There's a Mouse in the Garage!

So we noticed that a container for bird feeder peanuts on a shelf in our garage always had husks around it, then we noticed on closer inspection what looked like Niger seed on the shelf too.  I thought my wife topped up the Niger feeder, she thought I had.  When we spoke about it, turns out neither of us had topped up the Niger seed and on closer inspection it turns out they were mouse droppings.

Ok, time for a trap, not the springy shut type but a laser trap.  After setting peanuts in the same spot on the shelf for several nights (which were all gone by morning) it was time to set the trap and get a look at my nocturnal visitor.

I rigged my Phototrigger to shine a laser beam over the peanuts, and prefocussed my Canon 7D with a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens onto the same place.  I also had a studio flash (operated by radio control) pointing at the same spot (with a snoot and honeycomb, lighting the scene from behind the camera).

Click the image to enlarge

Then it was just a matter of waiting and hoping.  As things cooled down the beam would wander and the 7D would start to rattle off pictures, so I had to frequently check and reset things, hoping this wouldn't put off the little fella from making an appearance.

But then, he (I've no idea if its a he or not) put in appearance, apparently the lure of the peanuts was too strong and he ignored all the new stuff that had appeared, and the blinding flashes of light!

Click the image to enlarge

I think he's kinda cute.

Peter.

PS: No animals were hurt during this photoshoot!

For info the PhotoTrigger website is here http://www.phototrigger.co.uk/

The making of the Dangling Spider

Freshly spurred on by a recent afternoon spent taking pictures of Spiders with other members of our local camera club I wanted to try and take things up a notch.  I had in mind a macro picture of a Spider dangling from a single gossamer thread against an all black backdrop, looking like it had descended at night and was only lit by the moon.

Hmm, ok where to start! I managed to find a Spider that would do the job, one of those fat ones in the garden with a white cross on its back, they seem to make a web almost on demand and with a small stick you an carefully catch the web and lift it, and the Spider into the air.

But how to light it (remember its at night) , how to focus on it (its macro so shallow DOF) and how to freeze it so it is sharp when it will be moving, as may its appendages be.

I came up with a solution, and made a video showing how it was done, its only a couple of minutes long and I hope you like it (literally "like" it :-) ).

One of the resulting images

You can view more images here just search on "spider"

The Photo Trigger was supplied by High Speed Photography UK and the "spare pair of hands" are from Amazon, amazing value at less than £5 each, I use them loads.

Cheers Peter.

Reflecting on the trip - learning points

Our trip to Scotland was great fun, and while it seems churlish to moan about the weather (blue skies every day temperature just below 30C), as photographers it did cause us a few issues.  Whereas I had hoped for leaden skies, summits shrouded in mist and cloud, etc etc we had the odd puffy blue cloud instead.  Unfortunately, this meant that during the day we had very flat high contrast scenery with little detail, making for lacklustre shots.  Evenings produced some lovely vistas though.

The trip also provided an opportunity to observe how four very different photographers interpreted the same situations.  This was not just in technique and equipment chosen, but also in enthusiasm for a subject.  I have to confess to being uninspired enough a couple of times that I didn't bother getting out of the car to take a shot as in my opinion, all I would end up with would be an uninteresting image, rendered so by the very strong midday sun.  To note though, my pals that did make the effort made the best of a bad job and got some nice shots.

One of the highlights of the trip was the opportunity to get close up and personal with a nesting pair of wild Ospreys.  This session provided a lot of food for thought in regard of wildlife photography and equipment.

Iphone photo of Osprey nest top of tree left and
Osprey in tree on the right, the little dot towards the top,
not the dot further up thats a Crow.

The picture on the left was taken from my Iphone to "scene set" and also provide the GPS location for where we were.

So you can see things are pretty small (but not as small as at the nearby RSPB reserve which is really far away!

The birds are sitting in trees on a small island and luckily its easy to get down to the waters edge and set up a tripod and chair.

Cameras trained on the Ospreys

So that's exactly what we did as you can see in the following photo.  We were joined by a couple of other chaps.  Notice how two of us are sitting close, that's me and a buddy that is well into wildlife photography.

It gave us a good opportunity to do a little comparison of the kit we were using and the outcomes.

