Elephant Seal & Star Trails

Hi all, here's a very quick post because I'm in Death Valley with very limited internet access.

There are two approaches I usually take in photography: 1) cowboy style "yeehaw, there's something cool to photograph" and 2) planned images. The two below photos are the result of planning.

Photo 1) After about a week photographing elephant seals, I came up with the idea for this photo. The hardest part was finding a location where I could get down low with the seals, and of course doing it safely (the bull seals weight thousands of pounds)! EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray warming polarizer and 3 stop hard-edge ND grad; 580 EXII flash


Photo 2: I scouted this location to shoot star trails in the Jumbo Rocks campground in Joshua Tree National Park a couple of nights ago. During the day I planned the composition and figured out the focusing distance. When I went back to make the shot at night, it was easy to set up the gear and trip the shutter before going back to my van for a glass of wine! [As a side note, Jumbo Rocks is one of the best campgrounds I've ever been to.]
EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; 1 hour exposure at f/5; foreground rocks subtly light-painted with a dim flashlight; Canon multi-function remote shutter release

Wildflower Workshop - June 6-7

Just a heads up that I've posted details for my Orchid & Wildflower photography workshop on the Bruce Peninsula in early June. This is one of the premier wildflower locations in Canada, especially for orchids. The tour is timed to coincide with the blooming peak of Yellow Lady Slippers and a handful of other specialities.

Check out the link: http://www.ethanmeleg.com/tour-BPwildflowers-2009.htm

If you're interested in joining, be sure to sign up soon.... it's booking quickly!

Point Lobos State Reserve

It finally stopped raining after several very wet days here on the coast. It wasn't a pleasant drizzle that you can keep shooting in and end up with rich, moody photos. It was windy, with driving rain... impossible to keep the front of my lens dry. So I drank coffee, read and edited photos to wait out the weather.

With great weather conditions back, I spent yesterday at Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel. My photo targets at Point Lobos were harbor seals and seascapes, both of which were obliging.

Photo 1: Harbor Seal

EOS 1DsIII; 500IS + 1.4x TC; 580EX flash + Better Beamer (for fill flash); Singh-Ray LB polarizer (drop in). There was no way to move to the other side of the backlit seal, so this was a classic situation for use of fill flash. Without it there was basically no shot.

Photo 2: Weston Beach sunset

EOS 1DsIII; 17-40mm; Singh-Ray Colorcombo polarizer & stacked 2 & 3 stop hard edge ND grads (4x6" size, handheld in front of the lens); mirror lock up & cable release; ISo 200; 5s @ f16

This beach is named after pioneer photographer, Edward Weston.

Photo 3: Kelp stems at sunset - Weston Beach (horizontal)

EOS 1DsIII; 17-40mm; Singh-Ray Colorcombo polarizer & stacked 2 & 3 stop hard edge ND grads (4x6" size, handheld in front of the lens); mirror lock up & cable release; ISo 400; 25s @ f18

Photo 4: Kelp stems at sunset - Weston Beach (vertical)

Whenever possible, I shoot both horizontal and vertical compositions to have variety for publishing. I think the vertical is a stronger image. What do you think?

Elephant Seals

The California coast is outstanding for marine wildlife! Although I've only been here for a few days, it's been a blast photographing elephant seals. These are charismatic animals which are highly entertaining to watch. At this time of year, the bulls basically spend their days loafing on the beach, fighting with rival males and mating with their harem. What a life!

Photo 1: Bull elephant seal charges a rival
EOS 1DsIII; 500mm IS; 1/800s@ f5; ISO 400; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)


Photo 2: Elephant Seal cub
EOS 1DsIII; 500mm IS + 1.4x; 1/80s@ f5.6; ISO 400; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)


Photo 3: Bull elephant seal with wounds from rival battle
EOS 1DsIII; 500/4 IS; 1/8s @ f4; ISO 800; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer (drop in)

Photo 4: Bull elephant seal rears at dusk
EOS 1DsIII; 70-200mm/2.8 IS 1/60s@ f2.8; ISO 800; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo

Quest for the Lewis' Woodpecker

Of the species of birds that I have always wanted to see, Lewis’ Woodpecker has been at the top of the list. I’m not sure what it is about this bird, but it has captivated my interest for decades.

