Burwell Photography
October 2011 Update

Table of Contents

• Busy, busy, busy…
• McBain Camera Photographic Trade Show
• New Instructors at the Burwell School of Photography
• Monument Valley Wildlife Photography Workshop
• Snowflake Greeting Cards
• Workshop Hints
• Who wants to save some money?
• In the mean time, and in between times….

Busy, busy, busy….

An entrepreneur is always hesitant to complain about being too busy.  After all, the alternative can lead to difficulty putting food on the table.  That being said, I would have to confess that I’ve found this fall to be a bit busy for my liking. I’ve had workshops of one description or another almost every weekend.  Additionally, it seems that this is the time of year many galleries have their calls for submissions due.  Add that together with some writing, some home renovations, some new photo contracts and I suddenly find that I’m Mr. Busy.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am NOT complaining.  I love teaching.  I love writing.  And, when the opportunities present themselves, I love photographing.  It is a great honour to help influence the photography of the students who come to my classes.  I love writing for Outdoor Photography Canada  and I love the serenity I find through photography.

Fortunately, my wife Kathryn helps keep me organized.  Kathryn is a registered nurse and she sure knows how to stay organized.  If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish a fraction of what I have so far this year.

On top of that, I’ve been working on a bunch of projects.  I have a show of my art coming up at the Art Gallery of St. Albert in December and January, I’m working on adding new instructors to my photography school to expand our course offerings (see below for more info), and I’ve produced a couple of greeting card sets featuring my snowflake photography just in time for the holiday season.

I’ve also been working with the Triple “D” Game Farm to plan a new workshop for April 2012 when they bring a selection of their animals to Monument Valley, Utah for a fantastic photo shoot.  Keep reading to learn how you can sign up for this workshop.

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McBain Camera Photographic Trade Show

For the second year running  the Burwell School of Photography, is going to have a booth at the annual McBain Camera Trade Show.  The show runs on Sunday, October 30th from 9:30am – 5:00pm.  McBain will have deals on a bunch of photographic equipment, the major manufacturers will all be there to promote their gear and I’ll be there to talk about our courses.

Stop by and say hi-we’d love to hear what’s new and exciting for you! You also can enter our draw to win yourself:

• Your choice of a NIK Software Plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture (Up to $199 USD Value)
• A Jobu Design Table Pod (for supporting a camera on a tabletop while you photograph) ($80 Value)
• A one-year subscription to Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine ($25 Value)

You can also pick up a handout of the upcoming course offerings for the winter/spring season and see what new courses we’re adding! .

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New Instructors at the Burwell School of Photography

I have a lot of different interests when it comes to photography, but I’ve chosen to specialize in just a few.  I’ve been wanting to expand our course offerings in order to serve our customers better.

Chris Stambaugh

And of course, it is extremely important to me that any new instructors are able to offer an exceptional combination of experience and teaching skill to our students.  My goal is to build a school offering an unparalleled photography education by photographers for photographers.

With that in mind, I’m pleased to welcome Chris Stambaugh to the team.

Chris Stambaugh is an award winning portrait photographer and is the past president of the Professional Photographers of Canada. He is a graduate of Nait’s photography program, and has been in the photography business since 1990.  He has earned a reputation as a leader in the photographic industry and is one of Edmonton’s top ranked photographers.  Chris also currently teaches at NAIT am Metro Continuing Education in Edmonton.

NEW COURSES:  Portrait Photography Weekend Intensive Weekend Workshop February 4 & 5, 2012  and  Wedding Photography Weekend Intensive Weekend Workshop  March 3 & 4, 2012.

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Monument Valley Wildlife Photography Workshop

The folks at the Triple “D” Game Farm who help me host four wildlife photography workshops each year in Kalispell, Montana, always find somewhere interesting to travel each April.

For April 2012, they have totally outdone themselves!  They are working with the Navajo Nation to host their amazing animals on Navajo land.  Imagine a Mountain Lion posing on the red rocks with the iconic red rock formations known as mittens in the background.  An opportunity to photograph these animals on  Navajo lands probably won’t come along again in the foreseeable future.

The workshop runs from April 14 – 16, 2012.  If you want, you can add an additional optional session on April 13th to photograph a Navajo Mustang roundup and Navajo culture.  After the workshop wraps up the the 16th of April, you can also add a tour of the back country of Monument Valley with two Navajo guides on April 17th.

If you’re  interested, you need to act quickly. I just started selling spots and they are filling up very fast. Lodging is also booking up quickly as there are not many hotels in this area.

You can find more information on the workshop through this link.

