WIN A SPOT - Best of the Bruce Landscape Photography Workshop

I'm leading the "Best of the Bruce" landscape photography workshop this fall on the Bruce Peninsula, based out of the incredible E'Terra luxury ecolodge and featuring gourmet meals. Details about the workshop are coming soon, but in a nutshell the 3-day workshop will be Sept 17-20, 2010 (this fall) and the price will be approx $2500. This is the ultimate landscape photo workshop with custom charted boat excursions to photograph sunrise and sunset at amazing landscapes only reachable by boat!  

Here's the best part.... you can enter to win a spot on the workshop plus a fantastic prize package (total value is $6164 CD). The contest is open to members of the Canadian Geographic Photo Club. If you're not a member, it's easy and free to join. Click here for contest details: Best of the Bruce - Contest.

And while you're on the CG Photo Club site, be sure to check out the interview with me in their Close-ups section.  

If you're at the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto this weekend (Feb 26-28) drop by one of my "Best of the Bruce" presentations (see previous blog post for details) to get a taste of the photo opps we'll have on the workshop. You can also get details about the workshop in the "E'Terra" booth.

Upcoming Presentations including Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show

I'll be presenting a number of photo shows over the next few months at various locations in Ontario. A full listing, regularly updated, is posted on my website here:   http://www.ethanmeleg.com/inpublic.htm

Or here's a sample of what is upcoming. If you make it out to one of the show, be sure to say hello!

February 27 (Saturday) - Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show
"Photographing the Best of the Bruce Peninsula"
sponsored by Canadian Geographic & Ontario Tourism
3:45pm in The Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure Theatre
http://www.outdooradventureshow.ca/toronto/

February 28 (Sunday) - Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show
"Photographing the Best of the Bruce Peninsula"
sponsored by Canadian Geographic & Ontario Tourism
12:00pm in The Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure Theatre
http://www.outdooradventureshow.ca/toronto/

March 2 (Tuesday) - Barrie, Ontario
"Freedom 35 - A Photographer's Adventure"
Barrie Users Group
7:30pm at Eastview High School
For details, visit: http://www.barrieusersgroup.org


March 4 (Thursday) - Midland, Ontario
"Freedom 35 - A Photographer's Adventure"
Midland District Camera Club
7:00pm at Len Self Blvd., Midland Ontario (North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre)
For details, visit: http://www.midlandcameraclub.com/

May 5 (Wednesday) - Cornwall, Ontario
TBD but likely "The Passion of Nature Photography"
St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences
17th Annual International Conference
7:00pm at Aultsville Theatre
Details to be posted here:
http://www.riverinstitute.com/events/Conference%202010/index2010.html


June 1 (Tuesday) - Southampton, Ontario
"The Best of the Bruce Peninsula"
Chantry Institute Lecture Series
7:00pm at Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre
details to be posted.

June 8 (Tuesday) - Hamilton, Ontario
Bell *Arte Camera - Customer Appreciation Day
details TBD

Win 7 Days on Georgian Bay - The Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure of a Lifetime

Click here to enter a contest to win a 7 day trip on Georgian Bay for you and three guests! The prize value is about $20,000 and includes cameras, binoculars, return airfare from anywhere in Canada or the Continental US... and more (see the link for details)!

I shot some of the photography for the campaign and will be guiding parts of the adventure on the Bruce Peninsula. The trip would be great for photographers..... visiting some of the most scenic spots in eastern Canada.

More Panama photos: Tanager, Bat Falcon, Soberania National Park sunrise

I'm still alive and back safely in Ontario after a fantastic trip to Panama! Sorry for the gap in posts, I was en route to home and then buried with photo business upon arrival.

I have so many photos from Panama to share.... here are a few more. Will post more as I catch up on processing of the raw files. Check back soon!

Photo 1: Bat Falcon, Soberania National Park, Gamboa, Panama
Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 lens & 2x teleconvertor
A pair of Bat Falcons were roosting in the town of Gamboa and obliged for this photo at sunrise, shortly before taking off to hunt.