I’ve been following the bird reports hoping to find a Lewis’ location that meshed with my travel plans. Thankfully, several had recently been sighted in the San Bernardino Mountains at Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area. I added it to my itinerary.

When I arrived at the park a few days ago it was closed due to heavy snowfall. I opted to camp nearby, hoping that that the conditions would improve and the park would reopen. Thankfully the next morning was sunny and warm, which melted the icy park roads. I was waiting at the gates when the ranger opened the park mid morning.

I searched for a long time in the area where the birds had allegedly been hanging out, but to no avail. Finally, as I was walking back to the van - ready to pack it in and head to the coast - I made one last scan. In the distance there was a lone bird sitting high up on a dead tree. Could it be? Elated, I had found my life (first ever) Lewis’ Woodpecker.

Now that I was on to them, I quickly found two additional Lewis'. After enjoying satisfying views, I rigged up my camera gear with lots of magnification to try for some photos. It was very difficult to get close to them with an unobstructed view, but I kept working until I had a few reasonably clean shots.

That evening, when I went to download the memory card to see my precious photos, they were all gone! There had been a problem with the card or camera and it appeared that all the files were either lost or corrupted. My heart sunk! After a frantic email to Lexar for technical support, they promptly sent me the recovery software. The photo gods must be on my side, because it worked!

Although these aren't prize winners, I'm just plain excited to have any photos of Lewis' Woodpecker!

EOS 50D; 500/4 + 1.4x TC

Naturescapes Award & Popular Photo magazine

Hi all, just a bit of flagrant self promotion here...

1) My photo of the Subway in Zion National Park has just been selected for honorable mention among the Images of the Year on http://www.naturescapes.net/ . Check out the slideshow on the main page.... mine is image #8.

2) There's a brief editorial feature on me on page 11 in the latest (March) issue of Popular Photograph magazine. The magazine is widely available in bookstores and newstands.

cheers!
Ethan

Snow, Rain and Great Light

Here's a photo of heavy snowfall in Joshua Tree. I'm not a big cold weather/snow fan (it's why I've escaped from Canada for the winter), but even I was taken by the beauty of snow in the desert.



After leaving Joshua Tree en route to the San Bernardino Mountains, I got a call notifying me that someone had been attempting to fraudulantly use my credit card. What a pain to deal with! After many calls and wracking my brain to figure out where I would be so that a new card could be couriered (not an easy thing when you're travelling like a photo nomad) I finally got it all worked out. At this point I was a bit cranky, but kept focussing on the goal of seeing my life Lewis' Woodpecker. So you can imagine my mood when I arrived at the park where the woodpecker had been seen, only to find the park closed indefinitely due to heavy snowfall. I found a nearby campsite to chill out for the night.

The campground was pretty darn nice and there wasn't another person there - I had it entirely to myself. There were electical hookups to run a heater (it was going well below freezing) and showers. You can't imagine how much of a luxury a hot shower is when you're living on the road. Things were looking up.

And here's the view from my campsite.... not bad, eh!


I quickly forgot all of the hassles of the day at dusk, when the passing storm front resulted in this incredible light. The sky was purple!

EOS 1DsIII; 24-70; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo filter & 3 stop soft edge ND grad


EOS 1DsIII; 24-70; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo filter & 3 stop soft edge ND grad


As for my attempt to find the Lewis' Woodpecker...... did I end up seeing it? I'll save that story for the next post. Check back soon.