I was using a Canon 7D, a Sigma 120 - 400mm lens and a no brand 2x converter.  My buddy was using a Canon 5D mk 2, Canon 300mm f2.8l lens and a Canon 2x converter.

If we crudely priced these up then I would guess the 300mm lens alone would far outweigh the cost of my entire setup!  but hey lets not dwell on that!.

So we had the same subject, doing the same things, in the same light from the same spot, the only difference, was kit and photographer.  So how did we fare?  Well in terms of zoom I had the advantage, as I started with 400mm at the long end, with 2x converter giving me 800mm and then a sensor crop factor of 1.6 which meant a massive 1280mm! whereas my buddy had just 600mm.  I also I had the advantage of a far higher frame rate of up to 8 frames per second versus 3.9 of the 5D mkII. 

Of course its not all good, at full zoom, the Sigma 120 - 400 has an aperture of f5.6, add the converter and I lose two "stops" so it becomes f11.  That's pretty dark, and as we were photographing birds I wanted a high shutter speed so had no choice to up the ISO, with all the sensor noise that brings.  Needless to say, my pal didn't need as much ISO though he'd too dropped two stops to f5.6.

The other main difference in this setting is mega-pixels.  7D =18mp and 5D = 21.1mp, so he can throw away 3mp of data in a crop and he'll be at my total image size, if I crop in 3mp I'm down to 15mp and much further and the image could get ragged.

So anyway lets look at the images:

Canon 7D, Sigma 120- 400

This is mine, if you view it full size you'll see its really not sharp.

Exif data:1/1250 @f11 and ISO 400, 800mm











5D mk II, Canon 300 f2,8L

This is the 5D version, really nice and sharp.

Exif data: 1/1600 @ f8, ISO 400, 600mm











So there we have it.  The compromises that manufacturers have to make to bring components down to affordable levels do have an impact when situations become more extreme, like the high zoom levels here.  In more normal situations I'd expect the differences to be less stark.  We were blessed with very good light, if it had been overcast I would have really been in trouble.

Time to start saving!!!!

Ironic Heron

I live on the edge of a nature reserve (Paxton Pits), and one nice byproduct of this, aside from the ability to be in the reserve within two mins walking, is that some of the residents make it out and visit our feeders, or fly over  our house (Geese, swans, gulls, Buzzards, Red Kites etc).  The reserve had a good Heronry when we moved here 20 years ago, which to me seems to have been usurped by Cormorants in recent years.

Still, while walking my dog around the reserve there I found a couple of spots where there is a regularly a Heron hunting, unless of course I have my camera with me, which is pretty pointless with the dog as he scares everything within half a mile.  So I’ve been nipping out when I can, several times a week to try and get a pic of a Grey Heron, either hunting or more likely flying away.

So imagine my surprise when my wife  calls me into the garden saying she thinks a Heron has landed on our neighbours roof (yeah right).  Anyway, I pulled myself away from the football and wandered out with my Canon G11.  Amazingly there actually was a Grey Heron, sitting bold as brass on our neighbour’s roof! 

I took a couple of shots then ran in and dug out my 7D and Sigma 120 400mm lens and ran out again.  The bird decided at that point that it had to go, and flew off over my head and away.  I managed to get a few shots off with the 7D but it was all a bit rushed. 

Feeling really lucky to have seen and photographed it, but I bet it’s not hunting when I look for it tomorrow!

7D Pics here

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Icelandic Northern Lights

Well I'm back from a few fun filled days with photography friends in Iceland, and I thought I'd share some of the things we learned.  Firstly though, please bear in mind that we went in the first week of Feb, so some of this may not be relevant to other times of the year.

Getting about.

As time was short, we'd never been before and there was lots we wanted to do, getting about was essential.  We booked then cancelled, a days tour of "the Golden Circle".  Why did we cancel, well, cost.  Everything generally seems expensive in Iceland, but the tour was 32,000. Isk per person.  Which in GBP is about £166 EACH!! So nearly six hundred pounds for the three of us for one day’s entertainment.  We decided to hire a car for 3 days, at a cost of 11,000 ISK a day (after haggling, yes you can haggle!) so we were mobile for three days, for slightly more than the cost of one of us doing the official tour! 

