Hank Christensen Photography Blog - Latest Comments

Re: Hopin’ For Hoopoes

Hank Christensen — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 10:04:35 -0000

That's great - congratulations! I'm glad my article helped you find this fascinating bird.

Re: Hopin’ For Hoopoes

law100 — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 05:12:37 -0000

That last shot is amazing! Just wanted to thank you for this post, I didn't know Hoopoes were in Barcelona before I started my holiday there and thanks to you I made a special trip up to this park and saw my first Hoopoe! Over the moon :D

Re: Become a Better Photographer by Exposing to the Right

Brian Heath — Wed, 01 May 2019 15:47:10 -0000

Thanks Hank, very helpful. I've heard people talk about error on the side of over rather then under exposing, but I never fully understood why that was better. Now if you could just give me more light on the dimly lit high school soccer fields I often shoot on so I could over expose, I'd be golden!

Re: 7D Mk II High ISO Performance

Bird is the Word — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 01:08:30 -0000

Funny I literally just read a review ( I read it Dec 14 2016, the review was from Dec 2014 ) that the 7D Mk ii was utter garbage, 'not worth owning if I was given one for free'.

I look at these and other photos and think it looks awesome. I hope so, I just bought mine. The review also poo pooed the 60D as junk, and as an owner with 70,000+ pictures shot, almost exclusively birds, I highly disagree.

I also read where someone could barely get useable pictures at ISO 640 on the 60D, where as that is my go to starting point. Some people just don't know their camera or shooting technique

The functionality of the 7D Mk ii is above and beyond the 60D, so if the Image Quality is any amount better, I am sure I will be happy shooting what ever comes my way.

For the jack rabbit shot, I wouldn't hesitate to print at 12x19. You don't view large prints from close up.

Cheers

Re: Gem Lake, Emigrant Wilderness

Hank Christensen — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 16:21:09 -0000

Thanks Janelle!

Re: Failing the John Muir Trail Part 2

Hank Christensen — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 16:20:20 -0000

Yes, I agree - it was ultimately a good decision. Yes, I'm sure I will give it another go, once I carve out the time. As a positive epilogue, one of my photos from Thousand Island Lake that gloomy morning was later published full page in Backpacker Magazine.

Re: Failing the John Muir Trail Part 2

Janelle Lirette-Wilson — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 20:56:53 -0000

Sometimes the best decision is to abandon a plan. Looks like your decision to do so was a good one. Will you try again?

Re: Gem Lake, Emigrant Wilderness

Janelle Lirette-Wilson — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 20:56:27 -0000

Outstanding photos!!! Looks like it was a wonderful trip! Doesn't get much better than the Sierras!

Re: Pacific Golden Plover

Hank Christensen — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 13:49:13 -0000

Thanks Gail! I was lucky to get such views in great light, especially with only a 400mm lens.

Re: Pacific Golden Plover

Gail lenio — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 16:24:30 -0000

These birds are really beautiful. this is great.

Re: Lessons From Jack

Bob Haine — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 22:46:03 -0000

Hi, Hank. I was there that evening in September 2012, with Jack and Jerry. It was our first night shooting. Jack was fairly close to me with his camera and tripod. Little by little the clouds started to change colors above the Tetons and Jack shouted out "Magic Time!" Thanks to Jack and Jerry, and thanks to you Hank for sharing your story.

Re: Using Adobe Slate For Mobile Stories

Me — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 11:00:46 -0000

I like it. Felt interactive. I like how there were hover titles with some of the photos. Occasionally, it was unclear which text related to which photo (was the text for the above photo or below photo) but that was quickly answered if I read more than a few words but it did feel a little disjointed there.

Re: Why I’m Buying the Canon 7D Mk II

Hank Christensen — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 20:55:23 -0000

Yes, that is true, Glen. 45 is much better than the 19 offered by the 7D, and it doesn't impact my photography much. The 65 total points become more important for birds in flight, and I rarely use my 800 for that - it is just too difficult to track! Most of my 800mm shooting are bird portraits.

Re: Why I’m Buying the Canon 7D Mk II

glen — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 20:16:34 -0000

Just realized that the 7d mkII with the 800mm only provides 45 focus point and of those only 25 are cross type..

