This is a picture of a bateleur eagle. Most unfortunately, it is not one of mine. It was taken by my great friend, Jeff Wendorff. I think Jeff is the best bird photographer out there.Yes, I know there are other bird photographers better known but the only thing Jeff lacks is an ego the size of Florida and the arrogance to tell you how good he is.

So you want a picture like this? Do you want this picture? I can do that for you. It turns out that Jeff is leading a Birds of Prey photography trip for my Photographers Alliance Workshops to the World Birds of Prey Center in Boise, Idaho. PAW is the only photography group that has permission to take photographers to Center. We are getting point blank on all the best, most exotic and photogenic birds of prey of the world. Out of their cages, in natural-looking settings with perfect backgrounds-it doesn’t get any better than that!

This is an extraordinary opportunity to get stunning pictures that no one else has. And with Jeff teaching you (PAW leaders don’t photograph on workshops), making sure you are getting the best shot you can’t help to get beautiful photos. Check out the PAW website-paworkshops.net- to get the details on this workshop.

Well, almost my new book. My new book cover!!

The process is grinding along. The schedule publication date is early June. I have gone through all the edits and made the changes or argued about how right I actually am. All the pictures have been selected although I haven’t seen any of them and most I don’t know which is which. This is because I am an idiot and I didn’t put complete file names on the images when I made my submission to the publisher. But it is also because my book is really the publisher’s. Commonwealth Editions is paying for the editing, design, printing, distribution, marketing, etc. My name is on the front cover but it is their book.

I don’t have a problem with this. This is the deal you make when you sign a contract with a publisher. It is up to you to make sure the publisher you are agreeing to work with is a publisher who will be sensitive to your ideas and your design sensibilities. If you don’t like what the publisher has done than it is your own fault.

Of course the other side of this is complete control of the entire process. This is called self-publishing and it is very expensive. I would rather cede some of the decisions (I am after all not an expert in design, marketing, printing, etc) to the publisher I choose than send tens of thousand of dollars to do it myself. That is the best way I know to get an inferior product and a no chance of profit cost.

Oh, and I like it. Commonwealth Editions even allowed me some input on the several cover concepts they had. Now I just have to wait for all the stuff that goes in between. Stay tuned, you all will be the first to know!

I have gotten some new gear lately that I thought you’d like to know about. I am not much of a gear nut. I don’t read reviews, I don’t get into the minutia of specs and I don’t really care what others think about this or that. I care if it works for me and whether it is good enough for me.

The first thing I got was a new tripod. Yes, I already have a great tripod, an everyday tripod but what am I going to do with just one tripod? It doesn’t seem right to have just one tripod. A fella ought to have at least two tripods, right? So I got another Gitzo tripod. I needed one for travel that didn’t have the usual travel tripod problems- thin legs, too short, hard to use, and just not very steady. I had spent a lot of time looking for the perfect travel tripod, that is the perfect travel tripod made by Gitzo. Sorry, but I don’t even look at other tripods. I like Gitzos, the have always been great for me for the 25 years I have been using them and I am myopically loyal. Live with it. I got the 3541LS. It is only 21 inches long when contracted and it is just about 6 feet tall with the ball head on it. I like it so much that I gave it to two of my close photography friends so I wouldn’t be embarrassed when out shooting with them!

The second thing I got was a Nikon 24-120mm lens. I should say that I re-got it. This is the lens that I used 80% of the time on my upcoming dairy farm book. It is wide enough for landscapes and small places and long enough to zoom out for details and nice portraits. I tried other lenses when my original got some nicks in the glass from hard use but none quite matched up with the 24-120. I still like the 18-200 but my go-to lens is the 24-120.

Okay, this will be a short one because I just don’t want to think about it anymore. Right now I am on vacation in Laguna Beach in southern California. We got some free tickets at a coastside resort so we cashed in and got out of winter for a few days.

Now to the point. I didn’t bring any camera gear-none, nothing, zippo, nil, nada. Why? Because I wasn’t anticipating having anything to photograph in Laguna Beach. Not that there isn’t anything to photograph there. It was more that I wasn’t going to be looking for things to be photographing.

Oops. Turns out that you don’t have to look for things to photograph, they’ll find you. So far, there has been spectacular sunsets every night. I would’ve had to decide between palm trees or breaking waves as a foreground. Yesterday, we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Nothing to photograph there! Andean Cock of the Rock in perfect light on branch at eye level with nothing but green in the background and beautiful twisting neck of a Chilean Flamingo, his eye just peaking out from under his wing- 8 feet away!!!

And just now I have walked back from the pool area where a falconer was set up. He comes three times a week to fly his birds to keep the gulls off the roofs. No one else was down there with the birds other than the handler- 3 Sakar falcons, 2 Harris’ Hawks and, just to deepen the dagger in my photographic heart, a Eurasian Eagle Owl. Soft light, soft backgrounds, still birds, happy falconer- couldn’t be better. I would love to show you the pictures I took of these magnificent birds but I DIDN’T HAVE MY CAMERA!!!!

