Just a few more days!

April 25, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, landscape photography, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Raptors, Shooting the West, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography, Winnemucca NV | 3 Comments

Time is running out! In just a few days, I’ll be in Winnemucca for Shooting the West (shootingthewest.org) and will be making my presentation Saturday afternoon. I’ve been working on the presentation for a couple months, going through my pictures from the last couple years to select the best ones to showcase. Last week, I was feeling good about my selections and was starting to make the cuts necessary to meet my 15 minute time slot. I asked my lovely bride to go through the slide show with me, as the cuts were becoming more difficult to make. At the end of the first run through, she says that I haven’t included my best shots! Holy cow!!

We opened up the hard drives and looked for the shots that she thought I should include. After adding in another dozen or so, I started the ‘deselection’ process all over again. I have the presentation down to 78 slides now, which is on the high side of my original target of 70+/-. I think it will work. There’s time for more fine tuning.

I made a big addition to my editing toolbox this week – software to calibrate the color on my computer monitor. ColorMunki from X-Rite is my choice – simple to install and use. The ‘before and after’ showed small adjustments in the colors, but I move forward with more confidence in my editing.

I managed to get out a bit – I didn’t lock myself in the study, after all! Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks.

I have a new photographer friend in Carson City who showed me a different group of wild horses. We were standing in a saddle with multiple bands, probably 100 or more horses. There was a group of 16-18 bachelor studs showing us their physical prowess. It was very exciting to see!

These two started a fight in the middle of the group of horses – a common occurrence during our time there!

This is my favorite shot from the day. These two had moved away from the group and were serious for several minutes.

I also got a couple shots that were less ‘exciting.’ The scenery shot was featured on a local morning show during the weather report this week.

This is the view looking south towards the Carson Valley, and was the featured image on the Channel 2 Weather Report last Wednesday!

This foal is proudly leading the band up a hill. The rocks made a wonderful background!

I had a little fun this week, too. I went to a local ranch to see if the ‘kids’ were out and about, and they were! I also spent a little time in the back yard.

Remember Pickup? Here he is again – climbing a tree and getting into mischief. You don’t see that every day!

My exploration into macro photography and creative filters continued with these Lilac flowers from our back yard.

Some flowers from one of our Crab Apple trees.

This Quail and its partner were making their way through the plants in the back yard yesterday. By the time I grabbed my camera and headed outside, they had gone up the hillside and were in the rocks.

I needed a break from the computer one day last week, so I made an impromptu visit to a location where I’d heard about an Aerie. I wasn’t disappointed. After making several images of this Bald Eagle sitting in the nest, it took flight and gave me quite a show! Here’s a couple from the day!

Coming in for a landing. This image was made microseconds after touchdown.

The in flight image. What a magnificent Raptor!

Sorry that the blog is short, but I have to finish my presentation, pack my bags, and try to fit in a ride with my ATV group before I head for Winnemucca. I’ll give a report on Shooting the West in my next blog! I look forward to seeing old friends, making new ones, and meeting face to face with people I’ve ‘friended’ on Facebook. Until next time – enjoy!

PHOTOROGR

Just don’t forget the basics…

April 13, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Desert flowers, Fallen Leaf Lake, Glen Alpine Falls, Lake Tahoe, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photomatix Pro, Photoshop, Quail, Scenery, Shooting the West, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Taylor Creek, Waterfalls, Wildlife photography, Winnemucca NV | 2 Comments

In the last several blogs, I’ve talked about new shooting and editing techniques and all the fun I’ve been having. These past few weeks have been truly amazing for me, up until a couple nights ago. I was reading one of my books on High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography – the chapter on tripods – and a I came on a little ‘Tip’ sidebar that said, “Rather counterintuitively, using a tripod in conjunction with image stabilization can result in unsharp images, so it is advisable to turn stabilization off whenever your camera is tripod-mounted.”

For a little quick background, many lens manufacturers build their lenses to correct for small movements and shakes, resulting in sharper pictures. Each manufacturer calls it something different (Canon says image stabilization and Tamron uses vibration control, for example), but they all accomplish the same thing. The problem is that when a camera is mounted on a tripod (versus handheld), these small movements and shakes don’t occur, so the lens panics (figuratively, not literally) and introduces some shake so the image stabilization system has something to do. It’s kind of like those overprotective parents in movies and TV shows that obsess over their children’s first date or outing with friends – inventing problems that aren’t occurring. It makes for a humorous story line, but it doesn’t make good pictures. The lesson: turn off the image stabilization (if the lens has it) when using a tripod!