The added advantage of having a car was being able to stop whenever we wanted to take photos.  Of course it meant getting to grips with navigation etc but if you've driven abroad before you should have no problems.  One tip though, make sure your car has studded tyres to cope with snowy and icy roads. A 4x4 is best but not essential unless conditions are bad, and you can hire an older vehicle at lower cost if you shop about. 

We visited the Blue Lagoon, the Geysir, the Grundfoss waterfall and Pydinvittal. One big respect mark to Iceland is that these "attractions" have not been roped off and you don't have to pay an admission fee to see them, we thought this was great.  Though to take a dip in the spa side of the Blue Lagoon is an extra cost.

Our abandoned 4x4 hire car as we've leapt out to take some pictures!

The Northern Lights

We did one excursion to the northern lights (it was part of our deal  http://www.icelandair.co.uk/offers-and-bookings/book-packages/package/item201439/ ), and amazingly we were successful.  The hotels display a notice in their reception areas in the late afternoon to say if the trips are running or not.  This seems to be based on likely cloud cover.  If it’s going to be cloudy, they cancel.  If it’s not cloudy, a coach will collect you from the hotel (around 20:00 on wards) and take you to the bus station where all the northern lights excursion buses congregate and tickets are checked. 

If your trip is cancelled, you can go the next night it is running at no extra cost, assuming that you are still there! 

The coaches appear to set off into different areas and a tour guide will give over some general information about the lights, galaxies, the universe and everything.  Hopefully yours won’t think he’s a comedian like ours did.  You’ll then after an hour or so end up in a layby, with three or so other coaches, where you’ll disembark to watch the skies.  

Three coaches and lots of people waiting in anticipation, we didn't know it but the Northern Lights were already there as a faint green band just under cloud (if you squint hard enough), only the longe exposure makes it visible.

If you’re lucky you’ll have a cloudless night and then it’s just a matter of waiting and scanning skies.  If the clouds roll in, then unluckily you stand no chance of seeing the lights, even with a clear sky it’s not guaranteed.  It can be bitterly cold so make sure you have warm gear as you may be out there for two hours or so, though you can get back on the bus if you get too cold (make sure it’s the right bus!).  Photographywise, a tripod and wide lens are the order of the day, as is a remote or timer shutter release.  We experimented a bit, going from 30 second exposures to about 4 seconds, adjusting ISO accordingly (aperture was as wide as we could go).  The longer exposures had blurrier clouds and lights and the shorter exposures had more definition as you’d expect, but with far greater sensor noise from the high ISO’s used.  If we’d had more time I’m sure we would have arrived at a better compromise. 

Compositionally, well standing in a layby, in the middle of a wide open snow covered valley does not give too many options, and with so many people milling about it’s hard to get a shot without a torch, flash, cigarette lighter etc in it! 

Talk about light pollution! The orange cloud is light reflecting from ReykJavik.

Our first view of the Lights was an easily overlooked and very unimpressive grey band of cloud.  It was only when we took a picture of it that its green colour was revealed.  We were just wondering if the Lights had been overhyped when there was a great cheer, much clapping and many ooh’s and ah’s as the sky lit up with a long waving green veil almost right across the horizon.  We clicked away and took our pictures and then sat back to soak it all in. 



At last (who are those people, don't they know I'm taking pictures!)

A while later, you are all herded back on the bus and returned to your hotel for about half past midnight, but don’t worry about getting up early, it doesn’t get light until about 10:30 in the morning at that time of the year. 

We tried to see the lights again and our receptionist asked the coach driver where he was heading off to so we could drive there too.  It was a very clear night so things looked good, but the clouds rolled in and soon enough we spotted a convoy of 8 coaches heading back to base.  So we did too. 

The best advice I can give is if you want to see the Lights, and have only a few days over there, if the coaches are running, go out into the hills and watch.  They are a natural phenomenon and there are no guarantees, so don’t miss an opportunity like a party of six did, that went out for “a nice meal” on the only night of their six night stay that the lights were visible.

