Bluebirds in Spring

     I love this time of year, as the colors and sounds of Spring fill the senses. Most of all, I love the Bluebirds that choose my yard to raise their young. With several bluebird boxes placed around the yard, I seem to attract lots of "takers", as they carefully select which of the boxes will best fit their needs. It's really the highlight of my year when these beautiful little birds pick my garden as their home.

     This year we have two very active nesting pairs, that are just beginning their second family of the season. As a bird photographer, I relish the opportunity to focus my lens on these dramatic spots of blue that flit about the yard, often with mouths filled with insect food for their little ones. It continues to astound me just how many insects these birds can capture everyday. Once the feeding starts, it is nonstop for several days. Momma arrives with a bug, followed by Dad with a moth. On and on it goes until the little ones are ready to enter the world of flight. For those of us who are lucky enough to witness that day, it is a magical experience to be cherished. Every year I feel like one of the luckiest guys on the planet. 

Early Morning in the Marsh

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      I love photographing early in the morning. I mean.....really early,  often setting out in the darkness of night and waiting for the first light of the day to arrive.  Seeing nature, as she awakens for a new day, is a religious experience for me. As the sounds of the night turn slowly into the sounds of the morning, I find myself excited by the possibilities of the new day.  While sitting on location in the darkness before dawn, I never know what light is going to present in front of me. Will  the sky be filled with clouds and color, or  will the fog blanket the morning with its' mysterious allure? The first hours of the day can be the most exciting of the day, and certainly the most productive for a photographer.

   

     I recently spent a few days in Savannah visiting the Savannah Wildlife Refuge, which is one of my very favorite shooting locations. I seem to never be disappointed with the opportunities I find there. Whether it be summer, or the dead of winter, this refuge consistently provides a wealth of photographic  subjects. Although I am considered a bird photographer, I love the opportunity to capture landscape shots, which enhance my avian images. Thanks to the "wildlife drive" that meanders through the refuge, I'm able to cover lots of ground and even do some shooting from within my own vehicle. On the coldest of winter mornings, this can be a real asset to any shooter.

      We're all very fortunate in this country to have an amazing network of National Wildlife Refuges. These refuges offer all of us the opportunity to get out and see nature in a way that we cannot from the confines of our homes. No movie or TV show can really show you the beauty of nature. You need to be there to really feel the experience. I want to encourage all  of you to visit a refuge near you, and to discover for yourself what secrets it holds. The challenge, of course, is to capture those secrets in your photographic images. Push yourself to become a part of nature, not just a spectator. Good luck and share your images with the rest of us.

Finding Some Color in the Midst of Winter

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     For many of us, winter can be a difficult time to find the sort of images we like to add to our photographic portfolios. But, over the years, I've learned to approach the winter months with an eye that focuses more on color,  than on only content. The flowers of summer are all gone, and the colored leaves of the fall season have long since fallen, but the environment around us is still dotted with wonderful color and hues. The truth is that color photographs are just that.....Color. Unless you're into black and white photography, you and I need some degree of color to make  our photos interesting and compelling to our viewers. However, that can be a daunting task during the winter season.

     As this winter began, I had set my sights on SNOW. My plan was to attack the season with wonderful images of Cardinals in the snow, and long horned bucks standing amidst the snow covered pines. In my mind, I had settled on my images for this winter, but as luck would have it, no snow. None ! So, I had to find another path to my winter photographs, and it wasn't going to involve a snowmobile or sled. 

     I happen to be one of those photographers, who uses previsualization to achieve my end goal. I see an image in my mind first, and then I begin planning just how I am going to get that image into the lens. For me, that involves lots of scouting locations, and studying light conditions and how the light is going to play on my subject. Often that means visiting the same location several times, but at different times of the day. It is critical for me to know in advance just how the light is going to hit, and therefore effect my subject. I can't stress enough the importance of gathering lots of information concerning your location before you attempt your photo session.