Joshua Tree National Park

Hi all, I've been in Joshua Tree National Park the last couple days. This is a superb park for landscape photography.... the combination of interesting boulder piles and gnarly joshua trees is awesome. The weather has been very tough to photograph in..... extremely windy and cold with bouts of overcast skies. Nevertheless I've worked hard to get a few good images.
And for all my friends back up north, envious that I am in a warmer climate, it's been cold here the past couple days. I froze my butt off camping the last two nights and woke up to heavy snowfall this morning (will post a photo of the snow later)! Tonight I'm staying in a park with electical hookups so I can run my heater.

I'm now en route to try to see (and hopefully photograph) a Lewis' Woodpecker in the San Bernardino Mountains. This is a bird I've been wanting to find for a long time.

A quick post-script.... it's snowing like mad! The park where the woodpecker was seen is closed due to the weather.... damn! Crossing my fingers that it opens back up tomorrow.

Photo 1: Me and the van in Joshua Tree.


Photo 2: Backlit Teddy Bear Cholla
This species of cactus is evil..... they almost jump at you. And once you've gotten stuck, it's a pain to get the spines out.... I still have several stuck in my hand from when I shot this photo.
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad


Photo 3: Jumbo Rocks campground at dusk
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue polarizer
The sky was fairly blah, but I salvaged the photo with the Gold-n-Blue polarizer.


Photo 4: Moonglare through Joshua Tree
I shot this well after sunset will the nearly full moon rising.
1DSIII; 17-40; Singh-Ray 2 stop hard edge ND grad
Light-painted the foreground plants slightly with a flashlight.

Back in the southwest: Short-tailed Hawk & Saguaro

I'm back in the south and enjoying fantastically warm weather. I don't miss the snow and cold of Ontario at all! Today I joined up with some bird photographer friends and we spent the day chasing birds around Tucson. In the afternoon we photographed a very rare species for the southwest.... a Short-tailed Hawk. This particularly interesting individual has tan coloration.

Let me tell you a quick story about my relationship with Short-tailed Hawks. About 15 years when I had just finished university, I took my first big birding/photography road trip from Ontario down to Florida and across to Texas and Arizona. Prior to the departing I had decided that I would get a tattoo of my 500th life bird species, which I would inevitably see during the trip. This occurred in Florida and it was a close call between Red-whiskered Bulbul (an exotic songbird) and Short-tailed Hawk. Thankfully a careful recount confirmed it was the hawk, lest I would be stuck today with a wimpy Bulbul tatooed on my arm.

By the way, I bought a 50D body last week for backup and this is the first photo I've posted with it. Will share more thoughts about this camera soon after I've had a chance to put it thought the paces.

Photo 1: Short-tailed Hawk, Tucson
50D + 500/4IS; handheld; manual exposure

For those of you who are tired of seeing bird photos on this blog, here's a cactusscape that I shot tonight on the way to the campground. I love Saguaros - they're my favorite plant.

Photo 2: Saguaro Cactus, Tucson
EOS 1DsIII; 14-40 lens

A taste of winter

I've spent the past two weeks in Ontario - a brief trip for which I had grand plans of winter photography. But the weather was damn cold when I arrived (-20C) and snowy.... and I was lazy. So I spent far more time socializing and having fun than taking photos. I'm now packing for my return flight to the southwest and thought I should post a few of the photos that I did manage to get during the past couple of weeks.

Photo 1: It snowed a foot one night while I was staying with friends in Penetanguishene. Here's my friend Andrew clearing the driveway with his new snowblower.


Photo 2: I found this porcupine feeding in young trees near Dyers Bay on the Bruce Peninsula. Although just above head height, the white sky background made it a tough situation to photograph. This closeup of the head and face was one of the more successful shots I manged to make. EOS 1DsmIII; 500/4IS


Photo 3: I did some work with the tourism department at Bruce County photographing a crew from the Snowtrax (snowmobiling) television show..... it was a ton of fun!


