Chance favors the prepared mind.

The title here is a quote attributed to Louis Pasteur, inventor of the process of Pasteurization. Different versions of the quote abound for sure but the idea of the phrase is true no matter the wording. The quote is especially true for photographers. A little homework on our part can put us in the right place at the right time to get the shot we really want. If you're wanting a shot of something in a certain light, or a shot of the full moon at the crest of a mountain peak, find out when that is likely to happen, then go get your shot. If you are thinking about photographing shore birds at a salt water mud flat, find out when the tide will be right for that before you go, or if you go. After seeing that the tide will be up at the time and day you were going, it may  be a better idea to choose a new subject and location for that day.
    I used free software called The Photographers Ephemeris to find the location that had the elements I wanted for photographs of the perigee, or "Super Moon" shown above. I also use this software to check the direction the sunlight will be hitting a subject I want to photograph. There are numerous websites that give this info although possibly not in as easy to understand method. Here is one to try out SUNMOONCALC    For Tidal information, here is one of the many websites available to help with that. TIDES
Do you use a website or a certain software to help you find the right spot for a photo or to know the best time to shoot particular location? Let us know about it in the comments.

Back'um Up

Recently, two photographers I know had computer problems and didn't know for a few days if they were going to loose all of their photos or not. As it turned out, neither of them did, but for several days they were in total anguish and in the end one of the two had to spend a hefty amount of cash to retrieve/rescue his photos. Both of these people are excellent photographers with hundreds if not thousands of photos that any nature photographer would love to have. Neither one had a backup strategy for their photos. I was stunned. Then I realized this was actually fairly normal. Many of us are too busy,don't think it will happen to us, or just don't realize the chance we take by not having backups of our photos.
    So, first of all lets get this out of the way. If you want or expect to have your photos available to you going forward, you HAVE to have some sort of backup plan. Digital photography is wonderful and has many advantages over film. That being said, with digital, if you expect to keep your photos, you have to have a backup plan. Otherwise you will sooner or later most likely loose some or all of the shots that you wanted to keep forever.
     Ok, before we get to what kind of backup/archive plan you need, we need to realize something first. Burning your photos to a cd or dvd is NOT a backup plan. Not a long term one anyway. The longevity of a home burned cd or dvd can be as short as a year. That is if nothing happens to physically damage the disk. Usually they will last a lot longer than a year, but they are not expected to last longer than 10 years,and will usually begin to have some data loss or become unreadable after 5 years. Again this without considering any physical damage to the disk. Some brands of media (discs) perform FAR better than others. The problem is it is manufacturer dependent and the brand name on the box has very little to do with who actually made the product. So, long story short, if you think you have a backup plan for your photos and that plan is burning them to cd's or dvd's, you have no plan.
     There will be options and alternatives to fit our individual requirements, but another thing that needs to be mentioned is that having one copy of your photos is not a backup plan. Period. What is needed to reasonably assure that your photos will be around as long as you want them to be is at least two copies of each photo, one stored at your house or office and the other stored "off site". That is the minimum, ideal situation. Now off site can be a business that specializes in off site data storage, your friends house - as long as they live far enough away -, or some of the new online places that offer "Cloud" storage. Keeping a copy of your photos at a friends or relatives house is fine as long as you live far enough apart that a flood,fire,tornado, or whatever is very unlikely to effect both your house and theirs.
     You will have to figure out what will work for you based on how many photos you have,how important they are to you and other factors. I use two external hard drives. Again, having only one copy is not a backup plan. After I return from a photo trip and weed out the shots I want to keep, they are transfered to both drives. If I haven't really went on any trips and haven't taken any "once in a lifetime" shots, everything I want to save gets copied to both drives once a month. On a trip, everything gets copied to an external drive every night. The drive and the laptop that they are also stored on are kept separate. The external drive might be left at the motel room for example while the laptop will be with me. Personally, I'm not a fan of the new "Cloud" storage as such. It may fit in well for your needs. Right now, I don't have a fixed off site storage location. That will soon change. What would work best for you, you will have to decide, but in some form or another please have at least two copies of your photos and don't rely on home burned dvd's/cd's for this task.

