Snowy Owl HANGTIME

With the warm weather, the snow in the fields had melted and the disk tilled fields were soggy, to say the least. Our boots collected clay that got ridiculously heavy and extremely slippery. Needless to say, we welcomed the change in temperature and heavy snow - smile.

When photographing in the snow, it is really easy to determine the correct exposure; I usually set the aperture to wide open (f/2.8 in this case), decide my minimum acceptable shutter speed (1/4,000s in this case) and then adjust my ISO so that the light meter reads plus 1 & 2/3 spot off the snow in front of me. A quick test image will show the histogram pushed all the way to the right, but not touching the right side; exactly where the whites are supposed to reside to extract maximum details.

Male Snowy Owl WHITEOUT

Here’s a male Snowy Owl in a blizzard; it’s a white bird flying in the snow in a snow covered field. I really needed those eyes to make something visually compelling.

With the snow falling and wind howling from our backs, frost on my glasses and in my viewfinder, I realized that there was no way I could have focused and followed the owls in flight without the awesomeness of the Sony Auto-focus system. I simply kept the green boxes (the green focus confirmation boxes that locked onto the owl’s eyes) in the middle of the viewfinder, and the Sony a9 II Camera did the rest!

Bald Eagle PREDAWN CALL

Here’s another Bald Eagle image from way back in 2005. I remember just how cold and windy it was on the Homer Spit that day; everyone else was hiding inside the hotel, and by noon the police had closed the spit because the waves at high tide were washing over the road and leaving boulders it their wake. I was out before dawn and found this Eagle on a sheltered perch behind a huge and ugly oil or gas tank (the kind you would expect to see at a refinery). It didn’t look like there would be much light, but I knew this was the best opportunity, and decided to stick with it. I made several images during the brief predawn storm light that morning; this one is a favorite.

I have one opening on my March 5-9, 2020 Eagles Galore trip due to cancellation. Learn more HERE.

Global warming affecting bird photography golden light

Chasing the light is synonymous with nature photography; we are always up early and on the move to carefully planned locations filled with the hope of glorious light. How then, does global warming mess-up our plans? Global warming has left the great lakes warmer and without ice cover which produces evaporation causing lake effect cloud and often lake effect snow. This typically means we have cloud cover when the sun is at it’s prime for photographs; at sunrise and sunset. My first group was blessed with some sublime light early in the Owl season, and I recall only a few glorious sunrises or sunsets since then so far this winter. The coldest morning so far was only -21C (Jan. 19, 2020) in Southern Ontario and not the expected -35C low that usually settles in for a week each January.

Last minute opening March 5-9 2020 Bald Eagle Workshop

There is one spot left for my otherwise sold-out Bald Eagle Workshops due to cancellation. This is a great opportunity to join the very best trip to bring home a complete portfolio of Bald Eagle images from a single trip. Join me March 5-9, 2020 in Homer Alaska!

Snowy Owl Last Light a la Sony RMT-P1BT Wireless Remote Commander

I photographed this Snowy Owl in the severe cold during the very last moments of the sun recently. As a long time sufferer of Raynaud's syndrome, keeping my hands warm is of paramount importance during my Snowy Owl workshops. I typically use big & warm mitts with several hand warmers to keep my fingers warm. Although I have mastered how to control my camera with the mitts on, it takes a lot of practice and I do miss the occasional shot.
The Sony RMT-P1BT Wireless Remote Commander came in useful while set-up on this Snowy Owl, waiting for it to open its eyes and look at the camera. With the Remote Commander tucked into my mitt, I was able to trigger the camera via Bluetooth without taking my hands out of the warm mitts.
While it is true that a wired controller would have worked just as well to trigger the camera, it is connected to the camera with a wire that is prone to get tangled in my extensive cold-weather gear, and since it is wired, I would have to leave it attached to the camera in the cold anytime I moved away; this means putting the frozen device back into my warm mitts and defeating my efforts to keep my fingers warm.

Snowy Owl Touchdown

“Talking to Chris, he mentioned he has had several customers attend more than one workshop. Now I understand why. We had a small group, so there was plenty of time to really talk about many things and make sure everyone understood. I’ve spent so much money and time on gear, books and “camera user guides”, but I still didn’t really understand. Before I left, I anticipated learning how to properly expose for snow, etc. If you had dropped me off in front of one of the owls, I would not have been able to get the shots I wanted exposed properly. What I didn’t realize was that I would finally learn how to evaluate the scene and determine the correct exposure, whatever the subject, situation, scene or light level. Now I finally have the answers to so many questions ... I finally understand exposure theory! I’m from Alabama, so an unexpected treat was to learn how to deal with the cold temperatures. It got down to -9° F while we were there.

As a testimonial, I most definitely plan to attend another workshop with Chris. Now I’ve just got to decide where I want to go. ”

— Rhett Gibson Alabama, USA

Snowy Owl LIFTOFF

“I wanted to thank you for a wonderful owling trip last week. It was great to be in the field with you and I learned a great deal about the birds, environment and my camera. Thanks so much for being such a great naturalist, photographer and trip leader. I will go on another trip with you in the future.”

