60 Second of Bats

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson Leave a Comment

Five bats in 60 seconds.

I don’t typically share mistakes, but this is an interesting one. This was from later in the evening from my single bat image.

The way I do bat photography is with a Cognisys Sabre. I set the aperture and ISO, then put the camera in bulb mode and let the Sabre manage the shutter. I can tell the Sabre to take continues exposures for a set length of time. At the beginning of the night when there is some ambient light, I do back to back to back 3 or 4 second exposures. Later in the evening I switch to 30 second exposures. So the Sabre captures photo after photo until it senses a bat. Then it fires my flashes and closes the shutter. That way I don’t capture multiple images in the same frame.

So what happened here? Before going to bed, I always check on the setup, change out camera batteries etc. Well, I must have accidentally bumped off of bulb mode to 60 second manual exposure. In this mode, the Sabre keeps firing the flashes, but has no way of closing the shutter. So this is 4 or 5 separate flash firings which is why the rocks in the background are exposed, and 5 different bats! The bat activity really comes in flurries as you can see here.

I’m going to make some small changes to the setup next winter and looking forward to having everything fine-tuned and working great – lots of possibilities here! I have noticed that skunks and other animals will sometimes climb up on this giant water table at night which could provide some cool opportunities for back lighting from below and doing other creative things with the flashes.

Grand Teton

Ron NiebruggeGrand Tetons, Photos, Travel, Wyoming Leave a Comment

Grand Teton at sunrise, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Grand Teton at sunrise, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

We have been going back through our entire photo library as part of the big project – it has been a fun trip down memory lane! I thought I would share some of these images from the past. Hard to believe this was 13 years ago!

Mendenhall Glacier

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Wildflowers on Mount Stroller White above the Mendenhall Glacier, Tongass National Forest, Alaska.
Wildflowers on Mount Stroller White above the Mendenhall Glacier, Tongass National Forest, Alaska.

Well being in quarantine has given me some extra time do go back through some past images looking for ones I may have missed, or that need further processing now that we have better tools for capturing shadows and highlights.  This was from an evening spent in the mountains above the Mendenhall Glacier with a buddy back in 2014 – wow times flies!  Right up there with one of the more memorable nights of photography I have ever had!   Tongass National Forest, near Juneau, Alaska.

Humpbacks

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Humpback whales cooperatively feeding, Southeast, Alaska.
Humpback whales cooperatively feeding, Southeast, Alaska.

Saw the first humpback whale of the season from the home office this morning.  Since I wasn’t able to capture a photo, I thought I would share one from last summer – whales and bears don’t seem to care about pandemics!   This group of humpbacks are cooperatively feeding, a behavior that is amazing to see!

Greatland Graphics Calendar

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Brown bear sow and cub, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Brown bear sow and cub, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

So excited, honored and proud to have the cover of two of the three large calendars produced by Greatland Graphics. Greatland Graphics has been producing some of the nicest Alaska calendars for years, but what makes it extra special is it is now owned by good friend and outstanding photographer Patrick Endres.

Like so many of my fellow photographers this is a very challenging time, even for the calendar business. You see, most of these sell in gift shops in the summer to cruise ship passengers, and with many cruise ships being locked down these days, most of these calendars will go unsold. However, if you click on the link, you can order these wonderful calendars directly from Greatland Graphics. You will end up with a high quality product, and help an Alaskan business at the same time!

This photo was from a very memorable morning on one of my Alaska bear photo tours a few years ago. We were the only ones up this morning, and spotted this sow with two spring cubs very near the lodge – in fact, we were able to walk over to them from the lodge. These particular cubs were prone to climbing onto their mom’s back, a really cute behavior you don’t always see. Couple that, with perfect morning light, and we had a morning I’ll never forget. Unfortunately, we couldn’t contain our excitement once we returned to the lodge, so that was the last morning that week that we were the only ones up!

Moonrise

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Seward, Alaska.
Seward, Alaska.

Last night – another night, another cool moon rise!  It is early May and shocking to see how little snow is on these mountains right now, they should be buried in snow this time of year down to the water.

Thirsty Bat

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson Leave a Comment

A bat getting a drink at the reflection table blind, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.
A bat getting a drink at the reflection table blind, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.

A thirsty bat last night at the reflection table blind!  

I think I have all the bugs worked out. I’m using a Cognisys Sabre for a trigger and the place the camera on bulb. The Sabre actually managed my exposure time. I vary it from 3 seconds at twilight, to 30 seconds in the darkness like you see here. The Sabre then does exposure after exposure waiting for a bat. When a bat does break the beam of the Sabre, it fires my flashes and not the camera. This way I avoid the lag time associated with trigger the camera. Firing the flashes is almost instantaneous. The Sabre then stops the exposure, and begins another one so that I don’t get duplicate bats in the same frame so I can go to bed. 🙂

Desert Tortoise

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson 2 Comments

Desert tortoise
Desert tortoise

Desert tortoise just a few minutes ago.  First one I have seen this season.  Cactus, including the saguaros are starting to now bloom in earnest.  Thanks to the cool spring, it seems like things are running about a week later as compared to the last couple of warm years.  The cool weather is over now!