Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Artist Lynne Luker

Thanks to Lynne for using some of my images for reference!  Lynne sent me some copies of her work, so I thought it would be cool to let everyone see her art...
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I live in Kimberley, British Columbia in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.  Ten years ago I decided to try my hand at painting as I have always loved to draw. I started out with oils and then switched to acrylics about 2 years later. I had a lot of struggles along the way because I was self-taught but then took a 5 day course from Terry Isaac which really helped me improve my artwork. 

I have always been very much in love with every aspect of nature even though I mostly paint wildlife and raptor birds.  I like to capture nature on canvas, rock or wood, in a unique and special way, meaning something not often observed by most.

When I came across Ray Barlow's photography site, I was hooked. I thought to myself, this guy has the eye for capturing those very special moments in a photograph that I like to portray on canvas.  I love using Ray's work for my reference material as I feel we truly view nature and it's beauty in the same way. That's one thing I want my art work to reflect, and that is something that is not the norm. I want it to be something that people are wowed about and say, " Look at that, now that is something you don't see everyday!"  That's how I feel when I get an opportunity to paint one of Ray's spectacular photographs!

My art work is available on line at http://www.lynnemluker.com










(please click on the images for a larger view!)
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Monday, January 23, 2012

Leigh has a Special Visitor!

What an Awesome Bird!

After the snowy owl shoot this past weekend on Sunday, we
asked our guests if they were interested in photographing a few
birds in flight, as James had some extra free time.

So, we all chipped in 20 bucks, and had a blast with
the Red-tailed Hawk, and this Harris's Hawk.  So, here we have
hawk meeting hawk!  My buddy and guest for the
day Leigh Bierd provided a special perch 
for this bird to close out the day!

Special thanks to Peter Burian for this cool image!



The Saturday shoot was also pretty amazing, and thanks
to guest and friend Dave van de Laar for sending in
this image of the star bird, Victoria.






(please click on the images for a larger view!)
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Saturday, January 21, 2012

RJB Snowy Owl Days

She is a Beauty!!

A few hundred shots today in beautiful bright conditions!

Just the right amount of snow, our bird was in awesome
condition, and we all had good fun!

I hope to plan a couple more snowy programs before I head to 
Costa Rica, so please keep an eye on the 
dates on the workshop webpage.

We have 2 images here, more to come from Sunday's shoot.

thanks for looking.








(please click on the images for a larger view!)
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Thanks to Don Leslie, and The Forns Family!

We had an amazing opportunity with this awesome Great Gray Owl, near Kingsville Ontario.  These folks were very cool to hire me to tour them to the owl location, and assist with the various needs to create good images of this owl.  I admit, I did not need to do a lot, with very skilled photographers, and such an awesome subject! 

Fabs and Alfred Forns came all the way up here from Miami!  My family joined me for this trip to Windsor for 2 nights in a downtown hotel, and dinner with Al and Fabs, and thanks to Al for being so generous!  We had an excellent time with everyone, lots of fun stories, and I did
learn about a technique called the henway!

First, a quick comment from Don Leslie, and his images... thanks buddy!



" I had a recent opportunity to photograph the awesome bird with Ray. and I'd like to say a big thanks. As always, with Rays help and advice I managed to get some nice shots of this bird, looking forward to the next workshop Ray!"

Don Leslie -  Don's Flickr site!



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A quote from Fabs Forns.

Impromptu trip to Ontario

"Both Alfred and I have known Ray Barlow on-line for many
 years, but neverhad the pleasure of meeting in person.

The opportunity presented itself last week, when we saw
 Ray’s image of theGreat Gray Owl in the Kingsville area.

We called Ray and he took time off his busy schedule
to be with us for two days, take us to the GGO and
also, to an amazing place where he conducts
workshops, the Canadian Raptor Conservancy.

As luck would have it, Ray decided to come meet us the same day we
 arrived, and we took off for the Owl. We enjoyed her until last light
that afternoon and that was the last time we saw
 her. If it had not been for Ray’s idea of taking us there on that
same day, we would have missed the owl completely.

Here are some pictures, some Al’s, some mine. A couple form the
Conservancy and a couple of Short Ear Owls form the
Kingsville area, where we were escorted
by Ray’s local friends.

It was a treat also to get to meet Daisy and Maria, wife
and daughter. He is a wonderful family man
and that is a joy to see.

Thanks for all your help, Ray. We’ll visit again for sure!!!"

Fabs and Alfred Forns - http://www.avianscapes.com/

 
 






(please click on the images for a larger view!)
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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Jonathan Balcombe presents The Exultant Ark

My friend and scientist Jonathan Balcombe recently released a book that would be considered the finest
info-book concerning the emotions of animals ever produced.  I was asked to contribute a couple of images.  One of them covers the opening double page introduction, as my Northern Hawk Owl in flight images was used.



Following the success of his books Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Goo d (Macmillan, 2006), and Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals (Palgrave Macmillan 2010), biologist Jonathan Balcombe presents The Exultant Ark, the first pictorial volume to focus on animals’ positive experiences. With contributions from some of the world’s finest animal photographers, this handsome coffee-table book will showcase the rich landscapes of pleasure in animals. Large, color photographs depict a diversity of animals engaging in such rewarding activities as playing, feeding, courting, mating, seeking comfort, grooming and preening each other, and relaxing. Beyond the joy implicit in such activities, these images also remind us that animals, too, have lives worth living.
 
Jonathan Balcombe's website

 
a pdf file here...  http://www.jonathanbalcombe.com/PDFs/EA-Brochure.pdf
 
Here are a few of the reviews:
 
New York Times 
 
Boston Globe 
 
NewScientist magazine

Purchase on Amazon, click here!! 













(please click on the images for a larger view!)
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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Beauty or Beast?


Ye or Ne?


 

Ugly?  Maybe - Beautiful? that might be a stretch!
If you have a large screen monitor, have a look here to see
a image that is 2560 pixels wide, I think this shot needs 
to be large to appreciate it.

I am sure, if you are at all quweeezie, this image may bother you.
For me, it is truth, and reality.  

Our guide brought us into this scene when there were just a few 
birds on the kill, so about 600 frames later,  and 
about 1.5 hours, there were about 100 storkes and vultures
enjoying the meal.  Myself, I love this kind of shooting.
The trick was to try to get a clean view of the animal, as the crowd
was nothing spectacular to shoot.  We waited for the right moment, 
Nickson got us into position, and the shots fired!  It was exciting!

Remarkably, we even had a great variety of light, as the mix
of sun and cloud provided some very interesting views of contrast.

After going through all my images, my small regret is that I didn't 
use a wider focal length, for more depth of field., wishing
I had a full frame camera in hand! 
Maybe next time.

More soon!



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



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