Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Canon 1Dx Mark III review
The days of dSLR cameras are numbered. But even though Canon announced it’s concentrating its development efforts on mirrorless cameras, its brand new top-of-the-line camera is… a dSLR.
Given that the new Canon 1Dx Mark III is likely to be one of the last dSLRs ever, is it worth investing in one for wildlife photography? After using one for nearly two months, I think it is. The camera is a much more substantial upgrade than its specifications might suggest. Its autofocus system is nothing short of revolutionary. The new smart controller, which helps you quickly select autofocus points, almost justifies the upgrade by itself. But the camera suffers from some infuriating glitches and quirks, even after a firmware update.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
It's Earth Day #50
Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Since we’re supposed to be spending it at home, I thought I would post about how, honestly, Earth Day begins at home.
There are thousands if not millions of special places and wild creatures that are under attack from one environmental threat or another. And we should do all that we can to protect them. But if we focus only on them, we run the risk of thinking that doing right by the environment is someone else’s problem.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Introducing 5 Minutes in Nature
For the past several months, I’ve been working on a project called Five Minutes in Nature. My plan was to introduce it to you now — the first full day of spring. But this is not how I planned to do it.
Five Minutes in Nature is about getting more people outdoors, appreciating the natural world five minutes at a time. The original idea was to help people get away from their screens.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Behind the scenes: Winter moose
Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend for most people. It's a sign spring is near, so I figure I have only a few days left to share images from this past winter. I met this moose in early January in the northeastern portion of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. His pose and the snow-covered background make this one of my favorite images from that trip.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Speak up to save migratory birds
The bird population in North America has plunged by nearly a third over the past 50 years. That’s a loss of nearly 3 billion birds. And that’s even with regulations designed to protect vulnerable birds.
The losses could soon grow even worse. The Trump Administration now wants to essentially eliminate one of those protections: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act. You have only until March 19 to speak up to try to save it.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Using their heads to survive winter
It seems crazy to spend the winter living on a mountaintop, but the wildlife of Yellowstone National Park do that every year. And they somehow manage to thrive. Life finds a way.
While I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve visited Yellowstone, I recently got a chance to make my first winter visit. I got the full experience. Nearly a foot of snow one night. Temperatures as cold as 9 below — Fahrenheit, not Celsius. And I developed a new respect for the animals that I’d photographed so many times before in less challenging weather conditions.