Did I mention that the eagle owl is huge and has blazing orange eyes? Never mind, I don’t want to hear about it.

It is amazing how good cameras are these days with capturing scenes in very low light. I learned this while I was doing my farm book project and I had to get pictures inside dark barns and sheds. But I am still amazed at what I get when I am taking the pictures. The hardest part of taking these pictures is not listening to the loud part of your brain that is screaming at you for being such an idiot for even thinking about photographing in so little light. Once you can ignore all the mental noise you will be shocked at how good the pictures are.

These were taken with my Nikon D300 at ISO 1600. There is a bit of noise in the dark areas but not too much and not enough that can’t be washed out with various noise reduction programs.

The reason I took these pictures at night is because that is when the lobster boats were going out! I was in Stonington, Maine working on the book project a couple of weeks ago in mid-January. Stonington is one of the few places that actively lobsters in winter but to do so they have to go 30 to 40 miles offshore in 300 to 500 feet of water. This means 2 hours of traveling just to get to their first pot! So they take on fuel and bait at 4:30 am and come back at 6 or 7 pm.

If you want to get pictures of winter lobstering you got to get up when they do and get the pictures you can. Best dress warm because it is very cold. On this morning it was 8 degrees and there was a breeze blowing off the water. My hands got very cold but the pictures were worth it.  Besides, what else are you doing at 4:30 in the morning?

Okay, here is the full story. I have just gotten a contract to do another book. This one is going to be on lobstering in the Gulf of Maine. I have been photographing the harbors and the lobstering detritus of the Northeast for 20 years but this is the first time I am doing so with a purpose so I am very excited. My friend, Brenda Berry, came up with the idea while we were teaching a workshop in Acadia. I have no clue why I didn’t think of a book on lobstering, but I didn’t.

Brenda and I have just started seriously exploring the Gulf of Maine coast and making contacts with the local lobster fishermen (yes, there are women lobsterers but they prefer to be called either fishermen or lobstermen). This wonderful gentleman we found in Stonington, Maine. He gets up at 2am every day to work in his shop cleaning, repairing, painting, organizing his gear. (Okay, maybe not so much on the organizing.) We walked in, introduced ourselves and sat there of 45 minutes as he told us stories and kept us very entertained. He is a piece of work and I can’t wait to get back and visit and photograph him again.

I have to say that I have never found a more friendly and universally generous group of people as the lobstermen of the Northeast. Everywhere we went, always unannounced, always barging in making a nuisance of ourselves we were welcomed and made to feel at home. Perhaps it is how we go about it, perhaps it is because Brenda is with me and she is enthusiastic and happy to the point of justifiable homicide but I think it is because lobstermen are just plain friendly.

The gentleman’s name is Steve. His son runs one of the local fishing co-ops. He suggested that we go and talk to his dad. He was probably just trying to get rid of us but he did us a huge favor. Not only was his dad a character but he was sitting in a ridiculously photogenic place. Brenda and I both commented on how no one could design this workshop, it wouldn’t look right. This is from years of ‘just is.’ It was perfect!

Look forward to more, much more, stories and pictures on lobstering. We have set up a website on the book: www.thelobsteringlife.com. We are going to post pictures and keep you abreast of the progress of the book.

I met this man in Stonington, Maine while working on my next book, A Lobstering Life. What a character! I will tell you more about him in the blogs to come but I wanted to introduce you all to him. His name is Steve Robbins Jr.

I have to admit something to all of you. I don’t have a flash. I haven’t owned one in three years. I haven’t missed one in five years. I don’t expect I will ever own one or miss one again. Why? Because I find the combination of high ISO photography and the tricks and power of Lightroom have made flash unnecessary. It also helps to be wise and clever enough to find situations to photograph that don’t need flash. Let me explain.

Most of my photography these days has been confined to an old dairy farm. (My book on the farm will be coming out in June) This means that I have been photographing inside a lot in pretty dark places. My results have been spectacular and I have never, ever used a flash. The trick is to use the highest viable ISO (the highest without too much noise) and find a situation with nice light. And then just fire away!

This is a photo of Hugh, the 93 year old farmer. Notice the nice light on his face and the lack of shadows. This is because I waited to take his picture in a location where there was light bouncing off the floor of the barn on to his face. This is why there are no shadows under his hat. There is no flash that I know of that will be able to take this shot as easily as I did without flash.

The little calf was lying in the darkest part of the barn. I didn’t have the option of using flash because I didn’t want to disturb the calf or the cows immediately to my side. So I waited for just a touch of light coming from a side window and with my ISO set at 1600 took this picture. I was also hand-holding my camera. How is that for breaking all the rules and still getting a nice shot?

With Lightroom flash has become unnecessary because the program allows very precise selective lightening of areas. This effect is the same as using the flash in fill mode. Think about it- isn’t fill flash the same as throwing light into a dark area? So if you can selective lighten an area of your photograph in Lightroom why use fill flash? Got me!

