I did learn a thing or two while in the frame shop though.  For one, it’s changed the way I view printing my own photographs.  I quickly learned that photographs printed with a plain border made handling the prints, as well as mounting them, much easier.  Signed artwork and prints required special considerations when framing, sometimes making mounting difficult if the signature was too close to the border of the print.  Large prints printed on thin photographic paper were all too easy to bend and quite difficult to handle without damaging the print in some way.  Prints and posters rolled up and shipped in tubes were just annoying to deal with.

As a photographer, I want those purchasing my photographic prints to be able to enjoy them as much as possible.  Since most people will display my prints by framing them, I want to make that process as foolproof as possible.  Anything I can do as a photographer to make a framer’s job easier and lessen the likelihood that they will damage or otherwise compromise the artistic vision of my photograph is going to make for a happier customer, a less annoyed framer, and subsequently a better liked photographer.

Here are my tips for easier to frame photographic prints:

1) Print images with a white border on two or more sides.  Borderless photographic prints may look cool, but they are difficult to handle without damaging the image in some way.  The edges of the print will always be subject to fingerprints, bends, frays, dents, and scuffs, so by giving your prints a plain border, you can prevent this damage from extending onto image itself.  A plain border also makes mounting much easier.  Framers who use tape of any kind (even acid-free archival tape) to mount prints can apply the tape to the white border, further reducing the risk of damage to the print from chemical contaminants, finger prints, or handling. Framers who use mounting strips or mounting corners, which are preferred for archival mounting since no adhesives of any kind come in contact with the print, can then come in less on the edges of a print when sizing mats, allowing more of the image to show.  Mounting strips and corners need to cover some of the print itself in order to hold it in place.  Using the smallest mounting corners readily available, most framers will need to come in 1/4″ from each side of the image in order for the corners not to show, meaning 1/2″ of the image gets lost from top to bottom and side to side.  If a print has a white border, framers using archival mounting corners (my preferred way of holding a print) can size the mat to almost the exact size of a image, coming in only 1/16-1/8″ on each side.  Those who want to put a frame directly around the print can trim the white border off if needed, but a border can’t be added on if it is not there to begin with.  I’ve found that most people choose to mat photographic prints before adding a frame.  (*Note: Wood frames also overlap the edges of a print by 1/4″ all around in order to hold the glass, mat, image, and backing in place.  Metal frames may overlap images even more than wood frames, generally up to 1/2″ inch on each side.)

2) Different framers and shops have different policies regarding signed and numbered work, but in general once you put a number on a piece (or any mark that implies the piece would be difficult or impossible to replace), the framer will treat it differently.  Differently doesn’t necessarily mean better.  In the shop I work in, it means we won’t trim or dry mount the print.  This may or may not matter to you as the photographer, but it is something to keep in mind.  Signed prints don’t necessarily carry the same restrictions that a signed and numbered piece does, but the signature is often considered in the framing process.  If you do sign your prints, carefully consider whether you sign on the image itself or the border, and if you sign the image itself, be sure to come in at least 1/4″ inch from the edges of the print (a little more if you want your signature to have a pleasing space cushion between it and the edge of the mat or frame).  Also, sign your images with an acid free pen that won’t bleed, or a soft pencil if it won’t damage the photographic emulsion (pencils are best used on cotton rag papers and papers without a glossy or satin finish).

3) Use a quality, heavyweight photographic paper for large prints.  Thin flimsy papers are less durable and get damaged more easily, and large prints are very difficult to handle without them folding on themselves resulting in bends and kinks in the paper surface.  Consider mounting large prints on mat board, foam core, or another substrate, or having them printed on canvas, which is a bit more durable than photographic paper.  I have found that photos sized 16×20 or larger (or similar sized photos such as 12×18) tend to be temperamental and benefit from a sturdier backing.  The thickness of foam core adds another component to the framing process, but it is easy to work around and provides for a much sturdier print than one just on paper.  Mat board is thinner and can be easier to mount with photo mounting strips or corners, but a bit heavier.  Avoid using very heavy products, like Masonite, which can complicate the framing process due to the weight of the image.  Mounting on a substrate also helps the prints lie flat.

