http://www.natureinfocusworkshops.com/

Nature In Focus Photography Workshops, Huntsville, AL (2026)

10/15/2026

How I make night sky images.

I am by no means a great night sky photographer. I can capture an image that I am happy with, but there are some folks like my friend Sean Parker Photography that does incredible work that I am in awe of each time he creates an image. I am very simple in my process and I do get enough questions that I feel I should at least give you an idea of my process. First I get my widest and fastest lens, which is the Tamron 12-20mm f2.8 lens for my Sony system. A good tripod and head that will keep the camera steady for exposures sometimes as long as 30 seconds. I set my camera in manual mode, f2.8, I start at ISO 1600 and 15 seconds, and use manual focus mode. Next I find a location. I'm not willy-nilly in my selection, I will check with friends who have posted images and talk with them, but I also rely on a few Apps, primarily PhotoPills to do my scouting. I can get an idea of how it will look and the approximate time, fairly accurately at that, using the Night Augmented Reality view. I can move the time up to see when it matches the times the galactic core is visible, which is listed in the App as well. I will double check times using any other sunrise App as well. I then will get to the location while there is enough light to set up and double check settings. Then once the stars start appearing I zoom in with manual focus and turn the focus ring until the stars are sharp. At that point I am ready to do an exposure to see if I need to make any adjustments in shutter speed or ISO. I also zoom in to see if the stars are sharp and will refocus if necessary. Now I do one of two things I either use a remote to trigger the shutter or I will set my camera to interval exposures to do it automatically. I do like to go back every 10 to 15 minutes to double check exposure. I'll have to address my processing on a different post. But again, I am very basic and there are people that specialize in night skies that can give you more detailed information that does require more work, but my short attention span also deters me from doing it better. Go out have fun, less moon means more stars, I like fall because the core is in the southern sky just after sunset and I can get to bed early. For this image I used my new Tamron 12-20mm lens on a Sony a7RIVa, Manual Mode, f2.8, shutter speed of 13 seconds, at 12mm, ISO 3200, Leofoto tripod.

10/14/2026

Carter's Lake Milky Way.

Sometimes it is just good to get away and spend a little time to sit and watch the moonset and the stars appear. Late yesterday afternoon, I decided to do just that. I had been hearing of an area at Carter's Lake up here in Ellijay that is designed to view the stars, nice and dark. I contact Rick Olson, a good friend as I knew he had been there with groups before. He gave me the scoop that there was a better area for facing south on the other side of the lake. It was only 30 minutes from my house so I grabbed my gear and headed over arriving just in time to see the sun fading over the horizon. I have been wanting to do some night skies with the new Tamron 12-20mm and this was my chance. The moon was setting at 8:30, and that would give me about 2 hours of good core viewing of the Milky Way. I set up one camera with that lens, one with the Tamron 16-30mm and I set up the Insta360 X6 to do a night sky video. With the exception of a parking lot light, it was more than perfect! I didn't even mind getting a few bug bites. I will definitely go back and take a group there at some point as it is such a beautiful location. For this image I used my new Tamron 12-20mm lens on a Sony a7RIVa, Manual Mode, f2.8, shutter speed of 20 seconds, at 15mm, ISO 1600, Leofoto tripod.

10/13/2026

Elk 320.

After last week I really needed some time in nature and time behind my camera. I am very fortunate to have some incredible friends that understand me and this concept. My friend George and I met early yesterday and he drove us up to Cherokee and the Oconaluftee Visitor's Center to look for some elk. I honestly would have been happy just to enjoy some time in nature, but seeing 2 elk, and hearing others was great. We actually stopped for a little while to photograph this one as we were starting to drive out and head towards Cataloochee. This guy is magnificent, but not the dominate bull as he had no cows around him, but was hanging out with a young spike elk. He had tags in his ears and a collar, and the tags read "320", so either he was a member of an elk gang or had done something to warrant a tag. Researching it only stated he was part of a program monitoring the elk. I am so very lucky to have had so many good friends constantly checking in on me last week. Thank you. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Nikon Z50ii, at 352mm (528mm with the APS-C equivalent), Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, ISO 9000, Handheld, f-Stop Gear Guru AIR backpack.

