A Thanksgiving Message: We Are A Part of Everyone We Meet

If you lost someone this year, or know someone who lost someone, you might find this well-known quote comforting: “We are a part of everyone we meet.”

Fifteen years ago, late one December afternoon, my dad and I were sitting in his study. We were having a nice talk – and a nice time. I looked at him and thought: He looks so happy. The light is just right. I should take a picture - because it might be the last good picture I ever take of him. He was fading.

I thought about taking the picture for about 10 minutes, holding back some tears – thinking about what it would be like not to have him around, after having him around for so many years - as my dad, and later on in life as the first-pass editor for most of my books. (He was a great editor.)

I finally asked him if I could take a shot. He said sure, with a smile and nod. He knew what I was thinking. I asked him to look out the window, and I took a single shot.

My dad, 91, died suddenly and peacefully and quickly on April 3, 2010. A few hours before, while I was on the other side of the country, I had a dream about him: He had pushed his walker aside and was standing up straight. I had not dreamed about him for at least 20 years. Hummm....

Sure, I am very sad. I get waves of tears. I will miss him more than he probably ever realized. He was my dad, a very big part of my life – in fact, half the reason for my life. :-)

Those of you who know me know I enjoy quotes. Here is my favorite: "We are a part of everyone we meet." Want proof? My dad, Robert M. Sammon, Sr., was a photographer, getting me started, along with my mother, in photography with his cameras and basement darkroom. But more important, he was a good dad - which I try to be. Every day. I am very glad we met.

You might want to keep that quote in mind when you meet people. I sure do. You may have more of an impact on someone than you realize.

Rick

Proud son of Robert M. Sammon, Sr.

7 Reasons To Travel with Alaska Sea Adventures

Looking for the ultimate Alaska photo adventure? Check out Alaska Sea Adventures, which operates the M/V Northern Song.

Here are 7 reasons to travel with my friends in Alaska.

#1 The M/V Northern Song is set up for photographers who are passionate about making awesome wildlife and landscape photographs. You can photograph from the decks and from the skiffs… as well as during the landing. And yes, smartphone photographers can also get great shots during the voyages.

#2 Captain Harley Ethelbah is more than an awesome captain. He is a knowledgeable naturalist who knows the animals and waters like the back of his hand. Here is an interview I did with Harley on my March 2024 trip.

What’s more, Harley is skilled at preparing fresh shrimp and crab legs.

#2a - Yes. The main courses are wonderful… but so are the gourmet desserts!

#3 If you go in the Spring, during the annual herring spawn, you’ll have the best chance of experiencing the magic of bubble net feeding.

#4 The herring spawn not only attracts whales, it also attracts countless bald eagles… also in search of tasty treats.

#5 The wildlife action is usually non-stop on these trips. You may see orcas, too.

#6 Captain Harley knows where the animals hang out, and he gets you into the best position for photographs.

#7 - You’ll come home with not only awesome photographs, but with wonderful memories, as well.

I recorded a KelbyOne class on my March 2024 trip aboard the M/V Northern Song. It will be posted on this page - so stay tuned.

7 Suggestions For Not Feeling Like You're In Your 70s

Updated post 5.9.24

I turned 74 this year, but I still feel like a kid (most of the time)!

With that thought in mind, here are my “7 Suggestions for Not Feeling Like You’re In Your 70s.”

But first, if you are young and think your 70s are a long way off, keep this quote in mind:

“You are now where I once was, I am now where you one day will be.”

Okay, let’s go!

1 - Exercise, and make exercising fun! I ride my bike almost every day, even when it’s in the low 30s here in Croton on Hudson, NY. It’s a ton a fun. I’m in the moment when I’m riding.

I say “make it fun” because I see bikers and runners who actually looked stressed out…. trying to beat a time or whatever. So, keep it fun!

As an aside, being healthy is insurance in case you get seriously injured, as I did when I broke my ankle in July 2021. Had I not be healthy and in good shape, my surgeon said my recover time would have been much longer.

And when I had to keep off my ankle for about six weeks, I exercised the working parts of my body four times a day, which also aided in my recovery.

