The Barnegat Jetty in New Jersey - Harlequin Ducks and Purple Sandpipers

Harlequin Duck (male), Barnegat Jetty, New Jersey

I'm shooting on the New Jersey coast for a few days at the Barnegat Jetty, renowned as one of the very best places to photograph Harlequin Ducks and Purple Sandpipers (during winter). I've wanted to shoot here for years and it finally came together to conveniently piggy back a few days onto a holiday trip visiting relatives in Virginia.

Barnegat has not disappointed - there have been plenty of Harlequin Ducks, often very close. Shooting here is highly dynamic, influenced by the tides and wind conditions. You have to put your time in and be persistent, making many arduous treks out the rock jetty, to get the shots. Here are a few from yesterday and today. These were shot with a Canon 1D mk IV and 500mm f/4 IS lens sometimes with a 1.4x teleconverter.

Harlequin Duck (male), Barnegat Jetty, New Jersey

Harlequin Duck (male), Barnegat Jetty, New Jersey

Purple Sandpiper, Barnegat Jetty, New Jersey

Great Falls National Park, Virginia

I'm in Virginia visiting relatives for the holidays and made a quick jaunt over to Great Falls National Park this morning at daybreak. Here are a couple of  quickly processed images on my laptop. Hope they look ok!

Both images taken with a Canon EOS 5d mark II, 17-40mm lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer and 2-stop hard edge ND grad.

Christmas Cards - Photographer's Edge

Each year for the holidays I send my clients Christmas cards to thank them for supporting my business during the past year. I used to make the cards from scratch, by going to a local print shop and having them produce branded card blanks for me. A few years ago I stumbled across a company called the Photographer's Edge who sell bulk card blanks ready and I have used them ever since. All you have to do is stick your own print (I use 4x6") in, remove 4 strips revealing double-sided tape and fold it over.... voila, you have a very professional card! To make them seem even more professional, I slap a label with my logo on the back. Since I started using the Photographer's Edge cards, it's been way easier, more cost-effective, and my cards look much better.

This year my card is using an image of frosty trees I photographed last March in Algonquin Park. It was an incredible morning with a thick hoar frost and I was out shooting with a series of Sigma lenses I had recently received through a sponsorship deal with them. This image was taken with a Canon EOS 5D mark II; Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and Singh-Ray 3 stop hard edge ND grad. It's one of my favorite images of the year, and will soon be arriving in the mailboxes of my clients.