Who will be the next great nature photographer?

The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) is currently accepting nominations and applications for their fourteenth annual High School Student Scholarship Program.

Ten high school students will be offered a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the Eighteenth Annual NANPA Summit in Jacksonville, Florida, Feb. 24 through March 3, 2013 and also participate in field workshops and classroom instruction designed specifically for them.

The week-long program, which begins Feb. 24th, includes time in a classroom learning digital photography from industry experts, as well as several field trips with personalized photographic instruction from some of the world’s most renowned nature photographers and publishing professionals.

Eligible students must be 14 years old by June 1, 2012, but not yet 19 as of January 1, 2013. The scholarship covers all lodging, meals, and the Summit registration fee. Transportation to and from Jacksonville will be the responsibility of each student and his or her family.

The nomination/application deadline is Nov 31, 2012. Program description and application information are available at the organization’s website: http://www.nanpa.org/students/app_process_hs.phpNANPA 2013 Summit

I am trying to experiment with new techniques these days, so keep updated on www.maxbrown.zenfolio.com/ or www.twitter.com/max_wildlife

Here is an example, if you do try this tell me how you get on! Thanks for reading.

Sorry for lack of posts lately, have been busy with uni exams, which thankfully are over! I decided to head straight up to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, for some seabird photography. I had grand plans for my week long trip, however due to unforeseen geology and various other contributing factors, my cliffcam rig remained in the bag. It will be used tho, I am already scouting new locations for it to be used. The area around Bempton, and where I was staying at Flamborough Head, is a very rich wildlife area with 5 Barn Owl pairs nesting on the headland. I had high hopes! Although I saw over 10 owls in 5 days, no shots made the cut unfortunately.

The RSBP reserve at Bempton is definitely worth a visit during the summer months if your nearby. From just 25 breeding Gannet pairs about 20 years ago, to the site now being the largest mainland breeding colony in England- a testament to the hard work done, a real success story!

The reserve is free to enter and is open after the visitor centre closes. The cliffs being 300ft tall pose a problem for a photographer looking to photograph the seabirds. Of the 200,000 birds nesting on the cliffs, only the Gannets come up the the top during flight, pushed up by strong Eastly breezes. At 2 spots on the reserve – staple newk and jubilee corner – they come up to the top to collect nesting material, which provides a good opportunity for shots.

The shot above was taken with a 16-35mm lens during a fairly drab sunrise at 4:30. Although wide angle shots produce stunning images of animals you can get close to , Gannets are not one, so taking it out the bag and putting the telephoto away during such a crucial shooting time was daunting. Not sure if the above works?

Although not as productive as i would have liked, definitely a trip i will be making again in the future. If your planing to make a trip let me know and i will give you locations of good Short Eared and Barn owl sites.

Feedback always appreciated on images.

Cheers

MattClick to view slideshow.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed advertisements for the Cotton Carrier in various magazines. I always thought that it looked like a good solution to the problems stated above. This past winter, I finally got around to trying out the Cotton Carrier, and fully approved of it on the first day of use. Andy Cotton of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada invented the Cotton Carrier. For years, Andy had been dealing with the problems of camera straps, and being the entrepreneur type of guy that he is, he decided to create a solution. After around three years of developing the camera vest, the company is now at a point where they’re fully content with the design. Essentially, Andy Cotton has succeeded at making a system that allows photographers to carry 1 or 2 readily available and“locked in”cameras that eliminates neck and shoulder strain by placing weight on the person’s mid section.

One nice aspect of Cotton Carriers is that they are 70% North American made! Only sewn products are made offshore. The buckles are Nifco brand and the clips are UTX. Hubs and plates are 60/61 hard anodized aluminum. The Lexan receivers are produced with Lexan brand virgin black Lexan. Using materials like these ensures top quality and security for your cameras.

The first thing I did with my cotton carrier was attach my Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and Canon 400mm f/5.6 lens to the vest and I went for a run around my block. I could never have done this comfortably with a normal camera strap. With the additional help of the fastener strap, you can use your camera skiing, mountain biking, or even doing back flips on trampolines. Although this may be unrealistic for the average person, it’s just an example of how secure the product is. The vest comes in green or black, and has a mesh back which is nice for hot days. The vest includes a chest mount and detachable hip mount. The chest mount is ideal for lenses in the 70-200mm to 400mm f/5.6 size. The hip mount is ideal for a wide angle/small lens setup. This is because a hip-mounted longer lens like a 400mm f/5.6 lens will brush against your leg a bit when walking. The hip mount can also be detached and attached to the hip straps of a backpack. Cotton Carrier also just came out with an expandable lens bag that attaches on either hip and allows me to comfortably fit a 400mm f/5.6 and 24-105mm f/4 lens inside. The bag also has two interior and one exterior pocket. Overall, with the camera vest you can fit a camera on your chest, another camera on your hip, and the lens bag on your other hip. Videos of these products can be found at www.cottoncarrier.com.

One concern I had before trying the Cotton Carrier was if I’d have to remove my tripod head plate. I was relieved to discover that Cotton Carrier makes their own tripod head plate that fits the attachment hub. You can even attach their plate to your L-plate, which allows for full use of horizontal and vertical compositions. I recently returned from shooting the Columbia River Gorge and Olympic National Park and used the Cotton Carrier tripod head plate the entire time without issue. The only negative aspect of the camera vest system is that it isn’t very “fancy” looking for photographing formal events. If you’re shooting an event where looks matter, I’d recommend checking out the Carry-Lite system, or just putting the side holster on your belt.

Overall, I’ve been very impressed with the Cotton Carrier camera vest thus far. The vest has allowed me to be more productive and efficient with my photography, and allows for increased maneuverability. If you’re looking for a comfortable and efficient way to carry one or two cameras and some additional gear, I fully recommend checking out the products from Cotton Carrier.

