2011 Milestones Part 3 - 8 February 2012
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Arrival Into Anchorage - Anchorage Alaska, File# 1130960
The epic trip continues. After the flight out to Anchorage--this images was taken on that leg--I flew home for Thanksgiving and was able to spend it with my sister. Yes, I went from the warm comfort of Southern New Mexico, through the epic snowy cold of Alaska, to the tropical paradise of the Hawaii island chain. Then back to New Mexico. Then up to Michigan (where it wasn't all that cold) to right back to Hawaii. This was all done in about 10 days.
Oh, I also got a chance to shoot one or two images along the way as you can see here.
Midway Sunrise Self-Portrait - Midway Island, North Pacific, File #1152120
Of course, not everything has to be about nature images shot with my amazing Nikon D3. Sometimes I only have to use my tiny little GoPro POV (point of view) camera that fits in the palm of my hand. Even for a tiny little thing like it is, it does a great job, subject not withstanding.
No, my forearms are not Popeye big. It's a visual illusion related to the very wide-angled lens on this camera and how i'm holding the camera.
The thing on top of my hat is a head-lamp. Not that I needed it all that much on this morning because the moon was full, which you'll see more in a bit.
Field of Albatross on Midway Island at Night - Midway Island, North Pacific, File #1124260 Link To Original Image At first glance you might think this is an image taken in the light of day. Then you see the stars. Then you might think I used some trickery of photography to merge stars with the day lit field of birds. Well, no trickery involved. It's just a long exposure at night with the moon just right. You know it's a long exposure because the birds aren't sharp. They're moving which makes them look a little smeared like the ones in the foreground. This is a typical field in Midway at this time of the years. The eggs haven't been layer yet but they're coming.
Layson Albatross & Mating Ritual - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image Albatross are extremely cooperative allowing you to approach them very closely. While I"m not as gutsy as others I've seen, i shot this image from only about four feet away. I figure if I can get schussed with their wings, I'm a bit close. Still, even as far as I was, I you can easily feel the rush of wind when they flap their wings. These to are probably adolescent birds getting to know each other. I was told by this time all the mating pairs were done with their annual greetings and were getting down to the business of making eggs. These two were simply "getting to know each other" and will likely produce eggs in years to come.
Waimea Canyon - Kauai, Hawaii, File # 1124845 Link To Original Image Waimea Canyon is commonly referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is the largest and deepest in the Pacific. That's a considerable accomplishment considering how large the Pacific is and how small Kauai Island is. The light here is amazing. Even though this image was shot at high noon, the light is subdued due to the ever present cloud cover. Not 10 miles away from this spot is the most wet place on the planet. In the distance you see a very dry, almost desert environment while not a few miles away it's raining cats and dogs all the time.
Self Portrait on Midway
As is my practice, I'll experiment on occasion. In this case, I made a self-portrait using my flash light and camera timer. In the background you can see birds and the building we called home for our few days on the island.
Field of Albatross - Midway Island, North Pacific, File # 1124912 Link To Original Image Here's another image that looks like it was shot at nigh noon. You're savvy enough to see the tell-tale signs of a long exposure night image with the blurry foreground birds. The moon is full bright here--full moon not two days previous--easily lighting the birds and everything else. The anchor is a left-over from when the US Navy administered the island. Now it's managed by the US Fish & Wildlife service. I hear talking to employees managing the island that it's the largest budget item in the FWS because it's the only property managed by the FWS with a working runway. BTW, from a pilot perspective, it's a very nice runway.
Nesting Layson Albatross - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image I love this image. Normally you don't shoot birds, or anyone else for that matter, from above their head. Normally, it doesn't look right. Well, in this case this perspective gives the feeling the bird is isolated in a field by itself. Well, I can attest it is not by itself. It just happens to have a bunch of grass around it to give a little privacy. Still, you can kind of see the short grass to its front, it's right next to the road I'm standing on. Not much privacy there is there?
Flying Into the Moon - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image Placing wildlife photogenically with a full moon is a bit of a challenge. For some, it's like pursuing the holy grail--always sought but never achieved. For me, I've had medium success at this. Still, anytime I can get a reasonable composition with a good subject and a full moon, I consider it a success.
Morning Takeoff - Midway Island, North Pacific
When the sun hits the beach the birds take to the air. I wouldn't call Albatross running down the beach flapping their wings getting to take off speed as necessarily graceful. It's a bit like watching a over-loaded B-24 take to the air. Once airborne, it's clear where their normal environment is--the sky. They are much more agile and mobile airborne than anything you might see of them when waddling on the ground.
Layson Albatross Portrait - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image I'm a sucker for portrait images of wildlife. I guess it's what we would do of each other, shoot portraits. But, wildlife, even birds such as these Albatross, portraits couldn't be done like you could in a studio. The birds are everywhere on the island. To find one with the right lighting is just a matter of hiking around the island and simply looking. In this case, this bird is resting in the midst of a little overhead trees and bushes. The trees even the light out and the bushes make the background just smooth and perfect--all things a portrait photographer would want. I even got a little catch light from the sun peaking through then tree-tops.
Layson Albatross In-Flight - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image Obviously, with a lot of birds in the area there are lots of opportunities to shoot those birds. Taking in-flight shots are also a dime a dozen throughout the day on Midway Island. Once you get to a spot and check out the situation, you quickly get the impression there seem to be unmarked highways in the sky in that that birds seem to follow similar routes. I'm not saying all bird species are like this but these Layson Albatross seem to follow very similar patterns, or it was the same bird flying by time after time after time. Hmmmm, no. Nah, that probably wasn't what was going on. With a good spot, you can pick the background and wait for the right bird to fly into that background. That's exactly the situation here. Since the sun was so high and shadows can really be a problem, you minimize those problems by shooting directly away from the sun--i.e. have you shadow pointing in the direction you want to shoot. When you're setup, you can simply wait for the right bird and follow it into the shooting area like it was heading for a trap. Easy peasy. Hmmm, easier said than done in the end. Oh, another good thing to do is using a wide aperture to narrow the apparent depth of field. All those little white dots in the background are out of focus birds. This technique tends to isolate the subject which is clearly this bird passing right in front of me.
Dancing Albatross - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image I mentioned ealier how easy it is to approach these birds. Well, the next lesson is about shooting from different aspects meaning where you're seeing the bird from. Well, in this case I'm laying down in front of these two birds practically on the ground on my side to get this slightly lookup point of view. It's all about shooting from a slightly different perspective to make the image interesting. If I shot them from eye-height the horizon might be a problem in that it would cut right through the middle of the birds. Here, it's not such a problem when it's at their ankles.
Layson Albatross Adjusting an Egg - Midway Island, North Pacific Link To Original Image This is the last image I'll highlight for this trip to the Pacific and really for the whole 2012. It guess it really highlights what an interesting year it was for photography. Imagine that somehow I was able to travel clear across the world to one of the most isolated locations on the planet--the nearest continent is 2,000 miles away--and be able to whitness these birds creating life. It was an amazing opportunity during an amazing year. I hope 2012 will matchup with 2011. Cheers Tom