Webinar hosted by NANPA
Posted on October 21, 2020
I wanted to share and spread the word about a webinar hosted by North American Nature Photography Association-NANPA called Women in Nature Photography: A Panel Discussion on November 4, 2020 at 7:00 pm EST.
The panel consists of four highly esteemed women nature photographers and educators—working in wildlife, landscape, and conservation photography—come together to discuss life in a male-dominated industry. The panel consists of Alyce Bender, Donna Eaton, Suzi Eszterhas, and Jennifer King.
This webinar is free and open to NANPA members and non-members. Advanced registration is required. To register go to http://nanpa.org/webinars.
This looks to be a very informative panel discussion. Click on the link to NANPA’s Facebook page for the information on this webinar.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog!
All the very best,
Lori
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Fall Colors at Stumpy Lake
Posted on October 14, 2020
Last Saturday morning, I headed to Stumpy Lake Natural Area in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a photo outing. I wanted to check on how the leaves were doing in changing colors and to see what bird activity might be around this time in the fall. Even though I knew it would not be a good sunrise, I still arrived as I normally do, at least a half hour before sunrise.
I knew that the rain was coming later that morning and had hoped for some dramatic clouds. There were some decent clouds but not as dramatic as I had hoped for. However, the leaves were turning into fall colors very nicely around the lake which made for some attractive fall color images. Here are a couple of my fall color images of Stumpy Lake.
As I was taking the landscape photographs this morning, there was a lot of bird activity in the sky, especially with the many great egrets around the lake. In addition, there was a lot of bird activity with terns, cormorants and great blue herons. I found myself to be quite focused on the great egrets and great blue herons as I found each of these birds in very scenic and picturesque locations in trees that had a lot of changing color leaves. I was glad to have such as cloudy morning as it helped to diffuse my lighting especially for the egret images.
I used my new Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF along with my new Canon 6D Mark II camera and was very pleased with the images that this combination provided. I especially liked the ability to change my focal length anywhere from 150mm to 600mm and that it gave me such a wide range of images with the birds. I could go tight for a up close and then back out to create a scenic type bird picture. I had a lot of fun playing with the lens and being creative in my photography.
Below are a couple of my egret and heron fall color images from Stumpy Lake. I am hoping to go back out in a few weeks to see how the changing colors are doing. Hopefully, I will have some new images soon to post from Stumpy Lake.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog!
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Fall Gourd Images
Posted on October 7, 2020
Recently, I have taken some photos of gourds and pumpkins from the inside studio of my home as well as a couple of images I took at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. I just been having fun creating some seasonal autumn images this year.
For the gourds I took at home, I used a LED photo light instead of a traditional flash on the hot shoe of my camera. This was the first time I had experimented with the LED photo light, and I was very pleased with how much better it was than using a flash on the camera. The main difference was that I hand held the LED photo light which allowed me to move it around to get the lighting that I desired. I just had better control over my exposure and lighting of my subject than I did with a flash.
I thought these below images would make terrific greeting cards for the autumn and Thanksgiving season and have posted the below autumn gourd images to my Fine Art America website where these images and others may be purchased as print on demand items such as greeting cards, mugs, throw pillows, etc.
Thank you for taking the time to view my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Morning at Ocean View Beach
Posted on October 5, 2020
A couple of weekends ago, I went to the Community Beach area of Ocean View in Norfolk, Virginia to capture the sunrise and to test out a new lens and camera combination. The morning was a very windy and cloudy morning at the beach. Although there was not very much color with the sunrise, there were some good dramatic clouds in the sky.
As I walked along the beach area, I found an old piece of wood that had washed up onto the shore. It had a really old looking nail in it. I assumed this piece of wood was probably a part of some old shipwreck. I spent quite some time photographing various scenic compositions that included the wood. I used my tripod, my 15-45mm lens and my mirrorless camera to capture the image below. I also used a long exposure and my two second timer on the camera to capture the stillness of the water.
Since the sun was behind the clouds as it came up, I focused next on photographing some sea shells in the surf. I always bring a few shells to the beach just in case the sunrise is not very good and to give me something to photograph besides the birds on the beach. Again, I used the same setup with my tripod, 15-45mm lens and mirrorless camera to photograph the shells in the surf. I had to use my two second timer that morning as my wireless remote was having some issues. With using the timer and having to anticipate wave moment, I had to take a lot of images to get the timing of the surf coming up to the shells just right in order to achieve the image that I was looking for. Again, I used a long exposure to capture the motion of the ocean water coming up to the sea shells.
Once the sun came up over a bank of clouds at the horizon, I was finally given a little bit of color among the clouds in the sky to photograph. I continued to used my mirrorless camera and my 15-45mm lens for these images. For these images, I did use Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) with taking three images in my camera. Then I post processed and merged the three images as High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. In my post processing of my AEB images I used the Photomatix Essentials software and tried to keep my HDR images as realistic as possible when processing them. The below image was one of my favorites from this photo shoot at Ocean View Beach.
Once I finished photographing the beach scenes, I turned my attention to focusing on trying out my new Tamron 18-400m f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD Lens for Canon EF with my Canon M50 mirrorless camera that I had purchased earlier this summer. To use my Tamron lens with the M50 I have to use the Canon EF-M Lens adapter for Canon EF/EF-S Lenses. So, I was really eager to try this new setup at the beach and, especially, with the birds. I have previously tried this setup with some macro and close up images and have really liked the images that I have captured so far with this combination of camera, lens and adapter. As for birds, this setup using a mirrorless camera, such as the M50, was great for still bird portraits on the beach, such as the image below. However, the M50 does not seem to be as suited for fast action bird photography, such as capturing the really fast-moving sanderlings along the surf. In addition, I did take some beach scenic pictures with this camera and lens setup. I was very pleased with those images and with this combination for scenic images.