Curtain Rods And Cars As Photo Accessories

Using a blind can be a VERY important part of better nature photography. Using one can help you get your shots of things from Elk to Frogs. I use the word blind here in a very loose sense. I'm not meaning that you have to go out tomorrow and buy the latest and greatest blind. One of the best "blinds" to have, I suspect you already own....your car. Many animals pay less attention to you while you are in your car than they do if you are walking. Some common sense has to be used here as in when you can safely just stop your car in the road and also where you can park it and wait for your subject to arrive.
    Many of us have some form of wildlife we can photograph from our house. Deer, birds at the feeders or a Wild Turkey that likes your yard. Some tricks here are of course, if at all possible, don't shoot through the window glass. If you must, you must but try to avoid it. Using a standard window that opens vertically as an example, raise the bottom window all the way up. Cover both actual windows with the curtain, a blanket,cardboard or whatever you can use. Now cover all of the open part of the window except for about 3 to 6 inches from the bottom of the now fully raised window.
I have a large piece of cardboard cut just for this but many other things would do as well. If using cloth of some sort for covering the window opening, those expandable curtain rods work well for this since they are adjustable and easily removable. Fancy is not important here. A towel with an end wrapped around a cheap expandable curtain rod and held on the rod with binder clips could do the trick. Whatever you use, the goal is to give you room to see and photograph through clearly, but reduce the area that the birds,deer or whatever else can see you and your movement. It also helps to keep this room as dark as possible while you're using it as a blind. Yes, you will scare away any birds at the feeder as you set up your blind. But they will soon come back and when they do, you will be able to  move around to get your shots without them seeing you.
    Another "blind" to use is anything that might already be there that you could use to breakup the outline of your body. The shot above was taken a few years ago. I noticed that the migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers liked to perch in this one tree. First try, I photographed some from my car. There was a place to pull off the road fairly close and the road is more like a driveway, so no problems there. I got some shots, but of course, I wanted to get closer. There was a piece of equipment/machinery, something on the order of the size of 2 heat pumps sitting halfway between me and the birds. I already had some shots, the best I was going to get without getting closer, so I took my camera over and sat down on the ground and the end of the equipment. It didn't hide me, but since I was sitting on the ground it did a fair job of disguising me or breaking up my outline.
I sat for a few minutes and here came more birds. They landed right in the tree as if I wasn't there and I happily shot away, now a lot closer to my subject.
     Of course there is a huge variety of ready made hunting blinds available for almost whatever your needs may be. Using any of these ideas will increase your chances of getting shots you want and also increase the quality of the shots since you can now be a lot closer to the subject. A little bit of forethought and patience might not get you the equal of a what that new 600mm lens would every time, but it will in a lot of instances and its several thousand dollars cheaper.

Do you Zoo ? I do.

May is a good month to head to a zoo for some fun and photography. The temperatures are usually warm enough that all of the animals that can be outside, will be. They are also likely to be more active now than they are in July due to the heat. So the chances are better for the animal you want to photograph moving to an area that would give you a better shot. The kids still being in school in May is also a plus for a zoo trip, or at least it is for me.
   I know some photographers that will not photograph animals in a zoo. That's up to them of course, but I enjoy a good day of photography at a zoo. It presents it own challenges. I try very hard to not have any bars,fences or concrete walls in my shots. Composing a shot to eliminate as many man made elements as possible can make it tough, but it's a great learning experience. It will force you to pay more attention to your composition,backgrounds and the perspective or angle you shoot from. More practice at those things will improve anyones photography. One tip here on zoo photography that many people don't think about. It's ofter MUCH easier to use manual focus instead of auto when you are trying to take a photo through a chain link fence.
It's often pretty tough to get the camera to focus on the animal instead of the fence in auto focus mode. It's very easy to do that in manual focus. Many times, the fence won't show at all in your photo. Getting as close as possible to the fence helps this too. If you want to take this manual stuff even further, it would help to use as narrow of an aperture as possible too. Narrow meaning a smaller number.
If you are having a good day and all of the stars and planets are aligned, you can often get the aperture just right and have a nice sharp focused animal in your photo and not a bit of chain link fence, even though there may well be one between you and the animal and also one behind the animal. The easiest way to try this is to put your camera in Aperture mode and set the aperture as low as possible (smallest number). While in aperture mode the camera will set the appropriate shutter speed for you as you set or change the aperture.
   Just about any zoo you go to will also have a good many flowers on the grounds. No fences or bars here. Also, if you look, there will be lots of animals at the zoo that don't live at the zoo and no, I don't mean the afore mentioned kids. Bees and other photograph-able critters come in to get to the flowers. Wild birds will be there looking for food as will Chipmunks and Squirrels. If there is a pond within the zoo, it's likely to attract larger birds such as Herons and even Hawks. It's hard to tell what all you might see and be able to photograph at a zoo if you look hard enough. approach a photo trip to the zoo like you would any other place with a likely high concentration of animals. Look forward to it, go slow, try new techniques,be alert for photo opportunities and have a good time.