Photo 2: Lemon-rumped Tanager at Canopy Lodge, Panama
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor
The fruit feeders at Canopy Lodge are one of the best places I've ever photographed birds... it was a constant stream of tanagers and other colorful birds!

















Photo 3: Sunrise over Soberania National Park from the Canopy Tower, Gamboa, Panama
EOS 5D mark II; 70-200mm f/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad

Panama - part 3 (Pacas, Aracaris, Euphonias, Motmots... life is good!)

Having a great time down here... with some outstanding photo opps! First three photos are from the Soberania National Park area in Gamboa. The mammal is a Paca - a rarely photographed jungle animal. It was coming into the grounds of the research station where I was staying at night to feed. I laid down on the ground to get this eye level portrait and had someone shine a flashlight on it so there was enough light to focus.

Fruit Loops is my favorite cereal, so I was determined to get photos of toucan-family birds on this trip. This Chestnut-collared Aracari (below) was an unexpected bonus - it landed on the perch above the fruit feeder!

There's a National Geogrpahic assignment photographer shooting nocturnal mammals in the forest canopy - so he's rigged a tall scaffolding setup with a platform on top. I climbed up there in early morning to photograph canopy birds, but couldn't resist the beautiful sunrise over the forest.

I'm now staying at the beautiful Canopy Lodge (http://www.canopylodge.com/) in El Valle de Anton, and having incredible success with birds coming into the banana feeders. This is one of the best feeder spots I've ever seen and I'm definitely going to bring a bird photography workshop here in the future. Here are a couple from my first afternoon at the lodge yesterday. I'm tweaking the setup this morning and today's results will be even better!

There are abot a dozen male Thick-billed Euphonias (below) coming to the feeder! 

A Rufous Motmot (below) hangs around the lodge and periodically comes into the feeders. It was so close I couldn't fit the whole bird into the frame, so I opted for a head portrait.

All of these photos have been taken with an EOS 1Ds III; 500/4 IS lens [the Paca was shot with a 70-200/2.8 lens], usually with a 1.4x or 2x teleconvertor. A 580EX II flash has been used for fill light on all of the birds.

Gotta run..... many more birds to photograph!

Panama birds - part 2

Here are a couple of photos I shot today..... common birds that are coming into fruit feeders at the lodge where I'm staying. I put the stick over the feeder and the birds started using it almost immediately. 

Both photos were taken with an EOS 1Ds III; 500/4 IS & 2X teleconvertor; 580EX fill flash

Need sleep.... I'm baked from the heat!

Top photo: Red-legged Honeycreeper
Bottom photo: Blue-gray Tanager

Panama jungle birds!

Here's a quick post from the small town of Gamboa in the Soberania National Park area of central Panama. I've been having a great time photographing tropical birds including a mix of common and difficult to shoot species. My body is still adjusting to the persecuting heat and humidity - especially on the long daily walks in the jungle carring 40lbs of camera gear. The "Balboa" beers at lunch are well-earned and an aspirin after dinner helps to dull the pain in my back and shoulders!

I'm being hosted/guided by Advantage Tours Panama  and my guide Rey is finding lots of cool things to point my lens at. Check back for more photos soon... I have tons to share!

Photo 1 (below): Common Potoo, Metropolitan Park, Panama City
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens; 580 EX II flash (fill at - 1 2/3); Exposure: ISO 500; 1/80s @ f/7.1
A huge thanks to guide Roberto for leading us to this incredible and well-camouflaged bird! 

Photo 2 (below): Red-rumped Cacique in Metropolitan Park, Panama City

EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens with 1.4x TC; 580EX II fill flash at -1 2/3; Exposure: ISO 640; 1/160s @ f/5.6

Photo 3 (below): Spectacled Owl, Gamboa, Panama
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens & 1.4x TC; 580EX II fill flash at -1 2/3; Exposure: ISO 640; 1/40s @ f/5.6

Countdown to Panama!

