Magic Light Photography

End Of The Line

2012-01-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

I came across this story written in the snow yesterday as I was snowshoeing with my dogs. I don't know what left the tracks in the snow, but I have a pretty good idea of what ended them. A small rodent of some kind was surprised mid stroll by a raptor. Either a hawk or an owl judging by the size of the wing marks left in the snow.

I have seen a hawk in this area but haven't gotten a good look to verify exactly what it is. My guess is a red-tail. I have heard reports of a snowy owl in this area as well, but have yet to actually see it.

These types of stories are written, by wildlife, across the landscape all the time. Taking the time to find and interpret them makes our outdoor adventures more enjoyable. Being able to share them with others makes our adventures even more rewarding.

Winter Wonderland!

2012-01-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

I love fresh snow! Even if I'm not out with the intent on taking photos, I love being out in the fresh snow. Cross country skiing, snowshoeing, even running the snow blower. It's all fun for me. I was happy to get out on Saturday for a while to play in fresh powder that covered our area on Friday.

The sun was shining and the wind was minimal making for a great day to get out and play in the snow. The bright blue sky contrasted nicely with the red berries and snow.

The fresh, untouched landscape was a refreshing sight to see. I had expected to see more tracks in the snow, but it looks like I was one of the first to explore this area.

The trail was untouched, but you can still follow the faint tracks left in the last snowfall that wasn't completely covered by this storm.

I hiked a little over 3 miles on my snowshoes on Saturday. A good portion of that was breaking a new trail in the fresh powder.

I wasn't the only one leaving tracks in the snow!

The sun was casting some interesting shadows on the blank canvas of the snow.

The fresh snow, mild temperatures and bright sun made it a great day to spend outside exploring!

Winter has arrived. Finally!

2012-01-19T10:26:00.001-08:00

Winter has finally arrived here in the Midwest. Last week I was still seeing motorcycles on the road, this week it's plows and salt trucks. With temps in the single digits and the snow slowly starting to accumulate, it actually feels like January. More snow is predicted for this weekend and I'm hoping for some great photo opportunities in the coming weeks.

Frosty Morning

2012-01-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally settled in to Southwest Wisconsin. With the mild winter we have had up until last week, the photo opportunities seemed to be pretty limited. With no snow, the landscaped simply looked brown and boring. The lack of snow also means that there is plenty of food around for wildlife so they don't need to be on the move as much. So with what seems like a lack of subjects to photograph, what's a nature/wildlife photographer to do?

The answer is simple. All you have to do is take a look around and you will find something to photograph. Just because you like to shoot a specific type of subject doesn't mean that you stop looking at other options. Something as simple as frost on a window can make for an interesting photo.

This time of year is one of my favorite times to be out photographing the landscape. Snow, frost and ice transform our surroundings into magical displays of mother nature.

If you don't like being out in the cold, stay inside and find something that interests you. One nice thing about photography frost on your windows is that you can stay inside where it's warm and still make interesting winter photos.

Another great thing about this time of year for photographers is that the sun rises and sets at a lower angle to the earth than at other times of the year. The result is that great magic light last longer into the morning, and begins sooner in the afternoons. That magic light can really help to warm up a cold scene and turn it into something special.

If you like the cold or hate it, there are plenty of opportunities to capture winter scenes if you simply take a look around you and are willing to explore photographic possibilities that you hadn't thought of before.

The Story Behind the Photographs - Hyde's Mill

2010-11-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Not another Hyde's Mill photo! That place is way over photographed.

Those are two things that I hear quite often. I'll admit, this place if photographed a lot, but it is these types of comments to photographs of the mill that drive me to return to this location over and over again. Not because I want to add to the deluge of Hyde's Mill photos out there, but because I want to create an image that really stands out from the crowd.

Hyde's Mill is located in a very small town in Iowa County Wisconsin, and is a staple in many local photographer portfolios. The mill and the stone damn that diverted the water flow to drive the water wheel were build in 1850, and are a classic reminder of the days gone bye.

One of the big challenges when it comes to creating a unique photograph of this location is the limited access. Almost all of the photos I have seen of this location are taken from one or two spots. The road, or the grassy area in front of the damn. The land around the mill, and the mill itself is privately owned (and for sale) so you are pretty much limited to these two shooting locations. So how do you make something unique with what seems like very few options?

The way I answer this question is to try something new, experiment and see what works and what doesn't. Add an interesting foreground element.

Isolate a smaller section of the scene.

Visit at a different time of day, or night.

Visit in a different season. Winter with fresh snow on the ground is my favorite time to photograph this location.

