Utah Road Trip-January 12-17th, 2025

For this road trip I’d like to further explore the area of southeast Utah, more specifically Factory Butte and surrounding areas. Last year I visited the butte area and thought the entire trip was amazing. I also thought that there was so much more to explore, but I didn’t have the chance. I am going back again for my third visit and taking 8 clients.

Price $1899

Dates January 12-17th - 5 nights (we leave on the 17th)

During this road trip we will drive to many of the BLM areas and parks in the area. Everyone will be responsible for driving their own car, park fees, meals and lodging. Before each shoot, I will go over gear selection, area specifics, drive times, directions, etc. Everyone will follow me to each shooting location unless you decide to venture out on your own. There is so much to explore in this area. Drones are welcomed at a lot of our shooting areas, but not absolutely necessary if you don’t have one.

The Utah Badlands feature some of the most distinctive rock formations in the world. From towering spires to intricate hoodoos, these natural wonders are a testament to millions of years of geological history. This area is also unique in that there are so many completely different areas of interest within driving range. With the myriad of formations and patterns, the photographic opportunities are endless. We will go out for sunrise and sunset daily, capturing pockets of light and color whenever possible. Our goal is to photograph and see as much of the area as possible during our 5 night adventure.

MEET & GREET (January 12th) AT 2:00pm.

TO SIGN UP FOR THIS TRIP CLICK HERE.

The Story Behind the Shot #2

In this new series, I am going to give some behind the scenes details for one image at a time. I’ll go over some of my settings, what I did in the field, why I composed it the way I did, or any other bit of information that I feel is relevant to the image. I will not be posting this series on Facebook, it is meant to be a bonus article for my subscribers.

On an afternoon shoot in the Maasai Mara we came across four young lions (some female, some male) looking at a Monitor Lizard. It was right in front of them but it was not moving. The lions were all looking at it and you could tell they didn’t know what to make of it. I assumed they would capture it the moment it started moving. Most cats can’t resist a chase. However, it started to rain and the lizard started to run. As suspected the lions went for it but when they got close the lizard whacked them with his tail. They retreated and this behavior repeated. Then it became a total downpour, visibility was difficult; the lizard managed to slip away… I was amazed that the group of lions let it get away. I guess it isn’t a known food source for them and they were young and perplexed. I also think they were slightly afraid of the unknown. It reminded me of my dog when I showed it one of those battery operated dogs for the first time. My dog Roxy jumped into my arms and tried to get on my head! She was so afraid of it.

My camera settings were: Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm lens. ISO 3200, 1/640sec @f/8, AWB, Natural light, @200mm. What you can deduce from my settings and the image is that I was working in low light. During this photo shoot I adjusted my shutter speed continuously until I liked the way the rain rendered. If my shutter speed was too fast-the rain looked like tiny dots and you couldn’t see it too much. If my shutter was too slow, the rain looked like streaks and my lions looked blurred. I liked this speed as it looked like snow and softened the entire scene.

To compose it I waited until they were both looking in one direction. They didn’t need to be engaged with me, but they needed to be facing into the scene. It would have been great if I had the tail of the lizard in the left corner of the frame but by this time, the lizard was under grasses and looking for its escape route.

To process the picture, I boosted the clarity a touch and kept the color tones as close to what I saw at the time. Without the heavy rain, the background would have been miserable, with lots of distractions.

Charleston South Carolina - March 17-22, 2025

Charleston, South Carolina - March 17-22 , 2025

$1899.00 / Limit 10
Join Denise Ippolito for this low country adventure where we will highlight some of Charleston’s best known photo locations as well as a few hidden gems. During this trip we will need to be flexible in order to make the most of our time. Some highlights may include: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Botany Bay, Historic Downtown Charleston and Rainbow Row, Folly Beach and/or Sullivan's Island, The Ravenel Bridge and Shem Creek. This is a great place to work on infrared as well .

There will be an informal Meet & Greet at our hotel in Charleston at 2:00pm on March 17th followed by an afternoon shoot. I will present a mini-slide program and go over logistics, gear and explain some of the photo opportunities that we have in store for you. You will not want to miss this.

