Nature In Focus Photography Workshops

Happy 100th Triangle X Ranch.

Today at in Moose, WY at the Triangle X Ranch they have a celebration for the 100th Anniversary of the Ranch. By now everyone knows it is my happy place and get excited when I am headed that way, depressed when I leave, but have feelings like I am in Heaven when I am there. The people we have met, the things we have seen, the experiences we have had are a small portion of what that Ranch has given to so many people. Some of the best memories of my life have happened as a result of the Ranch. Every time we go we meet new lifelong friends. The stories those old cabins and buildings could tell about a piece of history. Join me in wishing the Triangle X Ranch a happy anniversary. I will see you again in about 90 days. I made this image on the 4th of July in 2020 while working on a project for the Ranch. For this image I used the Tamron 28-200mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 54mm on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Mode, f11, shutter speed of 1/6th of a second, ISO 100 handheld.

"Georgia on my Mind"

Tomorrow I will be presenting to one of my local camera clubs, The Big Canoe Photography Club. It is actually the closest club to my home, and I don't live inside the borders of Big Canoe, but love going down and seeing lots of good friends. They wanted something different, geared more towards encouraging club members to get out and make images here in North Georgia. I decided to break it up into 3 sections, Gibbs Gardens, Old Car City (I might add Savoy Museum today as I fine tune the presentation), and of course Rivers and Waterfalls. I found the Upper Tallulah River around 1976 while filming a movie with some friends in High School. The Movie was The Kings Dune Buggy is Missing, you might have missed it. I have gone back to the Upper Tallulah hundreds of times to camp, fish, reflect, and to remember my brother who passed away a couple of years ago. It is a special place for me. Rabun County is an incredible area boasting 120 documented waterfalls, more than any other county in all of Georgia. It is such a beautiful place and will always be my special place close to home. I have so many great memories from up there and my goal is to share that through my images of Rabun County and to inspire other photographers to get out and enjoy the beauty. I look forward to seeing my friends tomorrow! For this image I used the Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7RIII, at 26mm, f16, and a 4/5ths of a second exposure, Circular Polarizer, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Guru backpack.

Walk this way.

So several years ago Cecil Holmes and I decided to start a workshop company, Nature in Focus Photography Workshops. It has consistently grown over the years, and we have adapted to what our folks want to see and do. One thing was we didn't want to offer simple workshops, we want to offer experiences. We have done pretty well and make changes often to enhance that experience even more. Another thing we did a few years ago was to start a group, NIF Premium Group, which was designed to offer assignments, challenges and have a library of videos for members. A friend made a comment recently about not being able to see all the presentations we do around the country and wish they could see them. It got us thinking that we have a lot of presentations "in the can" ready to go, and we should figure out a way to make them available for our group. A side note, the Group has a cost of $39.99, but you receive $100 off any workshops you attend as well. Tonight is the first of the new monthly series of doing our presentation to our group via Zoom. I will be doing one of my favorites, The Decisive Moment in Wildlife Photography". I update it after every trip, and before each presentation so they are never exactly the same. Our challenges each month have a session where we do critiques and will even show changes we think might improve or offer a different view. Everyone seems to love them! Anyhow, check out our website if you are interested in the group. https://www.natureinfocusworkshops.com/
For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, 1/1000th of a second, 500mm (750mm equivalent using the cropped sensor option of the lens), tripod.

Schwabacher Landing.

It is safe to say, I really love Schwabacher Landing, but this may sound bad, but I don't like going there much anymore. Our first group went out the first full morning of the workshop, and of course I got them out there early. When we arrived at about 4:30am there were already 4 or 5 other vehicles, which is okay, but pushing the limit if they are all at the "iconic" location. As we started out we found that at least 3 of the vehicles were part of a portrait production setting up lights near the parking area. Those images will look very natural...not. We made our way out and were the first ones to the spot. 18 minutes later people started showing up, easily over a hundred were there by sunrise, but only about 20 of them with tripods, the rest were influencers doing their selfies, and some just enjoying the view. Some of the influencers could be heard saying their "shot" was going to be ruined because of all the "stupid people with tripods", I guess influencers don't wake up early? The beaver pond has shifted and the view isn't nearly as nice as it has been honestly. We started to head back and during explaining a view I like managed to do a full on face plant along the trail. My best friend (up for debate currently), and teaching partner Cecil Holmes came to my aid, I thought, only to say "I'll never let you live this down", then "do you think the composition is better from up here" referring to higher than 2 inches from the soil. I gathered what little of my dignity remained and we worked out way back towards the parking area, pausing for the group to capture this view. We then sat in the vehicles trying to leave in the more than a mile of traffic, which took almost 30 minutes. With all the other locations we have access to, I don't think it is the place it used to be, sadly. For this image I used the Tamron 35-100mm f2.8 Di III VXD lens on a Sony a7RIVa, at 46mm, f11, and a 1/125th of a second exposure, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Guru AIR backpack.

Back to my kind of a rushing crowd.

