Jökulsárlón was,without question,my favorite of the places we visited on our first trip to Iceland. I wanted an incredible simple composition for this image –so I chose a single iceberg as my point of interest,and used a long shutter speed to blur the waves. The clean shades of blue simplified the image even further. A short time later,I was reminded of the awesome (and dangerous) power of nature –but for the moment,I tried to capture the incredible peace and tranquility of this beautiful scene. I hope you enjoy it!
As always,these images are provided for personal use as computer wallpaper or backgrounds ONLY. Copyright belongs to the photographer,and photographs cannot be used,redistributed,or recreated in print or on the web or on any other medium without written permission from the photographer.
I’m not really a wildlife photographer –but every now and then,I’ll pull out a long lens and see what I can do with it. The problem is,I tend to be uninspired by typical images of animals…the old “bird on a stick”shot fails to excite me. So,I try to capture images that are a little bit different. Not just your standard portrait of the creature…but something that gives the viewer a little bit more. Let me see if I can show you what I mean.
This stork was sitting on the edge of a narrow waterway –and although he was beautifully posed,he seemed a little lost in the tall grasses behind him. But I noticed that his reflection was just right. The brilliant blue sky was reflected in the smooth surface of the water,and it made a perfect background. Doesn’t he seem to be lost in thought?
Reflections came in handy when I took this shot of an alligator,too. The clouds and sky were reflected in the water,and the alligator seems to be skimming across a watery sky. Adult storks seem to be 100 years old –because of their bald heads and wrinkly faces,I suppose. I think of them as knobby-kneed old men dressed in dusty,old-fashioned overcoats. So,I went with that. I converted this image to high-key black and white,and let the background blow out just a bit…as in an old photograph. This is a portrait of the very distinguished Grandpa Stork,who seems to have misplaced his top hat and cane. Ain’t he an old sweetie? Well. This one speaks for itself I guess. Captain Jinkies here,decided to get all goofy in front of the camera. I have a whole series of images of these beautiful mountain goats…but this is the one that stands out. Go figure. And how about this little dude? I love these tiny little birds –and this one caught this big old fish and was trying to find a way to get it down. It wasn’t going to work –but it sure was fun to watch!
2011 was a great year for our Photography business –but there were highs and lows. There were many FIRSTS for us over the past year.
In 2011,for the first time…
we published a full year’s worth of eBooks.
we visited Iceland,where…
Varina got hit by multiple icebergs. Ouch.
we destroyed 2 cameras and 2 lenses in a matter of 20 minutes. Ouch again.
we are parents of THREE teenagers. Triple ouch.
we closed a business…and started a new one in the same month. (We closed the doors on Visual Wilderness,and started selling our ebooks on our own websites.)
we were unable to get a permit to run a workshop in a National Park.
we did not visit Death Valley. (We’ve been to Death Valley at least once a year,every year since 2005.)
we joined Google+,and gained thousands of friends and followers almost overnight.
So,there you go. It’s been a crazy year…but it was great fun. Here are some of our images from 2011:
We are looking forward to 2012,and have an ambitious schedule laid out before us. We hope you’ll come along for the ride!
Big news,Ladies and Gentlemen! We are now live on Google Currents! You can access all our quick tips,questions and answers,tutorials,and our blog directly from the Google Currents app –and optimized for your phone or tablet. To find us,just click on the link below in your phone or tablet browser.
This year,Freeman Ng of Haiku Diem included this image in his 2012 Calendar,along with his beautiful Haiku:
mountains afloat above the mist like clouds in a dream
The calendar is now available at http://www.haikudiem.com/calendar2012 in four different versions:US Holidays,UK Holidays,Canadian Holidays,or Blank (no holidays). It’s a real honor to be included along with eleven other incredible photographers:check it out at the link above.
Jay’s work was recently published in Issue 15 of CameraPixo Magazine. This issue also features the beautiful work of Elena Kalis,Joel Santos and many other talented photographers. It was an honor to be selected alongside these talented photographers. You can either browse the issue online,or you can download a PDF file (Warning:It is a very large PDF file).
Please take a few minutes to check out Colby Brown’s The Giving Lens Holiday Giveaway. This is such a great way to give back –and I want to make sure that everyone knows about it. Please share this post with your social networks –and encourage everyone to get involved. Just click on the link above to get all the information you need…and maybe win a print while you’re at it!
After taking a dip in the ocean during our trip to Iceland,our tripods were badly in need of cleaning. Since it’s important to clean your tripod now and then,we thought we’d share the process on our blog. We try to clean our tripods about twice a year –more often if we’ve been shooting in sand,salt water,or swamps. Grains of sand can work their way into the grooves and threads of your tripod –you’ll know they’re in there if you hear a grinding or grating sound as you turn the knobs or make adjustments to the tripod. Salt water can corrode some metals –so you should rinse your tripod after shooting at the beach. And swamp water –well,the bacteria that grows in swamps can climb right into your tripod legs and just hang out there…multiplying happily until you open your tripod and discover that it really stinks! Cleaning the tripod isn’t particularly difficult…though it can take some time. Jay and I usually clean both tripods at once,so we set aside a morning to do it.
