Hardeman, the Red-tailed Hawk at TRC

Hardeman, the Red-tailed Hawk at TRC.

 

When we take our group to the educational program with the Teton Raptor Center, Becky, the Educational Director, will often ask if we can capture a few images of birds they need for their purposes. We are always glad to do what we can to help so we focused on a few birds this year for her. Hardeman was one of the birds we spent extra time with for portraits. Hardeman is named for the historic barn that is located on the property where the TRC is located. This past year the moved the barn over slightly to help preserve it for years to come. Hardeman was brought to the Center after being struck by a car and lost vision in his right eye. With all the focus on the renovations at the TRC and how incredible it will be with all the new structures, the historic barn will be a center point of how the new there has embraced the historic past of the property. Hardeman’s namesake will be talked about often and each time he educates someone the story of his name will be mentioned. He has a big year ahead of him and well, many more as well. Hopefully our portraits will help in the efforts of the TRC.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 500, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #TetonRaptorCenter, #SiruiUSA, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography, #BirdPhotography

How to pick a subject for ICM images

How to pick a subject for ICM images.

 

Two quick notes: ICM – Intentional Camera Movement, and a lot of folks hate ICM images. So with that out of the way…my thought process when I am going to do ICM images is this, I find subjects that have strong vertical lines against a contrasting background. This could be the trees separated by some space between them, or the background could simply be a different tone or texture. In this image I used the spacing between the trees as well as the snowy base to create starting points and depth. I also look for things on the trees edges, which Aspens have plenty, that will appear as lines when you do the vertical movement with the camera. My preferred shutter speed when hand holding is typically between 1/8th of a second to 1/2 a second. This will give you some detail and it is easier to control the camera. And don’t forget to turn off your image stabilization, in my case the Vibration Compensation.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f32, ISO 110, shutter speed of 1/2 second, handheld, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #ICM, #IntentionalCameraMovement, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

Bigger isn’t always better in an image

Bigger isn’t always better in an image.

 

Too often we get caught up on the idea that we have to make a wildlife subject huge in our frame, if possible a portrait of the face if we can. I believe a lot of that comes from carrying big, heavy, long lenses. If we are carrying it, we should use it to its full potential, right? I think there are many times though that including the environment is more meaningful for us to understand the wildlife we are viewing. I like backing off and showing where the animal is, and in this case the conditions it is living. Detail in portraits is nice, but telling a story when possible is just as nice if not more pleasing as a whole as well. The added benefit of backing off is there is less chance you are pressuring an animal in making the image. In making this image Cecil Holmes, Jerry Black and myself gathered close together vs standing apart so the Elk relaxed thinking we were just one of the horses in the pasture. We were able to get some great images of an Elk in the winter environment at the Triangle X Ranch.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 900, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #TriangleXRanch, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

The view from the Lodge at Triangle X Ranch

The view from the Lodge at Triangle X.

 

If you have ever wondered what the view is like from the Triangle X Ranch where we base our Winter in the Tetons Workshop…this is standing at the base of the steps at the lodge while we were preparing to have breakfast. We decided years ago to make our workshop about more than photography, we wanted our group to experience the Tetons. The Ranch is always such a highlight. The folks there are incredible, the accommodations are great, the food is first class, and as you can see the view isn’t half bad either. Oh by the way we have opened registration for our 2021 Workshop. 7 spots remain….

http://www.natureinfocusworkshops.com/photo-workshops/2021-winter-in-the-grand-tetons

 

7 frame panoramic image made with the Tamron 35-150mm Di VC OSD lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f3.2, ISO 64, shutter speed of 1/30th of a second, Sirui SR 3204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, stitched and processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron35150, #portraittravelzoom, #TriangleXRanch, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

Hunter, the Peregrine Falcon at the Teton Raptor Center

Hunter, the Peregrine Falcon at Teton Raptor Center.

 

Peregrine Falcons are almost as fascinating to me as Eagles. They aren’t as majestic, but just as fascinating in my opinion. Hunter is one of the resident education birds and can not be released into the wild. He was born with a visual defect that would prevent him from successfully hunting in the wild. He is always a favorite with our groups, and I love watching the group as they learn more about Peregrines. I can’t express my thanks enough to the folks at the Teton Raptor Center for all they do for the birds in the greater Yellowstone area as well as our groups and all that visit.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 360, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #TetonRaptorCenter, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

Creating separation using a long lens

Creating separation using a long lens.

 

I photographed many trees in snowy conditions while in Wyoming a couple weeks ago and found that using a long lens was most effective for the look I wanted to achieve. A long lens allowed me to get back from my subject, which combined with the snow created a nice separation of my subject from the background. I found using a shorter lens often eliminated the gap created by the snow. In a situation like this image, the long lens visually separated the subject from the similar objects in the out of focus background. This image was made using the Tamron SP 150-600mm G2 @ 380mm.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f6.3, ISO 320, shutter speed 1/500th of a second, Sirui SR 3204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600mmg2, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

What worked in the Tetons

What worked in the Tetons.

 

I am going to do a little video later today or tomorrow following up on my video of how to prepare for winter photography, but I wanted to do a post as well. We had some fairly harsh conditions, no extreme cold, mainly in the teens or single digits with the windchill, but it was fairly moist which offers other issues. I will start with the failures I had were more from a personal comfort standpoint, and mainly on one day. While photographing sheep, it started to sleet. No problem, right? Wrong! I had gotten out of the car without my hat because it was fairly warm and no precipitation was falling, but the sleet came on fast and I literally scraped the side of my head at one point and had enough slush to make a snowball! Simple fix, wear a hat!

 

As for gear…I have never, I repeat never been able to go to Wyoming in the winter and not had the ballhead freeze and render it virtually useless. Well that all changed this year with the combination of Acratech GXP ballhead and the Sony mirrorless cameras. I noticed that being able to keep my face away from the back of the camera virtually eliminated condensation on the ballhead. I wanted to test the ballhead to see how it did with moisture and freezing so I breathed on it for a while to get it to freeze, but it still worked great. On one morning I actually dropped it into the snow (accidentally) and snow and ice were covering the ballhead but it worked great, no problem. My Sirui SR 3204 got a little stiff after the legs had a little ice form on them one day, but tapping the bottom got it working fine.

 

As for lenses and lens issues…zero. The focus worked great in autofocus and never froze up. Tamron’s weather sealing on the lenses kept moisture out and I never had any issue with condensation going from warm to cold or cold to warm. The cameras I carried worked great, no issues. I carried 1 Nikon Z7, a Sony a7Riii, and a Sony a7iii. Even though I carried extra batteries, I never had one fail in the cold and only changed and charged batteries twice in over a week. Here is a link to my “Prepper” video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM3s7DDPeH0

 

My decision to pack the Shimoda Rolling bag to travel and then switch it to the Explore 40L backpack after I arrived (it was packed with clothes in my checked bag) was perfect. It is so nice to walk through the airport without having a lot of gear on your back.

 

The trip was as great a success as I could have hoped for with my preparation and gear, any mistakes were my fault. Our group was great! We have posted our 2021 Workshop for Winter in the Tetons and would love to have 10 of you join us!

 

The image today is a 7 frame panoramic using the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD mirrorless lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Mode, f8, ISO 50, shutter speed of 1/25th of a second, Sirui SR 3204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, stitched and processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron2875mirrorless, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography