Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) - Northern Minnesota — Boreal Chickadee *(Poecile hudsonicus)* - Northern Minnesota

Pairs (IV)

December 19, 2014 in December 2014

For the Last in this Series

"The Odd Couple"

Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) - Savegre River, Costa Rica — Magnificent Hummingbird *(Eugenes fulgens)* - Savegre River, Costa Rica

Pairs (III)

December 11, 2014 in December 2014

Sumac Sunrise - William Obrien State Park, MN

Nikon D300 + Nikon 200-400mm f4.0 VR

Details of Fall in Minnesota

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) - MinnesotaCanon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS — Snowy Owl *(Bubo scandiacus)* - Minnesota
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

Pairs (I)

December 04, 2014 in December 2014

Landscape or Wildlife

Part One of a Series Where Each Suggests Something about the Other

"Bonsai Snag" - St. Croix River, MNNikon D800E + Nikon 17-35mm AFS — *"Bonsai Snag"* - St. Croix River, MN
Nikon D800E + Nikon 17-35mm AFS

Foggy Morning in Autumn - William Obrien State Park, MNNikon D800E + Nikkor AFS 17-35mm f2.8 — Foggy Morning in Autumn - William Obrien State Park, MN
Nikon D800E + Nikkor AFS 17-35mm f2.8

The Luxury of being an Amateur Photographer

November 27, 2014 in November 2014

Nearly twenty-three years into a professional career, every work day still feels like the first. Each morning begins with a healthy mix of fear and excitement that motivates me to be better than competent. Pride in the work makes up for the meager compensation that rarely seems commensurate with the time invested. Being professional means that the work never ends.

Window into a Wetland - William Obrien State Park, MN

Shadows of Autumn - William Obrien State Park, MN

So, as I sit here hammering out these thoughts on Thanksgiving day, my professional obligations continue to cloud the mind. Since this is a photo blog, you'd be forgiven for assuming that I am referring to photography, however this could not be further from the truth. I am veteran educator; an Advance Placement Biology teacher that spends countless hours studying texts, preparing labs and grading papers. This is the profession that clouds my thoughts and creeps into dreams that often descend into nightmares.

Crawling in Mist - William Obrien State Park, MN

Three Trees - William Obrien State Park, MN

So it is with this twenty-three year history in education that I celebrate being an amateur photographer. With no anxiety about making a buck, finding a client or publishing my work, I am free to express myself through my vision. The lack oversight is liberating and encourages experimentation and risks that a professional might otherwise find difficult to take. Having no reputation to protect, we amateurs are free to escape predefined boundaries and explore the unexplored. We can set goals for image-making that stretch the imagination without fearing financial repercussions that may stifle future creativity.

I am a professional teacher and amateur photographer; I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Sunset on Lax Lake, MN - Nikon D800E & Nikkor 28mm f1.8G AF-S — *Sunset on Lax Lake, MN* - Nikon D800E & Nikkor 28mm f1.8G AF-S

Behind the Lens (Number 6)

October 20, 2014 in October 2014

Plan ahead and recognize the ephemeral patterns of sunrise and sunset. Leverage your knowledge of where and when the sun appears and retreats to produce compelling images during the most serene hours of the day. Each of the images in this post was produced between the edge of light and dark and reflects the time invested to know when and where to be.

Sunrise on Lax Lake, MN - Nikon D800E & Nikkor 28mm f1.8G AF-S — *Sunrise on Lax Lake, MN* - Nikon D800E & Nikkor 28mm f1.8G AF-S

*Sunset in Crex Meadows WMA, WI - Nikon D800E & Nikkor 28mm f1.8G AF-S*

Behind the Lens (Number 5)

October 09, 2014 in October 2014

Leverage Fall's inclement weather to express a creative vision. By choosing to use a slow shutter speed on turbulent days it is possible to convey the essence of climatic conditions. Rather than retreat to the comfort of home, we suggest that these the best days to play in the rain.

Canon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L shot at f/16 with the rig firmly mounted to my Induro CT313 tripod.

Behind the Lens (Number 4)

October 01, 2014 in October 2014

While sitting on a thicket of damp vegetation in the understory of a mid-successional forest, I tweeted... "I live for days like these," and attached an iPhone rendition of the linked photograph. The tweet was a color picture of the same forest, and the color emphasized the saturated greens of this foggy day. The setting was near perfect, but while the tweet was in color, the morning was all about tones and layers in an early autumnal forest.

I decided to the let photo ruminate in my files for a week before processing the shot as a black and white. To make this image I used a high contrast digital filter that lightened the greens and enhanced foliage details. With the tripod legs spread as far as they could go, I composed the photograph so that the tree to the left and those to right appeared to anchor a barrier between the ferns and the forest. By using a super wide-angle zoom, I could play with various compositions before settling on the one that seemed to convey my peaceful mood on this foggy morning.

