Birds Archives - Page 4 of 4 -

Filters & Color

July 19, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Tips

Filters can be used to enhance colors in a photograph. They may filter out some light rays, while accentuating others. My favorite filter is a Polarizing filter.

With a polarizing filter, it cuts the “glare” from the sunlight off of the surfaces being photographed. It can turn the sky a deep blue, or bring washed-out colors back into a normal range. The photo above was taken in the morning around 9 am. This was shot in the high desert in Eastern Oregon, and the light started becoming harsh a little after 9 am. The polarizing filter enhanced the blue sky, and the red in the hillside.

The photo below was taken later in the day. The leaves are green, because of the polarizing filter. This filter can change water reflections, by enhancing them or making them disappear. In clear water, this allows for the bottom of the water source to be seen, like in the last photograph.

The digital medium requires a circular polarizing filter, to properly work with the medium. It is most effective 90 degrees from the sun, though it does continue to work at lessor angles (with less polarization). The filter freely turns, and the amount of polarization in the photo is affected by this.

There is not a filter that can correct bad lighting, such as mid-day in the desert. Creating brilliant color in photographs requires good light, proper exposure, correct white balance (WB) and appropriate filters. Some of my previous posts discuss lighting and exposure.

More later, and Happy Shooting. . .Karen

Sitka Center Rocks!

July 7, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Location, Workshops

Just taught at the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology last weekend. Absolutely incredible venue to teach through. My “Of the Land, Sea & Air – A Coastal Photographic Adventure” filled months ago, and had a waiting list. The students were great, and the wildlife made its appearance. The coastal weather was misty one day, and simply overcast the second day. Overall, a great experience to teach in, and a wonderful school to work with.

The students photographed the Common Murre colony, fledgling Peregrine Falcons, Great Blue Herons, Black Oyster Catchers, Pigeon Guillemot, Black Guillemot and more. One student watched and photographed a Humpback Whale that was breaching.

The following photographs are from the workshop. . .

copyright Karen Ulvestad — This Great Blue Heron was hunting on the in-coming tide. The mono-chromatic scene in off-set with the orange Starfish, green water and kelp.

More Later, and Happy Shooting. . .Karen

Photography Destination – Fort Casey

June 25, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Location

Living in the Pacific Northwest offers many beautiful photography destinations. Simply living near Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountains or the Olympic Peninsula give many opportunities for sunsets, waterfalls, tide pools and wildlife. For the urban photographer, there is Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Bellingham. One of my favorite places is Fort Casey. It is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Seattle, and located on beautiful Whidbey Island.

The park is home to Fort Casey, the WWII fort that helped protect Puget Sound from the Japanese. It is one of three forts located at the mouth of Puget Sound. The other two are Fort Ebby and Fort Flagler. Another structural features of the park is Admiralty Head Lighthouse.

The park is home to a lot of wildlife, that are comfortable around people though still wild. I’ve photographed deer, fawns, bald eagles, rabbits, small birds, harlequin ducks and various species of gulls. The cliff top is a large grassy area, surrounded by forest. It overlooks Puget Sound and Port Townsend. There is a trail to the beach, which is cobble stone and sand.

As a photographer, I never run out of subjects to photograph. The concrete bunkers, of the fort, offer line, texture and angles to shoot. The contrast between the concrete and nature is wonderful too. The fort still has one of its large guns on display, and visitors can look at it up-close.

Besides the vistas, wildlife, lighthouse and fort, there are plenty of flowers and macro opportunities.

Happy shooting. . .Karen

Using Compositional Elements

June 23, 2012June 23, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Tips

Every photograph is built from the elements the photographer sees through their lens. On the surface, it is a subject like the ocean, bird or person. Beyond the obvious, our photographs consist of lines, patterns, shapes, color, textures and more. What goes into our compositions is what we see, and how we arrange it in our viewing space.

The photograph below is of the incoming tide along the Oregon coast. The ocean is lit by bright sunlight, and the waves are crashing over the rocks. Other people like this photograph, because of the subject. What I see in this photo is its subject. Then, I see the lines, texture and color of the image. The waves create diagonal lines. Splashing water and the rocks create texture. The colors of the water are vibrant greens and blues, due to the sunlight.

