Thanks to Tom Jones

Most of my workshops here in Ontario enjoy at least 75% repeat customers.. (I am very proud to say!)  this latest program on November 26, 2011 - a Birds in Flight workshop, we had 9 guests (full) with 3 new participants.  A big thanks to Tom, Ken, and Kevin for joining myself, and my friends for an awesome day with the raptors in flight!  Here are a few shots that Tom sent me with his comment.... 

"As for the Workshop, excellent, adrenalin rush"

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Thanks to Sujatha Mizar

Sujatha is from a city near Boston Massachusetts.  Pretty 

amazing that she came all the way to southern Ontario

to see Ray and the birds in flight for 2 full workshops!  

We had an awesome 

visit, she is one very special person, and I look forward to 

seeing Sujatha again very soon! 

(a quote from her email below)


Thanks to Tom Clarke for the image below!

"I wanted to thank you for the amazing BIF workshop at the 

Canadian Raptor Conservancy a couple of months ago. This was a 

wonderful opportunity for me to observe  and 

capture many majestic raptors in flight.

The workshop was extremely 

well organized and offered a wide range of bird species and

 flight shots. Your guidance throughout the workshop was 

invaluable!  

I've attached a few of my favorite shots from the workshop.

I look forward eagerly to attending a future 

workshop of yours. Thanks again!"

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Thanks to Dave Van de Laar

Dave joined my group at a recent workshop program at the Muskoka Wildlife Center near Gravenhurst, Ontario.  Our day was wonderful as Dale and Crystal were awesome with helping us create superb images.

Thanks for sending these great shots Dave! 

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Ontario Birding Article - Brian Morin

A special thanks to Brian, he has produced several articles 

for this very awesome Birding Newsletter.

Brian creates this entire publication along with the

 help of several writers and photographers, and a few 

advertisers.  A 16 page issue 4 times a year, 

for only $13.00 Canadian.

If you would like to have Ontario Birding News sent to 

your mail box, please send a cheque to 

Ontario Birding News 

661 Champlain Drive

Cornwall ON

K6H 6H9

 613 938-1849 

My latest article below... please click on the pages for a larger view!

Thanks so much Brian, looking forward to continued

success with your newsletter.

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

A workshop seminar series coming soon to India

Adventure in India

Special thanks to my friend and partner in
India, Dr.Caesar Sengupta!

Dr. Caesar and I have created a series of seminars, and a formal
photographic workshop which is situated in the lower Himalayan range.

A few of Dr. Caesar's images here!

 

Preliminary details posted here on my workshops info page...

please click!
Adventure in India

We should have all details and dates before January 1st, 2012

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Fast, Slow, and Hungry from Tanzania

First, we have the Fast!!

A family of cheetahs were found on three different occasions

out on the plains of the North Serengeti.  A mother, and two

one year old male and a female seemed to spend a 

lot of their late afternoon time at the bottom of this

huge tree. 

The pair you see here are the cubs. They took a quick break from their 

wrestling match to give us a quick look.  Late afternoon light, 

and a shaded area made exposures and shutter speed difficult.

I like to keep my ISO as low as possible, so the gain of a nice 

clean noise free image produces a loss of shutter speed 

and the ability to freeze the motion.

Fortunately, these awesome animals were still for this 

shot!

1/160s f/4.0 at 220.0mm iso400 

Then, the Hungry

While cruising the Ngorogoro Crater, our guide was

 made aware (via cb radio) about a family of lions

that were not too far from where we were planing

to exit this conservation Area.

We all decided to spend the balance of the light

for this day with these lions ( 6 animals).  They spent most of

their time resting, so all the attention was directed to

the two cubs, who seemed interested in some play.

It was interesting to notice that during our visit to see

so many different lions, in different areas, there 

were at least 5 pregnant females. We saw two 

females out in solo areas, as they appeared ready to

give birth. I suggested to our awesome guide 

Nickson that the lion population in the Serengeti 

was alive and healthy, and I was glad to hear him agree.

1/400s f/8.0 at 400.0mm iso200

Last, the Slow!

This Leopard Tortoise entertained all of us with an easy shot!

