MattK

Hi. Like the others I really like the colors here. Has a very soft pastel look to it. Great job there. Also great job on composition. Not that I look for them while shooting, but after the fact I find that triangles are a great hook. The more the better (see example below). They tend to really bring your eyes in to the photo and point to things. Honestly I like the centered look with the small area of sky. But I also like it cropped and having the tractor toward one side or the other. Both work and both are strong. After that it just becomes about personal taste.

I still find myself always drawn to the Great Smokies for fall color. There's something about that place that I can walk around there forever and feel like it's the first time.

Great question Caroline - One of my biggest problems is finding the time for photography. If you're in the photography business, then most people know everything needed to move that business ahead actually has very little to do with the process of taking a photo. For me, in an educational role, I have to make videos, blog posts, marketing emails, social media posts, graphics, customer support, etc... So finding time to shoot is actually my biggest struggle because the act of taking the photo (and the resulting photo itself) makes me zero income. I could try to hire others for those tasks, but I'm a one-man business. I've tried it other ways, and I prefer to stay a one-person business. So actually finding time to shoot is difficult after I've done all those other things. I do best though, when I set aside a morning or afternoon to just do it - no matter what, I force myself to get out of my office and just go shoot 🙂

Living in Tampa, FL for 30 years, this was an eye opening week. I've seen dozens of storms come through over the years, and while the impacts are always hard for the direct hit area, rarely are they ever has bad as they forecast. This week was different though. While the storm didn't impact Tampa, as originally thought, the impacted areas got as bad (or worse) than any prediction we heard. I don't think anyone was prepped for what really happened in Southwest FL. So it got me thinking about camera equipment insurance. How covered am I really? What would I do in the event of a disaster? There are a number of ways to insure your equipment. Here's a quick recap: 1) Call your home or renters insurance company. This would be the first place I go to get a quote. Years back I did this and got a quote before I shopped around at online companies. 2) PPA - If you're a member of the PPA it comes with equipment insurance. However, it's always best to see exactly what and how much it covers. The PPA also offers extended coverage through a third part if you have more than their default policy covers. This is the route I went since my Homeowners insurance quote was absurdly high. 3) Ask Friends - one of the best things you can do. 4) Google it - A good old google search will help. You'll find a number of companies that offer this and you can research from there. I did this and found that the PPA membership was my best route. Some questions to ask. - Deductibles? - Coverage for international travel - Car theft - Mysterious disappearance - Storms and weather - Damage and malfunction If you have any experience in this, please add a comment. Just like the new year is always a good time to make fresh starts, goals, etc... After seeing a storm like this, it's always a good time to check on things like this. You just never know. Thanks!

I’ll be the contrarian here 🙂 I’d go with the 70-300 all day. The 50mm is just so limiting and you’re outside so you really don’t need the low light capability. When my kids were young the sure-fire way to ruin a birthday party was to make everyone stop to take photos. Especially young kids - they don’t care. For me I used a zoom lens which let me stand back, watch, capture and stay out of everyone’s way and let the kids and adults enjoy the party. Have fun!

I agree. I kept my previous cameras around for about a year after, and I just never reached for one of them at any point, no matter what the photo shoot was.

Hi. It’s been working okay for me so far. Will try some more testing just to make sure though but all appears ok.

Hi. Sorry, I'm a little late to the topic, but I just saw it. I guess I would ask yourself what market there is for a professional wildlife photographer? Who does this that you know of - and is able to sustain a livelihood from it. Did researching this as a business draw you in, or do you just feel that you're good at it so there must be a business? From there, I would research wildlife photographers website's and Google, to see what they're doing. I don't say this in any way to be discouraging... I only suggest the following two things to help set expectations, as I don't believe that "professional" wildlife photography (the business of just simply taking photos and selling them) is a growing business: Just about every "pro" wildlife photographer you'll find teaches. They have realized that is the best way to make an income in this field. So at that point, your photography matters a little less and your speaking, teaching and business skills at running a website, creating video courses, running workshops becomes important. So if that's the route you want to go, those are areas to look to improve. Regarding books... I just surfed through Amazon and most wildlife photography books rank in the 500,000+ of books in their categories (even ones with Nat Geo on the name) . Definitely something to think about. As an example, Mark Smith (also Sony shooter) is an EXCEPTIONAL photographer. He recently published a book on Osprey's, which is on Amazon. It's ranked over 1 million in books right now, and it's a fairly recent book, with flat out jaw-dropping photography in it. Now, Mark also teaches workshops and seems to be booked up often and it looks like he has a very successful business doing it. So I don't think he wrote the book exclusively to make money, as much as he did as a project that he just personally wanted to do. But back to your point... you want to go pro and your first instinct was to publish a book. So I'd look to others who have written them to see how successful they are and if that book can sustain a "pro" income. Anyway, just some thoughts. Again, I don't want to discourage you, but hopefully set expectations that I don't see a lot of "pro" wildlife photographers out there making a business just taking and publishing photos. Most (yes not all) have other means of income and that usually comes in the form of teaching in some way these days. Good luck and always happy to help if you want to reach out. Matt (Mattk.com)