10/11/2026

Photographer or Teacher

Over the past week, and even yesterday at my Dad's Memorial Service I listened and learned that so many people had a connection to my Father through something he taught them, and how it has influenced their lives every day. It got me to thinking about my relationship with him and our connection through photography. During my nephew's very moving eulogy of my Dad he mentioned he felt he entered the teaching field, as did my niece, at least partially due to the influence of my Dad's teaching them. I then listened to a great friend of my Father talk about how my Dad had entered his life, and those of some of his fellow employees as ell, and how my Dad did his best to teach them, and how those lessons were so instrumental in their lives not only then but still to this day. I started reflecting on how my father taught me the basics of photography and made sure I had a solid base of understanding. I wonder if I inherited a gene of some sort that makes me feel some reward in knowing I have helped someone or taught them something in photography? I then went down a side road of thought wondering if he was more proud of the work that I was creating or the people I was hoping to touch through teaching? Or would it have been an equal feeling? I do realize it doesn't really matter, but it is nice to know that my Dad is probably smiling as he looks down and thinks it may have taken me a while to realize it, but his lessons continue with each and everyone I teach. Thanks again Gunny, well played, well played.
For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, 1/1000th of a second, 500mm (750mm equivalent using the cropped sensor option of the lens), tripod.

10/10/2026

The Oxbow.

Oxbow Bend gets its name due to the shape from the shape of it resembling an ox yoke, which is the collar that would have been over an ox when pulling something like a cart of a plow. I guess oxbow sounds better than oxyoke. Anyway, today we have our Memorial Service for my Dad, the Gunny, and one image of his that influenced and challenged me to be a better photographer was one that he did of Oxbow Bend. He has done many from that location, but there is one that he had printed nice and large so every time you walked in his house, you saw it. I felt it was a challenge to me to capture an image equal to his, and I have tried, but I admit defeat and his will always what I strive to capture. I can't thank everyone enough for reaching out and offering condolences and words of encouragement to my family and I over the past week. So many people, many who had never even met him, were so kind as if they had known him all of their lives. He did have that effect on people though. It will be a tough afternoon, but with family and friends, and all the well wishes, thoughts and prayers, I'll be fine. Next up will be a day that was always special to us, the Marine Corps birthday, and finally a few days later his ashes will be interned in a private ceremony. Thank you all again for everything, some of you were actually able to get me to smile and laugh this week, which probably helped to heal me more than anything else. For this image I used the Tamron 35-150mm Di III Z mount lens. My settings for the image were at 72mm on a Nikon Z8, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/320th of a second, ISO 100, handheld, f-stop Gear GURU AIR backpack.

10/09/2026

The Promise.

Sunsets are great, and I look at them as the end of a day, a time to prepare for rest. However, sunrises are my favorite time of day. If you have been with me on any trip, you know I wake up early and I am out for sunrise. Sunrises are the start of a new day, a new life, a promise, if you will that no matter what happened yesterday, today is a new day. My favorite time of sunrise is when the light strikes the landscape for that split second and you know it is time to embrace that new day, that new life, that promise. This was the first morning of our workshop in the Tetons and I did post an image of a few minutes earlier than this one last week. I love the light on the Grand while there is still some color in the sky, it is perfect. For this image I used my new Tamron 12-20mm lens on a Sony a7RIVa, Manual Mode, f11, shutter speed of 1/10th of a second, at 20mm, ISO 100, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Kashmir AIR backpack.

10/08/2026

A place to rest.