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Snowflake Greeting Cards

I have produced a series of greeting cards featuring my snowflake images.  The cards measure six inches by six inches and are blank inside.  The back of each card features the name I’ve assigned to the snowflake along with the classification of the type of crystal it is and a brief description of how the images are made.

There are two card sets available.  The first features ten individual cards with one snowflake each, while the other set contains ten cards featuring a 3 x 3 grid of snowflakes on the front.

A box of ten cards with envelopes is just $20 Canadian plus shipping.

If you’re interested in ordering yourself some cards, you can do so through this link.

If you’re in the Edmonton area, you can also pick them up through the Royal Alberta Museum, Art Gallery of St. Albert and the Muttart Conservatory gift shops.

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Workshop Hints

If you are considering attending a photography course try not to buy new equipment right beforehand without giving yourself time to get familiarized with it.  It doesn’t matter if it is a new laptop or a brand new camera, lens or tripod you got yourself for a photography workshop or class.  In my opinion, you’ll be a lot happier with trusted, tried and true equipment during your class than with something brand new that you aren’t totally familiar with yet.  Save yourself some aggravation and either take time to get to know the new piece of equipment in advance of the course, or stick to the gear you’re already comfortable with.  It can save you a few grey hairs and help keep your blood pressure under control. Plus you may learn some tips and advice from others that will help you decide what you want to buy after the course!

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Who wants to save some money?

I have secured some deals with a number of my favourite photography related companies.  These deals help my students save some money on some of the products I really believe in.

• You can subscribe to the magazine I work for, Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine, and when you use the code cdisc0unt2011 you will receive an extra 10% off of the subscription price (offer valid until Dec 31/2011).
• If you’ve ever attended one of my workshops and seen a demonstration of some of the plugins available from NIK Software than you know how powerful and easy to use they are.  If you decide to purchase one of their  plugin’s for Lightroom, Photoshop or Aperture, use the discount code burwell to receive a 15% discount.
• If you are looking for a new tripod head or other tripod related accessories, consider using Canadian company Jobu Design and use the discount code burwell to receive a 15% discount.
• If you’ve been on a photography class or workshop with me lately, you’ve probably seen me using a device from Cotton Carrier called the Cotton Carrier Camera Vest System.  This system makes it possible to easily carry a camera/lens combination (or two) around for hours at a time without getting fatigued.  If you are looking for an innovative way to carry your camera around with you while keeping the strain off of your neck and shoulders, consider picking up a product from Cotton Carrier.  If you buy from them directly by calling 1-877-852-9423 and referencing the discount code  burwell you can receive a 10% discount.
• Last but not least, for each person you refer that enrolls in either a course or workshop through The Burwell School of Photography, you’ll get a 20$ CDN credit towards any future workshop (just get your friend to include your name in the “person who referred you” column when thy register)

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In the mean time, and in between times…

Fall is about over here in the Edmonton area.  Only the occasional tree is still holding onto its leaves.  And that means that my favourite season, winter, is soon to arrive.  I know that makes me different than a lot of folks, but winter is the time of year I get to practice my snowflake photography and I’ve got a bunch of new ideas and techniques I want to try out this winter to hopefully help illustrate the beauty hid in all that white stuff that accumulates.

It is also an extremely exciting time for me because so many things are happening with my photography and the photography school business.  I’m sure there are a mountain of challenges in front of me and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them.  And yes, I reserve the right to change my mind about a particular challenge at some point in the future.

If you have any questions or comments about anything you’ve read in this newsletter or any questions about photography in general, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

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With appologies (and thanks) to Jeff Foxworthy, today I present my list of the Top 10 Signs You Just Might be a Wildlife Photographer.  Wildlife photographer’s are a curious subspecies with a number of unique characteristics.  I thought it might be fun to enumerate about ten of them.

Therefore, presented in traditional countdown order, here they are….

10. Your camera rides shotgun in the passenger seat more than your significant other

9.  The thought of spending another day photographing the Prairie Dog town literally gets your heart racing

Prairie Dog

8. You have better rain gear for your camera than for yourself

7. Photographing a beautiful landscape is only considered after all the wildlife possibilities are eliminated

Near Zion National Park, Utah

6. Your dreams are image stabilized (or vibration reduced depending on your religion)

5. You’ve spent more time lying in the dirt than Charlie Sheen

Grizzly Bear lying in the grass

4. It disturbs you that your eyes’ bokeh is so poor

3. When meeting friends outside you always try to keep your back to the sun

Siberian Tiger with reflection lying in a pond - CA

2. Your photo gear is covered in more camo than a Navy Seal

and the number 1 sign you might be a wildlife photographer…..