Many of these concepts are the basics learned in an art class. A photograph, like a painting, is made up from the same principles. With the painting, the artist has the choice of brushes, paints, color and artistic license of subject placement. The photographer is working with different tools. Being based on light, a photograph at different times of the day or different weather, will affect the photograph. Our brushes are exposure, lens choice and camera choice. Our color is dependent on the amount or quality of light. Subject placement is limited only by our ability to move or observe a subject.

In the photograph below, both the rocky shoreline and the wave make powerful lines. Between the two, they meet creating an arrow pointing to the left and out of the frame. The perspective is from the cliff top. A lower perspective would have changed the relationship between the wave and rocks. It’s up to the photographer to decide how to place the elements in the frame.

With landscapes, many of the elements are stationary. Waves do have a short life-span, but they will repeat themselves. Birds perch, swim or fly. They may not repeat an action. A bald eagle will catch a salmon out of the ocean. If the photographer misses the shot, he/she may not get another chance to take the photo. Living beings add some unpredictability to any photographic scenario.

The photograph below is of Stellar Sea Lions. At the moment of the photograph, they were sleeping on the shoreline. This can make a static photo, since they are not doing anything. In this case, I used the environment to bring in interesting elements into the composition. The sea lions are on the left side of the photo, yet a small whirlpool sits on the right side. These three elements make a triangle for the viewer to look at. The texture and color of the water complete the composition.

More later, and happy shooting. . .Karen

Catching a Defining Moment. . .

April 27, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

Photography is the art medium that “catches” a moment in time, through the use of a camera and the photographer’s creativity/knowledge. Correct exposure means going beyond the Auto functions of the camera, and controlling the exposure through manual, aperture priority or shutter priority. It also includes use white balance, ISO, bracketing (depending on subject), flash and other functions.

Pre-setting exposure is a great way to prepare for shooting subjects like birds. This blog is focused on Osprey, and they are a fast-moving bird. I always pre-set my exposure before shooting birds. This pre-setting phase includes selecting an auto-focus point, as a starting point.

Planning or visualizing the image is essential for bird/wildlife photographs. This simply means know your subject, study it and anticipate the next series of events. It’s good to go out on a shoot knowing what subject you are planning to photograph. For locations I know, I usually have a broad subject such as birds. For unknown locations, I do some research before going on the shoot. This allows me to know what type of landscape I will be shooting in, and what kinds of subjects are usually at the location.

The second part of planning is deciding what equipment will be necessary for the subject. For birds, I always use my 100-400mm IS lens. I take my tri-pod for shooting video. In addition, I carry extra memory cards, an extra battery and lens cleaning cloth. Usually, my flash is included in my bag too.

For the complete Osprey hunting sequence, visit my video at http://youtu.be/S9LFynPyNew.

Have a great day shooting. . .Karen

Sitka Center: Of the Land, Sea & Air: A Coastal Photographic Adventure

March 12, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Location, Workshops

Here is the information on my upcoming workshop on the Oregon Coast. It is on June 30th and July 1st. It would be great to see you there, and feel free to pass this on to other interested people.

Thank, and have a great day. . .

Sitka Center: Of the Land, Sea & Air: A Coastal Photographic Adventure.

Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Location

There were at least 22 Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay in Canada earlier this week. The owls were roosting close enough to the dike to photograph with them with a 400 mm lens, and get good photos. Many birders and photographers are visiting the area to observe and/or photograph the white owls.

In this area, weather is an important factor to a successful photo shoot of the owls. The landscape is reminiscent of the tundra, and is wet. The best and driest viewing area is from the dike.

Equipment for the shoot should include a tripod and long lens. The minimum lens length would be a 100 – 400 mm. Many photographers use a 600 to 800 mm lens for this type of shoot.

Visitors can get within 30 to 50 feet of the owls without disturbing them. During the day, the owls are sleeping and/or resting, which makes them easier to photograph. They do startle easily by people coming to close to them. The rules of the area indicate that the owls should not be disturbed, and need to conserve their energy for the long migration back to the arctic.

The owls will be migrating back soon.

Also, the area is teaming with Bald Eagles, Hawks and other raptors.

