The World Around Us… (post 20)

Contrast – Seasonal

Contrast takes on many different meanings when it comes to photography, there are the two main one’s people often talk about with those being tonal and color. Tonal being the difference between the lightest and darkest tones and color being the way colors interact with each other. Let me stop here and add that I am by no means an expert on this subject and only giving a very high-level explanation.

A good example of tonal would be looking at a black and white photograph that has distinct blacks, grays, and then whites and light tones. On the color side you have contrasting colors, Yellow and Blue or Green and Red etc. You can then add to the mix by adding High and Low and High key and Low key and so on, anyone fall asleep yet?

Now we head out into the field or your studio and you start to think about contrast and what you want to convey in your picture. How the whites, black, shadows and colors are going to add or subtract. Sure, you can do a lot in post but having a head start in camera is always nice.

Now the other day I was out at one of my local haunts (Hawk Valley Farm) and of course contrast pops up as there is a fresh 2 feet of perfectly white snow and then I said (to myself) wait, what about “seasonal contrast” because right in front of me are two chairs and benches that I took a picture of in the spring of last year that are now covered in snow, so now we have contrast in seasons, do you agree?

A warm colorful spring

Camera Settings

5D Mark IV

f/11

1/30 sec

ISO 500

70 mm

EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Tripod: No - sat on the ground

A cold beautiful winter.

Camera Settings

5D Mark IV

f/11

1/250 sec

ISO 400

41 mm

EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Tripod: No – sat in the snow

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Take care & smile before you hear the click.

The World Around Us… (post 19)

The Artic Owl (The Snowy)

For many years now during the months of November through February I have gone out searching for (at least for me) the elusive “Artic Owl” also known as the Snowy Owl. Two of my photographer friends and I would rise at a time that my body says I am supposed to be in bed sleeping. However, knowing that we may see one is enough motivation to get us moving.

This year started as all the others, advance planning by researching possible locations, current sighting reports and what day works the best and then “pray” for decent weather.

The day had arrived, and I am on the road before sunrise heading to the coast to meet up with another photographer. The snowy is a migratory owl and migrates down from the Artic during our winter months and as far as I can tell prefers the open beach areas with grass and low vegetation and the many edible treats (voles, smaller birds etc.)

We met out on Plum Island (Massachusetts) and commenced our search; weather was not a factor and early on we saw Red Tail Hawks, but it appeared the Snowy once again would remain out of site. However, our luck turned when we shared our sightings of the Red Tails with another photographer and she told us where a Snowy may be.

To our delight the Snowy was still there and pretty much settled in. We were not the only photographers, bird watches, nature lovers etc., there, and on this day the “flock” of humans were very respectful of this magnificent bird, keeping their distance and voices low.

I would estimate the closes we got to the Snowy was around 60-75 yards, but we were both shooting with telephoto lenses allowing the lens and camera to bring us in close. The use of the telephoto lens and aperture settings allowed for the unique captures and compression of the distance between the Snowy and the Ocean.

Plum Island Vacation Home

Camera Settings

5D Mark IV

Lens: EF70-200 f/2.8 II USM (with 2X extender)

Settings: Exposure 1/1000, f/8, iso400, focal length 400mm

Post: Crop in post processing

Tripod: No

The eyes of the Snowy are a beautiful dark yellow.

Camera Settings

5D Mark IV

Lens: EF70-200 f/2.8 II USM (with 2X extender)

Settings: Exposure 1/1000, f/8, iso400, focal length 380mm

Post: Crop in post processing

Tripod: No

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Take care & smile before you hear the click.

The World Around Us… (post 18)

Saint John USVI – Probably the best week of 2020

Okay, it has been a while and a lot has happened since my last post, (April 19, 2020) but I am finally finding the time to get back to my blog and photography. We will call 2020 a terribly slow year where we did not go out that much. However, one of our daughters with the help of many things falling in to place at the right time provided us one of the best weeks of 2020, a destination wedding on St John, USVI. I was not the photographer and really did not have any plans of going out shooting but…yes that “but”... I did have one day to walk about by myself.

The Island is a photographers’ dream with awesome sunrises and sunsets. Flowers, wildlife, beaches, boats, and everything in between. So, on that one day I had, I grab my camera, tripod, a few extra accessories and headed out. A short walk around the corner and up a hill from where we were staying (Gallows Pt resort) I came to an overlook with a site I could not have imagined, a sailing ship anchored in the shallows with unbelievable colors of the ocean and Saint Thomas in the background. Puffy clouds were starting to gather giving the sky its own look and adding to the overall feel. I set the camera on the tripod and started shooting. The picture below is probably the 10th one I took of this scene as I was constantly changing my settings looking for that one shot, I would be happy with.

At Anchor

Camera Settings

Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: EF15-35 f/2.8L III USM

Settings: Exposure 1/25, f/20, iso100, focal length 35mm

Tripod: Yes

Filter: CPL

My walk took me back to the Gallows point beach area where I decided to get wet, this shot was taken in chest deep water (praying a wave did not knock me over). This is also one of those shots that you do not do alone and lucky for me my wife has a lot of patience 😊. Seeing the composition I wanted all I had to do was get in position. I eased into the water, had my wife hand me my camera and I slowly maneuvered into position keeping an eye on the waves and my footing. I got off two shots and quickly returned before I had one of those “oh crap” moments.

A view from the water

Camera Settings

Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: EF15-35 f/2.8L III USM

Settings: Exposure 1/125, f/11, iso200, focal length 18mm

Tripod: No

Filter: CPL

Take care & smile before you hear the click.

Comments & Questions are always welcome.