A few months back I bought a little table-top tripod. It lets me sneak into places that frown upon tripods…or it just makes it easier in places that do (sometimes). It is very handy when photographing inside of a restaurant or something similar. Just affix it to your camera, sit it on a table and shoot away. Another way to use it? Get low to the ground!

This photograph was taken right outside of Savannah Georgia on the road that goes through the wildlife refuge. I had a spotter making sure I wasn’t squashed, laid down on the road and took a few series of photographs. They turned out alright. I wish the sun had broken through, but it wasn’t meant to be. I would like to try a photograph like this down on Bay Street in Savannah. I am pretty sure I will be road-kill if I do….but the urge is still there!

Buffer

So, anyone out there Twitter or Facebook users? Yeah, me too. If you need to regularly schedule posts to Facebook or Twitter try this new service called Buffer. I just signed up for an account today and will be trying it out over the next few days. It is especially helpful for people who manage multiple Twitter accounts. If you give it a shot, leave a comment below and let me know what you think of it or any tips you might find out about it.

Savannah Wildlife Refuge – Black & White

The Wildlife Refuge here in Savannah, or at least named for Savannah, is one of my favorite places to photograph in and around Savannah. Every time I go there I see something new…but I always see about 1000 American Coots…what the hell? Did they drive all of the other birds out? haha…

This photograph is done in black and white…no kidding, right? I sometimes turn a photograph into black and white when it doesn’t turn out the way I want it to, a sort of saving grace. However most of the time I can look at a scene before me and know whether it will make a black and white photograph or not. This was the case with this photograph. With the layers of tones and contrasting areas, I just knew it would be a pretty cool black and white photo. What do ya’ think?

Sunrise at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge

This photograph, taken just before sunrise, at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge, illustrates one of the many reasons to get your butt out of bed and go exploring with your camera. You never know what scene will end up before your eyes and your lens. The Savannah Wildlife Refuge is a gorgeous area with soo many places to photograph from.

I have said it before, try to get to where you need to be about an hour before sunrise. This will give you plenty of time to find a good place and start taking photographs like this one. About an hour before the sun breaks the horizon color will start showing up in the sky. It tends to be a very saturated color too, losing saturation as the sun comes up. The earlier you get there, the better. Make sure you leave time for any traffic you may run into Luckily, traffic isn’t that bad in Savannah at 5:30 in the morning so I was easily able to make my way here without any problems.

Sunrise over Savannah

Okay, so yesterday I put this photograph I took at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge up. This photograph was taken the same day, just about 20 minutes later. It really is amazing how much the light changes prior to the sun coming up, and after it goes down for that matter. In the span of an hour the sky can go from jet black to purple, then to blue, then peach then orange, then light blue. It is an amazing thing to watch.

When you photograph a sunrise you really should try to get to your location about an hour prior to the sun coming above the horizon. This will leave you plenty of time to find the exact spot you want to photograph from. Then you can take as many photographs of the ‘stages’ of the sunrise as you like.

Photographing before the Sun comes up

The other morning I was looking for new places to photograph at sunrise. I tried my hand at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge. If you are a regular visitor to my blog you will have seen a few of the other photographs I have taken there, but never at sunrise. I was a tad bit nervous heading up that way. The best parts of the Refuge are gated and I was usnsure as to whether or not I would even be able to get in. Well, luckily for me, I was able to.

This photograph was taken about 30 minutes before the sun broke the horizon. So many people think that the only photographs that matter are the ones with the sun breaking the horizon. Not true…As a matter of fact, the photographs taken when color just starts to hit the dark night sky can be the most dramatic and colorful photos you take. Try to get to where you need to be about an hour or 90 minutes prior to the sun actually coming up. This will give you enough time to find a good location and start taking photographs.

If you are looking for a great place to photograph the sunrise, check out the area that contains the Savannah Wildlife Refuge. It is a very scenic area with a lot of potential for dramatic photographs.