Getting on with your Intentions – in my case Birds at the Pond.

October 18, 2011
Expectationsnew projectsRichard Mack Photography

This morning I had my coffee by my pond – affectionately known as Big Thoughts Pond – as I usually do on a nice morning. All summer I have sat and watched the goldfish and birds as they move around and each time I think – I should get the camera. Well, this morning I had read a post by photographer consultant Carolynn Potts about jotting down notes on what you see each day. I thought why not just shoot it since it had been my intention all summer. I did shoot some of the flowers around the pond this summer, but never took the time to sit and wait for the birds to make their way down the trees to take their drinks or a quick bath. So this morning I sat and watched and clicked the shutter. The morning was overcast and rain was in the air eventually. This gave me the perfect light to shoot in with no shadows.

We should all do this more often, what we intend to do and haven’t found the time for. It clears your head. And for me making photographs is what I love doing and it seems this year have not been able to find as much time as I would like to make images. So I sat and watched the first one come in – a nice big Robin – and watched him look around and scope out whether the dog would bother him before he proceeded on into the water. They always move cautiously and seemingly in the same pattern. From high on the trees around the pond to the lower branches and finally the rocks by the water. Then it’s time for a drink or a bath or both. On some days they wait in the trees circling down like planes bound for an airport – waiting in the pattern for their turn to land.

Next came a Common Grackle, or so I think it is after looking it up. Might be a Brewers Blackbird I really don’t know. I am not a birder who can say for sure. This guy was a bit more stand offish and waited longer and spent less time in the water. Finally a tiny male House Sparrow entered the area and decided it was his turn. He was the only one I semi caught in flight.

I enjoyed spending the time shooting. Catching different looks from each bird. When shooting wildlife of any kind I somehow feel an attachment to them and when as close as I was it seems as though they are looking back at me and giving tacit approval for my shooting them. Clearly not, but it seems like it. By shooting things you find close to home you can test some things you aren’t comfortable with – for me it was Live View in my Canon 1Ds III. I just hadn’t played with it much. And I think I prefer to look through the view finder instead at a screen on the back but I can see why some folks prefer Live View. Once I started to review the 300 or so images in Lightroom I could also see very subtle differences in their bodies as they moved around. One shot their necks might be straighter and the next you can see some slight change in the feathers from the movements.

And near the end I just for fun I shot a few of the pond itself and some of the goldfish below. I was just playing with what came to me in the shapes and forms from where I sat by the pond. How the fish shapes below the surface played with the surface plants, the water fall streaking through the frame, whatever came to mind. To see some underwater shots done last summer search the blog for Underwater Shots.

You can see 75 of the images online at: Birds of Big Thoughts Pond. Enjoy.

If you have any comments or questions – whether about this post or pond building just post them here!

Peace,
Richard

For those interested here are the technical specs:
Camera: Canon 1Ds III
Tripod: Manfroto Carbon Fibre
Lens: Canon 28-300 f5.6 USM with a Canon 2X Convertor making most images shot at 600mm
Predominate Exposure: f.56 1/60 ISO 1600
Color temp: 5500K

Fall Foliage Photography Tips

September 28, 2011
FallPhotographyRichard Mack Photography

With the advent of Fall being upon us and the trees quickly turning to their bright colors I thought I would share some of my thoughts on what I think about when trying to capture the glorious colors of fall. First of all let’s look at some of the equipment which is a must have for fall foliage. Here is what I always use, a great circular polarizer to knock down reflections and bring out the colors. This is a must for fall, although I confess to having it on my lenses almost all of the time for these same reasons – it knocks down the reflections on everything from a blade of grass to the fall leaves you are trying to capture letting their color show through. And as everyone knows it will also bring out the blue in the sky if you are 90˚ to the sun. I also carry a 3 stop neutral density filter to slow down the shutter speed, great for capturing water in motion. And of course a sturdy tripod with ballhead and cable release. As for file types I always shoot RAW files because they offer the widest range of adjustments in post processing and enable you to adjust things to what you envisioned when you clicked the shutter release.

With the equipment out of the way let’s look at what to shoot. Everyone thinks of groups of trees or mountain scenes with the hillsides full of color, all great and I’ve done plenty of them. But you can also include a pathway, roadway, fence rails, old cabins or rivers, as well in the composition.

And don’t forget to look at details, of rocks with leaves on them, reflections on the water where you see nothing but the reflected light, or a combination of reflections and an interesting form like a tree trunk or rocks. Start thinking outside the normal shots of scenes we’ve seen before.