Is this new information to me? No! It’s a basic action in photography, the same as turning on the charging the battery, turning on the camera, taking the lens cap off, or putting a memory card in the camera. Have I been doing it? Well, no. I have been concentrating so hard on the neutral density filters and camera settings, getting a good composition, and remembering the cable release to reduce camera shake on the tripod. I haven’t been turning off the image stabilization on my lenses! Silly me! The biggest problem has been blending the different exposures in HDR software, where I was seeing lots of ‘ghosting’ or blurred portions in the final image. I attributed it to wind blowing the tree branches or the differences in water flow, never thinking about that dadburned image stabilization. So, lesson learned and reminder to take care of the basics! Will I forget again? Yes! After all, I’m still learning.

For this week’s images, I’ll start with my recent trip to Glen Alpine Falls, on Taylor Creek upstream from Fallen Leaf Lake which feeds into Lake Tahoe. With all the snow the Sierras received this year, the Falls are running strong and are very beautiful. If you want to go see them, take CA 89 along the west shore of Lake Tahoe, a few miles south of Emerald Bay, and turn west on the road to Fallen Leaf Lake. The Falls are on the far west end of the Lake. I had to park at the fire station and hike about a quarter mile up a hill – an easy hike and well worth it! I had rented a Canon 10-22 Wide Angle Lens from Gordon’s Photo Service (gordonsphotoservice.com), to try something different from my lenses. It was fun to use that lens – with the short focal length and the natural distortion on the edges of the images, I had to adjust my shooting style – especially to create the panoramas.

Glen Alpine Falls – 5 exposures, HDR processed in Photomatix and Photoshop.

Glen-Alpine_Panorama1-2016-04-07-f-e1a-w

For this image of the Falls, I stitched together 4 images to create a panorama. I used the wide angle lens turned 90 degrees (long axis vertical), with a 4 stop neutral density filter to slow the water for the picture, merging in Photoshop.

This is Taylor Creek, downstream of the Falls. I made 5 exposures and blended them in Photomatix to bring out the beautiful colors in the rocks.

With Spring, our trees are flowering!

A macro of the flowers on a Perfect Purple tree in our backyard!

These flowers are on our Pear tree – hopefully, the bees will come and we will have Pears this year!

With all the moisture we’ve had this Winter, the desert is full of color. I’ve never noticed these desert plants before, but they are blooming all over the Carson Valley! This one is just up the road from our house!

I haven’t forgotten the wildlife in our area, although the Raptors are mostly gone. Here’s a few:

My education in bird identification continues. I was very excited to see this, thinking I had something exotic like a female Canvasback Duck. Turns out, it’s just a Mutt Duck. Apparently, Mallards aren’t very selective when they mate, giving us birds like this. It is, however, very pretty – for a Mutt!

I drove past a Western Meadowlark a couple months ago, so when I saw this one I was determined to get the picture. I posted this to the ‘Yep I’m from Wyoming’ page on Facebook and, at last count, I was well over 130 likes! For those of you unfamiliar with my home state – the Western Meadowlark is the Wyoming State Bird!

These Owlets live in the Carson Valley, and share the nest with Mom, Dad, and two siblings.

This Great Horned Owl was on a branch over the nest, with 2-3 Owlets in the nest. Not sure if it was just the wind, or if the kids were acting up that day, but I love the look on its face.

This Quail was running around my backyard, but stopped long enough for me to get this picture!

I’ll close with a few scenery shots.

This is an abandoned ranch house in Hope Valley, just across the border in California.

This waterfall is on CA 89, on the west end of Emerald Bay.

The Carson Valley is one of the ‘go to’ places for soaring. These two gliders were in the sky over my house. They weren’t as close as it appears in this image.

My lovely bride asked for a short drive last Sunday, and we happened on this scene along Waterloo Lane in the Carson Valley.

Shooting the West (shootingthewest.org) is only a couple weeks away! I’m putting the finishing touches on my presentation and am very excited to be a part of this great event this year. If you’re near Winnemucca in a couple weeks – stop by the Convention Center and see the pictures! This Sunday is April 17, the day the Ford Mustang was introduced at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. It’s National Mustang Day, so I’ll be driving the Bullitt to celebrate.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

February is a very busy time!