Thanks man. Hopefully you clicked on the photo. Looking on the preview it doesn't look very sharp.

Good idea Tony. People often say Teleconverters aren't sharp. I'd definitely disagree. Taken with the 200-600mm + the 1.4TC

Hi. Found this on a review somewhere. Not all zooms have the same minimum focus distance through all ranges of the zoom, but it looks like they'll state that distance. If it's not listed, then that usually means that min distance works throughout the range. Source: @DaveS wrote: I am considering purchasing the FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.3 GM lens and want to confirm the minimum focus distance. The specs state that the minimum focus distance is 3.22 feet. What I want to confirm is that this is focus distance when the lens is fully zoomed at 400 mm. Please let me know. Thanks

I liked the electronic-ness of the camera ever since I first held the a7R. I couldn't stand that you'd look through a DSLR and see a perfect world in the viewfinder. But then you'd take a photo that looked nothing like what you saw and people in my workshops used to say "why can't the photo look like what it does in the viewfinder". Plus Sony was pushing the boundaries of apps and in-camera processing too. But the a7R wasn't quite where my DSLR was. I said to myself the moment the technology and quality get to where my DSLR was, that I'd switch. That happened with the a7Rii and I switched immediately.

Hi. I guess I’d say that if you’re going to throw a heavy full frame lens on a crop sensor camera, why not just use a full frame camera. The weight difference between the crop sensor camera and full frame are negligible. In my experience you’ll get good photos using the APS-C sensor cameras. But you won’t get the resolution, quality and low ISO capabilities as you would. If you fill the frame in good bright light, you probably wouldn’t notice much difference. But if you have low light, need to crop in on the photo, you will notice a decent quality difference. But… if that’s the only way you can take photos then go for it. Better lower quality than nothing right? I have both, and I reach for the full frame every time on my kayak. Hope that helps.

Hi Huve. It was probably Ft. Desoto Park near St. Petersburg. Good all year round!

Hi Kelly. Congrats on the workshop. One thing I always found really useful was about 2-3 weeks before the workshop, send out an email to everyone asking what their Top 3 Wishlist things are for the workshop. I write them down in a note on my phone, and refer back to it A LOT during the workshop. When I check off an item, I go to the person and just say something like “hey… so it looks like we checked off one of your wishlist items… how are you feeling about it and do you still have questions” or something like that. The other side benefit of asking them ahead of time is if some one gives you a wishlist item that just isn’t possible or not part of what you’re offering in the workshop. This way, you get ahead of it and set expectations before the workshop begins. Hope that helps!

Hi Anne. I love those settings 🙂 That's a great camera too. There's something really nice about having that kind of focal range in one lens and camera. Enjoy!

I still remember the first time I used the a9... I hadn't owned one yet and was just trying it out. Within 5 minutes of my first shot, I put an order it for it 🙂

Hi Colin. Thanks so much for the kind words. How does the 1.4x perform on the 200-600mm? I've never really used it on that one.

Such an amazing combo isn't it!

Very tough exposure situation but you did great!

Thanks Jeff! Glad to see you stop by here.

Hi everyone! Matt Kloskowski (from MattK.com) here and if you love Bird Photography this is a great place to start. Bird and wildlife photography is one of the most challenging areas, but also one of the most rewarding. There’s nothing like that feeling of getting that sharp action photo, and showing it off. If you’ve got any questions feel free to post but I thought it would be fun to kick this off with your favorite camera/lens combo and-or bird photography camera settings. I’ll go ahead and start… 📷 - Sony A1 or A74 with the 200-600mm lens. Such a great combo! My go-to settings are Manual Exposure Mode | f/6.3 | 1/3200th | Auto ISO On Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your favorites or any questions!