Just a (not very brief) note on my avian photography workshop with Greg
Downing in Cape May, New Jersey last week. BONUS: three new images!
http://home.mindspring.com/~c_skofteland/id33.html (comments appreciated)
I arrived in Cape May (4 hour drive from my home in Maryland) on Wednesday
around 4:30pm, checked into the hotel and met Greg. That evening I went
across the street to the beach for some last-light photography. After
dinner, the 10 photographers met with Greg and his assistant Heather for a
slide show and presentation about the birds we were likely to see and the
techniques we'd most likely use to approach and photograph them. We were
also given a tentative shooting schedule.
Thursday we met at 6am on the beach, just before sunrise and Greg
demonstrated the use of the "skimmer" ground pod (basically a round
dish-shaped camera support where a ball-head or gumball head can be
attached; I built my own from a heavy aluminum frying pan and my big
studioball!). Most of the photography over the two days was conducted
crawling on our bellies..... As the sun started to come up, we located the
huge flocks of skimmers on the beach and began to approach and photograph
them. Later, terns and gulls joined the mix as well as smaller shore birds.
At 9am we gave up as the light became to harsh and had breakfast. We then
took a break, had lunch, downloaded images, whatever and met again at 3pm
for another session at a different beach. The weather had deteriorated and
it rained a bit but then cleared. Lots of little shore birds were found and
photographed as well as more gulls.
That evening we watched a short slideshow of some of Greg's bird images
which was followed by critiques of our work (we each had to bring 10 of our
best images to the workshop; not stuff shot there). I had the honor of
following Greg's amazing work. Lucky me.... My images were actually well
received especially the cormorant in the tree
http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=0, the flying
gull http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=6 and
the willets
http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=20 and
http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=19
Friday we had the morning session on the beach again, where I was able to
find and photograph a ruddy turnstone and a herring gull
http://home.mindspring.com/~c_skofteland/id33.html. The herring gull was
shot with Greg's 600mm and 1.4x TC. OH MY GOD!
Friday mid-day we learned about flash photography and how to better use the
flash-extenders/better-beamers and the advantages of manual flash over TTL.
Friday afternoon it was more photography on the beach where I was able to
finally catch skimmers skimming.
I learned a ton in 2 days during the workshop. Greg Downing is extremely
knowledgeable both about birds and how to photograph them. I was able to
get closer to my subjects using his techniques than I was in the past and I
learned a lot about patience in waiting for the birds to come to me. I also
learned "tricks" to ensure sharpness and, by looking at his examples, what
to look for to make an interesting shot. The two days was well worth the
cost.
Funny story: Imagine a group of about 10 photographers with huge lenses
trained on a group of birds just yards away on a public beach. A curious
passerby walks up to one of said photogs and asks: "What are you taking
pictures of?" Heather dared me to say: "Brad and Angelina are vacationing
in a hotel across the street. We're waiting for them to come out."
Just a rundown of the other participants gear (as I remember it):
5x Canon 1DmkII
1x Canon 1Ds
3x Canon 20D
1x Nikon D2X
1x Nikon 600/4
2x Canon 600/4
2x Canon 500/4
3x Canon 400/5.6
1x Canon 300/2.8
1x Canon 300/4 (mine, suffering serious lens envy...)
Greg and Heather used 1DmkII bodies; Greg had a 600/4 and Heather a 500/4.
Christian