Photo 4: For much of the snowmobile shoot, I photographed from the back of one of the sleds. Here's an image of us going through a tunnel, with a slow shutter speed to create motion blur. This is from the camera, with no special digital effects.


I'm looking forward to warm southwest weather again!

Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Desert Museum

I'm back in Ontario for 2 weeks to shoot winter stock images and do some assignment work. What a shock this cold weather is... I'll be glad to fly back down to Arizona again soon! While I'm here, the van is down south getting some major work done on it including new head gaskets. It should be like new when I return.

Here are a few photos I've just caught up on processing from the last couple of weeks. All were shot with an EOS 1Dsm3 body.

Photo 1: The road into Death Valley National Park at dusk. 24-70/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray 3 stop hard edge ND grad (4x6" handheld in front of lens)


Photo 2: Joshua Tree against starry sky (light painted the tree with a flashlight). I had very limited time in Joshua TreeNP and my photo mojo was off. It's an incredibly scenic park with gnarly-shaped trees and otherwordly rock formations. I'll be going back next month to make the most of its photographic potential! 24-70/2.8 lens; 44s exposure at f5.6


Photo 3: Mountain Lion (captive) at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM). This world-class outdoor living 'museum' has great opportunities to photograph wildlife in a natural looking setting. 500mm IS lens + 1.4x TC


Photo 4: Great Horned Owl (captive) at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. If you make it to the desert museum, be sure to see the live raptor shows offered twice daily... and have your camera ready! 500mm IS lens; 580EX II flash at -2 for fill (the bird was backlit by the natural sunlight)

Death Valley sand dunes

With broken shocks on the van and nightfall approaching, it made sense to camp out for the night and sneak in a morning shoot before leaving the national park for repairs the next morning. As luck would have it, the Stovepipe Wells campground was right next to Death Valley's famed sand dunes. We hiked out before sunrise..... the best dunes were much farther than it looked..... and had an incredible morning of photography out there. The combination of soft light, sand ripples, undulating dunes and mountain backdrops makes this an absolutely awesome spot for landscape photography. It would be hard to take a bad photo there!

Below are some of the results (hope they look ok, because it's difficult to get the raw conversions right when working on the laptop in the van!). All were shot with EOS 1DSm3 body, Singh-Ray LB colorcombo polarizer and 2 stop hard edge ND grads. Lenses were either 24-70 or 17-40. Cable release and mirror lock for every photo.





Raven tracks across the top of the dune:

Bacon below Sea Level

I'm in Death Valley National Park in eastern California. The park is a landscape photographer’s dream, with its varied and almost surreal terrain. Yesterday I visited the Badwater Basin – the lowest spot in the US - where I fried bacon for breakfast at 282ft below sea level. Very cool!


The afternoon plan was to make it to the “Racetrack", a salt flat where small boulders, presumed to have been blown by strong wind, have left their tracks across the playa. This is one of the top 5 places I wanted to photograph in the southwest.

Getting to the Racetrack requires driving 27 miles on a gravel road which is described as "famously bad". The park ranger told me to drive very slowly or it would cause serious damage to the vehicle. I should have listened better!

Approximately 5 miles down the washboard "road", one of the rear shocks on my van exploded. Abandoning hope of getting to the Racetrack, we turned around to figure out where the heck we'd find auto parts and a mechanic. Halfway back to the main road, the other rear shock also exploded. Thankfully the van was driveable and there was a town about an hour and a half away where we found new shocks and a mechanic who was open on Sundays. Everything worked out well and it turned out to be a fairly cheap fix (you can't say that often on VW vans). As a side bonus, this unexpected issue ended up causing changes in plans that lead to two spectacular photo shoots. I'll share some of those photos in the next post. And rest assured, I will get back to the Racetrack... next month. But I'll drive slower - much slower.

Here's the first exploded shock on my van. I used string to stop the bottom half from dragging on the road.