4) Ship and store prints flat whenever possible.  Obviously very big prints are easiest to ship and store in tubes, but prints are like inflatable camp sleeping pads and then tend to stay however they are stored.  Advise your customers to remove shipped prints from their tubes and store them sandwiched between two sturdy pieces of acid-free cardboard (or stored in an acid free clear bag to protect the image) before framing.  Photographic prints that refuse to lie flat are more likely to accidentally get bent during the framing process.

5) Provide contact information on or with your prints. Any good framer will replace art damaged in their possession, and having your contact info makes doing so that much easier for the framer should something happen to your print once it is in their hands.  I wouldn’t recommend writing your website or phone number on a print, but shipping and selling prints with your business card in the box or bag, is a good idea.  If you get your prints outsourced and your printer prints the file name or other code on the back of the print, see if they can include your website.  Even if the framer doesn’t damage your work, he or she may like it so much that they’ll buy a print for themselves!

Framers don’t want to damage your artwork any more than you do.  By keeping in mind what they have to do during the framing process, you can take a few steps to make their job easier for them and allow your finished and displayed prints to look their best.

A lot of times I just enjoy being out in nature, well all the time really.  Sometimes, it’s really a hassle for me to lug around my camera gear and stop and compose photos everytime I find something interesting.  Sometimes I just want to experience being outdoors, with no interruptions and no distractions.  Sometimes, when it comes to photography anyway, I get lazy.

This was one of those days.  It wasn’t particularly nice out, and nothing looks particularly pretty this time of year in New Jersey, at least when it comes to woodland landscapes.  I still don’t have a lightweight tripod for landscapes, and the thought of lugging my five pound all purpose Gitzo around the woods with me was very unappealing, especially when I was unlikely to find anything really worth photographing.  So I decided whatever trails I went on, I’d bring my trusty G10 (which I try to have with me 24/7 just in case) and nothing else, save my Camelbak, a trail map, and my ID and car keys.

I did want to do some photography though.  I’m one of those people who firmly believe there is natural beauty just about everywhere.  Sometimes its obvious, sometimes its discrete, but its always there, you just have to look for it.  Stokes is a very pretty place and I had all day until the sun set, so I was determined to do at least a little shooting, even if only because it had been a while since I picked up my 5D Mark II and I was beginning to feel a bit like a failure.

I drove around, G10 pointed out the window, doing a little of what I like to call “drive-by shooting” even though autumn was well past its peak and the foliage wasn’t particularly interesting to look at.  I like drive-by shooting because it produces some really unique, creative, and abstract images with minimal effort, and you can incorporate it into any trip without having to create special chunks of time to allow for the process that is making a photograph.  As it turns out, drive-by shooting is much more difficult when you yourself are driving and shooting at the same time.  You can’t really compose anything if you are looking at the road, and holding the camera and pressing the shutter with one hand while steering with the other is a recipe for disaster.  You’re likely to drop the camera out the window, drive off the road, or both.  Fortunately, the backroads at Stokes have stretches with good visibility, and my G10 is small enough that I can hold it in one hand, but the lack of a chauffeur really reduced both the safety and productivity of using the drive-by technique, so I soon changed my approach to getting shots for the day.

I began to stop the car at spots that had visual interest and shot from a stationary position, still inside the car, with the engine turned off.  I used the car window frame as a brace, leaning against it to get sharp shots without the extra effort of getting a tripod and setting it up for shots that would mostly end up in my Recycle Bin anyway.  Sometimes, the time it takes to repeatedly set up, manuever into position, and then break down a tripod for a couple quick photos of something you aren’t really “feeling” to begin with seems like a waste to me.  It’s not the physical effort I’m opposed to, and its the time factor.  Time is money.  Light is aways changing, animals are constantly on the move, and as a photographer who chooses subjects largely based on an emotional attraction to them, its not always worth it to me to invest a lot of time in something that only mildly excites me, especially when there is the possibility that something better is lurking around the corner.  In this case, I had a hike I wanted to complete before dark.  However, shooting from a car window isn’t particularly desirable and actually greatly limits your angles and composition, and therefore your creativity.  The truth is, whenever you can get out of the car (because you won’t damage the surrounding environment, flee your subject, or put yourself or your subject in danger), you probably should.  You’ll nearly always get better photos that way.