I've been trying to process so much this week, and at times I feel like "I've got this" then there are other times I feel like I am a wreck. Over the past 50 years my place to rest, to recharge, to find myself has been the Tetons. What has made it harder than normal, if there is such a thing right now, is the Tetons are still my place to rest, but they were also that because of my Dad. He introduced them to me 50 years ago and the rest is also a place of sadness at times. I always wished I could have gone out to the Tetons one more time with my Dad, but his last few years made that impossible. I was in the Tetons when I found out my Dad was accepting hospice care, and thought about coming home to be with him, but I knew he would have never wanted that and he had made that clear over the years. I came home Thursday night, actually early Friday morning, and had planned to go see him on Friday, but early that morning my brother called me to let me know Dad had passed. My first thought was I should have come home early, but then I realized that my Dad and I shared beautiful memories in our lives of the Tetons, and he would have wanted me to have those great memories vs seeing him as he passed. I also know that he will be with me each and every time I go there. I will feel his presence standing beside me showing me how to appreciate the beauty of nature. Dad, I will always know our place to rest together will always be looking out over the Tetons, and that makes a special place for me even that much more special as you introduced me to where my soul rests and finds joy in thinking of you. For this image I used my new Tamron 12-20mm lens on a Sony a7RIVa, Manual Mode, f10, shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, at 17mm, ISO 100, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Kashmir AIR backpack.

10/07/2026

The Rouse.

I know your first thought has to be this is a Harpy Eagle, which it very closely resembles in this image, but it is a Red-tailed Hawk Ambassador at the Teton Raptor Center. Birds that are going to be Ambassadors go through an extensive evaluation and training process. Not all birds can be an ambassador, one thing that is required is they have to be comfortable and not stressed when they are involved in a program. Birds do something known as rousing, which is fluffing and shaking. This is done to clean out the feathers, shake off water after bathing, and realign them as well. This is something birds only do when they are relaxed and comfortable. We felt honored seeing this beautiful bird rouse and settle into a nice relaxed perch on the glove. Some folks, in the east, are probably looking and thinking this bird looks a bit different than than Red-tailed Hawks they normally see, and they would be correct because it is a western morph and the colors are a bit darker. It is a gorgeous bird for sure. For this image I used the Tamron 50-400mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 400mm on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 2000, handheld, f-stop Gear Kashmir AIR backpack.

10/06/2026

Cosmo.

Cosmo is a Barn Owl Ambassador at the Teton Raptor Center in Wyoming, and one of my favorites. Owls just fascinate me and raise a level of curiosity when I see them. I remember once when I had taken my Golden at night an owl flew over my head, probably less than a foot above me and it was completely silent. Nature's creatures adapt to their environment so well and they each fill roles to make things work properly, except the flying gnats along the eastern coast, they are just mean. The thing I like most about taking our groups to the TRC is the education they provide to us about raptors in general. Everyone that has ever visited with me always comments as to how incredible the folks that work there are, and how dedicated to a cause they can be. Owls may be mysterious, but the love and dedication the TRC folks show for raptors is no mystery. For this image I used the Tamron 50-400mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 400mm on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 1600, handheld, f-stop Gear Kashmir AIR backpack.

10/05/2026

Calm.

The past 2 weeks have been crazy for me, so much so my tinnitis is a constant hum, and a mild headache persists. I love doing photography workshops and conferences as I get to go to incredible places and meet some great folks. Sometimes, like fall, can bring a lot of folks to those places and I'm not good with crowds like I used to be. Mentally I get overwhelmed easily in crowds, and especially in airports. Add to that the pain in my right hip as I get ready for hip replacement surgery in 4 weeks from today, and finally with the passing of my Dad Friday hasn't let my mind relax as it just races through the day and night. I sat down this morning after spending some time with Bucky the Whitetail Deer outside and decided to process an image from the Teton Raptor Center. I needed to process a "chill" image and there wasn't a bird that was more chill than Dolly. She was out there with us the entire session and never lost her chill attitude. I have to face crowds a little today as I have some things I have to do, otherwise I would be locked inside my house in the dark. I need to sit and put a slideshow together of my Dad's life for his service over the weekend. Looking at images has been great but an emotional drain at times. I think it is hard for extroverts to understand these feelings, but I know some introverts that feel my pain right now. So bear with me this week and maybe a few weeks following as I decompress and process. Thank you to the friends that have reached out offered help. I'll be good and will be ready to share some Dad jokes soon enough! I have some awesome friends. For this image I used the Tamron 50-400mm Di III E mount lens. My settings for the image were at 400mm on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 3200, handheld, f-stop Gear Kashmir AIR backpack.

Nature In Focus Photography Workshops

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