Blast off...

I'll be spending the weekend of the 27th and 28th at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR.) The peak of the snow goose winter migration is occurring and there should thousands and thousands of birds at the refuge. The first time I saw a spectacle such as this was at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico during 2004. The massive groups of geese tend to take flight at the same time. In the above image, a hawk was circling high above. Every time he would approach the field, the geese would blast off and then circle back to land. The blast off became predictable just by watching the hawk. The sound is almost deafening and the sight is amazing. Opportunities exist for numerous photographs using a variety of techniques. The weekend after that I'll be heading north to the Lower Klamath NWR, a major Bald Eagle wintering ground. The numbers of Bald Eagles should peak during January and February. I'm looking forward to coming home with some spectacular images.

Below is a video of the "blast off" of snow geese. Be sure to have your volume up! If you hear a sound like drums, those are sandhill cranes mixed in with the geese.

Embedded slide show...

I've created a slide show of images from an afternoon trip to the zoo. If this turns out to work well, I'll use this feature to start posting small video tutorials.

New stuff for 2007...

I'm beginning to work on a couple of different book projects in 2007. I will be writing a book on photography and the creative process with emphasis on photographing for the sake of experiencing the moment rather than anticipation of the finished image. Concurrent with that project I will write a book on the technical aspects of photography with a "twist." The focus will be on understanding the photographic process enough so that it doesn't get in the way of the creative process. Maybe these two projects will be one book, maybe two. They might take me a year to write, perhaps a lifetime. Either way I will begin to post short articles here as I develop ideas for chapters. I have also contemplated the idea of posting video tutorials of certain subjects as necessary. If you have any requests for articles, videos, or general comments on the plan for 2007, please feel free to drop me a line or two at michaeljwalters@gmail.com.

Happy New Year!!!

Here's wishing all of you a happy and prosperous 2007! Remember that no matter where you find yourself an image always exists. So if you happen to wind up on the wrong end of an elephant, grab your camera and make the best of it. Stay tuned in the next few days as I announce what is in store for The Daily Grind in 2007.