This is a location where you really do have to work the scene. If you open your mind, the options become limitless. You are still limited to a few locations to shoot from, but what you choose to photograph from those locations is up to you. Change things up a little bit and you can come home with a new photo from an old location.

When you have finished photographing the mill, don't forget to look around you. Right behind the mill is an old blacksmith shop. The access to the blacksmith shop is even more limited than the mill, so get creative.

Right in front of the area where you park is a display of some of the old grinding stones from the mill. They make a very compelling subject as well.

When you have exhausted your opportunities at Hyde's Mill, drive to the end of the road. Hyde's Chapel is another great subject to photograph that is all but forgotten by photographers. Most of them head to the mill, then return the same way them came and never even see the chapel.

A Warm Autumn

2010-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

With temps in the high 70's and 80's it sure hasn't felt like Autumn this past week. That hasn't stopped the leaves from turning colors and littering the ground though.

I spent a lot of time exploring some of my favorite places looking for fall photo opportunities this past week. One of those places is a little state natural area outside of Baraboo called Pewit's Nest. I was there on Monday for a while, and again on Thursday morning for 4 hours. Pewit's Nest is a beautiful area and when you visit during the week, you will most likely have the place to yourself. The weekends get quite a bit busier as can be expected.

After leaving Pewit's Nest I decided to go to Mirror Lake State Park. I had only been there once before to do some hiking with some friends. That trip was not all that much fun do to the mosquitoes, but this trip proved to be much better. This time I took my kayak and explored the lake instead of the trails. There were mallards all along the shore on the end of the lake where the beach is. The combination of the evergreens mixed with the changing leaves of the hardwood trees along the narrow sandstone bluffs made for a very pretty paddle.

My next stop after leaving Mirror Lake was Devil's Lake State Park. I wasn't sure what I wanted to explore at Devil's Lake so I drove though the park to see what I could see. I drove down a dead end gravel road on the edge of the park that I had never been on before. The light was still a bit harsh for photography but I love autumn scenes of colorful trees that overhang a deserted road.

As the shadows started to get longer, I knew it was time to get out of the truck and do some exploring on foot. I headed up the west bluff trail in search or a great vantage point to photograph the colors on the east bluff. I wasn't disappointed.

I was also keeping an eye out for the more subtle signs of fall.

After hiking back down from the west bluff I noticed some people enjoying the unseasonably warm weather out on the lake.

As the evening went on, I watched the shadows creep up the face of the east bluff as the sun slowly sank below the horizon to the west. With the last warm rays of light highlighting the rock outcroppings on the east bluff, it was time to head for home, after a couple more photos of course.

500mm @ 1/20 sec

2010-07-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

If you've been into photography for a while, you have probably heard the rule of thumb in regards to the minimum shutter speed you should use when hand holding your camera in order to eliminate camera shake and to get a sharp photo. If not, the rule is pretty simple. To figure out the minimum shutter speed you should use simply put 1 over your focal length. For example, if you are using a 50mm lens you would put 1 over 50 or 1/50 sec. to determine your shutter speed. If you're shooting at 100mm you should use at least 1/100 sec. to help eliminate camera shake. This is pretty simple math, but don't forget that you also need to factor in the crop factor if you are shooting with a DSLR with a smaller than full frame sensor.

That's all fine and good, but what happens when conditions don't allow you to use that fast of a shutter speed and you don't have an image stabilized lens or camera? There is a trick you can use to help improve your chances of getting a sharp image at slow shutter speeds. The trick is pretty simple and can work wonders. The first thing you need to do is to set your cameras motor drive to the fastest frame rate that it has. The faster the better for this technique to work. Then once you get your subject in focus, press and hold down the shutter button and take a series of 3-5 consecutive exposures before releasing the shutter button. As you press the button down, you are adding more movement to the camera, and as you release the button you are doing the same. By pressing the button, and holding it down, you are still taking photos but you are not moving your finger so you're not adding more camera shake. Chances are that one of the images in the middle of the series is going to be much sharper than the first and last images.

For the last couple of months I have been photographing wildlife from my kayak. A kayak on the water, although pretty stable as far as a boat goes, is not very stable as far as a shooting platform goes. I find that a tripod in the boat is too much of a hassle, but a monopod works great. My old Sigma 170-500mm is my main wildlife lens but it has some limitations. The major one is that it is too soft for my tastes when shooting wide open. I have to shoot this lens stopped down to f/9 in order to get sharp images which in low light, gives me painfully slow shutter speeds, even when I boost the ISO to 800. Also note that this lens does not optically stabilized. Using the burst mode and a monopod has allowed me to get acceptably sharp photos at long focal lengths and relatively slow shutter speeds.

Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about. In the series of frog images, all were shot at 500mm with a shutter speed of 1/60 sec. Keep in mind that the rule of thumb mentioned above means that I should have a shutter speed of at least 1/800 sec in order to help reduce the effects of camera shake. (This is because of the 1.6x crop factor of my camera body. 500mm x 1.6 = 800) That's almost 4 stops slower than the rule of thumb! By shooting a series using the motor drive, you can see how much sharper the middle image is than the first and last images. (You may have to click on the images to see them larger to really notice the difference.)

Here is another example from this weekend. This young bald eagle was perched in complete shade giving me a shutter speed of 1/20 sec! That's over 5 stops slower than the rule of thumb! These images were shot at 500mm and cropped to show about 50% of the actual frame.

Here is my final version of the 2nd image after applying a little sharpening.

So when you're out in the field and you are stuck photographing as a slow shutter speed and you don't have a tripod, remember to try using your cameras motor drive to improve your chances of getting a sharp photo.

Photographing Lightning

2010-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

With Spring slowing rolling in and pushing Old Man Winter back to his hideout for a few months, there are a lot of changes coming our way. One of the events I look forward to each spring and summer are thunderstorms. I love a good storm! A good storm will bring with it a great light show in the sky. Watching the dark night light up around me as the lightning flashes is always impressive. I love lightning, and I have tried to photograph it a few times in the past, but never with the results I wanted. I knew how to photograph lighting but I was never able to put everything I knew into practice. In my previous attempts, there was always one element missing. It was usually my timing that was off. Not my timing tripping the shutter, but my timing getting into position before the rains came. When I finally got to a good location, it was raining so hard that I didn't want to get out of the truck, let alone take my expensive camera gear out in the rain.

On a warm, Sunday, August evening I was sitting at home watching TV with my wife. We were watching a show on the Discovery Channel about lighting. It was getting late and I was about to go to bed since I had to work the next day. As I was sitting there thinking about going to bed, I noticed some flashes of light outside. Watching a show on lighting during a lightning storm, coincidence? I already had my shoes off and I began to debate my options. Go to bed, or load up my gear and try to photograph the lighting storm that was going on outside? I decided bed could wait, the storm looked too good to pass up.

So I did what every sane person does in a lightning storm. I drove to the top of a hill and set up my metal tripod on the edge of town and watched the lighting stretch across the night sky. I'm sure it sounds like a cliche, but this turned out to be the 'perfect storm' for photographing lightning.

The night was calm with almost no wind, the storm was off in the distance and there wasn't any rain. The conditions couldn't have been better for photographing the lightning. I had plenty of time to set up my gear, and experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds to get the exposure I wanted. It also allowed me to try different focal lengths to get the composition I wanted.

Through my experiments, I determined that a 5 second exposure at f/5.0 and a focal length of 12mm gave me the type of image I was after. Once that was determined, I set up my camera with those settings and programmed my remote control shutter release to take a series of 5 second exposures one right after the next. Then I sat in the truck and watched the show.

I ended up taking close to 400 photos of the sky that evening. Of course most of those frames didn't have any lighting in them, but several of them did. In the end, the hardest part of photographing this storm was packing up my gear and heading home for the night. If I didn't have to work the next day, I would have stayed longer.

Here is a gallery of more images from that night.

www.magiclightphotography.com/lightning

Winter Photography

2009-12-23T16:46:00.001-08:00

With the official arrival of Winter, I thought I would put together something about photographing this time of year. With the snow and sleet tapping at my window as I write this, what topic would be better for a blog post?

Winter is one of my favorite times to get out and explore with my camera. The crowds are gone, the air is usually much clearer and with the leaves gone, it's to find critters to watch. A little snow on the ground also makes it easier to find signs of those critters, not to mention how the snow looks on the trees.

The lighting this time of year can be very dramatic with sun much lower on the horizon that it is at othet times of the year. That light coming in at a low angle can add dramatic shadows and texture to your photos.

That low sun also means that the magic hour lasts longer. I'm not a big fan of the short days of winter but there is a positive side to that. With the sun setting so early in the evening, you don't have to worry about staying up late in order to photograph them. :)

The patterns Mother Nature carves into the frozen landscape of drifted snow and ice are only temporary. If you see a photograph, take it! That great photo you saw today may be gone tomorrow. When I spotted this shelf of ice along this creek, I knew there was a photogrph in there somewhere. When I left, I wasn't sure I had what I wanted so I planned on going back the next day. That night we got several inches of snow that completely covered the ice. The shot I had pictured in my mind the day before was gone. I'm glad I took the time to photograph the ice when I did.