February 18, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles & Agriculture, Hawks, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Pine Nut Mountains, Shooting the West, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

When I started this Journey in Creative Photography, I knew I would be spending lots of time learning how to make images (in camera and on the computer) and that some of my learning curve would be about the business side of photography. In my post ‘Order and Chaos’ (last December), I discussed the challenges of storing and retrieving images on the computer. I described how I installed additional memory in my computer and further refined my storage/retrieval system in my last post. I have been reaping the benefits of those changes in the last couple weeks, as I tackle another big challenge – what do I share, print, and show?

February in the Carson Valley is prime time for nature photographers. The calves are dropping and the Eagles migrate through to feed on the nutrient rich afterbirth and the occasional carcass. Long lens mounted, I go hunting for these regal subjects. Then, after downloading the RAW images on the computer, I review the images and decide which are worthy of processing and possibly sharing or printing. Believe me, you only see a small fraction of the images I make in camera. Why is this on my mind? Read on!

Many years ago, the local Chamber of Commerce (http://www.carsonvalleynv.org) teamed up with area ranchers and conservationists to create a wonderful event called Eagles and Agriculture. The opening reception and photography exhibit is tomorrow at the Senior Center, and the tours start Friday! The Eagles & Agriculture Banquet is Friday night, and I will have a table to sell my pictures and note cards. I’ll also be there Saturday morning – if you’re nearby, stop in, say hi, and buy a picture or note card! I’ve been printing, matting, and framing new images for a week or so (I love Amazon’s 2 day delivery on ink for my printer!). The image retrieval system was critical to my printing activities, and the modifications to my process made it soooo much easier. This will also help as I prepare for my presentation at Shooting the West (http://shootingthewest.org).

I’ve also been making time to get out and make new images. The Eagles have been a little difficult to capture, so other subjects have endured my intrusion – most notably, the wild horses in the Pine Nut Mountains. The foals have been coming a little early this year – we now have 3. I shared pictures of Skye in my post ‘Inspiration – the Key Ingredient’ although we didn’t know that she was a she, and she hadn’t been named when I posted.

Skye with her Mom, Suzie Q (in back), and Dad, Shorty (facing).

Here are the other foals!

This is Sassy with her Mom, Bossy Betty. Sassy got her name by exhibiting an ‘independent’ behavior.

The family portrait (l to r): Sassy, Bossy Betty, Skye, Suzie Q, Shorty (looking right). Shorty is the proud Papa, but he plays it cool.

This is Hardy with Mom, Lady. Dad is Blue – the undisputed King of the Pine Nut bands. Hardy is named after my father-in-law, who celebrated his 90th birthday last week!

Hardy running with other members of the band. The horse on the left is Copper and we’re waiting to see her foal. Lady is keeping Hardy in line.

While shooting Blue’s band the other day, Blue decided we had been there long enough and came over to tell us. When we didn’t leave immediately, he took a couple steps as if to say, ‘Didn’t you get the message?’

I found Mystery again – we started with a game of hide and seek, and then it got interesting!

Mystery hiding in the trees.

Mystery posing for me.

Mystery deciding he wanted to check me out! He walked to within about 25′ of me before I convinced him it wasn’t a good idea.

I saw several horses who were having lots of fun!

This is Hope. She’s a yearling and Blue’s daughter. Apparently, mud bath was the day’s fun activity.

Another of Blue’s yearlings played in the mud.

This little fella’ is The Rogue’s son. I found him in a different area, but he had been playing in the mud, too.

This is Little Jo, one of Blue’s yearlings. She’s quite a camera tease, and apparently doesn’t play in the mud.

I can’t post without a bird picture…

This Sharp-Shinned Hawk was in my neighbor’s tree. I got some good pictures…

…but obviously overstayed my welcome. It’s a problem I have on occasion (just ask Blue).

One more shot of Hardy – a guy just has to scratch sometimes, even when he’s only a couple days old.

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom. I know I shared a lot of pictures, but you see my dilemma! Like the convenience store, I just have ‘too much good stuff!’

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Process improvement – another important ingredient!

February 7, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, David Walleys Hot Springs, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Genoa NV, Hawks, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

Many years ago, I retired from military service. My last assignment was on the Plans and Programs staff at State Headquarters. While my efforts focused on emergency preparedness and response planning, I assisted others on our small staff with strategic planning and process improvement. I’m comfortable with goal setting and brainstorming new ideas (imagine rooms full of important people with a facilitator guiding the participants through a long and sometimes interesting discussion on making the organization better). These days, my process improvement thoughts and actions are a lot more personal – mostly making higher quality images and developing my creative side.

