Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) along with millions of photographers and photography lovers across the nation observe Nature Photography Day on June 15th. Nature lovers and photographers alike celebrate this day with enthusiasm. They capture the breath-taking beauty all around us and encourage others to see the wonders of our natural Earth.
Whether they take photos of wildlife, landscapes or both, the do so with a sense of awe. It’s in the spirit of preservation of these wonders that NANPA created this celebration. Every image that inspires us to care for our surroundings and preserve it for future generations celebrates the day.
How To Observe #NaturePhotographyDay. Explore the world around you. Use your camera to take some photos of nature. Places to celebrate the day include:
- Taking a guided tour through a local nature preserve.
- Visiting a botanical garden.
- Going bird watching.
- Visiting a National Park.
- Watching a sunset or sunrise.
- Visiting a lake, river, or the ocean.
How I made this shot: As the scouts say, “Be Prepared” and sometimes I’m only semi-prepared. Several times a day individual and groups of mule deer stroll leisurely across Daisy Hill on their way to find nourishment, usually my landscaping. On this particular day, I started photographing this critter from the sidewalk in front of my house, slowly walking toward him until he jumped the fence into my neighbors yard and where I made this shot—from my backyard.
The camera used was my Canon EOS 50D that was later converted to infrared by Life Pixel and even later sold to one of this blog’s readers. The now-discontinued EF 135mm f/2.8 Autofocus Soft Focus lens that was used would not be the first choice for any wildlife photographer but sometimes when time is of the essence you got to take what you can have on the camera. Luckily I did not have any of the soft focus settings engaged. Instead is was set at Zero—no soft focus. This lens has an 18-degree field-of-view and is a Internal focusing; aspherical lens. It has a compact 52mm filter ring. This is the full uncropped shot made with a Program mode exposure of 1/320 sec at f/3.5 and ISO 400.
And for long time readers of this blog, this is the second EF 135mm f/2.8 Autofocus Soft Focus lens that I’ve owned. My previous lens having been destroyed in what I call Stupid Photographers Tricks, which somehow always involve me photographing beautiful women.
PS: Just a reminder: Podcast #4 is live now on my YouTube channel, Joe Farace’s Videos, featuring a look at a look at my Photo Month project, response to a Q&A that reveals a fanboy confession and an unboxing related to a previous Q&A