Bears are my favourite subject to photograph, particularly in the late summer and fall when they are focused on fish. To my eyes, bears are endlessly entertaining — they are comical, they pose, they are curious. When they explode into the water to spear a salmon, they are ferocious hunters.

And sometimes bears are content to sit by the side of a stream and watch the fish circle — almost like it’s too much work to pull out a 10-pound lunch. Or maybe they forgot to bring their claws…

So why this sudden talk about bears?

Because I have been invited to join a photo tour to Alaska to photograph their massive brown bears. This is a luxurious tour running in August 2013, based at Silver Salmon Beach in Lake Clark National Park.

There are three spots available on the tour if you’d like to join me. I know this is short notice, but if you enjoy photographing bears as much as I do, this is an unbelievable opportunity.

BTW- other photogenic wildlife also abounds in this area.

Call me ASAP! (250-889-6700)

- Mike

Grizzly bear in the estuaries near Knight Inlet

Our May challenge is: “Classic Landscape.”

What is a classic landscape, you ask? Well, here are my guidelines:
1. It must be in landscape (horizontal) orientation
2. It must be “created in the pursuit of a pure, unsullied depiction of nature devoid of human influence” (quoted from wikipedia — in other words no human constructions: no people, no buildings, no bridges or roads, etc., just nature).

Submit your photo by the end of the month for a chance to win endless prestige, pride and bragging rights. Plus a Clock Tower t-shirt!

Our usual rules also apply:

1. The photo must meet the current month’s theme.
2. The photo must be in good taste.
3. The photo must be taken in the current month/year.
4. You may only submit one photo per month.
5. The photo must be submitted before midnight of the last day of the month.

And here’s one suggestion:

Email us a .jpg image that is between 1500 pixels and 3000 pixel wide.

Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the following month…so May’s winner will be announced at the end of June.

Email challenge entries to: photos@clocktowerimages.com

Waterfall at Zion National Park, Utah.

So…during my Hiking Photo Tour to Utah, Jamie (a long time, infinitely patient friend) and I cruised into Capitol Reef National Park just in time for a beautiful moon rise. With Jamie posed on top of a mound of dirt and me dug into a slope opposite, I positioned the camera so the moon was directly behind Jamie’s head. It took me 6 or 7 shots to get the look I wanted, but ultimately I’m pretty happy.

The shot was taken using a Canon 5D3 with 24-105 lens mounted on a tripod, for 2 seconds at f/5.6 and ISO 400. The resulting image was cropped in Lightroom, then I boosted the contrast and adjusted the colour temp to produce the bright blue.

- Mike

Jamie, backlight by the moon, in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Don’t forget to check out all our great entries for our April “Birds” challenge and “Like” your favourite photos — voting continues to the end of May.

Congratulations Megan, we have Clock Tower Images’ Photo Challenge Winner t-shirt ready for you to pick up!

Sometimes photography can become a very social event. I spent a very enjoyable Sunday evening at the Pacific Forestry building on Burnside Rd in the company of a family of owls and a small group of friendly photographers.

The owls (mom and three owlets) were incredibly entertaining: at times sleeping, playing, feeding and flying. It was particularly fun to watch the owlets “dare” to fly 10 or 20 feet from ledge to branch. The photographers were equally enjoyable with lots of laughter and shared photos.

While I caught several nice shots of the owls in flight, I really like the feel of this shot, captured just before the sun dropped below the horizon. It was shot using my 5D3 with trusty 600mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter, at 1/800sec, f/5.6 and ISO 3200.

- Mike

Great horned owl at Pacific Forestry building in Victoria.

I will be working as a “Photographer-in-Residence” at Spring Island (in Kyuquot Sound, just off Vancouver Island, BC)  from August 22, 2013 through Sept 2 (Labour Day).  As a photographer-in-residence, I will be running daily photo excursions to photograph marine mammals, tidal pools, old growth forests, and the amazing landscapes found everywhere in the Kyuquot area.  There will be walks, hikes, kayak trips, and expeditions further afield via power boat.  I’ll also offer one-on-one photography tutorials, as requested.  You can join my excursions or create your own adventures!

To participate, book your stay with my hosts at Spring Island, West Coast Expeditions.  Join us for Labour Day weekend, come for a whole week, or pick your own days — there will always be plenty to do!  You can reach Spring Island in beautiful Kyuquot Sound via the MV Uchuck III from Gold River or drive to Fair Harbour and take a water taxi (West Coast Expeditions can help you with all these arrangements).

