9/19/11 9/19/11

Rocky Mountain National Park

Pre conference (PSA) - a few days at Rocky Mountain National Park. Arrived thursday afternoon in Denver and drove to Estes for a few days with a photog friend. three days at the park were awesome.Just posting a few from the trip.

The range with Longs Peak

Early morning looking at the range

A stream on the side of the road

Rock Spires off Fall River Road

Waterfall along one of the main tracks of the park

Study of an old dead tree

More images for the park and Colorado Springs to follow.

9/13/11 9/13/11

Cape Cod - Sunday Sept. 11

Got back late Saturday afternoon after doing my Macro and Close-up presentation in New York but had to do some shooting so decided to go and spend some time at the Cape. The clouds were not looking good all afternoon but decided to take a chance and stayed for sunset. This is the result - I guess just like the rest of New England the Cape is unpredictable.

Canon 7D, 16-35 mm at 24 mm, ISO 100, f14, 1.6 sec

9/7/11 9/7/11

Fall Foliage and Landscape Workshop - October 7 - 10, 2011 Lincoln, New Hampshire

The White Mountains come alive every fall with vivid colors and attract visitors from all over the world. Enjoy Columbus Day weekend New Hampshire at the peak of its autumn splendor. Participate in this workshop to maximize the photo opportunities and capture amazing images.Spend 3 and 1/2 days and 3 nights in a luxury condo with all facilities at the Nordic Inn and Resort. Bring your cameras and laptops for one of the finest weekends of photography and education. Lodging is included.Click here for a link to the brochure: Fall Foliage NHThe enrollment forms etc. are linked on the workshop page

8/26/11 8/26/11

Sigma Video

Sigma Corporation of America - a sponsor at the NECCC conference this past July created a video of the event. I am so pleased to have been chosen as the spokesperson for the production. Click here for the link

8/24/11 8/24/11

The Light of Cape Cod - Workshop Sept 30 to Oct 2, 2011

Having received a number of requests I have put together a fall weekend workshop in Cape Cod. 3 days and 2 nights with an optional day on October 3. The workshop is suitable for photographers of all levels. Here is the link to the brochure Cape Cod Workshop. All the release and registration forms are available on the workshop page of this blog. You may email or call me for details.

8/21/11 8/21/11

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing500 mm, f5.6, 1/320 at ISO 400

Had planned to go down to Cape Cod today but the weather forecast was not the best so went looking for Waxwings instead. One from this morning. Also want to clear a misconception that a few fellow photographers had - the male and female have the same markings - the red tips do not indicate a male bird.

8/21/11 8/21/11

Macro and Close-up Photography Workshop - Update

The August 20th workshop was a small group and provided the attendees a lot of personalized attention. The use of focus stacking was a great hit. Next is a one-on-one all day session with one of my worship attendees from last month. Looking forward to that.

Rose - A 24 Image Focus Stack at f 2.8

Here is a survey comment from one of my participants:

"Shiv is an excellent instructor, knows how to make concepts understandable, and is extremely knowledgeable. No matter what level of photography you are at, he will make sure you you grasp what he is presenting. He uses simple exercises to illustrate the effects he presents so you fully see the reasoning behind his instruction."

8/12/11 8/12/11

Macro Workshop - Alternate Venue

Due to a cancellation of the Meet-up group macro workshop I will holding the workshop at my home as the alternate location on August 20, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. All who has signed up earlier are welcome to attend for the same price. Any one else who is interested - please contact me at 617-759-0010 or email me s.verma@me.comClick Here for for an overview .The address is:652 Dedham StreetWrentham, MA 02093

7/28/11 7/28/11

ALASKA - Lake Clark

Have been so busy with the workshops and collecting entries for the PSA International that I have had barely any time to review and process the images from the Alaska Tour. Blogging for each day may not be feasible so I will cover the trip in short individual blogs interspersed with all my other crazy activities. Part one of the tour was Lake Clark a relatively small area Southwest of Anchorage. Lake Clark is at the junction of three mountain ranges with two volcanoes Iliama and Redoubt. The east coast has rain forests while the West is is tundra and lakes. There are no roads to the park so we flew in from Anchorage in small planes that landed on the beach.Day one, as we approached the the lodge, high in the pines we sighted our first Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle - Day 1

After a quick instructional lecture we headed off to vast areas of sedges and beach. The later part of June is too early for salmon runs so the Coastal Brown Bear feed on sedge grass and will also go the the beach to hunt for clams. the following are a few Coastal Brown Bears from Day 1.

Coastal Brown Bear eating sedge

Coastal Brown Bear Searching for Clams

Sow and First Year Cub Playing in Sedges

Day two to follow soon.................