But who needs a sharp shot anyway?  One thing I really enjoy doing is all sorts of blurs and photos that imply movement by using slow shutter speeds and moving the camera during the exposure.  This is great for times when you are too lazy to set up the tripod, and using motion-exposure techniques can really inspire your creativity.  By eliminating the appearance of hard edges and concrete shapes, you begin to focus on different aspects of the photo like color, general form, and contrast.  Shooting this way is very much hit or miss, and the majority of your shots will immediately end up being deleted, but the process is fun and the results can be very interesting when everything comes together.

So, I took advantage of the dull, overcast light and set my camera for slow shutter speeds.  Then I played.  I walked around with my G10 a bit, whirling and shaking it during the longer exposures.  I got out my 5D Mark II, which gave me even more control, and did some vertical pan blurs and other funky shots.   I left my tripod in the car.  I didn’t need it.  This was about having fun.

Because I was hand holding my camera, I got pretty varied results.  With hand holding, no composition is ever exactly the same, and when moving the camera during the exposure, you will move it at different speeds and in different directions each time, even if you try to do the same thing twice.  That’s okay with me though, as I like the suprise of seeing what each shot holds on the camera LCD.

Here is an example of one of my vertical pan blur compositions.  These shot were taken one after the other, but as you can see they are very different.  When doing creative motion shots, it pays to take a lot of photos, as you never know which you’ll like best.  I’m curious, what do you think?  #1 or #2?

I’ve also uploaded three new landscape photos from Virginia onto my website.  This shot, of the Potomac River from Great Falls National Park in Virginia, is one I just processed today.  I used Photoshop to manually blend two different exposures, one for the sky and one for the rocks and river, to get the dynamic range shown here.  Blending exposures is a great alternative to using graduated filters, as they allow for precise control over the exposure and allow you to seamlessly blend the sky and foreground in scenes without straight horizons, like this one with the jagged rocks protruding into the sky.

To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

My absolute favorite subjects to photograph at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge are the wild ponies.  Ever since I first read Marguerite Henry’s classic novel Misty of Chincoteague as a little girl, I had always wanted to travel to Chincoteague to see the wild ponies, and now I still get excited everytime I see one.  On my recent trip to Chincoteague, two wild ponies, a mare and another smaller pony, possibly her foal from this past spring, spent all day Saturday grazing along the beach drive.  While I’ve had close encounters with the wild ponies at Assateague National Seashore, on the Maryland side of Assateague Island, I had previously only seen the ponies on the Virginia side of the island from a distance.  So you can just imagine how thrilled I was to find these two in such close proximity.

Since the ponies were so close, I tried to get some unique of shots of them, different from the shots I already had.  Whenever possible, I like using wide angle lenses up close while shooting wildlife, as they give a different perspective and allow you to include the environment in the shot.  Since these ponies allowed a very close approach, I took a variety of shots of them with my 17-40mm zoom lens.

This shot illustrates the advantages of using a wide angle lens when photographing wildlife.  In this photo, the viewer gets a very clear picture of the habitat these ponies live in.  By including the environment in your photos, the resulting images tell more about the subject and this can make your images more saleable.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, Canon 17-40mm f/4L IS USM, handheld.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

In the meantime, I promised I would share some more shots with you from my trip to Chincoteague.  This photograph, of a Mourning Dove, is probably one of my favorites from the trip.  I really like Mourning Doves and have plenty of them around my home, but they are quite skittish and rather difficult to photograph.  While at Chincoteague, Chris and I came upon a couple of these doves foraging for food in the dried grasses and pine needles along the beach drive.  Since nothing else on the refuge was particularly photo worthy at the moment, Chris carefully pulled his car up alongside where the doves were feeding.  Knowing the species was flighty, we stayed in the vehicle and photographed the birds from out the windows of his car.  I used a molar bean bag by Vertex Photographic (the best photographic bean bag on the market IMO) to steady my camera and shot my lens nearly wide open, in an attempt to diffuse the distracting background caused by my high shooting angle. 