     The photo of the Pine Warbler pictured above was taken a few days ago, after observing the light from a previous trek into the woods near my home. On several occasions, I found myself drawn to the play of light on these rocks, and how the light brought out the colors of the lichens growing on their surface. For me......it was a subject that had to be photographed......but it needed something.

     So, a few days ago I revisited the sight and covered the rocks and the ground with bird seed. LOT' S OF BIRD SEED.  I quickly found that I had attracted a large variety of species to the sight, and suddenly had what I needed to add the interest to the rocks and complete my vision for the photograph. All in all, I am pleased with the resulting image, as it closely matches what I had envisioned in the weeks prior. Good photographs rarely happen by chance. Most of those are Snapshots.......they are not meaningful photographic images. My favorite photographers do not rely on chance encounters. They plan their outings carefully,  sometimes researching an area for months or years before investing their time and money on a shoot. In the end, this kind of effort is rewarded in one's images. I hope this will encourage all of you to work at becoming better photographers. It's not the camera.......it's the eye behind the lens that makes art.

Atmosphere in Your Photos

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     I love atmospheric elements in my photos, and I especially enjoy images that display fog. Here in southeastern Tennessee, we often get dense fog early in the morning filling the mountain valleys. It creates a mood and a kind of softbox lighting effect that lends itself to great photographic images. Of course, the trick is to push yourself out the door and use this fog to your advantage. Over the years, I have trained myself to hit the trails when I awaken to fog. It's a kind of jackpot win for me, when these conditions reveal themselves. I instinctively know that "today it is possible." With the conditions in place, I have a chance of capturing something meaningful.......something that will translate my vision to the viewer, and I think that is what all of this is about.  I hope you'll all agree that this mornings' shoot was worthwhile. Now clean off your gear and get out there !

Savannah Sunrise

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      The fall is a busy time for me. I spend most of the fall season traveling throughout the country exhibiting and selling my photography. It's tough to find the time to fit in some meaningful shooting, but over the years I have managed to identify a few very special places that allow me to use my down time wisely. One of those places is Savannah Wildlife Refuge, located just outside of the city of Savannah, Georgia. It's one of those locations that simply calls you back over and over again, and it rarely disappoints.

    

     The most important thing for a photographer is Light. My personal preference is the angular light of a morning sunrise. With the right conditions, this can be a magical time for a photographer, or it can just be a time to spend alone with your own thoughts. Either way.....you win.

     Last month, while doing an exhibit in Savannah, I used the time to capture several shots that I personally find satisfying. This Savannah Sunrise shot conveys much of what I am trying to do with my photography. It's a "painterly" image of the marsh at its' best. The combination of morning light and the clouds of the cool morning combine to create an image that invites the viewer to experience the marsh in an intimate way. As a photographer, moments like this give me great pleasure and leave me with a sense of accomplishment. When a day starts like this, you have to love what you do and be thankful. I am a lucky man.

Catching Hummingbirds......or not.

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      "How do you shoot hummingbirds?" That's the question I get all the time. Apparently, lots of folks have a very difficult time trying to capture hummingbirds in flight. So I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of my strategies for making hummingbirds freeze in the air.

      Let me just try to explain the photo above. To begin with, hummingbirds are not attracted to lilies, but they are attracted to the feeder that is hanging above the lilies, but out of the frame. Secondly, auto-focus does not work well when it comes to tracking hummingbirds. They are just too fast for most auto-focus systems. The solution is to carefully place your feeder and your flower so that you can prefocus on the stamen of the flower. By setting your shutter speed to 1/2000 th of a sec. and raising your cameras' ISO to accommodate that shutter speed, your ready to begin.

