After a long weekend at the Mandarin Art Festival in Jacksonville, I really looked forward to my visit to St. Augustine (just about an hour south on I-95) for a morning of shooting at the famed Alligator Farm. I've talked about this place before: the birds find it to be fantastic for nest-building and chick-rearing because the alligators keep the waters safe of swimming predators like snakes and raccoons that feast on eggs. It's a bird photographer's paradise, because the boardwalk--new and improved this year--enables you to get up close to the action. And today, it gives me a chance to talk a little bit about using flash outdoors to fill in shadows and/or add light on to the camera side of your subject when the main light (the sun) is behind the subject. There's a lot of confusion on how to manage flash properly. I'll cover this extensively in a workshop next fall, but let's use this example to get started. Another egret startled this Snowy as I was photographing him/her from the new boardwalk, giving me a nice look at the bird's backlit breeding plumage. My Canon 580EX flash was used as flash fill. I calculated a basic exposure of 1/1600 @ f/8 (at ISO 400), using the old "sunny f/16" formula. (This formula has been around for decades, because it works!) On a bright sunny day, set an exposure as follows: shutter speed: 1/ISO (at ISO 400, this means a shutter speed of 1/400) lens opening: f/16 Because I shoot birds in action with long lenses, I want as fast a shutter speed as I can get. So I amend the "formula" to 1/1600 at f/8. Do the math, and you'll see that's the same exposure. This setting gives me proper exposure for the Snowy's white backlit feathers, but would underexpose the camera-side of the subject by about two stops. I'll use flash for fill light, as described below. The trick with using flash as fill light (with or without a Better Beamer) is use it subtly, to keep it from overpowering the ambient light. That means you'll add LESS of it. So calculate your camera's exposure settings (ISO, shutter speed, f/stop) as if you weren't using flash. Then, using the flash's exposure settings, dial in an appropriate amount of "minus" exposure compensation. Additional comment: The settings described above also require your flash to be able to synchronize with your shutter at high shutter speeds (Canon calls it "high-speed synch.") If your flash doesn't have this feature, calculate your basic exposure using your camera's maximum synch speed (usually 1/250 sec), then add flash as described above. (if you're synching at 1 / 250 sec, you will probably want to dial in the lowest possible ISO, thereby enabling as wide a lens aperture as you can get. This keeps the background in softer focus) More flash-outdoors tips later this week...and an explanation of how the Better Beamer works, and why it's the best bargain in the wildlife photographer's bag.

If you have visited Southwest Florida, you no doubt know about Sanibel Island. Located across a 3-mile long, $6-toll causeway from Fort Myers, Sanibel owes much of its charm (not to mention its high cost of living) to its relentless commitment to preserving an island paradise without big-box retailers, development, and asphalt. As a result, there are few big outdoor art shows on the island. The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club holds one at the same location--the Sanibel Community Center in mid-island--in early February. But I was booked elsewhere, so I jumped at the chance to be in this well-established show sponsored by the San-Cap Lions Club As a bird/wildlife photographer, I thought that this location (only a block away from the road that takes visitors to the famed Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge) would be perfect for me. Mix in a group of friendly volunteers from the Lions Club, a small but talented group of artists, add a few food vendors and a mobile brass band, and the net effect was a small, informal show with a community feel. Just what the Lions, no doubt, were after. The bad news: Outdoor spaces feature sand, sand, sand...the fine grained "sugar sand" that, when wet, locks itself tenaciously into proto-cement and, with evil intention, wedges into your shoes, artwork, tent, and poles. And unfortunately, Friday morning dawned wet and soggy. By the opening of the show at 9 AM, I'd already pulled up my half-buried outdoor carpet and stashed it in the van. (I'd have simply put it behind the booth, but there wasn't any storage space to be had for rug or extra inventory.) The sun finally broke through around 11 AM Friday, but it was already clear that the few show-goers who paid the $4 entry fee (all proceeds went to Lions charities) were largely retirees and vacationers who were there to browse, not to buy. However, artists with unique work, and those with a committed local following, still did quite well. An artist from New York who demonstrated how he made beautiful 3-D creations from wire mesh had a fairly steady crowd and many buyers. A local favorite who made colorful, whimsical metallic garden sculptures was busy, too. But I had only a few hundred dollars in the till at day's end. Only my second-place ribbon in the 2-D category (and 75% of the show fee for next year's event) and a couple of wonderful neighbors (fine art jeweler/metalsmith Christina Paluszek and glass designer Beth Collette) made it a happy drive home We were all looking forward to Saturday, when the year-round and seasonal residents would descend en masse ...or so we thought. But it never really happened. The weather was so beach-perfect that the sun-starved snowbirds headed there instead to get their tans on before flying north. As the day grew longer and hotter, I mentioned to neighbor Christina that I'd need a "4:30 miracle" to save the show. Which I got, when a customer came by after I'd already packed up the price tags and bought a show wall's worth of canvases. So...it all worked out the end...for me, at least. And I'll be back-- it's a local show, and I've got money in hand for next year, thanks to the ribbon. But I'll also be hoping to jury in to the Kiwanis show next February in the same space. It should be an interesting comparison.