Wildlife,

For us, seeing the Lights was the purpose of the trip, anything else was a bonus.  So my birder friend was chuffed to be photographing Long Tailed Ducks near the harbour, and Merganser’s and Whooper swans on a frozen lake in the city as well as Fulmars and Gannets on our Whale watching trip.

Whale watching with http://elding.is/elding/

We checked this out on a Saturday and were a bit sceptical about seeing any. Loads of people were booking for it though so we put it on the list of things to do on a weekday when hopefully less people would be about! 

We did this on our last day, and what a cold wet and windy one it was too.  They put a short video clip on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Ff6jB5-Ao&feature=share  and called it “Extreme Whale Watching” on their blog.  Biggest problems in trying to take pictures were (in no particular order) pitching boat, high winds blowing you about, not knowing where the Whale was going to come up, rain and spray covering your lens as soon as you raised it for a picture and low light levels.  Still we saw several Humpback Whales and a few Harbour Porpoises.  Nice to see a full size live Whale after the dead one we saw at Christmas.  http://naffusername.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-whale.html. 

I hope to go back to Iceland again, but will try and go further north next time.  Drop me a note if you’ve any questions or comments.

Some of the better pics here

Peter.

The Christmas Whale

What a strange end to the year! for the past couple of years we've been off skiing around Christmas but when we have been here we like to go to Hunstanton on the Norfolk coast on Boxing day for a bit of fresh air.

Usually not many people about, but this year the beach was packed.  Sadly, a Sperm Whale had died and washed up on the beach on Christmas Eve and the word was out.  Of course we walked down to the body to have a look.  Its not until you see one so close up that you can truly appreciate the size of them and I guess, along with some of the other spectators I was awed and saddened. 

The other saddening thing was how some people had treated this magnificent creature with a true lack of reverence.  I can live with the curious young boys poking it with a stick or testing the feel of it with a boot, but who had lugged a saw down there to cut off a chunk of its bottom jaw, and who had taken the time to knock out its teeth? 

I'm not sure whether the local wildlife people take them or whether they were taken with a view to selling them on ebay (though whether thats possible I'm not sure) but it looked awful.

And to top it all, my wife and I took our dog for a walk today and just down the road saw a large male Otter at the side of the road which had been killed by a car.  Never seen a wild live one.

Sad end to the year.

Long shot of Whale on Beach

Closer shot of Whale on Beach

Should you tell?

I had the idea for a picture of my dog George sitting in autumn leaves, and as he's from a shooting background, a dead Pheasant on the Ground in front of him.  Lots of autumnal browns and yellows, and a brown dog as well as the plumage of the Pheasant.

But the chances of getting George to sit still on his own, let alone with a Pheasant just in front of him was pretty remote, so I had to resort to other tactics.

I ended up shooting a background of leaves at a local park, and using OnOne softwares excellent Focal Point 2 (onone software) to provide a realistic focus blur to it.

That evening I set up a couple of Studio Flash stands with softboxes, a table full of collected leaves, and the dog sat in the middle.  The following night I did the same with a Pheasant my wife had obtained from a local farmer.

Then it was a task to cut out the dog and Pheasant in Photoshop, assemble the lot and colour balance the various parts (see below).

Now I quite like the final image, BUT it has polarised opinion once I've revealed how it was made, with one individual claiming "oh thats fantastic" before I told them, and "I don't like it now" once I'd let on.

Its as though the magic was gone for him because I had invented a reality rather than captured it, and somehow this was wrong.

Which poses the question, if you've created an image like this should you tell people its not real?

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A pleasant surprise

The person booked to lecture at the St Neots and District Camera Club last night had to cancel, and a last minute replacement was drafted in. I think we were lucky that Paul Beastall an accomplished wildlife photographer was able to fill the gap at short notice as this was one of the best lectures we have had.

His topic was photography at zoo's, and went through everything from the locations of zoos and safari parks, to framing shots, animal behavior, shooting angles etc etc, so this wasn't a pointless procession of images but the images were used to illustrate what he was talking about.

Not to say that the images weren't good as they were excellent, very diverse in subject and technique and you would not know they were taken at a zoo.  He also included his mistakes to show us how he got round problems.

One of the better evenings!!

You can visit Paul's website here. http://www.beastall.com/

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