Use The Weather To Your Advantage - Wind

As we all know, it has been very windy an unusually high percent of the time in the Tri-State area lately. While this makes it tough for Wildflower photography, it can help in some ways for bird photography. Different birds prefer different habitats of course, but they also prefer different heights. Windy conditions can make these canopy dwellers come down lower (as can rain), where we stand a much better chance of seeing and photographing them. The photo above is of a Great Crested Flycatcher. They are fairly common in the Tri-State but usually prefer the upper canopy of the trees.
I credit the wind more than anything else for me getting to see and photograph this bird. It's not likely that I would have seen him if he was at his usual height above the ground and even if I had seen him, I would have had no chance of a decent photo. Great Crested Flycatchers,Yellow-throated Warblers,Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet Tanagers are just some of the birds that are in our area, but we seldom get to see or photograph because they prefer to be in the canopy or at least a long way up on tall trees. So don't let the windy days keep you from going out on a nature photo safari. You stand a better chance of seeing some kinds of birds because of the wind.

Shopping Closer to Home

Like everyone else, I sometimes buy photo equipment from some of the big places on the web. B&H, Amazon and the like. I also like to visit and shop at an actual camera store and have been known to spend quite a bit of time in Merrill's Photo Supply in Charleston WV and Midwest Photo Exchange in Columbus OH. Often however I feel a bit like Goldilocks selecting a chair. Sometimes the big is too big, the small is too small. Often I find the photo businesses listed below to be "just right" for what I'm looking for. The fact that they are generally smaller businesses and closer to home is a plus for me too. You may not know of some of these, so I thought I would pass the info along. None of these business have in any way paid me to list them here. In fact,as this is posted, none of them even know they have been mentioned.
They are just places I have bought different photo items, was very happy with the goods and service and wanted to pass along.

Lens Rentals.com is by far the most appreciated and helpful photo equipment business to me at this point in time. Need a certain camera,lens,flash,tripod,filter or about anything else for an upcoming shoot or trip? They probably have it.
Located in Tennessee.

KEH Camera Brokers.  I've been dealing with them for over 20 years. I buy used equipment here. Sometimes because what I want can't be bought new. Sometimes just to save money on something that could be bought new. I don't get the absolute lowest price possible on things here, but I don't worry about the item not being in the condition it was advertised to be,the seller not responding to problems with the item or any other worries one has when buying from places like Ebay.
Located in Georgia

Flash Zebra  Slightly odd name for an exceptional place to buy any flash related item like off camera cords,optical triggers, hotshoe adapters and the like. Helpful,knowledgeable staff. Great service. As far as I am aware, this is the best place for anything related to this niche segment of the photo world.
Located in Kentucky

Outdoor Photo Gear This online store carries many items, some that are hard to find elsewhere. Prices seem to be inline with the "Big Boys" and the service,attention to detail and concern about customer satisfaction has been very good.
Located in Kentucky

So, Your Lens or Camera Has Image Stabilization ?

I.S.,V.R. or whatever your camera or lens maker may call it
is indeed a wonderful thing. It is not however a substitute
for a tripod,monopod,bracing against a wall or tree to get your shot. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to improve the sharpness or clarity of your photos is to use a tripod or other means to brace or steady your camera.
   My longest telephoto lens for my dSLR has I.S.,it's great and I like it a lot. I still shoot the lens mostly from a monopod. The difference between shots using the monopod and I.S. and just I.S. is readily noticeable. My compact camera has very good I.S. built in. If I'm taking anything more than a snapshot, I use a monopod with it or a tripod. Again, the difference between a braced shot and an unbraced one is easy to see.
Many nature photos fall into one of the following three groups, and each has its reasons for using a tripod, monopod or some other form of brace.
Telephoto shots of birds or animals. That telephoto lens or super zoom on your camera can make it seem like you are a LOT closer to your subject than you are. It also makes any movement by you much easier to see in the form of blurry shots.
Wide landscape shots where you want the entire scene to appear in focus from the front of the shot to the back. That usually requires stopping the aperture down, which in turn lowers our shutter speed making any movement by you more noticeable.
Macro's or closeups. These shots are taken so close to the subject that any motion will blur the shot. These shots usually require stopping down the aperture as well, again resulting in a slower shutter speed and requiring more stability on your part to keep the images sharp.
    Most of us have a camera in mind that we would like to move up to. We are sure our photos would be better if we just had that camera. Get and start using a tripod or monopod instead. Your shots will improve instantly. You will get in the habit of using them and carry that habit on when you do get that new camera. It's one of the best photo habits to have. There is a lot of info out there about choosing a tripod. One rule of thumb to remember is a lighter camera can get by with a lighter, usually less expensive tripod. My light tripod bought at a "big box" store works fine for my compact camera. I wouldn't even consider putting my dSLR with a telephoto lens on it. On the other hand, if I'm only going to be shooting the compact, I don't need to be lugging my heavy tripod around. Choose your tripod for what your needs and uses are. But do get one and start using it if you want to improve your photos. A sharp shot from a $200 camera is far better than a blurry one from a $2000 camera.

