Lowcountry Wildlife Photo Tours- A new thing

Photo Tour 3-15-10

We started from Pinckney Island boat landing for an early morning (2) hour trip. We stayed in the intracoastal waterway to the Port Royal sound and back on a beautiful March morning.

I've attached a few of the most interesting photos taken this morning on our photo shoot.  I learned to dress warmly for a sunrise photo shoot in a boat.  I also learned that taking photos of birds in flight with a long lenses requires skill and practice.  That's why all my photos are of birds with their feet firmly planted on the ground or should I say the oyster reefs.  

Thanks for the outing.  I'd be interested in a future live oaks photo tour.  I'm on face book and would like to become a fan of Eric Horan photo.  Please send me the request/link/whatever is necessary. 

Cheers,

Jette

Jette brings up a big challenge when working from a from a boat, how to follow and stop action?. My experience comes from years of shooting ocean sailboat races for the yachting magazines and  even longer shooting wildlife. Learning to anticipate action and practice keeping the subject in the viewfinder is what it's all about. 
For birds this takes spending time in the field and studying their behaviors. Here are a couple of shots that I was able to get the same morning, because I was able to anticipate the action before the birds actually jumped. It is a matter of paying attention to the different signs birds give you just before they go. - Eric Horan

Brown Pelican

Cormorants & Oystercatchers

Photo Tour 3-25-10

This was a windy day and I had to find a boat landing and trip route where we could stay out of the wind and the big water as much as possible. I ended up putting the boat in @  the public landing near Palmetto Bay Marina.   We stayed in Broad Creek and went out as far as Harbor Town and back again for a beautiful (4) hour trip. These are some images that Sherry Winarski sent me from the day.

Pair of Laughing Gulls

 I recently returned to Hilton Head Island....a place that I briefly called home 25 years earlier.  But, this visit would be different.....different because I planned to capture the beauty that I remembered through the lens of my camera.  My memories of the island included huge oak trees with crooked limbs covered with hanging moss; shrimp boats in the distance headed to sea; immaculately manicured entrances to plantations; endless miles of bicycle paths; glistening bodies of water and traffic circles! Of course, there's much much more and I intended to revisit all of it.

Sunset  and Boat wake @ Broad Creek

I photographed sunset at Harbor Town; the old cemetery on highway 278; the marina at Hudson's Seafood Restaurant; sunrise and sunset over the Atlantic just to name a few. 

Pelican lifting off

One evening I picked up an island magazine "100 Things To Do In Hilton Head" and was thrilled to read about Eric Horan's Wildlife Safari! I am a self-professed "workshop junkie" so I immediately dialed Eric.  Eric promptly returned my call and described the safari to me and of course my only question was "when are you going next"?  Photographing wildlife was a new experience for me.

Oyster Catchers - Broad Creek

Photographing fast moving wildlife from a bobbing boat was new for me....but, I had a blast! Eric was very knowledgeable and helpful regarding technique for the situation. Also, his knowledge of the Hilton Head and Low Country wildlife and eco system was fascinating.

Brown Pelican @ Harbor Town

Bottlenose Dolphin saying Hi!

He has spent so much time in the area watching and studying the various species that he knew exactly what their next move would be! I am very pleased with my photos from the safari and can't wait to safari with Eric again.  What an unexpected pleasure for my return to Hilton Head.- Sherrie Winarski

"Photo of the Month" April 2010

This image represents April in my 2010 Lowcountry Calendar: http://www.southernlight.biz/.  Live Oaks have got to be among the most magnificent trees on planet earth and here in the South Carolina lowcountry, we are blessed with more than our fair share. They are one of the most photographed subjects in the area and I am no different than a lot of other shooters in that regard. Live Oaks have made every one of my calendars since the year 2000 when I first started publishing. This picture was made at the grand entrance to Tomotley Plantation in Sheldon after we’d had enough rain to bring out the Resurrection Fern.  I chose to shoot a detail shot by looking down one side of the long alley with a long lens to compress the huge, angular branches of nearly a dozen trees. I was after a part of the whole, rather than the entire “Gone with the Wind” scenic.

Photo tip:

We as photographers need to learn to see as our lenses see. Practice seeing like the different focal length lenses in your camera bag, so you will know without putting a lens on your camera body what you will get. In my photo classes, I encourage students to use one focal length lens for a couple of weeks at a time, without using another. In my six-week class for example, I have an assignment where students use three different focal lengths, each lens for two weeks. The idea is to learn the potential of each lens so eventually you won’t have to deliberate too long before grabbing the lens you want when faced with any given situation. It’s challenging at first to find enough subjects to shoot using just one lens for this extended period, but if you stick with it you’ll expand your vision to utilize each lens to your full potential.