— Lynda Goff Santa Cruz, CA (Professor Emeritus Ecology & Evolutionary Biology UC Santa Cruz)

Snowy Owl Workshop Kudos

“I have just been fortunate enough to participate in a Winter Owl workshop run by Chris. The experience was outstanding. Chris had thoroughly researched our excursions beforehand and knew exactly where the Owls were wintering - he also spared no effort to maximise our photo opportunities - both in terms of weather conditions, lighting, angles, backdrop etc - but also in terms of helping us each personally during the week with technical tips towards achieving better results.

Logistically the trip was also a pleasure with spacious transport, good accommodations and food, and an enjoyable group camaraderie. Altogether a great trip, and I would thoroughly recommend Chris as a guide for future trips.”

— Jonathan Mercer, UK

Snowy Owl Topside Bank

“Chris, the Owl Trip was fantastic.

Chris led our Canadian photography adventure trip for Snowy Owl photography. He showed an excellent knowledge of local geography and territory habitat for the owls, and brought them into range with a safe approach away from roads in an ethical and responsible manner. Chris’ awareness of both light and wind kept the owls in front of us, resulting in some fantastic images. His willingness to offer technical advice and solutions was appreciated by all participants in the workshop.”

— Thomas D Knoop - New Jersey, USA

Snowy Owl Workshop Kudos

“The shot is 20” x 50”. We are so pleased.

I hope the Snowy Owl workshops after ours were half as good ours. You must have had a lot of snow. We were very lucky.

I still can’t believe we were 5 men; 2 Germans, 1 Brit, 1 Kuwaiti and me, the lone Canadian. They travelled extensively to see Snowies and we were thrilled every morning and afternoon that we went out to shoot these magnificent creatures.”

— John L. Block Montréal, Québec, Canada

Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Head for monopods mini-review

My friends over at Wimberley sent over their new MH-100 MonoGimabl Head for me to test; I have been using it during my winter owl workshops and I absolutely love it!

What is it? The Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Head for monopods is a super light-weight (but amazingly heavy-duty), single-axis monopod head designed to work with telephoto or super-telephoto lens.

Why do you need it? Indeed, you can attach a monopod directly to a lens or camera without a monopod head, but then you have to tilt the whole rig around when pointing upwards or downwards. Other monopod and ball-heads load the weight of the lens and camera on top of the head and make it somewhat unruly: the whole rig tends to want to flop over to one side which can result in damage to camera and or your fingers.

Using the Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Head makes everything work harmoniously and intuitively, giving you the hand-held freedom, but transferring the weight load to your monopod. The side-mount design of the Wimberley MonoGimbal ensures a stable, smooth and solid vertical pan action, while horizontal panning is achieved by turning the camera and monopod together. It is light (.77 lbs = 347 grams) and solid and I see myself using it as my primary support for my Sony 200-600mm lens.

Click HERE to download the Wimberley MH-100 Monogimbal instructions from Wimberley.

“The Wimberley MonoGimbal Head is a new style of monopod head. It allows you to balance your lens, preventing lens flop. The end result is a hand-held experience with the added stability of a monopod.The offset nature of the head compared to a tilt or ball head seems like a problem for handling, panning, and maintaining a level horizon. However in practice your hands intuitively do all these things without even thinking about it.The MonoGimbal Head is a game-changer when it comes to portability. The offset nature allows easy carrying with the weight of the lens and camera resting on your back instead of applying all that weight to the monopod which then digs into your shoulder. Also, weighing in at .77lbs, it is a very light and compact unit.Lastly the MonoGimbal Head is capable of handling any lens with a rotating collar with the limiting factor being the strength of the monopod.”

— - Wimberley product description.

Gannets Galore

One of the highlights of my year is always my annual Gannets Galore workshop on Bonaventure Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence every June. Seabird colonies are always my favourite to visit, as the activity at a big colony like Bonaventure Island (about 58,000 breeding pairs) can be somewhat overwhelming. Particularly so when it's windy and easy for the Gannets to take-off; there can be 10,000 Gannets flying around at any given time!

The Gannets love brings seaweed back to their mate when they return to the nest. It's always fun to photograph the Gannets landing; more so when they are delivering a load of seaweed.

As for workshops, Bonaventure Island is THE place to learn all about bird photography; from Birds in flight, portraits, behaviour and all of the required technical expertise to become a technically and artistically proficient bird photographer. The included early morning Zodiac boat excursions will round out your portfolio with other species and the exciting action of diving Gannets.

Learn more about my Gannets Galore workshop HERE.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl  or Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus, Nyctale de Tengmalm) while scouting for my Winter Owl Workshops in Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens  @190mm ISO 400, f/5.6 @ 1/400s Manual exposure. Full Frame.

Here's a Boreal Owl with a sprinkle of snow photographed with the new Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens while testing the new Wimberley MH-100 Monogimbal Head for monopods (stay tuned for my mini-review of this awesome new addition to my kit soon).

