So I'm a "Chimp"!

[caption id="attachment_91" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Young Bald Eagle soaring above the Mississippi"][/caption]

See definition below . . .

chimp v. to take a digital photo and look at it on the camera’s screen.

Yes, I guess that does make me a "chimp" then. I realized this yesterday when I was standing with a group of "real" photographers shooting eagle pictures. I'd take a series of shots and review them on my screen - and out of the corner of my eye I could see a smirk and an occasional disapproving look. This has been labeled as an amateur behavior and not the proper way to make pictures. I guess it comes from the days of film, where you couldn't see your images until they were developed. It seems to be a badge of pride to not "chimp". Well, I guess I have a different opinion.

I'm out here to learn and improve my photography most of the time, and yesterday was no different. The technology of digital allows me many advantages, so I use them to the fullest. I'm able to take a series of shots and immediately look at the results on a high resolution screen and checkout the histograms. I'm able to try different exposure modes or methods of tracking focus - review, learn and correct - in real time. It's made me a better photographer.

I'm trying to learn, why wouldn't I take advantage of that!? I suggest you do also if you're trying to learn - be a proud chimp! The image above is the result of a series of experiments on different exposure techniques - I'm satisified!

AutoMagic ISO

[caption id="attachment_86" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Eagle vs Eagle"][/caption]

As of this weekend, I'm back to shooting eagles on the Mississippi River. These guys are hard enough to capture and track as they fly above and then dive below the skyline - without having to worry about the correct ISO settings. But the drastic change from light sky to darker waters requires it - or else my shutter speeds would drag to a halt. Maintaining exposure compensation with gloves on is hard enough - adjusting ISO on the fly to be sure I don't run out of shutter speed is just more mental load then I can handle. Enter Auto ISO mode.

Now, not all cameras have this available - but if your's does (check your manual) it's worth playing around with. Here's the routine I run with:

• In setup, I cap my ISO max setting at 3200
• Set ISO to "Auto"
• Shoot in Shutter Priority (Typically 1/1000th of a second for birds in flight)
• Set initial Exposure Compensation to work for a sky shot

With this setup, my aperture almost always drives as low as it will go (f/5.6 in this case) and my shutter stays constant. So basically I'm locked in at f/5.6 and 1/1000th all the time. As more light (or sensitivity) is needed, my ISO automatically starts to increase.

As usual, this may not be the right or best way - but it's working for me! It allows me to focus on the two things that are most important, framing the shot and adjusting exposure compensation for correct metering. Give it a try and see what you think.

Luck Favor's the Prepared!

[caption id="attachment_77" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="Truck vs Plane"][/caption] I made the picture above at a recent air-show and posted it on my Flickr stream. I got a very nice complement from a gentleman that was also at the show - "Great example of what can happen when preparation meets opportunity. Fun shot !" As I read this, I thought to myself "preparation nothing - this was all luck!". But then I started to think about it, he was right - a year ago, this would have been all luck but that wasn't the case any longer.

I knew going into the show what the conditions were (where the sun and shadows would be) and I mentally made note of what exposure compensation might be needed as I transitioned from a sky shot to a ground shot. Heck, I was a little prepared! I also used the camera settings below which worked out pretty well:

• Shutter Priority (around 1/750th for prop aircraft and 1/1500th or above for everything else)
• I didn't want my depth of field to narrow so I set my minimum aperture at f/11 to ensure I maintained better DOF.
• I sent my ISO on auto with the ability to max out at 3200
• Finally, I did adjust my exposure compensation during shooting to match the conditions, anywhere from +.25 to +1.5

So yes, I was prepared this time around . . . . . and very lucky I was panning with the plane for this shot!

You can check out some of the other shots here.

Keeping Your Feet Dry

[caption id="attachment_69" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Protection from the muck!"][/caption] I found a Great Blue Heron Rookery recently with about thirty nests - along with a great location to get some morning shots. There was just one problem, the "right" spot was about twenty feet into ankle deep water and muck! It was finally time to try out my new Neos Trekker Overshoes!

From this first outing (including a couple hours in the water) I can conclude these things are pretty good! The nice benefit of these overshoes is that you can wear your normal foot-gear (an important point when this is coupled with a several mile hike) and they are very easy to put on. They unwrap to a wide mouth, making it easy to get your boot laden foot in. A quick snap of the buckle, twist wrap the uppers and Velcro in place - You're all set.

They're a snug fit (which is good) and if you're wearing over hiking boots be sure to go up a size for a good fit. Two hours in the water and no leaks. I've heard complaints from some that these leak - I've found no evidence of that, the seams are sealed up pretty well. Since these are water tight, my calves did sweat pretty good and make my jeans damp - maybe that's what they're running into - not much you can do about that though!

If anything changes, I'll post it here, but so far these guys get two thumbs up from me! Looking for a good place to get them? Checkout Outdoorphotogear.com. Great people to deal with, lots of stuff focused at nature photographers, in stock with quick shipping and great customer service.

Preparation Can Pay Off

[caption id="attachment_65" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Sandhill Crane Taking Flight"][/caption] While scouting some new photo sites, I had a Sandhill Crane take-off to the left of me - about 40 feet away - and I made a couple shots as he was reaching to the sky. I noticed him taking off, deliberately brought my camera to my eye, checked my settings and fired away - not the best pictures, but not all that bad either - especially for the unexpected flight! A couple things came to mind.

I remembered last spring how many times some nice "targets" would suddenly appear in the sky - and just how bad I was at even getting a shot off, much less an acceptable one. I would fumble with my equipment, spot the target and attempt to change my setting and then get a shot off. That's not the case anymore, so what's changed?

Basically, I learned how to better utilize my equipment, pay better attention to what's going on and to walk with camera setup to take unexpected shots. While the first two are important, it's that last one that really pays off! My camera stay in Shutter Priority with at least 1/1,000th setting. Drive mode is set on continuous along with focus, exposure compensation is set for a sky shot and my ISO is set to Auto. Reacting to a suddenly available shot, all I have to do is bring the camera to my face, adjust my exposure compensation if it's not a sky shot and make the picture.

It's working well for me so far this year! Practice and some preparation have paid off and - in case anyone sees me taking those types of shots - I look like I know what I'm doing and not a monkey "romantically engaging a football" if you know what I mean!

Measure Your Work Over Time

It's easy with any new hobby (especially this one) to get discouraged rather quickly.  You won't necessarily notice your improvement from day to day or week to week (although it does happen).  I think it's similar to watching your weight everyday on a scale.  You can go a bunch of days with no change, or even an increase here and there - so you feel that your not progressing - makes it easy to give up.  However, ignore the scale for a month or two and then hop on (after doing the right things, of course!) and voila - you've made some pretty nice improvements!

Photography is very similar, it's easy to get discouraged from day to day as you don't see any improvement - check out these tips and you should feel differently!

• Every couple of months or so, go back into your archives and take a look at some of your older work, even if its only been a few months - I'm betting you'll be stunned with the improvements you see!
• Join a site such as ShutterCal and post your photos as you progress throughout the year.  I've recently gone back and looked at some Eagle shots I took at the beginning on January and compared them to my most recent captures.  I was amazed at how "bad" the early ones looked!!  Resist the urge to delete and replace them though - it's your visual record or your progress.  They weren't "bad" photos (in fact I was pretty proud of them just two months ago) - they're just a good record of your skill level at the time - so learn from them!