Generally for me the easiest part of writing is to create the title for a new article.  Today nothing came to mind so I left it “Nameless”.   So to speak.

During the fall landscape season I enjoy seeing how many different ways I can use reflective waters in my compositions.

This first image was made along the Pike River in Kenosha County Wisconsin.  The light back in this wooded area was not of the sort to reflect vivid details.  That was a good thing as I do think it would have been a confusing image if it had.  I was primarily after color reflections.

Our second shot was made at Starrett Lake in or around the Nicolet National Forest here in Wisconsin.  The calm waters along the open shoreline made for your basic mirror image.   This works here because there is order to that forest.  It sweeps through the frame in a gentle but well ordered curve.  Lucky again.

While I do like this final autumn image it is very different from either of the first two.  There are shadows here and mystery within them.  This image does “not give it all up” as far as information goes.  There is a lot going on and it is a bit more confusing than the first two.  I accept that in this shot because to me it is a somewhat abstract view that takes you deep into the Chequamegon N.F. here in Wisconsin.

Photography is about light.  It is about the color and tone of light.  I normally would not post either of these two photos of a New England Aster, mainly because they are boring.  While they are the same flower, the top image was made at first light and the second a while later.  The difference in the color of these two shots is dramatic. Many people do not like those color shifts because they believe that is not the proper color of that flower.  I am a nature photographer and my view is that if nature’s light creates that color on my subject, than during that period of time that is indeed the real color of a New England Aster. 

This next image is also about the color of light.  I have made my share of images of Great Egrets in flight, but only a few during the early morning hours.  The warm glow has set (as  far as success) this image apart from similar pictures that I have made.

Many photographers who are new to wildlife photography find themselves disappointed in the detail they get in their photos.  The simplest answer to that problem is the closer you are the more detail you will see.   If you are using a long lens in the 300mm-800mm category then you are compressing atmosphere of whatever kind might exist between you and your subject.  Smog, mist, haze, rain, fog, and particulates that you will not notice with your eyes.  Heavily overcast days are worse than days that produce vivid light.   Especially light that is a bit to the side of your subject.  Of course focus and depth of filed matter as well. 

I should also mention that I am not suggesting that we get as close as we can to our subjects regardless of the consequences to that subject.  Nesting/denning animals that appear nervous or defensive and other stressed wildlife should be left alone.  I generally move in as close as I can until I detect the first bit of stress to my subject.  I stop and make pictures from there.  At times they will relax and I may then move closer, but it is shocking just how often after you stop they will actually come closer to you.  I do allow animals to get as close to me as they wish.  The world will not end because we had to give up our shot that day.

The first shot of a male Pine Grosbeak was taken from very close range.  The soft overcast light helped saturate the colors but if I was at a longer distance that same light would have dulled down the feather detail.  Do notice that the low light conditions caused me to use shallow depth of field (f stop), and that combined with the  close distance between the bird and I  meant that the lower part of the bird was not covered by my focus.  I did the only thing I could do under those circumstances and made sure my focus was on the head and particularly the eyes.

I was also close to the gull below, although I was probably twice the distance that I was from the grosbeak.  Vivid sunlight made up for the difference in distance.

There are several ways to compose any landscape.  Landscape photography is much easier than wildlife photography in the sense that the land does not move around or fly away,  It is however much more challenging in composition.  In particular those wide angle comps where there is so much real estate to bring order to.  The picture below was made in The Badlands of South Dakota and uses many of the traditional methods of wide-angle (18mm) pictures.  I used the ridge of the rock form to vertically take you through the frame.  I have the textured land very close to the camera lens.  I have used side lighting to create those little shadows in the mud cracks to give you the impression of that texture that I spoke of.  That side lighting does create a non-traditional shadow on the right side of the ridge.  Some will not like that but for me the mystery it imparts only makes the image a bit more powerful.

Bighorn Sheep are a popular mammal species for wildlife photographers working in the west.  There are many great locations for Bighorns including Rocky Mt, Yellowstone and The Badlands N.P.s.  I would suggest South Dakota’s Custer State Park or Wind Cave N.P. for locations that you can depend on for nice close images of Bighorns.  They provide rare opportunities to make intimate pictures of wild members of this species.  As an aside, Bighorn Sheep are actually in the goat family.  To make things even more confusing Mountain Goats are in the antelope family.  Of course to top all of this off, what many people call Pronghorn Antelope are really not antelope. 

The Japanese Beetle is not a welcome visitor to North America but I must admit that when you find one of these guys covered with dew and see the prism effect that this creates, they are a great photographic subject.  Move your camera around to different angles and you will see all of those colors blossom.

After all of these years of photography I am amazed (dismayed) at the fact that at times I can still get so excited with a  subject that I miss some glaring facts about that very subject.  I rarely miss obstacles in my picture frame but I sometimes miss things that are amiss with the subject itself.  I had not made a respectable image of a male Canvasback Duck in 20 years when I happened on the fellow below at Horicon Marsh NWR.  I happily made many pictures of my subject when a flock of Canada Geese flew in and ruined any more potential pictures.  I moved on and ran into a fellow photographer who had also seen my feathered friend.  The first thing he mentioned is that he passed on making the shot because of his lack of tail  feathers.  My first reaction was how dumb can I be for not even seeing that.  Then I thought logically about stock usage for my images and realized that there are thousands of photographers with photos of that Canvasback with perfect tail feathers, but what about that one editor that needs one like this.   I went back and found him again and made many more pictures.  Stock photographers need to show everything in nature.  You cannot truthfully educate the public if you only show those perfect subjects.Every once in a while you get an opportunity for a picture of an animal that has always been on your list.  It is can be disappointing if you are only able to work with that critter very briefly and you did not get the image you hoped for.  My policy is that I will definitely share those pictures with the general public (not stock) as long as they are not horribly un-sharp etc.  So meet my friend the Javelina.  I made this in a remote west Texas desert and three quick frames was all I was able to make.  The Javelina is not a true pig but is a member of that general family.   I still have the memories of this Javelina.  Of course I also have exactly three pictures.

With bird migration is full swing and the fall color change now beginning, I hope all of (at the northern third of our planet) you have an opportunity to get out and celebrate this magnificent season.  Keep in mind there are still new flowers such as Asters as well as late hatchings of many insects and the Monarch Butterfly migration.  There is always something in nature to photograph.  There are stories for your camera to tell and art for you to create.  For those of you living in northern climates like me, do not become a cabin dweller after winter breathes its chilling wind over the land.   Some of the most telling and artful imagery is created while the winds of winter blow.  Nature photography is a never-ending cycle.  We are all fortunate that it is.

God Bless,

Wayne

Macro Art in Nature http://macroartinnature.wordpress.com/