Sue Craft's notes on the Desert Wildflowers and Scenes workshop presented on 2/28/2017.
Desert Wildflowers & Scenes Workshop by Sue Craft and Glenn Olson will present at the Antelope Valley Senior Center (AVSC)
We saw the big horn sheep climb the hill and walk along the ridge, pausing along the way for a photo op. Next to the big horn sheep were 5 bobcats looking for food and playing around. The mountain lion was adjacent to the bobcats and was prowling around and staring right at us. Was this an exotic location for a dream photo shoot? No, it was the California Living Museum (CALM) in Bakersfield. The CALM features native animals that can’t be released to the wild for one reason or the other. The big horn sheep are part of a captive breeding program.
The CALM has a variety of birds such as owls, eagles, hawks, woodpeckers, jays and waterfowl. There are also mammals such as foxes, bears, badgers and skunks. It is the place to see native animals and reptiles in one setting.
Docents sometimes are on the grounds with birds of prey. A docent had a screech owl on her hand the day we were there. The owl had only one eye so it would not survive in the wild. It was a very photogenic owl.
Shooting an action sequence can be exciting but putting several images into one image can be very interesting. I took these images at a recent race at the AV Motoplex in Lancaster on Sunday Oct. 13th. The energy level at the track is incredible even if you’re not racing.
To get the shot (s), you need to shoot on a continuous setting with a high shutterspeed (1000) and a reasonably small aperature (11- 22). A wide angle lens setting is important as well.
The applications are many. For you wild life photographers, image seeing the flight pattern of a bird or an animal running…. or maybe a kid chasing a soccer ball.
Once the images are shot, you’ll need to do a few steps in Photoshop to finalize the effect. I’ll refer you to a YouTube video from Adorama (Gavin Hoey). It’s episode #130 (11:32 min.). He’ll walk you through the layers, masking, etc. If you have questions or suggestions, email me at rocksprints@gmail.com.
Rock Myers
There are some things that are absolutely essential for making a star trail shot. You must have a tripod to hold your camera steady during the shot. You must have a method of holding the shutter open for longer than 30 seconds. Your battery must be able to keep the camera going for at least one hour, preferably 2 hours.
A good star trail shot needs a one-hour or longer exposure to make a good trail. That means the camera can’t move during this time. Your tripod must be sturdy and in a stable position. An external weight, such as a bag of rocks, can be hung on tripod to give it more stability. The exposure mode must be set to manual and the shutter speed to bulb. In the bulb setting the shutter stays open as long as the button is pressed. The shutter can be kept open with a cable release that can be locked with the button depressed or a cable release with an interval timer can be used. Nikons that used the infrared remote will time out after 30 minutes. For an exposure longer than 30 minutes you must use a cable release. If your battery dies during the shot, you will get nothing. You must be confident your battery can make it during the entire exposure. Testing is one way to gain that confidence. Set the camera up as if you are doing a star trail shot, but leave the lens cap on. Do a one-hour exposure and see if the battery lasts and then do a two-hour exposure. Past experience says that no-name batteries will not make it. Mark your batteries that are capable of 1-hour continuous use and put a fully charged, good battery in the camera just before the shot starts.
Chris and I decided to visit San Juan Batista and Fremont Peak this spring. It has been years since we visited either place and we thought there might be some photo opportunities plus it was a chance to get away. San Juan Batista is famous for the mission there as well as being featured in the Hitchcock film Vertigo. There is also a state park around the mission to preserve the historic buildings. San Juan Batista is such a small town that they do not even have a single Starbucks.
Photography with tripods is allowed in the mission so we got some good shots. The mission at San Juan Batista is famous for having three aisles and for being in continuous service for 200 years. At sundown the arches over the bells had a golden glow that made for a nice shot. Long hallways and arches made for interesting compositions as well. I liked the shadows cast on the walls of some of the historic buildings.