4 Wire Ties And ...

4 Wire ties and an old laptop bag shoulder strap, or some such strap is all you need to make it a LOT easier to carry your tripod,monopod or a light stand with you when you're out shooting.
A few years ago I saw an article on drilling holes in your light stand and putting rings in those holes to attach a shoulder strap for easy carrying. I'm sure that would work for many types of light stands, and would have for one of mine, but I didn't want to drill holes in it nevertheless.
Beside drilling holes in my equipment, that solution would be irritatingly noise with the metal rings clanging against the metal legs of the stand. So I used the solution pictured above. 4 wire ties. No damage to my light stand and no metal on metal clanging noise. It worked very well. So well in fact that I soon had the same setup on my tripods.
Just wrap a wire tie around a tripod leg,put another wire tie through that loop before you tighten the first one down all the way. Make your loop in the second one, Tighten the first down as tight as you can get it to keep it from sliding easily. I usually use pliers for that task. Repeat the procedure on the other end of the tripod or light stand, snip the unneeded ends off of all 4 wire ties. Attach your shoulder strap and the job is done. I haven't had very much problem with the wire ties sliding when in use, but if you can't get the tie tight enough to prevent sliding, adding another wire tie around the leg and as close as possible to the first should stop any movement issues.
A quick,convenient and quiet solution that doesn't damage your equipment and lets it function as it normally would.

The Warblers Are Coming

In fact, some of them are already in the area. Migrating Warblers pass through the Tri-State area in early Spring, some stay for the Summer. The migration starts slowly, builds up, then fades. Mid April is usually the beginning of the best time to see and photograph Warblers in our area. Different kinds of Warblers prefer different habitats. If you have a certain Warbler you wish to find, learn their preferred habitat, then find a location that has that habitat type.
If you live near or are going to be traveling near a certain habitat type, learn what kind of Warblers prefer that environment. Many sites online offer excellent information on the likes,dislikes and locations of birds, especially Warblers. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's site, All About Birds is a great place to get started.

    The New River Gorge area in WV is a good place to find numerous Warblers this time of year. The Kanawa State Forest near Charleston is known for it's "Warbler Waves", Beech Fork State Park for Cerulean Warblers,Green Bottom Wildlife management is one of the most likely places locally to see
Prothonotary Warblers.
     In Ohio, Crane Creek State Park and the surrounding area is nationally known and renowned for it's number of migrating Warblers. May is the best time for them at this location. Shawnee State Forest & State Park as well as Lake Hope State Park are all excellent places to find Warblers in April and also far fewer "Warbler Watchers" than Crane Creek.
       Kentucky, like Ohio and West Virginia has many worthy locations for getting a glimpse of Warblers. There is even a Warbler named after this State.  The Red River Gorge area of Kentucky is a good place to start your search, as is the University of Kentucky Arboretum in Lexington, Carter Caves State Park and Greenbo Lake State Park.

Now Is A Good Time to Photograph...

This is not my favorite time of year for photography but like almost any time of year it does present unique situations that can improve photos or give you a chance at a shot you wouldn't otherwise have.
    Due to the warmer temps yet lack of full foliage, it's a great time to photograph the Arches and Natural Bridges of the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. If you have never been there, you should go. If you have been you should go back.
I know it's expensive to travel these days, even on a short trip. Instead of putting off trips to places you want to go I would suggest getting a friend to go along and split the cost. It isn't hard to find someone who shares your interest in nature or nature photography. It gives you some companionship, another set of eyes to spot interesting subjects, increases your safety and gives you a 50% off sale on your trips.

    Waterfalls are also a good subject now. Cloudy days are excellent days for waterfalls both of the large and not so large variety. Among other advantages, the less bright days allow you to use slower shutter speeds to get that silky look to your flowing water shots.The rains of this time of year also produce waterfalls and water flows that won't be available at the hight of a dry Summer. There is no shortage of Waterfalls in the Tri-State area and you don't have to go  to a huge waterfall to get a good shot. Go.Look.Shoot.Experiment.

     Flowers, both the wild varieties or a potted plant moved out to the yard for some photo ops are another good cloudy weather subject. The cloudy sky acts like a huge photographers softbox to give you a more even highlight/shadow mix in your shots. There are some tips for finding Wildflowers this time of year in the earlier post on Spring Ephemerals, or go hit your local park or garden. The main thing is go shoot some photos, try new things and have a good time.