7/28/11 7/28/11

Plymouth - Macro & Close-up - Part 1

Despite poor weather I had a great turnout for Part 1 of a two part series on Macro and CLose-up photography. 65 plus attended. Great feedback from the participants. Part 2 (the hand on session) will be this weekend and as there is a sizable waiting list, August 20 will be a repeat of Part 2. Thanks to Amy Davies and Graham Custard for organizing the program and a big thank you to all who attended.A few comments from part one as posted on the Plymouth Groups web:

I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture, punctuated with examples and humor. It reminded me of my University days, listening to a professor, a true master and genius in his own specialty. A privilege to attend and absorb the information. But .... I have so far to travel in this macro journey !
Great presentation; a lot of information to look over. I can't wait to go to Part II and actually do what Shiv was talking about.
Very interesting and I learned alot
While Shiv was clear and precise and had a lot of information to give it was way beyond anything I would venture into......but thank you for inviting him to share his EXPERT knowledge with all of us.....thank YOU Shiv.........
Thanks, Shiv! I appreciated all the tips that you had to offer and look forward to learning how it is all done on Saturday! Thanks once again, Amy for opening yet another wonderful venue for all of us at PDP !
Very well organized! Looking forward to class on Saturday!
A very enlightening evening! If I heard Shiv correctly, I need to pack some aluminum foil, my granite counter top, and toothpicks for Saturday's shoot. I may add a camera just in case.
Excellent presentation. Filled with tons of details about macro and photography in general. I left with a number of new insights.
Still trying to process all of the information given out tonite, it was wonderful, intereting, entertaining, what a skilled professional!
Excellent presentation. Hopefully will be able to participate in the 2nd part to this lecture when it is scheduled again.

7/26/11 7/26/11

Asiatic Lily and Sunflowers - July 25

A mid-day trip, first stop North Kingstown, RI to photograph the Asiatic Water Lilies.

Water Lily Bud

In Full Glory With One Gone By

Water Lily Montage

Next stop, Buttonwood Farm in Griswold, CT. The heat was fairy intense but not as bad as on Friday. Regret we did not stay for sunset which turned out to be quite good, may go back this weekend or sooner as the second field was only in bud.

Sunflower Pollination

The Right Field

A Buttonwood Farm Dreamscape

7/26/11 7/26/11

Macro & Close-Up Photography Workshop - Cape Cod Art Association - July 24, 2011

The workshop at the Cape Cod Art Association was a great day despite the occasional rain that did prevent the attendees from photographing in the rain. Rain drop covered flowers and grasses made for some beautiful images. Will post a few images created by the attendees when the submit.Below are a few quotes from the attendees:"I thought I knew something about macro photography. This class showed me I had a lot more to learn. Having both classroom and hands on was valuable as was then looking at the work. I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop!""Close Up photography has always been a challenge for me. This course was very helpful in better understanding macro techniques and the various camera accessories that are available to further enhance the effort. I am finally able to look forward to taking close up photos with confidence and enthusiasm."

7/12/11 7/12/11

Back in Massachusetts after a great Alaskan Photo Tour

What an absolutely awesome trip - the weather was not the best but then that is what one has to expect this time of year. The Costal Brown Bears, Grizzlies, Whales and Wild Flowers were phenomenal as were many species of sea birds and sea mammals. Just started looking through a few images.

6/22/11 6/22/11

ALASKA 2011 Photo Tour

Will be leaving for Alaska tomorrow June 23 for a 20 day photo tour to ALASKA. Keep your eye out for images and announcements for two Alaska workshops/tours in 2012.

6/16/11 6/16/11

Lupine Festival 2011

June 5, 2011 - Went north to Sugar Hill, New Hampshire for the opening week of a three week Lupine Festival. The Lupins were in bloom but the invasive weeds are still an issue. The density of the blooms are not what they used to be years ago.Here are two images - one a composite of a field of buttercups and the other a female red wing on a lupine.

5/30/11 5/30/11

Red Fox Kit

Red Fox KitCanon 7D, 500mm f4.oExposure Triad: f 6.3, 1/400 sec, ISO 400

This is one of a pair of female kits that were scurrying about on a very cold May afternoon. The litter was 8 as of last week there were supposed to be 7 but we saw just two - both females. The knew we were around but they did not care at all and just went about their business looking up at us every once in a while. The conditions were miserable and the light very poor in the foggy conditions. Did manage to capture some decent video of the two chasing each other.

5/27/11 5/27/11

Red Wing Blackbird - Great Meadows

With spring delayed the Red Wing Blackbirds are furiously building nests, chasing females and being chased by Marsh Wrens. This one spent a long time posing and calling perched on a cattail.

Red Wing BlackbirdCanon 7D 500 mm f4.0Exposure Triad: f 5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO 400

5/24/11 5/24/11

Great Meadows, MA

Marsh Wren building its nestCanon 7D,70-200mm F2.8Exposure Triad: f5.6, 1/800sec, ISO 400

The rains continue, week after week. This is the strangest spring that I can remember. A short break from the rains - we headed out to Great Meadows. The green marsh grasses are now reaching the tops of the cattails so in a few days the marsh wren will be a difficult subject to photograph here. The shot above is one of a marsh wren just having plucked at the cattail for some nesting material.

Here is another wren straddling cattails calling. The partial back lighting accentuated the beak.

Marsh Wren CallingCanon 7D 500mm f4Exposure Triad: f5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO 200

5/11/11 5/11/11

Steampunk Festival 2011

Steampunk Festival - Waltham, MA 2011Canon 7D 24-70 mm 2.8

The Steampunk festival is an interesting event held in Waltham Common. This event was a two day affair May 7th and 8th. We spent the early afternoon on Sunday and grabbed a few shots of the people all in their Steampunk clothes, hats, goggles and jewelry. The wind and the light were not the most conducive - fill flash helped a bit. A second light and some reflectors would have been handy. Will go better prepared next year. More images follow. All were shot with the 7D and the 24 - 70 2.8 lens and some with a fill flash.

This guy was crossing the street - the image has a background applied.