Hello From Homer Alaska

alaska
Image © 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography
Homer Alaska ~ Bald Eagle
100-400mm lens, hand held, manual mode.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION


alaska
Image © 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography
Homer Alaska ~ Bald Eagle, immature
100-400mm lens, hand held, manual mode.

alaska
Image © 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography
Homer Alaska ~ Bald Eagle
100-400mm lens, hand held, manual mode.

I am still in Alaska and loving it! The Eagles are so amazing and being out on a boat everyday is like heaven on earth. We have been photographing from the boats in groups of 6, hand holding medium telephoto lenses most of the time. One thing that I always do especially for birds in flight against varied backgrounds is work in manual mode. This helps me to maintain the right exposure with less effort. In other words if you were in AV mode (aperture priority) mode you would have to make an exposure compensation change as the bird moves from the sky to the water. When working in manual mode, once you set the correct exposure for the bird, that exposure will be accurate for any background no matter how dark or how light. You will still have to adjust for subject tonality and changing light no matter what mode you are in. For these last few shooting excursions we have had adult Bald Eagles and immature Bald Eagles as well as Glaucous-winged Gulls (which are mostly white), varied light and varied backgrounds. You needed to be on your exposure game to keep up. To learn more about digital exposure, histograms, and working in manual mode get a copy of “The Art of Bird Photography II” by Arthur Morris. (ABP: 916 pages on CD only).


______________________________________________________________ denise ippolito


contestbanner
Don’t forget to enter ~ THE BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition


12 Responses

  1. Carl says:
    October 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    Looks like your having a grand time. You’ll miss the Nor’easter here tomorrow. Nicely done Denise…

    Thank you Carl, The weather here is unseasonable warm :) I’m having a blast!
    denise

  2. Scott Vincent says:
    October 28, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    Denise, Homer is a favorite place of mine. Nice shoots – looking forward to seeing more!

    Scott, The place is amazing! I love the adrenaline rush you get every time there are several eagles flying. I have so many images to go through…
    denise

  3. Cynthia M. Thayer says:
    October 28, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    oh so jealous. I wanna go so bad!!!!! Great shots, Denise. Really love the second one. Great water color.

    Cynthia, It is a great time that is for sure. Thanks so much for the kind words.
    denise

  4. Raleigh Harmon says:
    October 28, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    Well done! I have been reading Robert O’Toole re Nikon and manual exposure for birds. Very cool.

    Hi Raleigh, Exposure is so important on a fast paced shooting trip like this. Thank you for the kind words.
    denise

  5. Dennis Bishop says:
    October 29, 2011 at 12:32 am

    I like something about each of these. Good tips on the manual exposure. Enjoy the rest of your stay.

    Thanks Dennis, I am having so much fun. See you on BPN!
    denise

  6. Andrew McLachlan says:
    October 29, 2011 at 1:22 am

    Hi Denise, great shots!!! Love ‘em all, especially like the background in the third image. Very nice work – can’t wait to see more! Enjoy the rest of the trip :)

    Thanks Andrew, I appreciate it. I have a bunch more to post!
    denise

  7. Arthur Morris says:
    October 29, 2011 at 2:29 am

    Love the green water and the red wall. Good job on the exposures and the lesson!

    Thank you so much for taking me to this beautiful place. Bald Eagles have always been on my list of faves so I am having a great time.
    denise

  8. Dave Klein says:
    October 29, 2011 at 2:51 am

    Hi Denise,

    Very nice images. I, too, look forward to your future posts and your impressions of your Alaskan adventure. As a Nikon guy, please offer my thanks to Robert and Artie for bringing the long-anticipated Nikon user guide to fruition. Safe travels and great image making to all.

    Best regards,

    Dave

    Dave, I have so much to share regarding my experiences and of course my images. I just need a bit more time in the day… Artie smiled wide when I read him your comment. :)
    denise

  9. Debra Keller says:
    October 29, 2011 at 9:43 am

    Hey Denise, it looks like you guys are having a great adventure, your shots are superb as usual! I remember your advice on manual mode from Bosque and am constantly working to get it right. I always appreciate your tips and wish all of you another great day!

    Thanks Debra, You and Mark were terrific in Bosque last year and having Mark on this trip has been great, he is a lot of fun to be with. We have been really lucky with weather so far. Wish you were here, you’d love it as much as me. :)
    denise

  11. Anita Bower says:
    October 30, 2011 at 9:11 am

    I especially like the first two images–I can feel the speed and power of the Eagles!

    Thanks Anita, they are such beautiful birds. I didn’t realize how large they were till they were 20 feet above my head!
    denise

Leave a Reply

*