Me and Kiki huddling in the shade in the middle of the Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park desert - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th self-timer camera on groundSeeking a desert, Kiki and I returned to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park which has long trails made up of sandy fire roads with little tree cover.  Why seek a desert?  Because yesterday I heard America's "Horse With No Name" and it became the theme for today's outdoors adventure.  There were other reasons for seeking a desert too, but those are more omnipresent and need not be singled out.  Our first visit to this park was back in November of 2009, and based on the lead image of that post and the one below, you can see how my HDR technique has improved in the past three years (no more ghosting!).  

Most of the 3-mile Loop Trail of Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park is desolate - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 3-exposure HDR handheldWandering for 5-miles (including the beginning 1.9 mile loop) in mostly desert trails with the strong Florida sun beating down on you may not sound that appealing, but it is exceptionally good for producing clarity of mind, if not clarity of photographs.  I cannot speak for Kiki, but the desolate trails provided exactly the environment I wished to be in.  We saw not a single human our entire time out there.  If you do not count the countless ants and flying insects, and the two birds' shadows I saw fly by (I did not use the energy to lift my head toward the sun to see them), then the only creature we encountered was a friendly gopher tortoise, who kindly yielded the right-of-way to us.  I am fascinated by the mechanical movement of tortoises and how they can withdraw from the world anywhere they want to.  I did not stop to photograph him, because in the desert you risk forgetting even your own name.  Indeed we took refuge for awhile at the max point out in the desert under a very well placed roofed picnic table (top image).  Kiki dug a hole to cool off in as I took a few photos.  Once she had sufficiently ceased panting, we continued on, though I know shade break or not, we were good for more miles.

I did not touch this tree - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 3-exposure HDR handheldOnce back in the corral area, I chomped on a few crackers and Kiki a dog biscuit, and we both took water.  Just as we arrived back I noticed off to the side a very peculiar tree.  I saw none in such condition anywhere else in the park, not even in the middle of the desert trail where one would think such a tree would be found.  This scary tree was right next to the campground (see blue tent).  I would not want to get the campsite within eyeshot of it.

It was a good visit to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park and if you do go make sure it is as early as possible to avoid the hot Florida sun, bring lots of water as there is none on site for humans and prepare to cross a desert.

J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park:

• 10500 Wilderness Park Boulevard
  New Port Richey, FL 34655
  
• hours sunrise to sunset
• dogs ok!
• camping - car, primitive & backcountry

• View more nature & wildlife photo stories
• Read more photography philosophy
• Take a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Jason

Bill learning my Aperture 3 workflow right from my desk also getting emotional support from Kiki!Last week Bill came over to my apartment for a digital photography workflow lesson based on Aperture 3.  This was my sixth time meeting up with Bill, but the first to focus on the part of digital photography that happens after you return from shooting, which is just as important as learning how to shoot out in the field.  Once you start taking 200, 300, 400+ photos on any given outing with your DSLR then workflow and photo management becomes critical in making sure you showcase your best images and can find them one year down the road.  

After Kiki gave Bill an enthusiastic greeting, we opened up our MacBook Pros at my desk and I went step-by-step with Bill first getting my preferred Aperture 3 settings into his version, and then showing him what you do once you insert a memory card into the SD slot on the side.  Upon photo import in Aperture 3 you can imprint a lot of very useful metadata, as well as rename the files (so all your shots are not _DCC457) and put them into a new project to start off your workflow with good orginization.

Bill had photos from his daughter's prom night pre-dance getogether at his own home for us to use.  I showed him my culling process for picking the best shot out of 3-4 similar shots.  This involves a star-rating system and then a side-by-side full-screen comparison of shots.  We finished the lesson with using some of the handy sliders and brushes in Aperture 3 to make the first round of edits on a given digital photograph.  

Relaxing at Hillsborough River State Park with canine & human friendsIf you make the effort with your photography, you will be rewarded.  Sometimes that effort just comes from physically lugging your gear with you when you might feel like just leaving it at home or in the parking lot.  I met some canine and human friends yesterday at Hillsborough River State Park, a very dog friendly place that is also one of the best nature experiences in the Tampa Bay area.  Many parks do not allow dogs on boardwalks, but in HRSP they have free reign.  So four people and as many dogs were able to roam the banks of the Hillsborough River, walk through the slash pine forest and later relax hig above the river and just enjoy the view.  

Certainly it was a bit of an effort to carry my Nikon D300, Tamron 17-50mm lens and Nikon SB-600 Speedlight flash on this 2-hour trek, but not that much because I only brought one lens.  I knew ahead of time that the kind of shots I would want to make would require a wide lens.  So to save weight and my back I brought the minimum amount of gear to be able to make those shots.  Why bring the flash?  For fill light in all those three shots above.  They just would not have turned out as well exposed and lit without it.  

So since I made that bit of effort to carry that minimum gear with me, I will have forever visual aids to help me remember that afternoon spent with great canine and human friends.  

My photography tip to you is:  yes, do make the effort to bring your DSLR with you, but help yourself by bringing just the one lens you know you will use for the shots you want to make.

Kiki's mouth opens too wide when yawning to even fit in the frame! - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/8 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in brolly to frame rightI have been doing quite a few in-apartment photo shoots featuring white backgrounds added digitally lately of various subjects and inevitably when I finish them before I put my photography and strobist gear away I make a few photographs of beloved puppy, Kiki.  I cannot say she is always thrilled about this.  Her expression is usually pretty neutral.  This time I interrupted her naptime resulting first in a yawn then the look she gave me (see below).  

Kiki looking very nonplussed as she usually does for photos - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/8 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in brolly to frame rightSince these photographs were made in the close confines of my living room, and even though the great Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G macro lens makes great bokeh, the backgrounds were still a distraction, which is why I chose to do a Quick Select of just Kiki in Photoshop CS5 and then refine the edges and send that image onto a new layer (done automatically if you choose the right output).  I added a layer below Kiki, painted it white, and voila, a studio looking image of Kiki done right in my own living room, no mess, no fuss.

Get images like these of your dog or cat or pet done right in your own living room . . . contact Jason today to reserve your shoot!

• More info about pet photography today
• Learn to make photos like this 1-on-1 with Jason!
• Viewmore photo stories of Kiki!

Kiki running on grass turned brown by Color Efex Pro 3 - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G @ f/2.8 ISO 400 1/800thI really like that Florida is such a green and lush place nearly year round.  This, however, means there is a near complete absence of autum colors.  At Walsingham Dog Park last weekend, even though it was in the second half of November, all was as green as always.  However, as you can see, Kiki is running on brown grass.  This transformation was done with just one mouse click.

I really recommend the plugin app Color Efex Pro 3.  I have it for Aperture 3 and use its filters on everyone of my photographs.  It is very easy to use wiht a list of filters on the left that are applied with a single click.  The effects can be modified down to very fine details if desired by using the fine tuning controls on the right column.  The "Indian Summer" filter does just one thing - turn greens to browns.  So with just the application of that single, simple filter, photographs can have that autumn look to them no matter what time of the year they were shot.

Kiki at Walsingham Dog Park - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/500thThe green leaves that make up the bokeh of this shot were made to look like autumn colors once again by applying the "Indian Summer" filter in Color Efex Pro 3.  As you can see, Kiki's markings and collar retain their correct colors since none of them included green.

• Reserve a 1-on-1 digital photography editing lesson with Jason today!
• Learn more about DSLR Photography Lessons
• See more photo stories of Kiki!