This was a great morning at the beach in Ocean View as I was able to take a variety of different images at the beach. Even though it was really windy and the sand was flying into my face all morning, it was worth the sacrifice as I captured some really great images. Overall, I think I will keep using the mirrorless camera for my nature, macro, landscape and vineyard photography as I really like using the Live View mode for these types of images. As for my wildlife and bird photography, I will stick with using my new Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens and my new DSLR, a set-up which I will be posting about in a future blog post. So, stay tuned.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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October is Virginia Wine Month: Recent Virginia Vineyard Images
Posted on October 1, 2020
October is Virginia Wine Month. This month-long celebration of Virginia wine started in 1988 as a way to support Virginia’s wine industry. At that time there were around 40 wineries in Virginia, and today there are more than 300 wineries with beautiful landscapes.
Vineyard photography has become a new passion for me, and to celebrate Virginia Wine Month, I am posting a few recent Virginia Wine Country images.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Norfolk Botanical Garden Summer Images
Posted on September 25, 2020
One of the nicest advantages of living in Norfolk, Virginia is living so close by to the Norfolk Botanical Garden. I frequently make visits to the Norfolk Botanical Garden throughout the year. One of my favorite photography spots and my favorite subject matter this summer has been at the garden photographing the American bullfrogs. But I have also found some time to photograph some other subjects on my many trips to the gardens this past summer.
The Norfolk Botanical Garden is a photographer’s paradise with so many beautiful flowers, roses, butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, snakes, and other wildlife. But let’s not forget, as we are now in the fall season with the fall colors popping soon, that the Norfolk Botanical Garden is also a great place to photograph the change in the colors of the leaves this fall.
Below is an image I photographed late last fall at the Norfolk Botanical Garden after a raining morning.
Below are some of my favorite images from my summer photo shoots at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Hampton Roads Photography Location Guide: Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Historic Park
Posted on September 20, 2020
About
The Great Bridge and Battlefield and Waterways Park is located in Chesapeake, Virginia just north of the Great Bridge bridge. This park is an historic park as it is serves as a tribute to the history of the Battle of Great Bridge which was fought on December 9, 1775 during the Revolutionary War. There is a museum, the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum, on the park grounds. This park is located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and has several trails on the property that included a marsh overlook, eco preservation area and waterway trails that go north and south along the Intracoastal Waterway.
The footbridge trail through the woods leading to the marsh overlook area at Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park in Chesapeake, Virginia. 
The docking pier along the Atlanic Intrascoastal Waterway at the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park in Chesapeake, Virginia. 
Trail along the Intracoastal Waterway at the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Best Time to Arrive
Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park is open from sunrise to sunset, and if exploring the woods for macro photography, this location would be suitable for photographing just about any time of the day. Sunrise would be a good time to capture the colorful sky over the Intracoastal Waterway. Early morning or late evening would be ideal for scenic or landscape photography along the Intracoastal Waterway or at the Marsh Overlook area.
The Photography Potential
The photography potential at Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park is very good for macro, landscapes/sunrise, and wildlife. I have seen deer in the early mornings in the woods at this park, and the marsh area has the potential for waterfowl. The woods are great to explore here at this park for macro photography as there is wealth of different subjects to be found such as mushrooms, fungi, leaves, etc. The Intracoastal Waterway provides some unique perspectives to sunrise with the boats that are moored along the canal, and there is always potential to get a kayaker going down the canal in the early morning light as well. There is a docking pier on the causeway at the park, and this lends a better view of the Intracoastal Waterway at sunrise.
Gear Needed
The photography gear that is needed for this location depends on the type of photography you might want to explore at the park, but a wide-angle lens for sunrise or landscapes and a short telephoto zoom lens such as a 75-300mm would be ideal. A longer lens would be needed to photograph waterfowl or wildlife at the marsh area since there is a bit of distance from the overlook to the water area in the marsh. A macro lens, close up filters or extension tubes would be ideal for doing macro photography in the trails in the woods. I would suggest a tripod for sharper images, whether you are photographing sunrise or macro. I like to use a remote switch for capturing my sunrise or macro images, and if you don’t have a remote switch, you can use your timer on your camera so that you don’t inadvertently cause any camera shake on your images. I also like to use a hot shoe bubble level to make sure my images are level and straight with the horizon.
Techniques Used
Techniques I used for some of my sunrise images at Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park included using auto exposure bracketing (AEB) of 3 images at +/- 2ev. With that, I merged the 3 AEB images during my post processing procedures for a more realistic type of high-dynamic range (HDR) look. For capturing my macro/close-up images, I used my Vanguard tripod with the legs open wide to get close down to the ground and used my center column on my tripod to position my camera close to my subject.
Any Other Pertinent Information
Other pertinent information for this location is that there is another small park along the Intracoastal Waterway across the street called the Great Bridge Locks Park. This location would be convenient to explore after leaving the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park. At the Great Bridge Locks Park there are opportunities to photograph scenic or landscapes of the Great Bridge bridge, the locks, or even the waterways. In addition, there is wildlife photography potential with ducks, herons, osprey and crabs along the trail of the waterway. Also, I should mention that there is a restroom located at the Great Bridge Locks Park while there is only a port a potty outside at the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park. If you are there while the museum is open, there may be indoor options, however, with the COVID situation, I am not sure of the museum hours at this time.
Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park has a lot to offer for the nature photographer whether you like to photograph sunrises or landscapes, macro or wildlife. Hope you can get a chance to get out to this location and explore the possibilities it offers and capture some great images.