More later. . .Karen

Photographing at Dusk

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

Dusk is the time of day when the sunset is most brilliant. It is the time many animals and some birds come out to hunt and feed. Modern digital cameras offer us choices in exposure and flash to make the most of these opportunities.

This photograph of a barred owl was taken around sunset under the tree canopy. There was little light to work with, so the exposure for this image is ISO 2500, Shutter 1/80 and Aperture F5.6. I was using my 100-400mm lens at 400mm. This shot is not cropped, and is a full-frame sensor camera. The original file is shot in RAW.

I could have used a fill-flash in this situation, which would have allowed me to shoot with a lower ISO. It would have added light into the scene, and lit the owl. When I mention fill-flash, I am talking about adding a little light. Adding too much light in this situation would startle the owl, create shadows, and possibly over-expose parts of the scene.

On this photo, I did adjust the color and luminescent to reflect less noise, and desaturate the color to fit the time of day.

When photographing the sunset at dusk, the exposure is different. Usually, there is open space before the sunset, and it has more light.

This photo of the mountains at dusk shows the dynamic colors in the sky, which is reflected into the water. The hills and mountains become shades of blue-grey in the photo. The birds feeding in the water and on the mud flats become silhouettes against the reflected colors. The exposure on this image was ISO 100, Shutter 1/60 and Aperture F8. I was using my 100-400mm lens again at 400mm.

On this photo, I adjusted color and contrast.

More Later. . .Karen

Nature’s Light & Time of Day

January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

Daylight changes through-out the day. The harshest light is mid-day, where the sunlight travels through less atmosphere. The warmest light is in the morning or evening. The photography shown here was taken in the evening, as the sun was setting.

The orange and pink of the sunlight reflect on the water’s surface, and the warm light baths the birds in flight. The blue is the reflection of the blue sky.

If this was taken during mid-day, the colors would be “washed-out”, and the light would appear to be hard or harsh.

The best time of day to shoot photography is before 10 am and after 2 pm. The sunlight travels through more of the Earth’s atmosphere, and it is less harsh. Colors are more apparent either earlier or later in the day. The colors of the subject will be warmer, and more vibrant.

More Later. . .Karen

Birds – Eagles, Snow Geese, Swans & the Skagit Valley

January 24, 2011January 24, 2011 by karenulvestad, posted in Uncategorized

I am often asked where I find birds to photograph. I have spent a number of years traveling, and documenting the birds I see. I have notes that I refer to every year, that lists where a certain species of bird is most likely to be found, and the time of year to look for them.

One of my favorite places to go in the winter is the Skagit Valley, either into the mountains or out onto the flood plains (the flats). The amount of migratory bird life in incredible.

Through the months of December to April, thousands of Snow Geese remain in the Skagit Valley. They feed on the winter cover crops that are planted by the farmers. The pristine farmland becomes covered with these large flocks, and give photo opportunities to professional and amateur photographers.

Along with the Snow Geese are Tundra and Mute Swans. All three of these species migrate down from the arctic for the winter. The summer months are spent raising young, in the short arctic summer.

Other birds that may be seen in the winter are Snowy Owls (depending on their food supply), Short Earred Owls, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Sand Pipers, Great Blue Heron and more.

Through-out the area, bald eagles migrate down from Alaska and British Columbia for the salmon runs on the Skagit River. These beautiful birds can be seen in large number in the mountains along Highway 20, and other roads along the river. Also, the eagles can be found closer to Puget Sound in the Skagit flats.

This past weekend, we discovered an area along the river by the small town of Concrete with 15-20 eagles at a time. There were both mature and immature eagles roosting in the trees, and flying over the river hunting salmon.

The eagles usually start leaving, and returning North in February. . .

More Later. . .Karen

Tag: Birds

Filters & Color

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Sitka Center Rocks!

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Photography Destination – Fort Casey

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Using Compositional Elements

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Catching a Defining Moment. . .

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Sitka Center: Of the Land, Sea & Air: A Coastal Photographic Adventure

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Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay

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Photographing at Dusk

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Nature’s Light & Time of Day

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Birds – Eagles, Snow Geese, Swans & the Skagit Valley

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