We all left the truck and took advantage as this cool 

looking reptile wandered across the road and trekked 

on into the park. I have several angles of this neat

animal, so I will post a few of them later on.

I would say it was about the size of a small football,

and moved along rather quickly. It was fun getting some

head on shots as the turtle seemed to be running directly 

towards me!

Thanks again to our Guides. We sure had some spectacular

opportunities during this recent tour.

More soon!

1/500s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso200

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

North Tanzania

1/640s f/4.0 at 400.0mm iso250

1/250s f/8.0 at 400.0mm iso320

1/40s f/7.1 at 250.0mm iso500

Pretty Amazing Experience!

I have had fun in Tanzania in the past, some pretty cool

and awesome adventures, but this past tour, and our visit 

to the north was exceptional.

So many species of animals in such awesome scenes.  

We spent a lot of time moving, which really seemed to 

work well.  The strategy I suggested to my guests was 

"hit and run!"

We would find a scene with some very awesome shooting, 

do our very best to capture it, and move on to the next 

opportunity.  This panned out to 2,900 shots 

on October 23rd, 2011!

The Vulture scene was incredible... Here we spent some

time working so many different shots to catch.

I did get some nice flights that I will post later on.

I think it will take me at least another month, maybe

into  January before I get all my editing finished.

Jut the sunset alone was about 200 images!  Various focal 

lengths, f stops, and basic set up seemed to work well.

I have at least 4 more shots to edit from this 

spectacular scene.

The 2 lion cubs were part of a family of 6 in total.

3 adult females and 3 cubs.  I am guessing they were about 

6 weeks old.  They will not stray to far from the family,

so this was a fairly easy shoot.

Looking back at my settings, it was challenging to 

catch sharp images here with the sun fading.  Had 

we been there 1/2 hour earlier, that would have

 been something.  The adults were laying asleep for most of 

the one hour we spent with the animals.  I did most of my

shooting from the top of the safari truck, with a few

lower angle images from the window.

For about an hour, the three of us fired away with 

incredible excitement in the air.  While shooting, I

was constantly whispering out my settings, and the 

changes I am making to help my guests

make choices for their own cameras.

It is very easy to "get lost in the moment".. 

This kind of once in a lifetime situation can be

so overwhelming. Even the finest of photographers 

can forget about what is going on inside their cameras.

I like to remind people as much as possible

on different approaches to wildlife photography.

This is much more than a snapshot / record making 

experience. Creativity begins with your camera settings, 

balance, and proper AF perimeters. Knowing the

 camera and lens you are using is imperative for success

in Tanzania.

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Maria says "thanks!"

My Maria meets a Canadian War Veteran 

We were having dinner in a local restaurant tonight, Maria was 

showing me the poppy she received from the school today

in class.  She was asking Daisy and I a lot of questions about

War, the one that stands out in my mind... "what did they use 

to fight with daddy?"

We explained.

Within a minute or 2, an elderly gentleman got up from his chair,

having finished his dinner.  I noticed his extensive medals 

pinned on his coat, and suggested to maria that she goes over to 

him, and says thanks.

"Thank him for what Daddy?"  I said he is a war 

veteran from the 2nd world war, he fought to save 

our freedom many years ago.  He is a very special man.

Please go and say hello to him and thank him for everything,

and I will be so proud of you.

In her mothers arm, they walk up to him and offered a hand, 

with a thank you.  He bent over and said thanks to Maria, and told her:

"Study hard, because You are our Future!'

Of course, I am sitting at my table with tears in my eyes, so

 proud of my little girl who is so brave. Her next question... 

"What is a future Daddy?"

Daisy and I explained, and she smiled, ear to ear.

Maria loves to study, she loves to learn.

Her dad could not wait to share the story.

Dedicated to my lost friend, A great man and Nam vet, 

Mark Ellison Dionne.

R.I.P my brother, We miss You.

Cheetah Hunting in Tanzania

A Proud Male Cheetah

Probably over a thousand images of this young male, 

his sister, and mother hanging out in this area of 

the Northern Serengeti.

On three different occasions, our guide Nickson found this 

family, and sets us up in the optimal position for light, angle

and environment.  These three factors are what make

 Africa a photographers dream!

