May

31

King of the Jungle

Shot of the Month  Posted by / 5 comments

Shot of the Month – May 2018

Jaguar, Pantanal, Brazil (6749)

So much better than I ever dared to imagine.  This image of a Panthera onca, that is.  Pardon my Latin, I mean this image of a J-A-G-U-A-R, that is!  I have been doing nature photography long enough (29 years! gulp) to keep my expectations very, very low.  Last year we were making plans for our first trip to the Pantanal region of Brazil in search of jaguars and I was doing my best to dampen my expectations.  Years of experience told me that it would be great fortune just to see a jaguar let alone get a decent image of one.  I did my best to temper my bubbling excitement at the prospect of seeing the only “big cat” that I had not yet seen in the wild — I kept reminding myself that it would probably take 2-3 trips to Brazil before getting a “keeper.”  This certainly was the case in trying to photograph tigers — only the third trip to India produced some agreeable images.

And from spending more than 18 years in Africa, I know how difficult it is to see a leopard.  On an African safari, seeing a leopard once or twice over a 10-day period would be considered a success and I assumed that should be my benchmark for the jaguar.

Boy, was I wrong.  First the “safari” is done in a very different way.  In Africa, you spend 12 hours a day bumping up and down on hot, dusty trails in a 4×4 jeep in search of fauna (at least the way this fanatic does it).  In the Pantanal, we spent our time on a small boat navigating a collection of rivers in search of wildlife.  Let me tell you, riding in a boat is infinitely more enjoyable (and much easier on the back!).  Each morning we would leave by 5:30 am and spend about 3-5 hours in search of the big cat.  We would return by noon at the latest and then rest until heading out again around 3 pm until dark.  So you do two “game drives” each day.  During our time there we completed six boat drives and we found at least one cat EACH time.  Sometimes we would find more than one cat!  Sometimes we would spend a few hours with a cat watching him/her stalking along the river.  I was blown away.  What a gift to get to spend so much time with such a spectacular beast.  And when not seeing jaguars we were beguiled by giant river otters, capybara, kingfishers, caiman and other wildlife.  Given that it was our first trip, it was all new and everything we saw was a “first”.   Turns out that the jaguars love hunting along the river, and by being on a boat, we typically had a gloriously unobstructed view of the cat.  And so many sightings!!  I still can’t believe it.

Also, my mental picture of a jaguar was all wrong.  Previously I saw jaguars and leopards as being more or less equivalent.  The jaguar was the “leopard” of the Western Hemisphere – there are no leopards here.  And the leopard was the “jaguar” of Africa and Asia — no jaguars found there.  And the two cats have a very similar spot pattern.  Both cats are stalk-and-ambush predators.  But what I didn’t fully appreciate was the size of the jaguar.  Wow.  They are massive.  Jaguars are the third largest cat in the world right behind the tiger and the lion.   They have massive heads, and powerful, stocky, muscular bodies – in the Pantanal male jaguars can reach 300 pounds.  Leopards are leaner in stature and rarely weigh more than 200 pounds.

Jaguars are in fact just as elusive as leopards, normally.  It is only really along this relatively small stretch of river in Brazil where these cats can be seen with reasonable frequency — however, it took ten years of effort to habituate the resident jaguars to the boats.  Prior to this, sightings were leopard-like rare.  Likewise, one should not assume that such frequent sightings imply that the cat is thriving.  Alas no — as with most big cats, we are rapidly pushing them off the planet as we wipe out their habitat.  Jaguars are mostly found in Central and South America though they used to be found in North America.  A couple of jaguars have been seen in the United States though some idiot just killed one of them.  Rage.  The jaguar’s range currently includes Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

I have seen many a critter in my day but I don’t think that I have ever seen an animal that embodies “wild” more than a jaguar.  There is an intensity in their gaze that sends a jolt down my spine.  There is no doubt that this cat is an apex predator and everything about it from its unbelievably powerful build to its absolute fearlessness makes it clear that this beast is the King of the Jungle.

Below is a quick and dirty video that will give you a sense of what it is like looking for jaguars by boat (stay to the end for some more jaguar images from our trip!)  And here is a YouTube link to the same video.

