March Madness: Nature Photography

Collegiate basketball fans unite once again in front of their high definition TV's and in sports bars cheering on their teams and players.  Pre-game predictions, post-game analysis, office squares and water cooler verbal volleys resonate everywhere you turn.

In Michigan, it's really heating up indoors now that Michigan and Michigan State are in the Sweet Sixteen.  And that's about the only place you'll find heat in Michigan this year.  Our chilly, snow-laden winter has extended from November through today. March 23 was a not-so-sweet sixteen degrees this morning.

There are advantages to a late winter thaw in March.

Red-neck Grebe has a Catch
Nikon 7100, 150-500mm, f/9, 1/500 sec, ISO 250

Last week at Stoney Creek Metro Park, it was another bitingly cold morning.   A Red-necked Grebe delighted in frolicking and fishing in icy waters for his morning breakfast. As much of the lake was frozen, this pushed a diving duck into closer photography proximity.  A major score as a photographer and a new addition to my birding life list.

The teams that make it so the Sweet Sixteen don't get there with luck.  There are countless hours studying game plays, listening to the coach as he lays out the strategy, watching tapes of their opponent, athletic conditioning drills and time on the floor.  The players spend many hours training with their teammates and many hours individually honing their skills.

As evolving photographers, we commit to hours of studying, practice, time in the field and then back in front of our computers reviewing our game day in the field.  We play in conditions that sometimes other seriously think we have achieved our own level of  'madness.'

In the serious cold, our field time may be a little bit shorter.  This can be readily be replaced by reviewing 'game tapes' that can improve our editing skills.  We spent a lot of time snapping nature, let's ensure we bring out the beauty that captured our eye in the field.

Easy to find post processing tips can be accessed on You Tube.  Type in your topic and a whole host of videos will emerge.

Additionally, as a Lightroom 5 user, I recently discovered from another photographer friend, informative, easy to understand videos that have quickly enhanced my post-processing skills.  The George Jardine video tutorials contain 23 different segments concentrating on the tools in the Lightroom 5 Develop module.  You can easily select which one you want to review or playback again at any given time.  Time spent with these videos can help you produce a game winning image.

Female Wood Duck
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150-500mm, f/9, ISO 250, 1/800 sec

Today I drove back to Stoney Creek Metro Park only to find that the thaw had started from warmer temperatures this past week.  The Grebe moved on.

Initially, I planned to head back home.  If I had succumbed to my inner voice of "it's too cold to be out here,"  I would have missed another wonderful March Madness nature moment.

My game strategy for the day needed be altered.

I executed a course correction and headed to Paint Creek Trail in Rochester, Michigan.  Hoop there it was!  Moving among many mallards, was a sweet and beautiful female wood duck.  The equivalent of a three-point shot.

Happy Shooting and enjoy March Madness!
Sheen

'Rose-Colored' Lenses

The white snowy sights of winter fade away.  Snow piles melt into puddles, rooftops dribble with melting icicles and the soft, wet earth squishes underneath our feet. Overhead, blackbirds and robins begin cackling for spring mating partners.

Yes, I am ready for spring to burst on the scene.  Yesterday would not be fast enough as we just experienced another eight inch snowfall this week.  The frightful weather looks like we should be asking "how many days until Christmas" instead of "when is spring going to get here?"

As in previous winters, we plan to venture to El Dorado, Arkansas, a small, vibrant, historic oil boomtown, to visit my family.

A dose of Arkansas, The Natural State's sunshine, flowers, bluebirds await our return. Southern gardens any time of year are always awash with a variety of vibrant colors and textures.

But for a photographer, their spring time offers that little something extra.

Roses! 

Prissy-Pink Rose
Nikon 600, 105mm, f/9, ISO 160, 1/500

Roses of prissy-pink, scarlet and coral shout "come photograph me",  as almost any angle can offer delicious shades and tints.

It was this time of year, two years ago that I started photography.  And some of the first images were roses.

Do you need a macro lens to capture close-up details?  While I never leave home without my Nikon 105mm macro for close up work, I continue to produce colorful garden eye-candy images with my standard 24-85mm kit lens.

So how do you photograph a rose?