Connor Stefanison

www.connorstefanison.com

START AN ENTRY NOW and your best image may make the journey from the wild to the walls of the Smithsonian. Winners in each category and a selection of Highly Honored photographs will be displayed in the annual exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, one of the most respected and highly visited museums in the world. All winning images will be published in the 2012 Fall-Winter Collectors’ Edition of Nature’s Best Photography magazine.
Start an entry by 11:59 pm EST on Thursday, May 31th, and we will make sure you can finish your uploads. Thank you to everyone who already started and completed your entry on time, you will be judged first starting on June 1. BEST OF LUCK!

Macro photography can be very tough, but also very rewarding when you get a pleasing image. I have been doing a lot of experimenting with using diffusers to improve my macro photography. Here I have the same image, except one was shot with a diffuser and the other wasn’t. As you could probably tell, the above image was the one shot with the diffuser. The light is much softer and the shadows are much less pronounced.

You can see that the image shot without a diffuser has very harsh shadows and is glaring to the eye. So what’s the best thing about using a diffuser? The fact that you can shoot in any kind of light and still get a pleasing image!

To view more of my work, please visit my galleries by clicking here.

JUDGING BEGINS JUNE 1: We will still be judging the entries in the order they were submitted, i.e. the first 10 entry submissions we received this year will be the first 10 entrants judged and so on until we reach the very last entry submitted. So, if you entered earlier you will be reviewed earlier.

Best of luck for this year, maybe your image will make the journey from the wild to the walls of the Smithsonian, one of the most respected and highly visited museums on Earth. Check out this year’s Awards HD video (below) for a selection of images from the 2011 competition and give it a thumbs up! At the end, there are cute polar bear cubs filmed by Thomas D. Mangelsen, the Conservation Photographer of the Year.

Steve Freligh, Director
Windland Smith Rice Awards

    On the trip, we focused predominately on photographing owls. This was my first encounter with wild owls, and the experience was unreal. We photographed snowy owls in the purplish, early morning light and short-eared owls hunting in the setting sun at Boundary Bay. On the last day, we had a truly extraordinary experience. While hiking along a mountain, a barred owl responded to a call Jess made. The owl continued to follow and call back to us on the hour-long hike. It even perched close enough to photograph. Because of the decrease in spotted owls over the years from logging, barred owls have filled the void. Barred owls are more aggressive for food and space. They are thriving and taking over the habitat of the endangered Spotted Owl through “bullying” techniques, like stealing nests and using their 20 percent larger size difference to intimidate. Much controversy surrounds the appropriate handling of the spotted owl restoration.

    Initially, the US Fish and Wildlife Federation talked of taking human intervention by killing some barred owls to help the spotted owl numbers, but many questioned whether it was right to kill one species to help another.  As for now, action is on hold.  Although the spotted owls are returning to their habitat, it is still not at a healthy rate.  According to an article on spotted owls published in Smithsonian Magazine ”In 1990, barred owls in a forest west of Corvallis, Oregon occupied less than 2 percent of spotted owl sites; today, barred owls nest in 50 percent of the them.”

   Two of the most important photography lessons I learned on this trip were composition and understanding the mechanics of the camera. First, don’t be afraid to take a little longer to compose your image before you fire off the shutter.  It is so easy to get excited when we come across wildlife and to just start shooting. Taking a couple of seconds to check the edges of frame through your viewfinder can really take an image to the next level. Think of your viewfinder making a “Z” formation: top left corner, top right corner, diagonal across the frame to the bottom left corner, and bottom right corner, checking at each spot.  Once you have adjusted your position, by either moving your feet or tripod, so that the subject is not too close to the edge and that there are no distracting shrubs or bright spots in the foreground or background, start shooting.  Second, try to learn the mechanics of your camera.

    Experiment with your settings when you shoot so that you know how fast your shutter speed should be to get a sharp image.  Once you know that, you can go into any lighting and adjust your aperture and ISO accordingly.  There is nothing worse than not getting a sharp image because the shutter speed wasn’t fast enough. Again, patience plays a role. If you take time before setting off the shutter to make sure your settings are correct for the situation, your images will come out sharper and be taken to the next level.

A lot of times it is easy to think that there is very little wildlife in your area, but try exploring local parks, looking high and low, to see what you find. Nature can be surprising sometimes and  which with patience and creativity can create great images.

Thank you for reading,

Kathryn Boyd-Batstone

www.kathrynboydbatstone.com

Click to view slideshow.

I’m often in a hurry to get to the images I know are good once they have been uploaded to the computer. More often than not, I miss those hidden good ones. So what I do is go back and take a look at the whole folder. I have always found one or two images that call for processing, and many of them make it to my gallery. The images in this blog post were just edited today from a trip to Florida back in 2010. My editing skills have gotten much better, and allowed me to take advantage of all the file had to offer.

I encourage you to go back and look at your old files. You will be surprised at what is hiding in the files!

Taken With a Circular Polarizer

As a landscape photographer, one of the most important tools in my bag is the Circular Polarizer. This tool can make a world of difference in pretty much every situation. Its main use is to take reduce the amount of glare on water, leaves, or just about any other surface that reflects the glare. (Note: it will not have any effect on metal.) Although not the intended use, it can be used to make blue skies even bluer.

Taken Without a Circular Polarizer

In the two images provided in this blog post, you can see the difference the polarizer makes. I highly recommend the Nikon 77mm Circular Polarizer II Thin Ring Multi-Coated Filter. It has a thin ring which allows you to track the filter without applying any vignetting. Overall, a great tool to have in your bag.

To view more of my work, please visit my renovated galleries by clicking here!