Well, not all my improvement processes are about making images. For the last couple months, I’ve noticed that available space on my computer’s internal hard drive is continually decreasing, and some software seems to be running more and more slowly. I didn’t break out the marker boards and markers to evaluate the problem and formulate plans to mitigate the problem, though I was tempted. Instead, I decided to install more memory in my computer and move all the pictures to a dedicated internal drive.

I ordered the drive and had one of my smart neighbors do the install and setup (it’s not true that all engineers can remove the covers from their computers and not do harm). Then I sat down to move the pictures and the light bulb came on – I could fix all the frustrating and wasteful file organization issues I had been thinking about since I started this Journey in Creative Photography! I spent much of a day re-organizing my folders and moving the images around on my computer. I’m pretty sure that my image storage system is more efficient now, and will probably feel that way until I do my monthly backup to external hard drives in a few weeks. If you’re having a hard time with your image storage system, make time to make it better. You’ll be much happier.

And remember, the bad part of process improvement is that it’s continuous, but that’s also a good thing. We’ll revisit my reorganization at the end of the month.

It’s been a great shooting week. I found Eagles, Quail, a Cooper’s Hawk and, just today, I finally got that elusive Bobcat shot. Eagles & Agriculture is only a couple weeks away, and I’ll be spending a lot of time prepping for the show. I have several new images to print, mat, and frame. Of course, the weather is supposed to be really good, which means that I’ll be out shooting, too. It could be a problem, but it could be a fun challenge, too. Here’s the fun stuff from this week!

This Cooper’s Hawk was out in the snow, hunting from this gnarly tree stump just outside Genoa, Nevada’s oldest town (but don’t ask Dayton).

This Red-Shouldered Hawk was also south of Genoa, a little closer to David Walley’s Hot Springs. He posed, but wouldn’t make eye contact.

I was on a local ranch looking for Owls and a covey of Quail came by. This one posed on an old ranch wagon.

These Quail were marching in a parade, except for the guy on the lower fence rail. We’re not sure what he’s up to.

We are blessed with a nesting pair of Bald Eagles in the Carson Valley, and I made this very long range image earlier this week.

I was watching a Bald Eagle in a field a couple days ago, and this Bald Eagle flew in to crash the party. He was only 100′ or so away, and looking very regal! This image will be on sale at Eagles & Agriculture, with other images from my collection.

This is my prize capture this week. I’ve been looking for this cat for a couple months. He was in this tree laying down, and would have stayed hidden if he hadn’t sat up and revealed himself.

That’s it for this week! Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Inspiration – the Key Ingredient!

January 30, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Geese, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Turkeys, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

In my last post, I talked about luck (right place, right time, right settings) and the importance of being prepared. In the last month, I’ve discovered another ingredient that I feel is key to the creative photography process – inspiration!

Inspiration comes in many forms and governs everything. For example, I have to be inspired to go out with a camera, inspired to stop and make an image, inspired to spend time processing an image, and then be inspired to share the image. In the last month, my inspiration (and sometimes lack of inspiration) has been all over the map. I’ve been excited to fire up the PHOTORANGER and go looking for subjects. I’ve just stayed home because I just wasn’t ‘feeling it’ that day. I’ve pulled over for something I liked, and often driven on and sometimes missed a shot. When I’m back home and downloading images from the day, I’ve said ‘yuck’ to everything (you don’t see those!) and resolved to correct technical errors or find better subjects, and resolved to get out there again. And then a whole month passes between posts (I really need to work on that). You know how the inspiration roller coaster works.

In the last week, the inspiration peaks and valleys have become less extreme – returning to almost normal, in fact. Subjects have been plentiful and my settings have been good, improving my images and increasing my inspiration. Here’s some images from the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy and are inspired by them!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Every winter, the eagles visit the Carson Valley for calving season. I found this Bald Eagle along US 395 a couple days ago. Eagles & Agriculture is only 3 weeks away!

This Bald Eagle was hunting along Foothill Road, on the west side of the Carson Valley. Not sure he knew about his ‘shadow.’

This juvenile Bald Eagle was in the southwest part of the Carson Valley.

I’m not sure what these two were discussing, but they sat for pictures for quite a while.

I found the Carson River Road turkeys in the trees a few weeks ago.

