Cape Cod Photo Workshop
Gary Detonnancourt
Sunset panorama shot and edited on an iPhone.
Blog
This is the blog for More Than A Snapshot's Online Photography Classes. In these blog posts I will give photography tips, tutorials, and show images.
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Dundery Brook Trail in Little Compton
Gary Detonnancourt
Text and images by Gary Detonnancourt
Tiger Lilly (Lilium superbum) and lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii)
The Dundery Brook Nature Trail is a beautiful place to take a walk and maybe even some photos. It's a little tricky to find at first because the entrance is behind a tennis court in the center of town. It was interesting, everyone knew where the trail was when I asked for directions, but nobody knew it's name.
This trail has one of the longest and nicest boardwalks I've been on, about a half mile. Then the trail goes on through the woods for another half mile. I went at the end of June in the afternoon and didn't see any birds or other wildlife, but I'll bet it's really bustling in spring.
There were, however, some nice wildflowers throughout the trail. I snapped the Tiger Lilly above and this nice white flower. I'm far from a flower expert, but I think it's a White Lilly. Does anyone know for sure? Please comment below.
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Osprey at Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder
Gary Detonnancourt
Every year in May the alewives run up the Damariscotta fish ladder to spawn. I had planned to go in early May at the height of the action, but somehow my plans fell through. I did, however, manage to make it in early June which was at the tail end of the alewives run and was lucky enough to get some shots. If you would like more information about visiting the fish ladder click on this link to the Damariscotta Mills Restoration website.
The Grand Landscape
Gary Detonnancourt
Guest Blog Post by Marion Faria
Landscape photographers are dreamers, artists and visionaries. I believe this. When the landscape painter, Joseph Mallord Turner, was on his deathbed, his last words were, "The sun is god"...he was correct. For landscape photography, especially for the grand landscape, which happens to be my favorite style, the light is god. You must always be aware of the color of light, the time of day to shoot and your composition; however, for me it all comes down to feeling...an image must feel right on many levels.
Ok, so you have decided to photograph the grand landscape... you feel it... you want to be one with the earth and its cycle of light and dark; but what equipment do you need?
Here are my recommendations:
- a rugged yet light tripod without a center column
- a ball head (I use Really Right Stuff)
- a full frame camera (you want to capture the whole image) with L bracket: to easily shoot vertically or horizontally
- a wide angle lens (I use the Canon 17-40 mm)
- a cable release to prevent camera shake
- filters and a filter holder: 2 and 3 stop graduated neutral density
- 3 stop solid neutral density
- circular polarizer
If you have never used any of these filters, you will have to read and practice until you are proficient: it is critical to control the light and dynamic range when shooting landscapes, you cannot rely on Photoshop to fix things, remember, the longer the light hits the sensor, the better will be the color and saturation.
What settings to use in camera?
I almost always shoot in Aperture Priority, the best landscape photographers in the world shoot in Aperture priority so don't go screwing around with Manual. The only time I use manual is when the sun is down and I am making long exposures, greater than 30 seconds.
I almost always use an f-stop of 20 or 22: it will give you great depth of field, people will tell you about diffraction at those apertures, and it can happen, but you have to test your lens..if it happens, then use 16 or 18, my 17-40 mm F/4 is excellent at f/22, it is my favorite aperture.
ISO needs to be 100 or 200, whatever is the native lowest ISO for your camera, you definitely don't want noise.
Let your camera set the shutter speed based upon your f-stop and ISO.
You have all the stuff, you feel adept with the filters; but when do you shoot?
The Golden hour:
- an hour before sunrise and an hour after
- an hour before sunset and an hour after or longer
These are the times of day when the sun is low and the blue wavelengths do not penetrate the sky, thus, the sky becomes magic with amazing color.
Landscape photography is all about celebrating the earth. I don't often photograph people or animals, but I love this planet and its moods, if you do too, try photographing the majesty of Earth.
About Marion Faria
I am a quirky and passionate landscape photographer, concentrating primarily but not exclusively, on landscape photography. I have been published in NANPA "Expressions" magazine, won many photography awards, images have been Bing and Shutterfly Images of the day, Earthshot photo of the day, finalist in Outdoor and Popular Photography magazine competitions, book cover for Lonely Planet; my stock work is represented by Getty Images, my photography is the best part of who I am and ever will be...
Website: http://marionfariaphotography.com/
Merlin Bird ID App.
Gary Detonnancourt
Ever wonder what kind of bird you just saw or photographed?
Every now and then a really cool app. comes out that is worth giving a try and I think the Merlin Bird ID app. is one of them. This app. is free and can be downloaded for IOS and Android or can be used right from the Cornell Lab website. Simply upload the image, crop in on the bird, pinpoint certain spots on the bird and Merlin will tell you what kind of bird it is. If you don't have any bird images you may download the images below to give it a try.
If you would like to learn how to get started with the hobby of birding, check out this great article called, "The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Bird Watching".
