Burrowing Owl PORTRAIT (Athene cunicularia, Chevêche des terriers, BUOW) Cape Coral, Florida. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon 1D MK IV, 500mm F4 L IS, 2X Teleconverter III & Canon 25mm Extension Tube. Jobu Jr. 3 & tripod. ISO 400, F11 @1/320s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION
HALF is TWICE as good!
I was sitting here, in front of my computer, thinking of concepts to help remind people how to make better images, when it suddenly dawned on me: HALF is TWICE as good! Well, it’s no brilliant marketing slogan, but as a concept, I think it works.
Take half the pictures, but spend twice the time composing each one; your images will, most likely, be twice as good. It's a simple principle; make the image, instead of taking the picture.
Take half the number of trips, and spend twice as much time photographing in each place; sounds simple enough, right? But imagine how much more you will learn about the place, the culture, your subject and it’s behavior. If you are shooting landscapes, you will learn about the weather, the light and how the light interacts with the scene. If you are shooting wildlife, then you will develop an intimate knowledge of your subject, it’s behavior and it’s habits. Guess what? You will probably make images that are; you guessed it, twice as good!
Keep half the pictures and those you keep will be twice as good? Well, I’m not certain that this one is true, but I am always telling people to edit, edit, edit! People tend to take so many pictures these days, and I cringe every time someone wants to show me pictures from a trip, birthday or event; they want me to sit there and see all of them! For crying out loud people: keep the best and trash the rest!
My new LOVE: Meet JR.
I confess: I’ve been using the Jobu JR. 3 Compact Gimbal Head since April, and although I got one to reduce space and weight while travelling on aircraft, I haven’t been able to use anything else since! As you all know, I have owned, and used, a Wimberley gimbal head forever. I have tried many other makes and models of gimbal head that are smaller and lighter, but never found anything that I could even settle for. The Jobu Jr. 3 was designed for smaller lenses like the 70-200mm f/2.8, 300mm f/2.8, 100-400mm and 400mm DO, etc., but I have been using mine exclusively since I left for Texas in early April; It works remarkably well with my 500mm F4 IS L, even when working with the 1.4 or 2X extenders! The level of customer service, after sale support and engineering expertise from Jobu is unmatched in the industry today!
At HALF the size and less than HALF the weight of the Wimberley Head II (23 ounces or .65 kilograms VS. 60 ounces or 1.4 kilograms), the Jobu Jr. 3 has become my main tripod head!
I have also developed a love for their one piece flash bracket, so be sure to check that out as well.
I'm thrilled to announce that I am an official distributor of the Jobu line, and have forged a terric partnership with them. Jobu heads, flash brackets and assorted items will be available for you to test-drive and purchase on all of my Canadian workshops, presentations and lectures.
Workshop updates & FREE JOBU JR.3!:
This is a tough business, I have had a few people cancel at the last minute due to illness recently, leaving some new openings is what were full workshops.
Gannets Galore on Bonaventure Island June 15-17, 2011 - 2 spots due to illness.
Puffins Galore July 1 to 3, 2011 - 2 spots due to illness.
Puffins Galore July 5-7, 2011 - 1 spot due to illness
REVIEW
is a refreshing new field guide to the trees of North American Trees written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley. I had given-up hope of finding a well illustrated field guide to the trees of North America, so I was thrilled when I accidentally stumbled upon this gem of a book.
since first seeing one last winter. It’s a vest type harness made of ballistic nylon with a polycarbonate breast-plate receiver that allows you to keep your camera in a comfortable, ready to use intuitive position. Simply screw an adapter (camera hub) to your camera, and it slides right into the receiver - twist to release. If carrying one camera is not enough, then install the second receiver (or side holster) on the side cinch strap (or any belt) and you are ready to go with two easy to access and use cameras. Right after I published the Spider Holster review 
winter parka while trying to keep warm in the coldest conditions. The 
connects external hard drives to the internet so you can easily share and access your files from anywhere. It gives even novice computer users the chance to set up their own cloud server in less than five minutes. 
is a new book written and photographed by wildlife photographer and trial attorney Windle Turley. In the book, Turley captures amazing images in the rarely photographed wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly, in the Transverse Neovolcanic Mountains in Mexico. Granted almost-unprecedented access, Turley documents the final destination of this migration that only takes place every four to five generations with vivid, full-colour photographs. 
