Photo ops

News Flash:
I'll be selling my images at the Wings of Spring Fair the last weekend in April in West Alton Illinois. It's an honor to have been chosen as a vendor for this event and I look forward to sharing my work with all the visitors who love wildlife. The fair happens to be taking place in one of my favorite wildlife photography locations. The confluence wetlands, where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers converge, is a key juncture in the Mississippi flyway, a major bird migration route. To find the fair, turn in at the Fisca gas station on the West (Missouri) side of the Clarke Bridge in Alton. Just past the Fisca station is the wildlife wetlands preserve. Bring a 4 wheel drive vehicle if you have one. Although you can easily get to the fair via paved roads, if you'd like to go out to the river convergence you drive over about 4 miles of mud and gravel (unless they have upgraded the roads since I was out there last).

On to photoshoot adventures.
I've been on so many photoshoots lately I can't keep track of them all. If I don't get a chance to post for a while I can guarantee it isn't for lack of photos to post. It's actually because I'm out shooting someplace.

Here is a sampler of various types of photography. One nice thing about season changes is that new types of photography present themselves with every season.

On a recent trip I was hoping to get some pics of thunderheads, from the top. Yah, I'm probably one of the few people I know who gets excited about bad weather when I'm going up in a plane. Unfortunately the clouds were just thick and solid as far as the eye could see. But they broke up a few days later on the return flight. The shot I chose to share emphasizes the contrast between man made straight lines and God made natural wandering curves. The sun rays reflecting off the river make the river stand out through the haze. A key element to make the aerial photo's good is an image stabilizer. A tripod won't do you much good in a vibrating plane.

Sunsets and moonrises with those great horizon colors make for great shots also. Remember to use your tripod for these shots. Almost every shot you take can improve with stability.

Check out this albino squirrel. These little guys live in Olney Illinois, about 30 miles south of Effingham.

Finally, churches are good night photography practice subjects. The bright flood lights make it an easy subject, while the passing cars underline the building. Experiment with different exposure settings to get different results. The longer the exposure the more car light streams you will get. The aperture priority mode is a good one to experiment with. Adjust your aperture, then let the camera pick the shutter speed and see what happens. If you are shooting in fully automatic, adjust either the speed or aperture, then adjust the other until your light meter centers. With a building this bright you don't need a high ISO. Use a tripod and let the shutter speed do the work. Those who don't care to use manual settings, can get a good shot by selecting the landscape (mountain) setting.

I hope to see you at the fair the end of April.
geopic