Well, the 2010 video project is wrapped up. Just need to print the jackets and burn the disks. Please email us at media.inquries@mnwxchaser.com if you are interested in a trade! Keep in mind we never sell our videos so find something out there weather related to trade with us!
Getting back into the swing of things. The kids are well into the school routine now and Melinda and I will be leaving this week for our annual wilderness camping trip up by the BWCA. The older I get, the more disgusted I become with where our American culture is headed. I love my country, but there are some real idiots roaming (and running) some area of it. The escape to the wilderness of northern Minnesota is always good for the soul. So, as we quickly head into the fall season, the "Shots from the Weekend" blog posts will be resuming. My daughter joined me for a morning tour near out home. Cailyn's new thing is to keep a tally of what we see and today's list included 46 wild turkeys, 6 squirrels (including the albino by the lake house), 2 deer (the fawns are now spotless), and 1 kestrel holding a mouse in it's talon for breakfast. We also saw a lot of waterfowl and oddly enough 5 kingfishers. I normally don't see one but today was a welcome treat.
5 comments:
Hi Bill
I really am enjoying your pictures, especially the raptors. I am just learning photography myself and have a couple of blogs.
What kind of lens do I need to get to get close shots like you do, and freeze the motion?
Keep up the good work, and have a great time in the BWCA!
Hi Michael. Thanks for the comments. Lens are always a battle between cost and speed. The best advice I can give you to get started is invest in a f2.8 70-200 and a 1.4 telecoverter. This will give you lots of reach without investing in a prime lens that costs thousands of dollars. Always shoot in good light. When it comes to your glass, speed kills but light can compensate. Try to shoot at the lowest ISO possible and try to get set so the sun is lighting the foreground of your shots. It's a lot of trial and error with more errors than wins. Most of the time I shoot at ISO 200-400 and mess with shutter speeds until I get what I want. I'm willing to shoot a little under exposed as RAW files and fix 'em in post. Rarely will I shoot under 1/1000 for raptors. Also, shoot in bursts and not single frames. If you shoot 5 frames and only one is in perfect focus, you still got a keeper! Bottom line is just get out there and shoot. See what works and what doesn't! Good luck and keep me updated on how your shoots are going.
Thanks for the reply and tips! I just got a new camera and am just learning how to use it. I started a new blog MTOutdoors.blogspot.com, for all my pics that turn out halfway decent. I am planning on getting more lenses later on, got to save some $$ hehe I still have to learn about all those settings. Mostly what I am working on is sunsets, fall colors and stuff.
today I noticed snow falling from some high clouds all afternoon, and got a pic that turned out pretty cool. I would also like to learn how to do lightning pics. That one you got standing by your car with bolts all around is insane! wern't you a bit nervous?
Do you live in the Shurburne area? my Dad lives up there, so I am up there quite often, nice area!
Yup....just south of the Sherburne about 20 minutes. That lightning shot is a single exposure. I'd have to go back and look but it was likely ISO 200 f7 and 30s. On the back sides of storms there isn't a whole lot of cloud to ground lightning (usually) but the anvil (the part of the storm that spreads out from the top) gets bursts known as "crawlers" or "zits". The storm was south of me moving south/southeast and didn't have a lot of junk cluttering up the view. Definitely a night I will remember for a long long time.
Interesting, thanks for the info. I would like to try to get some lightning shots sometime.
Do you just aim at where you are seeing the most action and start firing shots, then sort through the ones that time it right?
Looking forward to seeing your BWCA pics!
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