The Magic of Discovery: The Owl

As nature photographers we love nature! Why we photograph nature is something special to each and every one of us. Our images show our connection with the earth and our interpretations of something beautiful displayed before us.

The cameras provides a pathway to seeing things we might normally miss in a busy and hectic life. It forces us to stop, look, and listen. It guides us to become better observers of the natural world.

Our images preserve what we saw at that moment and on that day and can last for eternity. It’s about discovery!

Photography is not just about the photograph, it’s about the journey to explore and discover.  … Continue Reading

Tim Laman’s Video: How to Impress Females (In The Birds World)

Noted nature and wildlife photographer Tim Laman has created a wonderful video on bird intimacy.

How To Impress Females (In The Bird World) from Tim Laman on Vimeo.

George Steinmetz Photographs and Films Africa by Air

National Geographic photographer George Steinmetz’s project African Air in a collaboration with multimedia company Mediastorm, was recently completed. What makes this project interesting is that Steinmetz photographed and filmed most of the project from the air and specifically from a motorized Paraglider.

The result is some fantastic perspectives of Africa’s unique variety of landscapes and from heights that would more challenging for an airplane to reach.

… Continue Reading

Photographic Learning & Travel Adventures

by David Hemmings

Today’s newest trend in adventure travel.

Do you love to take pictures? Do you love to travel? Do you wish you could take better pictures and learn a myriad of new things about all kinds of photography such as birds and nature? All of this while traveling to a dream destination with a small group of like minded individuals?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then perhaps a photographic learning travel adventure is for you.

There is a new way to travel these days and it is called the Photographic Learning & Travel Adventure. In the interest of space and time tapping on the keys, we will call this the “PLTA”. This is a trend that is becoming more and more popular these days in the world of travel. … Continue Reading

If You Are Photographing and Camping in Bear Country, You Will Want to Have One of These

As winter begins to give way in many areas across North America, some outdoor photographers are preparing for adventure photo shoots in a variety of backcountry locations that will include bear country.

If you are planning to camp anywhere near known bear locations you may want to consider taking a UDAP Electric Bear Fence.

UDAP company founder, Mark Matheny is a survivor of a grizzly attack. In 1992 he was hunting near Yellowstone NP when he spotted 35 yards away, two small grizzly cubs nursing on their mother.

When she spotted Mark, she jumped and charged full speed at him. He began to run yelling for his hunting partner as he jumped behind a log. As he said:

“Running from the bear, I now admit, was a total mistake. Not only does running increase the likelihood of a full-blown attack, it doesn’t work. You can’t outrun them.” … Continue Reading

Saturday Reads: Stunning Lava Images, Hungarian Nature Magazine, Underwater Photography, R/C Aerial Video

Photographing lava flows is popular among nature photographers as we have seen many great examples from Hawaii’s volcano’s. In Africa there is a very unusual and breathtaking lava lake at Nyiragongo Crater. Check out these stunning photos by Olivier Grunewald on The Big Picture site.

Steve Bloom Images, a stock agency in Britain, has a exhibition of underwater photography titled Into the Deep and showcases its many photographers at the Edinburgh International Science Festival. If you would like to see images of these beautiful underwater creatures, no need to head for Europe as the images are displayed on the agency website. Definitely worth a look.

While researching the identity of a spider I photographed and identified as a Golden Orb Spider, I also stumbled on this story and photo of a Golden Orb Spider EATING A BIRD! Here is another angle.

Nature Photo Magazine has released its latest issue of the online digital flip page magazine featuring superb photography from European photographers. Check out the photo essay on Pelicans by Hungarian photographer Bence Mate.

The popularity of radio controlled airplanes and helicopters has been around forever. But with the advent of HD video coming in smaller and lighter packages, videography from R/C devices is only getting more popular. In this video from TeamBlackSheep, they used an R/C airplane outfitted with a GoPro Hero video camera and flew it around the French Alps creating breathtaking scenery from a birds eye view. Check it out after the jump. … Continue Reading

Photographing Breeding Birds of the Arctic in Churchill Manitoba

by David Hemmings

When a nature photographer happens to ask you during a conversation, “have you ever been to Churchill, Manitoba?” more often than not, the first vision that comes to mind is Polar Bears and freezing cold weather.

I can tell you that most people will not think about photographing birds on the tundra in spring. If you are one of those who would not vision shooting birds out on the tundra of Churchill in the spring, you probably should.

Every serious bird and nature photographer should visit Churchill at least once. June in Churchill is fresh, full of life and there are beautiful species of birds everywhere in glorious breeding plumage.

With beautiful breeding colored feathers and landscape backdrops of light purple flowered and tundra landscapes you will be sure to capture stunning images of these beautiful birds. … Continue Reading

Saturday Reads: Suet for Attracting Birds, Yellowstone Ecosystem, RealityTV, Endangered Species

If you are a bird photographer and interested in attracting birds to your home for photography purposes (or just to enjoy watching) then you might be interested in nature and wildlife photographers; Richard and Susan Day’s blog post that shares a friends recipe for some great suet to attract birds. As others commented on the post, it sounds almost good enough to eat ourselves.

Check out Dave Showalter’s photo essay on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on the Natural Resources Defense Council’s blog. Dave is a conservation photographer and member of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

If you are interested in the ethical (or unethical) film making involved in the nature related reality TV shows, check out this post on National Parks Traveler.

Cross Country Magazine is hungry for images! If you Paraglide or photograph that sport, they want you! Check it out here.

On a less than happy note, the NY Times has ran a short series on endangered species that are on the brink of extinction or already extinct. Time to pause and think!

Are you busy and always forgetting to get off the computer for an appointment? I have missed more than one appointment or phone call because I got immersed in what I am doing on the computer. But here is an option: Egg Timer, a website that is nothing more than the egg timer, like you use when cooking, except it is a web page. Open the page and enter the hours until you need to stop and do something else. Its pretty cool!

If you are a nature photographer or environmentalist you may also be concerned about the effects of global warming. According this meeting of scientists, arctic ice is gone in 10 years. Watch it after the jump. … Continue Reading

Photographing Hummingbirds With Multiple Flashes

by David Hemmings

When I first started photographing birds in flight some time ago, (longer than I care to remember) I was always more interested in raptors and waterfowl than anything else. Every once in a while I would be perusing the photography forums and I would come across images of hummingbirds in seemingly impossible poses frozen in time with beautiful light and backgrounds.

I fell in love with these images and thought wow, these are really something special. After some research I discovered that the best of these images were actually done with multiple flash set ups, feeders, flowers and even printed out of focus backgrounds made to mimic perfect natural conditions.

At first this made me think to myself am I really interested in something that is set up like that? Would I enjoy that type of bird photography? Oddly enough, my answer was no. I didn’t think that was for me and I went on with the type of bird photography that I was best at.

… Continue Reading

The Art of Photographing Birds in Flight

By: David G Hemmings, Nature’s Photo Adventures

Why do I love to photograph birds in flight?

Could it be that I always have had dreams that I can fly?

Could it be that out in the field I am at peace with myself and the world?

Could it be the thrill of capturing images of birds doing what they do best?

Could it be the infinite possibilities in each new photograph?

Yes

David G Hemmings … Continue Reading