Photography and Photo Tours: Specializing in Alaska's Wild Lands & Wild Life
Just a few quick shots from this past Sunday morning. Glorious weather in Kachemak Bay, too bright for typical landscape photography – so I concentrated on macro photography, areas small enough that I could block the sun with my shadow. Lowering the contrast with the worlds most portable sun shade:) A self-propelled sun visor made specifically for photographing lichen. Me.
I’m unsure of what the actual name of this particular lichen is, but there were several patches of it covering various rocks above the beach in Jakalof Bay. Brilliant colors, and nearly perfectly round in many instances. Incredible shape and color, very complex & yet very simple. Mother nature is a fine artist and has the most varied palette you will ever see.
Bullseye Lichen, Jakalof Bay, Kachemak Bay State Park, Alaska
Bullseye Lichen (Detail), Jakalof Bay, Kachemak Bay State Park, Alaska
Remember to look around. Most importantly, look down. You never know what you’re missing by always looking ahead.
Stay tuned.
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David, I’d like to say your compositions are all wrong, your images are lacking something, there’s a stick you missed, or anything….but you stuff is truely fantastic…..But I’ll keep looking, maybe I ‘ll find something, someday, I think could be improved….but i doubt it.
What camera and lenses are you using. I assume they are all digital, 10MP or greater. For the unique orange color photos, did you use any filters? Does digital photography require filters like film did? Does your camera compensate for movement?
Again, wonderful stuff.
David Talbot
Mesa, Arizona
Thanks for commenting David, and thanks for the kind words! There is always something that needs to be worked on – no matter how much experience you have. I guess the day that I get it right every time is the day I should quit & get my ice skates out – because hell just froze over:)
I learn a lot from my peers. For instance, when I had some VERY good photogs look over one of my photos (the two grebes looking at each other silhouetted and surrounded by ripples), they pointed out that I could have made the composition more dynamic by positioning the pair of birds in the lower right corner of the image. It was such a simple suggestion, but it makes all the difference in the final image. The image in question isn’t really about fine detail like many photos – it’s more about form and color, so it didn’t suffer when I cropped it so the birds are now in the lower right hand corner of the frame. The composition is much stronger now – I feel. We’re always learning, always striving to improve. Undoubtedly, the photos we get on our first trip to a location improve upon repeated visits.
As for my equipment, it is all digital. I made the full switch to digital in 2004. Currently I am using a 15MP camera & will be purchasing a new one that is 21MP – strictly for landscape work. I will probably also upgrade to a Canon 1D MK 4 when it is announced – just for a more robust camera (I tend to be in areas and weather not conducive to electronics:)). I use a large variety of lenses: everything from 12mm wide angles to 600mm telephoto lenses with 1.4 teleconverters attached (this combo equals a 1344mm focal length). Ultimately, the lenses make the difference, more than the camera. A camera is simply a “light-tight box”. Lenses get you the perspective. But the best camera is the one you own and have with you – whether that is a small point and shoot, an iPhone, an $8000 Nikon D3X, or a $35,000 PhaseOne P65 digital back on a $15,000 medium format body. I shoot with a Canon system, but Nikon makes some great cameras too – their new D700 & D3X have amazing capabilities. I’ve always found Nikons to be more comfortable in my hand & I have considered “switching sides” more than I’d care to admit. I do recommend staying with these two manufacturers though, they have the greatest selection of lenses and accessories of anyone out there & offer the greatest options available.
The only filters I use are polarizers – because they can not be simulated in a digital darkroom. A lot of new photogs fall into the salesman/woman’s trap when they buy a new digital camera. “You should really buy a UV/Skylight/Haze filter to protect your lens”. Then they buy a $12 filter to cover the front of their lens – in essence turning their $400+ lens into a $12 optical system. You’re better off buying a lens hood and use your lens cap religiously to protect the front element of your lenses. Also, one of the best photography accessories you can invest in is a good tripod & head.
You’ve given me a good idea here – time to write a guide for new photographers looking to buy their first camera system/gear. I’ll post it on the Journal as soon as it is finished.
Back to your question about my use of filters – the shots that I recently posted have no filter use whatsoever. They are practically straight shots – right out of the camera, just black point adjustments & color balance. The sun was so amazingly “red-shifted” because of all the ash in the atmosphere, I probably could have toned DOWN the saturation a bit. But I chose to display it as it really appeared.
Canon was the first to incorporate I.S. (Image Stabilization) into their lenses. Then came Nikon with V.R. (Vibration Reduction) built into their lenses. Now Sony and a few others have “thrown a wrench” into the mix by building the technology into their digital sensors, rather than into their lenses, so the image stabilization works on any lens mounted on the body. I hope Canon and Nikon will adopt this idea – as this allows every lens to be stabilized, regardless of its generation/technology. It would also make the lenses lighter. We’ll see.
Thanks again.
Keep the questions coming everyone!