Archive for the ‘Tips and Techniques’ Category
Framer Friendly Tips for Photographers
When I returned home from my cross country bike trip last September, I needed a temporary job to pay off some of my bills and to give me something to do since I was no longer spending every day on my bike, covering 70 miles each day in pursuit of the Pacific coast. I ended [...]
Creative Photography for Lazy People
Last week, I was working in Blairstown, NJ for a couple days, and had much of the day to kill time between my two night shifts. So I decided to take a trip up to nearby Stokes State Forest to go for a hike.
A lot of times I just enjoy being out in nature, well all [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
New Virginia Photos Plus Snow on the Way!
I’m back in New Jersey now, counting down the days till Chris and I leave for New Hampshire (just 4 days to go). Tonight, we’re supposed to get quite a bit of snow (4-8 inches), so chances are Chris and I will head out to shoot some wintery scenes tomorrow, as long as the roads [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques, Website Updates and News
Chincoteague Pony in Habitat, Chincoteague NWR
Here’s another photograph from my Chincoteague trip a couple of weeks ago. This will probably be my last blog post on the trip, because I’m hoping to get out and shoot around Virginia in the next couple of days.
My absolute favorite subjects to photograph at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge are the wild ponies. Ever since [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques
Mourning Dove Portrait, Chincoteague NWR
This past week has been somewhat of a transitional period for me, so I apologize for the long delay between posts. Friday was my last day of work at Project USE for the fall season, and I have spent the past couple days packing up my belongings and spending some quality time with my co-workers before [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques
Endangered Pine Barrens Treefrog and Trip
Yesterday Chris and I met a friend Kyle to do some herping in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. We ended up having a very successful day, finding and photographing several species, including six species that I had never seen nor photographed before. Our finds for the day included: 10 Carpenter Frogs (lifer and new stock [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques
Northern Dusky Salamander, Pennsylvania
Yesterday, I met up with a friend to do some herping in a favorite nature preserve of his in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We didn’t find any unusual species, but stumbled across quite a few Northern Dusky Salamanders, Redback Salamanders, Northern Two-lined Salamanders, and Green Frogs. We also found a half-eaten flying squirrel, wood frog tadpoles, and a [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
Northern Two-lined Salamander, Washington Crossing State Park
Northern Two-lined Salamanders, such as this one, can be found alongside creeks and streams, usually hiding under rocks right near the water’s edge. They are quite common and I found many of these critters on my trip to Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey yesterday. Despite how common they are, they can be [...]
In: Recent and Random Photos, Tips and Techniques
Featured Photograph: Angel Wings – Forster’s Tern in Flight
Every once in a while, you just get lucky. Nature photography is no exception, although the nature photographer who just gets lucky won’t have many images on file and none of them will be very good. With nature photography, getting a good shot is more often than not the result of days or weeks or [...]
In: Featured Photographs, Tips and Techniques
Featured Photograph: Misty Sunrise, Adirondack Park, New York
When you go and photograph nature subjects, it usually pays to be ready for anything. Such was the case when kayaking on a woodland lake one morning last summer. Chris and I planned a weekend long camping trip in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, primarily to photograph loons that live on the mountain lakes. [...]
In: Featured Photographs, Tips and Techniques
Sycamore Tree Bark, Manassas Battlefield, Virginia
Every once in a while, often when I can’t find anything else to photograph, I turn to tree bark as a subject. The bark of trees usually has unique patterns that can make for interesting photos, and since trees don’t move and their trunks don’t change, they can be photographed just about whenever you please. This makes [...]
In: Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
Pond Plants Surface Details
Even if you live in a city, you don’t often have to go very far to find places where good subjects can be discovered and photographed. While I am fortunate enough to not live in metropolitan area, I do live in the most densely populated state in the US, so areas of open wild space, [...]
In: Featured Photographs, Tips and Techniques
Barnegat Part 3: Male Harlequin Duck
The male Harlequin Duck is a very colorful and beautiful bird, with bold patterns of dark slate blue, rusty orange, black, and white. This can make exposure of these birds, especially in direct sun, very difficult. Fortunately, modern technology and software such as Adobe Camera Raw make it possible to recover some detail [...]
In: Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
Photographing Sunset over Oneida Lake
Sunsets and sunrises are often very unpredictable – clouds that look promising may change right as the sun hits the horizon, obscuring the sun’s rays completely, or haze and stormy clouds may open up at the right moment, producing a glorious canvas of color and texture as daylight comes to an end. Photographing sunrises and [...]
In: Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
Using Perch Setups to Photograph Black-capped Chickadees
Feeder birds, such as chickadees, can often be quite easily photographed by using perch setups. In order to create a perch setup, you need to find a feeder that is visited regularly by birds, and you need perches. Perches can be collected just about anywhere. Look for branches with interesting features, such [...]
In: Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
Gulls in Phoenix, New York
Today Chris and I went on a search for some unusual bird species that have been spotted lately in the central New York area. First we drove to the Southern Highlands region of New York state to search for Pine Grosbeaks in Nelson and the surrounding towns. We drove for a couple of [...]
In: Tips and Techniques, Trip Reports
First Snow
Today is my 22nd birthday! It’s snowing outside right now, which is good, because I love snow and ever since I was little I have always felt like it should snow on my birthday. I don’t have many photographs of snow, because last winter was particularly warm so there wasn’t much of it [...]
In: Featured Photographs, Tips and Techniques
Making Your Shots Unique
Thanks to digital photography, there are more and more people taking pictures than ever before. What this means is that there are also more and more photos of the same subjects. So how do you make your photographs stand out?
One thing I love to do is photograph animals in their environment using a wide angle [...]