Pel's Fishing Owl South Africa

More from my workshop in Africa in November of 2012.

Night Safaris in Africa are always fun and productive. This is a Pel’s Fishing Owl that was illuminated by an old-fashioned high-power tungsten spotlight. Once the correct exposure is determined, it doesn't change unless the distance between the subject and the light source changes; Increase the ISO if the light source to subject distance increases, decrease the ISO if the light source to subject decreases :)

The Pel's Fishing Owl is one of the largest owls on earth. Among the world's owls, it ranks as the fifth heaviest on average, the seventh longest in length and measured wing chord and fourth longest in mean wingspan (1.24 meters or 60 inches). They typically weigh about the same as a Snowy Owl.

Pel’s Fishing Owl Dorsal View (Scotopelia peli, Chouette-pêcheuse de Pel Croatian) South Africa. ©2012 Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. ISO 20,000 @ 1/250s f/5.6 @ 500mm. Hand-held. Full frame image.

Male Leopard Portrait

I just went through a folder full of Leopard images from my workshop in 2012 that went from Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park in South Africa to the largest mammal migration on Earth (the great Straw-coloured Bat migration) in Zambia.

Funny how I initially rejected all of the images without a direct stare. I love the undisturbed and peaceful nature of this image. My zoom lens adjusted to 116mm and this is a full-frame image, so we were close :) I remember finding this lazy male who spent most of our encounter snoozing. This image was created just after he stood up and yawned, just before he sauntered off directly towards us before veering off to the right.

Coyote Pouncing on Prey

This is the same male Coyote as in my last post with the image of the playful Coyotes. My group had some great opportunities of him hunting meadow voles during my Best of Bosque workshop.

Coyotes catch mouse-sized rodents by pouncing, whereas ground squirrels are chased. Recent research suggests that Coyotes depend on their vision more than their sense of smell to hunt. Unlike the wolf, which attacks large prey from the rear, the coyote approaches from the front, lacerating its prey's head and throat.

Coyotes of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge New Mexico

We had some awesome experiences with this pair of Coyotes during my recent Best of Bosque workshop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA. Given the playful nature of their interactions that we watched, I think it is fair to assume they were siblings born this past April.

My experience at the refuge this year was absolutely awesome. Word spread quickly that the drought limited the amount of wetland habitat and the failure of the crops that were planted to feed the migrating Sandhill Cranes and Geese. While this did mean there were limitations on the number of locations for good photography, the available options were awesome. I have never seen so few people in the refuge during migration.

Atlantic puffin LOOK BACK

Chris delivers a premium product, in every way.

I’m an experienced wildlife photographer and I’ve had puffins on my bucket list for several years. Around my Colorado home, I scout my own sites and work my network of photography buddies, so I know what it takes to find good sites, get in and then have the wildlife cooperate, to get good pictures. I’ve even been a scout for a leading professional photographer, looking for superior deer and turkey subjects and locations.

Regarding puffins, I’d considered renting hide times, but most involved day-trips on boats. Most importantly, time in the hide is limited and you won’t necessarily be able to shoot when they’re feeding, nor will you likely shoot in the ideal light. The angle of view is often not ideal from a hide.

I don’t know how, but I ran across Chris’ Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop at the Mingan Archipelago National Park of Canada. It sounded too good to be true. You can shoot ALL DAY and have gourmet meals morning, noon and night. Hang on.

The “galore” part of the title is entirely true. I took over 13,000-shots in my three-days. It required merciless culling to get down to under 200 for sharing. I have many worthy of framing and the culls contain many shots that I might have been happy with, had I not had so many superior shots.

There are rules, to protect the birds, about where you can go on the islet, but that in no way excludes you from puffin activity. For example, every evening, we sat in chairs as puffin filled our frames landing, taking off, kibitzing, posing, all in the ideal light. By the end of the first day, I didn’t know how I’d possibly improve my shots, but I did, indeed, add to my archive.

Importantly, Chris is an affable and professional guy, but he pays close attention to safety, respect for our subjects, and the comfort of his guests. Everyone in my group was experienced, with good equipment. In fact, I was the only newbie. All had shot with Chris before. Guess what, I’ve signed up for his Snowy Owl Adventure, next January. I suspect that won’t be my last.

Chris delivers a premium product, in every way. Planning information was thorough and detailed, making it crystal clear what you needed to get there, to wear, etc.. The only thing left was to take the pix.