The first step is to take the tripod apart. Each tripod will be different –Jay and I both have Gitzo’s,but they are from different years,and the parts are different. But since they both have twist lock leg mechanisms,they come apart in the same way. We loosen them the same way we would if we wanted to extend the leg segment,and then we keep on twisting in the same direction until the leg detaches. Easy. Locking clips will require a different set of steps –some have removable screws,and some are held in by pins that are not removable. If your tripod doesn’t come apart,don’t sweat it. You can still clean your tripod. I’ll get to that in a minute.
The important thing is to keep track of where all those little pieces go,so that you can put it all back together when you are done. If you are worried about putting it all back together,take some photos for reference as you work. You may find that there are more pieces than you expected. Here’s Varina’s tripod,all taken apart. Notice that we didn’t remove the screws that hold the top of the legs to the center piece. We find that they don’t usually need to be cleaned.
Once the tripod is in pieces,we fill up the sink with hot,soapy water and get down to business. Today,we used Palmolive dish washing soap –which worked just fine. There’s no particular brand that we recommend –but you do want to use dish soap,since it cuts through grease and won’t leave a residue. I use a soft scrubbing pad to clean each part,and an old toothbrush to get the threads clean. I generally keep a small bowl of dish soap handy. I dip my toothbrush into it now and then so that I can get through the grease. You’ll need to scrub the threads carefully to remove any grease that is stuck in there…along with sand,silt,and slime.:) Then a quick rinse,and we lay it all out on a cloth to dry.
Keep in mind that rough-cut edges of metal pieces can give you splinters! Our carbon fiber tripods tend to lose tiny,sharp shards of metal from the ends of the leg segments. I pulled two out of my fingers this morning. Ouch! If you are concerned about it,wear rubber gloves to protect your hands. They’ll keep the grease off your hands and keep your fingers from getting all wrinkly,too.:)
If your tripod doesn’t come apart,just flush out each joint with hot,soapy water. You can use a small brush to get into the little grooves and openings to clean them out as well. Adjust your locking clips and slide the legs in and out under sudsy water if you can. That will help to loosen any grit that is trapped in tight places. You should be able to get the tripod pretty clean that way. Extend all the legs and allow it to dry thoroughly before putting it away.
And now,back to our cleaning process…
Once the pieces are clean and dry,it’s time to put everything back together. You need to use a little bit of grease to keep everything working smoothly. We put a tiny bit of lithium grease on the threads –you can see from the photo how much we use. A little goes a long way –and if you put too much,you’ll just end up having to wipe it off later. We put that little bit of grease on the threads and then screw the leg segments in place slowly –screwing them in and out a bit as we go to help spread the grease around. The pieces should turn smoothly…if you hear a gritty grating sound as you put the pieces back together,check for debris in the threads. You may need to do a better job cleaning. You’ll need grease in all the moving parts –there’s no need to grease screws that should remain tight. Just moving joints and twist locks.
Wipe off any excess grease with a paper towel,and you’re done! Now,that wasn’t so bad,was it!?:)
The frequency with which you’ll need to clean your tripod depends upon how you use it. If it never leaves the house,you probably don’t need to clean it at all. If you are shooting on the grass or a muddy path –just rinse the feet when necessary and you are good to go. Rain won’t hurt your tripod –though prolonged exposure to moisture will corrode some metals…so take the time to dry it off when you come in and leave it open until it’s thoroughly dry. Always rinse your tripod if you use it in salt water –salt can cause corrosion as well.
Take simple precautions to help keep your tripod clean a little longer. When we are shooting in sand,mud,or water,we always extend the lowest leg of the tripod at least a few inches beyond the mess. That simple action keeps the joint up out of the muck. If you can avoid it,don’t immerse the joint in sand or salt water. But don’t worry to much if it does get into the joints. Just take some time to clean it up and you’ll be good to go!
How long does it take to produce a single photograph? It depends on so many factors…we might drive 30 minutes to the airport,travel 4 or 6 hours (or more) on a plane (plus layovers and delayed flights),spend three (or five or seven days) on location (not to mention hiking and waiting for that great light).. and we come home with two or three photos good enough to add to our portfolios. And then there’s the time spent in post-production. Maybe it takes just a few minutes…and maybe it takes a few hours. The point is…it takes a good long time from start to finish,and lots of work.