This is the time of the year when our thoughts turn to the photographic possibilities of winter. For me that meant getting pictures that looked like a winter wonderland, whatever that meant. But it took me awhile to figure out why some of my pictures looked wintery yet others looked dull and, dare I say, depressing. It wasn’t the quality of light or the subject, they were the same in the good winter photos as they were in the not so good winter photos. And it wasn’t how much or how new the snow was in the photo. Piles of snow sometimes looked dreadful and at other times they looked like a winter wonderland. I wanted the wonderland.

To take a photo that looks like a winter wonderland (in other words, to take a marketable winter photo) there has to be snow on the trees. If there are no trees than there has to be snow on whatever is rising above the ground- grass, bushes, graves, etc. If there is only snow on the ground, no matter how pretty the light, the picture will lack that wonderland feeling.

So when is the best time to get snowy trees? Up north it is during the first snowfall when the trees are still warm; warm branches are stickier than the cold branches of mid-winter. Farther south it is during a storm that starts out raining and then finishes snowing; wet branches are stickier than dry ones. If you go out right after the storm has cleared or is clearing there will be lots of snow on all the branches and you will have a winter wonderland to photograph. If you wait, the wind will pick up and knock all the snow off and you’ll be left with a  ho-hum scene.

It’s 9 o’clock at night and the phone rings. It’s Roger.

“Hello, it’s Roger”

“Hello, Roger. What’s up?”

“When are you coming over to the barn in the morning?”

“It’s usually after I get up.”

“That’s not always the case.”

“Why do you ask?”

“The barn needs a new hoe.”

“You’re tellin’ me. What happened to the old hoe?”

“I couldn’t fix’r. Got all loose and then I broke’er.

“It’ll happen if you use’em hard.”

“So could you pick one up on your way here tomorrow?”

“Where am I going to find a good hoe in Danby that early in the morning?”

“Go to Elby’s, he’s got hoes.”

“Elby’s got hoes?”

“Always has.”

“That rascal, but to a hardware store to get you a hoe?”

“Yes, he’s got some that are strong and wide.”

“Strong and wide? What about good lookin’?”

“I don’t care about good lookin’, I want a hoe that works hard.”

“Its come to that has it?”

“I don’t care about pretty anymore. I want a long handle and a good head.”

“Every man’s dream. Am I paying for the hoe?”

“Yes but I’ll pay you back.”

“So this is what it has come to, I am now supplying you with hoes.”

“Well, I can’t ask the old man, he wouldn’t know what to do with a new hoe.”

“Bet he’d like to try.”

“And I can’t ask Trish to get me a hoe.”

“Wouldn’t be right.”

“She’d get one that was all fancied up.”

“Couldn’t have that.”

“I need one I can handle easily, otherwise it seems like work.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, Roger. Don’t you have a hoe at the house?”

“Used to have several.”

“You’re a lucky man.”

“Not anymore, they’re all gone.”

“Nothing worse than losing a good hoe.”

“You’re tellin’ me. Its hard as hell finding a good hoe.”

“This is a big responsibility, getting you a hoe you like.”

“Remember, I like a hoe with a thick neck…

“Got it.”

“And a good curve to it…”

“Uh huh.”

“…and sharp blade.”

“Roger, what are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was talking about hoes.”

“Oh, okay, so was I.”

“And drive the truck, it’ll be easier getting’em in the back.”

I call Elby.

“Hello?”

“Hi Elby, it’s David.”

“Why hello, David. What can I do for you?”

“I need a hoe.”

“Claire gone is she?”

“No, it’s not for me.”

“Never is.”

“It’s for Roger.”

“Roger wants a hoe?”

“Roger needs a hoe.”

“So you now supplying him with hoes?”

“The man can’t get enough.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It’s for the barn.”

“He’ll be using the hoe in the barn?”

“Sure between milking and chores.”

“Not much time for a hoe.”

“Roger is very fast. Grabs a hoe, a couple of strokes and he’s done.”

“Gotta admire a man like that. What does Trish think of this?”

“She’s all for it, got her own hoes. They work better for her.”

“Can’t say that I blame her. What kind of hoe do you want?”

“Roger likes’em with a thick neck, a good curve and a wide bottom.”

“It’s a sad state of affairs. So just a plain ol’ hoe?”

“Just a plain ol’ hoe will do.”

“Spray some WD-40 on the hoe before you take it to Roger.”

“You want me to spray the hoe with WD-40?”

“Not where you grab it, just the bottom.”

“You want me to spray the bottom of the hoe with WD-40?”

“Makes it work better. “

“I’ll be darn.”

“And bring your truck. It’ll be easier in the back.”

“Easier in the back?”

“Easier for the hoes in the back.”

“Roger said the same thing.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. He knows his hoes.”

“Yes he does, he surely does.”