Knowing the species you are photographing is important to getting good shots.  By understanding how timid this particular species is, I was able to carefully photograph the birds in a way that did not disturb them.  If I had gotten out of the car to shoot these birds from ground level, which would have resulted in a better out of focus background, they would have taken flight the second I stepped out of the vehicle.  Most of the time, any photo is better than no photo at all, even if it means the background or setting in the final shot isn’t perfect.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon 2x Mark II Extender, 1/500s, f/6.3, ISO 250, natural light, bean bag.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Regardless of the salamander species ID, a huge highlight of the day for us was finding a Pine Barrens Treefrog.  Pine Barrens Treefrogs are endangered and live only in the New Jersey Pine Barrens and in a few isolated and remote southern populations.  Photographing an endangered species is always exciting, but these frogs are so tiny and beautiful that they were an extra special treat.  Fortunately, my best shot of the day was of this cute little frog, and actually, I think this is my favorite Pine Barrens Treefrog shot that I’ve seen.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 DG EX APO Macro, Canon 25mm Extension Tube, 580EX flash at 1/2 power with diffuser, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200, handheld.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

I didn’t take many photographs, but did manage this one decent shot of a Northern Dusky Salamander, a species I previously had not captured, either in hand or on film (or in this case, a digital sensor).  I tried for a lower more intimate angle on this shot, opting for a head-on view as opposed to the more overhead angle of my other sally shots to date.  I wish this image had more DOF (depth-of-field) and that the moss covered rock I used as a perch was a little bit cleaner, but overall I’m pretty happy with my first shot of this species.  The light was mixed sun and dappled shade, so I used my shadow to create softer lighting and used a circular polarizer to help cut glare.  Even with such tricks, it can often be difficult to photograph amphibians because of their wet skin, but I’ll be sure to keep trying different techniques and learning as I go.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, 25mm extension tube, 1.3 sec, f/14, ISO 800.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Here’s one of the two-lineds I found early on while searching yesterday.  I placed him on a mossy log for this photograph.  As you can see, salamanders can be quite shiny, as their wet skin reflects light.  Using a circular polarizing filter generally helps cut down the glare a little bit, but still allows the wetness to show through.  For this photograph, I did not use a filter, and by the time I got one out, this salamander had changed its pose a bit and I didn’t like the resulting shots as much.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, 25mm extension tube.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge seems to be one of those places where I just get lucky. Don’t get me wrong. I go to Chincoteague fully prepared, researching recent sightings on birding lists before my trip, having hotel reservations set up well in advance, and being sure to pack every piece of equipment I could possibly need, along with all of my chargers, extra batteries and memory, external storage, bags of snacks, layers of clothes, and just about anything else I could possibly need. But, often at Chincoteague, after several days of arriving at the refuge for sunrise, hanging out all day until after sunset, repeated scouting and searching and questioning and photographing, magic happens. The elements of photography and the essense of nature fall into place, and I find myself in the right place at the right time, fully prepared, to capture the moment. Maybe it isn’t really luck. Maybe it’s perserverance. But either way, I can’t help but feel a little fortunate for the opportunity.

Last May, Chris and I spent a week on Chincoteague Island, visiting the refuge each day and amassing a large collection of solid photographs of the refuge’s wild fauna and flora. Staying in any place for a length of time gives you a chance to observe the area’s wildlife and learn what patterns and habits the animals have – where they feed, what time of day they are most active, etc. It’s also beneficial to know a bit about the species you are trying to photograph as well. For example, most birds generally prefer to fly into the wind, so the best opportunities for flight photography are generally when both the sun and the wind are at your back. Terns and other birds that fish on the wing often like to hunt near rapids, such as by culverts or dams, where the fast moving water churns up fish and makes them easier targets for these avian predators.

At Chincoteague, there are a few areas along the main drive where culverts on either side pass water from one pool to another. When the culverts are running fast, they are a favorite fishing spot for the refuge’s Forster’s and Least Terns. Chris and I noticed that the Forster’s and Least Terns at the refuge liked to feed near the culverts along the main drive when the water was actively transferring from one pond to another. One afternoon, where there was little else to photograph and the sun was still a bit high, we noticed the terns feeding along the drive and stopped to try to photograph them. The terns quickly became used to our presence and began to congregate in high numbers right near the culvert opening, allowing us to observe and photograph them repeatedly hovering and diving for food. As the sun sank a little lower in the sky, providing more even light for photography, a slight breeze picked up, blowing in the direction of the light, and one after another the terns flew in close, hovered, and then dove downward towards their prey. This situation gave me many opportunities to photograph the birds at close range and I was able to get some fantastic photos.