1. It would take an act of government to compell you to photograph a wedding

Rough-legged Hawk flying over a field

Now, I won’t pretend that this is an exhaustive list.  If you’d like to add some of your own, here’s your chance.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

I’d like to thank the students who participated in my recent Fall 2011 Wildlife Intensive Weekend Workshop presented here in Edmonton, Alberta.

Wildlife Intensive student

Wildlife Intensive student

It is always great to get together with a bunch of like-minded folks where I can share my passion for wildlife photography.  We spent a full day in the classroom Saturday and then on Sunday morning we took a field trip to a number of locations to help the student’s practice what they’d learned during Saturday’s lecture.  We visited the world’s northern most Prairie Dog Farm (which doesn’t even exist according to most scientists as they list the town in Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan as the most northern town; ours is about 550KM north of Grassland’s) along with a local falconer who allowed us to photograph some of his birds.  My thanks go out to the local land owner with the prairie dog town on his property along with the falconer; it really adds a lot to the workshop for the student’s to get an opportunity to photograph wildlife I know will be there.

Dark morph male Red-tailed Hawk

Unlike a lot of wildlife photography, this workshop doesn’t require a high powered telephoto lens.  Rather, a lens with a range of 70-300mm works quite well.

Female Red-tailed Hawk

After returning from the field, the students uploaded their images to their computers and chose a number of them for critique.  Overall, I think they were all pleased with their efforts and I was very impressed with what they achieved.

My next similar workshop runs this coming May and is already starting to fill up.

Peregrine Falcon

If small, creepy, crawly critters freak you out, take this as a warning and read no further.  If you ignore this warning and have nightmares, I accept no responsibility!

Although I’ve been shooting macro shots for some time now, it wasn’t until this past summer that I really started to notice all the little critters that are inhabiting our garden just out my back door.  I thought went I escaped the corporate world of never ending meetings, office politics and EBITDA that I’d finally learn how to slow down and really see the world around me.  And largely that’s been true with seeing larger critters like owls and foxes.

But it wasn’t until this summer that I finally started to take a good look around what’s been hiding in plain site, just outside my office.  You see, I got married last fall (finally!  hurray!) and I’ve moved into the house that my was living in.  It’s a fantastic little house built during the war in the 1940′s and one of its fantastic features is a very large back yard (at least by city standards).  My wife is a fantastic gardener and in addition to a few vegetable crops we have tremendous wildflower and sunflower gardens.

This summer I managed to slow myself down a little more and now I’m seeing all these little critters who I previously either took for granted or just never noticed at all.

The first critter to come to my attention this year was a Jewel Spider living in a garden shed.  I’ve foolishly adopted “Wilbur” as a pet and have fed it a steady stream of unfortunate mosquitoes all summer.  When I first encountered Wilbur it was about 1cm in diameter and I had to use my Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (that affords up to 5x magnification) in order to get a reasonably sized facsimile of this spider onto the sensor of my camera.

(You can click on any of the images to view larger versions)

Young "Wilbur" the Jewel Spider eating a mosquito == Canon 5D Mark II, 65mm MP-E F2.8L == Canon MR-14EX Ring Flash

I’ve used that 65mm MP-E Macro lens of Canon’s quite a bit, especially in my snowflake photography, but I haven’t used it too much for anything else.  It’s a great lens and there is nothing else like it in terms of versatility, but it is really tricky to use hand held (like I find I need to do in the garden shed) as it is a manual focus lens.  But, every once in a while everything lines up and you can get a nice sharp image with the eyes (all six or eight of them when it comes to spiders) in focus.  So, I decided to purchase a different macro lens to give myself a bit more flexibility.  I picked up a used Canon 180mm F3.5L Macro lens through the Buy/Sell forum on Fredmiranda.com.  And by the way, if you are looking for some used camera gear, I’ve personally had great success selling and buying gear through the forum on Fredmiranda.  However, just like with eBay, buyer beware; make sure you do your due diligence!

When the lens arrived in the mail (and why the heck does it take so long to mail items from the US to Canada?), I eagerly took it into the garden to see what I could photograph with my new toy.

Honey Bee == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == 1/250 at F11, ISO 1600 == Hand Held

Beetle on a flower == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == 1/250 at F11, ISO 800 == Hand Held

You can see from the above images that while I was able to get good results, I was limited to using higher ISO’s because I didn’t have an adapter to mount my Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash onto the 180mm lens.  I ordered one through eBay from Hong Kong, and strangely that item took about as long to get to Canada as did the item from the US.  I’d been wanting the flash because my friend Wilbur, the Jewel Spider repositioned his web so that it was straddling two of our garden sheds.  Many times I had opportunities to make images of it against a wonderful blue sky but I didn’t have a good flash solution to balance the ambient light from the blue sky while illuminating the spider living in perpetual darkness.  The arrival of the adapter for the flash (the MP-e 65mm lens has a diameter of 58mm while the 180mm lens has a diameter of 72mm) changed all that.

