California Photo Forum

I'm currently exploring a new forum I've found that specifically targets California based Photographers of all styles and genre's. So far so good... there seem to be a lot of active people, more each day in fact as they are in a giant membership push at the moment... and they feature "What the Duck"!! So... check them out and see if they are a good fit for you... you just might find a new shooting buddy or a few new locations you didn't know about.

California Photo Forum

Conservation

I've always believed that in order for people to care about something, be it an animal or piece of land or an historic structure, they must see it in order to have a connection. Paintings, Photographs and Films all serve to connect people to places and things which maybe far removed from their daily lives but warrant care and attention.

Most people living in major cities in the United States will never hear the booming call of a Greater-prairie chicken, or see a herd of Wild Horses running in the desert or see a Polar Bear napping outside their window. But Artists are in the unique position of bringing those animals into someone's home.

When you combine the arts with science and vision you can cultivate a true vessel for change. That's exactly what French Biologist Delphin Ruché is trying to accomplish. The stories and accompanying images he captures help to bring people into the realm of his subject. Delphin has also added a Guest of the Month section to his site that spotlights efforts by other photographers, researchers and biologists. This month is dedicated to the Greater-prairie chicken with a photo by yours truely. If you have a conservation related image or story, drop him a note and let him know as he is always on the look out for more material or just send him a note to tell him you are reading and appreciate what he is doing. Once you see his work I know you will be as impressed as I am. http://www.delphinruche.com/

Up Close

One of the great things about the Katmai Brown Bear comes from the abundance of food found in the summer. When they emerge from hibernation they ravenously munch on sedge grass to get their digestive systems up to speed. Then the salmon berries bloom. A good salmon berry crop in the spring bodes well for spring cubs the following year - this year was stellar which gives me just the excuse I needed to head back there next summer. Next, the salmon arrive. The bears adopt a very cool "I'll mind my business if you mind yours" attitude toward people when there is so much for them to eat. That said, never underestimate them. Statistically the chances of being attacked by a brown bear drop by 50% when you add just one person to make a group. Increase the group to three or more people and the likelihood of a bear attack drops to 0%. We had 8 people.

This sow spent quite a bit of time hunting for salmon in the rivers fed by the Serpent Tongue Glacier. She followed the tide and deftly grabbed salmon from the shallows when they least expected it. By sitting quietly in a group several feet back from the rivers edge, we were no more obtrusive in her world than the gulls who swooped in to clean up the remains of her meal after she left. She made several circles in front of us and even laid down to rest and gaze at the fish swimming past. A pretty amazing experience to photograph a bear this big with only a 70-200mm lens.

Teaser

I'm back!!

Just in from a wonderful week in Katmai National Park at the Katmai Wilderness Lodge. Tons of Grizzly Bear, Harbor Seals, Otters, Kittiwakes and Puffin. Over the next little bit I'll be telling you all about it. For now, I need sleep.

Bird Photography the easy way...

"It's like shooting fish in a barrel." "As easy as falling off a log." "A slam dunk." "Duck soup." "Easy as pie." "Like shooting ducks on a pond."

Or it's supposed to be. Most people think of wildlife photographers as hardcore hikers who roam the woods alone in a constant quest for the perfect bird or animal. I like a good hike as much as the next guy but I rarely achieve the number of quality images from a hike as I do from a good sit down.

That's right. Hurry up and wait... and wait some more. Birds need three things... Shelter, Food and Water. Provide those and they WILL come. It doesn't always work out as you would expect. I live in San Francisco. I put out four different kinds of seed mix, I have trees in my yard and I bought a pretty bird bath and kept it filled with clean fresh water. Not an easy feat when the raccoons are washing up in it every night. I brought in exactly three species of bird... Pigeons, house sparrows and a single cockatiel.

My friend Bruce has a much better set up down the Penninsula. His ranch is up in the hills with lots of lovely oak trees and chaparral. There is a spring that he uses to keep a drip line feeding two small ponds. They are barely 3 feet by 3 feet but that's big enough for the bird. We set up two doghouse blinds and settle in for the morning.