Mom's Coral Rose in the Secret Garden
Nikon 5100, 55mm,  f/8, 1/60sec

Come Photograph Me
Nikon 5100, 105mm, f/18, ISO 400, 1/30 sec

1. From directly above, from a forty-five degree angle looking down, straight on the side and from underneath looking up a bit.  And then any other angle you want to try.  Get close, step back.  Capture a portion of the rose, the whole flower and then broaden the range to include multiple roses.  This is a playground, enjoy
2. Using Aperture Priority mode, use multiple f/stops at each of the angles mentioned in #1.  The lower the f/stop number, the shallower the depth of field.  At an f/stop of 3.5, the tip of the petal or the center is in focus and the rest is softly muted.  At an f/stop of 16, more of the flower will be in focus, including some of the background.  Note to self:  always check for dead leaves, brown spots and other distractions before you start capturing images.  
3. The Rule of Thirds may or may not be applied.  While it is a good guide, each rose and how you capture the image will determine the final product.
4. Processing.  You've captured many roses.  The ones you know don't like, delete right away.  No reason to clutter memory.  Then take a another close look at your work.  Which ones do you want to process?  Select a few and start making your adjustments.  Lightroom 5  and other post processing software tools (including those provided with your camera) can bring your roses to life as you observed in the field or create dramatic art using your image as the base.

Spring is fast approaching.  Are you ready to see the world of roses through your lenses?  

Happy Shooting!

Photography "Therapy"

Yes, I've been one of those who needed 'retail therapy' from time to time. Those mindless moments where you escape deadlines and stress factors at work.  My need for 'retail' therapy whether in a mall or online has forever been replaced.

What has taken its place?  Photography Therapy!

"After the Meeting Walk"
Nikon 600, 105mm

This is probably not a new phrase, and I'm sure other photographers feel the same way.  Picture this, (no pun intended).  A prolonged week of meetings continues with direct reports assisting in presentations, proposals and personnel discussions. This is capped off with yet one more Friday afternoon conference call at 4:00 p.m.  Many of these discussions are held in a square, non-descript beige work cube, conference room or if we are lucky, an office with a view of other concrete buildings.

Sunrise, Before the Meetings Begin"
Nikon 600, 14-24mm

Don't get me wrong, I love my career.  However, I believe in working to live. Part of living is not thinking about work when you're not working.  That can be a bit difficult for many of us, particularly if we do not find and pursue our own interests and passions.

Weekend "Work"
Nikon 5100, Signa 150-500mm

Photography therapy launches me into the outdoors and mother nature's emotional whim.  Downtime is spent with azure waters absorbing sunset, sunrise landscapes and wildlife in the woods.  Or the essence of time is lost while capturing flowers and foliage with hues, shades and textures that make Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore Paints wince with envy.  

So how can you find your photography therapy?  

The answer is quite simple.  What do you like to do with your spare time?  

Do you enjoy cars, travel, your kids' sports, pets, fashion, cooking, gardening, baseball cards, fishing, or collecting?  If you answered yes to any of these and have considered 'photography' as something to do, you may have picked the place to get started.  

Borrow, rent or purchase a camera and start here.   Take many, many images looking up, down and straight on with your identified subject.  Download to your computer and see what you've created.  

Your therapy may have just begun.

And for those who still hunger for a bit of retail therapy.  No problem.  There are plenty of cameras (Nikon), bags (Tenba, Tamrac), lenses (Sigma Lenses, Nikon lenses), tools (Lightroom 5, Nik Software), and how-to books available to shop for online (Amazon) and in local stores (Woodward Camera in Birmingham, MI, and a local retailer near you).

HAPPY SHOOTING! 
Sheen

Travel & Photography: What Do I Bring?

Seriously?  Anhinga in St. Petersburg
Nikon 5100, Sigma 150-500mm

An upcoming business trip to a location serving sunshine and eighty degrees is on the horizon.  It's
our biannual global meeting.  Many hours will be spent in a low-lit conference facility absorbing crucial facts, figures and plans while fighting air conditioning.

I get to leave Michigan's tundra to only to experience Florida's artificial chill.  Seriously? Pack a sweater?