I'm packed and ready to catch a few hours sleep before my early morning flight to Panama. It's stressful traveling as a photographer these days.... so much gear to worry about with new security procedures and baggage regulations. Here's what's going with me:

In the first photo....
The large black dufflebag on the left is my checked luggage which contains clothing, tripod & heads, some camera accessories. The bag is durable, light and fully packed I'm able to just squeeze in under the weight restriction! I use clothes and spare shoes as padding to protect the tripod & other gear.

The black camera pack on the right is my carry-on containing all of my lenses, bodies, binoculars, etc. This is a new pack I just bought this past week - a Gura Gear "Kiboko" bag, which is large enough to fit all of my  basic camera gear (including my 500/4 lens)  yet extremely light so the pack doesn't add much weight. I love this bag! See second and third photos below for closeups of how the camera gear is packed in it.

The third bag (blue daypack) contains my laptop and a few basic travel items(chewing gum, magazine, Blackberry). This  my 'personal item' allowed for carry-on.

I'm off to bed for a short sleep. Check back in a couple of days to see some photos of Panama birds, wildlife and landscapes!

Icicles on the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park

The weather forecast for Saturday said sunny; my girlfriend and I had no other plans for the day...it was obvious what we had to do! Before sunrise, we hiked out to the Georgian Bay shoreline to spend the day photographing the icicles hanging from the cliffs in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Our friends with kids joined us and they had a great time sliding around on the ice!

Photos taken with EOS 5D mark II & 17-40mm lens with a 580EXII used for fill-flash.

Photocrati Fund: $5000 grants for photo projects

Check out this new program that provides $5000 grants to non-professional photographers working on important humanitarian and environmental projects. The grant is intended to identify great up-and-coming photography talent and give them a high profile platform for carrying out a worthwhile project. The distinguished board and panel of judges include some of the most celebrated environmental and cultural photographers in the world: Steve McCurry, Michael "Nick" Nichols, and Art Wolfe. [these are 3 of my favorite photographers]


Here's a link for more information. Note that the deadline for applications is March 15. 
 www.photocrati.com/photocrati-fund

Red-tailed Hawk and Barred Owl photos

Just returned from a short trip to eastern Ontario with my girlfriend. My aspirations were to photograph raptors; she was keen to check out the cross-country ski trails. There wasn't much snow on the trails, but the temperature was certainly 'wintery' at -19C on Saturday morning! The raptors - a Red-tailed Hawk and Barred Owl - co-operated beautifully! It was a fantastic weekend overall and as a bonus I had a chance to  catch up with some photo buddies, as well as meeting some other great bird photographers.

Here's a couple of initial photos:

Photo 1: Red-tailed Hawk
Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens; ISO 800; 1/640s @ f/4

















Photo 2: Barred Owl
Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens; ISO 400; 1/500s at f/5.6

Icicles along Georgian Bay shoreline

A quick post with a couple photos of the awesome icicles hanging off the Niagara Escarpment cliffs at Indian Head Cove in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It was worth the trek out there to check on the ice conditions. Will be watching the skies - ready for good light for the next excursion. Yes that's me in the first photo. Next time I'll be wearing a red jacket, of course! 

Both photos EOS 5D mark II; 17-40/4 lens (handheld) and Singh-Ray LB waring polarizer. Photo of me taken by D Carey.

Big Tub Lighthouse (Tobermory) in winter glory!

A -27C windchill made it awefully difficult to find the motivation to get out of bed for a photo shoot this morning. The cold air temperature was causing a heavy mist from the surface of Georgian Bay which froze on the surrounding shoreline trees. It was a magical scene that could not be missed. I drank a big cup of coffee, dressed up in about 5 layers of clothing - including my very unfashionable, but extremely warm "Elmer Fudd" hat - and drove down the street to the Big Tub Lighthouse.

Strong winds were blowing spray all over everthing, including me and my camera gear. I found a spot in the trees that offered a bit of shelter and went to work. To prevent blurring of the moving branches, I clicked the shutter during calm periods between gusts of wind.
  























