Sunday, June 28, 2009

LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS - OH MY.

LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS - OH MY. As everyone knows, wildlife photographers travel the world, spending months each year on safari in remote regions of the world in search of exotic animals. As an example, take the wildlife photos posted on my website, elkinsphotos.com. The photos of a swimming polar bear were taken during my 2006 expedition to the arctic. The photo of the baboon and the African lion I took while on safari in Kenya a couple years ago. The photo of the Indian elephant was taken just outside of New Delhi. The images of frigate birds and a blue footed booby on my Journey through Ecuador gallery page were taken on a recent photo excursion to South America. Well, the truth is that the photographs of the booby and the frigate birds were indeed taken on the Isla de la Plata, a small island off the Pacific coast of Ecuador. As to the rest of the wildlife photos mentioned, the all too mundane truth is, they were taken at a zoo. Most wildlife photographers are loath to admit that many of their most impressive images were made under controlled conditions (at zoos, wildlife parks, etc.). While there is a certain level of debate in the photographic community as to whether wildlife photography should be shot "in the wild", many of the most iconic wildlife images have been made under controlled conditions. It is a fact of life that little 7 year old Susie Periwinkel's snaphots taken at the local zoo won't be appearing in the upcoming issue of National Geographic Magazine. However, this does not mean that credible, even sensational, images of exotic wildlife cannot be made at that same local zoo. The trick is to take photographs that do not shout out to the viewer, "I was taken in a zoo." This is not easy to achieve. Shots of animals pacing back and forth on concrete floors behind bars are not going to make the viewer say, "Oh, wow!". A more likely response will be a bored "Ho hum.". One tip I'll give you is this. Make an initial scouting visit to the zoo. In preparation, visit the zoo's website. Pay attention to which animals' images appear on the website. Those are probably the exhibits you want to pay closest attention to during your scouting visit. Why? Because whoever photographed for the website probably found these exhibits the most interesting and - or photogenic. Take your camera just in case. However, your primary goal will be to scout out which exhibits present the best photo opportunities for your next visit. Forget the exhibits where there is no opportunity to isolate the animal from the zoo elements. Try to visualize how to use blurring of background elements, natural looking backgrounds, etc. to obtain photos which appear to have been made in the wild. Also, be aware that early morning, late afternoon and feeding times are good times to obtain photos. I would recommend lens ranges from moderate wide angle to telephoto (up to 400 mm equivalent). Tomorrow I will post a continuation of this posting covering more hints on obtaining quality wildlife photos under controlled conditions.

Monday, June 22, 2009

PHOTO WORKSHOPS

I am posting from Bizzart Gallery in Bisbee, Arizona. Be sure to check out my JOURNEY THROUGH ECUADOR photos on my website www.elkinsphotos.com. You can link from this blog. I would highly recommend a travel/nature photo workshop such as the one I took to Ecuador. A good source for info is Outdoor Photography Magazine. Near the back of the mag is a section called Travel/Workshops as well as numerous adverts for both domestic and international workshops. So research what's available, then jump into the deep end and live the dream.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I'm posting this entry June 14th from Bizzart Gallery in Bisbee Arizona. My new exhibit here, 'JOURNEY TO ECUADOR', just opened last night. We had over 200 people in attendance. The recent photo excursion to Ecuador was a real adventure, consisting of eight days of rainforest, fishing villages, an offshore island andthe area in and around the Andean village of Vilcabamba. The chance to photograph Ecuador was one I could not pass up. The next in the series of Tao of Photography Workshops will tke place this Fall in southeast Arizona. Then in next February, the wokshop is scheduled for Thailand. I highly recommend these workshops which are conducted by veteran photographer Charles Feil. For more information, check out the Panterra Gallery website. Next time you're in the Bisbee area, be sure to check out Bizzart Gallery on Brewery Gulch and Panterra Gallery on Main Street.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Just a quick note this week. I am back in Bisbee Arizona after a 10 day excursion to Ecuador. I am busily preparing for the opening of my new show June 13th at Bizzart Gallery in Bisbee AZ, 'JOURNEY THROUGH ECUADOR'. I will include details of my trip and the upcoming show in my next posting. I will also be including info on how you can participate in next year's photo excursion to Ecuador as well as other upcoming Tao of Photography Workshops (like the one to Thailand). So long for now.