All is not lost.

During the week, there will be moments of downtime.  Early morning will share rose-tinted sunrises, a walk through an aqua blue harbor complimented with sea-faring birds cackling in the breeze.

It's decision time.  The majority of us tend to stress over 'what to wear to the meeting' and other work events.

Photographers also have to balance, "What camera and lenses do I bring?"

Balance is Never Over-Rated, Willet on Jacksonville Beach, FL
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150-500

For me, checking lenses and cameras is simply out of the question.  Over a million miles of travel have reinforced the guideline of 'if it matters, don't check it or don't take it.'

There's the challenge of managing carry on size as only two items are allowed.  Weight from a personal injury standpoint is always a consideration.

For bird photography,  it's easy.  I'll need my Nikon 7100 DSLR and two lenses:  Nikon 70-300mm and my Sigma 150-500mm.  That's about eight pounds.

Do I really need both?  Yes.

While fellow business partners are still sleeping, I'll be wandering the harbor chasing sunrises.  For those, I prefer to use my full frame camera (Nikon 600).

Another decision point.  I can only take two more lenses, with four to choose from.  The process of elimination?  My 24-85mm lens would serve well as getting some wide angle images and also act as a general purpose lens - done.  The last lens is my 105mm macro, never travel without it.  The wide angle and portrait lenses will sadly remain resting at home.

Sunscreen Needed, white Ibis near St. Petersburg Pier
Nikon 5100, Sigma 150-500mm

Knowing the size of your plane is important.  It's an important guide in organizing and packing your carry-on.  How I pack for small regional planes versus jets are a bit different.

Regional carriers:  A small backpack and another small carry on bag.  Under-the-seat storage is small and the overhead storage space allows for small-to-midsize messenger or computer bags.  If you have a 20" or larger roller, it's getting checked at the gate.

I've recently discovered the Tenba Vector Backpack.  At two pounds, it'll hold a camera, laptop if needed, my small purse and a few lenses.  Everything inside is flexible and attaches with velcro.  Sensible, easy and the cadmium red is a nice change from the black bag.

My second, over the shoulder carry-on will hold my other camera and my large lens in their stock storage cases. Tenba's light weight collections of Vector Daypacks and the Discovery Daypacks come in weights of 1.8 to two pounds.

Their Discovery Daypacks are on my watch list.

Watch List....  yellow-crowned Heron in St. Petersburg Pier, Florida
Nikon 7100, 70-300mm

Jet carriers:  Like the regional carriers, I always wear a lightweight backpack because I'll need it when I'm going out to shoot.  However, with jets I can take a few more lenses.  My Tamrac Expedition bag is huge, and holds most of my gear.  Fully loaded it's a hefty thirty pounds.  When my husband travels with me, this bag is going with us.  It's perfect for road photography trips.  At home this bag keeps my gear safely stored and organized.

When I'm solo, I use the Tenba Vector Backpack and pack the heavy lenses, cameras in storage cases inside a 21" Samsonite lightweight spinner.

What about work attire?  Not a lot of decisions needed and definitely not as much fun to pack.

Happy Shooting!

Sheen

Good to Be Gray: Winter Nature Photography

Another week of snow. Another week of sub-freezing temperatures with many inches of snow and ice on the ground.  I could have sipped my green tea and fumed over the fact that my MacBook was being repaired while I sat indoors with rare, idle time.

If the birds can tolerate the cold, so can we.  Clean the lenses, clear the memory cards, time to go out.

While it's great to have a goal for your shoot, photography is a form of art.  To capture art, it's important to take in all the elements.  If you're too focused on one mission a magical photo opportunity may be missed.

Each season brings its own charm. Winters in Michigan with its bitter cold and isolating gray is no exception.  Farmland and rolling hills are framed with icy, barren trees. Memories of time gone by ignite when I happened upon abandoned farm equipment on one of my winter shoots last year.



Of Time Gone By
Nikon 5100, 55-300mm, f/10, ISO 250, 1/400 sec

In February, there are a few wintry weeks left before the Snowy Owls head farther north. With location tips from fellow birders, knowledge of their habitat, time to create my own luck. 