2 - Eat healthy. Simply put: Nothing tastes as good a skinny feels. ‘Nuf said.

3 - Remember that you never really change. Know in your mind that you are always the same person. I’m the still the same person inside that I was at Woodstock in 1969. Just ask Susan Sammon!

Here’s a short homily that I found on the web that illustrates that point: “I asked an elderly man once what it was like to be old and to know the majority of his life was behind him. He told me that he has been the same age his entire life. He said the voice inside of his head had never aged. He has always just been the same boy. His mother's son. He had always wondered when he would grow up and be an old man. He said he watched his body age and his faculties dull, but the person he is inside never got tired. Never aged. Never changed. “

Our spirits are eternal. Our souls are forever. The next time you encounter an elderly person, look at them and know they are still a child, just as you are still a child and children will always need love, attention and purpose.

4 - Play music/learn an instrument. Playing music is relaxing and can be like a meditation. It can also bring you back, in your mind, to your youth . . . especially if you play songs from your youth. Hey, I have some free guitar and piano lessons here.

5 - Making Home-Cooking Fun. Going out to dinner sure can be fun. But cooking healthy meals at home is both therapeutic (because you are in the moment and because you are creating something) and fun. Here I am making a healthy pizza in my Roccbox Pizza Oven. That’s another healthy pizza in the background on the table.

A bonus tip here: Wear a fun t-shirt. I always feel better/younger when I wear a t-shirt as opposed to a collared shirt.

6 - See and Photograph a Sunrise. I tell folks who come on my workshops and photo tours that getting up in the dark for a sunrise is not fun, but seeing and photographing a sunrise is always fun. Seeing a sunrise (New Croton Dam pictured here) is magical experience . . . one with a wonderful sense of renewal and the feeling of a new beginning. So, get up and see the sun. Remember: You snooze your lose and you can sleep when you’re dead.

Photographing wildlife - and getting in touch with nature - is also rewarding and invigorating. It also helps you focus, in more ways than one.

7 - Have Happy Hour Every Day. Having happy hour ever day (even with non-alcoholic beverages) is important becasue it signals the end of the work/business day and the beginning of personal time. If you don’t break up your day, everything blends together.

Well my friends - children of all ages - PLJ (Peace, Love and Joy) . . . as we used to say in the 1960s and I still say today.

Rick

P.S. If you like this post and need some more motivation, check out my blog post, 6 Ways to Grow with Photo Therapy.

South Florida Photo Sojourn - with my Sony a1

Photographs of birds flying in their natural habitat are enjoyed by both wildlife photographers and nature lovers. Photographing birds in flight, however, is one of the most difficult photographic challenges. Here’s why:
One, birds are often zigzagging in different directions, so getting a sharp, in-focus shot is a challenge.
Two, the background is constantly changing – from light to dark, dark to light, from busy to plain, and from plain to busy. Those changes are important, because the background can make or break a shot.
Three, the lighting can change in the blink of an eye, sometimes shadowing the eye (which should be well lit in most cases).
Four, capturing a good gesture, perhaps wings up or wings down, is important for an image with impact.
Five, getting a good exposure of a bird with white feathers against a dark background can be a challenge, due to the contrast and brightness range in the scene.

In January 2023 I returned to two of my favorite bird photography locations in the United States: Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands in South Florida. On this trip I was photographing with my Sony a1 and Sony 200-600mm lens. In this post I’ll share a few of my favorite photographs, along with some tips, from that rewarding sojourn.

And…. I’ll be back at Wakodahatchee in February 2024. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Beore we begin:
• I have two KelbyOne classes on bird photography that you may link. Click here to start the learning!

• Yes, a good camera, lens and eye are important, but so is a good (and fast and dependable) memory card. I use and recommend Delkin Devices cards, which I use in all my cameras.

Above: Understanding and observing bird behavior is important in bird (and in all wildlife) photography. For example, I observed this white ibis darting around and feeding for about 15 minutes before I took this photograph. To capture the subtle differences in the position of the bird’s wings (all-important gesture), I set my camera to the H+ (highest) frame rate.