Photo 1: Canon EOS 1DsIII; TSE-24mm II tilt shift lens; Gitzo tripod & Really Right Stuff ballhead; mirror lock up & cable release. Exposure: ISO 400; 1/20 @ f/18

Photo 2: Canon EOS 1DsIII; TSE-24mm II tilt shift lens; Gitzo tripod & Really Right Stuff ballhead; mirror lock up & cable release. Exposure: ISO 400; 1/30 @ f/16. I was so cold that my brain wasn't working well.... I should have shifted the lens more to correct for the lean of the lighthouse in this photo.

I'm hoping for some sunshine before the frosting is gone from the trees.... that will be the ultimate for the scene!

Happy New Year!

I'm back in Tobermory after a bit of travel over the holidays... first to visit my Mom for Christmas and then to hang out with my friends on eastern Georgian Bay for new years eve. My holidays have been full of food, wine & socializing... and my camera has not been out much.

There were about a thousand Bonaparte's Gulls in Wheatley Harbour, just a short drive from my Mom's place... so I spent a few hours photographing them around Christmas. The light conditions were fairly dull, but it was a perfect chance to shoot them in flight. It pays to practise your technique on common species - this keeps your skills up so you're ready when a great opportunity presents itself.

Photo 1: Bonaparte's Gull (winter plumage) in flight, Wheatley Harbour, Ontario.
Canon EOS 1DsIII; 500/4 IS lens; Wimberley II head and Gitzo tripod.
ISO 400; 1/1250s @ f/4; Vertical image cropped from a horizontal frame.

It was snowing quite hard today while driving home from my friend's place. I could not resist stopping to shoot this snowy scene on the Nottawasaga River.

Photo 2: Nottawasaga River in snow - near Wasaga Beach, Ontario.
Canon EOS 1DsIII; 24-70/2.8 lens; ISO 200; 1/160s @ f/8; handheld. Converted to Black-and-white in Photoshop.

I've been working on the plans for my upcoming Panama trip lately, and the more research I do the more I get excited about it. Panama has an incredibly high diversity of birds and I'll be traveling with some friends who are excellent photographers... so we're going to have a heck of a trip. Will tell you more about it later.

Wishing you all the best in 2010!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!
I'm off to the Pelee area to spend a few days visiting family, but thought I'd sneak in a quick blog post before hitting the road.

I haven't been out shooting much in the past couple of weeks, which explains the lack of blog posts. Here's an update on what I've been up to.

The hard-drive on my main computer failed a couple of weeks ago and getting that problem solved has been a huge pain. I didn't lose any photos..... they're all backed up in triple redundancy (including off-site copies) but the process of getting the problem diagnosed, ordering a new drive and reinstalling all of my programs and files has been very time consuming. It's all the more challenging when you live in a small, remote town and the nearest computer shop is an hour and a half away!

This caused a backlog of photo submissions, which I'm now just about caught up on. For all of those aspiring photographers out there who romanticize about what it's like to be a freelance photographer, the reality is that it's a heck of a lot of time at a computer!

OK, I'll confess that it hasn't been all work lately..... winter is the time of year when I socialize more, catch up on movies and chill out.... all of which I have done plenty of lately! After travelling/living in a van all of last year, I've been catching up on lots of movies. Last week I saw the mega-budget movie "Avatar". I liked the special effect, but it went way overboard in terms of action sequences. Last night I rented "The Cove", a documentary about the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. This is one of the most remarkable films I've ever seen.... beautifully filmed and produced, with a powerful and provocative message. I highly suggest watching this film.... two thumbs up from me.

On another note, you might wonder what a guy like me gets for Christmas. My Mom bought me a set of Pocket Wizards.... an FM wireless system for triggering cameras and flashes remotely. It's an awesome gift that I'll put to very good use with some creative wildlife photography! And I couldn't pass up a good deal on a pair of Swarovski binoculars for myself.... there's nothing wrong with spoiling yourself sometimes!

The most exciting news I have to share is that I'm heading to Panama next month for a bird photography trip. I've heard only great things about Panama's birdlife, wildlife and scenery, so the trip planning is fun and I can't wait to get down there!

Well that's enough rambling on..... eggnog and holiday food are waiting.

Have a fantastic holiday season and great photo opps in the New Year!

Varied Thrush in Tobermory !!!!

