DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge to Re-OpenPosted by drfl on December 14th, 2011

After the devastation flood this spring, summer, and fall, DeSoto appears to be preparing to re-open.  The visitor center will not open at first, but at least some of the refuge will once again be available to visit.  I am very curious to see how the landscape has changed due to the water levels and to see how the wildlife adapted and thrived.   More information can be found from the Omaha World Herald article from December 10th.

My Take on WhyTake.netPosted by drfl on December 13th, 2011

I just created a profile on the new service, WhyTake.net. It seems like yesterday that I was creating a profile on 500px. The mantra of WhyTake.net is “whytake.net is the first Social Network dedicated exclusively to Nature Photographers – Designed by Nature Photographers, for Nature Photographers.” Below are some of my initial thoughts and feelings on this new service. 

More after the jump.

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Website Improvements and SuggestionsPosted by drfl on December 9th, 2011

As the cold settles in, I find myself reviewing the year, my work, my sales, my goals. Of course, one of the areas that I am constantly looking to improve is my website design @ http://www.journeyoflight.com. As the number of websites on the Internet grows, it is important to keep content fresh, speed fast and navigation easy. A little less than a year and half ago I completely redesigned the layout of my website improve the speed, navigation, and added an enhanced image keyword and search functionality. I felt it was a good improvement, but there is always room for more improvement. There’s the old saying, “You can’t please 100% of the people 100% of the time.” While that maybe true, I’d at least like to please 99% of the people 99% of the time. What can I say, I have lofty goals. Having a clean, effective, well designed website is not only good marketing, but shows professionalism and dedication, no matter what the industry. If you do not have a physical storefront, it is your storefront and it should be good. Of course, we don’t all have millions to spend on an integrated shopping cart, programmings and graphic designers. As a matter of fact, if I was just starting today I’d go with a template based system such as Photoshelter, BetterPhoto, or Zenfolio.

Now that I’ve said all that I’ve had my website for over 10 years and have changed and maintained it. It’s grown and changed and if you look at my post from August of last year you can pursue some of the horrific designs I tried. Ick! Today, I’m releasing a new set of changes based upon feedback from clients (most important), websites and blog articles I have read (important), and webinars I have attended.  I thought it might be valuable, not only for my clients to see the changes, but also for the other photographers that visit my blog to see what changes I’ve implemented and why I think the changes might be valuable based upon my experience with the hope it helps someone else.

Read on if you want to see the website changes and my experience.

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Photo Friday: Fiesty PheasantPosted by drfl on December 2nd, 2011

While pheasants are beautiful birds, they are quite shy, especially in the fall. While I was visiting Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in North Central Nebraska, I came across 4 pheasants – 2 males and 2 females that I watched duck in and out of the tall prairie grass for about 2 hours. Even the slightest move on my part sent them scurrying back. I managed to get about 2 shots, with this one being the best.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4x tc, f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Look Up: Sunbeam PoetryPosted by drfl on November 30th, 2011

Often, photographers become so focused on capturing one type of image that we often ignore what else is happening in the environment around us. When I was out on the prairie near Valentine, I was caught up in getting some wide-angle landscape shots when I looked up and saw beautiful clouds floating in front of the sun while sunbeams shot out in all directions. I managed to snap 3 shots before this scene disappeared.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 40mm, f/8, 1/8000 sec.
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Photo Friday: I’ve Dreamed 1,000 DreamsPosted by drfl on November 25th, 2011

On an early November day I went to the Lincoln, Nebraska area to get some late fall shots. Today’s post is an image I captured about 10 minutes prior to sunrise on Branched Oak Lake on a windy and cool day.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/11, 10 sec., 3-stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad, 2-stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad
Branched Oak Lake, Nebraska