Happy Holidays

Christopher Dodds December 24, 2012

Red Deer WHITEOUT (Cervus elaphus, cerf élaphe). Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1DX, 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM @130mm ISO 400 f/5 @ 1/160s. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy Holidays, peace, love, good health, joy and laughter to you and your family throughout the New Year.

Please help me to give back by joining me and/or spreading the word about my annual Christmas fund raiser:

PHOTO GEEK CHRISTMAS PARTY

Join me, Canadian nature photographer Christopher Dodds, on March 9, 2013 at 6:30 PM at the Casgrain Theatre (CEGEP John Abbot College 21275 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec H9X 3L9, Canada) for an hour and a half long slideshow presentation to benefit Le Nichoire. The show is designed to be entertaining and informative to all; nature lovers and photographers alike. Stories of adventure, natural history facts and information are all on the menu and this show is designed to offer helpful tips & techniques sure to improve your photography efforts with everything from a camera phone, point & shoot camera or professional SLR camera system. Over one hundred of his images will be projected, many unseen. Everyone is welcome!
Hurry! Only 280 seats. Tickets are only $18.00 each and are available for advance purchase only - every penny is collected by, and goes to Le Nichoir. Please call or email Le Nichoir (communication@lenichoir.org 450-458-2809) to secure your tickets, or make a donation if you can't make it (be sure to tell them it's on behalf of Chris' Photo Geek Christmas Party) Major credit cards and cheques accepted. There will be ample time to mingle, meet my friends and contacts and share some of your images with others, so feel free to bring prints, iPads or laptops with your favourite images to share. I hope to see you there and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

The door prizes were over the top last year, and thanks to my good friends and sponsors, we have secured an even better stash for this year.

Jobu Designs (use cupon code NATURE to save 15%)
Canon Canada
Think Tank Photo
Nik Software
Digimarc for images (use cupon code NATUREPHOTOGRAPHY to save 30%)
LensCoat
Photo Life Magazine
Eckla Gear Carts
Outdoor Photo Gear
Cotton Carrier

If you would like to contribute door prizes for, or sponsor, this worthy cause, please email me (chris@chrisdoddsphoto.com) to discuss. It's a great way to have your product or brand mentioned in every blog post until the main event while helping an awesome cause!

Last year we raised over $2,500.00 and I am asking for your help to at least double that!

Social Media for Photographers

Christopher Dodds November 21, 2011

Fallow Deer BREATH (Dama dama, Daim) Quebec ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS Canon EOS 1DsMKIII, 500mm F4 L IS ,Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 with Think-Tank Photo Hydrophobia 300-600 ISO 400, f/7.1 @ 1/200s Manual mode. Full Frame. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.

Fallow Deer WINTER'S CHILD (Dama dama, Daim) Quebec ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS Canon EOS 1DsMKIII, 500mm F4 L IS ,Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 with Think-Tank Photo Hydrophobia 300-600 ISO 200, f/5.6 @ 1/200s Manual mode. Full Frame. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.

Social Media for Photographers

It's no secret; the key to many photographer's success has been social networking. Even long before the internet, it wasn't necessarily how good your photography was; your success depended on how well connected you were. There are a few lingering professional photographers who's work rarely comes close to the plethora of simply breathtaking images from hard working amateurs seen every day on the web; they were widely published because they were among an elite circle of people who knew about some amazing locations which consistently produced amazing opportunity - and they were connected to the image buyers.
Today, thanks to the internet, those locations are widely known and image buyers are easy to find. Many argue the merits and the shortcomings of social media, and I don't want to write a book about it, but I've pretty much come to the conclusion that any effort I invest into any one of a number of social outlets I use is rewarded handsomely. Print sales and workshop bookings are up every time I am active online. Why not join the fun and connect with me:

Facebook Fan Page

Google+

Twitter

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Second Annual Photo Geek Christmas Party

