Friday, May 24, 2019

New Jersey Wildlife

New Jersey Wildlife

New Jersey is home to a wide variety of "critters", some are cute & cuddly while others are quite dangerous. If you walk along any trail or sit in a park you will certainly find squirrels and chipmunks running around as if they are late for their train. If you are quiet and look hard enough, you may find deer or any of a number of other creatures that call New Jersey home.

Deer

I came across this beautiful buck while hiking thru Thompson Park in Lincroft one afternoon during the rut. I was looking in the opposite direction as I was walking when something caught my eye - I turned and there he was, just staring at me. I had but a few moments to grab this image before he ran into the woods.

The young buck in the golden hour image was one that I was watching for a short time during a morning hike in the park. I sometimes detour to the beach or one of the parks along the way to the office to walk or maybe do some shooting. If I go to the park I often have the place to myself and will come across quite a few deer. This particular morning it was just after sunrise and there were about a dozen deer grazing in the field. This buck was by himself and didn't seem to really care that I was there. I got as close as I dared, took out the camera and grabbed a few images before he ran off into the woods. This is one of my favorite deer images, though I have many.

Birds

New Jersey is home to more than 475 species of birds and is an important stop along the East Coast migration route. While I have photographed a wide variety, I have nowhere near all - nor have I even seen them all. I have still not gotten a good glimpse of the Bald Eagles we have but still have hope.

The Northern Mockingbird shown here was captured during a lunchtime walk along the Henry Hudson Trail in Union Beach. This is another great example of the old axiom, f/8 and be there, as I had but a moment to shoot before he flew away. When it comes to birds, I do "play favorites." I have a great love for egrets, herons and raptors - in part because of the challenge but, mostly, for their beauty. I was fortunate to grow up with a small river inlet behind my home and we would see egrets and herons all the time. I have countless slides of them fishing along the banks or sitting on a dock. The black-crowned night heron is one such slide - he was perched on one of the pilings of a neighbors dock when I captured this image. The scan quality isn't great but the image is a good one.

While I have yet to capture an eagle, I have been able to get a number of red-tailed hawks - including the one shown here. This was another lunchtime hike and he caught me by surprise. I was in the woods and saw this hawk flying low across the trail and landed on a downed tree. He had caught a snake and was perched on the tree eating. When I got around to that side of the trail I started looking for it, hoping to get an image. To my disappointment, he was no longer eating and had flown off. I looked up and saw him sitting in the tree right next to me, he was maybe 10 feet away! I shot until he had enough and flew off.

I have written two blog posts about birds in New Jersey if you wish to read more - Birds of New Jersey - The Gray Catbird and Birds of New Jersey - The Great Egret.

Reptiles / Amphibians

Not all of New Jersey's wildlife is warm-blooded, as we have a very diverse range of reptiles and amphibians, too. This bullfrog was sitting on the side of a trail in Lake Topanemus Park in Freehold one afternoon. I had never shot a frog before and have not since. I was amazed at my skill of getting so close and not scaring it away, only to find out later that the frogs will freeze if they feel threatened and are not near a water source to jump into. I could have jumped up and down yelling and he never would have moved....

Turtles of all types are abundant - from the docile box turtle to the dangerous snapping turtle. I find box turtles in my yard rather frequently (I live at the edge of a large woods) and they can be found throughout the state. They are also probably the easiest to photograph - they are not overly dangerous, they move quite slowly and if you get close they "clam up" like this one. I often come across turtles sunning themselves on rocks or tree limbs in and around lakes but they often see me before I can get close enough for a decent shot and dart back into the water. Snapping turtles are rather mean and very dangerous and also the most common turtle in the state; I've only seen one in the wild once and that was in my own backyard about 25 years ago. I saw, what I thought was a large black trash bag in the yard. I went out to pick it up and noticed it was a snapping turtle - it was headed right for a forsythia bush in the middle of the yard. I stayed under the bush all day and then I never saw it again - later that year I dug up the bush.

I don't come across too many snakes in my travels but when I do they are invariably the harmless garter snake. The largest snakes in New Jersey are the Northern Black Racer and Black Rat snake, both can reach more than six feet and are found throughout the state. We only have two venomous snakes, the Northern Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake which are typically found in the northern part of the state - a friend recently came across a rattlesnake while hiking along the Appalachian Trail on Mt. Tammany. You usually don't have much to worry about with snakes unless, like most wild creatures, you startle them or encroach too closely on their space. While it is always a good idea to keep your eyes on the trail, it is particularly important when you are in "snake country" - just to be safe.

Small Mammals

I mentioned squirrels and chipmunks at the top of this post, here is one of the many squirrels I have encountered on my treks. You can read the story behind this image at Shhhh – there’s a deer but where are my keys?. Of course, rabbits are a frequent sight, too. This little guy was at Deep Cut Gardens one fine afternoon. Rabbits are fun to watch but can be difficult to photograph well.

New Jersey is also home to the bobcat, in fact, it is our only wild cat. They once roamed throughout the state but are now endangered and found primarily in the northwest part of the state but there have been sightings in the Pinelands. The bobcat is an extremely shy creature, as are most cats, and you are rather unlikely to see one and they pose very little threat to humans. I have never seen one in the wild.