Re: Why I’m Buying the Canon 7D Mk II

Hank Christensen — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:31:59 -0000

Thanks Ron, I'm glad it was useful to you. I will be receiving my 7D Mk II today as well. It will be good to get some field tests going to see how it performs with bird photography. Stay tuned for follow up posts....

Re: Why I’m Buying the Canon 7D Mk II

Ron Dudley — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:06:52 -0000

Nice job on this post, Hank. I found it useful. Your reasons for purchasing the Mk ll are largely the same as mine, though I don't have the concern of using an 800 mm with a 2x since my longest lens is the Canon 500 Mk ll. I should receive my 7D Mk ll on Monday and I'm quite excited about its possibilities compared to my 2 7D's. I wonder how long it'll take us (me) to become proficient with all the AF setting possibilities, especially for birds in flight. Ahhh, yet another learning curve...

Re: Finding Originality In Arches National Park

nagarkot247 — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 09:26:59 -0000

Wonderful composition, and thanks for the glimpse into how you bring uniqueness into your work.

Re: California’s Coastal Redwoods

M. D. Vaden — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 23:36:07 -0000

Enjoyed finding this post again. Practical explanation and lovely photos. This is the kind of content I like to see remain online for years on end.

Re: California’s Coastal Redwoods

M. D. Vaden — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 23:33:27 -0000

Either fog or overcast .... definitely my favorites. Although, this year I plan to pick up where I left off with photographing Rhododendrons on sunny days, using an 85mm lens. Typically used for my portraits, I tried that one last year in Redwood National Park, and started to capture some dreamy colorful photos of Rhododendrons. Seems 99% of photographers aim for Rhodies in the fog, so I had not seen clear day images with heavy bokeh before from the Redwood parks. Definitely planning on Rhodies in the fog too though. November to May may be the ultimate season for photographing the big trees.

Ciao,

M. D. Vaden / www.mdvaden.com/redwoods.shtml

Re: The Search for Sky Rock

dzrtxplorer — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:39:08 -0000

No worries Hank I won't disclose the info. anytime soon. I'd like for it to stay secret for as long as it can. It's just nice to know that others wish to see these sites stay as pristine as possible. I'm always searching the web for any leads to so called "secret" sites. Sometimes others slip up and post these locations without considering the damage it could cause. I'm guessing shortly after the post the link was deleted. It is my hope that not many people found the wikimapia page I found. I was very fortunate to find the info. I did about Skyrock. I was trying for awhile to get info about Skyrock and then I stumbled upon the now deleted wikimapia page on it. I was really amazed that this site location was made publice for a short time. Hope to see the site soon before I move out of state. Even when I move out of state, if I don't make it within the year, I'll be making plans to get out to this unique site. I also know that 13 moons isn't too far from Skyrock :). Thanks for the great pics Hank.

Re: The Search for Sky Rock

Hank Christensen — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 11:56:29 -0000

For the sake of the artifact, I certainly hope not. One of the reasons this site is still pristine and accessible (read: unroped or fenced off) is that finding the site requires a bit of work. Those that do tell other people directly try to restrict this knowledge only to people they know will be as careful and respectful with the site as they are. Those who chose to exploit this information for gain would be partially to blame if someone took that shared information and vandalized the site, which is exactly what happened to several other sites in the area.

Re: The Search for Sky Rock

dzrtxplorer — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 23:57:41 -0000

Sometimes you have to grab an opportunity when it comes your way. Not too long ago Wikimapia made the sight location to Skyrock available. It seems that enough people protested that posting and wikimapia took it off. I was able to get the details of where to find this amazing sight off wikimapia and now time will tell what I decide to do with this precious bit of info. Perhaps in the near future a book will detail how to get to the site :).

Re: 2013 Round-up – Top 40 photos of the year

nagarkot247 — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 15:10:37 -0000

Great images from 2013! I particularly like the Ansel Adams effect in b & w photos of Sierras. Evidently Clark's Peak was used by Paramount for their famous logo.

Re: Happy New Year

nagarkot247 — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 01:36:00 -0000

Great image, Hank! Great way to start 2014.

Re: Red-crested Cardinal

nagarkot247 — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 12:49:20 -0000

Beautiful bird!