with Lorelle and Brent VanFossen

Tag Archives: nature photography

Under the Covers – Camouflage Techniques for Photographing Wildlife

The life of a nature photographer does have its exciting moments, especially when you get under the sheets with your camera. The use of camouflage can make a difference in how close you can get to nature. Many animals are threatened or suspicious of sights, sounds, and smells they don’t recognize. The human form and […]

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Address: P.O. Box 6504 Titusville, FL 32782 Office: (407) 861-0667 Visitor Center: (407) 861-0661 web sites:US Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Refuges Search University of Florida, Wading Birds of Merritt Island EMail:r4rw_fl.mrt @mail.fws.gov Hours: The refuge is only open during daylight hours. Getting There: From I-95: take Exit 80 (SR 406) […]

Equipment Lust: The Hunt for the Ideal Camera

The tools of a painter consist of paints, canvas and brushes. With paints there are thousands of colors and types to choose from: watercolor, oil, pastels, and more. Brushes are similar: nylon, horsehair, and a variety of natural fibers and synthetics, not to mention shapes and sizes. Canvases? Some like smooth surfaces, some rough, some […]

Equipment Lust – User Friendly Camera

Basic Elements in Good Equipment When shopping for a car you don’t always buy just for looks. You get in and test drive it. How does it handle? How do you feel behind the wheel? You get out and kick the tires, lift up the hood, check the trunk and storage areas. You read Consumer […]

Equipment Lust – Light Accessories

When we hit the road with our cameras, we plan carefully for all possibilities. We can’t anticipate everything, so we carry the following filters and accessories to enhance our “light opportunities”. Filters Filters are popular accessories, but use them wisely and carefully. They enhance, affect and change the image we see through the lens. There […]

Equipment Lust – Buying Used Equipment

If you are looking for used equipment, consider buying a brand with the widest range of accessories and product line. Nikon is one of the oldest and most popular in the used market because most of the old-style lenses work on new camera bodies. Some features of newer bodies may not be functional with older […]

Equipment Lust – Pack It For Keeps

I just don’t understand it. We research and plan our camera purchase, saving up for that $800 lens and $1000 camera body, giving up eating out and other frivolous expenditures to have the perfect camera. Then we rush out to the local department store to spend $19.95 to carry it all. A camera bag is […]

Equipment Lust – Accessories Can Make the Difference

Sharpness is essential to professional photographs, and the serious pros realize the business of photography is about beating the competition. Professional nature photographer, John Shaw, explains, “Since we are all using the same film, the same cameras, same lenses, how can I compete? Most of us are even photographing the same subjects! How can I […]

Equipment Lust – Picking a Body

Most serious cameras offer features like complete manual control and interchangeable lenses. Four features we feel set a few camera bodies apart from the crowd are an easy to read meter, depth of field preview, mirror lock-up, a 100% viewfinder, and a cable release. These are critical tools for our photography. Meter The most useful […]

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge 10216 Lee Rd. Boynton Beach, FL 33437-4796 Phone: 561-732-3684 Fax: 561-369-7190 Email: loxahatchee_r4rw @fws.gov Web Page: FWS Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge How to get there: The refuge is located near Lake Worth, Florida, west of Boynton Beach on Lee Road, just west of US 441. From 1-95, west […]

Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida

Wakodahatchee, Florida Office: PBC Water Utilities Department 2065 Prairie Road West Palm Beach, FL 33406 Phone: (561) 641-3429 Fax: (561) 641-3472 web sites: Birds of Wakodahatchee Virtual Tour of the Wetland Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department Wakodahatchee Official web site Area Vegetation Bird lists: Wakodahatchee Bird List Hours: It is open everyday from dawn […]

A Visit With a Publisher – Understanding the Editor, Photo Editor, and the Job

While traveling on the road full-time, we got a chance to spend a couple days with one of our publishers. What we learned from those few days reflects the same things we hear from publishers and editors around the world. The most important thing we learned, which you will hear over and over, is this: […]

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Address: P.O. Box 68 St. Marks, FL 32355 Phone: 850-925-6121 Email:r4rw_smk @mail.fws.gov Web Page:GORP’s info on St. Marks or FWS St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge How to get there: From Tallahassee, FL-363 south to US-98, east on US-98 to Newport, south 3 miles on County Route 59 to the visitor […]

Bull’s Eye Syndrome

Which image do you prefer? We have a lot of choices about where to place a subject in our viewfinder or frame. Which image below do you prefer? Is there one that you like better than the rest? The one with the subject in the middle or the others? Look at all the compositional choices […]

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge Complex Address:1 Wildlife Drive Sanibel, FL 33957 Phone: 941-472-1100 Fax: 941-472-4061 E-mail:Julie_Hiller@fws.gov Web page:GORP’s Ding Darling Information How to get there: Drive approximately 15 miles southwest of Ft. Myers, FL, following the signs onto Sanibel Island. Hours: Wildlife Drive open 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM every day except Fridays. […]