Florida: Photographic Road Trip planned for November!

July 19, 2011

Join myself and Marvin Bouknight, staff naturalist @ Old Field Plantation, for a 3 day, 2 night photo adventure  to central and south Florida. To avoid any redundancy please read what Marvin has written about our recent scouting trip and the upcoming photo adventure. We will focus on good working field techniques and natural history information on all species viewed and photographed. We will discuss use of lighting, composition, proper exposure, lens selection and much more for all outdoor nature and wildlife photography. These images were made last week in July! This is not the best time for wildlife action in south Florida but November is, we hope you will join us :-)

 Great White Heron

 Meadowlark

 Burrowing Owl

 Swallowtail Kite

 Sand Hill Crane

 Crested Caracara

Tomkins Island Seabird Rookery Tour -White Pelican

On one of my recent photo safaris to Tomkins Island @ the mouth of the Savannah River I was thrilled to see a large group of White Pelicans! They are known to be along our coast during winter and spring months but not so much this time of year. We were able to observe these birds from a distance while drifting in the tidal currents with our motor off. We must have watched & photographed for around 10 minutes before they finally took flight and headed north.  Still in beautiful breeding plumage, it was quite a thrill : -)

These images were made with a Canon 7D and a F4 500mm lens (hand held) 400 ISO f6.7 @ 1/4000 sec

See more of my work and all of my seasonal photo safaris @ my website: Southernlight

Seabird Rookery Photo Safaris

July "Photo of the Month" column

Great Egret Portrait                       

Photo of the month / Eric Horan

July/ 2011 Lowcountry Calendar

Using a tripod mounted 500 mm lens, I made this image of the Great Egret on a visit to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge. I followed her as she fished the waters edge. For some time, I purposely kept her between the sun and myself to maintain the strong back lighting. Behind the bird you can see the pale blue sky reflected in the water. All this made for a high key portrait with a limited color palette. A natural backlight, the bird’s gesture, and a monochromatic color palette were the image qualities I used to create this portrait.

 

PHOTO TIP

Good wildlife photography requires a diverse and variable set of skills and choices.  With each situation, you will have to employ different ones in various combinations to enhance your success.  Anticipation, patience, knowledge of subject, stalking, listening, lens selection, color mix, control of light, composition elements and camera position are a sampling of ingredients. For this shot, I used a combination that included choice of lens, camera position, back lighting, subject knowledge and anticipation of the bird’s movement in order to isolate the Great Egret against this natural backdrop for a studio-like portrait.

To see more about Eric Horan, his images and his Lowcountry Wildlife Photo Safaris, please visit us at www.southernlight.biz.

 

Ossabaw Weekend Photo Adventure, April 28th-May1-Michael Short

 Ancient

Death Throes

 Eric's Buoy

 GET OFF!

Golden Sunrise

 Hey Buddy, Come Here..

 I Was Here First

 In Search of the Golden Moment

 MMMMM, Sushi

 Mossy Tree

 Out for Breakfast

 Peaceful

Pelicans

Rocky Racoon

 Whimbrel

Sunset Fire

 The Promise Still Holds

 Tied but not Moored

Your Clear for Takeoff

Netherworld

Opportunity knocked once again and I knew there was no way that I could let it pass me by.  I had been on one little photo jaunt with Eric Horan and loved it and now the chance for a whole weekend expedition to Ossabaw Island.  The only thought was what and where is Ossabaw Island?  I started with a little research on the island and found that it sits just south of Savannah and it is a Heritage Preserve owned by the state of Georgia.  Access to the island is by boat only, no roads, no bridges, very few people.  I was stoked, an opportunity to capture a few photos that you might find in a book or museum or some other collection.  How could I not go?

The weather for the trip was spectacular save the first day, but even it was not a loss.  I was able to capture a few nice frames of a raccoon that was startled to see me and had to check me out as I shot his picture.  Once the front that caused the rain had passed we were treated to a nice sunset and an opportunity to capture a rainbow. 

The beaches of the island offer wonderful things to see and take pictures of.  My personal take away from the island was not the wildlife but rather the lines and patterns the trees and vegetation made both alive and dead.  The moss hung in the oaks almost like snow and the light made the moss appear whiter than any I can ever remember seeing.  The birds were plentiful and did their part as grand models for our craft.  The islands’ use and history also provided wonderful props for compositions that for me is not only captured in bits and bytes but in memories that will live in my mind for the rest of my life.

Our hosts Eric and Marvin provided all of us with an awesome place.  Their knowledge of photography and their love of nature were on full display and for this photographer made for a great trip.  But as great as Eric and Marvin were I have to tip my hat and say job well done to two very wonderful people, Jan and Jill.  Their efforts provided for the nourishment of the entire group and was done with great skill and a lot of love.  They were the ones up early so we could have a bite before we met the sun and would have lunch ready when we returned and dinner was prepared with the thought of time for the evening’s golden hour.  If you love photography and you love nature you could not ask for a better group of people to go on a trip with.  Take a Low Country Safari, you won’t be sorry.

--Michael Short

Ossabaw Weekend Photo Adventure, April 28th-May1-Margaret Smith

 Boneyard Beach l

 Boneyard Beach ll

 Evening on Ossabaw

 Jelly in Tidal Pool

 Palmetto Trunk

 Palms on Ossabaw

 Resurrection Fern

 Spanish Moss

Tidal Pool

Eric - Since many of us came away with similar images, I decided to process mine in black and white. I think that sometimes, when the subject we are photographing is colorful, looking at it with different eyes, with the color removed, reveals things about it that we might otherwise overlook.  The old live oaks with their Spanish moss and the boneyard beach seem to cry out for black and white. 

Thanks so much for a great weekend! - Margaret

Ossabaw Weekend Photo Adventure, April 28th-May1-Rebecca Bass

 “The Road Not Taken”

“Listen, do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?”

“Casting Brownies Before Swine”

 “Lonely Nun”

“Devalued Dollar”

“Cody Lost in Thought”

“Hard Day at the Office”

Spending the weekend on Ossabaw Island was truly magical. It was a fantastic experience to be in this beautiful place, make new friends, and learn from Eric, Marvin, and fellow photographers.--- Rebecca