Thank you for taking the time to view my blog and this Hampton Roads Photography Location Blog series.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Article Link for Melissa Groo’s article on Staying Safe in the Field
Posted on September 17, 2020
Here is a link for a great article on safety tips for photographers in the field by Melissa Groo, wildlife photographer, writer, and conservationist. This article appeared in Outdoor Photographer Magazine in the latest issue. Melissa Groo has a bimonthly column on wildlife photography with Outdoor Photographer Magazine. She has written some great articles on wildlife photography and is a fantastic wildlife photographer.
Just thought I would share this article as I thought there are some great info and tips for photographers in the field.
Click on the button below for the link to Melissa Groo’s article.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Sunrise at Buckroe Beach
Posted on September 9, 2020
Friday morning, I went to Buckroe Beach in Hampton, Virginia for the first time in twenty-something years to photograph the sunrise. I was pleasantly surprised with the change in the beach since I was last there with the addition of jetties and shoreline rocks, and a pier.
All of these additions made for some interesting compositions for my sunrise images. I was fortunate that it was a great morning for a sunrise with the sky full of orange and yellow colors.
In addition to the beautiful sunrise that I witness and photographed, there were quite a few black skimmers hanging around the beach. The skimmers would often take flight when the beach tractor came by combing the sand on the beach. This made for some great opportunities for in-flight bird photography.
It was definitely a great morning at Buckroe Beach. I wanted to share a few images that I captured Friday morning.
For my sunrise images, I used auto exposure bracketing (AEB) of 3 images to process as high dynamic range (HDR) images. I used a +/-2EV for my exposure bracketing with a low ISO and varying apertures from f/11 to f/22. Although, with HDR I like my images to be more of a realistic HDR image. Hope you enjoy these images. Let me know what you think.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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10 Tips for Vineyard Photography
Posted on September 3, 2020
Here are my top 10 tips for vineyard photography that I have discovered while photographing vineyards this past year. Hope these tips will help you improve your vineyard photography.
Know the Seasons of the Vineyards
Knowing the growing seasons of the vineyards and the changes the grapevines will go through each year in the region where you live is important so you will know when the best times would be to photograph the vineyards. Here in Virginia Wine Country, the spring brings the bud break, and the Veraison (ripening of grapes) occurs around the late summer time period (August). The harvest season is usually late August through late October, depending on the variety of grape grown. Autumn brings the changes of color on the vine leaves, and in the winter season the vines are leafless.
Lighting Conditions
As with any type of nature and wildlife photography, the preferable lighting is that of early morning or evening when the lighting is soft and even. These are the best times for vineyard photography. I especially like to arrive in time to take pictures of the sunrise or sunset over the vineyards and will shoot images for about an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, unless I photograph on a cloudy day. Cloudy days are fantastic times for vineyard photography as you can take pictures basically any time of the day since the clouds will diffuse the brightness of the sun and will provide even lighting for your subjects. I especially like cloudy days at the vineyards for the dramatic clouds and skies and for the even light the clouds provide, which allows me to capture images during the day that I otherwise would not have gotten due to harsh sunlight. Having beautiful light at the start of the morning or the end of the day, even a cloudy day, will turn your ordinary image into an amazing image of the vineyard.
Cloud Formations
To further expand what I had mentioned about clouds under lighting conditions, cloudy days provide many unique opportunities to capture various cloud formations over the vineyards. I love the days when you get those beautiful puffy white clouds (cumulus clouds) which allow my vineyard photographs to have a more dramatic and dynamic feel. Also, cloudy days are very helpful with the even lighting they provide when photographing the grapes on the vines up close. Clouds in the sky also are great for sunrise or sunset photography as the clouds will bring a fierier look to the sky that makes your image look more colorful and more vibrant. Cloudy or partly cloudy days are much better days to photograph vineyards at sunrise, sunset or during the day as these days bring much more photographic potential to vineyard images with the different weather conditions than does photographing on a sunny day, which most people would assume would be the best type of day to photograph but where the harshness of the sun makes it more difficult to capture well exposed images.
Composition
I like to look for interesting focal points in the foreground especially while photographing sunrise and sunset images in the vineyards. This could be a wine barrel, tree, fence, etc. This will make the vineyard photographs stand out. Look for compelling patterns, textures, lines or shapes that will draw attention to the subject of the vineyard or grape. I also have discovered that I like the perspective of shooting low among the rows of the grapevines for a different view, and I even like to photograph the grapes from a low perspective as well. Water droplets on the vine leaves and/or grapes can add a lot of interest to your image. So, after a recent rain or a dewy morning is a great time to head out to photograph grapes on the vines up close. Some vineyards are on flat land, and being able to find a way to get yourself and camera higher than the vines will give another interesting view of the flat acres of vineyard rows. I also keep in my mind the direction of the sun when shooting just after sunrise or just before sunset and will plan out my thoughts for compositions before I arrive to the vineyard. So, knowing the vineyard and its property is essential in creating potential compositions prior to your arrival at the vineyard.
Use A Tripod and Monopod
For shooting sunrise and sunsets, I use a tripod with a ball head and level bubble in the hot shoe of the camera to keep the horizon straight and level. I will also use a remote control to take the pictures to prevent any additional movement that may happen by touching the camera when snapping the shutter. I have found using a monopod after the sun is up is helpful while taking pictures of the vineyards and grapes as it adds a lot of stability which increases the sharpness of my images. In addition, a monopod will give me more flexibility and mobility while maneuvering around the vineyard and the grapevines. Also, carrying a camera on a monopod is much easier and so much lighter than a heavier tripod and camera.
