OK…..so I am a bit behind on my tour/workshop reports so I decided to start from my last one! The east coast Florida tour is very different from the west coast Florida tour I do earlier in March as we concentrate more on the chicks. What got my attention in the image at the top was the dark green background that I could isolate with my Sigma 300-800mm. I tried to repeat the same scenario with the images below of the Cattle Egrets and the Tri-colored Herons (which were also photographed with the Sigma 300-800mm). You have to take many images when photographing nests as getting 3 correct head angles is difficult to say the least!!!

One of the highlights of the tour had to be the black necked stilts and their chicks. The clouds didn’t cooperate on many of the mornings but I did get a one really good chance with the Sigma 300-800mm.

There was still some mating activity going on with the egrets and I wanted to concentrate on the cattle egrets that had some pretty spectacular breeding plumage which you can see for yourself in the image below. I used the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 for this one.

To get a bit more variety on this tour we also visited butterfly world for some macro photography. Besides the butterflies we got an opportunity at some flowers and even some finches! I used my Sigma 180mm macro and the Canon MT24 twin lights for all the macro images below.

One afternoon, I wanted to travel a bit lighter so I used my 120-300mm when I had an opportunity to photograph this fledged spoonbill still pestering mom and dad for food. It was almost comical to watch as he shoved that large bill into the parents’ mouth!

On one particular morning we had cloudy conditions and not too much activity when I spotted a Ruddy Turnstone attacking a crab. I sure wish we had better light although it is the ones that I miss that keep me going back for more!!!

I had the good fortune of watching the tricolored heron chick pictured below take his first flight just shortly after he posed on this branch for me.

I will be announcing my 2014 east coast Florida workshops shortly so stay tuned to my schedule or e-mail me at; rkurywczak@gmail.com  to be placed on the advanced notice list.

Hope everyone has recovered from the holidays!  With my back going out just in time for Christmas, I have had some time to ponder on the year that has just passed and remembered I needed to share my tour report from Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons!  The image above of Great Fountain Geyser is a good representation of why, as a landscape photographer, I love going back to the same locations.  I have stood at that spot countless times over the years and am always amazed how every day is different and this allows me to look for different or unusual compositions and even take some risks.  Photographing into the sun is always challenging, but my job was made a bit easier by simply using a 3 f/stop, soft step graduated split neutral density filter and the Darryl Benson reverse graduated neutral density filter; both by Singh Ray.  This allowed me to keep the sun and sky in check and expose for the foreground and bring out all the details in it.

This year we had many more opportunities with the moose.  While the biggest bull we came upon never got to a good light angle, the youngster shown above gave the group a bit of a scare/thrill as he ran into the open among a herd of buffalo!  We even had a bit of time to follow him along the river as he made a dash for a female that was about ½ mile away.  The two images below show the same young bull jumping over a tiny creek and then ”sniffing” the scent of the nearby female who wanted nothing to do with the youngster!

 A few moments before the moose came charging out, a pronghorn sheep bull came casually sneaking up on us to within 30 feet!  The Sigma 300-800mm was way too much lens at that range but we did get many more opportunities to photograph them at a bit more comfortable distance.

As usual in Yellowstone and the Tetons at that time of year, we had many opportunities for both the elk and buffalo although I have noticed that they have moved away from their usual locations from the past.

What always makes the Yellowstone ecosystem so unique is the variety of subjects you have to photograph; from dramatic landscape to wildlife and even birds……that tour always lands on the top of my list for favorite tours! Below is an example of some of the variety we had in photographing the landscapes but no tour would be complete without at least one nighttime shoot!!!  I used DxO Labs Optics Pro 8 to reduce the noise in the night image.  I look forward to using it a bit more and reviewing it in the near future.

The Yellowstone/Tetons tour is one of my least demanding physically as most of the shooting is done close to the car. I hope you can join me on the 2013 tour and let me share my years of experience and knowledge of this magical place. As always if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at; rkurywczak@gmail.com

Susan Candelario  and I would like to congratulate Edmund Prescottano as the winner of our second Radio City Music Hall Photo Contest!  Edmund will receive a free copy of NIK softwares HDR Efex Pro 2.

 It was a tough decision for Susan and me so we chose a runner-up as well!  Congratulations goes to Lori Whalen as the 2nd place winner!  Lori will get a discount of $25 off any small workshop or $100 off any of my longer tours. 