All three of us in the six person safari truck had a 

full line up of cameras and the lenses needed to

 complete the task, and we all came home with mit-fulls

of editing waiting for us!

I found the 200-400 the most used lens in my kit. Using

it for at least 90% of the photography while mounted

on the D300.  This male cheetah was about 45 yards from 

our vehicle, and we were easily able to capture images

with less than 400 mm @ a 1.5 crop factor on the 

sensor.  The challenge here was the setting sun... and it

was Spectacular! 

I hope to edit a couple more from these two scenes soon!

(please click on the images for a larger view!)

Return to main blog here:
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Lilac-breasted Roller in Tanzania

A most amazing looking Bird!

Popular bird to photograph, this roller species was a lot of 

good fun on this latest tour in Tanzania.  Our guides were able to 

help us find several opportunities, with some very 

excellent environments.

Close enough for the D300 / 200-400 combination, 

without using the teleconverters, we found this bird to be

very confident, and stubborn about its perch. 

They hunt much like our fly-catchers, sitting low on 

an open perch, and quickly racing out to snatch a bug,

or flying insect.  The combination of a healthy population

of these birds, and also the Little Bee-eaters made 

our almost bug free trip much more enjoyable!

I did get a bee sting, not long after peeling and eating an orange!

Once I washed my hands, and discarded the peels, we were fine.

Ouch!  on the inside of my 3rd finger!

So, my opinion suggests that the Lilac-breasted Roller

is the most beautiful bird in the world., though 

I am sure some folks have different opinions!

I sure look forward to more chances like this while

working on the January 2012 Tour.

Return to main blog here
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Black Rhino Duel in Tanzania, Africa

Black Rhino Charge!

Honestly, some days there was never a dull moment. 3 of us waited
and watched as these two very awesome animals
 played a game of cat and mouse! 

While on the last leg of our recent tour to several locations 

throughout Tanzania, we were so fortunate to see 5 different 

Rhinoceros's in the North Serengeti.  The most awesome 

thing about the parks we visit in Tanzania, is the lack of fences.

Every animal is free, no limits!  The basic mandate
of the Government of Tanzania is to allow
nature for take its course, and protect 

from poachers as much as possible.

One of the great things about the boost in safari tours is the 

ongoing supervision of their parks.  I believe there are

4,000 licensed Safari Vehicles in Tanzania, creating a very

awesome "police force".  It is in everyone's best interests

to protect these animals from the foolish trade on horns, and

elephant tusks.  

We all need to do what we can to keep wild Africa on the right

track.  I was very encouraged on my recent tours this year, 

seeing a lot of pregnant female lions, and also, several 

healthy cheetah families.  Tanzania is a world class home

for true nature and wildlife protection.  

(now, if we can just get some decent roads in there!)

So, these rhino's are doing well. Watching and photographing 

this sparing match was an incredible treat.  Nickson, 

our driver and guide gave them a very healthy distance

so we were not interfering with the "dance!"

Special thanks to my partners in Tanzania, awesome guides, 

lodges, safari trucks with all we needed for a successful tour.

More images soon!!

Return to main blog here
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Spotted Hyena at 1/40th

Some luck, and very dark conditions!

D300 / 200-400 VR 

1/40s   f4   210mm  iso 400

At 1/40th of a second and hand holding a large and heavy 

camera / lens combination, the slow shutter speed can and will

create a definite challenge!

Fortunately, the bean bag helped a lot!  While on our way back

to the luxury camp, we drove by this awesome scene, lucky for us,

we stopped at the last light for a shot.

Bursting my shutter at this slow speed gave me about

10 very blurry images, and 1 sharp one!

These animals do not sit still for long. They are very 

hyper, and always hunting.  For a sharp image, you need 

3 things to happen in wildlife photography...

A proper auto focus set up, with a good lock on your target

A very still subject

A very still camera

The combination of these three factors is especially important

in low light.  It sure is nice when everything works out, and you

go home with an image like this one!  This bean bag 

technique is especially important when you are on an

African tour, the early mornings, and late afternoons always

seem to have something awesome happening, so

be ready!






Return to main blog here
http://raymondbarlow.blogspot.com/

ray@raymondbarlow.com