Before the Sun Hides Again The Bitterroots captured by Z 8 / Z70-200f2.8II Our morning drive for huckleberry pancakes was particularly gorgeous this weekend with the incoming spring showers. The wind that came with the front wasn't really welcomed, but the moisture sure is! The peaks are over 10k feet, so they squeeze the clouds as they float east. They come over the valley, and they expand again and at times, sink down, making for some great, moody landscapes.

Before the Sun Hides Again https://wp.me/p6YJx-j0g spring has sprung for sure here in the Bitterroots. And with the spring flowers keep coming, thankfully, the spring showers. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Hang On Buddy! Tower captured by Z 8 / Z70-200f2.8II They predicted winds that day, and we've had some big ones of late. I noticed the workman up on the new cell tower belaying tools up on the line as I walked in to get my haircut. When I walked out afterwards, a gust of wind and dust smacked me in the face. I walked to the truck, where Maggie greeted me, and that's when I heard the noise.

Hang On Buddy! https://wp.me/p6YJx-j08 it was a blustery day, we've had a few. I was watching the dust devil wiz by when I heard a noise and looked up! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Moose Podcast #497 – “To The Moon and Beyond!” Moose Podcast #497 - "To The Moon and Beyond!" ... we are constantly looking for inspiration and motivation for our photography, at least I am, and this past week we received an eyeful! Let's talk

Moose Podcast #497 - "To The Moon and Beyond!" https://wp.me/p6YJx-iZT we are constantly looking for inspiration and motivation for our photography, at least I am, and this past week we received an eyeful! Let's talk @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

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"Say AHH" https://wp.me/p6YJx-iZI at first, I thought the Snail Kite was going to cough a pellet. Since they eat snails, I was wondering what fur and bone could be down its throat. That wasn't the case at all. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador…

https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/say-ahh/

Unique Portrait Studio Cessna 195 captured by Z 8 / Z180-600 Taking plane portraits, statics, at an airport can be challenging. You have the limitation of aircraft on the move, taxing, limiting where you can park a plane for any length of time. Then there are backgrounds. At the average airport, they suck. This is because often light industry builds right up to the airport since homes are typically not near airports.

Unique Portrait Studio https://wp.me/p6YJx-iZl just like with people, the background of a portrait sets the stage, helps tell the story. With a plane, just throwing up a sweep isn't always possible, so then? @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Clear Blue Skies Visit the post for more.

Clear Blue Skies wp.me/pXFNo-GX are not always welcomed by me, not a fan of bald skies. But with the wisp of a cloud of two, and magic can be made! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Clear Blue Skies PT-17 Stearman captured by Z 9 / Z70-200f2.8II The day started with totally bald skies and no wind. The no wind is great for flying and photo missions, but the bald skies, not so much. A solid blue sky provides no visual depth, and that doesn't support the romance of flight. To say I was bummed was an understatement. Yeah, you can position the aircraft low and shoot down on them to avoid the bald skies, but that one view isn't a good story plan.

Clear Blue Skies https://wp.me/pXFNo-GX are not always welcomed by me, not a fan of bald skies. But with the wisp of a cloud of two, and magic can be made! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Simply, Beautiful! PT-17 Stearman captured by Z 9 / Z70-200f2.8II Doing 100knts, 1750AGL on a gorgeous day flying over The Palouse, I had to pinch myself with the magic unfolding in the viewfinder. It was a heck of a day with seven photo missions all in one afternoon. It was our first wx window in weeks, and we were going to make the most of it.

Simply, Beautiful! https://wp.me/p6YJx-iZa the new @NikonUSA #Z70-200f2.8II in the hand is a tool like no other, a shining point in lens design and function. What a magnificent tool! Illustrated in post.
@BedfordCamera #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

NASA's Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast) YouTube video by NASA

youtube.com/live/m3kR2KK8TEs
they are talking photography LIVE (mind blowing) from the moon. It's literally out of this world!! @NikonUSA
#NikonAmbassador

Moose Podcast #496 – “Got For It!” Moose Podcast #496 - "Got For It!" warning, the contents of this episode can be hazardous to your photography! let's talk

Moose Podcast #496 - "Got For It!" https://wp.me/p6YJx-iZ0 warning, the contents of this episode can be hazardous to your photography! let's talk @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

A2A Photo Clinic – North Dakota Spitfire MkIV lives at Minot! The Dakota Territory Air Museum is a one-of-a-kind collection of flying aircraft. We're very fortunate they are opening their doors and collection to our cameras for a one-of-a-kind A2A Clinic! Possible subjects range from Spitfire to P-51D, P-47 to FM-2P with the possibilities of Staggerwing, Waco, Monocoup, and so much more. One of the world's finest collection of flying WWII aircraft will light your passions and fill your viewfinder with magic!

A2A Photo Clinic - North Dakota https://wp.me/p6YJx-iYS is being hosted by @dakotaterritoryairmuseum Minot, ND home to P-47 "Bonnie", P-51B "Thunderbird", P-51C "Lopes Hopes" & much more. Epic opportunity for epic weekend! Join Us! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

Moose Shooting Report – Kissimmee Lake / Snail Kites Lake Kissimmee and its birds, especially the endangered Snail Kites are a special part of our wild heritage. In this short video, I go through some of the basics of when, where, and why you want to shoot at this location. Enjoy!