Before leaving to go back home on a winter shoot, we drove one last time through the route. The Snowy Owl appeared.  Our magnificent Ghost Owl.  He was probably there all along, watching as we drove through our version of the tundra searching for him for a couple of hours. 

He was quite stoic, perched patiently atop an old telephone pole as I put my camera on the tripod.  He then scratched, moved his head 270 degrees a few times. 

Snowy Owl Watching
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150-500mm, ISO 250 f/9, 1/640 sec

He posed graciously for many snaps until we both were startled by a child coming out of nowhere shrieking, "What are you taking a picture of?" 

Yes, he flew away. While he flew, we both silently stared as his casper-like wings moved softly in silent flight.  A treasure to observe.

When I showed the young girl the many owl images in my camera, she became genuinely inquistive in the owl, about birds and photography. 

Hmmmm.  A potential convert.  It's good to be outside in winter.

HAPPY SHOOTING!

  

Social Media & Photography - Can it Make Cents?

Blue Petals
Nikon 600, 105mm lens

It's relatively easy to create awareness of your nature photography using social media. Generating an income however, requires engagement with your audience and a commitment of time.

Digital photography has made it easier for people to find their talent versus back in the days of film.  The outcome is many levels of photographers, more competition online and in the traditional retail space.

Let's face it, when you think of famous photographers, everyone is quick to say "Ansel Adams" or "Art Wolfe" and from there it can be a fairly short list.

So how do you create awareness?

Personal facebook page - use your personal page to introduce your friends to your work.  Post a couple of images at a time a few days apart for 2-3 weeks to see what generates interest (aka 'likes').  Your friends are your first real fans, and your fans 'likes' will help you decide what has broader appeal.



Duckling's Bubble Bath
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150 - 500 lens

Next, create your Facebook photography business page.  If you know the name of your business already, use it here.  It's very helpful if your business name reflects you and your type of photography.  This is the beginning of building your personal brand.  Don't underestimate the name, it's how others find your work.

When you create your page and make it public, initially fill the page with your images, interesting information about you and relevant links.  Immediately invite your friends to like your page!  This is where your audience begins.

Add one maybe two images per week to your page.  Adding many images at a time doesn't do your work justice. The attention span of the viewer is seconds, they won't look past the first few images.

Including an article, bloglink or other posting occasionally that is interesting and reflective of your brand can engage viewers. When your friends 'like' and share your postings, more people will see and 'like' your page.  Here is the link to get started: Creating Your Facebook Business Page

Cherry Blossoms, Nikon 600, 105mm

Network, network, network!  Find other Facebook photography pages and interact with other photographers. 'Like' their work (from your personal page so it will count on their 'like' counter) and if inclined from your own Photography Page too.  Photographers are not only helpful but their work can inspire you in taking yours to another level.

You'll find that there are sites whose mission is to share others work.  This may be in a given category, theme of the day, or hosting regular contests. (see a small list below).  These sites may share your work, the link to your page.  From there, their fans can 'like' your work and your page. 

If 'Likes' created revenue, that would be great.  But they don't.  'Likes' can validate what images have broader appeal and get your work more visiblity as their friends see what they 'liked'. 

Have I generated sales as a result of social media? Yes, which leads to my final tip for this blog. 

Create your website (see Why Re-create the Wheel? Your Photography Website Made Easy). After creating your site, embed your link on your Facebook page.  Announce that you have a website to your photography page audience and your friends a few times a year.

As you progress, you'll find other social media and photography sharing sites to use as well.

It takes time to get traction, but you have to take the first steps!

HAPPY SHOOTING! 
Sheen

Megashot on Facebook
Soulful Nature on Facebook
Camera Cruise with K on Facebook
Nature Photography | Wildlife Photography
Nature Photography on Facebook

Seriously, I'd Rather Be Behind the Lens

A sun starburst edges from behind a tree as the magic hour approaches.  A fluffy hooded merganser glides through a gold illuminated  pond at sunset.  We pause when the bright, rapid beat of a red-bellied woodpecker's tapping echoes through the forest.  And sometimes…it is the sound of silence as you gaze into the gentle brown eyes of a deer in the woods.

