Workshop Participant Photos

Ameerega hahneli   ©Sherry Butts

This post is feature several images from some of the participants that attended the recently concluded Dart Frogs of the Amazon Rainforest Photographic Workshops on August 19th & 20th. We had a great group of folks for each date and tons of fun creating great images. We incorporated the use of props for some species to illustrate just how tiny they are. These props included a ten cent coin and the thumb of yours truly for a human touch 🙂 I am really proud of the images that the workshop participants created during these two events as well as their post processing skills. I will share more images from other participants when they are able to send their images along. Below are a few images from the first group of participants that were able to submit their images this week. Stay tuned for more images soon 🙂

First time participant Alan Jones made the trek from Michigan to attend both days of the workshop and created many great images using his Nikon D800 with the now discontinued Nikon 200mm Micro lens and the R1 Wireless Close-up Speedlight System I love the upright pose Alan captured of the Epipedobates tricolor, the side profile of the Phyllobates terribilis, and the low perspective for the Dendrobates leucomelas.

Dendrobates leucolemla   ©Alan Jones

Phyllobates terribilis   ©Alan Jones

 

Epipedobates tricolor   ©Alan Jones

 

Jennifer St. Louis was also a first time participant at the dart frog workshop. Jen was using a small soft box on her camera mounted flash to add a soft even light, which is something I may start incorporating. I absolutely love the image she captured of the Ranitomeya flavovitta below. Her low perspective allows the frog to stand out beautifully against the poster-like, out-of-focus background. Her image of the Hyalinobatrachium valerioi on the Monsterra leaf creates a nice sense of scale for this tiny tree frog and her Dendrobates leucomelas image really pops against the soft greens of the same leaf.

 

Ranitomeya flavovittata   ©Jen St. Louis

 

Hyalinobatrachium valerioi   ©Jen St. Louis

 

Dendrobates leucomelas   ©Jen St. Louis

 

Return workshop participant Don Johnston captured the Epipedobates tricolor on a 10 cent Canadian coin which really gives us a great sense of scale for this tiny but colorful frog. Don was also using the discontinued Nikon 200mm Micro lens with a light source provided by his Nikon SB900 Speedlight mounted to a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket. The benefit of using such a lens is that you gain more working distance, which can be most beneficial at times. Don’s capture of the Dendrobates tinctorius on the soft green moss (direct from Peru) pops nicely as does his Phylobates terribilis sitting on the Cordelyne leaf – what better combination than a bright yellow frog sitting on a bright purplish-pink leaf 🙂

 

Epipedobates tricolor   ©Don Johnston

 

Dendrobates tinctorius “azureus”   ©Don Johnston

 

Phyllobates terribilis   ©Don Johnston

 

Sherry Butts’, a returning workshop participant, opening image of the Ameerega hahneli reaching up to my thumb nail was only made better when the frog actually climbed up onto my thumb nail. Sherry was using one of my home-made flash diffusers to add soft, even lighting and while these custom-made diffusers are impracticable for field use they allow the workshop participant to create stunning imagery without the need to invest in expensive off camera flash brackets. Sherry loves going for a creative look in her images and as a result applied a beautiful texture overlay to her capture on the Phyllobates terribilis on a leaf stem.

 

Ameerega hahneli   ©Sherry Butts

 

Phyllobates terribilis   ©Sherry Butts

Read Full Post »

Dart Frogs of the Amazon Rainforest

Phyllobates terribilis

This past weekend we held our Dart Frogs of the Amazon Rainforest Photographic Workshop at the Crinan Community Centre located just west of London, Ontario. We had a great group of participants in attendance and a couple of folks that took advantage of the two day discount that was offered. Several participants were repeat participants from the first event held in May of this year. One lucky participant from each of this weekend’s events walked away with a fabulous door prize – The Plamp that was graciously supplied by Wimberely.

Here are a few of my initial edits from a few of the images I captured in between assisting participants with their images. As usual during each event we bring out a couple of bonus species at the conclusion of the day. For this event we featured the La Palma Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium valerioi) and The Fringed Leaf Frog (Cruziohyla craspedopus).

In the coming days I will be featuring some participant photos.

In September I am travelling to Tarapoto, Peru on a scouting trip to be able to add an incredible rainforest photographic workshop opportunity to my 2018 line up of available workshops. Stay tuned for news about this upcoming workshop.