Daily schedule includes a morning photo shoot and an afternoon and/or evening photo shoot depending on local conditions. We will have at least one Photoshop/Lightroom session during the photo tour. Plus a few image review sessions, this is a great way to see what your fellow photographer is capturing (it is not mandatory that you participate in image review sessions but highly recommended).

Participants should plan your trip home after the morning shoot of the last day (March 22nd—approximately 12:00 noon).
*Note – There will be some walking involved and all participants must be able to walk at least 1 mile on even ground without distress. Please wear comfortable shoes. All schedule times and itinerary are subject to change depending on local conditions and weather. A detailed information sheet will be sent to you upon sign up.

Included Meet & Greet slide program and gathering, Image review sessions, Lightroom/Photoshop session,

Not Included- all meals, lodging, transportation (car pooling is encouraged), any additional access fees

TO SIGN UP CLICK HERE.

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The Story Behind the Shot #1

In this new series, I am going to give some behind the scenes details for one image at a time. I’ll go over some of my settings, what I did in the field, why I composed it the way I did, or any other bit of information that I feel is relevant to the image. I will not be posting this series on Facebook, it is meant to be a bonus article for my subscribers.

This image appears to look like one lioness is stalking the buffalo that is splashing in the water. Here is what really happened-

Day 1 —On our very first day in the Mara we spotted two large Cape Buffalo bulls that were fending off the very large “Topi” pride of lions. I counted nineteen lions in the pride but others in our group said they had counted twenty-three. After a very long waiting game and garnishing all the back history on the shot we learned that the lionesses had once already attacked the one bull. We also found out that he was injured on his backside, though he didn’t appear to have any visible wounds. The other larger buffalo was not injured and was there as added protection trying to fend off the lionesses if they dared to get closer to his companion.

Soon, the sub-adult lions and younger cubs joined in the taunting; being careful not to get too close. A male full-sized Cape Buffalo can weight up to nine hundred kilos. Their horns are massive and with one strike could kill a female lion. At one point one of the male lions entered the scene. We all thought he came in to kill the injured buffalo for the anxiously awaiting pride. However, he was chased away by the second bull. The day ended in a stand-off with the injured bull held up in the water and the lion pride surrounding it. The second male buffalo left the scene as it started to get dark. I guess he figured he had done all he could for his friend.

Day 2–We returned to the drama we had left the night before. Expecting that the injured buffalo would be dead, and the entire pride would be picking on the remainder of his bones. But, when we got there, things were just as we had left them. Same buffalo in the water, same male sitting in the grass, same cubs playing nearby with an eye on their planned meal and the lionesses on high alert, patiently watching everyone.

After a short while the second male lion from the pride joined the rest. He was more anxious than the other male to end the stand-off. I think the buffalo was getting waterlogged and needed to eat, so he tried many times to sneak out of the water hole when the lions were starting to fall asleep. He was met time and time again by the sub adults and lionesses.

One of the times he did manage to get out and he instinctively started to feed. But he had wandered a bit too far from the safety of the watering hole and the second male lion gave chase. It ended with the male lion on the bulls back trying it’s best to take it down. His teeth never did puncture the skin of the buffalo. The buffalo made its way back to the safety of the water and the stand-off resumed. At sunset we left. It was a good 12-hour day of waiting and watching…

The next day we learned that the buffalo was taken during the night, details of his final moments were never revealed.

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Now back to my shot. I was looking to capture the water splash as I had seen it happen over and over again. I took multiple images to try to get a substantial splash. When photographing animals near water, I look for a reflection or water splash or even head shake. I try to concentrate on those particular behaviors so that my photo has added interest.

For this shot, the splash was big, and it didn’t cover the buffalo’s head-which is a good thing. I also had the lioness in the background which added significantly to the image -she helps to set the scene and tell the story, without her in the shot, it would not be as powerful.