Remember that ‘right place right time’ discussion.

These two are part of another turkey flock, generally found just over the California line.

I’ve seen this nest many times, but didn’t see an occupant until the last couple days. I’ll watch and see what develops.

This little fella’ flew from fence post to sign to sign while I followed and took pictures. I’m not sure if he’s sending a message here…

Remember that ‘right place right time’ discussion? I forgot the ‘right settings’ piece, as I was zoomed in too close when this Hawk took flight…

…but I got this Red-Tailed Hawk just fine.

This Blue Heron was focused on his next meal and didn’t worry about me as I got closer and closer…

While he looks unconcerned, he never took his eyes off me.

I don’t normally take pictures of geese, but I was inspired when their flight path brought them close to me. Jake’s Wetlands, Minden NV.

This is KC. His mares are known as the Sunshine Band.

One of the Sunshine Band. I like this composition.

Peeking through the trees…

Next to an eagle shot, new foals are great inspiration. This little one is about a week old, but has not been named as the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates are waiting for confirmation of the sex. That’s Mom on the left.

New foal staying close to Mom, Suzie Q!

And Suzie Q making sure I wasn’t too close.

This family portrait shows Shorty, the sire, keeping a close eye on me while the foal nuzzles Mom. This picture has gone viral on Facebook! Thanks everyone!

It’s hard to top the ‘family portrait,’ but I wanted to share this panorama of Jobs Peak (second peak in from right). It’s a little different view of the Sierras.

Right Place! Right Time!! Right Settings!!!

December 31, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 6 Comments

I have long recognized that much of my success as a nature photographer is due to being ‘at the right place at the right time,’ better known as luck! In a recent article in Outdoor Photographer magazine, Andy Long tells us that luck “… is when preparedness meets opportunity.”

I have tremendous opportunity, by virtue of where I live. The Carson Valley is teeming with beautiful scenery, a wide variety and abundance of wildlife, and, most importantly, great friends who share their knowledge of photography and where the wildlife are hanging out at any given time. In fact, one of my photo buddies, Jackie Gorton, recently added a third leg to my thoughts on luck – right settings! How wise she is, for one can be at the right place and time but if one misses the correct camera settings, one misses the shot! Of course, this is where the preparedness piece comes into play.

I started this blog to share my photographic journey – learning photography and developing my skill set, experiments in photo processes, successes, failures, and as a showcase for my work. Apparently I’m doing something right, because many of you have shared that my pictures are getting better (thank you for the feedback!). Of course, the more I learn – the more I realize how little I know, so there is lots of room for improvement!

I’m closing out 2015 with a tribute to luck! Please find below a series of pictures that are the result of ‘being in the right place at the right time with the right settings!’

I’m also expanding my outreach! I share my blog on Facebook, and will try to include my friends on LinkedIn. If this reaches you, then I was successful – and Welcome! If you wish to get an email notice when I make a post, then consider following my blog.

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, so I won’t make one here. I will continue this marvelous journey and share with you, hopefully making better images for your enjoyment.

Enjoy and Happy New Year! PHOTOROGR

Ultimate luck! My lovely bride and I were running errands and saw this Bald Eagle on a utility pole beside the road heading into town. He had just caught a rabbit and was enjoying his meal. In some of my pictures, you can see fur in the air and meat in his mouth.

A little less gruesome shot of our friend.

I saw this Red-Tailed Hawk in a snowy field, but didn’t realize I had interrupted his meal until he took off.

Sometimes I find one Great Horned Owl in this pole barn, but this day I got lucky and found two!

I was at Jake’s Wetlands in Minden looking for the Wood Ducks that some of my very lucky friends had seen there. Of course, the Wood Ducks were hiding from me, but these Mallard Ducks put on a parade in the snow!

Contrary to what you might think, this female Mallard Duck is not conducting an orchestra – she was preparing to dive. This image made a very nice note card!

As stated, no Wood Ducks for me. This Bufflehead posed nicely for me, though.

I was cruising Foothill Road just south of Genoa last week, and this Hawk tried to hide from me.

Yes, it was as cold as he looks. He watched me, but didn’t move away.

This Hawk was just stretching his wings.

I don’t know why, but I really like the shots where the bird is looking straight at me.

I have no idea what these two were up to, but they had a great time for several minutes while I clicked away, safe in my warm truck.

Not a very timely update, but this is Mystery just before Christmas. He was closer to where the Pine Nut bands wander. I haven’t been out to check on him in a while.

