Category: wildlife

Chaplin, Saskatchewan is a Spring Birding Hotspot

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american avocets mating display, Saskatchewan

Spring is our favourite time of year to visit the Chaplin area along Hwy #1 roughly halfway between Moose Jaw and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Chaplin Lake is part of a larger wetland complex including nearby Reed Lake and Old Wives Lake, which has been designated a wetland of Hemispheric Significance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. The tasty buffet served up on Chaplin’s shores… Read moreChaplin, Saskatchewan is a Spring Birding Hotspot

Take Control of Camera Settings for Better Travel Photos

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Ruby-throated hummingbird

When taking photos, you can either rely on auto settings and let the camera make decisions, or take control and make more of those decisions yourself. No matter how technically advanced a camera may be, it doesn’t know what effect you are after in your image, or your artistic vision for the shot. When you take a landscape photo, the camera doesn’t know if your… Read moreTake Control of Camera Settings for Better Travel Photos

8 Easy Ways to Improve Your Bird Photography

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Ruby-throated hummingbird

Birds make some of the most rewarding photo subjects, especially at this time of year when spring migrants are returning and are sporting colourful mating plumage. But they aren’t the most cooperative subjects. They get upset if we come too close, seldom stay still, and often hang out in places where it’s difficult to photograph. There are a lot of ways that we can improve… Read more8 Easy Ways to Improve Your Bird Photography

How to Photograph According to Weather Conditions

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Storm clouds over Etosha National Park, Namibia.

An important part of nature photography is to be flexible. It’s all very well to make plans that tomorrow we’re going to photograph this, that, or the other. But Mother Nature doesn’t always take our plans into account. That awesome sunrise we’re expecting to photograph is obscured by a huge cloud bank, the sky turns grey and drab, or that brilliant display of wildflowers we… Read moreHow to Photograph According to Weather Conditions

Photographing the Penguins of Boulders Beach, South Africa

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African penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa

Boulders Beach, south of Cape Town, is an amazing spot to watch and photograph African Penguins at close quarters. Sometimes referred to as Jackass Penguins because of their donkey-like braying, African Penguins only live along the Atlantic coast of South Africa and Namibia. They are considered an endangered species, with the current population estimated to be only 10% of what it was in 1900. While… Read morePhotographing the Penguins of Boulders Beach, South Africa

Visiting Mexico’s Marvelous Monarchs

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Monarch Butterflies at El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

As soon as the morning sun warms the air, the forest and sky spring to life. Bold splashes of orange speckle the blue sky as countless monarchs take flight and land on branches, logs, the ground, and even on our heads and shoulders. The sound is unlike anything we have heard before: a gentle, whispering whir like a million pieces of confetti swirling in the… Read moreVisiting Mexico’s Marvelous Monarchs