 

Until next month…michael

 

Bonus Material:  Earlier I mentioned that the jaguar was the last of the “big cats” that I had not seen yet.  What are the other big cats you ask?  They include:

  1. Tiger
  2. Lion
  3. Leopard
  4. Jaguar

 

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm, f/4, 1/2000 s, ISO 400

Apr

30

Birdscape

Shot of the Month  Posted by / 4 comments

Shot of the Month – April 2018

Savannah Sparrow, Washington (2852)

Savannah in Red

With my third spring in Washington State approaching I finally had some time to explore a tulip festival that is held each year about an hour north of Seattle.  Given that the “subject” of this photo shoot was going to be expansive fields of colorful tulips I packed up my wide angle lenses and a tripod and off I went, leaving my long lenses behind.  Time to do some landscape photography.

On our first visit we drove from site to site to explore the different fields to try different compositions and identify the photographic possibilities.  At one site I spotted a bird sitting on flower as you can see below.  My heart suddenly raced with excitement.  With my largest lens only going out to 200 mm my options were limited but I sensed the massive potential for something special — I would have to come back with the right gear and try for the shot that I could see in my mind’s eye.

Tulips, Washington (2032)

Inspiration for what could be…(yes, if you look closely, there is a bird in there)…

 

So, a few weeks later I returned, this time with my 600 mm lens and a monopod.  I started the morning with more traditional landscape gear as I awaited the sunrise.  I explored the scene at 24 mm until the sun was too high for that shot to work and it was time to bring out the long lens.   For the next 4-5 hours I slowly walked among the rows of tulips looking for my quarry — a Savannah Sparrow (SS).  The SS sparrow likes open terrain and typically feeds on the ground  so the tulips fields were a perfect setting for him.  After a few trips to the fields I began to understand the patterns — the birds would become more active by “mid” morning; by around 9:30 am the birds would begin to perch on the tulips and sing, proclaiming their territory.  After a bit of time I could identify the circuit a bird would make as he traveled along the perimeter of his part of the field.  I could even begin to identify his preferred tulips to sit upon.  Of course, this would vary, but he often like to find the tallest tulip in an area to maximize the effect of his song.

I imagine that from the road that people were perplexed as to what that guy (me) was doing out in the fields with such a massive lens – “What in the hell is that guy shooting,” I assumed that many a visitor muttered to themselves.  Some were even brave enough to ask.  My reply was simply, “Just the birds.”

Each bird stayed in its territory so a given SS would only provide me the opportunity for one color of shot.  The fellow above provided me with my “red” shot.  To get the “purple” shot I would have to move to another section of the field and find a new bird, and learn his unique patrolling pattern.  And from there I just looked for opportunities to mix and match as many colors as possible.  Birds stopping along the edge of two adjacent, but different colored fields, provided opportunities for multi-colored scenes.

Savannah Sparrow, Washington (2968)

Savannah in Purple

Savannah Sparrow, Washington (2356)

Savannah in Red, Purple and a bit of Green

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I seem to have a knack for doing, I yet again managed to transform a typical landscape outing into a wildlife focused affair.  In this case a tulip landscape morphed into a fanciful, magical perhaps, technocolor birdscape.  So much fun…

 

Until next month…..m

 

 

 

Nikon D500, Nikon 600mm, 1.4x TC, (effective 1275mm), 1/1000s, f/5.6, +0.333 EV, ISO 400

Mar

31

A Forest Dream

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Shot of the Month – March 2018

Great Grey Owl, Yellowstone NP (0561)So, there I was driving along a road in Yellowstone NP when I noticed a collection of cars pulled off to the side of the road — always a sign of wildlife nearby.  Luckily, I found a place close by where  I could completely pull off  and park.  I got out and ran across the road to where I could see the tops of a few heads of people gathered together.  As I made my way down a small hill I saw this lovely Great Grey Owl.  I ran back to my car and collected my gear and made my way back.

There were perhaps 12-15 people in a semi-circle around the bird as she (I am not sure if it is a he or she, but let’s go with she) was perched on a dead tree stump.  I was annoyed as folks with smaller lenses were, in my opinion, getting too close to the bird.  One of the benefits of shooting with a 600 mm lens is that I don’t need to get super close to my animal subjects and can avoid the risk of disturbing them.  That all being said, this magnificent owl didn’t seem to take any notice of the humans — she was in hunting mode and was focused on listening and scanning the grass below.