Jewel Spider hanging out in its web in front of a blue sky == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash == 1/160 at F11, ISO 400 == Hand Held

It also afforded me the opportunity to photograph a number of other critters…

Dragon Fly on Cat Mint == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash == 1/30 at F22, ISO 400 == Hand Held

Bee Fly on a sunflower == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash == 1/30 at F16, ISO 160 == Hand Held

Grasshopper eating a sunflower == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash == 1/100 at F16, ISO 400 == Hand Held

And then yesterday, I again had a great morning wandering around the garden.  I had a chance to photograph my friend Wilbur eye (or eyes) to eye level.  You’ll notice he’s grown quite a bit since June.

Eye to eyes with Wilbur the Jewel Spider == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Flash == 1/125 at F16, ISO 200 == Hand Held

And then I stumbled across another spider who has installed itself in a pile of cedar mulch that is currently piled against our garage.  It is a Funnel-web Spider (not the extremely poisonous variety found in Australia) and it had managed to snag itself a small grasshopper.  These are fascinating spiders who build themselves a web that resembles a funnel.  The spider hides out in the mouth of the funnel, out of site.  When an unfortante critter happens along and tangles itself in the web, the spider quickly strikes and pulls the captured prey back into the funnel to be consumed.

Funnel-web Spider with grasshopper prey == Canon 5D Mark II, 180mm F3.5L == Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash == 1/100 at F10, ISO 100 == Hand Held

So, if you’re looking for a chance to slow your life down a bit and see what there is to see around you, get yourself a macro lens or a compact camera with macro capabilities and get out there and see what you can discover for yourself.

If you have some comments, questions or critiques on the images presented here, I’d love to hear from you.

Spirit Bear DVD

I was very happy to see the re-release of the Spirit Bear DVD at Amazon featuring my image on the cover.  I’m quite proud of this image because it was made at ISO 3200 with my Canon 5D Mark II and stands up extremely well to printing on DVD covers, magazine covers and as a print.

These bears are a sub-species of the Black Bear with a recessive gene that causes their fur to be white.  They are not albinos but rather a white-furred Black Bear.  They live in only one place on the planet and that’s the Great Bear Rainforest on the west coast of Canada.  To insure their survival it is extremely important that their habitat along with their kin (the Black Bears in the area carry the recessive gene that causes about 1 in 10 of them to be born with white fur) be protected.

Here’s a synopsis of what the movie is about…

The inspiring story of the boy who saved the Spirit Bears!

Though just fifteen, Simon Jackson shows the world how one boy can truly make a difference. Simon has always been shy and introverted, until his life changes in on instant. Attacked in the remote wilderness, Simon is rescued by a rare white Kermode bear, also known as Spirit Bears. When he learns that only 400 of these beautiful endangered creatures are left, he finds his voice and transforms into a political activist. With the help of his friend and mentor Lloyd Blackburn (Academy Award nominee Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves), Simon courageously takes on the powerful forest industry led by Frank Perdue (Golden Globe Nominee Ed Begley, Jr.) and the government. His message is clear, and everyone gets involved from Prince William to the Backstreet Boys. Through hard work and perseverance, Simon saves the Spirit Bears and secures the protection of 2,500 square miles of Princess Royal Island-one of the largest land protection battles ever won. Simon captures the hearts of the world, and is named one of Time Magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet.”

For reference sake, here’s the original image, along with the cropped version used on the magazine cover.  Technical information on the image is:  1/400th of a second at F4.0, ISO 3200, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Gitzo 3541XLS tripod, Jobu-Deisng BWG Gimbal Head.

Kermode "Spirit" Bear walking down a mossy log

Kermode "Spirit Bear" walking down a moss covered log

Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine

It has been a while since I put together a video tutorial and I thought it was time.  In this video tutorial, I take a look at using a combination of Adobe Lightroom and Nik Software’s Viveza plugin to do some light modifying; after the picture has been made.  I am sure a lot of photographers will scoff at this and tell me I should have got it right in the camera, but in a lot of candid situations and especially with wildlife photography, using tools like deflectors and numerous lighting sources just isn’t an option.

After Lightroom/Viveza light modification

Before Lightroom/Viveza light modification

It’s odd, but most animals aren’t too good at standing on a mark or not eating an assitant holding a reflector to balance out some side lighting.

