I'm down in the Pelee area (my mom lives here, so I am visiting) and have been doing a bit of photography when not at my computer. I've been mostly chasing birds and shoreline images.
For the first photo at the tip of Point Pelee National Park, the light was fairly flat and the beach lacked strong foreground elements. To create a more dramatic image I used a 2-stop hard edge ND grad (Singh-Ray) to darken the clouds and a slow shutter speed (1/4 second) to blur the water for a sense of movement in the foreground. In landscape photography, these kind of tricks are akin to pulling a rabbit out of a hat. When conditions are dull, there are always creative techniques to make a stronger photo. EOS 1Ds mark III; 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad; ISO 200; 1/4s at f/18; mirror lock-up & cable release
For this next photo of a White-throated Sparrow, I had set up a blind in my Mom's backyard (it's an incredible yard for migrating birds) and put out some feeders. Dozens of sparrows came in to ground feed and one would occasionally land on a strategically placed log. EOS 1Ds mark III; 500/4IS lens & 1.4x teleconverter; 580EX II flash (fill set at -1 2/3); ISO 400; 1/200s at f/5.6
I spent a few mornings trying to photograph migrating hawks from the famous tower at Holiday Beach Conservation Area. It seems that every day I missed, the hawks were low and plentiful. On the days I was there, the birds were flying high... except for this flock of Mute Swans (an exotic species that nest in the marsh at Holiday Beach) which flew by the tower - low - in early morning light. EOS 1Ds mark III; 500/4 IS lens & 1.4x teleconverter. ISO 400; 1/2000s at f/5.6.