After a few moments the owl took off and flew about 20 yards to a nearby tree.  And with that most of the humans started walking back to their cars.  I was amazed by this, given that the bird was just right over there, not that far really.  But I said nothing and just watched as the crowd left.  After a few minutes I walked over to the tree.  Sure enough there she was, sitting at the top of a pine tree, still hunting.  Now there was just 3 humans- me and two other photographers.

The owl took off again and followed the line of the narrow valley leading to the forest – she was still hunting and apparently following the rustling sounds of mice that we certainly could not hear.  She flew from tree to tree as she listened for prey in each little meadow.  After about 45 minutes the other two humans lost interest and went back to their cars.

And now here I was, alone with this incredible owl — the largest owl in North America by length.  We were now far enough into the forest that we could not be seen from the road.  No one would be able to find us here.  In total I spent 3 magical hours observing this beauty.  During this period I saw her catch at least 2 mice.  It was always over in a few seconds.  Leap from a tree, dive head first toward to the ground and at the last second pull up and strike feet first.  Gulp down the meal and on to the next tree.  Repeat.  She was not perfect and there were several pounces where she only caught grass and stems.

Wildlife photography can often be fast and furious — worrying too much about apertures, shutter speeds and other technical minutiae.  I often don’t really “see” my subject until after I get back and can review my images.  And with the growing number of people on this planet, and with more and more people with cameras, one’s time in the “wild” is far too often spent with a gaggle of other humans.  Crowds of folks with long lens and tripods like myself.  Usually, such forays are not prone to communing with nature and reflecting on life.

But spending three hours, in a pristine Yellowstone forest, with this larger than life owl?  Heaven.  The experience captured the ideal of what draws me to nature photography.  No sounds but that of the forest birds.  No banal banter.  Just the occasional sound of the rustling wind.  I could sit on the ground and just stare at the owl and really soak her beauty in.  Sure, there were some frantic moments when the hunt was on – but then many, actually most moments were spent just sitting and being.  A forest.  An owl.  A man.

But our spirit has an instinct for silence. Every soul innately yearns for stillness, for a space, a garden where we can till, sow, reap, and rest, and by doing so come to a deeper sense of self and our place in the universe. Silence is not an absence but a presence. Not an emptiness but repletion. A filling up.

~ from LISTENING BELOW THE NOISE by Anne D. LeClaire

 

Below are a collection of images from our journey into the forest together.  Click on the first image and then use your right arrow (if on a computer) to move through from one scene to the next.

 

 

 

 

 

Until next month….

 

 

 

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm f/4, 1/800 s, ISO 360,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feb

28

Antlarchy

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Shot of the Month – February 2018

Pronghorn, Yellowstone NP (5860)Despite living in a herd, the Pronghorn is really not prone to following the crowd.  For example this ungulate (hoofed animal) looks like an antelope, but it is not.  They are related to goats and antelope but actually belong to the family Antilocapridaea — they are the only members of this family.

Pronghorn are named after their namesake antlers.  Or are they horns?  Following their rule breaking tendencies, they are both, and neither.  I have a hard time keeping track of the difference between antlers and horns in the best of times, so let’s break it down:

Antlers

Antlers are made of pure bone tissue and are shed and regrown annually.  Typically antlers only grow on the males of the Cervidae family and include all species of deer, moose, and elk.  Caribou are the exception in that the female caribou also grow antlers.

Horns

Horns have a bony core which is covered with a sheath of keratin, the same stuff that makes up hair and fingernails.  Horns are found on members of the Bovidae family which includes a diverse crowd — cows, sheep, goats, water buffalo, antelopes and gazelles.  Horns can appear on both male and female.   Unlike antlers,  horns are never branched, and never shed, and in many species, never stop growing.  (source)

So the pointy things on the head of the Pronghorn take on characteristics of both horns and antlers:

—  They have two points or “prongs” which makes them like an antler.  True horns only have one point.

— They  have a layer of keratin like true horns, but they shed the horns each year, as if they were antlers.

—  Female Pronghorn also have pointy things on their heads, though smaller.  Antlers only grow on the males, usually.  Horns can be found on both.