Join me, Canadian nature photographer Christopher Dodds, on November 30, 2011 at 7:30 PM at the Hudson Village Theatre (28 Wharf Road, Hudson, QC J0P 1H0) for an hour and a half long slideshow presentation to benefit this great cause which is so close to my heart. The show is designed to be entertaining and informative to all; nature lovers and photographers alike. Stories of adventure, natural history facts and information are all on the menu and this show is designed to offer helpful tips & techniques sure to improve your photography efforts with everything from a camera phone, point & shoot camera or professional SLR camera system. Over one hundred of my images will be projected, many unseen. Everyone is welcome!
Hurry! Only 148 seats. Tickets are only $15.00 each and are available for advance purchase only - every penny is collected by, and goes to Le Nichoir. Please call or email Le Nichoir (communication@lenichoir.org 450-458-2809) to secure your tickets, or make a donation if you can't make it (be sure to tell them it's on behalf of Chris' Photo Geek Christmas Party) Major credit cards and cheques accepted. Finger food and hors d'oeuvres are included and there will be a cash bar (please drink responsibly).
There will be ample time to mingle, meet my friends and contacts and share some of your images with others, so feel free to bring prints, iPads or laptops with your favourite images to share. I hope to see you there and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

Better Bird Photography Portraits

Christopher Dodds November 10, 2011

Parakeet Auklet Portrait (Fratercula cirrhata, Macareux huppé, TUPU) Saint Paul Island, The Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1D MK IV, 500mm F4 L IS , 2X Teleconverter III & Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II, Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3. Full Frame. ISO 400 f/14 @ 1/200s Manual Mode. Fill flash Canon Speedlite 580EX II with Better Beamer @ -1&2/3. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Better Bird Photography Portraits

Bird photographers are often guilty of spending all of their time photographing the action and drama of birds in flight, and often skip the investment of the time required to create great portraits. I sell far more static portraits than action, or "birds-in-flight" images. Don't get me wrong; Birds-in-flight are my favorite challenge, just remember to diversify your images by going for portraits as well. It can be quite rewarding to see and study the intricate details revealed in a good portrait - check-out the unique (and cool) bill of this Parakeet Auklet. Here's a few tips to help you out next time you are out and about with your camera.

Try to get closer your subject without disturbing it. This one sounds easy, but wild birds are wild, take your time and avoid walking or crawling directly at your subject. Take your time and make regular stops to let your subject accept you.
Use a long lens and extender to help you get close without disturbance, and to take advantage of the long focal length to help blur the background and isolate the subject. I often add an extension tube to get even closer.
Try to choose an interesting background. Finding an interesting background will help you stand-out among the many. In this Parakeet Auklet portrait, I carefully chose the out of focus lichens as my background to set it apart from the typical blue sky of a clear day, or the white, or high-key, background of a cloudy day.
Invest in the composition. Carefully compose your portrait so that it is visually pleasing. Try to avoid a boring compositions with centred subjects. Compose a full frame image in the camera - to get the most pixels on your subject and as a challenge to get better and make better image in the camera.
Wait for the pose and head angle. All to often, I see portraits that resemble snap shots. This is often the result of poor head angle or a bad pose. I try to get the subject and it's head parallel to my sensor for most head shot type portraits, but do sometimes strive for the head-on look; the latter often in overcast conditions to avoid harsh shadows.
Choose your light. On clear days, choose the golden hours of sunrise or sunset to get the soft warm tones without harsh shadows. Be sure to point your shadow directly at the bird when the sun rises and gets harsher, and be sure the near side of the face is illuminated and there is a catch-light in the eye. Bright, cloudy and overcast conditions are great for digital portraits; there's no shadows to worry about, and we can photograph all day long. Avoid flash when the light is golden, but do try to add a kiss of fill flash when its overcast.
Be sure the image is sharp and properly exposed. Sounds easy enough, but try to remind yourself to use good long lens technique, a good tripod head and a sturdy tripod.

Second Annual Photo Geek Christmas Party

More prizes have arrived from these great sponsors! Jobu Designs (makers of my favorite Gimbal Head - the Jobu Jr. 3), FirstPass Image downloader & Editor, Think-Tank Photo, Cotton Carrier and DigiMarc for Images have all jumped on-board and offered tons of prizes to show their suppoort for my Second Annual Photo Geek Christmas Party. I expect other sponsors to make offerings and encourage contributions - email me if you would like to donate and promote your product chris(at)chrisdoddsphoto(dot)com