Foggy Sunrise Canon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L f/4.0 — Foggy Sunrise
Canon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L f/4.0

Behind the Lens (Number 3)

September 28, 2014 in September 2014

In part 3 of this Behind the Lens series I want to stress the importance of a thoughtful composition. I was on my way to a state park when I decided to make a quick stop at this familiar location. The sun was beginning to rise above the farm field, and rather than waste the good light pushing through the fog, I planned to grab what I could. For the initial shot, I set up the tripod and took a quick one by the edge of the road; the internal pressure of getting to a planned destination corrupts moments like these. For the sake of expediency, my first thought was, "got it,... time to move on." However, it only took a brief glance at the LCD to know that I didn't get, and this would simply be just another wasted image if I didn't choose to commit to the process.

To make the posted photograph, I had to abandon the immediacy of the moment. Rather than give in to an arbitrary deadline, I climbed down from the road and into a ditch of water where I could position myself along the edge of the barbed-wired fence. The angle of the wire is important here as it serves as a leading line which draws the viewer into the photograph. The two trees to the right are the focal point for the image as the edge of the pond curves to point towards them. In addition, the pair of bent fence posts strengthen the apparent importance of the trees by leaning in their general direction. The rising sun posed a problem, as there was not enough fog to soften the intensity of the rays. My solution was to position the tripod in a way that caused the trees to scatter the sun's intense light. Finally, the choice to process this as a trichromatic image was made later after looking at the photograph on a computer. The warmth of the sunrise is captured by the colored foreground grasses, while the darkness of night is retained by the intense contrast between the blacks and whites.

Late Summer SumacCanon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L — Late Summer Sumac
Canon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L

Behind the Lens (Number 2)

September 23, 2014 in September 2014

About one month ago I decided to park at the back entrance of a well-traveled Minnesota state park. Having hurried past the tiny lot in the past, I never had the time to check it out. After a short hike up a dirt trail, I found myself in an upland prairie surrounded by a sea of sumac trees. This early successional species is among the first to change pigments in fall, so I became excited with the prospect of documenting our seasonal shift from this locale. Since my first visit in early August, I've photographed this sumac forest weekly and will use these images to chronicle the transition from Summer to Fall.

Late Summer Sumac in ColorCanon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L — Late Summer Sumac in Color
Canon 6D + Canon 17-40mm L

About the Images: The top photograph is a black and white conversion of the colored image pictured directly above. While I love the intense greens and reds of the color image, the black and white picture illustrates the turbulent weather that is typical of a Minnesota summer. While the clouds are visible in the color picture, the tonal range from the foreground to background made it nearly impossible to reveal the depth and complexity of the stormy sky. By converting the raw file to black and white, I was able to selectively adjust the contrast in the sky while holding back any trace of digital noise. While I am not sure I could choose a favorite between the pair, I do like the way the differentiated processing produced distinctly different images that suggest a uniquely different mood.

Behind the Lens (Number 1)

September 21, 2014 in September 2014

Every year the transition from August to September and September to October offers me the opportunity to reflect. Unlike most people approaching middle-age, I live the life of a student. Every spring I go to prom (as the coordinator), celebrate new graduates (as a teacher, advisor and mentor) and experience the elation of freedom that only a summer can offer. And, just as I've grown accustom to the nothingness of long summer days, I am rudely jerked into another school year destined to repeat these landmark events. Like the movie Groundhog Day, my life is an endless loop of predictability that is only interrupted by the changes I choose to create. So it is with this bizarre perspective that I celebrate the transition from summer to fall.

During the next few days I plan to post a series of images that convey the transitions I've observed from behind the lens. With each post, I'll describe my photographic approach as well as the impetus for choosing the subject. In this way, I hope to connect the dots between anticipation and excitement I always seem to feel at the end of summer.

About the shots: It is in late August that I begin to realize that the number of "free days" are diminishing at a feverish pace, and my typical response is to spend more time on long walks with the gear. On August 10th I found myself wandering about a nearby patch of protected land in search of something to photograph. I did not begin the walk thinking about macro subjects, rather I was searching for something large and feathered. Nearly a mile into the hike I gave up the pursuit and sat in a patch of big bluestem. After fruitless minutes of swatting at the local blood suckers, I stood up and realized that I was surrounded by color. I ditched the long lens for a macro and began to survey the area. My first subject was the pair of soldier beetles (Genus Canthariday) mating on some old bee balm. I could only imagine that the two knew that summer was quickly coming to a close and had better get on with things before it was too late. I positioned the tripod at the same plane as the beetles and waited for the occasional wind gust to subside. Shooting at f/8.0, I managed to get just enough depth of field to produce the sharp image pictured at the top. In contrast to the beetles, the jewelweed (Genus impatiens) was shot at f/3.5. The goal here was to focus on the clinging drop of dew while gently blurring the flower in order to emphasize the color and form rather than the details.