Honored and humbled and excited and intimidated…all at the same time!

December 16, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged American Kestrels, Blue Herons, Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Shooting the West, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography, Winnemucca NV | 4 Comments

A year ago, my good friend and photography mentor, Craig Moore, introduced me to Shooting the West, a photography symposium in Winnemucca, Nevada. I ventured to Winnemucca last March and had a great time, made new friends and improved my photo skills. Any of you who attend events such as this know that the promoters solicit feedback from the attendees. In my evaluation, I noted that the program did not include a nature photographer and I suggested they include nature photography in future programs. One should always be careful for what one wishes because last August I got a call asking if I would be interested in making a presentation on nature photography at the 2016 Shooting the West symposium (honored and humbled). I thought about it for about 3 seconds and quickly assembled a brief outline with a few examples of pictures (excited), and submitted my proposal for a nature photography tour of the Carson Valley. A couple weeks later, I got an email advising that they accepted my proposal and I would be on the program (more excited).

As the initial excitement subsided, reality set in – I would be showing my pictures to a room full of photographers from around the country (intimidated). Thinking back to last year’s program, I realized that, in addition to the amateur and hobby photographers in attendance, there would be people who have been shooting for decades, travel the world and get published in National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and other international publications, and write books and teach classes about photography and photo editing. Oh my God!!! (More intimidated!!!!!) And I just said yes to showcasing my work on a really big screen for all to see (even more intimidated). I’m not afraid of public speaking – as many of you know all too well – but I’ve only been shooting seriously for a short time. Then I said to myself, “Self – get it together, put your best foot forward, and see what happens.” Finally, the voice of reason (but I’m still intimidated).

Shooting the West XXVIII will be held April 26 – May 1, 2016. Registration opens January 18. For more information, go to shootingthewest.org, call 877-623-3501, or email info@shootingthewest.org. I’m back to being excited, by the way (and still honored and humbled)!

It’s winter – prime raptor season – I’m out almost every day trying to get new and good images for my STW presentation and to market at Eagles and Agriculture (February 18-20, 2016, go to http://www.carsonvalleynv.org/pages/EAGLESAG1/ for information). Don’t worry, I’m not limiting my presentation to raptors only. I hope to include a good representation of game animals, non-raptor birds, and the Valley’s predators – at least the ones of which I have pictures.

Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks. I think you’ll like them.

I was out checking an area for a Golden Eagle aerie, and I found this stud wandering in the Pine Nuts all alone. He let me make lots of images. I’m trying to decide which one to submit to the Pine Nut Wild Horse Association for their 2017 calendar featuring studs.

He and I watched each other closely while I shot. He’s not from the area, that we know of anyway. We’ll see if he makes it all the way down to the other bands. We named him Mystery. Oh yeah, I haven’t found that aerie yet.

I’ve seen lots of Kestrels in the last few weeks. I’m not sure if they are more plentiful, or if I am better at seeing them.

This one looks like he’s giving me ‘the bird’ as he flies away.

My lovely bride commented that I get a lot of ‘butt pictures’ when I’m shooting birds, but I love seeing the frozen motion of their wings and feet as they take flight.

I saw this Blue Heron on a very windy day…must have stopped blowing for a second or two while I made the image.

I found this immature White-crowned Sparrow near the Nevada-California state line. This is my favorite composition for birds – tack sharp with a blurry background…

It was a snowy day outside this pole barn, but this Great Horned Owl didn’t seem to mind.

I saw this Golden Eagle probably 600 feet away.

This was the scene outside the pole barn…this guy was trying hard to stay warm and paid me no attention.

Same bird – different angle and background…maybe next year’s Christmas card???

Did you see that? Yeah, but I don’t believe what I saw…

Coming in for a landing…er, going up for a landing…

I drove by this Red-tailed Hawk, and went back for the picture. At first, he tried to sell me a watch…

…and then he took a spin around me…

I think this is my favorite. I was checking a location for Owls and saw this guy. Again – my favorite composition – tack sharp subject with a blurred background.

That’s all for this post. Between the raptors returning to the Valley and the wonderful weather, I’ve had a great couple weeks of shooting. I look forward to more fun, finding that aerie, and a visit from Santa! Have a very Merry Christmas! PHOTOROGR

Order and Chaos!