Use of Filters or High Dynamic Range
When photography sunrise and sunset, I find a gradual neutral density (GND) filter is beneficial in capturing the separation of clouds from sky. It helpt the clouds stand out or pop. Using a gradual neutral density filter is a way to be able to capture the variances of the exposures between the sky and foreground. If you expose for the clouds, then the foreground gets blown out, or if you expose for the foreground, the clouds get blown out. The GND offers a way to balance the exposure with your foreground and the sky to capture a captivating sunrise or sunset over the vineyard. Instead of using filters you can capture your sunrise and sunset images using High Dynamic Range (HDR). I experiment each photo session using filters or HDR, however HDR can look make the image look less natural. A GND is much easier to use than is using the HDR technique, and both ways give very different looks. My suggestion is to experiment and to see what the possibilities are using a GND filter or HDR while taking pictures of the sunrise or sunset. Using a polarizer after the sun comes up and/ or on cloudy days will make the clouds really pop from the sky. A polarizer is used by turning the filter on your lens until you get the effect that you want.
Camera Settings
As with any type of landscape photography, I use a low ISO setting and a higher aperture to give me the depth of field when shooting a vineyard landscape. An aperture like f/16 or f/22 will help to keep the whole scene focused in your image. I use the aperture priority setting on my camera, and sometimes this will give me a lower shutter speed. This is why using a tripod or monopod is essential to help with camera shake and blurry images. If you have the ability to use live view on your camera, I would suggest doing so. I find using live view a useful tool in capturing the composition that I am looking for, and with my mirrorless camera I am able to touch the screen and quickly change my settings when I need to.
Other Subjects Such as Wildlife
While photographing, always be on the lookout for wildlife in the vineyard. Even though you may not be a wildlife photographer or have the equipment with you to photograph wildlife while at the vineyard, the opportunity does exist. Especially nearing the harvest season, when the grapes are much sweeter, which may bring more wildlife to the grapevines, and therefore, an early morning or late evening visitor may be present when you are there to photograph the vineyards. Be ready for that unexpected visitor so that you may be able to capture a scenic image of that deer amidst the rows of vineyards. I recently had this experience while photographing one early morning at a vineyard. I, being a wildlife photographer as well, was disappointed with myself that I did not bring my 100-400mm IS L zoom lens so that I would be able to capture an up close image of the fawn that had wondered into the vineyard and rested in the grass in between the rows of grapevines.
Other Gear Needed
I use my DSLR and DLSM (mirrorless) cameras in my vineyard photography. I mainly use a 24-105mm IS L lens, 15-34mm EF M lens or a 55-200mm EF M lens when photographing the vineyards. I do capture up close images of the grapes and grapevines using these above lenses. Every once in a while, I will whip out my iPhone and use a macro setting on my Camera+ 2 app, which, unbelievably, gives a very sharp and detailed image. I have not yet brought my 180mm macro EF lens for a photo shoot at a vineyard. Again, I use a tripod and/or monopod, depending on what scene I am photographing, and always have some filters with me to use.
Respect the Vineyard
I always respect the vineyard and the property while walking around photographing the different scenes. I always check with each vineyard’s management to make sure that it is okay for me to take nature images on their property. It is especially important during the nearing of and in the harvest season to not to get too close to the grapevines to disturb the grapes. Most vineyards will not want you or any visitor to walk in between the rows of grapevines during this time. I have been finding that I just photograph up close to grapes on the end rows, which I still can do using my zoom lenses so that I do not get too close to the grapevine.
I hope you find these 10 tips helpful in your next adventure to the vineyard for some vineyard photography.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Hampton Roads Photography Location Guide: Phoebus Waterfront Park
Posted on August 30, 2020
About
Phoebus Waterfront Park is located off Mellen Street in downtown Phoebus. There is a 96-foot pier with an attached floating dock. This waterfront park is fairly new as it had its grand opening in March 2019. Also, there is a small beach area on the right side of the pier. This park was designed to allow smaller boats or dinghies to come ashore from Mill Creek. The pier can also serve as a public landing for canoes and kayaks.
Best Time to Arrive
I happen to be on the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Friday morning just before the sunrise and saw the potential for a very colorful sky. Even though I did not have my camera or lenses with me, we still decided to get off at the Mallory exit to drive down East Mellen Street to the waterfront area. It had been a number of years since we had been down to this area, so we were surprised to find the Phoebus Waterfront Park with a parking area, a pier and floating dock. We parked our car, and since I did not have my camera, I pulled out my iPhone and took a number of HDR images with my phone’s camera. Sunrise is definitely a good time to come to this location.
The Photography Potential
Phoebus Waterfront Park is great for sunrise pictures as there is a good eastward view over water and as there are a lot of different foreground elements that you can use to frame the sunrise over the water and the Fort Monroe Bridge. The foreground elements include pilings with gulls sitting on them, a small beach area, the pier, and hibiscus flowers in the summer. While I was there taking pictures of the sunrise with my iPhone, checking out the photographic potential and contemplating returning with my camera, lens and tripod, I did see a green heron fly over. So, I would bet that there is great potential for bird photography at this location as well. Plus, there were lots of gulls sitting on the pilings in the water near the end of the floating dock.
Gear Needed
A wide-angle lens would be very handy at Phoebus Waterfront Park to capture a sunrise image. I would also bring a zoom lens like a 100-400mm lens just in case there happens to be some birds to photograph. A tripod and using either a remote switch or timer would be beneficial in capturing a sharp image of the sunrise. I also like to use a graduated neutral density filter and a bubble level on my camera hot shoe. Bracketing for High Dynamic Range (HDR) images would also be really effective for a nice sunrise image with all the potential of shadows and highlights you may capture in your image.