The birds is back!

In case you haven't followed the Weather Channel, Florida has spent the last two weeks or so draped in a damp blanket of unseasonably hot, humid air...making migratory critters and humans alike wonder if they'd misread their calendars.

But no more! We had a strong cold front whip through on schedule last Saturday, and with it came lots of migrating birds from up north. Migrants love nothing better than a tailwind, and each successive cold front will bring more and more feathered friends our way between now and late November.

I took advantage of the opportunity by visiting Bunche Beach this morning, one of my favorite nearby birding spots. I was greeted by a parking lot full of cars--surprising, at 7:30 in the morning this time of year. It turned out to be a group from the Lee County Bird Patrol, doing their monthly bird count, augmented by some folks lured to the beach by the agenda for Ding Darling Days.

Ding Darling Days is an annual week-long program that celebrates the life and legacy of J.N. "Ding" Darling. In the early decades of the 20th century,when newspapers ruled the day, he was the nation's leading political cartoonist. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Duck Stamp program that even today raises funds for wildlife conservation, and served for awhile as head of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Commission under FDR.

Ding Darling National Wildlife Reserve, on nearby Sanibel, is named after him. Its learning center boasts a nice biography, dioramas, and artifacts of his life. It's worth a visit if you are coming by the reserve to observe birds and wildlife.

Bunche Beach, in the days of segregation, was the "colored beach" in Fort Myers. In 1948, Jim Crow laws were struck down and it became open to all. It's a favorite spot for black skimmers, herons, egrets, and a wide variety of plovers and other shorebirds. It boasts terrific tidal flats, easy access, and clean vistas largely devoid of signs of humanity. Only the Sanibel Causeway and the Estero Island skyline break the view.

Lee County is building "improvements" in the form of a snack bar and boat ramp several hundred feet up John Morris Road from the beachhead. I haven't seen the master plan, but I hope and expect that the new facilities won't adversely impact this crown jewel of Lee County birding.

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Photograph: Reddish Egret takeoff from tidal inlet, Bunche Beach, Fort Myers, FL. 1/2000 sec. @ f/8, ISO 800. Canon 50D body and 500mm lens, mounted on a Gitzo tripod with Mongoose M3.5 head. ©2009 Geoff Coe / Wild Images Florida. All rights reserved.

New Products for Fall 2009

"Roseate Spoonbills" Gallery Wrap, 20x30 Limited Print (left); "Egret Landing", 20x24 Standout (right).

I'm really looking forward to the Fall 2009 Show season. Although I've traditionally started in late October, I'm getting an early start this year...Labor Day Weekend.
"But, wait!" alert readers will think. "You're showing in Florida? When it's 90 degrees and humid?"

Yep, and yep. But I've picked up a portable air conditioner, and set up the tent to test it out last week. Much to my relief--and, come Labor Day, my customers', too--it works as well as advertised. It's a good investment for me--I've been able to book about eight shows on either side of the November-March "sweet spot." And the extended season will also mean that I'll be able to continually add new work throughout the year for my customers.

