icy shoreline

I went snowshoeing out to the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park this weekend with a group friends. The overcast skies broke with periods of beautiful light -
conditions were about as good as they get!

All photos with EOS 1Dsm2; EF 17-40; Singh-Ray circular polarizer.

Snowy landscapes

A couple shots I've taken this week....

both with EOS 1DSm2; EF 17-40mm lens; Singh-Ray warming circular polarizer
2-stop soft edge ND grad on the wind turbine shot

Saskatchewan photos

I'm finally starting to catch up on editing some of the photos I've shot over the past year, and just posted a small gallery of images from southern Saskatchewan on my website. I found the prairie landscape very inspiring!
Click here to visit the gallery page.

And here's a taste:

Replacement batteries for Canon DSLRs

Canon's batteries for their DSLRs cost a fortune, and it's certainly best to have at least 2-3 on hand for shoots, especially in battery-draining cold weather. I'm pleased to find there are some good aftermarket options now available, at a fraction of the price. I'll be ordering several.

You can get them from NatureScapes.net, a great online forum for nature photographers.

Here's a link to the model for the 1D lineup:

http://www.naturescapes.net/store/product.php?productid=211

And for the 30D/20D/10D, 5D, D30, D60, Rebel, G-series, etc:

http://www.naturescapes.net/store/product.php?productid=212

new photo tip on my website

Just posted a new photo tip on my website, check it out if you get a chance:

"Put Yourself in your Photos"
http://www.ethanmeleg.com/tip18.htm

Winter is definitely here!

The snow is piling up at my place - there's about 2 feet so far, and my ground-level kitchen window is nearly buried. I can't believe how much it's snowing each day. I'm lucky that my neighbour Ken has a snow blower and very kindly keeps my driveway ploughed out - otherwise I would probably end up house-bound.

The snowy landscape is perfect right now for photos. Yesterday we cross-country skied out to the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park. It was tough breaking trail, but well-worth it. The icicles at Indian Head Cove are dramatic, and it started snowing like mad while we were out there, which added to the winter ambiance. The sky was heavy overcast, so it wasn't the best light... but hey, you take what you get....

all shots Canon EOS 1ds m2, EF 17-40 lens

Whooping Crane catastrophe

UPDATE:
Good news - 1 of the cranes was found alive. Follow the link at the bottom for the updates. They are asking people to consider making an $18 donation ($1 for each crane) to support the recovery work - a most excellent cause.
-------
ORIGINAL POST:
I called my parents yesterday - they were in Florida not far from the tornado zone and I wanted to make sure they were ok. They're fine, but my stepdad told me that the storm had wiped out a group of 18 Whooping Cranes that are part of the efforts to re-establish a flock in eastern North America. This is a catastophic impact - at last count there were only 81 individuals in the Eastern population. Here's more info:
http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

A cold weekend in Algonquin Provincial Park

My girlfriend and I spent this past weekend in Algonquin Provincial Park. My goal: Evening Grosbeaks and some winter landscape photos. Her goal: snow and cross-country skiing. Life was good for both of us.

I'd been following reports of a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks feeding at the Algonquin Visitor Centre feeders, and they were there on cue. I spent about 3 hours with them on Saturday morning, in frigid -20C temps. It was painfully cold, but gratifying to shoot a bird I've had on my hitlist for years. The fact that Evening Grosbeak populations are in serious decline (for reasons unknown to researchers) added some urgency to my quest.
























Evening Grosbeak, Algonquin Park
Canon EOS 1DSm2, EF 600/4 lens, 1.4xTC


















Winter Sunset at Tea Lake, Algonquin Park
Canon EOS 1DSm2, EF 17-40L lens, Singh-Ray: Blue & Gold Polarizer, 4x6" 2-stop soft ND grad

























Walking on snowy Lake of Two Rivers, Algonquin Park
Canon EOS 1DSm2, EF 17-40L lens, Singh-Ray Warming Circular Polarizer
Self-timer


















Cross-country Skiing through hardwood forest, Fen Lake Trail, Algonquin Park
Canon EOS 1DSm2, EF 17-40L lens, fill flash at -2 stops


I'm thawed, the photos are edited, dust spots cleaned off my digital sensor.... and ready for more winter shooting!
cheers,
Ethan-

Stolen bananas?

Here's some useless trivia....
This banana photo is the most stolen image in my entire photo collection. I can't explain why - it's not really a remarkable photo. In fact, it's a quick handheld shot I nabbed from the parking lot of a hostel I stayed at in Costa Rica.

I discovered that the photo has been stolen for all kinds of websites, blogs and myspace accounts by using my website statistics software. The software helps me track which pages and photos on my site get the most traffic, and where the traffic comes from (it's a very good tool for optimizing your website). Every time I check the stats, this photo comes out number one - often getting thousands of hits. Who knew a banana photo would be so popular? It's a strange world we live in.

food poisoning in Florida -

I'm down in Florida for a quick holiday visit with family, and just my luck - I ended up with food-poisoning (I suspect it was raw oysters, but who can say for sure). For a couple days, I felt so wretched I'd rather have been dead. The only consolation was that it was rainy and heavy overcast those days, so I wasn't missing out on much shooting.