This is a premium product and a photographer’s dream. This is THE way to shoot Atlantic puffin.

Dave Stephens Colorado | USA

Sony Alpha A1 in the house

I’ve been out & about testing the brand new and industry leading action camera, the Sony Alpha A1. Stay tuned here (www.NaturePhotographyBlog.com) for my review early next week.

B&W Harp Seal Pup Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM FE OSS Lens for sale

SOLD!

Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM FE OSS Lens for sale

I am selling a duplicate Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM FE OSS Lens that was purchased just before the pandemic hit to rent out to workshop clients but has remained unused (I did take it for a test spin to make sure it was working). So it is new in the box with everything that came with it (lens, lens foot, straps, instructions, plastic chest, and original cardboard box). Asking CAD$14,000.00 (US$10,750.00) or best offer. email chris@chrisdoddsphoto.com or call 514-945-6195.

Great Gray Owl PEEK-A-BOO

I love being in the woods looking for owls and I love feeling that something is watching me even more, as was the case here - smile.

The most remarkable moment with this Great Gray Owl was a group of about 14 birders who walked past me and the owl without even replying to my “hello”. No reply, eyes down as if they had already decided that they were not going to see an owl; so they didn’t get to see the owl :)

Great Gray Owl in November Sleet

Another recent Great Gray Owl image made with the incredibly versatile Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens as I zoomed out to 210mm. The Sony a9II eye autofocus locked onto the eyes immediately and tracked the owl with ease.

Bald Eagle BW Over The Top Big Sky

Something a little different: A black & white conversion of a Bald Eagle cartwheeling as it dives against a stormy sky. While I do shoot extremely tight images packed with visual impact most of the time, I do always think about shooting loosely framed images which traditionally don’t do as well on social media, but make much more pleasing images for my walls.

Harp Seal mother and pup HOWL

Dr. Jack Terhune studied seal communication at the University of New Brunswick and has measured the amplitude of seal calls. His research has shown that harp seals, often living in groups of up to 150, can alter the pitch of their calls so that each seal can be heard. Off the coast of Newfoundland, there are between 5.5 and 6.5 million harp seals in regular migration up and down the eastern seaboard. One seal’s call could be heard by 10,000 other seals at a range of two to four kilometers away, so the changes of pitch and frequency are important to avoid overlap.

Bald Eagle Winterscape

I’ve long been wary about joining a workshop with a “big name” pro. I’ve heard (and witnessed) a litany of workshop horrors, ranging from egomaniac leaders to unwieldy, unhappy groups. Plus, as a professional photographer, I did not think that I would learn much from a workshop. Indeed, I teach photography and postproduction.

Chris Dodds’ Eagles Galore workshop changed my mind. Although he is a supremely talented photographer, Chris is approachable and friendly, and he works tirelessly to make sure that everyone in the group has a fantastic experience. He limits the workshops to a small, manageable size. And, in spite of my I’m-a-professional-and-don’t-need-help attitude, I am a better photographer for having joined the workshop. After spending a week with Chris, my flight photography is materially improved. (Chris is an expert on the nuances of servo autofocus, for example.) Chris also taught several useful post-production techniques that I now use routinely in my workflow.

The true measure of any photo trip, however, is the photos. Chris’ stated goal is for every workshop participant to go home with images that Chris would be proud to call his own. He means it. The eagle photography was fantastic. I came home with several dozen “portfolio grade” images, plus thousands of strong shots. Indeed, the single biggest complaint from my fellow workshop participants is the number of eagle shots that they had to sort through when they got home.

I’ve already registered for another workshop with Chris.

Andrew Kelley Denver, Colorado USA

Bald Eagle LOCK-ON

“I love Alaska and had been dreaming of taking an Eagle photography workshop and decided to sign up with Chris. I am so glad I chose Chris for a lot of reasons. The workshop was very well organized. Chris provides the attendees with a list of suggested clothing to be sure you are comfortable in the Alaskan winter weather. He provided us with a list of suggested equipment so that we knew exactly what was needed to get the kind of photos posted on his workshop page. The group was limited to 5 attendees, so we each had ample opportunity to get feedback and suggestions from Chris. Chris is extremely knowledgable about Kachemak Bay and knows where to go to get the best shots depending on the wind and the weather, and whether there is sun or snow. Chris uses the same boat and captain for this workshop, so the captain knows exactly what Chris wants to do and how to get us into those best areas…. Chris believes in safety above all else, but snow, sleet and rain did not keep us from going out. In fact, it made for some great photos depicting the Alaskan winter eagle environment. It was an amazing trip and I got a lot of great photos and learned so much! I would definitely choose Chris for another birding workshop as he is dedicated to doing everything he can to make sure you come home with lots of amazing photographs! Thanks, Chris, for a fantastic workshop and wonderful adventure!”