As an alternative, this video will help you understand why I love Viveza and how you can easily and quickly make a radical adjustment to the lighting in an image.

It runs about 20 minutes so when you have a chance, take a look and let me know what you think.

Photography Fundamentals

Woman reading at Providence Centre

I just finished a weekend workshop called Photography Fundamentals with a great group of people.  We had a great weekend of weather which allowed the students to get outside and photograph on the beautiful grounds of the Providence Centre, the new home for my Burwell School of Photography.  After the workshop was over I spent some time reviewing some of the images my students made during the course and it was very exciting to see the marked improvement in their photography when comparing their first efforts of the workshop to their final project submissions.

The above photograph, made by Colin Bullock, one of my students for the Photography Fundamentals weekend workshop represents the level of work the students were producing by the end of the workshop.  Colin chose to frame this shot using the branches of a tree to help direct the viewer’s attention to the woman reading on the top of a tree stump on the Providence Centre’s grounds.

Who wants a deal?

I rarely have special pricing on my workshops, but I have decided to make an exception in one particular case this summer.  I’m providing a $100 discount to any new registrants for my Summer Wildlife Photography Workshop to be held in Kalispell, Montana from July 22 – 25, 2011.

This workshop is an excellent opportunity to sharpen your wildlife photography skills while amassing a tremendous portfolio of wildlife images.  The summer workshop gives you the opportunity to photograph a mixture of juvenile and adult animals from species including, but not limited to: Black Bear Cub, Grizzly Bear, Mountain Lion, Lynx, Bobcat, Wolf and Coyote.

To take advantage of this special offer, you just need to register before July 1, 2011 (or before the workshop sells out) and when you register online, you need to use the discount code Summer-2011 when you register online.

Summer Time and the training is easy

Couple walking at the Providence Centre

I’m experimenting with running a number of summer weekend workshops this year at my Edmonton based Burwell School of Photography in Edmonton.  I know many people take vacations during our short summers here in Alberta, but I’m hoping that there will be enough people around to make these weekend workshops worthwhile.

I’ve got a DSLR Fundamentals Workshop running on the weekend of July 9th and 10th for those newer photographers interested in learning to master the controls of their digital SLR cameras.  This is a technical course with lots of hands-on shooting to help the students understand how their camera works.

I’ve also got one of my Adobe Photoshop Lightroom boot camp weekends running the weekend of July 16th and 17th.  These workshops allow you to completely immerse yourself into Lightroom so that you can begin to master this program designed by and for photography.  Adobe Photoshop Lightroom forms the base of the workflow (the steps I use to get the images from the camera, into the computer, developed and then output) that I use in my photography.  In my opinion, the vast majority of photographers will never need any other program to manage or edit their photographs than Lightroom.

Courses and Workshops

We thank you for your continued support and would love to see you at an upcoming workshop. Our workshops continue to receive great reviews and we enjoy putting them on as much as our clients are enjoying their participation.

Based on the support and feedback we’ve received, we’ve added a number of new workshops based on our intensive weekend format from our central Edmonton location. Whether you’re new to photography or looking to get a handle on your software to process your images, we’ve got a course for you. We’ve also added a new week long course in August for the serious amateur photographer who is passionate about outdoor photography to find ways of making income from that photography.

One of our new courses, DSLR Fundamentals, has been very popular and we have received many requests to hold a part 2 , or a ‘where do we go from here?’ course. Have a look at our Photography Fundamentals Workshop, designed for those who have completed our DSLR Fundamentals course, or another course like it, or have equivalent experience. You can find more details under the course listing.

Stay tuned for course listings for the remainder of 2011 in our upcoming newsletter!

As always, if you’d like to see a course offered that isn’t listed here, please let us know. If there’s enough interest we can make it happen! Also, if a course or workshop you want to take is sold out, we encourage you to put your name on the waiting list. Just click on the course heading you want and the button “add to wait list” and we will contact you if a space becomes available. If there’s enough folks on the waiting list we can always run another course if possible.

Photography Tip – Sharpness is overrated

Sweet Peas in Purple

In my opinion, famous French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson said it best when he said “an insatiable craving for sharpness of images. Is this the passion of an obsession? Or do these people hope, by this technique to get closer to grips with reality?”

It seems to me that far too often, especially in this age of digital photography and pixel peeping that there is an unhealthy obsession with sharpness.  Sure, getting sharp images is a useful and necessary skill for photography.  Alternatively there is a lot to be said for knowing when to use the qualities of depth-of-field and motion blur to help control what is and what is not in focus and in doing so one can create a more compelling image.

