Who is a giraffe?

Each of these views tells a different story about giraffes. Do you like the inquisitive giraffe, best buddies, or the video of them satisfying an itch? (View at full screen to clearly see the itch.)

Technical: Adjusted for contrast in Lightroom. Sony a7r2 and canon 100-400 mm lens for all images

It's all how you look at it.

 I had a bad week with camera issues. My Sony took a beating in Yellowstone and will cost $600 to repair. Who would think a broken HDMI port with cost an arm and a leg? After 10 years of trail cam placement in public areas I finally had one stolen. It was only a matter of time but I'm a sucker for thinking the best in people. Heading to Menard's for a cable lock.

Overall this fall has been the one of best in years with more travel and photography than ever. I'm looking forward to November to catch up with editing. You will be seeing a wide variety of shots from Yellowstone and Kenya over the next few weeks.

Technical: first shot looking down into log. second shot taken with camera placed on leaves and shot using delayed shutter release. wide angle, f22 and f16

Early morning elephant

Each morning we left camp before sunrise to arrive at a location for shooting it or early morning carcass activity. Lions hunt at night and the hope was getting them on a carcass before hyenas had claimed it. On the way out one morning I had to stop for a minute to shoot this elephant browsing. It was also a great opportunity to push the limits of Sony technology.

Technical: Sony a7r2, Canon 100-400 lens @1/160, f5.0, ISO 102400

Prairie Afternoon

I went out to the prairie for the first time in a couple weeks looking for insects to film.It was a good afternoon for dragonflies and butterflies. This short piece gives you an idea of what the afternoon looked and sounded like.

Technical: GoPro for time lapse, a variety of slow motion speeds to show the dragonfly in action. Natural sound taken from in camera microphone.

Trail of Cedars Cathedral

This upturned tree at a boardwalk bench caught my attention and as I was following the broken roots up an idea struck me.  The roots and branches mimic each other to a certain extent. It is also humbling to be at the bottom of such tall trees.

Summer Travel

When you're retired it is hard to say you went on a vacation. We traveled to Glacier National Park last week and did some hiking. We were forced to stay on the west side of the Park since the road over Logan Pass was still closed. We put this disappointment to good use and explored all the trails around Lake McDonald. Avalanche Lake is a high use destination but worth the crowds and a relatively easy hike. This hike seemed much easier the second time. . . wonder why? 

Technical: This was my first hard use of the Sony for landscapes. Its dynamic range makes shooting most HDR sequences unnecessary. The data in dark areas gets pulled out beautifully in Lightroom.

First attempt

I had this idea in Duluth last weekend.What would flying gulls look like with a long shutter speed? They were being fed in Canal Park and the light was perfect. I risked getting bombed and sat on a bench to try.

Sometimes it is fun to just play and not sweat trying to get a perfect image.

 Technical: handheld at 1/5 second.

High Water

I went to check a camera trap and discovered the road was flooded.  I had to choose between turning around or looking for something to photograph.  I drove to the next convenience turn around point and saw reflections along the road and then I noticed the songbirds. We have had about six inches of rain this week and it will take a couple weeks for the the water to recede so I can get the camera that fortunately it is on high ground.

Technical: Natural sound recorded with a Rode Stereomic. The overhead jet is just part of the world. 

Pattison SP Postcard

   

This was part of the week filming prairie chickens and sharp-tail grouse. Not quite as exciting as wildlife. The editing challenge is getting sound to match the intensity of the action and setting a pace with the clips that fits the mood of the morning. Enjoy!

The original snow cone

This coyote took a break from his carcass feast to get a couple refreshing bites of snow. The day was perfect and I watched him for several hours until he waddled through the snow to rest on the hillside.

The snow bites have been slowed to half speed. While watching any of the current nature shows note the speed of the action. Slow motion is currently in vogue, given the quality of capture with Sony and high end video recorders, but tends to be overused in my opinion. I like to select a small portion of the clip to adjust and make the slow motion seamless with normal speed.

Slow Motion Birds

These ravens and magpies presented a perfect opportunity to experiment with slow motion. From a storytelling perspective there is something about the inertia of the carcass and the life it provides shown by the frenzy of the birds.

 Technical: Sony a7rii at 1/250 second, frame rate 120 fps. processed to 1/4 speed in FCPX

Winter Wave

This trumpeter swan's winter wave is more exercise than I have gotten recently, at leastt until yesterday's snow. It's nice to have a real winter  even if the shovel is the free weight for boosting upper body strength. There is almost enough to XC ski which is definitely a lot more fun than shoveling.

Technical: Photography is all about time manipulation. When shooting stills it usually is about freeing time. This wing wave is at a quarter normal speed to show the beauty of the fluid motion.

Winter Whites

It would be nice if the winter white was snow but the white birds of winter are a lot more fun to watch than falling snow.  I'm using the birds to practice slow motion techniques and various camera/lens combinations. The car is always nearby for a quick warm up when the toes get icy.

Look at those ears!

Can you imagine the discussion when the first mule deer was seen by explorers? "It looks like a deer but it can't be with those ears. It must be some kind of mule." 

Technical: WB 2850

Badlands Morning

On the road again, this time to Badlands National Park. Early morning insomnia made me decide to get outdoors and try various settings on my new camera.  Of course, now I am just waking up from my noon nap.

Technical: ISO 3200, ND gradient in Lightroom to lower the color temperature and exposure of the sky.

November Transition

I was out locally for the first time in a month and testing my new Sony. This image reflects both the transition of seasons and my transition in camera brands.