While luck may have had a bit to do with it, being aware of my surroundings, knowing my subject, and being adequately prepared equipment wise allowed me to make the most of the situation. Had I not seen the terns flying by while touring the wildlife drive or not been aware of the proximity of a culvert and known of the tern’s preference for feeding near them, I might have just passed on by. Having a professional camera with the ability to shoot 8.5 frames per second allowed me to capture many frames of the birds as they hovered and pick one with the best wing position. Shooting high frames per second also means that you eat through memory quickly, so having backup memory cards and an external storage device with me allowed me to keep shooting. The terns actually got so close that I had to remove my 2x converter and shoot with my 300mm lens straight. While sometimes they came close enough to fill the frame, I had better luck when I borrowed Chris’s 1.4x converter (I didn’t have my own at the time). Sometimes the right piece of equipment, even if it’s only a $250 addition to your $6000+ setup, can make a huge difference in your success. While carrying ever piece of equipment you own with you at all times is certainly not the best solution all of the time, having items you are likely to need on your person, especially when shooting from a vehicle where your storage capacity is less limited and you don’t have to physically lug your heavy and expensive gear all over the place, is definately a good idea.

Are good nature photographs sometimes a result of luck? Of course. But being lucky without being ready won’t get you very far. Lucky nature photographers know their stuff. They know where to go, they know what to look for, and they often spend hours in the field waiting for the right conditions to come together. Even when the best opportunities don’t present themselves, they shoot frequently and hone their skills, so when the magical moment comes they have the ability to capture the event with a high level of technical proficiency and produce an image that really shines.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 1.4x Mark II Extender, 1/2000s.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

That morning, the lake was covered in a thick opaque layer of white fog.  The fog was so thick that Chris and I had to paddle close to one another to keep within eyesight and it was very difficult to find the loons.  So instead of searching in vain, I started to look at my surroundings and noticed how the fog transformed the lake, allowing the simple shapes of the land to show through.  Fortunately, I had my 17-40mm lens with me and was able to capture many images showing the mystical atmosphere of the morning.  Had I left the lens on shore, I would have missed out on many beautiful images due to the limitations of only having a telephoto lens with me.

This photo was taken as the sun rose higher in the sky and began to penetrate the fog.  I noticed that the soft glow of the sun shining through was visible as a reflection in the water so I used the trees along the shoreline, still shrouded in fog, to anchor my image and allowed the sun and reflections on the still water of the lake to balance out the composition.  The resulting photograph, I feel, captures the mystical feel of the atmosphere that morning and perfectly translates the character of woodland lakes of the Adirondack region.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 17-40mm f/4L USM at 40mm, 1/640s, f/7.1, ISO 400.  Handheld from kayak.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

There are a few species of trees that have particularly interesting bark which I hope to photograph.  The sycamore tree, easily recognized by its blotchy bark containing patches of white, tan, and brown color, was one of those trees on my list.  Today, while walking around Manassas Battlefield with Chris, I found one giant sycamore that proved to be a good first subject.  This one particular marking, hidden near the base of the tree, caught my eye, and I composed this image to emphasize the three color pattern of this individual tree.

Tech: Canon 1D Mark II N, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 DG Macro, 1/4s, f/16, ISO 200.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Fortunately, there are some spectacular little treasures in the area that I like to visit. One such place is a privately owned pond and garden center in Allendale that has outdoor ponds and cement pools filled with water lilies, irises, and other aquatic plants. With permission, I have taken my camera there and photographed the plants as well as any wildlife I have found. Usually, the lilies are the main attraction, but I have occasionally seen frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, and mute swans there as well. While photographing in the ponds and surrounding areas can be difficult, due to plant ID tags and plastic buckets sticking out of the water or just beneath the surface, if you look carefully and try hard enough, you can get some wonderful photos.