Sooo, I guess they have “Hantlers?”  “Horntlers”?  “Antlorns”?

These nonconformists are wreaking havoc with our science books and making life tough for biology students.

And I didn’t even delve into rhino horns — yes they are similar but not quite the same.  And giraffe horns – again a bit different…but time to end before we fall into “antlarchy.”  (See what I did there?)

Until next month….

 

Pronghorn, Yellowstone NP (9391)

A male Pronhorn and his females (Yellowstone NP)

 

 

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 125

Jan

31

Falling for Nature

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Shot of the Month – January 2018

Waterfall, Yellowstone NP (6064)

Yellowstone National Park

Regardless of the country, people seem drawn to explore, visit, and photograph the natural beauty of waterfalls.  How big a draw are waterfalls?  Well, over 12 million people travel to see Niagara falls each year along the US-Canada border!   That’s just one waterfall out of thousands across the planet.

The dramatic settings and wild beauty of waterfalls are the visual equivalent of catnip for photographers and they hit the trails in droves to take images of falls, big and small, throughout the year.  Capturing a compelling image of a waterfall can be a fairly technical, tricky affair — one can’t really just walk up to the water’s edge and snap a picture and expect to get something special.

A few tips for those of you inclined to try your hand at shooting the shoots:

Primary Task:  Achieve A Slow Shutter Speed   (Confused by shutter speed?  Check out this great article)

When we look at a waterfall our eyes transform the falling water into a lovely silky cascade.  In order to create this effect in a camera we need to use a slow shutter speed.  This means that we want to keep the shutter open for a “long” time.  This means, probably a shutter speed of 1/4th of a second.  Or 1/3rd of second.  1/2 a second.  Perhaps one whole second.  You may even want to keep the shutter open for several seconds to make a dramatic looking image.  There is no “ideal” speed.  You need to experiment with different shutter speeds and find the look that you like best.

High Shutter Speed = The shutter is opens for a short duration (e.g. 1/1000 of a second or less)

Slow Shutter Speed = The shutter is open for a long duration (e.g. 1/2 of a second or more)

The challenge is that during the day, if there is a lot of light available, your camera will not allow you to access those slow shutter speeds as the images will come out overexposed.  How do we get there?

Use a Low ISO

Set your ISO to its lowest setting to help keep the shutter speed down.

Use a low Aperture Setting (Great article on understanding Aperture)

Stop your aperture down to f/11 or f/16 or smaller to reduce the amount of light that reaches your camera sensor — this will help create longer shutter speeds and will maximize the depth of field of your shot.

Avoid the Sun

The best time to photograph waterfalls is when it is cloudy – this will make it easier to achieve those long shutter speeds.  And shoot at sunrise or sunset when there is less light in the sky.  If the sun is out in full force, it might be best to go photograph something else.

Use a Tripod

With slow shutter speeds a tripod is essential to avoid motion blur.  No hand holding your camera for a great waterfall shot.

Use  Neutral Density Filters ( Learn more here)

Still too much light?  Most professional photographers use Neutral Density Filters to reduce the amount of light that can enter into the lens.  This allows for the lower shutters speeds that we need to photograph waterfalls and streams.  A polarizing filter can also be used as this will reduce the light and will also help remove unwanted reflections from wet rocks, leaves, etc.

I know, all this techno-geekness is rather tedious, but using these techniques and equipment will now allow you to explore the full creative range of one of nature’s natural wonders.  From here let your artistic juices flow.  How can you create a compelling composition?  What should be in the foreground?  Any interesting scenery that can be included?  How about an unusual viewpoint or angle?  Try different lenses – wide angle, zoom lenses, etc.  Shoot in portrait and then in landscape.  Find a way to get something new or fresh – not the same old shot that every other traveler took of the scene.  If you can, go back again and again and explore how the scene is transformed at different times of the day and during different seasons of the year.

 

Or, leave the camera at home and enjoy the hike and commune with nature.  Whatever it takes to get you out there….enjoy.

 

Here a few good articles on photographing waterfalls:

The Secrets of Stunning Waterfall Photography

More Tips

 

 

Nikon D4S, Nikon 28-105mm (@ 55mm), f/16, 3/5 sec, ISO 100