Wildlife parks and zoos are an excellent place to observe animal behaviors and master your camera functions. I often get asked about photographing at wildlife parks, and specifically how to take pictures through a fence or glass. This article I wrote provides the answers and will prepare you for success. Published worldwide in the Photographic Society of America (PSA) Journal, June 2021. View and Download Article
Snow leopards are gorgeous creatures. They are native to the rugged highlands of Central Asia. In particular, they are found in the Himalaya region, living at elevations as high as 9,000 – 15,000 feet above sea level. They are smaller than most big cats, weighing about 60-120 pounds. Their tails are nearly as long as their body, it keeps them warm in the cold climate. Snow leopards don’t roar, they chuff. The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List…
Let it snow!!! And there was a lot of snow in Montana in January 2018. I always look forward to the Wildlife in Winter workshop. Adjacent to the Rocky Mountains, the Kalispell area is a stunning location. The workshop is offered through Triple D, which has been in business for over 40 years, offering a variety of animal species to photograph in a large selection of natural settings. Participants have the opportunity to photograph trained animals and work with experienced…
Did you know hummingbirds are found only in the Americas? Of the 342 known species, 16 breed in the United States. Hummingbirds migrate at a time determined by genetic programming. Sedona Arizona is on the migration path as hummers fly to their winter destinations. For about two weeks in the the middle of August, they stop and rest in the yards of hummingbird-friendly Sedona residents. Hummers return to sites where they found good food supplies the year before. They eat insects…
Minnesota is the most northern state outside of Alaska, and has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined. There are an estimated 12,000-15,000 black bears in Minnesota. Photographing the North American Black Bear was the purpose of this 3-day photo workshop and it was wildly successful with over 150 sightings. Check out the photos below to see a sampling of the bears my group photographed and how close we were on the ground to these free-roaming animals.…
With the Rocky Mountains in view every day, photographing the Triple D animals in Kalispell, Montana is always an enjoyable experience. Add adorable beautiful wildlife babies to the scene and it doesn’t get any better! This years Springtime Babies Photo Workshop included coyote pups, a mountain lion cub, a pine marten baby, raccoon kits, red fox kits, a Siberian Lynx kitten and striped skunk kits, plus a great variety of wildlife adults. Check out the photos below to see the amazing babies.…
We don’t always have the opportunity to include the entire body of the subject in the photo. It’s perfectly acceptable to crop the photo. Simply avoid cropping the subject at a joint, as illustrated in the photos below.
Depth of Field is how much of a given photograph is in sharp focus from the foreground of what’s in your frame to the background. Only what your focus point is on (shown as a square or dot when you look through the view finder) will be razor sharp. Other elements in front of (closer to you) and behind (further away from you) will be somewhat sharp. A “shallow” depth of field means a limited part of the photo is…
Follow these tips to get picture perfect butterfly photos: Use a macro lens with a minimum focus distance 12 inches or less so you can capture close-up, full frame detail. Position yourself at eye level to the butterfly. Keep the composition very simple. Do a four corner perimeter check around your frame and physically move your body to eliminate or add elements. Look for butterflies that are in pristine condition (i.e., no chips in their wings, both antennas, all legs, etc.).…
The simpler the picture, the better. Focus attention on your subject. An out of focus background will draw the viewer’s attention to the subject. Blurred items should fall in the bottom or side of the frame. Make sure no other elements are sharper, brighter, more colorful, or in any way more attractive to the main subject. Look at the four corners and borders of the frame for distracting elements. It is easier to exclude a distracting element from the frame…