Frost is another aspect of winter that I love. Whether it's the intricate patters of frost on a window, or the thick white icing that clings to everything in site, the photo opportunities are endless. The frost never seems to stick around long so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.

Don't be afraid of the cold. Get out there and capture the beauty of this great time of year. Stay warm!

Fall in Grand Teton National Park

2009-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to make a trip to Grand Teton National Park in the fall for several years now. This year I finally made the trip. I was goal was to photograph the spectacular aspens and cottonwoods as they displayed their fall colors with the majestic Teton range in the background. The weather was colder than expected and the colors were not quite as I had hoped. Still great, but just not what I had pictured in my mind.

It snowed almost every day of my trip. I love the snow and wanted to photograph fall color with a bit of snow so I was thrilled when the white powder fell from the sky. What I was not so thrilled about was the cloud cover. The clouds persisted all week long and only allowed me to view the Teton peaks on one day of my visit. This development was a bit disappointing, but not enough to discourage me. It forced me to look for photographs that may not have been on my list when I originally planned the trip. Finding pockets of color here and there to focus my lens on instead of the huge grand landscapes that our National Parks are know for was a great way to create unique views of the park.

I did create some landscape images that I'm very happy with as well despite the less than perfect weather.

The wildlife in Grand Teton National Park was very cooperative on this trip. I had planned on hitting some hiking trails on this trip but the easy access of wildlife kept me occupied. On one day I had planned to make a quick visit to Oxbow Bend before heading to a trailhead. I came across some moose and ended up spending the next four hours with them, and never did make it to a trailhead that day.

The biggest thing that I came away with from this trip was to be prepared for the unexpected. By being flexible with my photography I was able to create some very nice images that I hadn't planned on creating. Some of my favorite images from this trip were not images that I had even considered making before I left home.

To see more photos from this trip please visit: www.magiclightphotography.com

The Moving Wall

2009-07-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

A trip to Washington D.C.to view, and photograph the many memorials, especially the Vietnam War Memorial, has been on my list of things to do for a very long time. When I found out that the Moving Wall was going to be in a neighboring town, I knew I had to go. The Moving Wall is a 1/2 size replica of the Vietnam Wall Memorial that travels around the country. For more information on The Moving Wall and to find out if it will be displayed near you, please visit www.themovingwall.org.

On our first trip to the Moving Wall, I was a little surprised. There was a big crowd, but the experience didn't take on the somber feeling that I thought it would. The crown was milling around the wall, kids were running around, and babies were screaming. It seemed more like tourist attraction than a memorial for people to pay their respects. I'm happy to say that I don't know anyone who has their name on the wall and I'm sure that had something to do with the way I felt

With the sun setting behind the wall, I knew I had to come back early in the morning when the light would much better for photography. I was up early the next day and at the wall just before sunrise. I was the only one there besides the volunteers working at the memorial. Being at the Wall by myself gave the memorial a completely different mood than it had the day before. This was the somber feeling that I was expecting to experience. Being there alone gave me the time to explore the Wall and the letters, and memorials that others had left behind in remembrance of their lost loved ones.

Reading the words that others had left behind, with tears in my eyes, was the experience that I hoped I would feel at the Wall.

As the sun got higher in the sky a few people started to trickle in. Seeing these small numbers of people quietly paying their respects, and looking for the names of their loved ones really reinforced the true meaning of what the Wall stands for. The Wall is not meant to be a "tourist attraction" which is the feeling I got on that first day. Seeing, and feeling the true meaning of what the Wall represents made me happy that I choose to go back and experience the Wall by myself.

Spending time viewing The Moving Wall was a great experience for me. It reinforced my desire to visit Washington D.C. to see The Wall.

A big thank you to all of the brave men and women of our armed forces. Your service to our country does not go unnoticed.

Mini Vacation / Scouting trip

2009-07-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Amy and I took an extended weekend and headed for the north woods for a few days. We camped on Perch Lake with Holley, our black lab, and Jinjer, our golden retriever.

My goal for this trip was to relax, and scout out a location for a photo trip for next spring. The main subject I was looking for was the common loon. It's a little too late for the loons to have chicks riding on their backs, but that's OK. I don't have any loon images in my portfolio, so just getting a nice photo or two was one of my goals.