Things are much better today (for both my stomach, and the weather), so I went to Fort DeSoto on the Gulf Coast. Below are a few of the results.

Hope you're having a great holiday season!

1. Great Egret
2. Herring Gull with crab
3. Wood Stork in flight

(all taken with EOS 1DS mark 2, EF 600/4 lens)

Great Gray Owl cover

My high-speed satellite internet connection was installed today, so from here on, I'm one click closer to the rest of the world. I can't tell you how much easier this will make my life, being able to upload high-res photos without tying up my phone line for hours. I'm elated!

Here's a cover that I just found out that I got with one of my Great Gray Owl photos.... it's actually the second cover for this shot.




















I'm off to Florida in a few days for a quick holiday trip with my family (conveniently, located near some great spots for bird photography!). Will upload a few photos between glasses of eggnog!

Have a great holiday season - and hopefully Santa brings you all the camera toys you asked for!

Going High Speed - YEAH!

For years I've survived (coped) with the world's slowest dial-up internet connection. It's not easy running a stock photo business on a dial-up connection. Emailing/FTPing photos is like trying to stuff a watermelon through a garden hose. Most of the time I end up having to drive into town, and poach a wireless connection with my laptop.

But heh, this is my tradeoff for living in a wild area with endless inspiration and opportunity for nature photography.

Well things are looking way up. In about a week, I'm having a two-way satellite internet connection installed. At long last, I'm going high speed! YEAH!

Frans Lanting's "Life Through Time"

I just bought a copy of Frans Lanting's new book "Life through Time" and I've got to say, this is one fine book. Frans sets the standard for picture books, and Life Through Time is no exception.
He developed an online slideshow to promote/accompany the book. If you haven't already seen the show, definitely go check it out when you have a half hour of time. www.lifethroughtime.com

cheers on a cold, blustery day!

More Ecuador photos

Have a few minutes before catching the plane, so thought I'd post a few more pics!
cheers,

























Masked Trogon (above)

Green-crowned Woodnymph (below)






































Long-tailed Sylph (above)

Giant Antpitta (below)
very hard to photograph deep forest bird

Two weeks in Ecuador - bird photography

I'm on my way back from an intense and incredible two weeks of shooting in Ecuador with my stepfather Tom Hince and friend Robert McCaw. We spent most of our time in cloud forest habitat photographing hummingbirds (I shot about 33 species). There was little time we weren't photographing hummers, but I managed to nab a few other subjects. Lots more photos to come, will update my website when I get home and recover!

Photo info:
All images with Canon 1DSm2.


















Dogs in the village of Tandayapa. 70-200mm lens handheld. Background converted to black & white in photoshop.

















Sword-billed Hummingbird in flight at Guango Lodge.
70-200/2.8 lens plus 1.4x TC. Two flashes.


















Yanococha Reserve - misty morning in cloud forest.
17-40 lens with Singh-Ray 3-stop hard edge ND filter.

























New owl species yet undescribed in scientific literature (only known from a couple of locations in South America).
San Isidro, Ecuador
600mm lens + 1.4x TC; full flash at night (focusing by flashlight)

Lion's Head shoreline, Bruce Peninsula

The weather has been very dreary this fall... tons of rain and perpetually overcast skies. I've jumped on the few clear breaks to get out and shoot landscapes. These were taken on a dramatic morning a couple weeks ago.... about 20 minutes north of my house.

new magazine: Outdoor Photography Canada

There's a new magazine soon to launch in Canada:
Outdoor Photography Canada

As a proud Tim-Hortons chuggin, maple leaf -lovin Canadian, I'm very excited about this new mag. The support of all of us Canadian photographers will help make the magazine a success, and provide us with a great forum to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the country.

Check out the website and join the online forums:
http://www.outdoorphotographycanada.com/

See you there!
cheers,
Ethan-

Badlands....... WOW!

I just spent a couple days camping in Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Badlands area of Alberta. The park greatly exceeded my expectations, and I can say without hesitation that it's one of the most incredible places I've ever been or photographed. I was surprised to find such an otherwordly landscape stuck right in the middle of the prairies.

I'm back in Ontario shooting for a couple days on the north shore of Lake Superior.

It's been a great trip, but I look forward to sleeping in my own bed again in a few days!

From shorts to snow!

The temperature dropped sharply and I went from wearing shorts to heavy winter clothing almost overnight! Today I had a most amazing trip into the high altitude of Glacier National Park, Montana. It's a truly amazing park, and I can't wait to spend more time there!

Mule Deer, Waterton Lakes National Park




















Low altitude in Glacier National Park, Montana.














High up at Logan's Pass in Glacier....

