Back to Work

Well, last time I wrote in here, I had just killed my first turkey on our own farm. That was great, but I also was having some major problems with my cameras and or lenses. For whatever reason, I couldn't get much of anything in focus. I had tried different camera/lens combinations and still had the same result. A rental camera that arrived was going to be the answer, until it produced out of focus images as well. I was at my wits end. However during a conversation with Mary Britton Senseney of Realtree, she offered that she had a similar problem at one time that was not with the cameras but with the card reader. Duh! I had left my regular card reader at home accidentally and was using my back-up. It never crossed my mind. She was right. I had my regular card reader overnighted and all is once again right with the world.

The turkey hunting is still going strong, although I have yet to get my second. I am content though with having gotten rid of the Kentucky curse. My friend here, Steve Bailey and his 10 year old son Curtis managed to double recently on a pair of great birds one afternoon. That's the photo above. Another reason for the photo with this blog entry is to exalt the power of the reflector. Or two in this case. Available light made for an OK photo, flash filled in the shadows OK too, but the reflectors kept the light color better, filled the shadows, put catch lights in the eyes, and brought the colors of the feathers in the birds to life. As much as I love my Pocket Wizards, and couldn't do without them in some situations, I now use reflectors as my "Go To" outdoors, as fill and rim lighting in the studio, and always carry a small one with while walking the hills with the camera, just in case.

There is still plenty of work to finish here for several clients, then a meeting at Realtree in GA., and then another meeting that is being set up in TN about the possibility of me doing a day long outdoor photography seminar at a lodge this summer. I've never done a seminar on photography but I am really looking forward to it. I will make it home at the beginning of May to attend an RMEF banquet that we donated a hunt to from Straight Creek Outfitters, (Bailey and myself), and then back to KY, GA, and TN.