Another goal I had was to try to take photographs from a canoe. I want to purchase a kayak or a solo canoe to take photos from, and I thought this would be a good test. I rented a canoe and went out in search of the common loon. I was in luck as there were 2 loons on the lake. Photographing out of the canoe provided me with a way to get close enough to the birds to make some nice photographs, but it was a bit of a challenge. I used a monopod and turned my ISO up a bit to try to get a fast enough shutter speed to help avoid camera shake do to my use of a long lens. It took some time, and lots of patients, but I was happy with many of the images I created on the lake. I only had good light, and good weather on one day, so I was glad that I went out when I did.

Besides the loons, there was also an osprey nest along the lake. Without the canoe, I never would have found this. I didn't get many chances for osprey photos, but it's good to know for next springs trip.

There were also beavers living in the lake. This was first noticed while relaxing on the shore as a beaver swam towards us. When I saw it getting closer, I went to the car to get my camera. As I was setting up, Jinjer saw the beaver and thought it would be a good idea to go investigate. The result was a wet dog, and no beaver. Jinjer appeared to have a lot of fun trying to find the beaver among all of the lily pads.

I was fortunate enough to find the beaver later on while I was out in the canoe so I was able to get a few images. We also found a couple more beaver lodges while hiking to some other lakes nearby.

I was able to enjoy two nice sunrises. I missed the most dramatic color of the first one, but I'm still very happy with the images I was able to create.

The sunrise on the second day wasn't as colorful, but still a pleasure to watch.

During the day the light was very harsh and it was a little too windy to be out in the canoe so I decided to make some photographs with the intention of creating an HDR image once I got home.

The sunrise on our last morning was not very colorful at all. It looked like it could storm at any moment, but it never did. I decided to experiment with zooming my lens during a long exposure. I kind of like the way this image tuned out. I think the effect adds to the ominous feel that the sky had that morning.

All in all it was a very nice little getaway. The mosquitoes were pretty bad but once the wind picked up, they were gone. I wish the wind would have had the same effect on the ticks. We found dozens of them on our dogs, as well as ourselves. We are still picking them off of the dogs. I found 4 more on Jinjer tonight...

1st Post - The Story Behind the Photographs - Bluebird

2009-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have kicked around the idea of starting a blog for while now, and finally decided to get my feet wet. I follow several photography blogs that provide great content, but most of them are missing something. Most of them talk about the latest gear, or basic tips for improving your photography. All of that is great and I enjoy reading that type of info, but there is something else that I like to read, but rarely find on the blogs I visit. That missing piece is the story behind the image.

For my first step into the blogging world I thought it would be fun to document the story, and the process behind how and why I created a particular image.

With spring in the air, my mind drifts to spring migration, and the many birds that will be passing through and returning to the midwest. Spring is the time I go out and clean my five nest boxes in preparation for the eastern bluebirds. Of the five boxes, only one has anything living in it this year. I'm happy to report that the occupants of this box are indeed eastern bluebirds and not house sparrows.

In the past, I have made some successful images by sitting a distance away from the nest boxes, and shooting the birds with a long lens.

That wasn't enough. I wanted to get closer and really fill the frame with the brightly colored birds. I built a 40' long cable release for my camera, and set it up on a tripod with a 100mm lens a short distance from box and waited. It worked pretty well, but still wasn't what I was looking for. With the narrow field of view from the 100mm lens, and not being able to adjust the composition from 40' away, I needed to try something else. After the young fledged, I put the long release away, and forgot about it for a couple of years.

When the birds returned this spring, I decided to go a step beyond what I had done in the past and create something new. I pulled the long cable release out of the closet. I set my tripod even closer to the nest box. Instead of being a few feet from the box, I set up a few inches from it. I attached a 16mm fisheye lens to the camera, and waited. With the close perspective and the wide angle view, I was able to capture an image that I hadn't even thought of in the past.

I have several images that I have created of these birds with a long lens, but they are all lacking something. That something is the feeling of intimacy. I like those images, but they don't capture that feeling that I was after. This image does, at least for me. This image tells a different story than the other images I created, and gives the viewer a unique perspective.

I am very happy with this image, but that doesn't mean I'm done using this technique. Since I created this image, I have began to experiment with this same set up, but also including some fill flash. Now that the chicks have hatched, the adult bluebirds are much more active at the nest and providing more opportunities to create more photographs. All of those hungry mouths to feed means that they are coming and going much more often. The additional element of having a meal ready for the chicks adds even more to the story.

This last image, isn't my final image, but another step in the evolution of creating a photograph.