Sunny days bring out the bold colors and you can work almost every hour of the day as you play with backlighting and edge lighting between the glowing light of sunrise and sunset. Rainy and overcast days bring out colors in a soft and muted way which cannot be achieved on a bright sunny day. The giant softbox provided by Mother Nature on these days allows the colors you are trying to capture to flow through with great saturation in the soft light and without the distractions of shadows. On days like these you can often crop out the sky, or at least keep it to a minimum and focus on the land. Detail shots are especially great on foggy or overcast and rainy days. Plus you may find small drops of water to play with in your compositions! Don’t let the cold, wet weather keep you inside – these are hero days!

 

Exposures should be checked in the Histogram and for added safety check the individual color Histogram’s to make sure you don’t clip the bright reds or yellows if those are the colors you are trying to capture. For most scenes an average meter is fine but sometimes it might be beneficial to switch to the spot meter. For either check the Histogram while viewing the images.

Remember, everything seems to have been photographed these days – it is your vision which will set you apart from the crowd. Get down low, up high, delve into the details, or use a wide angle lens to show a big open image. Fall is what you make of it so get out there and enjoy it!

To see additional images use this link: Fall Images

You can leave me comments or questions there or also on my Facebook Page.

Happy Fall!

Richard Mack

 

My 711th Moonrise!

September 15, 2011
eveningGreat Lakes ProjectLake MichiganLighthouse BeachLighthouse Beach PierMoonrisephotography at nightRichard Mack Photography


On Monday September 12, 2011 I watched my 711th moonrise. OK, I haven’t seen all of them but based on a moonrise every 28 days this is my 711th moonrise. I was down at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston, Illinois, my favorite beach which you know if you’ve been reading this blog. Unfortunately, on this night the clouds were coming in once again which blocked the moonrise until it was high in the sky.

 

First shot

Luckily I had come down the night before, which is always the best night to shoot the full moon because it rises about 25 minutes before sunset giving you have enough ambient light to work with to illuminate the scene. As many of you know I have been shooting this scene for a long time. I have been waiting to get the angle of an old pier to line up with the moonrise in just the right way. In the past the moon has either been too far south or too far north and not directly where I wanted it. Then you have the weather which must be just right as well, so for months, maybe even years, I have been trying to get this shot. So on Sunday night I headed down to the lake front to see if this would indeed be the night. The sky was clear so my hopes were high. As luck would have it I was set up and ready to go well before the appointed time of moonrise, and yet I couldn’t find the moon on the horizon. There was still too much moisture along the horizon so the moon wasn’t visible until it was about 10 above the horizon. So my plan to use a long lens to pull the moon in tight against the pier once again has to wait.

Yet it was still a great night to be there as the sunset was a mixture of blues, reds and purples. With the polarizing filter on the colors were enhanced enough to match what it looked like to the eye. I also used my graduated neutral density filter once the darkness fell to balance the brightness of the moon with the rest of the scene. I found this time I didn’t like the results as it took the colors away from the sky around the moon. The darker it got the more the moonshine on the water came out in the shot. But at that point you tend to lose the detail in the moon. And as the exposures get longer than about ½ second you start to see movement in the moon with longer lenses. In the age of film you couldn’t work as long into the darkness as you can these days and still have usable images. With today’s digital cameras and post processing in Lightroom or Photoshop you can adjust RAW files in to get detail our of shadow areas of underexposed files which means you can expose for the highlights and bring back the shadow areas in post. Knowing this I kept making images well into the darkness, an hour past sunset. The two last images are my favorites from the evening.

Almost the last shot...

There are many moonrises in your life and each one is unique because of where you are when you see them. Each is to be savored. Enjoy them.

Peace,

Richard

PS: To see more images from this shoot follow this link: Moonrise at Lighthouse Beach

We Remember

September 10, 2011
911New YorkRichard Mack PhotographyWorld Trade Center
1 Comment

On this the 10th anniversary of the 911 attack I share with you my image of the World Trade Center which I took in New York in the early 80’s while walking around town with my brother. Never did I image I wouldn’t be able to walk the streets of that great city with him just a few years later. He was killed by terrorists in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This image is my tribute to all those affected by the tragedy that day, those who escaped, those in the city, those who were first responders and those who cleaned up the site, and of course those who lost friends and family.

For those who lost family and friends, the hurt will not end, but may ease slightly with time. The knife that pierced your soul in an instant will hopefully turn into a dull ache over the next several years. But it will not go away. How could it? While the country remembers on anniversaries, you remember it every day. Cherish the memories of those you have lost and live life now the way they would want you to.

Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

And might I give some advice to the media covering this anniversary. Never ask if this brings closure. There will be no closure for those who lived through this or those who lost family or friends. It will be only the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new chapter in the never ending story of this act of terrorism on America. So please do not ask the question.

My guess is everyone in the US who is older than 14 remembers where they were at that fateful hour in history. It is a pivotal moment in our history. As we remember this day, a day of attacks on this country, I can only hope that someday we will learn to all live together.

May Peace Prevail.

Richard