December 2, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Adobe Bridge, Carson Valley, Deer, Eagles, Hawks, Kestrels, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

As an old crusty engineer and military officer, I enjoy order in my life. I like having ‘a place for everything and everything in its place.’ Those of you who know me well also know that I also have a somewhat chaotic side, and my ‘everything in its place’ side isn’t always dominant. When it comes to certain aspects of photography, I am very ‘orderly.’ For example, I have developed a filing system for my images that works well for me. I have file folders for certain subjects and geographic areas with subfolders for subjects, all arranged by date (year – month – day). I maintain shooting logs that show when and where I’ve been, and sometimes contain notes for future shoots.

My workflow for downloading images to the computer (within the proper subject/geographical area folder and date subfolder) is well established. Recently, I watched a great tutorial about Adobe Bridge, a photo management software linked to Photoshop and Lightroom, and learned how to use Bridge more effectively to download my images and identify those worthy of additional processing. Let’s face it, that little bitty screen on the back of your camera body can only tell you so much (good exposure and maybe if you’re in focus). You have to get the image on the big screen to see if it’s really good. After the tutorial, I made changes to my workflow that I hope will make my filing system better for subsequent retrieval. Time will tell.

Another of my very orderly processes is backing up my images. I used to use a triple redundancy system using the SD card from the camera, the computer’s internal hard drive, and an external hard drive. When I changed my shooting routine to RAW format (see my post ‘All RAW – All the Time’ on June 8, 2015), I began to fill up SD cards like mad, with the resulting problem of devising a means of labeling and storing them. Have you ever tried to put a label on an SD card? They are less than an inch wide, just over an inch long, and usually have a dark label! More importantly, even though they are coming down in price, they are still expensive! I changed my storage system to the computer’s internal hard drive and two separate external hard drives. I still have triple redundancy, and a more effective means of storing my larger images, such as panoramas stitched together from multiple images – they are downright huge! I will admit that eventually the long term storage goes to double redundancy as I haven’t installed additional hard drive capacity on my computer and I’ve almost filled the hard drive with this year’s images. I am removing older images from my computer to conserve space. I back up everything on a monthly basis.

So, we move on to the chaotic side. My computer desk is a mess, with magazines and notes and – well – accumulated crap. I will clean my desk on a cold day this winter – or not! Probably not (ha ha). But there’s also the chaos that results from exploring my creative side. As you’ve seen in previous posts, I’ve been exploring panoramas and monochrome images. I think I’m getting better – the phone calls to my wonderful Photoshop mentors are fewer and I’m not repeating my questions to them as often. I think they’re thankful for that. And I’m becoming more daring in my editing. I try new things more and more frequently, and am becoming more comfortable with the ‘undo’ button when I do something badly or that I don’t like.

Maybe chaos isn’t the right word after all, but to a regimented and very process-oriented engineer type, this new creative side is very chaotic. I just hope the results are worth it! Let’s look at this week’s images.

I have been very lucky to find Kestrels, and the ones I’ve found are very cooperative.

I was in the Pine Nuts looking for the wild horses and caught this little fella’ sitting on this tree. I like it!

I was cruising Foothill Road last week and saw this Kestrel having a bite of lunch.

When he noticed me, he took off to eat in peace somewhere else.

I took this image last January, but used my newly developed Photoshop skills to make this image.

Another from January. Must have been a cold day!

A few weeks ago, I got my first Bald Eagle of the season. Just yesterday, I got my first Golden Eagle. Actually, I drove by a pair of them sitting on a utility pole, but one flew off as I parked and got out of the car.

Goldens are majestic, too.

This one gave me a couple images and then took off. I’m still working on getting focus on birds in flight.

I was checking out Carson River Road last week, and this doe casually walked by.

Check her belly – still wet from crossing the adjacent river.

This image is not cropped. She was so close I couldn’t make my lens short enough and get more background.

The Hawks are returning to the Carson Valley. I was getting out of the car to shoot a fence with several Hawks in line. As I got ready to shoot, a Hawk flew in and forced the one sitting to take off. I was lucky to get this shot!

What a scene. No fighting over roosting spots kids!

This week, you get several panoramas.

PHOTOROGR - sierra panorama1 - 30 nov 15

The Sierras across the Carson Valley. That’s Jobs Peak on the left and Genoa Peak about a quarter in from the right edge. I shot this in monochrome and then made my adjustments.

The Sierras on a different day. I love the cloud formation in the upper left corner of the image.