I am also thrilled to announce that we have secured a new date for a return workshop at Radio City on January 13th!  The quickest way to secure your spot is to use PayPal on my site (just scroll down to the Pay Now button) and follow the instructions.  The cost will be $90 so act quickly as the opportunities to photograph the interior of this historic landmark with the use of tripods are greatly limited!  As always you can email me at: rkurywczak@gmail.com if you have any more questions.

I am pleased to announce a return private workshop to the Holcombe – Jimison Farmstead museum.  Many of you have asked me to include more local workshops, so this one in Lambertville, NJ is perfect for you. This historic landmark is a treasure trove for HDR photography but you can also capture some fantastic images in a single exposure!  We will have special access on a Saturday, September 15^th, to bring in our tripods and explore the numerous buildings.  Locations include an old Barber Shop (pictured above), but the old doctor’s office and dentist chair are also great fun to photograph.

I can probably spend an entire day in the old general store pictured above and below!!! 

The hearth area (pictured below) is another of the many locations that offers endless possibilities and compositions.

 Susan Candelario will be co-leading this workshop with me and it is limited to 10 participants.  The cost for this 3+ hour workshop is $90.  As always, you can contact me at: rkurywczak@gmail.com

Come join me for this special weekend workshop exploring the beauty of outer Cape Cod.  There is simply no better time of year to photograph on Cape Cod.   The bugs and the crowds are gone and the weather is cool, but not cold. The marshes are simply gorgeous as they prepare to go dormant for the winter. Award winning photographer and Cape Cod resident Betty Wiley will be assisting me on this weekend workshop. Betty is an award-winning photographer who resides full-time on Cape Cod.  She is a frequent contributor to Cape Cod and Chatham magazines and a number of her images have appeared on the cover of those publications.  Betty is an experienced instructor and has most recently taught workshops on post-processing techniques such as adding skies and textures to images.  Her extensive knowledge of the area will be an invaluable tool as we cater locations based on the weather conditions.

The workshop begins on Friday night, October 12th as we gather at the Four Points Sheraton in Eastham, MA Plan on arriving around 3pm -5pm in time for a sunset shoot on Friday.  We will head back to the hotel for an orientation pizza party (on us!) which will also include a short presentation on landscape photography with time built in for a possible night shoot at one of the local light houses.  As usual, maximum flexibility has been built into the itinerary to ensure a jam-packed weekend of photography and instruction. 

 Saturday begins with a sunrise shoot after which we will head back to the hotel for a mid-day processing session.  We will guide students throughout the process and show them the best ways to optimize their images using Photoshop/Photoshop Elements and share with them various plug-ins such as Topaz and/or NIK. We will also cover the use of HDR plug-ins such as HDR Efex Pro and/or Photomatix. Techniques that will be covered will include tips on how to make your images “pop” and other ways to create depth and interest.  A laptop is recommended for all afternoon processing sessions but not required. Saturday afternoon will feature a special lighthouse tour to Race Point Lighthouse (pictured on top) in Provincetown where students will have an opportunity to photograph one of the most beautiful lighthouses on the Cape during the golden hour and at sunset.  After dinner (meals are not included in workshop cost), we will head to another beautiful lighthouse nearby for night photography where students will learn light painting and other low light techniques.  Your stay on Friday and Saturday night at the Sheraton is included in the cost of the workshop (based on double occupancy).

Sunday morning starts with another sunrise shoot and we will choose the location based on the weather. One possible location may include the many salt marshes. At this time of year, the marsh grass turns beautiful shades of gold and orange and as the sun comes up, the marsh grass is breathtaking.  The compositions here are limited only by your imagination as the tidal pools create patterns in the golden hues of the marsh grass.  Another potential location is a working fishing community where there are lots of interesting fishing trawlers, skiffs and other boats to photograph as well as the skyline of the town itself.  This is a perfect place to use HDR (High Dynamic Range) and to capture interesting reflections in the water.    We will once again return to the hotel conference room after checking out and have another afternoon processing where students can work on processing their images taken during the workshop.  Questions are always encouraged throughout the weekend and Betty and I will be right there with you to answer them all. A laptop is recommended for the workshop but not required.  The cost of this weekend workshop is $800 and is limited to 12 participants.  Transportation is not included in this workshop but after your arrival at the hotel, we will try to arrange carpooling to the shoots as parking is limited in some of the locations.

As always, if you have any questions you can e-mail me at: rkurywczak@gmail.com .