Photography is a funny thing, you never quite know what your going to end up with, but you never come away empty handed. Most of the time what you have in your mind rarely is captured in a photograph; you have to adapt to the situation and make the best of what you get. Even if you don’t get that one stellar photograph you always gain experience, both photographically and for yourself.
Me shooting in the wildlife area. Photo: Walt Howington
I awoke this morning, looked outside and saw the glorious sight of several inches of snow laying silently blanketing everything. I got up out of bed and checked my laptop and found that classes were cancelled. I decided that I would relax a bit and fully take in that wonderful feeling that you get when you find that classes or work is called off. However the relaxation period was put to rest when my mind started to wonder about all of the new photo opportunities
A few minutes later my boss called me asking if I was planning on going to go shoot, he wanted to do some video with the Canon 5D MRK II and I was to provide stills. I grabbed my camera equipment, layered up in my winter clothes and met up with Chris to go shoot. The sun had peeked out of the clouds for a bit, but quickly hid back behind another force of snow and wind.
Chris Radcliffe, my boss, getting some video
After watching the Super Bowl the other night, I was inspired to look through my football photos from the past season. I stumbled across the Eastern Kentucky Tennessee Tech game, which was a very special game for me. It wasn’t special because I got any super spectacular photos, it wasn’t special because we won (I honestly couldn’t tell you who won), but it was special because my Dad was there on the sidelines with me.
Dad with all of my gear and hat on backwards!
Now that the semester is in full swing, I am getting the adventure bug and the mountains are calling my name! I look through my photos of excursions out west; it makes me long to travel, camp, backpack, and document what I see through my photography. Then my eyes shift from my computer over to the mountain of books I have to sort through for upcoming exams and it makes my desire to escape more evident.
My car in Canyon-Lands National Park, Utah
While I was on my winter break I was lucky enough to make a trip down to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island FL. By the time I got there it was late morning and the light was starting to become harsh and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get any dramatic photos. We drove up to the second or third lake area and saw a large number of Rosette Spoonbills Platalea ajaja.
I got my camera equipment out, which was a Nikon D200 with a 300 f2.8 lens and a 2x teleconverter, crept down in some bushes and started shooting. I was a bit nervous about just thrusting myself right next to the waters edge in some bushes because there was a sign cautioning people about alligators, but it was worth the risk!
While shooting, a couple of the Spoonbills started taking a bath and made for some great shots. After their bath they spread their wings to dry them and I came up with some unique photos of that series.
After visiting the refuge 3 times in the past and never coming up with photos of the Spoonbills that I liked it was great to have got the shots that I have longed for. It was a wonderful combination of luck and knowing what to do and how to shoot that all came together to make the photos work.
Eastern Kentucky University played Morehead State University which turned out to be a double loss for the Colonels. The Womens game played out to the last seconds with a one point game and EKU losing to MSU 58-59. After the womens game and some festivities the main event opened up with the stands packed of both Eastern and Morehead fans. As the fans roared and the clock ticked down to game time I took my position with fellow photographer Tim Webb. The game was packed full of action with back to back dunks, turn overs, and bad calls from the refs. In the end EKU lost the game 53-69. After the game I said my goodbyes to the other photographers and headed home to edit the photos.
All of the photos were shot with Canon 5D Mrk II camera bodies with a 70-200 f2.8 on one and a 24-70 f2.8 on the other. I didnt have a set of strobes to use so I bumped the ISO to 4000 and shot at 1/500th at f2.8 for most of the game.