The Spring Island base camp features canvas tents with wood floors and real beds.  There is a beach-front hot shower (absolutely awesome!) and a large covered dining/recreation/kitchen area.  All meals are provided.  Plus the camp is fully kitted out for kayaking (guides, instruction, gear).

Come to Spring Island this summer.  It may be the best place I know to relax, take photos, and explore!

– Mike

Sunset kayaking at Spring Island.

I’ve been running quite a few 2-hour power sessions lately, covering a wide range of topics, including bird  photography, camera basics, using flash and sports photography. This past weekend I was invited to the Crossfit Zone in Victoria to help with some indoor photography — kind of a mix between portraiture and action.

The challenges of working in a gym are many. First and foremost, lighting is always a challenge. I prefer to use ambient light as much as possible but sometimes a little supplemental flash helps. Then there’s the clutter of a working gym…

The attached image has had a fair bit of time invested in it. First and foremost, Sean was a great model, repeating this “Turkish getup” several times.

For my part, I set my camera to ISO 1600 to use as much ambient light as possible without sacrificing image quality (I suppose I could have shot at ISO 6400…) Next I set my flash to bounce off a side wall and set the flash exposure compensation to -2/3. Shutter speed was 1/200sec and aperture was f/4.5 (hoping for enough depth of field to keep all of Sean and the bar reasonable sharp).

I immediately liked this image but it needed help.

First I took the original image into photoshop and removed some of the background clutter. Then I converted the image into B&W and tweaked the contrast and clarity. Voila!

For more information about our 2-hr power sessions, please visit: http://clocktowerimages.com/Photo/power-sessions/

- Mike

Turkish getup by Sean at Crossfit Zone, Victoria.

Our April challenge is: “Wild Birds.” Submit your photo of one or more wild birds (please, no pets, no captives) by the end of the month for a chance to win endless prestige, pride and bragging rights. Plus a Clock Tower t-shirt!

And please check out our simple rules below:

1. The photo must meet the current month’s theme.
2. The photo must be in good taste.
3. The photo must be taken in the current month/year.
4. You may only submit one photo per month.
5. The photo must be submitted before midnight of the last day of the month.

And here’s one suggestion:

Email us a .jpg image that is between 1500 pixels and 3000 pixel wide (or tall if it is a portrait-oriented image).

Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the following month…so April’s winner will be announced at the end of May.

Email challenge entries to: photos@clocktowerimages.com

Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) near Cumberland, BC.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of our February Photo Challenge is Matt F, with 12 likes. Second place went to Donna M with 10 likes and third place went to Barbara F with 9 likes.

Don’t forget to check out all our great entries for our March “Flower Power” challenge and “Like” your favourite photos — voting continues to the end of April.

Congratulations Matt, we have (another) Clock Tower Images’ Photo Challenge Winner t-shirt ready for you to pick up!

Matt F’s winning photo for our Photo-of-the-Month Challenge, Feb 2013.

Why Namibia, you may ask?  Although it is far less known than Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, Namibia holds many advantages over all these countries.

First and foremost, Namibia is teeming with spectacular wildlife – lions, leopards, cheetah, elephants, giraffe, a wide variety of antelope, and hundreds of spectacular birds.  I can virtually guarantee great photographs of all these animals.

Second, Namibia is a very peaceful and organized country.  As a former German colony, it is clean, orderly and runs on time.

Third, Namibia has far fewer disease issues.  There is virtually no standing water anywhere in the country and therefore no mosquitos!  Just as important, you can drink the water and eat the salads!  Honestly, in 2011 my group of 8 drank tap water for the entire trip and no one became ill because of it.

Finally, Namibia is not crowded.  Unlike other parts of Africa, you won’t be surrounded by other photo safari vans every time a lion (cheetah, elephant, etc.) wanders by.

My first tour begins in Windhoek Namibia on November 3, 2013 and continues until November 15, with stops at Dunsternbrook Guest Farm, Erindi Private Game Reserve, Etosha Nataional Park, and Okonjima Private Game Reserve (home to the AfriCat Foundation).  If you are interested in joining a second tour, call me ASAP  at (250) 889-6700!

A leopard at Dusternbrook Guest Farm, Namibia.