Moose News Blog

This is one cool tool! The WT-4a brings to digital photography the ability to finally see on our computer monitor exactly what the camera is seeing, wirelessly! That’s right, using Camera Control Pro 2, D3 or D300 and the WT-4a, you can use Live View wirelessly!

As good as this sounds, like everything involving computers, there’s a hitch or two. I’ve been working these out for my own upcoming projects this spring (nesting birds). In the process, I wrote down what I found worked for me which will be available shortly in the upcoming BT Journal.

But this brings up an important part of wildlife photography. There are new tools coming out for the digital photographer on a nearly daily basis. Some are great, some are pure junk. Checking them all out and running their problem solving abilities through your own photographic tasks and you might find one that makes the difference between getting the photo or not.

We headed over to Sylvan Lake (closing scene locale from Nat’l Treasure 2) to photograph some waterfowl. In working a Red-winged Blackbird busily building a nest (where the sun didn’t shine), I looked up and noticed this kinda cool reflection scene. It was finished using Nik’s Tonal Contrast. Always a good reason to carry a second body when working with the long lens.

While working the Upland Sandpiper, we were faked out when we glassed down the fence row in the distance and saw a brown bird that once we snug up upon it, discovered it was a Western Meadowlark. Well, couldn’t let a great background and fullframe subject go to waist!

Photos captured by D3, 70-300VR/600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

We started our morning in a real thick fog, and the weather wasn’t too nice either! In any case, wildlife didn’t let us down giving us a heck of a show. For example, the pronghorn buck. Or this Bison

but without doubt the highlight for the week for me was today with the arrival of the Upland Sandpipers.

This is a bird I’ve long wanted to add to my files and got to in grand fashion today. Shooting with the 600VR w/TC-17e handheld out the truck window, we used the truck as a blind. Sitting atop a rise we glassed the fence line waiting for the male to fly in to display. When he did, we then started the truck, got a little momentum and then cut the engine to coast up to the sandpiper. The technique worked like a charm permitting me to bring back over 500 images of this long time advisary.

Photos captured by D3, 200-400VR / 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film

Coming down to the end of SD Base Camp and the photo opps just keep getting better and better. This evening we were amongst a herd of bison that decided to just have fun running. So we closed our lenses down to f22 so we had a shutter speed of 1/20 and then panning, made this bison look like track stars.

Photos captured by D3, 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

When it comes to sunrises, the view from the Badlands is really hard to beat. The drama of the sun coming up over the distant landscape of the prairie is really awe inspiring!

And when you leave the warmth of the lodge at 4am for capture such splendor, the dues you’ve paid tend to pay off.

The view is so spectacular that the large band of Rocky Mtn Bighorn took time from modeling for us to take it in.

And when life is being good to you and you take the time to take it in….

you tend to get rewarded. Perhaps not always as spectacularly as a pair of young rams air dancing, but just in the fact your just taking it all in.

Photos captured by D3, 600VR / 200-400VR on Lexar UDMA digital film