Snowy Owl DAWN SILHOUETTE

Snowy Owl DAWN SILHOUETTE Bubo scandiacus (Harfang des neiges) Quebec. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKII, 500mm F4 IS ISO 250, F7.1 1/1600s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO ORDER A PRINT OR LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION.

KUDOS:

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip with Chris photographing snowy owls.  

Chris’s knowledge of the location of the owls each day was key to all the participants getting great opportunities to photograph the owls.

What made the trip a great success for me was Chris’s easy and informative style in communicating camera settings and techniques for best results.

I would highly recommend a trip with Chris.

Ian Brennan Ireland

Learn more about my Snowy Winter Owl Workshops HERE.

Zambian Dawn

Straw-coloured Fruit Bat ZAMBIAN DAWN (Eidolon helvum) Kasanka National Park, Zambia. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1DX, 500mm F4 L IS, Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 (with Deluxe Swing-arm upgrade) ISO 400 f/5 @ 1/2,000s Manual Mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Dreams

I suppose I should call this post Zambian Dreams....

Seeing 7 million Straw Colored Fruit Bats return to their roost in Zambia was something I have wanted to do since I was about 8 or 9 years old after reading about it in one of the first National Geographic Magazines that I ever saw in the elementary school library. It was when I first imagined what it would be like to see the world as a nature photographer! Said to be the largest mamal migration on earth, this was the single most impressive natural history sight I have ever seen.

This is pretty much the image I have had in my head all those years; I always try to pre-visualize the images that I would most like to capture; sometimes they work, other times mother nature throws a curve-ball and they don't. I knew the money shot would be a wide shot with the treeline and the sunrise, but I didn't know I would use my 500mm lens to get it. It's always a good idea to bring a selection of equipment, even when you don't expect to use it.

Now back to the dreams; they can come true - wink.

 

About the Straw-coloured Fruit Bat

During November and December each year five to seven million straw-coloured fruit bats take up residence in one hectare of Kasanka National Park’s mushitu swamp forest.  Enticed by the abundance of such delicacies as musuku, mufinsa and the other wild fruits in the area, colonies of bats start arriving in late October. Straw-coloured fruit bats are identifiable by their pale, tawny fur and bright orange neck.  As with all fruit bats (alias flying foxes) they have dog-like facial features with small ears, large eyes and a long snout.  The wingspan of a straw-coloured fruit bat reaches 85-95cm making them the largest bat in Southern Africa. By day the bat colony roosts in the trees of the mushitu forest, packing themselves around branches and trunks which often break under the sheer weight of bats!  Daily life is not easy for the bats as many predators including raptors turn to a diet of bats for the two months that the colony is in residence. Fish eagles, martial eagles, vultures and numerous other raptors have been seen to take the bats in flight and from the roost.

Snowy Owl Silhouette & The Amazing Monarch: The Secret Wintering Grounds of an Endangered Butterfly

 Snowy Owl DAWN SILHOUETTE Bubo scandiacus (Harfang des neiges) Quebec. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKII, 500mm F4 IS ISO 250, F7.1 1/1600s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO ORDER A PRINT OR LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION.

Private Winter Owl Prowls

The private winter owl safari/workshop series has proven to be a huge success with people from around the world booking days, or weeks. There are still some dates available, so do consider joining me for a private winter owl prowl. Find out more HERE.

Testimonial

"Hi Chris. The September 2010 Moose and Fall Colors Photo Workshop has been a fantastic experience for me in many aspects. I want to thank you warmly for everything you have done for me, not only with respect to photography but in every respect, such as wildlife and nature, the English language, travel tips, etc. You never hesitated to share your knowledge with the group in general and with me in particular. You amazed me more than one time with your wide array of knowledge. Furthermore, you have been a very pleasant companion all along. I would not hesitate to book another workshop with you, which I intend to do later, depending on my budget and schedule possibilities. I already told you that you are a real gentleman, and I just want to tell you again." Serge Gagné L’Île-Bizard (QC) Canada

Q & A

How do I activate auto focus (AF), when using 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverters with f/5.6 or slower lenses with Canon cameras other than the EOS 1D series? Serge Gagné L’Île-Bizard (QC) Canada.

It is simple. Just place a small transparent piece of tape on the last 3 pins of the converter. The tape should be placed on the left hand side of the converter when looking at it from the lens connection side with the electrical contacts on top. With these three left pins covered, the auto-focus continues to operate on the Rebel and D series Canon cameras with the AF activated. It also works great with the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS.

The Amazing Monarch: The Secret Wintering Grounds of an Endangered Butterfly

The Amazing Monarch: The Secret Wintering Grounds of an Endangered Butterfly is a new book written and photographed by wildlife photographer and trial attorney Windle Turley. In the book, Turley captures amazing images in the rarely photographed wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly, in the Transverse Neovolcanic Mountains in Mexico. Granted almost-unprecedented access, Turley documents the final destination of this migration that only takes place every four to five generations with vivid, full-colour photographs.

It's easier than ever to publish your own book full of your amazing images, but it's no secret that a book full of only images will end-up on the discount table at your local book store. If you have ever thought of publishing your own book, and wondered how to tell your story, then this is a must have; no only for the story of the Monarch, but because the story is well presented and well told. Turley supplements the images with scientific-based text detailing the migration with complimentary quotations and poems that make a multifaceted book about one of the most engaging and mysterious species know to man.

LEAVE A COMMENT - WIN A BOOK: Leave a meaningful comment and I will randomly choose three lucky folks to receive one of three copies of The Amazing Monarch: The Secret Wintering Grounds of an Endangered Butterfly that I have to give away. The enterprising photographer will also include a link to a photo of a Monarch, or a blog entry about the Monarch. I'll randomly choose the winners and I'll even pay for surface mail anywhere in the world. I won't pay customs, brokerage, taxes or duties, though there shouldn't be any payable.