Category Archives: Pro Capture

DxO Smart Lighting

DxO Smart Lighting is an adjustment that I use with all of my RAW files, regardless of the subject matter in my photographs. I can’t comment on the use of this function with larger sensor cameras, but I can say that I’ve found this tool to be very useful with all of my images captured with smaller sensor cameras like Nikon 1 and Olympus/OM System M4/3 equipment.

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Photographing Thermal Mud Pools

Photographing thermal mud pools can be challenging when attempting to capture erratic mud bursts breaking on the surface of the pool. Technology like Pro Capture can allow photographers to capture a wide selection of useable images at this type of venue with a very high confidence level.

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Local Bird Photography

For many folks, doing local bird photography is their best option from both cost and time commitment perspectives. Flying to an out-of-country location to spend a week with a professional photographer/guide to photograph exotic birds can be an exciting prospect. From a practical perspective it is simply out-of-reach financially for many of us.

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Mid-March Birding

Mid-March birding can be a bit of a challenge in Southern Ontario since the spring bird migration is only in its earliest phase with robins and grackles starting to arrive. We are left with a limited number of species… many of which some folks do not find particularly exciting to photograph. Birds like Canada geese, gulls, fairly common ducks, swans, and small species like sparrows and chickadees.

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Intensive Practise Session

This article discusses a recent bird-in-flight, intensive practise session I did along the shoreline of Forty Mile Creek Park… and some of the planning that went into it.

In my mind, casually grabbing a camera and going out to create a few impromptu photographs does not constitute a practise session. There is no clear objective. There is no forethought or preparation. Nor is there any discipline involved with the activity.

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Why I Prefer Practicing With Gulls

This article discusses why I prefer practicing with gulls, and shares an extensive selection of new images recently captured at 40 Mile Creek in Grimsby.

Some photographers seem to view gulls as nothing more than a nuisance… and they don’t bother trying to photograph them at all. From my perspective, of all of the bird species I could choose to photograph in-flight, it is difficult for me to identify better practice birds than gulls.

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Kingfishers Taking Flight

This article features some handheld image runs of kingfishers taking flight near 40 Mile Creek in Grimsby Ontario. Over the years I’ve had precious few opportunities to photograph this kind of action with kingfishers. On this particular October afternoon I had four opportunities and was able to successfully photograph these kingfishers taking flight with all four of them.

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Heron Landing at 1680mm EFOV

This article shares 14 consecutive test images of a heron landing at 1680mm EFOV. These were captured a couple of days ago at Hendrie Valley. The past few months have been a challenge for me in terms of getting out with my camera gear. So much so that I was sadly in need of some practice.

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Monarchs in Flight Test with 150-600

This article features some monarchs in flight test images captured handheld with the M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom. All of the photographs were captured in my backyard at distances that varied from 3.7 to 8.4 metres (~12.1 to 27.6 feet).

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