The next Ontario based Dart Frogs of the Amazon Rainforest Photographic Workshop will be held in Mississauga, Ontario in November. Once the logistics for this event are finalized I will announce the event here.

Please do remember to click on each photo to view the larger and sharper versions.

Phyllobates terribilis “orange black foot”

 

Ameerega hahneli “tonhauyo” Peru

 

Dendrobates leucomelas “microspot”

 

Dendrobates auratus “microspot”

 

Dendrobates auratus “reticulated”

 

Dendrobates tinctorius “cobalt”

 

Dendrobates tinctorius “mount matecko”

 

Ranitomeya imitator “chazuta”

 

Ranitomeya imitator “chazuta”

 

Ranitomeya benedicta

 

The Fringed Leaf Frog – Cruziohyla casperdopus

 

La Palma Glass Frog – Hyalinobactrachium valerioi

 

The Fringed Leaf Frog – Cruziohyla craspedopus

Read Full Post »

Phun With Macphun Luminar

Sunrise over Lake Traverse, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Shortly after Google announced that they will be ending support the Nik Collection, Macphun announced that they will be releasing a Windows version of Luminar. I took the time to try out the beta version of Luminar and do initially like what it has to offer. The software interface is very user friendly and some of the presets seems to be a little over the top for my tastes, others are quite functional, yielding natural looking results. It is important to keep in mind that this is a beta version and the official release of the program later this fall will have many more features available. In my opinion it will be a very viable option for folks that relied on the Nik Collection as a standard part of their workflow.

Here are a few older images that I have tweaked using the beta version of Luminar.

Please click on each image to view the larger, sharper version.

WDYT?

 

Oxtongue River, Ontario

 

Lower Rosseau Falls, Ontario

 

Pre-dawn on Lake Traverse, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Rusty Old Wreck, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Lake Traverse, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

 

Sunset on Georgian Bay, Ontario

 

Oxtongue River, Ontario

 

Gargantua Harbour, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Lake Superior Wild & Scenic Photography Retreat

 

Lake Superior offers photographers some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery that Ontario has to offer. Join Andrew McLachlan from October 19^th to 22^nd and immerse yourself in a photographic retreat capturing the awe-inspiring beauty of Lake Superior’s rugged shoreline and area waterfalls during the Lake Superior Wild & Scenic Photography Retreat. Experience sensational sunsets over Lake Superior, ragging waterfalls, and crashing waves. This photographic retreat has been timed to coincide with the onset of Lake Superior’s storm season, which should mean massive waves crashing into the rugged coastline of the greatest of the Great Lakes. In addition this event as been timed at the start of a new moon cycle that will allow for impressive opportunities to photograph the night sky and possibly the Aurora Borealis, given the right weather conditions to permit clear skies. I am well travelled along Lake Superior’s coast and have selected various locations that will enable participants to create stunning imagery accompanied by in-depth, personal, in-the-field, photographic instruction that will aid you on all your future photographic endeavours. There will be no set itinerary for this photography retreat as we will make daily decisions based on the current weather conditions to maximize our photographic opportunities.

This will photography retreat is open to a maximum of 8 participants.

The cost of this event is $625 + HST based on double occupancy (Single Supplement Fee is an additional $120)

What’s Included:

• 3 Nights Accommodation at the Wawa Motor Inn (Check-in on the 19^th at 4:00 p.m. / Check-out on the 22^nd at 11:00 a.m.)
• In-room coffee
• High-Speed Wireless Internet (poor weather conditions may affect quality)
• Continental Breakfast (October 20, 21, & 22)
• Box Lunch (October 20 & 21)
• Meet and greet dinner on October 19^th at 6:00 p.m.
• Dinner (October 20 & 21)

 

What’s Not Included:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Snacks
• Transportation (participants are encouraged to carpool from the Wawa Motor Inn to our daily destinations)

 

To secure your spot in Lake Superior Wild & Scenic Photography Retreat your payment, in full, is due now. Payments can be made via email transfer or by cheque made payable to Andrew McLachlan. To book and reserve your spot please email me by clicking here.

 

Cancellation Policy:

No refunds after September 18, 2017.

Read Full Post »