This photograph is an example of one such image possible to attain at your local aquatic florist or city pond. I liked the combination of different plants on the surface of one cement pond, so I carefully set up my tripod along the edges of the pond and looked for a suitable composition. When I found something I felt worked, I used mirror lockup and a cable release to get a sharp shot despite the soft light and narrow f-stop required to maximize depth of field. In this situation, I did not use a polarizer because there might have been some plastic buckets under the surface of the water which polarization might have revealed and I was already approaching quite slow shutter speeds, but often, when shooting a pond scene like this, the use of a polarizer can help eliminate reflections and further saturate the leaves of the water lilies and other plants.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro, 1/30s, f/10, ISO 200, tripod and cable release, full frame.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 2x Mark II Extender, 1/1000s, f/9, ISO 320.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

To maximize your opportunities, plan to shoot well before and after the sun hits the horizon.  For sunrises, the best colors can occur up to an hour before the actual sunrise time, and I find that, especially on days with few clouds, the most intense colors in the sky are about 20-30 minutes before the sun creeps over the horizon.  Colors and patterns change rapidly, so by shooting before, during, and after the sun hits the horizon, you can get some beautiful images.

Chris and I endured single digit temperatures while shooting sunset off Phillip’s Point on the north shore of Oneida Lake yesterday.  While the sunset was beautiful, the colors were concentrated along a single ribbon of light along only a part of the horizon.  Because we got there early, I managed to get a photograph of the sun higher in the sky, partially obscured behind some dramatic clouds, which proved to be a much more dynamic and exciting image than those taken of the sunset itself.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 17-40mm f/4L, blended exposures of 1/125s and 1/40s, f/22, ISO 200

To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Set up your perch by placing it a few feet away from the feeder, usually at about the same height as the feeder or slightly higher. I like to use a cheap tripod to hold the perch, either using a clamp to hold the perch to the tripod or by sticking the end of the perch in the handle of the pan-tilt head. You can also use zip-ties or duct tape to hold the perches to your stand.

Depending on how comfortable the birds are, you may or may not be able to photograph the birds from close range without any additional cover. Bold feeder birds, such as chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and goldfinches, will often approach your feeder and perches while you remain in plain view – more timid species, such as grosbeaks, may not approach the feeder unless you are concealed in a nearby blind. Pop-up or permanent blinds are best for perch set-ups, as you can move in them and they give you the freedom to change lenses or converters, have a snack, or read a book while you wait without being seen.

Today, Chris and I went back to Eric’s in order to photograph Black-capped Chickadees on a variety of perches we have been collecting over the past week or so. While the day was heavily overcast, we were able to get a number of nice images despite having to use higher ISOs, wider apertures, and slower shutter speeds. The following photograph, of a Black-capped Chickadee on a perch with black berries, is my favorite of the day.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS, 1.4x Mark II Extender, 1/250s, f/6.3, ISO 1000.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS, 2x Mark II Extender, 1/2000s, f/8, ISO 400.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

“First Snow” was taken last winter in upstate New York where I spent the holiday with my boyfriend Chris and his family. Last year the month of December was probably the warmest I can remember (with temperatures in the 60s and 70s in New Jersey), so even in upstate New York there wasn’t much snow and none at all to be seen on Christmas day. A few days after Christmas, it finally snowed a little, and Chris and I went for a drive in his car to admire the falling beautiful white powder. On some backroads, we tried to photograph the light snow cover on the trees using a technique I like to call “drive-by-shooting.” Usually one of us drives while the other photographs out the window of the moving vehicle, using a backwards panning technique that creates a mix of still and blurred objects in the photo. Getting successful results using this method is largely trial and error, and most of the frames I end up with get deleted, but every once in a while a single image will really stand out. “First Snow” is one of those, and it’s my favorite image of snow to date.

Techs: Nikon D200, 17-35mm f/2.8, 1/30s, f/2.8, ISO 200.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.

One thing I love to do is photograph animals in their environment using a wide angle lens. By including some habitat in your pictures, you can show more about the subject, and using a wide angle lens is a great technique to add sense of scale and a really neat perspective to your final image. In order to make your subject predominant in the frame when using a wide angle lens, you must get pretty close, so this technique is best for animals that are well accustomed to people or have not yet developed fear of humans.

This photograph of a black skimmer was taken using a wide angle zoom lens set at 40mm. By using a wider lens and photographing the bird as it approached, I was able to include the colony of skimmers nesting on the beach within the frame. Without including the environment and skimmers, this image might have been boring. Here you can also see how a wide angle lens adds scale to the objects in the image; notice how much smaller the birds in the background look when compared to the flying skimmer.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 17-40mm f/4L, 1/2000s, f/9, ISO 800.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.