Those aren't the only changes! Many of my visitors have asked for alternatives to framed photographs. So in addition to framed pieces, I'm adding two new ready-to-hang options: Gallery Wraps and "Standouts."

• Gallery Wraps are printed direectly on canvas, then wrapped over a 1.5-inch stretcher frame so that, as the name implies, the image wraps around the edge of the frame. Then, a black backing and hanger are securely mounted to the back of the stretcher frame. They're completely ready to hang. Each Gallery Wrap is available as a Limited Print of 25, and individually signed, numbered, and certified.
  
• "Standouts" are printed on photographic paper, then bonded to rugged, 1.5-inch thick Gatorboard. They're lightweight, ready to hang, and lend a beautiful, contemporary look to your office or home at an affordable price.

Last, but not least: I not only exhibit at art shows--I'm a patron, too. And I know it's tough sometimes to gauge whether art of a particular size is going to be right for your intended display space. So we offer a "right size" guarantee: In short, if your purchased work (16x20 or larger) turns out to be a bit too large or too small for its "home", bring it back to the show (or contact us within 3 days) and we'll exchange it for the size that will. Get the full details at our booth!

Favorite Shots (I): Sunrise Over Lake Otsego

I literally rolled out of bed to make this image. After attending a workshop in the Adirondacks last fall I drove to Cooperstown, NY to make my first visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame. None of the hotels in the area seemed to be online, so I drove toward town and found a gem using my GPS: right on the shoreline of Lake Otsego.

I asked for a room facing east so the sun would wake me up...and did it ever! The first thing I saw that morning was the sun beginning to shine through mist over the lake. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my car keys, and dashed to the trunk to get a camera body and telephoto lens, then ran about 50 yards down a steep hill in shorts and bare feet to make this image from the shoreline.

As a side note: This shot wouldn't have been possible if I had taken my camera bag into the warm hotel room the night before. The cool morning air would have caused condensation to form on the lenses, and I'd have had to wait for it to clear...which would have been too late.

Happy Feet

I was at Ding Darling yesterday with about two dozen Roseate Spoonbills and nearly as many photographers watching them. And that presents a professional challenge: When you're surrounded by other pros, and you're watching the same subject matter, how do you come up with a shot that's unique?

In this particular instance, I watched to see if I could find activity that everyone else was ignoring. And along came several Reddish Egrets (Egretta rufescens), whose dancing antics never fail to entertain. These birds kick the shallows to stir up crustaceans and small fish, pirouetting about with one or both wings outstretched to shield the water from glare, then strike with one of the quickest movements in the animal kingdom.

When there are spoonbills taking off, they're a hard sight for photographers to resist. But when this Reddish Egret wandered over within camera range, I was able to fire off about a half-dozen shots. And as is so often the case, the first one was the best.

Shortly thereafter, the same bird strolled over aggressively to a pesky Snowy Egret who was poaching in his territory. Reddishes are solitary birds and they don't share their fishing grounds without a squabble. So I got ready to expect some fireworks...and was happy to capture the shot below, where the two birds look like they're dancing a ballet. "Egret Lake", perhaps?

Cloudy Days, take 2

For bird photographers, the other convenient aspect to cloudy-day shooting is that it provides some very flattering backgrounds for species perched on bushes. Shadows are minimal.

And with the sun behind the clouds, there are no distracting hotspots (dappled sunlight) behind your subjects.

It's handy to use fill flash if you can do so without startling your subject. Appropriately used, it provides "snap" and fills in shadows--particularly useful if you are shooting in mid-day. It also puts a small "catchlight", or bright reflection, in the subject's eye to give it sparkle and depth.

I use a flash extender called a "Better Beamer" that is specially designed for use with long telephotos and zooms. It's easy to use, weighs only a couple of ounces, and fits easily into your camera bag. You can learn more about it here.

How to use flash effectively in the field is a subject worthy of a post all its own...or several. We'll talk about that soon.

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Image: Great Egret, St. Augustine. 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 70-200mm IS zoom. Better Beamer set at -2 for flash fill.