Black or White

Since my return from Bulgaria two weeks ago, I have not touched the camera at all. It seems I need time to recover from an overkill of photography. I got up around 4am every day and only let go of the camera around 11pm to recharge both my battery and the cameras.

Back home, the inspiration is just not there yet. This is a common phenomena, at least to me. It happens about every time I return from a fantastic phototrip, lasts for two weeks or so and then slowly fades away. That means I'll probably be out in the field again next weekend. Preparations have been made.

I used the weekend to clean my harddrive and came across some 'old' RAW files that I have never processed before but are definately worth keeping.

Raven are very intelligent birds that are not easily fooled. Last year in Sweden as well as recently in Bulgaria, I experienced that even the slightest movement of the camera may flush them. This one was taken in the afternoon. The morning had brought only few shots of the raven and I was very sure they were well aware of my presence. So after lunch I decided to take the risk and just swing the lens in whatever direction that was necessary to get a flight shot. I got some flightshots, but needless to say that the raven did not land or perch in front of the hide anymore that day.

Common Raven; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS; 1/640s at F5 and ISO 400; Gitzo tripod from tenthide

How Deer you?

I have just returned from a photographic holiday to Bulgaria. The trip was the prize for last years Grasduinen win. I had a great time, got up around 4 in the morning every day and only packed the photographic gear when the sun went down around 9pm. Some of the results from a very interesting week in a beautiful, partly unspoilt country will be published in Grasduinen. That means I cannot show any photos here yet. Keep an eye out for (probably) the september issue of the magazine.

Instead, here's a portrait of a browsing female roe deer, taken just a few days before I left for Bulgaria.

Actually, the end of June is the best time of the year to try your photographic luck with roe deer. The males come into rut and are less difficult to approach. Let's just say they are focussed on more important things than nature photographers trying to take their picture. Also, the fawns are now old enough to take a stroll with mom, which means your chances of finding a female with a fawn in the fields increase. And best, the days are long in this time of the year. The evening light is beautifully warm and you'll have time to go out and try your luck after work or school. If you prefer the cooler (as in color temperature) morning light, you'll have to get up very early. Either way, good luck!

Roe Deer; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS and 1,4x; 1/100s at F5,6 and ISO 400; Beanbag from car

In the Shadows

The stump of the dead berch tree in which the woodpecker family had (the chicks have long fledged) its nest cavity is forked. The two parts of the fork line up perfectly, one part preventing the early morning sunlight from hitting the other part, but for only five minutes a day.

I figured I could create an interesting image if the warm sunlight were to light just the woodpecker and nothing else. That meant the woodpecker would have to visit the cavity somewhere between 6.49 am and 6.55 am, when the sunlight would just peek around the front part of the fork. Any earlier and the light would not illuminate the woodpecker at all, any later and the berch would be lit as well.

The male woodpecker returned to the cavity to feed the chicks about every ten minutes, but sometimes the interval was a lot larger. I decided to take my chance and posted at the cavity for three consecutive days. Only on the third day did everything come together. The male posed in the sweetest of light and even the bill of the chick got a splash of light. Very dramatic lighting, much more interesting than the hundreds of fully illuminated shots I got during the rest of the three days.

Great Spotted Woodpecker with chick; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS and 1,4x; 1/800s at F5,6 and ISO 200; Gitzo tripod