Summer time photography

Purple Finch @1400mm

Summer is close to arriving here in Edmonton.  Our garden is coming along nicely and the singing of the male Purple Finch whose partner is nesting in the tree just outside my office window is a daily melodic reminder of the season.  While we haven’t had any real hot weather in Edmonton thus far, I’m okay with that as I’m most comfortable when the temperature lies between 23 and 28 Celsius (73 – 82 Fahrenheit).

I’m preparing for three upcoming wildlife photography workshops.  The first is my annual Spring Wildlife Workshop held at the Triple “D” Game Farm in Kalispell, Montana.  This workshop always features a lot of the cute baby animals and the students always go home with an avalanche of great images.

After that I’ll head off to the Kamloops area of British Columbia for my annual Loon Photography Workshop at the Lac Le Jeune Conference Centre.  We should be just in time to watch some Loons with chicks riding around on their backs.  Unlike most Loons I’ve encountered in the wild, the Loons here are extremely tame and often our problem is that we’ve got too close to them and need to back off instead of not being able to get close in the first place.

And my final summer wildlife workshop is back again at the Triple “D” Game Farm in Kalispell.  This workshop also features a bunch of younger animals (about a month older than they were in June, go figure) along with a mixture of adult animals for a bit more balance.  Folks who enjoy the warm temperatures always enjoy my Summer Wildlife Workshop and don’t forget that you can get a $100 discount by using the code Summer-2011 when you register for the workshop online.

All that travel keeps a fellow pretty busy but I really enjoy the trips and especially the opportunity to meet some new students and try to impart a little of my experience and it’s especially satisfying to be able to reconnect students who have chosen to join me for another workshop.

If you have any questions or comments about anything you’ve read in this newsletter or any questions about photography in general, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

Purple Finch on the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

Sitting in the living room this past Saturday, I suddenly heard an extremely enjoyable and melodious tone from outside. Hearing it repeated a few times over about 15 minutes was finally enough to lift my sorry carcass off of the couch and out onto the back patio. I discovered a male Purple Finch (he of the melodious tunes) along with a female partner going about the process of building a nest in the Spruce Tree just outside of the back door of my home.

I ran to get my tripod (a Gitzo 3541XLS with a Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal head attached) and set it up with my Canon 500mm F4L IS lens attached along with the 1.4x Extender II that is pretty much welded to the lens. I say welded because if you do much wildlife photography at all you know that there is rarely such a thing as too big of a lens.

I took some shots of the joyful little singer but discovered that (and as is often the case with the little song birds) that he just wasn’t filling the view finder the way I wanted. And with that 1.4x teleconverter attached to the 500mm lens I was already shooting at the maximum minimum aperture for my 5D Mark II, F5.6; assuming I wanted to use autofocus. I have a 2.0x teleconverter too and thought briefly about just throwing that on and making the best of things with manual focus.

However, I recalled an experiment I did a couple of years ago with my 500mm lens paired with BOTH the 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters (also known as stacking teleconverters) which yielded a 1400mm focal length at F11 as the largest aperture. I was able to achieve really good results shooting with enough light and stopping down about 2/3 of a stop from F11.

I set up the combination on the tripod. The main trick when you use a setup like this is focussing. And, if you’re going to need to focus on some sort of moving object, forget about it, it’s just too touch. But with a subject like this, who upon returning to the tree that his female partner is building a nest in (she does all the work; he just accompanies her on her travels lest her attentions wander to a rival) would happily choose a branch and perch on it whilst singing his little heart out. This would allow me the time required to manually focus on him.

Purple Finch singing from the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

But still, another problem. I don’t know about you, but my 45 year old eyes have a lot of trouble looking through the viewfinder and finding critical sharpness. It can look sharp in the viewfinder but that often leads to disappointment in the cruel light from my monitor while developing the images. So I used a trick I’ve used for my snowflake photography. I temporarily switched to “Live View” and then zoomed in a couple of times on the Finch’s head. That way I could dial in critical sharpness, switch back to regular shooting mode and then make my shots until the little feller decided to move.

You’ll notice that I switched back to regular shooting mode instead of staying in Live View mode. Why? It’s all about the long-lens shooting technique that I use. This technique requires that in addition to draping my free hand over the lens to dampen down vibrations, I also jam my eye up against the viewfinder to help use even more of my body mass to help stabilize the lens. If you’re interested in the technique, you can read about it in a couple of previous blog entries in part 1 and part 2 of Making Sharper Images.

So, if you’ve got one of the good primes in your arsenal of lenses (and I’d say most of the prime lenses from any of the major camera manufacturers qualify) and you’ve got yourself a pair of teleconverters, don’t hesitate to give the combination a try and see what you can achieve.  I’m willing to bet you’ll be a bit surprised by the sort of quality pictures that can be achieved with the right subject, proper gear to support the equipment along with the technique I talked about previously.  And yes, you’ll probably have to employ the three “p”‘s of photography; practice, practice, practice!