Swimming in Gold
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150-500

It's moments like these that beckon nature photographers to rise well before dawn, embrace cold, snowy conditions, all for that desired shot.  Then it's the thrill of editing and bringing the images in the camera back to life as we sip our steaming green tea.

Red Hat
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150 - 500mm

The last place we want to be?  Reconciling invoices, expenses and legal paperwork! To help expedite getting your business back-office established, here's a few key steps.

Deer eyes….
Nikon 5100, 55-300mm lens

First, I recently established my Limited Liability Corporation: Sheen's Nature Photography LLC. Since I'm not an attorney, an accountant or effective book keeper, I needed to apply the KISS method - keep it super simple!

Legal Zoom uses the KISS approach and completes the tedious legwork for you.  It took about 45 minutes online and a well-deserved payment.

They took care of everything. When I made a slight mistake, they called for clarification. As a result, I had a credit applied to the total.  They gave me email and voicemail updates every step of the way.

All that I needed was delivered to my door, earlier than planned.  There was no way I could get time savings, accuracy and legitimacy by doing this on my own.

Next, a business checking account.  Note:  financial institutions require you to have an EIN and your articles which Legal Zoom provided.   Huntington Bank was my choice as their service has always been professional with insight to assist in quick decision making.

And last, we can't forget a small business credit card to keep our business expenses organized.  The American Express Small Business Credit Card is a great way to go. Since I am a frequent traveler with Delta, the ability to earn miles is an extra perk. Those miles will fly me to photography adventures.

It's February and a 2014 resolution has been accomplished, with eleven months to spare doing what I love with my free time.

HAPPY SHOOTING!

Why Re-Create the Wheel: Your Photography Website Made Easy

When you think of photographers, what do you see?

Typically, it's someone with their arms held close to their chest, camera pressed against half their face as they focus and snap, followed by more focusing and snapping.

They are in studios with lights, equipment, models and backdrops.  They are outdoors behind their tripod collecting images of sunsets, landscapes, colorful birds and wildlife.

It's not a vision of the 'not-so-glamorous' hours spent finding or creating websites to showcase their work. This side of the business may appear complicated and a bit prickly.  It doesn't have to be.

Prickly Porcupine by ©Sheen's Nature Photography
Nikon 5100, 55-300mm

There are many free or low cost options you can use to create your own website and sell your artwork. They take care of the image printing, framing, shipping and collecting payment.  They pay you a commission while providing you with access to a network of fellow artists and potential customers.

Barred Owl Beauty
Nikon 600, 70-300mm

Today I have a website that you can access 2 ways:
1) www.sheensnaturephotography.com
2) http://sheen-watkins.artistwebsites.com.

The engine is www.fineartamerica.com.  It took about 10 minutes to get started.  The investment over time has been adding images and customizing my page as I acquired this option for $30.00 per year.  In short, it was easy.

Another site that I recently joined is 500px.com/swnaturephoto.  Targeted to photographers, it's a rich inspirational community.  You can sell prints here too.  I haven't enabled this option as the pricing is different from my website and that could confuse my customers. Another site made simple.

There are other powerful blogging and website tools such as Wordpress.  I haven't had the time to do a deeper dive into the higher level customization that's required. Today, photography is not my full-time day-job.

There are many beautiful sites using this engine and third party templates such as Photocrati.

In addition to a website, there are social media, marketing and official paper-proecssing steps needed to validate the business reflecting your hard, creative work.

These too can be made simple and we'll cover those in my next blog.

Busy Bee at Work by ©Sheen's Nature Photography
Nikon 600, 105mm

Until then……HAPPY SHOOTING!

It's Time….

A few weeks ago, I wrote "Is it a Resolution or a Delightful Journey?"   The intent was to describe many of our experiences in making resolutions happen.   It's past mid January. It's time to assess if our 2014 Resolution has taken hold.

After that article, I received questions in my Facebook page Sheen's Nature Photography. They centered on my 'what my resolutions are for this year' and my favorite, 'did I have and complete my resolutions for 2013?'

Let's start with the latter question as my 2013 goal was broad with a few specifics.

