Images for Conservation Photo Contest

I'm leaving tomorrow for Laredo Texas to compete in the 3rd "Images for Conservation Fund", Pro Tour of Nature Photography Contest. This is the world's richest photo contest with $180,000 in total prize money. The contest places 20 top professional nature & wildlife photographer on 20 participating private land holdings for the entire month of April. I have no idea what ranch I''ll be photographing on until Saturday night when by drawing I will find out. One of the contest rules is that you have never photographed on the ranch before. In essence all the photographers are going in blind. The ranches and private landholdings that are in the contest have to meet certain requirements to be eligible including size, a minimum of 1000 continuous acres, and some wildlife conservation activity taking place on the ranch.

Barn owl with prey from the 2008 ICF Pro Tour

I have competed in all the previous contests. The first in 2006 was held in the "Hill Country" of Texas around San Antonio. I photographed on the beautiful Knibbe Ranch and finished 2nd in the contest. The 2008 contest was held in the "Coastal Bend" region of Texas near Corpus Christi. I drew the Mustang Ranch in Duval County. I again finished in 2nd in a very close contest between 1st and 2nd place. Three very qualified individuals will judge the photographs with absolutely no way of knowing who took the images. Each image can score a maximum of 30 points and total points for the portfolio determines the winner. They also pay an extra $500 prize for the top 20 images in each category. In the 2008 contest I had 18 images in the top 100.

Bobcat at waterhole 2008 Contest

During the month long contest you are required to obtain a portfolio of 75 images filling the 5 required categories. The categories are Birds, Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians, Insects and arachnids, Scenics and Plants. You can have anywhere from 10-20 images per category but only 2 of any one species. This makes it a very challenging endeavor having to produce more than 2 excellent images per day. None of the wildlife is conditioned to humans as you might find in a National Park making the photographers naturalists skills as important as photography skills. It's a grueling event both mentally and physically. I photograph day and night with little sleep. I've been working out extensively since the last contest to be ready for this one. You really need the physical endurance to keep pushing and working hard the entire month.

Western Coachwhip from the 2008 Contest

During the contest I'll be utilizing a full array of cameras, lenses and accessories. For this years contest I'll be using the full frame Canon Eos 5dmk2, the 1.3 crop Canon 1dmk4, and the 1.6 crop Canon 7d. I've used a similar array of cameras in the previous contests and feel that it works out very well. I'll be carrying lenses from my 16-35mm F2.8L all the way up to a Canon EF800mmF5.6L with little or no gaps in focal length in between. I'll be using multiple flashes, remote triggers and many other accessories to help me capture the images I need. My GMC Yukon XL will be fully loaded for my drive to Texas.

Fighting Bronzed Cowbird & Red-winged Blackbird from the 2008 contest

I will most likely be far to busy to blog for the next month and I have no idea whether I'll even have Internet access on the ranch I'll be on. In 2006 I did in 2008 I didn't but I will give a report as soon as possible upon my return. Go here To see more information on the Images for Conservation Fund and the Pro Tour.

Sage Grouse and my new Canon 1Dmk4

Sage Grouse, Canon Eos1dmk4, EF600mmF4IS, ISO 400, 1/2000 @ F4

I just received my Canon 1Dmk4, Canon's newest flagship professional model camera. I took it out this morning for my first serious test drive. Over the weekend I tested the camera with my various lenses to make sure the focus was in calibration. Everything was very good. I feel as though the Mk 4 is is a real, down to business, professional camera that is very well refined. The camera handled everything I threw at it this morning with no trouble. It's a very fast responsive camera with impressive image quality.

Sage Grouse in Flight, Canon Eos1dmk4, EF600mmF4IS, ISO 800, 1/3200 @ F4

I visited a sage grouse lek (or dancing ground) not far from my home in Cody. It's a bit early in the breeding season but about 25 males were gathered for this mornings show. No females (hens) showed up but I would expect to start seeing some soon. The peak of the breeding season is still a month away but the males put on a pretty energetic performance along with some dominance fighting. A golden eagle flushed the birds off the lek about an hour after sunrise which put an end to my photography. Sage grouse are being considered for the endangered species list but our population in NW Wyoming is doing very well.

Coastal Brown Bears of Alaska Photo Tour

Coastal brown bear running along beach in Lake Clark National Park
Canon 50D, EF100-400mm, 1/320 @ F6.3

I'll once again be leading an exciting photo tour to Lake Clark National Park this summer to photograph the magnificent Alaskan Brown Bear. Tour dates are July 3-9th. Our base of operations will be the wonderful Silver Salmon Creek Lodge on the shore of Cook inlet about a hundred miles southwest of Anchorage. The rugged Aleutian Range rises up from sea level to over 10,000' making for some spectacular scenery. The volcanoes Mt Redoubt, Mt Illiamna and Mt. St. Augustine can be seen from the lodge. A large number of brown bears gather at the mouth of Silver Salmon Creek during the summer to breed, and feed on the lush grass, clams, and abundant salmon.

Brown bear sow and cub

The lodge has great accommodations and wonderful food. Our hosts Joanne and David go out of their way to make sure everything is just perfect during our stay. Our bear guides Drew and Jenny are very knowledgeable and provide us with outstanding photo opportunities. We fly into the Lodge from Anchorage in a small plane landing on the beach. It's an exciting way to start the trip. During last summers tour, for the entire 6 days, we literally had bears in front of us to photograph for all but an hour or two. With few or no other people around it makes for the ultimate wilderness bear viewing/photography experience. To see more information about the tour or to sign up go here

Curious brown bear cub