Please post a comment below letting know how it worked for you.
Rhode Island Air Show
Gary Detonnancourt
I went to the air show on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm when the show ends at about 4 pm. I know this sound kind of stupid and it felt really stupid when I was stuck in the long line of traffic with the other stupid people trying to get there before the show ended. However, I did manage to get to a park that was very close and I got to see and photograph the Blue Angels, which made it all worthwhile.
I use the Canon 5D MIII and the Canon 400 mm F/5.6 for these images. If I had to do it again I would get closer and I would choose the Canon 100-400 mm F/5.6 because when the planes got really close 400 mm was too much zoom and I ended up with a few cut off shots, which you can see below.
Why I Love Wildlife Photography
Gary Detonnancourt
Guest Blog Post by Nancy Marshall
My interest in photography started in High School with a Nikon FILM camera. Eight years ago I purchased my 1st DSLR, a Nikon D70s and now shoot with the Nikon D810. I have explored all avenues of photography including portraits, macro, landscape, etc. but it is with Nature and Wildlife that I have found my passion.
Red Fox Mother
Recently I was blessed and privileged to spend time with a Red Fox family. For 3 days I watched, photographed, and just enjoyed being in the presence of these amazing creatures. The kits would run, play, sleep, and explore while waiting for Mama to return from hunting. When she did return, it was a mad dash to get to her for nourishment since they were all nursing. To witness such an event was beyond exciting and memorable.
When photographing wildlife one must remember, IT IS WILDLIFE! Keep your distance and give them their space. So often, I have seen people approaching wild animals and infringing on their territory. This could prove dangerous for both you and them! This holds especially true if there are youngsters involved. Getting too close puts undo stress on the youngsters as well as the parents.
Nursing Kits.
As you can see from the above photos Mom and kits are quite comfortable going about their activities. All of these images were taken from a comfortable distance with a telephoto lens and cropped! I personally would never compromise the welfare of an animal for the sake of an image.
This image was taken at 600mm with an ISO of 500, Aperture 6.3 with a shutter speed of 1/3200 freezing the action, catching the kits running and playing.
When photographing wildlife I usually shoot in aperture priority maintaining an F/stop around 7.1/ 8. I have found that is a “sweet” spot with my lens. ISO depending on how bright the day is will be 400-500. The key is to stop action so it is important for the shutter speed to be fast.
Photographing wildlife takes patience and perseverance. Sometimes it really is a waiting game but the rewards can be immeasurable. Sit, watch, listen, and learn their movements and habits! Once you observe your subject for some time you will be able to anticipate their actions therefore giving you a much better chance at capturing a memorable image. And sometimes those memories are not meant to be captured digitally but meant solely for your memory.
Get out there, it is a wonderful world we live in and I can guarantee once you “tune in” you will SLOW DOWN, become more and more aware of your surroundings and all the beauty it has to offer.
Portrait of Mama, ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/3200 at 600 mm and cropped.
5 Reasons Why Light Matters
Gary Detonnancourt
1. The Middle of the Afternoon: Many photographers do everything correctly when making an image but shoot in the harsh mid-day light. As you can see the image on the left is technically fine except the lighting conditions are not helping to bring out it's best.
Harsh middle of the day light. The sun is above the subjects.
Late afternoon light is better because it's more directional. The sun is coming in from the right side of the image.
2. Soft Light: Soft light is often easy to shoot in because it's easy to get good exposures, not having to deal with big differences between highlights and shadows. However, sometimes soft light can make bird images appear soft or they may light the vibrancy of a highlight.
Soft Flat Lighting
This image has some side and rear lighting adding some punch to the image.
3. Back Lighting can add an interesting rim light to your subject. However, it can often make the front of the subject too dark. You can improve these images by using reflectors or lights to fill in the front of your subject. In the image below (left) I didn't use a fill light, but I was able to recover some exposure on her face through post processing.
The girls face was made brighter with Lightroom.
The front of this model was brightened with fill flash.
The exposure was balanced in this image by taking one exposure for the owl and one for the sky, then blending them in Photoshop.
4. Warm Vs. Cool Light: There is nothing wrong with either type of light. They each tell a different story.
5. Front Vs. Side Lighting: Both of these can make great images, just be aware that front lighting can be boring due to a lack of transition from highlights to shadows.
Front Lighting
Side Lighting
Tips for a Great Turkey Shoot
Gary Detonnancourt
The trick to shooting turkeys is to get low. Images at their eye level are more interesting. Most turkeys in the wild are very skittish, therefore it helps to use some sort of blind and a turkey chair. A turkey chair is made for turkey hunting and is low to the ground.
Start by finding a location where you know turkeys tend to frequent and scout out what time of the day they are most active at this location. Then set up on this spot before they usually arrive, before sunrise is often the best time. Sometimes I just wait for them to come to my back yard, they seem to like 7 am. You can also try putting out bird seed or use a turkey call to draw them in.