The hard part - these little guys move FAST. Just getting focus, let alone finding their eyes is hard work. It's hot and the blinds act like a sweat lodge so lots of water is a must. But there is nothing like the thrill of seeing these beautiful birds up close and personal and knowing that you aren't doing a single thing to disturb them.

1. Oak Titmouse, 2. newly fledged Acorn Woodpecker, 3. White-breasted Nuthatch, 4. Spotted Towhee

My Favorite Hummingbird

Last but certainly not least is my favorite of the hummingbirds in Madera Canyon, the Black-chinned. As the name suggests, th male has a black chin until they turn and flash their gorget at you and display a beautiful purple. They are pretty chatty and always let me know when they were near. While they feed on over 90 species of flowers, the black-chinned also eats small insects and spiders particularly during nesting season.

Size: 9 cm (4 in)
Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
Weight: 2-5 g (0.07-0.18 ounces)

The Rarity

The White-eared Hummingbird is a rare visitor to the United States, and as it turned out, to our feeders. She much preferred the honeysuckle growing nearby to our feeders but I managed to capture one shot of her on my first day in Arizona. There were many birders visiting Madera Canyon in hopes of glimpsing this rare beauty.

Size: 9-10 cm
Weight: 3-4 g

The Largest Hummingbird

The Magnificent Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird that visits North America. It sounded like a helicopter was landing when he came into the feeder. Just as vibrant as the Broad-billed male, the Magnificent was much more shy. He would zoom into the feeder, take a quick drink and zoom back off without stopping to pose like the smaller bird did quite often. Adding shyness to size and infrequent visits made the Magnificent a very challenging species to photograph.

Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
Wingspan: 18 cm (7 in)
Weight: 7-8 g (0.25-0.28 ounces)

Beyond Amazing

I'm sorry to have been away for so long but I hope you'll agree it was worth the wait when you see the images I've brought home. I just spent an amazing week in Arizona with photographers Joe and Mary Ann McDonald. We encountered six different species of hummingbirds in Madera Canyon as well as over 45 species of other birds.

These are the female and male Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus). These medium sized hummingbirds were such talkers you knew they were coming into the feeder well in advance of their arrival because of all the chattering. The male had a lovely pink gorget (throat) which looked black unless he was facing you.

On cold nights these birds enter a state of torpor with body temperatures as low as 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

Size: 3-4 inches
Wingspan: 5 inches
Weight: 0.11-0.14 ounces

Orton Imagery

Thursday night I went to my camera club, Photochrome, and as always, I enjoyed viewing and was inspired by a wide range of photographic talent and styles. ChrisK displayed a lovely example of Orton Imagery that provoked a good deal of discussion within the group. Orton Imagery is a technique pioneered by Michael Orton for slide film. Two images are taken of the same scene, the first in focus, tack sharp and over exposed by 2 stops. The second image is out of focus and overexposed by 1 stop. By sandwiching these two image in the same slide mount the final image appears properly exposed with a dreamy, painterly quality.

If you shoot digital don't fear, this look can easily be recreated in Photoshop. Once you have opened your image in Photoshop select Image --> Apply Image. In the dialog box which appears change the Blending Mode to Screen and leave the percentage at 100%. This will give you the properly over-exposed sharp base image. Next, in the Layers menu, right-click on the background layer and select Duplicate Layer. Apply a blur to this duplicate layer by selecting Filter --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur. Experiment with the pixel radius between 2 - 50 pixels depending upon your taste. I usually settle somewhere in the 30 pixel range. Change the blending mode of this layer to Multiply and the lovely impressionistic image will be revealed. Flatten the image and you are ready to debut your new work of art.

Orton Imagery is typically thought of as a landscape technique I have used it on some of my wildlife photos to varied levels of success. The main trouble with using it on wildlife is that the eye needs to be sharp and bright or the resulting image looks more like the product of a taxidermist than a living breathing creature. I solve this by cutting the eye onto a separate layer above the blurred layer.