Wild or Tame

  
On a recent visit to Pere Marquette Lodge for a winter get-a-way I felt like I struck the eagle jackpot when I photographed two immature birds at Audubon Center at Riverlands. Always inspiring to see animals in the wild. The next day on a lark (sorry) we decided to stop by the nearby Treehouse Wildlife Center where, guess what, there were eagles!!! Got up close and personal. Seemed like a trifecta, a great winter overnight stay and two fun pictures.
~John

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Furry Tail Fling

Levitating squirrel leaves only a trace of tail – too quick for me. I have become slightly obsessed with wildlife in the last month – many robin pictures, too many hummingbird pictures, many missed egret pictures. On cold grey days I have watched Youtube videos of photographers showing off their super long camo-covered lenses and sharing their tips for capturing BIF (birds-in-flight). I suspect my interest will soon return to the species I am most familiar with – Homo sapiens.
~John

Three’s a Crowd

One of our blog followers submitted this street scene travel snap made with iPhone for a critique. On the plus side we have nice color –  the yellow and blue speak to me.  The rule of three goats (err, rule of thirds) is also a plus. Easy fix would be a tight horizontal crop, but would eliminating the foreground reduce the information content (i.e. crumbling infrastructure), I don’t think so. Additionally, is it more effective to have the goats “randomized” or have them perfectly placed for a eye-grabbing compostiton? Unfortunately, that was not a consideration as the photographer made only one quick snap. Getting the goats (get your goat, get it?) to cooperate — well, only luck and patience can make that happen. Final grade, a B for effort, a C- for the image.
~John

Never, Never, Never

Never eat anything bigger than your head… guess there is a reason they are called “rats with fur coats.”
~John

Focus on the Eyes

The eyes are the window to the soul… or some such gimcrack-ie.  Nonetheless, standard photo advice is to get the focus on the eyes and add catchlight if it adds depth. This little wonder (Mantis religiosa aka praying mantis) was walking up my stair rail and striking a pose. Caught the image with AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D and Nikon D610.

The Bird is the Word

I am no nature photographer, but I still love the out-of-doors (or inside the screen doors). While sipping coffee on the veranda, I was happy to see Mr. Hummingbird swoop in for a snack.  Shooting through screen really degrades an image — but if you are outside anywhere near the little birdy — it is birdy be gone. My solution was to put the camera on a tripod just outside the screen door, attach a remote cable and wait. I let the Nikon D610 and the AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm do the heavy lifting of auto-focus and exposure while I sipped coffee and pressed the remote.

Follow My Focus

Macro photography is an easy way to demonstrate “depth of field” sometimes also referred to as “depth of focus” where the plane of focus is isolated.  Here you can clearly see on the twig on the right of the image how shallow the area in focus. DOF is determined by distance to subject, lens aperture, and lens focal length. This little green stink bug was photographed at  f6.7 at 1/500 second about six inches away using a AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D on a Nikon D610.

Eagle Eyes

      

So you have a DSLR and you want to make pictures of birdies?  Ummm — best be prepared to spend a bundle on a 500mm lens and/or get a new Zen sense of patience. On a recent visit to Clarksville Missouri we watched as the “birders” watched and waited and waited and waited for the wild eagles, which winter near the Mississippi River, to entertain them. Of course, if you aren’t picky, you can get your avian snaps at the zoo or — where I got this close-up — at the World Bird Sanctuary.