News from Lewis Kemper

Fun at home!

I am as guilty as the next photographer; I too like to travel to various locations to take images, whether they are landscapes or wildlife. But sometimes you don’t have to stray very far.
 
The day after I received my Canon 5DM3 camera a once a year ritual took place in my backyard. I have a very large pyracantha bush just outside my office door and every year a flock of Cedar Waxwings comes and strips the bush of all its berries. Unfortunately they never announce when they are coming so it is hit or miss whether I get to witness the feeding frenzy! But fortunately I was here and more than willing to test out the new camera. I needed to shoot a fast shutter speed (1/640 sec) and I wanted to maintain some depth of field (f/11) so I needed to shoot at ISO 4000. It was a great test for the new camera! As you can see the camera preformed quite well!
 

 
 
Canon 5DM3, Canon 500mm f/4 L lens, Feisol CT-3372 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, Wimberley Sidekick, Lexar CF cards
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sunday I awoke at 3 AM to drive with some friends to photograph the “super moon”. We picked an area near Birds Landing, CA to get the wind turbines in the background.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well that wasn’t the most successful photo shoot I ever went on, but when I stumbled home at 9 AM I pulled in my driveway to see one of the newborn bluebirds poking it’s head out of my bluebird box and the parents were busy feeding. I parked at the end of the driveway and lined up my angle. I quickly ran in the house to get my Vacu-pod (www.Vacu-pod.com) and mounted the Canon 500mm f/4 L lens on my Canon 1DM4, on the Vacu-pod stuck to the driver’s side window, with the Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head. I needed even faster shutter speeds (1/1000 – 1/2000) so I was shooting at ISO 400 (it was very sunny) at f/8- f/11. I took the best pictures of the day 30 feet from my front door. I could have slept in! And I even got to listen to the radio as I photographed!
 
 
To see more of both bird shoots click here to view my bird images on my website - the Cedar Waxwings are on the first page and the Western Bluebirds the second page
 
 
 
 

It just goes to show you, you don’t always have to travel far to make great pictures!


Have a great day,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experience of a Lifetime - corrected link!

 

 Sorry to bother you again but the sign up link was broken!!! So if you don't want to go, accept my apologies and disregard.

 

You have the chance for a once in a lifetime adventure! Due to a cancellation, I have one space available on my "Bears, Bears and Bears, Oh My!" tour this July 26- 30 to Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. I have seen and photographed bears in may different locations, but none are as exciting and as photographically promising as this location! 
 
I was photographing wild brown bears just yards from where I was standing with no fear of the animals! I have photographed a lot of brown bears before, in Denali, Glacier, Yellowstone and other Alaska locations but I have never been this close to these magnificent creatures without fear. All the other parks have restrictions on how close you can be to the wildlife, no such restrictions take place here. People and bears have co-existed for years. The bears go about their business of survival hardly paying attention to the people. You will see and photograph them eating, nursing, clamming and going about their day-to-day existence without any restrictions! There will be bears on the beaches, bears in the meadows and lots of interactions between mothers and young! It is a once in a lifetime experience that you will never forget!
 
We will also spend half a day taking a boat ride to a nearby island to photograph nesting and feeding puffins. Hopefully you’ll get that great shot of a puffin with a beak full of fish!
 
The folks at Silver Salmon Lodge offer a great experience. They have seasoned guides that not only take you to see the bears, but also teach you about bear behavior. They will drive you from location to location on ATV Quads pulling a trailer, so you don’t have to lug your camera gear from location to location! There is some short walking involved, but nothing considered strenuous at all. The lodge will provide you with knee high boots so you don’t have to worry about the terrain and can walk on the beach, through damp meadows or along riversides. And the food is great too! (If you have any special dietary considerations please let me know ahead of time) Everything is taken care of!
 