Banff & Jasper

My trip west continues well. Only catch has been that large forest fires in southern BC and Washington have caused hazy skies in the mountains - so I've had few windows of good light.
Here are a few from Banff & Jasper National Parks.
I'm now back in Waterton Lakes for a couple days and targeting black bears.... cross your fingers for me!
cheers....

into the mountains - Waterton Lakes

After several days in the very dusty prairies, I was quite happy to get into the mountains of Alberta and give my car and camera a thorough cleaning. Here are a few shots from Waterton Lakes National Park plus one (me jumping on the round rock) from a small, but amazing spot called Red Rock Coulee.
It's been quite hazy, so I've been relying heavily on my Singh-Ray Gold & Blue polarizer and a host of grad NDs to help bring some color to the washed out skies.

I have to include my standard disclaimer here... that these have been balanced on my laptop in poor conditions - hope they look decent!

cheers!

Grasslands National Park - Saskatchewan

I emerged from southern Saskatchewan a few days ago. This was my first time in the heart of the prairies and I was blown away by the landscape, which seemed to roll on endlessly.

I spend a few days shooting in Grasslands National Park, and was rewarded with bison, prairie dogs and spectacular light over the landscape. Here are a few of my best... they were balanced on my laptop in my tent, long after I should have been sleeping, so I hope they look ok!

Technicals:
All photos with EOS 1DSm2 body.

Bison and Black-tailed Praire Dog both shot with a 600/4 + 1.4x TC .

Rainbow and rolling landscapes shot with 17-40mm/4 lens and Singh-Ray filters (warming polarizer, grad NDs, Blue-Gold polarizer)

Cheers!

on the road... Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

Greetings from Siesta Internet Cafe in Wasagaming, Manitoba.

I'm on a photo trip through the Canadian Prairies and Rockies right now, currently shooting in Riding Mountain National Park (Manitoba) before heading to the grasslands of southern Saskatchewan.

Riding Mountain has some pretty good wildlife photo opportunities - for moose, beaver, elk and especially bison. The bison herd is in a massive enclosed prairie area that you can drive through - it's a pretty easy shoot if you can put up with the long dusty road to get there.

Riding Mountain is known for its diversity with three ecozones present in the park. Although the scenery is subtle, one of my favorite photos from here so far was taken a couple nights ago when driving back to camp. With the crescent moon low in the sky, I was able to frame it with the silhouettes of dead trees against the sunset afterglow.



Technicals:
EOS 1Ds m2
Bison: with EF 600/4 lens
Trees/Moon: with 70-200/2.8 lens and Singh-Ray Gold & Blue Polarizer

More to come when internet is available!
cheers,

In Awe of Panoramic Photos

A few months back I presented at a conference in New York. One of the other presentors was a photographer named Joe Lefevre, who blew the crowd away with his panoramic photos. Not only were his photos outstanding, but he also shared his technique (which anyone with basic gear can do) for stitching panos together from series of 35mm or digital images. His presentation was clear, easy to follow and best of all - Joe's passion for nature photography shone through. This guy isn't afraid to hike to the top of a mountain in the dark to be there at first light.

For some panoramic inspiration, be sure to check out Joe's website:
www.joelefevrephoto.com/Home.html

Well now I can't stop thinking about panos. I'm constantly looking for opportunities to shoot series of images that I can be stitch together on my computer. Expect to see many panos from me in the future!

Happy shooting!
Ethan-

Presentation this weekend

Geez, have I ever been pathetic at posting here on the blog. Life has been busy lately. Expect to see more once fall arrives... I'll be finished some big projects and will have more free time on my hands.

If you're in Toronto this weekend, be sure to check out the Toronto Camera Conference (google it for info).... I'll be presenting on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

All the best!
Ethan-

A great book!

I just finished reading a fantastic book called 'The Future of Life' by E.O Wilson. Wilson is a world-renowned ecologist, and his book highlights global biodiversity, the challenges that face it and real solutions for preserving it. In an age of 'doom-and-gloom' stories about the environment, this book left me refreshed and inspired.

If you're looking for something to do after the sun is down and your camera gear is stashed away for the day, give this book a consideration. It will inspire you to spend more time photographing
nature!

cheers,
Ethan-

wildflowers, birds and Singh-Ray filters

I must be a fool starting a blog right at the beginning of spring - the time of year when there's barely time to sleep, let alone sit at my computer and blog - when instead I can be out chasing warblers and wildflowers.

Spring photography is going well. I've been to Point Pelee National Park and Rondeau Provincial Park a couple times shooting migrant songbirds, with very good success (watch for some photos later). And with the unseasonably warm weather in late April - early May, many wildflowers are out a couple weeks early and in profusion. My yard is full of white & red trilliums, plus an assortment of other species - so that's keeping me busy. You can never have enough trillium photos!

I'm a big fan of Singh-Ray filters, which I've been using for years. The folks at Singh-Ray recently asked me to test some filtering techniques and give them my feedback, so you'll be the first to hear about the results here on the blog, or on my website. Three days after receiving the filters, I bagged a magazine cover shot with their large-sized ND grad. That's definitely my fastest turnaround time for a cover!

Hope you're having a great spring so far!
cheers,
Ethan-