Fun with Macro Photography

Macro photography opens up a whole new world of subjects. A participant in one of my workshops last year compared it to Alice in Wonderland, which is a pretty good analogy. A lot goes on in the world of tiny that we mostly don’t notice, and that makes it easy to have fun with macro photography.…
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Wildflower Photography Tips

It was 26 degrees here at Red Belly this morning. Cold for us, but for many of you I suspect that would be considered warm! After months of really nippy temps here, I see signs of spring “springing” and the beginning of great wildflower photography opportunities.…
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Whooping Crane Photo Tour ~ Trip Report 2014

We were blessed with good weather for the 2014 Whooping Crane tour. With an ice storm Friday morning and another the next Tuesday we really lucked out even if it was a bit chilly on Saturday morning. This year’s group was interesting in that 3 of the 5 participants were retired Air Force pilots.…
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Air Travel with Photography Equipment ~ Tips

In the past few weeks I have had several people ask about air travel with photography equipment. I don’t know what has prompted the sudden interest, maybe folks are making plans for summer trips, but traveling with photo gear has been a hot topic.…
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ETTR: Expose to the Right and the Benevolence of RAW

So you’ve probably heard the term “expose to the right” (ETTR) in regards to digital photography. The image above is an extreme example of this. This shot was accidentally exposed WAY to the right as I was shooting in manual mode and forgot to adjust my shutter speed after shooting in the shade.…
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Raptor Photography Tips

Now that winter has arrived, I figured this would be a good time to post these Raptor Photography Tips so that those of you who don’t subscribe to my newsletter can take advantage of them, too. The word “raptor” comes from the Latin “rapere,” which means “to snatch, take, or carry off.”…
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Vermejo Park Ranch Elk & Aspen ~ 2013 Trip Report

Eight photographers joined me for the sold-out 2013 Vermejo Park Ranch Elk & Aspen Photo Tour, the first-ever event of its kind at this historic New-Mexican ranch. Participants enjoyed many opportunities to create incredible wildlife shots and images of the sublime beauty of the Vermejo Park Ranch landscape.…
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Which Camera Should I Buy?

Are you asking yourself, “Which camera should I buy?” With all the choices out there today, it can be an overwhelming decision. I’ve been noticing lately that more and more of my particpants have Olympus cameras. So it seems the “Nikon or Canon” conversation may be growing a little outdated.…
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Hummingbird Photo Workshop ~ 2013 Report

The 2013 Hummingbird Photography Workshop is a wrap and a great one at that! We had a good number of hummingbirds and a great group of enthusiastic participants. Two stations set-up for multiple flash allowed participants a chance to create some great “freeze all the motion” hummingbird photographs.…
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Costa Rica ~ Photographing the Frogs

I’ve been busily going through the images created on our recently-completed Costa Rica Photo Tour. One of the surprises of the tour was just how much fun I had photographing Costa Rican frogs! It seems everything is more exuberant and colorful in the tropics, especially them.…
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Painted Buntings

We are blessed to have Painted Buntings in abundance each summer here at Red Belly Ranch. But, for such a brightly colored bird, they can be frustratingly hard to spot! Often I can hear them singing their little hearts out but cannot seem to find them when in the more forested areas.…
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The Wonder of Nature Photography

June 15th is Nature Photography Day. It’s a day to reflect on nature photography, what it means to you, and—most importantly—get out there and take a picture! Why do I care about nature photography? I have a lifelong obsession with the natural world.…
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Butterfly Photo Workshop Is a Wrap!

Red Belly Ranch hosted 9 photographers for the full-day Butterfly Photo Workshop. A fun day of butterfly photography, learning, and fun on April 27. The cool, dry spring brought us a lot fewer butterflies this year than normal so we had to get creative.…
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Texas Wildflower Photo Workshop Report ~ 2013

The sold out 2013 Wildflower Photo Workshop was held on March 30. Topics included lighting techniques (as demonstrated by the above image courtesy of participant Allan Wyatt), depth of field, dealing with midday light and a bonus painting with light demonstration.…
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NANPA Showcase Winner

Mexican Ground Squirrel, by Jeff Parker
I’m happy to announce the above image placed as a NANPA Showcase Winner. That is to say, in the top 100 in the North American Nature Photography Association’s Showcase competition. It will be one of the images shown during the “Nature and Music ~ Jacksonville Symphony Celebrates Nature Photography” performance on Thursday Feb.…
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Whooping Crane Photo Tour ~ Trip Report 2013

The sold-out 2013 Whooping Crane photo tour provided us with many great photo opportunities as well as the chance to observe many interesting behaviors of these endangered birds. At one point we had 10 cranes in sight. In the 1940’s that would have been nearly the entire world population as they had hit a low point of just 15.…
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Big Bend in the Snow

Nugent Mountain in Big Bend, by Jeff Parker
Big Bend National Park is one of my favorite places. When I heard there was a snow storm forecast for west Texas, I started making plans for a quick trip out to photograph Big Bend in the snow. Since that doesn’t happen often there, I had never had the opportunity to experience this phenomenon.…
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Bosque del Apache Photo Tour

Sunrise at Bosque del Apache NWR
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico is one of my favorite places and a must-do for a wildlife photographer. Mary and I met some friends there the first weekend in December. Our first morning held an extravagant sunrise display complete with a Snow Goose blast-off in front of the wild colors.…
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Honduras for Nature Photography

Join Jeff Parker for his Colombia Photo Tour in July 2016.
When most folks think of going to Central America for nature photography the usual suspect is Costa Rica. Maybe Panama for those who enjoy thinking outside the box. Photographers rarely think of Honduras. But think again because Honduras holds its own wealth of tropical wildlife and I’ve always found it completely safe.…
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Perspective

While leading a photography walk at the San Antonio Bay Appreciation Day in Seadrift, Texas this past Saturday, we came upon this juvenile Laughing Gull. There were some various colored buildings in the background and I realized that simply by walking a few feet — changing my perspective — I could completely change the background.…
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