Photos and no more Hard Drive Space. The Struggle is real.

A little Longer than normal blog and it is sort of about photos, stay with me.

So here is the Story during a photo excursion to northern Ohio (Magee Marsh, Ottawa Wild Life Refuge), and I was taking a lot more pictures than usual and had not taken a good look at my hard drive recently for space. Now the system is only about a year old. But the HD is only a 500GB. I was on the 3rd day of our 5 day excursion and had a 64GB Compact flash about 2/3rds full and unable to down load them. So panic mode!

I had one extra CF card and 2 SD cards. So I knew I could still shoot but I don’t like having photos in only one place! What if a card fails and I Loose a really good shot or in the case of that trip many good photos.

So here is where some preparation saved me! So at home I had everything I have taken for the last Year and half (except for a week or 2) on 2 separate external hard drives. One in my house an one at my son’s. I also had a cloud back up that was current up to the day before my HD filled up. I took a leap of faith and deleted every photo from my computer’s HD from 2020 and I was able to finish the shoot from our photo trek. Plus several photos from a trip to see my family in WI. Then I get home an now it is doing it again. I have ordered 2 new external SSD HDs that are bigger and faster than the ones I have now and should hold me for a couple years…. I hope!

But for now until the new HDs come in I am kind of stuck! I have moved everything accept a couple months of photos to my bigger Hard Drive am currently backing up everything to cloud from it. It is sloooooow. Come on new HDs.

Until the next time.

The Redleg Photographer.

A Cabin in the woods, a day out photographing with family.

Recently I took a trip to Wisconsin to visit with family. My nephew Eric Fager said he had some places he wanted to take me to he thought they would interest me as places to photograph. He was right! He took me past many old barns, a very old out of the way cemetery with stones before the Civil War many marked with star flag holders marking them as Soldiers from the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic), a Mill with a water wheel and more.

That is what I like about my photography my friends and family have been enjoying it so much that they are scouting for me without me asking!!! I will say hey I am coming over and they say bring your camera I have something to show you!

So cultivate your relationships with friends and family. Make sure you include them whey you post a picture. If they take you someplace good get a photo up from that and include them in your post. That way they know your apricate what they did for you.

Tomorrow is another day of hey bring your camera! Can’t wait to see what he wants to show me. Hopefully soon I will be able to show you!

Till next time, The Redleg Photographer

Sandhill Cranes upset a Muskrat at Magee Marsh, OH. Photos at well now.

So last week Myself Kris Killman and Bob Gulledge took a trip to Ohio wildlife reservations near Lake Erie. We spent several days there. This is usually when they hold a birding festival but with Covid they have elected to go with a remote event. So that left a spectacular wildlife area relatively empty of human traffic. Good for wildlife, great for 3 photographers looking to take photos. We saw so many species of birds, warblers, waterfowl, eagles, just so many spectacular things to shoot! So far Kris and Bob they had already gotten photos of many of these animals since they had been there in previous years, but for me it was a smorgasbord of new captures! But on one of our exits from the swamps at Magee Marsh I spotted these 2 Sandhills on top of a muskrat den digging around in it. No Kris and Bob were excited to get shots on them since they did not have many this close. Then it turned up a notch when we spotted the baby! Everyone got very excited then! The only one that might not have been excited was the muskrat that lived there since they tore up his/her home pretty good! I hope to get a new gallery of photos up soon from that trip. If you get the chance to go to the Magee Marsh during migration GO so much fun!!

Mr. Beaver saves a morning photo shoot!

I have been going to Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge for many years. On one of their roads near the lake there is a pull off which has a nice cove looking out over the lake which usually has interesting water birds like egrets, herons, ducks, pelicans and the like. You will also see local song birds, Jays and woodpeckers at times. On the other side there is a swampy shallow wetland area with a beaver den surrounded by water. For many years now I have only seen the family of geese that like to nest on the den but no beaver.

Well last week we, Kris Killman and I, were out early to get some photography in because a Super Moon setting over Bogarts Point would be pretty cool, and Sunrise was only about 30 min after moonset. Well cloud interfered the shots of the moon not many inspiring ones came of that. So we decided to drive around and see if any wildlife was out. We stopped at the pull off and Momma and Poppa Goose had 2 fuzzy new babies out eating an swimming. So we decided that would be a good shot so we stopped.

So while we were doing that I said to Kris “you know it has been years since I have seen the beaver, do you think we still have any living in that den?” He said he had seen him last year but not so far this year. Then no more than 10 seconds later guess who swims by!!!! We were both able to get some great shots of the Beaver. This made for a good morning shoot after a lack luster start. Thanks Mr. Beaver for saving our photo shoot.

If you are in the Carbondale - Marion area and would like to see where these locations are contact me. Better yet if you see photos in this blog or on my website www.redlegphotographyll.com and want prints just reach out to me.

Art

Eagles at Crab Orchard back again and ready to be photographed!

A few mornings ago I was up and out early to see if the eagles were moving at a nest I know of. I went there to link up with a good friend and get some pictures. The morning was cool, dry and beautiful. I got there ahead of my friend and there was this guy sitting on a tree limb right near the nest! The rest of the morning was good. My friend and I took several photos and I got several good ones. I need to get some more of these processed and up! If you are close to Crab Orchard and wanting to see if you can get a picture these eagles reach out to me on the contact page. Let go take some pictures!!!