 
Price: $ 3995 for double occupancy (Single occupancy may be available but we will not know until it gets closer to departure date. Single supplement is $ 400)
 
Price includes:
 
July 26- 30, 2012. Round trip airfare from Anchorage to the lodge, 4 nights lodging and meals, guides and ground transportation (quads pulling a trailer) while at the lodge, boat charter to an island to photograph puffins, photographic instruction, and all tips to guides and lodge staff.
 
Not included is transportation to Anchorage, Alaska and lodging on the nights prior and after our flights to lodge. I recommend you arrive one day before our departure for the lodge (July 25) and plan on spending the night of the 30th in Anchorage as well.
 
Follow this link to sign up now before someone else grabs your spot!
 
See you in Alaska,
 


 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Experience of a Lifetime!

 

You have the chance for a once in a lifetime adventure! Due to a cancellation, I have one space available on my "Bears, Bears and Bears, Oh My!" tour this July 26- 30 to Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. I have seen and photographed bears in may different locations, but none are as exciting and as photographically promising as this location! 
 
I was photographing wild brown bears just yards from where I was standing with no fear of the animals! I have photographed a lot of brown bears before, in Denali, Glacier, Yellowstone and other Alaska locations but I have never been this close to these magnificent creatures without fear. All the other parks have restrictions on how close you can be to the wildlife, no such restrictions take place here. People and bears have co-existed for years. The bears go about their business of survival hardly paying attention to the people. You will see and photograph them eating, nursing, clamming and going about their day-to-day existence without any restrictions! There will be bears on the beaches, bears in the meadows and lots of interactions between mothers and young! It is a once in a lifetime experience that you will never forget!
 
We will also spend half a day taking a boat ride to a nearby island to photograph nesting and feeding puffins. Hopefully you’ll get that great shot of a puffin with a beak full of fish!
 
The folks at Silver Salmon Lodge offer a great experience. They have seasoned guides that not only take you to see the bears, but also teach you about bear behavior. They will drive you from location to location on ATV Quads pulling a trailer, so you don’t have to lug your camera gear from location to location! There is some short walking involved, but nothing considered strenuous at all. The lodge will provide you with knee high boots so you don’t have to worry about the terrain and can walk on the beach, through damp meadows or along riversides. And the food is great too! (If you have any special dietary considerations please let me know ahead of time) Everything is taken care of!
 
 
Price: $ 3995 for double occupancy (Single occupancy may be available but we will not know until it gets closer to departure date. Single supplement is $ 400)
 
Price includes:
 
July 26- 30, 2012. Round trip airfare from Anchorage to the lodge, 4 nights lodging and meals, guides and ground transportation (quads pulling a trailer) while at the lodge, boat charter to an island to photograph puffins, photographic instruction, and all tips to guides and lodge staff.
 
Not included is transportation to Anchorage, Alaska and lodging on the nights prior and after our flights to lodge. I recommend you arrive one day before our departure for the lodge (July 25) and plan on spending the night of the 30th in Anchorage as well.
 
Follow this link to sign up now before someone else grabs your spot!
 
See you in Alaska,
 


 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring announcements!


Hi Everybody,
 
 I just posted a new blog entry about my adventure photographing birds in south Florida last week. To hear about where I went, and to see my images click here.
 
Spring is all around and I have seen some great sights in Wisconsin, Florida and Maryland. I hope you are having a great spring too.
 
As you know Lightroom has been updated to version 4 and my “Photographer’s Toolbox for Lightroom” DVD is full updated and available here.
 
And Photoshop CS6 has been official announced. I have just put the finishing touches on updating my first set of DVDs “The Photographer’s Toolbox for Photoshop: Exposure and Color.” The discs will be ready to ship May 5th. You can order here and use the coupon code DVD2012 and save 12.5% (Don’t worry if the page still says CS5, I won’t change the page until the 5th but I will ship you the new discs.)
 
Due to a cancellation I have 2 spaces left on my bear trip to Alaska in July. For an amazing experience click here!
 
 
My trip to India in November is getting full but there are still about 4 spaces left. You may have seen the write up in May’s Outdoor Photographer. For info click here.
 