If I’m going to put that much effort into the photograph…I want it to look darn good when I print it. Jay and I usually print our own photos on our Epson printer. But when we want something out of the ordinary,we have to ask someone else to handle the printing for us. Recently,we checked out the photos to canvas services at Easy Canvas Prints. Here’s what we think…
The website is easy to use and well thought out. You just choose the size you want for your canvas,and then upload your image. There’s a handy automatic quality check built right in –so you can easily see if your photo is going to look good when it’s printed. I also appreciated the little “tip”bar near the top of the screen –it’s great if you haven’t done this kind of thing before. If you need more help,they have a FAQ page with answers to common questions. They have a variety of size and pricing options and they even offer photo retouching,red-eye removal,and black &white or sepia conversion.
You also have some nice options for border wraps –which is great. I usually prefer the mirror wrap option,which works beautifully for landscape images where you don’t want to crop off the edge of your photo. But you also have the option to wrap the image,or add a colored border. The preview window really helps if you aren’t sure what you want.
And the finished product? Beautiful! The canvas arrived in the mail about a week after I placed the order –that’s 3 or 4 days of turnaround time for Easy Canvas Prints,plus a few days for snail mail shipping. (Of course,they have faster shipping options if you are in a hurry.) The colors are vibrant and true to the original,and the details are just right. I chose a print with a range of color and tonality. I also wanted an image that had both fine details and smooth gradients. They handled both very well. You can see the details in the close-up shot below. Keep in mind that a canvas print generally won’t look as sharp as a print on photo paper…but the details in this shot really are very nice.
The wrapping looks great –clean and professionally done –and the frame is made of wood,not plastic. The canvas is archival quality,so it should look great for a good long time. I tried to damage the canvas by scraping it with the edge of a coin (on the back,of course!) and I couldn’t leave a mark. That means the protective coating is doing it’s job. So,it’s going to hold up nicely to normal wear and tear…though I don’t recommend trying to damage your own prints!:)
So,there you go. We were impressed with the easy-to-use interface,the quality materials,and the lovely finished product.
If you are interested in turning your photos to canvas,check out the Easy Canvas Prints Facebook page,too -they have some great deals going on over there…hit the Like button,and you will automatically receive 50% off of your next order,and free shipping as well. Not too shabby.
Have you used the photos to canvas services at Easy Canvas Prints? Please comment on this post,and tell us what you thought –others can benefit from your experience!
Tired or not – I snapped awake at 3am. Time to check for the Aurora. I could see from the window that the sky was clear in the North! Stars! So,I got myself dressed,grabbed my gear,and headed to the lobby to see what I could see. This was our last,best chance to capture the Aurora on this trip. Every other night was completely clouded in.
Unfortunately,it was not to be. We used the hotel wireless connection to watch satellite data as it updated over the course of two hours… checking the sky frequently. No luck. Iceland was just outside the range of the Aurora. At 5,we gave up our vigil and headed back to bed for one more hour of sleep.
In the morning,we drove out to shoot the waterfalls once again – but although the sunrise was beautiful,the sky directly over the falls wasn’t very photogenic. Jay walked out into the lave fields and photographed the beautiful,glowing clouds.
I hoped to capture some of that brilliant color over a crater in the distance. I grabbed a long lens,and ran… well… it was more of a long,painful stumble on my injured leg… to some nearby lava boulders. I climbed as high as I could – which wasn’t very high…and I missed the colors entirely. I did get a nice shot of the early morning light at it painted the snow on the crater.
Afterward,we all packed up our gear and started the long drive back to Reykjavík. We were looking forward to a relaxing swim in the Blue Lagoon before our long flights home…and relaxing it was. The water is a lovely blue – and so wonderfully warm. The heat felt fantastic on my bruised legs. What a treat.
Unfortunately,while smearing our faces with smooth,volcanic cream masks (provided for visitor use in the pool area,and sold in the gift shops),Jay’s wedding ring slipped off his finger. All of us searched for it – scooping black pebbles and smooth sand from the bottom of the lagoon. No luck. Jay’s ring will remain at the bottom of the blue lagoon. He was so sad to lose it!
After a quick shower,we returned our rental cars and took a shuttle to the airport. We shared a delicious lunch before scattering to catch our flights. We flew from Iceland to JFK in New York,then caught our next flight to Pittsburg. We were too tired to drive the final leg of our trip,so we grabbed a hotel room for the night.
Tomorrow,we’ll rise bright and early,and drive home. And then we’ll pack up two camera bodies and three lenses to send in for repairs. And return the two (miraculously unharmed) lenses we rented from LensRentals.com for this trip. And replace my water-damaged iPhone. And go find Jay a new wedding ring! And I’ll get some x-rays to make sure I haven’t done any serious damage to my knee.
eBook:How to choose a Tripod
Q and A –Where does an image end up?