Techniques Used
Even though these sunrise images were taken with my iPhone, I still tried to employ the techniques that I would used as if I was taking pictures with my DSLR. I framed images of the sunrise with the different foreground elements that I found in this park such as the hibiscus, trees, pilings, pier or even the small beach area. I often like to vary my angle of view either by going low or going even higher with my tripod. In addition, I always keep the horizon out of the middle of my image by either having more sky or more foreground. I will use more foreground elements in my sunrise images especially when the sky is not as dramatic. The park is small enough to be able to walk around to different areas to get different looks of the sunrise instead of being glued to just one spot.
Any Other Pertinent Information
Phoebus Waterfront Park is a very small waterfront park which has great opportunities for shooting sunrise images and where you possibly might find some birds passing through the area. I am definitely returning to this park with my tripod, camera and wide-angle lens, and hopefully, next time I will have another beautiful sunrise to document and capture and to share here on my blog.
Thank you for taking the time to view my blog and this Hampton Roads Photography Location Blog series.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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When It Rains on Your Nature Photo Shoot
Posted on August 28, 2020
A couple of weekends ago, I had plans to open up First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia when it opened at 8:00 a.m. to do a nature photo shoot around the grounds of the park. I had never been to First Landing State Park. So, I was excited for the potential of finding different subjects at the park and to exploring the park to see what all the photography potentials were for nature photography.
However, as we were driving to the park, the weather was not cooperating as it started to rain. Of course, we proceeded onward to the main entrance of First Landing State Park on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. When we got to the park, we drove up to the trail center and parked the car. At this time, it was lightly sprinkling, so I gathered my camera, lens and tripod and walked around the flower gardens at the front of the trail center. I took a few flower pictures until it started to rain a little more heavily. Fortunately, there is a porch area in the front of the visitor center, and we headed for some cover from the rain.
So, when it rains on your nature photo shoot, you have to try to make the best of the situation, and actually, photographing in the rain has its advantages, as I discovered on this day. We never left that porch area in the nearly four hours that we were at the trail center. There were so many nature photo shoot opportunities right in front of me. The subjects I encountered during this time included flowers with raindrops, ferns under the porch, wet rocks in the gardens, a frog wandering around the porch area, a grasshopper on a flower, a snake roaming around the flower gardens and a snail on a leaf on the ground.
I did not have any rain protection for my camera with me that day, so when the rain would briefly subside to a sprinkle or momentarily stop, I would dart out with my camera, lens and tripod to take some photographs of the flowers with rain drops. I focused on trying to find different compositions that also included raindrops on the flower petals. When it started raining again, I would return to the shelter under the porch at the trail center. I would hang out there and photograph the various subjects that I could photograph from the covered porch in order to keep my camera gear and myself as dry as possible.
About an hour after arriving at the park, while hanging out under the porch area, I was alerted to a snake that was slithering across the side of the porch area just beside me. So, I luckily had my 55-200mm zoom lens on my camera, and I quickly changed my camera settings to photograph the snake. I was able to stay a safe distance away and got down low to the ground to photograph the red-bellied water snake.
Over the course of the next three hours, I had several opportunities to photograph the red-bellied water snake as it kept slithering around the gardens at the trail center. In fact, at one point, it was tracking a frog. I did not realize that the snake was tracking this frog. I was too busy, glued to my camera taking pictures of the snake. Suddenly, the snake darted very quickly towards the frog. I thought for one second that the snake was coming for me, but then I saw the little frog frantically hopping as fast as it could to get away from the snake. The little frog did get away. However, the snake did take a big bite and latched onto my tripod leg. I was not sure if the snake had mistaken my tripod leg for the frog that scurried by my tripod or if my tripod leg was just in the way. I eventually stood on a nearby bench on the porch and took a few more pictures as the snake was slithering around looking for the frog. Anyway, that action was a little heart stopping, and eventually the snake went back to the gardens area, and I did not see it again that day. I did manage to take a few really nice images of the red-bellied water snake.
For the next couple of hours during the moments when the rain would let up enough, I would venture out from underneath the porch area with my camera, lens and tripod and focus on working with compositions of flowers with raindrops and getting the blurred background. I would try various angles to find what I was looking for and would change my camera’s depth of field to obtain that composition. Eventually, the rain stopped, and we were able to venture more around the park and find some other subjects such as mushrooms, trees, and the beach area.
Even though it rained on my nature photo shoot and my first visit to First Landing State Park, I did not let that deter me from being creative and taking pictures, and I was rewarded with some great subjects including wildlife that I was not expecting to see while taking cover under the porch area of the trail center. ‘Always expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything’ is a motto that I always say to myself in regards to my nature photo shoots.
When it rains on your nature photo shoot, you should embrace the creative opportunity that the rain gives you for your nature photography. Whether it is wildlife, macro or close-up photography, there are endless opportunities to be creative and to find different subjects in the rain. Next time it rains on your nature photo shoot, experiment and be creative with your nature photography. It just may pay off with some excellent rain inspired images. Hope this inspires you to go out and photograph on a rainy day.
Stay tuned as I will be posting an upcoming Photography Location Guide blog entry for First Landing State Park.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
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Hampton Roads Nature Photography Facebook Group
Posted on August 21, 2020
For those wildlife, nature and landscape photographers who are in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and who are interested, today, I started a private Facebook group called Hampton Roads Nature Photography Group. This group will discuss nature photography topics, share techniques and advice, plan photo shoots or meetings in the area, share stories related to nature photography and meet like-minded nature photographers living in or near the Hampton Roads area.
Here is the link for the Hampton Roads Nature Photography Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamptonroadsnaturephotographygroup.
Click the link above or find the group on Facebook and click ‘Join’. Once I receive your join request, I will approve you as a member of the group. Hope to see some local Hampton Roads photographers on the group page.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will get back with you.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Photographing Bullfrog at the Norfolk Botanical Garden
Posted on August 19, 2020
I went to the Norfolk Botanical Garden to photograph some flowers last week. After arriving at the garden and photographing some flowers, I heard a bullfrog calling. Of course, my instinct is to follow the call and check it out since wildlife photography is so much a part of me. In the pond behind the Sara Lee Baker Perennial Garden, I found a very large bullfrog hanging out in the pond. So, I switched gears from flowers to wildlife, and luckily, I had my 55-200mm lens with me so that I was able to switch gears and focus on photographing the bullfrog. As I always say, you have to be prepared for anything when going on a photo shoot, at least for me, as I am a diversified photographer with lots of different subject interests.
After walking over to the pond from the perennial garden area, I discovered the bullfrog was in the water. Its head was just above the surface of the water, and the bullfrog looked very photogenic. In fact, the bullfrog was very cooperative and let me take pictures of it for quite a long time.
Once I located the bullfrog in the pond, I quickly changed my camera settings from those for flower photography to those for wildlife photography. I knew I would need more shutter speed and the widest aperture I could get to blur the background of the water as much as possible. I increased my ISO to 800 and got a shutter speed of around 1/100 to 1/250, and my aperture was around f/6.3. I first tried using my tripod, but I really wanted to get lower down to the ground and just decided to hand hold my camera while photographing the bullfrog. Of course, I was not expecting to be doing this type of photography so I had on a nicer pair of tan shorts and did not want to get them really dirty by lying flat on the pine needles and dirt ground. Therefore, I got down on all fours so that I could photograph the bullfrog at eye level. I kept my camera and lens as steady as possible in this position.
While in that position taking pictures, I kept noticing in my viewfinder that the background had some distractions, such as light hitting the pond or floating debris in the pond, so, I kept moving around trying to find the best angle and position to get the image of the bullfrog that I was envisioning. I also started changing some of my camera settings and dropping my ISO to 400. In my wildlife photography, when I take pictures of my subjects, I really like the blurred background look, and this is what I was trying to achieve with the bullfrog. Although during the first part of photographing the bullfrog while it was in the water, I was not able to fully blur the water, but I kept all the distractions of the light hitting the water and the debris minimal by constantly moving around on the ground changing my position. After about 30 minutes or so, I decided to get up off the ground and take a break on a bench nearby.
After a short break, I checked on the bullfrog again, and it was now sitting on the wall edge of the pond. I grabbed my camera and lens and went back to photographing the bullfrog. Again, I got down on all fours and took pictures of the very cooperative bullfrog in various different positions. I was now able to get the bullfrog’s whole body in my frame and captured over 100 images of the bullfrog that morning. Eventually, after a few minutes of photographing the bullfrog out of the water, it quickly jumped back into the water, and my photo shoot of that very photogenic bullfrog ended.
I then found a second bullfrog with its head just above the surface of the water and photographed it for a while before the sunlight started hitting the nose area of the bullfrog. I adjusted my exposure compensation quite a bit, but I kept getting that blown out area on the bullfrog.
The pond was pretty much shaded as it is located under a big tree. We had arrived at the Norfolk Botanical Garden when it opened at 9:00 a.m. So, the lighting was pretty good except for some sunlight hitting the water through the trees. I now will most definitely check this pond area out each time we go to the garden. We go almost weekly, but I had never actually seen a frog hanging out above the water there before.
I wanted to share some of my photos of the bullfrog as I really got so many great looks and pictures.
Hope you enjoy the bullfrog pictures. Let me know what you think of these pictures.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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New Interest in Vineyard Photography
Posted on August 13, 2020
Late last year, I started getting interested more in vineyards and wine, especially since moving to Virginia and living in the Hampton Roads Region of Virginia Wine Country. There are over 300 wineries throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. This abundance of wineries provides a lot of opportunities to explore this type of photography. Virginia is rapidly growing in the wine industry, and with the multitude of wineries in Virginia, I developed a new interest in vineyard photography.
My favorite winery is The Williamsburg Winery in Williamsburg, Virginia. I first fell in love with this place because, when I visit their property, it is as if I were actually in another place such as France. In fact, The Williamsburg Winery was inspired by Europe’s finest estates with their architecture and with their furnishings. The Williamsburg Winery is a 320-acre farm known as “Wessex Hundred”, and they have over 50 acres of different varietal grapes planted in their vineyards. Their first wine was produced in 1988, called the Governor’s White, and they continue to still produce this wine, which is one of their most popular wines.
The Williamsburg Winery is a distinctive winery destination and, by the way, makes some very delicious wines, which I regularly enjoy. The property has a rich history that dates back to the early Colonial era and has unique scenery for vineyard photography. It is a great place to get away and to explore the vineyards in the countryside.
After several visits to The Williamsburg Winery, I started to become very interested in the process of wine making and the maturing of the vineyards. This led me to want to photograph the changes that occur during the wine grape growing season.
Just as with my wildlife photography, getting to know the subject is very important in capturing great vineyard photography. In Virginia, a new grape growing season starts in Spring with the bud break, and during the summer months, you can find green vines growing on the trellis systems with green grapes on row after row in the vineyards. Sometime in the August time period, those grapes will start to turn purple in the ripening phase, also known as going through veraison. The harvest time in Virginia is usually late-August through late-October, depending on the variety of grape as some ripen fast than others. During this ripening phase, the grapes are protected with net coverings to keep them safe from deer and birds as the grapes are becoming sweeter in the ripening phase. There are several factors to when a particular variety of grape is harvested by hand such as the weather, pH levels, sugar levels and acidity. The grapevines are pruned during the dormant season, which is in the winter in Virginia.