Above: Talk about a photo challenge, actually several challenges in one! Check out this action shot of a Great Blue Heron. Seemingly out of nowhere, he gracefully flew past me. Because I had the AF Mode set to Tracking Expanded Spot, the Subject Selection set to Bird (Human and Animal are other choices), and the Exposure Compensation set to EV-1 (because I had been photographing white birds against dark backgrounds), I was able to raise my camera and basically point and shoot. So yes, it’s a lucky shot, but luck does favor the prepared photographer.

Above: For my action shots, I set my shutter speed to at least 1/1000th of a second to “freeze” the action. I also choose a wide aperture, usually f/7.1, to put the background out of focus. That out-of-focus background is especially important when a bird is positioned against a very busy background, as shown here.

Above: I took all my photographs with the File Format set to Uncompressed Raw - which gave me the highest quality file. Yes, those large files take up a lot of space on my memory cards, and also take some time to download, but with all mega data, I could do a mega crop and still get a high-quality image.

Above: Here is the original file from which the previous image was cropped. Talk about a mega crop!

Above: As I mentioned, all the photographs shown here were taken with my Sony 200-600mm lens. I found the lens to be super sharp through the entire zoom range, thanks in part to the lens’ OSS (Optical Steady Shot) system. I also found the 600mm maximum focal length very beneficial for bird photography.

Summing up, the Sony a1 and 200-600mm combo is now my go-to gear for all my wildlife photography – because on this trip I came home with more “keepers” (super sharp shots) than ever before.

One Photo – 14 Photo Tips

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Here's a favorite photo from one of my China photo workshops with Scott Kelby. I thought it would be fun to see how many tips I could give for this one photo. Here goes:

1) Get a Good Guide. My guides, Andy and Mia Beales, chose the location and time of day (predawn) for a picture-perfect scene.

2) Seek Separation. Notice how the two cormorant fishermen are perfectly separated. That's not by accident. We directed the fishermen into that position. Learn more about composition in my KelbyOne class, 20 Time-Proven Rules of Composition.

2) Frame It! Framing a subject in a scene helps that subject to stand out. On shore, I chose a position that showed the fisherman in the foreground framed by brighter background light.

3) Include the Background. The mountains in the background add a "sense of place" to the scene. Cover the mountains with your hand and see how it changes the "sense of place" of the picture.

4) Go for Gesture. Gesture is important in people photography, as well as in animal photography. Notice the gesture of the foreground fisherman's hand, and see how the background fisherman is holding his arms. Again, we directed the fishermen, as a movie director would direct his actors.

5) Crop Creatively - The areas above, below, and to the left and right of this scene did not add anything to the impact of this image. Cropping creatively was the answer to making a more interesting photograph.

6) Mood Matters Most - Taken in the predawn light, my original file (Canon 5D Mark IV) had a blue-grey cast. To enhance the mood of the scene, I boosted the blues.

7) Include Reflections - When you have a good reflection, include it in the scene. Had I cut off the top of the foreground fisherman's head reflected in the water, the picture would look as though it was missing something.

8) Expose for the Highlights - Activate your camera's highlight alert and make sure you have no "blinkies," which indicate overexposed areas in a scene. If you get "blinkies," reduce your exposure, bit by bit, until they are gone. Here I was shooting on the Av mode and set my exposure compensation to -1 EV.

9) Get it all in focus - This photograph looks like the scene looked to my eyes - everything in focus. Choose an aperture that will get everything in focus, if you want that effect. Here: Canon 24-70mm f/4 lens set at f/7.1 Focal length was set at 45mm.

10) Don't Be Afraid of Noise – Photographing in low light at high ISO settings usually means that you'll get a bit of noise in your photographs. Fear not, you can reduce noise in Photoshop, Lightroom and with plug-ins.

11) Envision the End Result - Before you shoot, envision the end result - in-camera and in the digital darkroom. I talk about that in my book, Creative Visualization.

12) Compose Using the Rule of Thirds - Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over a frame and place the main subject where the lines intersect, as they would for the foreground fisherman.

Explore the light,
Rick

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P.S. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at our predawn photo shoot.