Canadian Nature Photographer Newsletter 2018

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February 6, 2018

Dear Friends - new subscribers welcome, those interested in free online Photoshop tutorials can get access to them here: www.canadiannaturephotographer.com/learning.html - password for Photoshop I is rdc1 and for Photoshop II is rdc2.

Happy New Year - I apologize I was so busy in January setting up my Microscopy lab that I didn't get time to put the newsletter. I have been taking folks out almost every weekend in search for snowy owls and also spent considerable time locating the owls. I have been finding 3-7 owls per day. Also many of the owls are easily spooked for some reason. February is still a good month to view these beautiful owls before they head North in March. The best locations are east and south of Calgary if you plan to head out and drive the backroads. .

Tips for Finding and Photographying Snowy Owls around Calgary.

1. Leave early morning and bring a backroad map, GPS or cell phone. I see about 1 owl per 50-100 Km of driving.
2. Dress warmly and bring some coffee, Hot choclate and snacks
3. There are not many places to fill up with Gas so fill up before you head out, and there only two good places to stop for lunch - Bieseker and Mossleigh
4. Bring Binoculars and stop frequently to scan the fields, fence posts and telephone poles
5. Have your long lens attached and your camera in your lap, preset with widest lens aperature, fast ISO (400+) to shoot with a high shutter speed
6. A monopod or tripod is useful if using a heavy telephoto lens
7. If you get out of your car - take some shots immediately, approach slowly and indirectly - take some shots and continue - take your time.
8. Check ebird web site for snowy owl sightings - zoom into the Calgary Area (note these may not be recent sightings but show the area where they have been found).
9. All white owls are males, grey - striped birds are females, but they can also be immature males.

Download this PDF on aging and sexing snowy Owls (note species names is now Bubo scandiacus

This year our Arctic Adventure Photogaphy Workshop in Yellowknife and the Tundra filled up quickly so we are adding another week if anyone is interested please see my workshops page. I will be offering a Spring wildflower and macro-photography workshop and shorebirds workshop in June, O offer private Photoshop training all year long in my studio. I will be teaming up with Professional Wildlife Photographer Brian Merry to offer a weekend photography workshop the end of May. Details to follow. I also will be visiting the Kimberly Camera club May 12 to lead a wildflower photography workshop. Contact the club for details.

Telephoto Lenses for Sale

I have sold another items and lenses in order to raise money for the purchase of new Microscope. However, I still have a Nikon 300 mm F2.8 lens and a 500 mm F4 Telephoto lens for sale on Kijji - Calgary. I am only selling one of these lenses and will keep one depending on which sells. They are both fantastic wildlife lenses in mint condition. If interested please see my Kijji ads or contact me. I am willing to negotiate a slightly lower price for readers of this newsletter.

New Articles posted

This month I posted two new articles. The first is on the development of my Home Microscopy Laboratory where I show my new Zeiss Axioscope and some new photomicrographs. I have always dreamed of having a microscope with DIC (Differential Interference) as it allows me to add colour and a 3D appearance to some living organisms. This article is a teaser to show examples of what I will be presenting in the near future. Anyone can get started in Microscopy for a few hundred dollars and Ithere is lots of information and links on how to do this and attach your DSLR camera.

Dr. Wayne Lynch, Canada's wildlife specialist has submitted an interesting set of images and article entitled "Ducking Harassment". He states "With sexual harassment so much in the news these days you might wonder if such behaviour ever occurs in the natural world. This past June, in the Canadian Arctic, I watched groups of adult male long-tailed ducks, on two different occasions, try to forcibly mate with a female that was already paired with a partner."

All of you are invited to submit articles to the Canadian Nature Photographer if interested please see my submission guidelines.

Robert's E-book The Art of Canadian Nature Photography - 250 pages

Book Cover Jacket

Ebook now available for $19.95 CDN

To learn more about my new book or purchase it Click on the Button
Purchasing an e-Book helps supports this web site so I can deliver more Photography articles.

You can download a free chapter in PDF format - Download FREE Sample Book Chapter PDF. The book is filled with 250 pages of images and text that described some of the most beautiful places to photograph in Canada, includes maps, discussion of the Visual Elements of Design, Composition and How to photograph the Aurora.

Anyone that might be interested in Microscopy or Photomicrography can contact me for free advice or private training. Used microscope can be had for a few hundred dollars and camera adaptors are only $20-100 to fit your DSLR. The micro world is amazing and you can collect specimens in your backyard, roof gutters, bird bath, garden soil and any moss or lichen you might have growing nearby. Watch for some pictures in the coming months.

Calgary, AB
E-mail: rberdan@scienceandart.org
403 247-2457

Canadian Nature Photographer www.canadiannaturephotographer.com