— Jessica Duke Eagle Nest, NM, USA

Save the date! I will be hosting a presentation at The Camera Store sponsored by Sony of Canada on Dec. 9, 2020 at 19:00 MST. The event is free and open to all. Register HERE.

Bald Eagle

The Versatility of the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens for bird/wildlife photographers is hard to beat! This image was made at 200mm which is where I reset the lens after each flight sequence so that I wouldn’t clip wings when the next Eagle flew-in or took-off. My LAST POST (Bald Eagle Singing) is a portrait with the same lens at 600mm. The edge-to-edge sharpness is incredible and the value is off the charts.

Bald Eagle Singing

ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ker is as close as I can describe the song of the Bald Eagle. Always sends shivers down my spine. and I never tire of it.

The biggest mistake most people make when trying to photograph singing birds is not using a fast enough shutter speed; those mandibles don’t stop moving!

The second biggest mistake is framing the image too tight. Eagles usually move their head while calling; often, but not always, stretching out toward the sky, so be ready to rotate your camera to vertical.

Bald Eagle STORMFLIGHT

An image from an epic day during my last Bald Eagle Workshop in Alaska. I love photographing on overcast days, especially when there is a fresh blanket of snow to reflect the ambient light and illuminate the underside of dark bards like the Eagle here. The big problem is all of the resulting images have bright white backgrounds (if you expose the subject correctly) without much (if any) detail in the sky. To solve the problem, and make the image resemble what we saw with our eyes, I replaced the white sky in the image with a separate image of the sky in Photoshop. The resulting composite image has loads of visual impact.

Bald Eagle Wings

Here’s a Bald Eagle that seemed to be showing off its wings during an awesome afternoon during my Bald Eagle Workshop in early March. We were starting to hear more about the spread of COVID-19, but never imagined it would stop tourism, travel and have such a devastating impact on so many people and families around the world. This was the last workshop I hosted before the COVID chaos, so I am grateful that I had such amazing clients to share it with.

Did you know? When a bald eagle loses a feather on one wing, it will lose a feather on the other in order to keep its balance.

Great Gray Owl HOP

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’ easy and informative style in communicating camera settings and techniques for best results.

I would highly recommend a trip with Chris.

- Ian Brennan Ireland

Northern Hawk Owl

Chris Dodds knows how to do a workshop!

“I had the pleasure of attending Chris' Snowy Owl Workshop this past January. To be honest, I did not know much about Chris before the trip. All I knew was the quality of his images on his website and that I wanted Snowy owl pictures. Needless to say, Chris met and exceeded my expectations. He goes over and above to get you in the right place at the right time to capture the best images possible. Having been on numerous workshops around the world with various leaders, I can say Chris worked harder than most..... He also made sure that we were in position to get a variety of images and not just 1000 photos of the same animal behavior. Chris knows his birds and what they are going to do next (as much as humanly possible). He teaches in a way that things make sense. I was getting frustrated with my photography before this trip. I was able to get great shots before the workshop but felt that the percentage of great shots to missed shots needed to be better. Chris explained ways to change a few of my bad habits in a way that no one else ever did. I have tried manual exposure in the past but never got comfortable with it but after a day or two with Chris it clicked in my mind and my images improved and percentage of keepers went up.

If you get a chance to go on a workshop with Chris I would highly recommend it. I know I will again.”

- Rick Susi Orlando, FL, USA

Pine Warbler in a Pine Tree

My Niece and I went to Point Pelee with Chris Dodds Photo and it was a terrific experience. He is very knowledgeable with birds, their species, their calls and is quite witty. If you listen when he tells you to bring certain things on your trip and when he talks about camera usage etc you will gain so much from your time with him! He knows his clientele very well and try’s to cater to them. He has a good analogy on some things and makes you focus on the details. It was an enjoyable week!

- Karen Galati Ontario, Canada