November 9, 2008
G’day Everyone,
A frequent question at presentations and exhibits is whether or not I have a favorite photographic location and if so, where it is. I suppose most folks expect me to describe some exotic locale far from home, likely requiring hours of intolerable air travel with its associated trevails, then a day or two of tiresome paddling along a murky river through a dense, foreboding jungle, the air humming with malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, the shores fringed with crocodiles longer than the canoe.
Autumn at Tamarack Brook
Canon EOS 1-D Mark II N, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 17mm
Moose 81A Polarizer
30 seconds at f/19, ISO 100
evaluative metering, aperture priority
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Bogen 3047 head, cable release
Read more…
Posted by Gustav under Fall Foliage, Shows & Exhibits, Vermont, Workshops & Tours | Comments (1)
October 19, 2008
Johanne (my wife) and I decided to take our vacation 1 month later than usual, so that I could do some “fall colors” photography. My intention had been to join Gustav for a couple of days on his Fall Foliage Magical Mystery Tour, and I was really looking forward to shooting streams and waterfalls in autumnal colors. However, Gryphon, our 12 1/2 year old Labrador Retriever, no longer travels well and gets stressed when we leave him at my parents house for more than a few hours. Gryphon has given us a lifetime of love, devotion and loyalty, and the very least I can do for him is to make his life as happy and comfortable as possible. Which means staying at home…
I decided to stay in the Montreal area for my photography, and expected to do short “day trips” to various locations. Note to self: there’s no point in driving to a general location unless you really know the area well, or have a specific destination in mind… My first “day trip” to a beautiful area just west of Montreal ended up being nothing more than a pleasant 4 hour drive in the countryside. Not a single picture taken. Additionally, most areas just outside of Montreal peaked about 2 weeks early this year, and the trees were mostly bare by the start of my vacation, limiting my choice of destinations.
So, remembering Dorothy’s famous words: “There’s no place like home…” I decided to stick to nearby areas that I know soooo well. There are no “grand vistas” in the area, so my compositions would need to focus on shapes and patterns, small tree clusters, and colors. The key is to find clean, interesting compositions, simplifying the shot as much as possible to make it appealing.
Maple Trees in Fall Colors
Canon EOS 20D with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM IS lens at 168mm
1/30s at f/8, ISO 100
Hoya Moose Polarizer
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, cable release, mirror lock-up
Read more…
Posted by Rob under Fall Foliage, Filters, L'Ile Bizard (Quebec), Technique | Comments (0)
October 6, 2008
G’day everyone,
A couple of frosty mornings in mid September, with temperatures in the low thirties, ignited the forests up here in northern Vermont about a week early this year. People remarked that the color appeared virtually overnight - like the flash of light from a bulb burning itself out, fall foliage was an explosive event. As I write this, wind and rain are already stripping the leaves off of the trees, wallpapering the roads with wet leaf litter and making them treacherous on the curves. Just down the muddy road from my house, sugar and red maple leaves cascade down Tamarack brook, bunching up in the deep pool below the falls where they swirl in the eddy, forming a vivid galaxy on the tea-colored water. Further south, colors are just beginning to peak. Good thing because the Fall Foliage Magical Mystery Tour begins Sunday. We’ll head toward the central part of the state where the colors aren’t running down the rivers just yet.
Autumn at Tamarack Brook
Canon EOS 1-D Mark II N, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 17mm
Moose 81A Polarizer
30 seconds at f/19, ISO 100
evaluative metering, aperture priority
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Bogen 3047 head, cable release
Read more…
Posted by Gustav under Cape Cod, Fall Foliage, Filters, Fine Art Prints, Shows & Exhibits, Technique | Comments (1)
September 7, 2008
Gustav here…
As Rob mentioned, up here in the Northeast, it’s been a difficult summer for photography. Between the rain and gas prices, getting into the field, especially farther afield, has been a real challenge. Of course one doesn’t necessarily have to get into the truck or car to find nature. Especially here in Vermont, nature is right outside the door. Mornings are growing cool, almost frosty. Time to prowl for those dewy insects and webs in the meadow.
Monarch Chrysalis Jewel Stage with Dew
Canon EOS -1D Mark II N with Nikon Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4 lens and 52.5mm extension
1/6 second at f/32, ISO 100
Novoflex single axis focusing rail
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Bogen 3047 head, cable release, mirror lock-up
The time I have not spent running the roads, I’ve invested in my exhibits instead and I’m delighted to report that it’s paid off. I have often been asked, at presentations, at exhibits, and in emails, how one gets away with making a living in nature photography. Yes, I’m certainly getting away with something that keeps me looking over my shoulder (now going on 25 years) for someone to grab me by the scruff of my neck and plunk me down on an assembly line (done that) or at the head of a classroom (done that) or in an office cubicle (haven’t done that but have seen several episodes of “The Office” on TV) or in some other sort of employment generally considered by society as a “real job”. I’m 54 now and generally unemployable. I believe I could no more apply for a job than I could consider enlisting in the marines. Thus, part of my answer to the question of how I get away with this is, I have no choice. That’s a good thing.
Read more…
Posted by Gustav under Business of Nature Photography, Participants' Photos, Vermont, Workshops & Tours | Comments (7)
August 24, 2008
Wow… I certainly feel quite stupid right now - what can I say? Here I am, shooting my mouth off in my last blog/newsletter about how insect “hunting” is a photography no-miss during the summer months… Well now, I certainly did not count on record rainfall in July, coupled with many extremely windy days!