Field Trip to Rend Lake for Osprey Photos

Friday morning I took time before work and joined a friend to go to a Osprey nest and see if we could grab a few good photos. While there we ran into another photographer he knew. It was a grand morning full of stories, a calm spring morning, and photos. It things like this that keep my spirits calm. With all the changes, hype and turmoil in the world this calm little corner grounds me. It is why I love wildlife and nature photography, when you get a good shot that is worth sharing it mutes the noise of the world. It reminds me God put this here for me and I see him in it. It is here for you to you just need to go look for it and listen for it. Have a blessed day.

Photography & Big Cats at the Zoo striking a Pose

Here is another photo from my trip to the zoo last month. Cheetahs have always been a favorite of mine. They are so chill and laid back. This guy seemed to know I was photographing him. He would look directly at the camera almost every time I would bring the camera up. Many of them would only be with one eye. On this one he locked eyes on me like take the picture already and let me rest! I like how you can see the expression in his eyes also, I see intelligence, calm and confidence.

One day I would love to go on a photo safari and get shots of big cats in the wild. Bucket list fun, some day maybe!

Spring Flowers, Time in the woods, and Hiking in Southern Illinois.

Last weekend my mentor and friend went out to Rocky Bluff Trail in Southern Illinois. If unfamiliar it is in the Shawnee National Forest near Devil’s Kitchen Lake. I have posted photos of the falls and the trail on many social media sites. The reason we went is that the wildflowers were in bloom and he wanted to get some Macro shots of the flowers. I was game because one good company, two outside, and three taking photos, that is a triple crown for a enjoyable morning. We spent two or three hours just walking, talking and taking photos. Best story from the trip is when Kris laid down to get a photo of a particular group of flowers that he was within arms reach of a nice long 4-5 foot black snake (every time he tells the story the snake gets longer!!!). He nor I noticed until he stood back up. That in of itself made for a good day out. If your are looking for good trails and photo locations. Don’t hesitate to contact me, you might even get me to go as a guide.

Zoo’s plus Telephoto lens makes for Fun photos

It was the day after my birth day and a couple days before the wife’s and we decided to spend time at St Louis Zoo. We had a warm afternoon and a perfect day for the Zoo and some very good conditions for good photos. The zoo is still at limited capacity so it was not super crowded even for a Saturday. So getting the chance to photograph my favorite animals (the big cats) was pretty easy. I will have to add a new gallery for them once I am done processing them. Unfortunately even if you like these I would not be able to sell you a print since I would have to get a permit to do commercial photography work. But what I will say is this. Take your camera and go to the zoo! This is a great place to practice and get photos you can enjoy of animals you don’t normally get to see. I had a grand time, I am sure you would too.

A Golden lake is a great place to fish

Some mornings I can’t sleep. This particular morning was one of those so I decided to go see if there was anything to take a photo of, and was rewarded with this. The color was amazing and what you see is what I saw too. I used no filters and did very little editing beyond a crop and minor adjustments. The thing I love about photos like this is they are one of a kind. Clouds, water, colors, birds, and even things like the fisherman in this photo will make each one different. So what does it mean for you go out there and see your own unique sunrise better yet take your camera and share it with others.

Springtime coming? New things to Photograph.

Here it is March and it is feeling like spring outside. That means there are new things to photograph. Recently there have been lots of different migratory birds coming through and one of my favorites is the pelicans. I am blessed to have Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge ( https://www.fws.gov/refuge/crab_orchard/ ) very close by! Many of the photos on this site are from Crab Orchard. It gives me tons of opportunities for good things to photograph. Sunrise and sunset shots. Wildlife like Deer, Turkey, Ducks Geese, Eagles, Herons, lots and lots of other animals too, and right now Pelicans. I love the way pelicans glide in, the spray of the water as they ski in for a landing, and the splash, splash, splash they make as the take off and hop on the water to get moving. It is a great time and lots of good photos to be had! If your a photographer in the area passing through, let me know if I am available I could be convinced to meet you to give you a short tour of some of the best places to go.

Photographers first year

It all begins with a realization. I had bought my DSLR style camera in 2012 a brand new Canon 3Ti. I had always liked taking pictures (think snapshots) and took lots, but had never been out of manual mode. I never saw the picture I wanted in my head in any of my photos. In Late 2019 I decided I needed to learn how to use my camera (yes I know I procrastinate don’t judge LOL). So I did what everyone did and went to Google. That worked OK but it mostly taught me what I already knew, and that was I really didn’t know how to use my camera! Now we are up to Jan. 2020 and back to Google and I look for a class to take. This was the best idea and action I could have taken. I found that my local Jr College, John A Logan College, offered a beginning and a intermediate level Digital Photography class. My ego led me to believe I should take the intermediate level. The learning curve was steep but poured into the instructors notes, looked up terms, asked lots of questions, and did my best. Lucky for me my instructor, Kris Killman (see https://www.killmanart.com/ ) was very patient and liked my enthusiasm. I learned so much from him and still do. I consider him a friend and a mentor. We have done several shoots together and he has instructed me outside the classroom on these shoots.

Since then I have upgraded camera to a Canon 7d Mark ii, and replaced all the kit lenses with better glass. For those of you who think the better newer cameras and lenses will make you a better photographer, the answer is no not really. It might give you more opportunities for better photos but that is it. If you want to improve invest in yourself. Training, podcasts ( I like https://masterphotographypodcast.com/ , https://phototacopodcast.com/ , and https://the-landscape-photography.blubrry.net/ ) , and my favorite practice!!!

Contact me if you would like to hear more about my journey or if you see something you like on my page and want a print. In the coming weeks I will be putting up a price list for my prints and services. Come back here to follow my journey.

Art