Varied Thrush, Tobermory - December 16, 2009
EOS 1Ds mark III, 500/4 IS lens & 2x teleconvertor; ISO 800; 1/125s @ f/8
Gitzo tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head

My neighbours called me a couple of days ago to report this rare bird visiting their feeder. The bird has continued to hang around for a couple of days and was seen today on the annual Christmas Bird Count. This is just a record shot to confirm the ID.... I'll be going back to get more photos for my collection (I need to use a flash to improve detail on the dark face)! Although only about 100m from my yard, I can't seem to lure the bird over to my feeders!

By the way, sorry for the lack of posts lately. The hard-drive on my main business computer crashed a few days ago, and although I have backups of everything.... it's been a pain having to restore all the files. Aside from this, I've been out socializing lately more than blogging.... tis the season!

Check back soon for some bird photos and winter landscapes!

2010 Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure calendar released

The 2010 Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure calendar has just been released by Ontario Tourism. The calendar features many of my photos, including the cover image of Flowerpot Island, the main July image and a Birds of Ontario feature with each month. Approx 300,000 copies will be distributed through various ways including: with the Jan/Feb issue of Canadian Geographic magazine, at the 2010 Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show (February) and at select MEC and Bass Pro stores. The calendar is complimentary.... to receive your free copy, visit  http://www.ontariotravel.net/outdoor  or call 1-800-ONTARIO.

The cover photo is from Flowerpot Island in Fathom Five National Marine Park near Tobermory, Ontario. The weather was better than I could ever have hoped for... glassy calm with beautiful morning light! I shot this handheld, laying in the back of a boat just above water level with a Canon EOS 5D mark II body, 24-70/2.8 lens and Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer lens. The exposure was: ISO 400; 1/200s @ f/9. The models were extremely cooperative, patiently paddling by for many repeat attempts to get all of the elements lined up perfectly for the image(a huge thanks  Karen and Lauren!). Drop by the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show in February to see this photo as a huge backdrop for the Ontario Tourism display.

Camera Gear: free to a good home!

I'm cleaning out my gear closet and have a couple items that are free to the first person who emails me to claim them (North America only). All you have to do is cover shipping costs and if you're in the US, any taxes or duty are your responsibility.

1) Pentax manual camera system (I inherited this from my grandmother when she died and have never once used it).
Body: Pentax ME-F
Lenses (2): SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2, SMC Pentax 28mm f/2.8
Flashes (4): Sunpak MX118, Kako 828, Bauer E16, Black's X-28

2) Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer (40GB)
This is a refurbished unit that Epson had sent me on warranty repair. It works perfectly when plugged in, but not on battery. I'm not sure if it just needs a new battery, or if it's something else.

Send me a note with your address if you want either of them.
Cheers!
Ethan

Lion's Head Lighthouse, Bruce Peninsula

Lion's Head lighthouse, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

EOS 1Ds mark III, TS-E 24mm II tilt-shift lens (shifted slightly to keep the lighthouse straight); Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; mirror lock-up and cable release; Exposure: ISO 100; 1/30s at f/11

The town of Lion's Head boasts one of the most scenic harbours I've found on the Great Lakes. The lighthouse, blue water of Georgian Bay and distant Niagara Escarpment cliffs make an excellent combo for photos. Only a half hour from my place, I often drop in to shoot if the afternoon light is right.... as I did today.

Having photographed this lighthouse many times, I'm always looking for fresh perspectives and elements. I knew that having a person in the scene would add scale, but I was solo. No problem! With a remote/timer cable release set to shoot a frame every 10 seconds, I simply walked into the scene and posed myself for a series of photos. OK, so I'm not a supermodel... just a temporary fill in for the occasional outdoor photo!

Happy shooting!

Yes, more sand ripples!

Sand ripples and clouds, Dorcas Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park


I couldn't resist the dramatic clouds that rolled in a couple nights ago! I shot this from a slightly higher perspective than the photo in the previous post..... and managed to stay dry for a change!

EOS 1Ds mark III, TS-E 24mm II tilt-shift lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad (4x6" size, handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; Exposure: ISO 100; 2.5s at f/18