I have learned a lot about the vineyards and the grapes this growing season, and as I continue to explore this new avenue of vineyard photography, I am sure I will continue to grow in my knowledge of wines, grapes and vineyards. I am looking forward to capturing the upcoming harvest season in at the Williamsburg Winery and in Virginia Wine Country.
Stay tuned to my blog as I will continue to write about my vineyard photography adventures.
Thank you for taking the time to view and read my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Hampton Roads Photography Location Guide: Newport News Park-Part 1
Posted on August 8, 2020
Newport News Park is a hidden gem for the Hampton Roads nature photographer. This park is located, of course, in the City of Newport News, Virginia and is one of the largest city-operated parks in the United States. The park is located in the northern part of Newport News and has over 8,000 acres. It has 30 miles of wooden walkways that meander through the property and a wooden bridge that is built over a dam. With 30 hiking trails in this park, there is a lot to explore and discover within these grounds. A printed map of the Newport News Park is available outside the visitor center at the entrance of the park off of Jefferson Avenue. The Newport News Park is open sunrise to sunset.
Best Time to Arrive
On the Saturday that I photographed at the Newport News Park, I had arrived shortly before 9:00 a.m. as it was a cloudy summer morning and as there was not really much of a sunrise. The park is open to sunrise to sunset, and there are plenty of opportunities with potential to photograph a sunrise or sunset over the scenic waterway of the Lee Hall Reservoir. Views from the dam #1 bridge can be seen in all directions across the water. In addition, especially on cloudy days, there is potential to photograph reflections of the trees and clouds in the water along the walkways. An example of this possibility is demonstrated in the below picture that I photographed on a cloudy morning.
Unless you are there on a cloudy or mostly cloudy day, I would stick to the preferable early morning or late evening hours to capture your artistic images at the Newport News Park.
The Photography Potential
There are just so much to explore within this enormous city park. I have only touched the surface in exploring the opportunities that present for wildlife and nature photography. Thus, the reason that this blog is titled, Hampton Roads Photography Location Guide: Newport News Park-Part 1, is because there is much more to explore and to share in future posts. There are a lot of nature subjects like some flowers and cattails which was the first thing that I spotted on my morning visit to the park. On side of the road that travels through the park there was a pull off to the right side where I found the white Rose of Sharon flowers and cattails. The cloudy morning along with no wind was perfect to capture some lovely flower and cattail images.
Along the wooden walkway that meanders around the waterway, there are several opportunities to photograph other landscapes such as the reflections mentioned above and the shoreline stumps, which make for some interesting subjects as well. There is some potential for wildlife, even though I was not focusing on wildlife on my visit. However, I did take a few turtle images. Plenty of turtles swam in the water and were on some logs that made some great subjects. There were also some gulls and few other birds flying over the water. I also saw a couple of grebes swimming in the water. I think that the potential for nature and landscape photography is much greater than wildlife photography at the Newport News Park.
Gear Needed
I used minimal gear on my first visit to Newport News Park that included my camera attached to a my Bogen monopod and a 55-200mm lens. I also used a bubble level in the hot shoe of my camera to make sure that my horizons were straight on my landscape images. If I would have been photographing sunrise or sunset or anything in really low light, I would suggest bringing a tripod. In my future visits to Newport News Park, I plan to spend some time walking the trails to explore the endless possibilities of photographing various nature subjects, and I plan to bring my diffuser, macro lens and close up filters. A telephoto zoom lens would be beneficial to bring if you are interested in photographing the wildlife subjects at the park.
Techniques Used
I always shoot in raw mode which will give me the greatest quality of a captured image and the best degree of control to pull out all the details during my post processing. I used aperture priority mode with evaluative metering, and I set my ISO high enough at 200 to get a fairly decent shutter speed to keep my images sharp. I used mainly around f/11 for an aperture on this cloudy morning. I also changed my main subject and focus points along the edge of the water to a variety of different looks of the reflections in the water. My main focus on the this particular visit, since it was a cloudy day, was to focus on taking pictures of the reflections of the trees, stumps, and clouds in the water.
Any Other Pertinent Information
I definitely plan to make many return trips to Newport News Park to continue to explore the various areas and trails of this huge park and photograph the variety of nature and landscape scenes that change throughout the year and seasons. I definitely think that this fall in November will make for some awesome fall foliage images. As I discover more about this park and the photography potential, I will share this information in future continuations of this blog about Newport News Park.
Thank you for taking the time to view my blog and this Hampton Roads Photography Location Blog series.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Hampton Roads, Virginia Photography Location Guide Blog Series
Posted on August 5, 2020
I will be starting a series of blog posts regarding Hampton Roads photography location guide for my local area in coastal Virginia. As I visit and photograph each location in the Hampton Roads area, I will post about my experience at that location and the potential for photography. I will share some of my images to showcase the location’s potential in each Hampton Roads photography location guide.
Since fairly recently relocating to Virginia, I am just now starting to scout out and photograph the local area of Hampton Roads. There is a lot of photography potential in this area, potential that I did not even realize. Boundless opportunities exist to find creative and unique images of this region. The Hampton Roads area is comprised of several cities, counties and towns on the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads that include Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News in Virginia, two counties in the Middle Peninsula and two counties in Northeastern North Carolina. This photography potential is what inspired me to start a Hampton Roads photography location guide blog series.
This wide range of land area of Hampton Roads encompasses a lot of different historical sites, beaches, harbors, parks, and waterways. This area has a lot of potential for a variety of landscape, nature and wildlife photography, and each weather season brings different scenes to photograph, even from the same location. There is always something new to capture. The area is vast, and there is a vast range of potential for a variety of subjects in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.