Purple Finch singing from the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

Meet Casey, the Black Bear Cub

Casey - The Black Bear Cub - CA

Happy Spring!!! I recently returned from Utah, just outside Zion National Park, where I hosted a workshop (that was held in conjunction with the folks at the Triple “D” Game Farm) with a tremendous group of students. As spring is the time of year when a lot of animals have their youngsters, we had the good fortune of photographing Casey, a black bear cub, who is triple “D”s newest addition to their well cared for menagerie.

I’ve photographed a lot of black bears and their cubs throughout the years, and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Casey is the cutest little black bear cub I’ve had the pleasure of photographing and he is really a star.

So, if you’ve been pondering visiting Triple “D” and taking a photography workshop there, my Spring Wildlife Photography Workshop in Kalispell, Montana will give you the opportunity to meet Casey amongst other new youngsters. I’m confident that Casey will remain a star with his amazing personality, but that super cute factor, only lasts for so long.

If you have any interest in maybe selling your photography or even if its for your own pleasure, people LOVE cute!

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A New Home For Our Edmonton Workshops

Providence Centre

While our Edmonton based photography workshops have previously been held out of a local hotel, we’ve been searching for a new location to better compliment the sort of workshops and teaching we do while still being able to offer our courses at affordable rates. It took a lot of searching, but we eventually found a real gem of a facility. Providence Centre offers sunny, large classroom space, tasty meals, ample free parking and is located on 20 acres of landscaped gardens, all within city limits, and minutes away from major hotels for those who are traveling.

Our new home for our Edmonton based workshops is the Providence Centre, located at 3005 – 119 Street in Edmonton. This south side location is easily accessible to people coming from all quadrants of the city and surrounding areas via the Whitemud Drive and Anthony Henday Drive. The

Students from a recent DSLR Fundamentals Workshop held at the Providence Centre

My DSLR Fundamentals Workshop held this last weekend, was my first workshop at the new facility and I couldn’t be happier with it. In addition to being a wonderful, quiet facility we can now include lunches with our workshops. This means that participants no longer have to scurry off at lunch time to find somewhere to grab a quick bite and can instead enjoy a leisurely stroll down the hall to the Providence Centre’s cafeteria. The cafeteria always has at least two main courses (one of which is always chicken), a couple of salad options, soup, side dishes and dessert. Special diets like vegetarian or celiac can be accommodated with advance notice. In the warmer months students can dine outside or chose to relax in the gardens on their lunch break.

The Providence Centre is really a jewel and the people there are tremendous to work with. If you decide to join us for a workshop, I am quite confident that you’ll really enjoy the Providence Centre.

*NOTE-for those students enrolled in May’s Wildlife Intensive Workshop on May 13-15/2011, this workshop will be held at our previous location at the Ramada Hotel in downtown Edmonton for scheduling reasons. All other workshops before and after this are now offered at the Providence Centre. (All workshops have locations and directions listed when you register online).

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DSLR Fundamentals and Photography Fundamentals Workshops

I’ve now had a few groups of students graduate from my DSLR Fundamentals Workshop. This course helps students become familiar with their DSLR cameras and enhances their understanding of how the camera ‘works’. Students become empowered to venture away from strictly automatic shooting. I help students learn how the automatic modes may do an “okay” job, but it’s when we put ourselves in command of the camera and begin making our own decisions about the sort of pictures that we want to make that we can start making photographs instead of snap shots. Strict beginners as well as those somewhat familiar with their cameras features are welcome to take this course.

The DSLR Fundamentals course is a technical course. It’s all about the cameras, their features and how to use them in the manual modes. The Photography Fundamentals Workshop is all about the art of photography and learning to make creative photographs that help tell a story. Like the DSLR Fundamentals course, this is a hands-on course with the students getting plenty of opportunity to practice the concepts talked about in the classroom. Many students choose to take the DSLR Fundamentals Workshop first, and then take the Photography Fundamentals Workshop afterwards to further develop their skills.

The Photography Fundamentals Workshop runs the weekend of June 4th and 5th and there still a few openings available. If you’re interested, you can find more details on the course here.

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Wildlife Intensive Workshop

We still have several spaces open in our Wildlife Intensive Weekend Workshop running in Edmonton the weekend of May 13-15/2011. This enjoyable workshop gives you tips and tricks on how to make great wildlife shots, and includes a field trip where we photograph different animals in their natural habitat and then return to the classroom for discussion and critiquing. This class sold out last fall and we think it will probably sell out again. A great time was had by all!