The overarching desire was to grow as a photographer as I had started in the spring of 2012.  I also wanted to capture images of various wildlife.  One in particular, the Snowy Owl.

Tundra's Ghost, the Snowy Owl by Sheen's Nature Photography
Nikon 5100, 55-300mm

On a snowy, very cold wintry day, I along with some dear friends went out in the Northern Michigan elements to capture this ethereal, ghostly and magnificent owl.

We weren't lucky by chance, we made luck happen.  I live by the rule, "I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." (quote by Thomas Jefferson)  We had a plan, did our research, drove hours to our destination and worked the area.  A resolution accomplished.

The Ethereal, Ghost Owl by Sheen's Nature Photography
Nikon 600, 70-300mm

Growth came by reading ebooks (see list below), linking up with Facebook photography pages and reading blogs from photographers.

A local nature photography workshop offered new tips and contacts.  A vacation in Nags Head, North Carolina created an opportunity to work with a local, professional landscape photographer Dan Waters. 

Nags Head Pier at Sunrise
Nikon 600, 14 - 24mm

The outcome is the personal satisfaction of seeing my photography evolve.

What's on the horizon for 2014?

• Travels to new locations:  Smokey Mountains, Tennessee and working on Costa Rica
• Capturing images of 'life birds':  Snow Bunting and the Lapland Longspur, next weekend
• Adventures to specific locations for new subjects:  Austin, TX for bluebonnets in the spring
• Establishing relationships with local businesses?  February, more to follow
• Making the business official:  Yes in January! Thanks to Legal Zoom my official LLC paperwork is due to arrive this week.  

There are many articles, theories that indicate that it takes 21 days to make a habit. However, it doesn't matter what the articles say.  What matters is what we really want to do and if we choose to make it happen.

Happy Shooting!

Books:  (available through Amazon or the artists websites)
Improve Your Wildlife Photography, Jim Harmer
Better Birds: A Photographer's Guide, Steve Dimock
How to Photography Landscapes Like a Pro, Steve Rutherford
Mastering Exposure in Digital Photography, Stephen Hockman
8 Types of Natural Light, Anne McKinnell
Creative Photography Techniques, 20 Tips for Stronger Images, Dan Bailey
Earth and Light Digital Media books by Richard Bernabe available through his site

Tomorrow Isn't Just Another Day

Another Michigan wintry weekend of unpredictable lighting conditions created havoc on 'what to photograph.'  Or did it?

Instead of being frustrated in the field, yesterday's gray, non-existent lighting made it easy to stay inside and update my website www.sheensnaturephotography.com.

Sweet, hungry Titmouse
Nikon 7100, Sigma 150-500, f/8, ISO 250 1/640 sec

What-to-do in bad lighting advice came from a nature photography workshop led by Steve Gettle.   I used the time to update watermarks on 80% of my images in the site.

Today presented wonderful lighting on the melting snow with a pale blue canopy overhead.

Unfortunately, nothing extraordinary was captured. Nothing had inspired me.

The icy path at Cranbrook Academy's campus was treacherous.  A nearby trail that I enjoy photographing had icy brown patches, no luck there.  Thankfully, the the Lloyd A. Stage Nature Center in Troy, Michigan provided some feisty bird activity on their feeders.  

Still, this was not how I envisioned the day.  The reality was I had no vision for the day and that was the problem!  I wasted precious photography time.

Baby It's Cold Outside
Nikon 7100, 150-500 f/8 ISO 250 1/100 sec

When I consider my most fruitful adventures in the field, they are the ones I had mentally pictured prior to the actual day.  Nothing time consuming other than internally composing the subjects, image, the look and the feel I wanted to capture.

Knowing the weather conditions, the timing, location of the sun and moonrise is also important.  It takes about 30 seconds to view both apps: Yahoo Weather  and The Photographer's Ephemeris.

A  basic plan and the right tools can make a difference in your creativity, productivity and emotional satisfaction.  Then any deviation from that plan is based on unplanned, awesome photographic opportunities.

And when the conditions aren't optimal?  Use this time to work on your websites, overdue edits and most important, creating a mental plan for your next journey.

Happy Shooting!