Q3 Photos have arrived! Back in September I was in Southern Africa photographing wildlife and landscapes. In case you don’t follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you should be! We’ve posted several videos on location to check out. I also took my annual trip to Katmai to photograph the bears. As usual the goal was to get something new, and this workshop continues to provide those opportunities as generations of bears grow, begin their own families, and repeat the cycle. A couple workshops in the beautiful Pacific Northwest rounded things out and now I’m in New Zealand leading a couple of tours – stay tuned for photos from these trips!
I’ve also posted several trips for the coming year or two – check them out, and join me on my next great adventure!
The first weekend of November, I’ll be in Manassass, Virgina for the Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions Expo! This will be a two-day event with incredible speakers, workshops, one-on-one experiences and much more. Make a weekend of it and catch the whole show, or just come and check out my WILD LIVES presentation on the 2nd, from 1 to 3pm. I’ll be signing books after the talk, with copies available for purchase – or lug your own books to the event; I’d be happy to meet you and sign them!
I’ll be sharing photos from my latest book project along with the stories behind them. WILD LIVES represents my most comprehensive collection of wildlife to date, with photos ranging from early in my career to shots I was able to capture and sneak in right before it went to print. I’m proud of this project, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
It’s been long overdue for a refresh, but my gear page has been updated with the latest equipment I use in the field. I’m sure I’ll come across a few more things to add in the future, but for now this is a decent list of what I’m usually traveling with. That’s not to imply I always bring everything on the list with me – on the contrary, my goal is to travel as light as possible.
Having a plan going into at trip helps lighten the load. If I’m heading to India to photograph elusive big cats, I’m definitely bringing my 100-500. If I’m just going to photograph landscapes in the Southwestern US, I might just bring my 70-200. While there is something to be said for being prepared for any situation, I prefer the convenience of less gear to manage. It also helps keep me focused on the goals I prepared for on a given trip.
Is there any gear you travel with that’s not on my list that you think definitely should be? Leave a comment below and stay tuned for updates!
Recently I posted about my amazing new Canon R5 Mark 2 and some of the features I’m loving about this camera. However for all the technology invested in capturing tack-sharp images and freezing action, its also important to remind yourself to slow down every now and again.
One of the techniques I employ often is dropping the ISO down to 100 and stop down the aperture and let the motion move across the image. This “intentional camera movement”, or “ICM” technique is a great way to convey the sense of motion in an otherwise still frame, inviting the viewer to imagine the subject in action as described by the blurred image. Ernst Haas was one of my early influences, a person who’s work I continue to admire. He was a pioneer of using this technique to show the motion in his subjects.
It takes some experimentation and often you won’t really know if you have any successful images until you’ve edited and evaluated them. Some may still show the eyes of the animal in reasonably sharp contrast to the blurred legs in motion – I like this look – but I also like those images that make me think of ancient drawings on a cave wall, where nothing is particularly defined and the entire animal is abstracted in it’s motion and the background a blurred canvas.
I won’t always see the potential in these images immediately. Some I shot on film many years ago I nearly tossed out but decided to file away at the last second. I pulled them out years later and found a new appreciation for their abstract qualities and I’m glad I did!
If you’re interested in more photos captured with this technique, check out Rhythms From the Wild.
Q3 Photos have arrived! Back in September I was in Southern Africa photographing wildlife and landscapes. In case you don’t follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you should be! We’ve posted several videos on location to check out. I also took my annual trip to Katmai to photograph the bears. As usual the goal was to get something new, and this workshop continues to provide those opportunities as generations of bears grow, begin their own families, and repeat the cycle. A couple workshops in the beautiful Pacific Northwest rounded things out and now I’m in New Zealand leading a couple of tours – stay tuned for photos from these trips!