    Most modern DSLR's provide a burst shooting rate of at least 5 frames per second. Set the camera up to utilize this fast shooting rate and practice firing a few quick bursts. Check the focus and the depth of field you're achieving. I generally like to shoot at f.8, which gives me enough depth of field to capture the action. Using a 300 mm. lens, I can almost always get the kind of shot I am after. Occasionally, I find I need a bit longer lens, which may cause me to pull out a 400mm. Your lens choice is an important factor in the results you are going to achieve. Don't waste your money on cheap glass. The real quality of a photo comes from the lenses, not the camera.

     Good luck with your shots. Let me know how it works for you.

Using Fall Color in Your Photographs

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     Fall is the season we all wait for after suffering through the heat of summer. Fall brings the cool air and the colors of the season that can present wonderful photographic opportunities. With the cool air comes the migration of countless species of birds to the mountains and woodlands of eastern Tennessee. It's the time of year when all of us want to play hooky from our jobs and our lives to go out and enjoy the natural world. For me, as a photographer, it's the time of year when the air gets clearer and the photo ops abound. It's the time of year that beckons me to pursue the hunt of birds and backgrounds.

     The warm hues of fall color can make an otherwise mediocre shot more interesting to the eye. Fall weeds become beautiful gardens, and leaves become nature's decorative backdrops. It seems like everywhere you look there is some kind of photo just waiting its' turn to be taken. Here in the Smokies, we have the joy of seeing so much color and so much wildlife,  all combining to create unlimited photographic opportunities. With the smallest effort, one can capture scenes worthy of print and display. Regardless of where you make your home, Fall is the season to get out and explore. It's the season to renew your love of the outdoors and to bring home images to share with friends and family. So grab your camera, play hooky for a day, and remind yourself why we're on this planet. Life is for the living.......and the joy of life comes from the depth of living we allow ourselves to experience. Capture some images and hang them on the wall to remind you of this everyday. You'll  smile every time to look at them.

Landscape Bird Photography

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In one of my previous posts, I talked about how photos should cause the viewer to ask questions. I think it is important to lead the viewer down a road that suggests further exploration of the subject depicted in the photo. It's never enough to simply put a beautiful picture in front of someone. Without provoking a reaction, the photo has not succeeded. An artist needs to find a passageway into the mind of the viewer. As a bird photographer, it's important to me that my audience never leave my work with the singular thought that they have just viewed a "bird photograph." I simply never understand photographers who seem to think that their chosen subject is enough to satisfy an educated public. Whether you choose to photograph animals, pottery, automobiles, sports, or whatever else might catch your fancy, you need to find a way to take your work to a level that goes beyond what the viewer is accustom to seeing. In my case, when it comes to photographing birds, I seek to find birds in places and in situations that evoke an emotional response from my viewers. Often times it's as simple as putting the long telephoto away, and reaching for a wide angle lens. Immediately, the photo becomes something "else". Suddenly we are looking at birds in a new way. Rather than the typical bird closeup, we are drawn into the photo in a search for the subject. When this occurs......it's mission accomplished.

Compositional Bird Photography

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For those of you who are regular visitors to my blog, you have certainly picked up on the fact that my bird photos are different from most of those you have seen before. Unlike many bird photographers, my shots rarely single out the bird as the main, if not only subject of the photo. Instead, my images are much more about an environment containing a bird, than just the bird itself. My goal has always been to exhibit photos that raise the question, "Is this picture about the bird, or is it about the habitat in which the bird resides?" In composing my shots, it is that question that is always at the forefront of my thinking. It's the question that I ask of myself, and that I hope the viewer is also asking of him or her self in viewing my photos. If photography is to truly be an art form, I feel that images must provoke the viewer to ask questions of the image. Where is this place? Why did the subject choose this place to perch or feed? Why does my eye follow the subject within the frame? Where is the light source coming from in this image? How did the photographer manage to capture the image? Why did the photographer choose this particular frame to print?

I think photography earns its' place in the art world, when it goes beyond simply recording a moment in time. I believe a photographer enters the world of fine art, when his images provoke discussion and create some degree of controversy. I continue to work everyday to keep my work aimed at those standards.