There is one large clump of grass that I just could not get above without losing that low angle. I decided after my initial shot that I would shoot using a wide-open aperture. Since I was using the Sony 200-600mm, I went with an f/6.3 instead of stopping down for two subjects. If everything from front to back in the image was sharp than I would not be able to direct the viewers eye to where the “meat of the story” is.

Choosing the right aperture is only one of the decisions that needed to be made for this shot. The shutter speed also played an important part when it came to the splash. The splash needed to be significant, but I also needed enough shutter speed to stop the large amount of water that got stirred up by the buffalo. I like to use between 1/1250sec and 1/2500sec. depending on the available light. If it’s not too bright I’ll go down to 1/1000sec. if needed.

To set my exposure for this image, I work in manual mode with natural light for almost all of my natural history subjects with my white balance set to AWB if it is not cloudy. Next, I chose my aperture of f/6.3 (I already explained my thoughts on this setting above), my shutter speed I set to 1/1600sec. since it is usually a good enough shutter speed for action. My ISO (which is now my variable, of the 3 needed settings in the exposure triangle (ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed), since I have already committed to the other 2 settings. I use my live histogram as a guide—I set it to whatever it has to be to get enough light on my subject without any blinking highlights for the water. So that means to push the information on my histogram box over to the right wall without touching it. For my Sony a1, I usually back off of that wall a little more than I did with my Canon bodies. I take a test shot and use my actual histogram and highlight alerts to double check my exposure.

Light angle and positioning near the water hole was an important piece of the puzzle. I was thankful that our driver/guide got us in a great spot and that our group was willing to wait out the drama. Patience is always the key to getting good shots. Yes, we could have left and gotten some mediocre shots of other animals, but getting a really good image and having this experience to remember is part of what makes a good safari. BTW, we did all end up with a boatload of great images from that trip after all this drama was over.

For processing this shot, I should have cloned out the clump of grass, it’s not above my skill set and would be an easy fix, but at the time that I took the image I was still competing and wanted to enter this shot—I never did. So, I may go back to the original and remove it.

Dancing Cranes

Capturing the dancing crane shots are not as easy as you may think. There are a lot of things to consider when shooting them and also a few variables that may affect your image.

First, you obviously need to get them in the frame! Secondly, you need some separation between the two dancing cranes and the rest of the flock— not always as easy as it looks. Sometimes they dance right in the middle of the flock.

You also have to look for merging lines (see example images below). The photo directly below shows the snow line through the middle of the crane’s bodies. I always look to avoid that line by moving my position, if possible and it isn’t always possible.

However, if that line is softer (see example image #2) or gradient, it won’t grab your eye as much as when it is a strong bold line.. In the example image #2, the background is starting to become a slight issue as that dominant tree could present a problem if it lands right between the cranes or through one of their heads. So much to consider when composing. And of course that is very hard to do when they are jumping and dancing. Also, as much as I love the young cranes, the elegant look of the adults is something special!

The last image (#3), I took image #1 into Photoshop and softened the snow line so that you could see what it would look like if the line was softened a bit. I did a quick job as it is just meant to be an example.

Image 1 - Merging line right through the cranes.

Image 2- young cranes dancing, merging line is not an issue but the background becomes a little distracting. This is an older image.

Image #3

Next, you’ll need enough shutter speed to capture the action and enough DOF for two large birds, depending on how close you are working and their position. You’ll also need to stay on them and follow their movements, that’s not always easy. I usually pick one bird to follow when they start to dance. I like having a zoom lens like a 200-600mm or a 100-500mm medium telephoto lens. 

If it’s snowing, the snow can grab your focus and make it even more difficult. Another issue is your exposure. If you are too dark your blacks are blocked and your whites look dingy. If you’re too light, your whites are toast. I trust the combination of my highlight alerts and histogram in the field.

I also like it when the cranes are close together and a connection between them is visible. My favorite pose is when they are bowing to each other or when their necks are intertwined. 

If you are really lucky, everything will come together, and your dancing crane Image will make your heart sing. But the absolute most important thing is to simply enjoy the dance…