Have a great spring,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Impressions of my new Canon 5D Mark 3

 

Hi Everybody,

I have only had my new Canon 5D Mark 3 for a few days, but so far I am impressed! I haven’t really taken it out in the field for any extensive shooting yet, but I have done several backyard tests. So here are some examples of images that I have taken with and without noise reduction applied in ACR/Lightroom. I will label all the images so you can tell what happened and let you decide what you think. I think I’m going to be quite happy with this camera!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1600 ISO with Luminance Noise Reduction set at 34/50/0 on the 3 sliders in ACR/Lightroom
 
To read the whole bolg and see the tests click here.
 
Take care,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sale Ends Sunday!

I just want to remind  you the sale ends Sunday!                        

 
The new “Photographer’s Toolbox for Lightroom” is now complete with over seven hours of video training on all aspects of the program including the new features found in the Develop, Map and Book modules. Learn how to set up your preferences, create a Develop Preset, Import, Export, keyword, search, map, build a book, create a slideshow, build a custom print layout, and create a custom web gallery and much more!
 
I am having an introductory sale from now through March 31st. Get 20% off with the coupon code LR4INTRO (Case sensitive) on my website. Click here to order.
 
Enjoy,
 

 

 

 

 

Lightroom 4 DVD complete!!!!!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The marathon is over!! I have been working 15 hour days since the release of Lightroom 4 to complete my training DVD and I am now finished!
 
The new “Photographer’s Toolbox for Lightroom” is now complete with over seven hours of video training on all aspects of the program including the new features found in the Develop, Map and Book modules. Learn how to set up your preferences, create a Develop Preset, Import, Export, keyword, search, map, build a book, create a slideshow, build a custom print layout, and create a custom web gallery and much more!
 
I am having an introductory sale from now through March 31st. Get 20% off with the coupon code LR4INTRO (Case sensitive) on my website. Click here to order.
 
Enjoy,
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lightroom 4 and recent news!


As you may be aware Lightroom 4 was released this week. And the biggest and most exciting changes come to the Develop module. I am busy working on updating my Lightroom training DVD and hope to have it out in April. I will keep you posted as to the release.

I have heard it said many times before, that being in the right place at the right time, is the most important factor in nature photography. I would have to add that it’s being in the right place at the right time, with the right equipment and knowledge of how to use it that is most important. I was lucky enough to meet all those requirements this past week when photographing at Green Cay in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Here is one of the images I took that morning.  To see more and learn about the equipment I was using click here to go to my blog.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take care,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife Experience

Hi Everybody,

 
It’s been a long time since I’ve written to you and I hope all is well!        
 
I just added a new blog entry about my experience leading a Canon Live Learning workshop to Triple D Game Farm, where we photographed Arctic Wolves, Mountain Lions, Red Fox, Lynx, and Coyotes. It was quite an experience and everyone there got terrific images. In fact I was rather jealous of some of the images the participants got! After the workshop I went to a nearby town to photograph a profusion of Snowy Owls.
 
So if you want to see some of these images in here what I’ve been up to follow this link to my blog.
 
There are still two spaces left in my trip to photograph the brown bears in Alaska this summer. Click on the image of the bear to find out more information about this trip. Deposits are due March 15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time,

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Inexpensive Film Scanner and more

 

Do you want to find out about great film scanner that won't hurt your wallet?  I wrote a new blog entry about my experiences with an inexpensive (under $200) film scanner that I recommend. Here is one of the images I recently scanned.
 
 
I also want to inform you of some upcoming speaking engagements and classes:
 
Seattle, WA on Feb 6th
Dallas, TX on Feb 21
Ft. Lauderdale, FL on March 1
Harrison, OH on March 21
North Oaks, MN on March 24
Nevada City, CA on March 26
 
I’ll be teaching two classes at Palm Beach Photographic Centre, West Palm Beach, Fl
 
I hope your new year is off to a great start,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

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