And here's me “communicating” with my buddy Chris while I surveyed the damage. He was laughing hysterically about the incident. Can't really blame him, I would have done the same!


By the way, I always carry a point and shoot camera (a Canon G9) to capture special moments like these!

Grand Canyon

Photo: Pima Point, Grand Canyon
EOS 1Ds3; 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB colorcombo filter and 3 stop hard edge ND grad

Just made a short overnight visit to Grand Canyon National Park which allowed one sunset and sunrise shoot. I was elated to find a trio of yucca growing on the edge of the canyon last night and make a photo that I had been dreaming of for years!

My buddy and I are now in the epicenter of American culture.... Las Vegas. We're heading out for a walk on the strip with point & shoot cameras - should be fun! Tomorrow we drive to Death Valley in California. Can't wait!

Tucson ducks

I'm killing some time at the Phoenix airport waiting for a friend to arrive... we're going on a whirwind tour to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Joshua Tree over the next couple weeks. So for those of you who are tired of all the bird photos, don't worry.... landscapes are coming!

During my few weeks in Tucson, I was focused (almost obsessed) with capturing good in flight photos of Canvasback and Redhead ducks. It may seem funny to be photographing ducks in a desert city, but any pond is an oasis for waterfowl. Out of literally thousands of attempts, here are my best results.

Photo 1: Canvasback drake in flight
EOS 1Ds3; 500mm IS lens + 1.4x TC


Photo 2: Redhead drake in flight
EOS 1Ds3; 500mm IS lens + 1.4x TC

Happy New Years!

Hola 2009!
What a great start to the year! I spent the morning photographing ducks in flight and finally nailed American Wigeon and Canvasback. During mid-day, I lounged next to the pool drifting in and out of a nap with some classic U2 cranked on my iPod. For evening light, my Mom and I went to shoot landscapes at Sabino Canyon - a scenic park in northeast Tucson. When we arrived back home, my stepdad had BBQ hamburgers ready. Life is good!

Photo 1: American Wigeon in flight
500IS + 1.4x TC; 1/1000s @ f/7.1 (manual exposure)


Photo 2: Saguaro Cacti
17-70mm; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; 1/15s @ f/22


Photo 3: Sabino Creek (flowing well due to rain a few days ago)
17-70mm; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; o.8s @ f/22


Photo 4: Saguaro Cactus reaching up
17-70mm; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; 1/4s @ f/20
-gold reflector used to illuminate the right side of trunk


Photo 5: Saguaro Cactus against the Catalina Mountains
70-200mm; Singh-Ray LB Colorcombo polarizer; 2.5s @ f/18
The Colorcombo polarizer is quickly becoming one of my favorite filters for helping to bring out vivid saturation.

Tucson birds - part 2

Tucson is a great city for bird photography.... there are birds all over the place. I've been hooked on a small flock of Canvasback that have found a small pond as their desert oasis. This is a tough species to shoot - I've never had a good crack at them until now - so I'm taking full advantage of the great opportunity. They're one of my favorite duck species.

Here are a few photos from the past couple days. All shot with EOS 1Ds mIII and 500IS with 1.4x or 2x teleconverters.

Photo 1: Canvasback incoming


Photo 2: Canvasback portrait


Photo 3: Cactus Wren


Photo 4: Northern Mockingbird

Happy Holidays!

I thought this photo might help to spread the holiday cheer! This was some kind of domestic hybrid duck that was hanging out in a flock of ducks I was photographing in New Mexico. I nick-named it "Fluffy" and smiled every time it swim past us. Although I've been photographing amazing natural landscapes and species almost daily, this is one of my favorite trip photos because of the character it evokes.

The holidays are going great..... I'm spending time with my folks at a beautiful rental house in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson. Since the weather has been dull, I've been enjoying being lazy..... vegging out in front of the television, fattening up on great food and drinking fine red wine. What a perfect break from life in the camper van.

I wish everyone a great holiday season!
Ethan-