Happy New Year

American Bald Eagle SNOWGLOBE (Hailiaeetus leucocephalus, Pygarge a tete blanche, BAEA) from my BALD EAGLE WORKSHOP in Kachemak Bay (near Homer), Alaska ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year (and decade) ahead! Safe and adventurous travel with golden light and epic images ahead for all!

It's not too late to start the year right and learn how to consistently make awesome images, and bring home a pretty impressive portfolio while you are at it. There are a few last minute openings:

January 20-24 & January 27 to 31, 2020 Winter Snowy Owl workshops. Click HERE to learn more and sign-up.

March 10-14, 2020 Bald Eagles Galore in Homer, Alaska. Cligh HERE to learn more and sign-up.

Great Gray Owls Courtship

Great Grey Owls Courtship (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) 2005 Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. 120mm ISO 1,600, f/5.6 @ 1/1,600s

Here's one from 2005 that seems like a lifetime ago! After making about 80 images, I just had to step back from the camera and watch; the interaction was amazing! There is still a couple of spots left for my otherwise sold-out Winter Owl Workshops in January. This winter is already proving to be the start of a great winter for Owls :)

The very best photo trip I have ever joined!

What can I say? Your Winter Owl Photo Tour was an absolute sensory overload of owls, knowledge and fun! A smashing success! I have to say this was the very best photo trip I have ever joined (and I have joined many). It was an EPIC adventure, and it was a huge success; with your help, I managed to pull off an incredible portfolio of Owl images that was miles better than I could have imagined! Just like your stated goal; I can attest to the fact that the single most important objectives for you as the leader is for your clients to achieve an EPIC portfolio that you would have been proud to call your own, and for everyone to learn. Mission accomplished, my friend…many fold. I would have been thrilled with just one of the hundreds of EPIC images that I created under your wise guidance. You will see me again on another workshop soon. I can offer anyone considering this trip the following advice: DO IT! You won’t regret it. Chris works extremely hard for you to get the very best images; images that will impress everyone. He’s fun and eager to teach anyone, regardless of their abilities. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Peter Frost London | England

It's not too late!

Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens @220mm ISO 800, f/2.8 @ 1/2,500s Manual exposure. Full Frame.

It's not too late!

There is still a couple of spots left for my otherwise sold-out Winter Owl Workshops in January. This winter is already proving to be the start of a great winter for Owls :)

KUDOS

Being a female on my first photo safari, I had some apprehensions before joining Chris on his acclaimed Winter Snowy Owl Safari.  I worried about safety, that I wasn't a good enough photographer for someone with Chris's acclaim, and that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the group on treks. My fears subsided on Day One, and I knew this would be a week I would never forget.  With the small group size, Chris was able to give each member the level of instruction they needed.  Beyond having great opportunities for owl pictures, I learned helpful things about owl behaviour, owl spotting techniques, operating the camera, processing images,  best clothing and gear for winter, and things like the "Dodds duffel toss" that help prevent injuries while putting my camera backpack on.
Chris has an extensive knowledge of exposure theory. He is a patient teacher, skilled in helping his participants gain a deep understanding of this critical element of photography. He demonstrated why it is important to capture as much detail as possible for the best possible print, then showed us how to accomplish it. During the week of ever changing light, he kept checking our work to make sure we were getting the best possible results.
I usually learn from books and enjoy photography as a solitary pursuit, but I enjoyed the camaraderie of this group experience and received many tips on world travel. The photo safari gave me time to immerse myself in photography and nature.  I'm already planning my next safari with Chris.

Karen Miller Pennsylvania, USA

 Thanks, Karen! To learn more about my workshops CLICK HERE.

Bald Eagle Trophy in Golden Light

American Bald Eagle Trophy in Golden Light (Hailiaeetus leucocephalus, Pygarge a tete blanche, BAEA) from my BALD EAGLE WORKSHOP in Kachemak Bay (near Homer), Alaska ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  ISO 640, f/2.8 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure.

I recently returned from Chris’s Eagle Workshop in Homer Alaska. Over the years, I have traveled extensively and can say without hesitating that this was the best trip I’ve ever been on. Chris is a very cordial but no nonsense guy. Everything about the trip was organized to the max. I’ve been photographing wildlife for 35 years and thought I had a pretty good idea about how to do it so I wasn’t expecting to learn a whole lot that was new. Wrong! Over the years, other “professionals” had encouraged me to shoot in aperture priority or auto ISO. When Chris told us he was going to teach us to set our camera exposures manually, I thought that sounded like a lot of unnecessary effort. That notion turned out to be false. If you attend this workshop and don’t already shoot in manual mode, your life will be changed. The exposures of the photos I took are spot on and better than any I have ever achieved. 
In addition to the new material I learned, the “eagle shooting” was beyond anything one could ever imagine. It was both action packed and challenging. Our group was only five people and Chris bent over backward to make sure that each of us got the best photos of our lives. Even though I had substantial problems with my equipment, I now have more killer eagle photos than I could have ever hoped for. If you want an informative and fun packed trip, I encourage you to sign up for this or any of Chris’s workshops. I have signed up again for next year’s Eagle Workshop, in spite of my truck load of eagle photos, which I believe tells the whole story.

Ron Brown Colorado USA