November 27, 2009
The grey, drizzly November weather we’re having is making think back and look at images taken in different seasons. I fell upon this one taken in May 2009, following record-high spring water levels. After many weeks of frustration caused by extremely high water, which robbed me of my usual shoreline compositions, the water finally receded dropping by about 6 feet in 1 month.
Still, the water line was still many feet above normal levels – the “seaweed” see in the foreground is actually grass, and the “aquatic plant” in the middle of the image is a dry-land bush…
In order to tame the very bright sky and properly expose the dark foreground, I used two GND filters, a 2-stop one just below the bush, and a 3-stop one at the horizon line.
Image specs:
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM at 31mm
- f/22, 4 seconds, ISO 50
- Singh-Ray 3-stop hard GND, Lee 2-stop hard GND, B+W polarizer
- Gitzo GT3541LS tripod with RRS BH-55 ballhead, cable release
Please leave a comment, either positive or negative – it’s always appreciated. If you’re interested in purchasing a print of this image, please let me know.
See you in the field,
Rob
Posted by Rob under Filters,Hot Shots,L'Ile Bizard (Quebec),Landscapes,Quebec,Spring | Comments (1)
June 10, 2009
Hey friends,
For many years now, I’ve been taking a vacation during the first week of June. Not only does this coincide with my birthday, but early June tends to be very nice weather-wise and is great for nature photography. Coincidentally, this is the same week as the Green Mountain Nature Photography Workshop takes places, and for the third year in a row, I headed down to northern Vermont for 5 days to be co-instructor of the workshop.
I know, I know, many of you are scratching your heads about this. Why on earth would I want to “work” during my vacation? Why would I choose to get up at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning for 5 days? Truth is that for me this is not work, and getting up early is worth it. I love to share my passion for nature photography with others, and I happen to have pretty good technical know-how regarding photography and equipment, so it is a pleasure and a thrill to help others in their photographic journey.
So on Friday May 29th 2009, my first day of vacation, I headed down to Vermont to hook up with my friend and photo partner Gustav. Sadly, my wife Johanne had to stay in Montreal, as our 13+ year Labrador Retriever, Gryphon, no longer travels well and gets too stressed when we are away. Many thanks to my darling wife, who did not make me feel bad about leaving her behind.
I’ll reserve a detailed day-by-day description of the workshop for a future blog post next spring… For now, I simply wanted to share a few of my favorite images with you. I’m deliberately choosing images that are different from my previous 2 trips to the workshop.
Four Corners Falls – Missisquoi River – North Troy, Vermont
Canon EOS 5D MkII
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L lens at 21mm
ISO 100, 0.5s at f/20
Filters: Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue Polarizer
Gitzo GT3541LS Tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ballhead
Read more…
Posted by Rob under Filters,Landscapes,Macro,Spring,Vermont,Workshops & Tours | Comments (2)
May 5, 2009
For those of us less cold-hardy than the Rob Servranckxs of the world, unless I’m sojourning somewhere south of South Carolina, the camera gear does tend to gather some dust between the time the frost is on the pumpkin and the woodcock returns to the meadow. (In case you’re picturing me supine on the couch reading model railroad magazines between November and April, I’ll let you know that I finished writing my first novel while the snow was drifting and the wind was rattling the windows.) Rarely, I’ll be in the field as early as mid-March, keeping vigil by an otter hole in the thinning ice of Belvidere Pond or in my blind on a clear morning hoping to intercept a courting gobbler and catch the light show of the rising sun playing on his iridescent plumage.
Wild Turkey (Jake)
Canon EOS 1-D Mark ll N
Canon EF300mm f/2.8 L IS lens
1/100″ @ f/6.3 at ISO 400, spot metering
Gitzo Studex tripod with Wimberley Head
Read more…
Posted by Gustav under L'Ile Bizard (Quebec),Musings,Seasons,Spring,Vermont | Comments (1)
April 11, 2009
It was about the time we first heard the woodcock peenting – the male’s plaintive mating call that sounds like a creaky floor board – in the meadow below the house this spring that Freddie and Michael’s pond thawed. About a quarter of a mile north of us, Freddie and Michael are our nearest neighbors. Their post and beam house sits, much like our house, at the top of an expanse of open field that descends gradually down to a large, federally protected wetland. The pond lies half way between the house and the wetland and toward our side of their property.
Freddie and Michael are ideal neighbors. They bring us fresh rhubarb from their garden which we, i.e, my wife, Cheryl, gives back to them baked into strawberry rhubarb pie, though, she has to cut the pie in half and bring it to them the same day she bakes it otherwise I’ll usually forget that I’m only supposed to eat half of the pie. And I’m welcome to rinse off our dogs, Aldo and Bela, in the pond after they’ve been chasing frogs and tadpoles in the wetland or for all three of us to take a cool dip after I’ve been toiling around the homestead on a hot summer day. As ponds go, Freddie and Michael’s pond is of medium size, about 100′ in diameter, not overly landscaped but with a fairly dense copse of alders, birches, aspens, and some scotch pine along the south bank that blocked the view of the water from our deck except in winter, of course, when we could see through the bare branches of the deciduous trees but when the pond was merely a circular impression in the austere winterscape between our house and theirs. Then, last fall, I noticed yellowish stumps gleaming in the afternoon sun where some of the alders and birches had stood. Seems, a family of beaver had moved from the wetland into the pond.
Beaver & Branches
Read more…
Posted by Gustav under Equipment,Spring,Tripods,Vermont,Wildlife | Comments (4)
March 8, 2009
Hey all,
I’ve been thinking about what to write for the March blog entry. My initial thought was to write about winter photography. You know, as a counterpoint to Gustav’s Solstice 2008 entry, where the self-proclaimed “winter wimp” whines about the cold, dark days and freezing extremities… Use ‘em or lose ‘em, my friend! 
I’ve not abandoned that blog idea. I will eventually be writing about the joys of winter photography, and the gear and clothing I use to stay safe, comfortable and warm. However, with the Green Mountain Workshop being only 3 months away, I thought I’d use this space to make a shameless self-marketing plug.
Truth is, neither Gustav nor I are very adept at filling this workshop. This boggles my mind… but then, marketing just ain’t our thing, photography is. This workshop is probably the best “bang for the buck” nature photography workshop an aspiring nature photographer can take. Seriously… Why? Well, let me just tell you the ways! (Or ask one of the previous years’ participants.)
We do not have a specific agenda or time schedule – we go with the weather, the flow, and the requests of the participants. When weather cooperates, we maximize the time in the field for hands-on work. When rain hits, we’ll retreat indoors for work on digital workflow, image processing and photography theory. And with the purchase of a new large tent/greenhouse, we’ll able to shoot insects and plants without getting wet even if the rain does not let up!
Although I can’t tell you exactly what we’ll be doing in the 2009 version of the workshop, I can still tempt you by writing about some of the fun stuff we will do and learn. Take a look at my 2008 Green Mountain Workshop blog entry for a day-by-day account of the photo activities and wonderful meals we had last year.
Moss Glenn Falls – Granville, Vermont
Canon EOS 20D with Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 31mm
1.3s at f/16, ISO 100
Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue Polarizer
Gitzo G2220 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, cable release, mirror lock-up
Read more…
Posted by Rob under Spring,Technique,Vermont,Workshops & Tours | Comments (8)