The Pine Nut Range. The wild horses roam an area to the left of these mountains. This is part of my monochrome exploration.

The Pine Nuts in color. Yes, it’s hard to live here with all this natural beauty. (I can’t believe I typed that with a straight face!)

Well, that’s all for this post. As always, enjoy! And stay warm!!

PHOTOROGR

Slow November…

November 19, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Gardnerville NV, Hawks, Lightroom, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, sunrise, Wildlife photography | 1 Comment

November is slow for the nature and wildlife photographer here in the Carson Valley. The bears are heading for their winter beds. The leaves are gone from the trees. The raptors are slowly returning to the Valley. The wild horses are winning at hide and seek. We’ve had some early snow, which has provided some good photo opportunities, mostly of the mountains. I’ve been working with Photoshop a lot, trying some new editing techniques. I’ve done a couple images in Lightroom, too, but I think I like Photoshop a little better.

Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks.

This Red Tailed Hawk wasn’t mad at me – he was squawking at a crow flying behind me.

Driving on Genoa Lane one day, and this Hawk was doing litter control watch. Not sure I’d throw anything out the window of the car with him around.

…and somebody must have done something, ‘cuz he was off in a shot. A good friend advocates that movement in images should always be left to right. I thought about it here, but left it alone.

I love the Kestrels, but they are difficult to get. This one was shy and refused to turn around for me.

This guy was more cooperative. I asked him to sit on this branch and look left. I love this picture!

I got my first Eagle of the season. Driving up Mottsville Lane last week, and there he was on a utility pole. He sat for a minute or so, and then took off.

I can’t get enough of the Bald Eagles and look forward to the coming Eagle season. I think this is one of our resident birds – it’s a little too early for the transients to arrive.

I love the detail I was able to capture. I’m making big plans for this image.

Last Sunday, Edsel woke me up early to show me the amazing sunrise. I tried to resist and stay in my warm bed, but ultimately got up and made these images.

I made this image just before the sun popped over the horizon.

I turned around to see the Sierras just before sunlight struck.

And here’s a couple more panoramas, just for fun.

I worked this image in Lightroom. I need much more practice in LR.

This is the full width of the Sierras in Douglas County. This concept has potential for the future.

One last shot – I was out on a snowy morning and tried to make an image of the ‘welcome to Gardnerville’ sign in Sunset Park, at the border between Minden and Gardnerville. A 24″ x 36″ print of this picture is on display in the Gardnerville town office. I need to get a nice spring, summer and fall shot so they can display a different picture with each season.

Welcome to Gardnerville!

Until next time – enjoy!! PHOTOROGR

Dunk the Funk!!

November 4, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Bears, Carson Valley, Moon pictures, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Sierra Nevada Mountains, sunrise, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

In my last post, I described a condition I called ‘PHOTOFUNK.’ I just couldn’t make myself get out there and take pictures. Well – I got over it. A couple days after I made my post, the most beautiful almost full moon popped up on the eastern horizon. I was motivated and excited. I got the camera and tripod and ventured into the yard to get some images. For the first time, I got good moon images. I DUNKED the FUNK!

What do you think?

I was able to make moon shots two nights in a row. I tried different editing techniques to see how to bring out the best detail.

I was up early one morning and found a gorgeous sunrise. I put on some clothes and grabbed the camera. This image is from a neighbor’s driveway.

I usually associate color like this with sunset.

And then there was the day I got an email about a bear release. The sow had been hit by a vehicle on the freeway a couple days before, but was fine ( a little road rash but she was moving pretty well). We were in the trees, lots of direct light mixed with shadows. I was challenged by the light but I think I did okay.

The sow on the run. Moving quickly and easily.

After everyone got out of the trailer and the cubs came down from a tree, they all just sauntered up the hill.

This week’s panorama is a doozy – lots of great clouds!

That’s Jobs Peak ‘peeking’ through the clouds on the left. A pretty view!

We got some snow this week – YAY!! I hope to have some great snow shots in my next post! Until then – ENJOY!!

PHOTOROGR

The PHOTOROGR Project

A Journey in Creative Photography!

Tag Archives: Wildlife photography

Just a few more days!

Just don’t forget the basics…

February is a very busy time!

Process improvement – another important ingredient!

Inspiration – the Key Ingredient!

Right Place! Right Time!! Right Settings!!!

Honored and humbled and excited and intimidated…all at the same time!

Order and Chaos!

Slow November…

Dunk the Funk!!