All three shots are well done. The first is most interesting to me as the bird seems to be going about his business. The second two seem more like the bird is uncomfortably posing for you.
I do appreciate you sharing this information with us. Good to have you on the list. -- Best regards, Bruce Wednesday, October 5, 2005, 1:57:07 PM, you wrote: C> Just a (not very brief) note on my avian photography workshop with Greg C> Downing in Cape May, New Jersey last week. BONUS: three new images! C> http://home.mindspring.com/~c_skofteland/id33.html (comments appreciated) C> I arrived in Cape May (4 hour drive from my home in Maryland) on Wednesday C> around 4:30pm, checked into the hotel and met Greg. That evening I went C> across the street to the beach for some last-light photography. After C> dinner, the 10 photographers met with Greg and his assistant Heather for a C> slide show and presentation about the birds we were likely to see and the C> techniques we'd most likely use to approach and photograph them. We were C> also given a tentative shooting schedule. C> Thursday we met at 6am on the beach, just before sunrise and Greg C> demonstrated the use of the "skimmer" ground pod (basically a round C> dish-shaped camera support where a ball-head or gumball head can be C> attached; I built my own from a heavy aluminum frying pan and my big C> studioball!). Most of the photography over the two days was conducted C> crawling on our bellies..... As the sun started to come up, we located the C> huge flocks of skimmers on the beach and began to approach and photograph C> them. Later, terns and gulls joined the mix as well as smaller shore birds. C> At 9am we gave up as the light became to harsh and had breakfast. We then C> took a break, had lunch, downloaded images, whatever and met again at 3pm C> for another session at a different beach. The weather had deteriorated and C> it rained a bit but then cleared. Lots of little shore birds were found and C> photographed as well as more gulls. C> That evening we watched a short slideshow of some of Greg's bird images C> which was followed by critiques of our work (we each had to bring 10 of our C> best images to the workshop; not stuff shot there). I had the honor of C> following Greg's amazing work. Lucky me.... My images were actually well C> received especially the cormorant in the tree C> http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=0, the flying C> gull C> http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=6 C> and C> the willets C> http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=20 and C> http://photography.skofteland.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=19 C> Friday we had the morning session on the beach again, where I was able to C> find and photograph a ruddy turnstone and a herring gull C> http://home.mindspring.com/~c_skofteland/id33.html. The herring gull was C> shot with Greg's 600mm and 1.4x TC. OH MY GOD! C> Friday mid-day we learned about flash photography and how to better use the C> flash-extenders/better-beamers and the advantages of manual flash over TTL. C> Friday afternoon it was more photography on the beach where I was able to C> finally catch skimmers skimming. C> I learned a ton in 2 days during the workshop. Greg Downing is extremely C> knowledgeable both about birds and how to photograph them. I was able to C> get closer to my subjects using his techniques than I was in the past and I C> learned a lot about patience in waiting for the birds to come to me. I also C> learned "tricks" to ensure sharpness and, by looking at his examples, what C> to look for to make an interesting shot. The two days was well worth the C> cost. C> Funny story: Imagine a group of about 10 photographers with huge lenses C> trained on a group of birds just yards away on a public beach. A curious C> passerby walks up to one of said photogs and asks: "What are you taking C> pictures of?" Heather dared me to say: "Brad and Angelina are vacationing C> in a hotel across the street. We're waiting for them to come out." C> Just a rundown of the other participants gear (as I remember it): C> 5x Canon 1DmkII C> 1x Canon 1Ds C> 3x Canon 20D C> 1x Nikon D2X C> 1x Nikon 600/4 C> 2x Canon 600/4 C> 2x Canon 500/4 C> 3x Canon 400/5.6 C> 1x Canon 300/2.8 C> 1x Canon 300/4 (mine, suffering serious lens envy...) C> Greg and Heather used 1DmkII bodies; Greg had a 600/4 and Heather a 500/4. C> Christian