Bears

New Jersey has a growing population of black bears and can be found in all 21 counties, though predominately found in the northwest part of the state. I have never had a wild encounter with a bear but they are always on my mind when I am in Bear Country. It is crucial that you learn what to do in case of an encounter with a bear - the wrong move can cause you serious harm, even death. You can read about what to do at get BEAR SMART society. There are many other places where you can get information, including kiosks at trail heads where encounters may be likely. REMEMBER - you cannot outrun a bear, trying to do so will most likely cause an attack!

I have covered but a small amount of the abundant wildlife to be found throughout our state. You can find other images in the Wildlife gallery on my website.

I leave you with one last image - the red-tailed hawk eating the snake. This was the best vantage point I could get, I was disappointed the branches were covering his head but you can't tell a bird to move to a better location!

I hope you have enjoyed my menagerie and would love to hear from you in the comments below. There is such diversity in our state and I have only covered the creatures that are found on land - fishing is incredible throughout the state, both freshwater and saltwater.

Until next time - get out and explore, witness the beauty of The Garden State firsthand! If you aren't in New Jersey, get out and explore the natural world around you; I can't think of a better way to recharge your batteries.


All photos are copyright Joseph S. Valencia All Rights Reserved They may not be used in any way without express written permission of the photographer. If you wish to use any of the photos you may contact the photographer at valencia32photo@gmail.com

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Does Your Gear Matter? No, It Doesn't! Yes, It Does!

Does Your Gear Matter?

This age old question pops up all the time and I have heard many "definitive" opinions on both sides. I decided to give my own definitive answer - gear does and does not matter. Yes, you can have it both ways. Let me explain.

Gear Doesn't Matter

This is very true - to a point. I have heard a lot of photographers say, "It isn't the gear, it's the photographer that matters." I have also seen more than a few (most?) of those same photographers walking around with very expensive gear.

Ansel Adams once stated, "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!" and he was absolutely right. If you don't understand composition and exposure, you have to count on luck to get a good image. If you give a five year-old a Canon 5D Mark IV and an experienced professional a disposable camera, I would put my money on the professional making a better image. You have to learn the craft - how does shutter speed affect the image? Aperture? What is the "Rule of Thirds"? Is it okay to have a centered horizon? The answer to the last question is - maybe. The important thing is to learn when it is okay and when it isn't.

Learn the rules and learn when to break the rules - I wrote about this last September in Should We Teach the "Rules" of Photography to Beginners? If you haven't read it, I hope you will when you finish here.

"Play" with your camera and learn what everything does. This doesn't take a $3,000 camera body, you can learn with even a basic point-and-shoot if it allows you to control exposure. At this point you are learning about light and composition.

Gear Does Matter

Here is what I mean by "gear matters" - the quality of the image is, in large part, a function of the gear. All things being equal, you will get sharper images from a Canon "L"-series lens than you will with a "kit" lens. You will get better image quality from a camera capable of a 50 megapixel image than you will 8 megapixel. The dynamic range of the high-end camera is much better than the low-end, you typically get better/faster focusing, better low-light capability, less noise at high ISO, etc....

I was recently watching a podcast on YouTube when they were discussing this issue - one of the photographers said something I thought was interesting. He said that when you are shooting a wedding, the gear says a lot about you as a professional. Now, I paraphrased but that is the meaning of what he said. I believe that to be true; if you are hired to shoot a wedding and show up with a Nikon Coolpix you won't be taken seriously, even though you may produce spectacular images. When dealing with the public, perception matters.

So, What's The Answer?

The answer is, as I stated earlier - gear matters AND gear doesn't matter. I quoted Ansel Adams earlier and I think I will use another quote from him, "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." That is why gear doesn't matter until it does. When you are consistently producing good work it might be time to think about upgrading. I said "think" about upgrading because you don't have to. I am currently shooting a Canon EOS Rebel T3i that I bought in August 2011 - it's a great, crop sensor, camera. It has served me well and many professional photographers carry crop sensor cameras, particularly wildlife photographers. Upgrading isn't an automatic thing - if you are happy with your results, save the money and take a vacation. If you find that your gear is limiting you artistically - by all means, upgrade to something that will help you achieve your goals.

Personally, although I cannot complain about my T3i, I am ready to upgrade. I have been frustrated lately with some of the results I have gotten and the frustration is directly linked to my gear. It isn't all camera related, it is all around; tripod, filters, lenses, camera body, etc.... The crop sensor is great on the telephoto range but it's frustrating that my 18mm is actually 28.8mm. I also find the results unacceptable when shooting at night and/or ISO over 400. The tripod is nice but I had trouble when wind was blowing and shooting in water or at the beach has caused trouble at times. I could go on about filters and other things, but you get the point.

The header image is one reason I wrote this article and one of the reasons I think it is time for me to upgrade. If you are a regular reader you may recognize it from Shooting the New York City Skyline, a post I published in March. I was happy with the composition but noticed a lot of noise (even at ISO 100) and there was camera shake even though the camera was mounted on a tripod set as low to the ground as it would go. I also protected it from the wind as best I could.

So, what do you think? Does it matter gear you have? What are your experiences? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me what I got right, what I got wrong, what I may have left out.


All photos are copyright Joseph S. Valencia All Rights Reserved They may not be used in any way without express written permission of the photographer. If you wish to use any of the photos you may contact the photographer at valencia32photo@gmail.com

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