In my series of blog posts on Hampton Roads photography location guides, I will share tips about each location, when best to arrive, the photography potential, what type of photography, gear needed, techniques used and any other pertinent information that will encourage and inspire photographic creativity in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
Stay tuned as I will be making by first post in this Hampton Roads photography location guide blog series later this week.
Thank you for taking the time to view my blog.
All the very best,
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you.
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Creating Photo Note Cards In Photoshop
Posted on July 28, 2020
I wanted to repost an article that I had originally posted to my old photography blog back in 2006 about creating photo note cards in Photoshop. Of course, then I had the CS3 version of Photoshop when I originally wrote and posted this article. I find the information to be really useful in creating your own line of note cards to sell at art or craft shows, online or even to send to family and friends. Hope you find the below article useful.
Many thanks,
Lori
Creating Photo Note Cards in Photoshop
by Lori A. Cash
Custom note cards are a great way to show off your images, whether it is with family and friends or as a source of income. I use Adobe Photoshop to create my blank note cards from digital files. Follow these steps to create your own custom note cards.
PAPER There are many different sizes and finishes of pre-scored greeting card in stock or inkjet paper. I prefer to use 7×10 inkjet paper and semi matte finish. The 7×10 paper produces a 5×7 folded note card.
The following steps are my workflow used in creating a 5×7 horizontal (orientation of image) note cards in Photoshop. However, the sizes made to create this document can be substituted with the size of card stock paper that you prefer.
CREATING A TEMPLATE
Once in Photoshop open a new document/canvas size. For horizontal cards you will need to create a canvas size of 7 inches wide and 10 inches high. The resolution should be set to what you will print, such as 300dpi. The color mode should be RGB color, and choose white as the background color. (To create cards in vertical orientation just reverse the width and height). After creating the new document, I set guides, which are non-printing lines that help with visualizing the layout of the card and where to put your image. To set the guides select View>New Guide from the top menu bar. In the New Guide dialogue box set the orientation to horizontal and the position to 5 inches, this will place a guide halfway across the width to mark the fold for a horizontal orientation of card. Next, place additional guides to identify the edges of the area where you want to place your image. For example, I use the following guides to mark the card for a horizontal orientation: 5.5 inches horizontal, 9.5 inches horizontal, .5 inches vertical and 6.5 inches vertical.
Using these guides gives my card a half inch border between the photo and edge of paper. Please note that the maximum printable area for a 5×7 card is 4.75 inches high x 6.75 inches wide.
ADDING THE IMAGE
Now that the guides are set you are ready to open the image that you want to place on the note card. Resize the image to fit on the card layout. For example, I resize my images to 4×6 inches or 1200×1800 px at 300 dpi. At this time, you can add borders, text or special effects to your image. Once the image is prepared, select the “move tool” from the Tools palette and drag the prepared image onto the card layout. Place the cursor on the image and move it into place using the guides. If the image needs adjusting for proper placement, go to the Menu Bar and select Edit>Transform>Scale. Use the cursor to drag a corner of the image to resize it. After the image is in the proper position, double click within the bounding box. If adding multiple images to your note card, repeat these steps.
ADDING THE TEXT
In the card layout you can add text for the back of your card. Select the “text tool” from the Tools palette and mark the area where you want to add your text. Set the style, size and color of your text and then type your text onto the card. All text and/or images on the back of the card must be upside down in the layout for proper printing. To accomplish this, select from the Menu Bar File>Transform>Rotate. Use your cursor to rotate the bounding box that surrounds your text until it is upside down. Then double click in the bounding box once the text has been rotated into the proper position.
SAVING THE NOTE CARD
After your note card has been created, save it. I save my note cards as Photoshop PSD files, which retains all layers intact for any future revisions. Also, saving your note card as a TIFF file will also preserve the layers of the document. Note-I recommend saving the note card layout as a template before adding your image and text so that you can use the template for creating new note cards.
PRINTING THE NOTE CARD
Before printing the card you must create a new custom paper size since it will not be listed in the list of paper sizes set by your printer manufacturer. I use an Epson printer and the following is the setup I use to create a custom size paper for my printer. Go to the Menu Bar and select File>Print with Review. The print screen will not be correct at this time since a custom paper size has not been created. Make sure the center image is checked near the top of the box. Also, check the scale to 100% and do not check the Scale to Fit Media box. Click the page setup button. Click the printer button, and then click on the properties button. The Epson driver dialogue box will now appear. Click on the advanced button in the lower right-hand corner of the box. Next, click on a selection called “user defined” in the drop-down menu that lists the different paper sizes. A User Defined Paper Size box will appear. Type the name of the paper size (i.e., I use 7×10). Then fill in the paper width and height. For a 7×10 paper size the paper width would be 700 and the paper height would be 1000. Click save and then ok. This custom paper size will now appear in your list of paper sizes. Now you are ready to print your note card. Click again on File>Print with Review. Next, click on page setup and select the new custom paper size from the drop-down menu. Make sure the portrait orientation is clicked to print a horizontal card format. Back at the Print with Review screen it will show the card as it will be printed. Click on the print button. Note- you may see a warning box that states “The image is larger than the paper’s printable area; some clipping may occur.” Simply click on the proceed button, and print your note card.
After printing my note cards, I place them in archival clear envelopes (5.4375 inches x 7.25 inches). Several places online sell the clear envelopes; Another choice is to use card boxes with the clear top to package many note cards together. Now you are ready to share your images with others by sending them personalized note cards and/or you are ready to produce note cards for profit.
Lori A. Cash
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, and I will get back with you.
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