click shot, which is why I like it. I caught this pheasant looking across the field at a bunch of ducks flying overhead. It has a great feel to it, and I even went into photoshop and took the railings out to give a little more room. It didn't look as natural as this.

Don't forget to click on the images to view a larger sample.

Here are a few images from last nights shoot. I was hoping for sunny skies but a storm moved in right when set up so I made the most of what I had.



This first image is of a bunch of mallards that came in right in front of where I set up. The wind was blowing 30 mph therefore they had to set up fast to come in. I tried many times to shoot tight but with the hazy sky a wide shot worked best.



This second shot was taken from the same location...two swans were circling over the pond trying to find a place to land. Sunlight would have been ideal here to shoot head on...but I ended up waiting until they were right above me to swing the camera around for a quick shot. Nothing special but still a usable image.



This shot I took on my way back to the truck. The storm had moved over and was hitting the mountains. It gave me a chance to take a quick shot before it got to dark in the foreground. A fisherman or waterfowl would be ideal in the foreground...photoshop junkies here you go.



This last shot was taken right at dark. It was one that I wish I could have gotten to 10 minutes earlier but you take what you can get at the time. It is one that I will come back to when I have a little more light to work with. I had to run to the truck and drive back here to get elevated for the shot. Again, next time I will bring a ladder to put on the truck, back in a bit further to the water, and hope for a bit more light. This image states its purpose for the time being.

Here are a couple of shots I took last week. The first is of a bighorn sheep in Yellowstone Park. This was not an easy shot to get...as the snow was over 2 feet deep in Lamar Valley. I had to make a big circle around the sheep to get this backdrop. I shot it tight at first but then found this shot to be the best.


The second shot I took while standing on the side of the interstate. I was driving to a film shoot at sunrise and happened to look back and see this in my rear-view mirror. Shot with a wide angle lens on the canon 5D. Just caught it at the right time before the light broke thru.

Keep shooting.