July was a complete wash on the photography front, weekends being mostly wet and windy. What a bummer! But August has been great. Frighteningly, we’re now at the end of August, and there are only 4 weeks left until the end of summer, thus, I title this blog entry as “Summer 2008″.
Let’s start with a sunset picture… For a variety of reasons (bad weather, working too late, weekend evening plans, etc.), I’ve not gone to do a sunset picture since the winter. Shame on me, as sunsets (and landscapes) is really what I find most satisfying photography-wise. On Saturday, August 23rd, everything lined up for me to go out for a sunset shot… And I was rewarded! This was the first attempt at using my new Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue polarizer filter on a sunset. I’d love to hear your feedback on this shot:
Late August Sunset over Lake of Two Mountains
Canon EOS 20D with Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 28mm
2 seconds at f/16, ISO 100
Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue Polarizer (blue polarization), Hitech 3-stop graduated neutral density filter, 2-stop neutral density filter
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, cable release, mirror lock-up
Ah…. yes… And suddenly, I remember why I love landscape and sunset photography. And… before anyone asks, the above image is as I saw it in my viewfinder - there is virtually no PhotoShop work on this image: it’s all about understanding how to use filters and properly exposing the image.
The Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue filter transformed somewhat “blah” colors to the stunning colors you see… I love that filter!
Read more…
Posted by Rob under Filters, L'Ile Bizard (Quebec) | Comments (2)
June 15, 2008
I love this time of year for photography, particularly since developing a taste for macro and insect photography.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
Canon EOS 20D with Sigma 150mm f/2.8 lens
1/200s, f/8, ISO 200
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, cable release
As you probably know, I’ve been doing photography for a little less than four years. Until last year, my main spring and summer subjects were birds. The problem, for me, with bird photography is that:
- You need to get up really early at this time of year in order to be in position before sunrise… The first two hours after sunrise are typically the most productive, and the light is gorgeous. At this time of year, the sun is up at 5:00AM, which means that, at the latest, I’d need to be up by 4:00AM. On a Saturday or Sunday. Yuck.
- Now, point 1 would not be so bad if I always came back with good shots - except that I’ve been finding that bird photography is less and less predictable, partially due to the changing weather patterns in the last few years. Last spring, I did that “get up early, and be at the marsh at sunrise” thing for four consecutive weekends, and the results were disappointing almost every time.
Read more…
Posted by Rob under L'Ile Bizard (Quebec), Lenses, Technique | Comments (1)
June 9, 2008
Wow, what a wonderful time I had at the 2008 Green Mountain Nature Photography Workshop, where I was co-instructor of the workshop with my good friend Gustav W. Verderber. This is my 2nd year at the workshop, and I just love the experience. The workshop is held in the Eden Mills area in northern Vermont, just east of the Jay Peak ski area.
Johanne and I got to Gustav & Cheryl’s house on Friday (May 30th) in the early afternoon. After relaxing for a couple of hours, Gustav and I headed to the Lakeview Campground, on the shore of picturesque Lake Eden in Eden Mills, Vermont. Lakeview Campground was once again the home base of our nature photography workshop. We went to meet our two workshop participants (Bob and Owen) and have dinner with them. As usual, Lakeview owner Deb Godin treated us like kings, with wonderful meals and a warm welcome. On the menu tonight: Chicken Cordon Bleu with gravy, broccoli with pine nuts, baked potatoes, fresh salad, and a brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream for dessert.
After dinner, the four of us head off to the Belvidere Pond area, locally known as “moose alley”. On a given day, at dawn and dusk, there’s about a 30% chance of seeing a moose. As luck would have it, this was such a day:
Smiling Moose
Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens
1/200s., f/5.6, ISO 400
Tripod mounted
Manual exposure (spot metering at -1EV on the chocolate brown fur)
This was the first time I got to see a moose in the wild! What a great start to the workshop…
Read more…
Posted by Rob under Filters, Vermont, Workshops & Tours | Comments (2)
June 9, 2008
Hi!
I’m Rob Servranckx, 1/2 of the Sojourns In Nature team, and the web master of the site.
I’ve decided to start a small blog to talk about photography…
I am currently employed as the Systems Analyst Team Lead with Cactus Commerce, an e-commerce/e-business solutions provider
I live in a quiet suburb of Montreal with my wife, Johanne, and Labrador Retriever, Gryphon.
Having had a life-long passion for nature and wildlife, and being the Web Master of noted nature photographers Gustav W. Verderber and Roy Toft, it’s of little surprise that I’ve developed a true passion for nature and wildlife photography
My photographic journey started in September 2004, with the acquisition of a Canon EOS 20D digital SLR camera, a number of quality Canon lenses, and other photographic equipment. Despite being a late bloomer, I’ve won numerous photography contests and prizes in a very short time behind the lens. My images have been published in Yankee Magazine, Nature’s Best Magazine, National Wildlife Magazine and others. My photographs are available for licensing via Oxford Scientific and Visuals Unlimited (my stock agencies) - type “servranckx” in the search box.
If you are interested in my photography, or in Web design or photo retouching services, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
I hope you enjoy your visit…
Rob
Posted by Rob under About | Comments (1)