Prairie dog cleaning its' paws

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Courses and Workshops

We thank you for your continued support and would love to see you at an upcoming workshop. Our workshops continue to receive great reviews and we enjoy putting them on as much as our clients are enjoying their participation.

Based on the support and feedback we’ve received, we’ve added a number of new workshops based on our intensive weekend format from our central Edmonton location. Whether you’re new to photography or looking to get a handle on your software to process your images, we’ve got a course for you. We’ve also added a new week long course in August for the serious amateur photographer who is passionate about outdoor photography to find ways of making income from that photography.

One of our new courses, DSLR Fundamentals, has been very popular and we have received many requests to hold a part 2 , or a ‘where do we go from here?’ course. Have a look at our Photography Fundamentals Workshop, designed for those who have completed our DSLR Fundamentals course, or another course like it, or have equivalent experience. You can find more details under the course listing.

Stay tuned for course listings for the remainder of 2011 in our upcoming newsletter!

As always, if you’d like to see a course offered that isn’t listed here, please let us know. If there’s enough interest we can make it happen! Also, if a course or workshop you want to take is sold out, we encourage you to put your name on the waiting list. Just click on the course heading you want and the button “add to wait list” and we will contact you if a space becomes available. If there’s enough folks on the waiting list we can always run another course if possible.

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Photography Tip-Keep Your Eye On The Prize

Coyote Pouncing - CA

On the surface, this tip seems really simple; if you don’t want to miss shots, keep your eye on the viewfinder.

However, in practice, it can be really easy to get distracted when you’re photographing. It’s all too simple to get distracted reviewing previous shots, admiring the dust up in the cup of your viewfinder or contemplating some wonderful cloud formations.

But, when you’re waiting for a specific shot, even a moment of distraction can contribute to missing a great photo opportunity. In the photograph above of the pouncing coyote, I had reasonable expectations (based on previous experience) that this behaviour would occur. And eventually, my patience and perseverance paid off. I’d made sure my camera was setup the way I wanted to ensure a sharp capture and when the moment came, I was ready.

Another trick I use is that I watch what’s happening around me with both eyes. I have my right eye glued to my viewfinder while my left eye is open as well. This allows me to keep a bit of a watch on what is happening outside the scope of the viewfinder. After all, you never know when Bigfoot is going to wander by…..

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Thoughts of Spring….Again

Will spring ever truly arrive? Although the animals seems to think it is spring, as evidenced by the arrival of Robins to our neighbourhood and Casey, the black bear cub’s arrival to the Triple “D”, the snow on the ground in my backyard is making a tenacious fight. In places the snow is still over three feet deep and the weather has been very unspring like.

Don’t get me wrong. I love winter and all it brings but at some point I get a little tired of the whole thing. And although I’m usually convinced that each year is the beginning of a new ice age, I’m sure that if I’m patient, eventually spring will actually arrive and I’ll be able to see my lawn without looking around piles of snow.

I was searching through my archives of images and found the following photograph of a Sweet Pea that I made last summer. I love the reds and nothing makes me more hopeful than knowing that it really won’t be too long until these flowers will again decorate the fence between us and our neighbours.

To make this shot, I used my 24-70mm F2.8 lens on my Canon 5D Mark II camera. The image was made at F2.8 from close to the minimum focusing distance for the lens so my depth-of-field on this shot was about 6 millimetres or about .02 feet and that is what helps give it that wonderful sharp, yet dreamy appearance.

If you have any questions or comments about anything you’ve read in this newsletter or any questions about photography in general, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

Sweet Peas in Red

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Wow!  I can’t believe it.  Me and my snowflakes are featured on the front page of the local Edmonton paper, the Edmonton Journal.  Wow!  Jamie Hall, the writer for the Journal, did an excellent job at writing the story and creating a compelling story.  I am very thankful to her.

You can read the article for yourself through this link below.  At the bottom of this post, I’ll also attach the snowflake images featured in the Journal article.

One flake at a time
JAMIE HALL Journal Arts Writer
Edmonton Journal
12 Jan 2011

The sight of a snowfall usually sends Paul Burwell’s north Edmonton neighbours to their windows to observe his odd behaviour. So far, he says, none of them has found the courage to ask him why he stands outside his garage and stares intently at the…read more…

Fernlike Stellar Dendrite

Sectored Plate Snowflake

Sectored Plate Snowflake

Hexagonal Plate Snowflake

Sectored Plate Snowflake

Hexagonal Plate Snowflake

Sectored Plate Snowflake

Sectored Plate Snowflake