I'm home, exhausted, but relaxing finally. I have a doctor's appointment today, which is why I had to make it home no later than yesterday, then time to focus on 2 presentations this week, and then start to pack for Iceland on June 26th. This week we are starting a series of presentations to our NIF Premium Group (Nature in Focus Photography Workshops) to increase the engagement we will have with our folks. Then on Saturday I will be presenting to the Big Canoe Photography Club. The subject Saturday is "Georgia on My Mind" and focuses on my favorite areas in North Georgia to photograph and relax. It is an all new program and I am excited to present it. As for this image I will take the thundering hooves of these beautiful horses at the Triangle X Ranch over the thundering soles of the busy streets. Don't get me wrong, I can tolerate the "big city" and folks are great, but I feel I am becoming more sensitive to sensory overload as I get older. You can call me a hick, or a hillbilly, because I am definitely just a country boy. For this image I used the Tamron 150-500mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 402mm on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, ISO 4000, Leofoto tripod, f-stop Gear GURU AIR backpack.

Day 2 of the Unique Photo Expo 2026.

Yesterday went very well at the Expo. I successfully was able to cross the 4 lane road from my hotel to the store. No "Frogger" accidents! The Expo was packed!!! It is so good to see brick and mortar stores where people can put their hands on gear to make sure it is right for them. Today's presentation is "The Decisive Moment in Wildlife Photography", which I do fairly regularly, but is updated every time to show more examples. We had a full classroom yesterday, let's see if we can do it again today! It was great to see some good friends stop by. Thank you Tim, Michelle, and Nora for taking the time to say hello and/or stay for the presentation. I fly back, hopefully, tonight, but Delta has already sent an email saying weather could delay or cancel the flight. Keep your fingers crossed! For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm Di III VC VXD lens, at 500mm, on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, ISO 2500, handheld from a boat.

Bird Photography made easy.

I'm up in Fairfield, NJ for the Unique Photo Expo 2026. I have a presentation today at 1:45pm and followed with an image review. In my presentation today we will talk about settings, and practice, as well as setting up or finding areas to get more comfortable photographing birds. I have a "bird studio" in the yard, but I also rely heavily on supporting rehab and educational centers to help get over the initial excitement of seeing a beautiful bird, like this Barred Owl, in the wild and capturing some nice images, all while not pressuring the bird. I will also discuss how we had our yard certified as an Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and the positive impact it has the wildlife in our area. Come on by, register online, and I'll be hanging out to answer questions as well. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Nikon Z8, at 500mm(750mm equivalent using the DX, cropped sensor mode), Manual Mode, f6.7, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 25,600, handheld.

Tundra the Rough-legged Hawk and the Teton Raptor Center.

I'm headed to NJ this morning for the Expo at Unique Photo in Fairfield, and I was going through images that I was selecting for my presentations when I came across this image of Tundra. Tundra, like a lot of the birds in rehab or that are Ambassadors, was a victim of a vehicle strike. I was looking at the image for the presentation to show how 2 factors weigh into the final image. First getting eye level makes it more personal, then secondly using a long lens and using the separation between the subject and background (a pretty busy roadway) makes it simply blur to a palette of color and isn't a distraction from the subject. Also, I wanted to stress how we can help prevent vehicle strikes on raptors. We think nothing of throwing an apple core, or something we consider biodegradable out the car window, problem is mice, rats and other rodents will go to eat the item we threw out. Guess what eats mice, rats and other rodents? Yep, raptors, and if they take off when the vehicle approaches, they could easily fly in front of the vehicle. It isn't that difficult to simply put the item into bag and wait until you get to a trash bin, or simply put hold on to it and not throw it out along a busy road. We can do so much to help our raptors control pests, but we too often make it more dangerous for them. For this image I used the Tamron 150-500mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 500mm on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, ISO 1000, handheld, f-stop Gear GURU AIR backpack.

Alert.

I couldn't let the week go by without posting at least one more image of an adorable Whitetail Fawn. I always try to make sure we don't pressure an animal and disturb its behavior. These little ones were different from fawn to fawn. The younger ones would move if you got within 50 yards of them. The ones probably a week old, like this one, would let you get a little closer and fill the frame with 750mm worth of lens. What I will do is sit farther away and scoot a foot at a time closer. If the fawn paid me any attention, I would stop. Here the fawn is totally comfortable with me, but is alert to a family walking with a dog probably 200 yards away. After the family passed the fawn relaxed again and I was able to get the images I posted the other day. Taking time to learn your subjects not only makes you a better photographer, but a better naturalist. On a side note, I will touch on a lot of the techniques I use this weekend up at Unique Photo in Fairfield, NJ. I will be doing presentations and image reviews on Saturday and Sunday. Come on by and say Hi! For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Z50ii, at 500mm (750mm using the cropped sensor of the camera), Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/60th of a second, ISO 1400, Leofoto tripod, f-Stop Gear Guru AIR backpack.

Spencer's Mountain.

If you ever watched the 1963 movie, Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, this scene should look familiar. The movie was made on a location near the Snake River Overlook and involved a lot of driving down a dirt road, and hiking in near dark, but it is worth it. All the work to get there is rewarded by peace and quiet and no people beyond our group. It isn't a place you want to even attempt to get to a trailhead unless you have 4WD and you are a couple miles away from anything. It remains one of my favorite places overlooking the Teton range though. It is a place I don't recommend hiking out alone to, especially in the dark. During the summer months the Triangle X Ranch does organized horseback rides for their guest to the location and has a big breakfast. Another reason to love the ranch. For this image I used the Tamron 35-100mm f2.8 Di III VXD lens on a Sony a7RIVa, at 62mm, f11, and a 1/15th of a second exposure, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Guru AIR backpack.