Moose Shooting Report - Snail Kites https://wp.me/p6YJx-iYK Lake Kissimmee and its birds, especially the endangered Snail Kites are a special part of our wild heritage. In this short video, I go through some of the basics to shoot at this location. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

The Small Airport Produces Big Opportunities Aeronca 4c captured by D5 / 180-400TC Your small, regional airport is a great place to practice and perfect your craft. Normally, there are no fences, which is a huge plus right from the start. Go and talk to the airport manager and tell them you're there to photograph the aircraft because you LOVE aviation. You'd be surprised at the doors that open.

The Small Airport Produces Big Opportunities https://wp.me/p6YJx-iYD easy access, lots of flying, they are the perfect place to practice and perfect your craft! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Grass Strips Rule! Cessna 140 captured by Z 9 / Z135f1.8 Plena Grass strips are a lovely, romantic, and very photogenic locale for aviation photography! The challenge is finding one of these gems to practice your craft. You can do a Google search, and you'll find no list of grass strips is available. You will find examples of some, and if you're lucky, one is in your backyard.

Grass Strips Rule! https://wp.me/pXFNo-GL whether to practice your panning or to make that once-in-a-lifetime shot, they produce time and time again. And they are hard to find! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Had to Make an Ice Cream Run Old Barn - Sapphire Mtns captured by Z 9 / Z70-200f2.8II Seriously, we had the urge for chocolate ice cream, and that required a road trip. OK, it's a twenty-minute drive down a beautiful back road in the Bitterroot Valley, but it's well worth it. And the light was gorgeous so the camera with the newly arrived Z70-200f2.8II needed to go.

Had to Make an Ice Cream Run https://wp.me/p6YJx-iYw and with the light so nice and new lens in the locker, the camera had to go as well! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Odd Man Out White-tailed Deer captured by Z 8 / Z180-600 Just gotten off the phone for a delightful predawn call to look out and see this big boy with what we at first thought were three big does (they should be dropping fawns in 45 days or so). The buck being a big boy, it caught our attention, so we watched. Then two questions came to mind.

Odd Man Out https://wp.me/p6YJx-iYj just because the book says so doesn't mean critters are going to do it. Nature is amazing! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Moose Podcast #495 – “The Scientific Method” Moose Podcast #495 - "The Scientific Method" It seems it took decades for me to understand what mentor bestowed on me. A simple recipe for visual storytelling. Let's talk!

Moose Podcast #495 - "The Scientific Method" https://wp.me/p6YJx-iY8 It seems it took decades for me to understand what my mentors bestowed on me. A simple recipe for visual storytelling. Let's talk! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

Mine is Hers? Sharon at the Nikon Monarch Scope captured by Z 9 / Z105f2.8mc The wx station read 16 degrees as we sipped our morning coffee. The sun was making its appearance and the birds were shaking off the night's chill. Time to check in on the nesting cavities, the bird and owl boxes to see who is where doing what. Being nesting season, nest site selection is in process with two pairs of Pygmy Nuthatches and a pair of Flickers seeming to have made their choices.

Mine is Hers? https://wp.me/p6YJx-iY2 Being spring, we are on constant vigilance to see who is doing what, where. The Monarch Scope from @NikonUSA is key, and we battle over it! @BedfordCamera #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Need More Than a Leg Up Snail Kite (female) captured by Z 9 / Z180-600 w/1.4x I had read in the papers that they occasionally, rarely, will eat a turtle. But in my month with Snail Kites, I'd never seen it for myself. Snail Kites got their name because they are highly specialized to eat one thing, apple snails. Look at those long and curved talons and that bill, they are meant for plucking the snail right out of its shell.

Need More Than a Leg Up https://wp.me/p6YJx-iXS Snail Kites got their name because, they specialize in snails. But they won't pass up that baby turtle when they see it! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Keep Your Cards Healthy ProGrade just sent out an email to its folks reminding us how to get the best performance out of our cards. As one who does a Full Format in the camera after every shoot, I thought their advice was not only spot on but needed to be shared. Here you go, courtesy of ProGrade. Format In-Camera, Every Time:Always format your card using the specific camera you’re shooting with.

Keep Your Cards Healthy https://wp.me/p6YJx-iXG it's possible to take these all important part of our digital photography for granted. @ProGradeDigital reminds how not too. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

Spring Greens Time C-45 captured by Z 7 / 105f1.4 Spring greens are special! The feeling of well-being and new possibilities can transform any photograph into a feel-good moment. This is especially true for aircraft. Nearly all airports have a green area where aircraft can be taxied or towed to. There are very few aircraft that can't be placed on grass, the plane owner will know.

Spring Greens Time https://wp.me/p6YJx-iXx they are about for only a short period, time to push that plane out in them! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

Spring has Sprung Beech D18s captured by Nikon D5 / 70-200f4 We find aircraft the majority of the time parked on tarmac, blacktop. When we have the opportunity to photograph them on grass, it's magical. Find a Beech D18s in a field of wildflowers, and you've died and gone to heaven! Before you start looking for this kind of opportunity, I've only come across it once, this time.

Spring has Sprung https://wp.me/pXFNo-GF and just as wildflowers brighten any landscape photo, they do wonders for a static shot! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

The Beauty of Saturated Light Snail Kite captured by Z 9 / Z180-600 If there was one tool I wished were always in my camera bag, it would be saturated light! What is saturated light? Out in the wilds, it is light from the sun that is subdued, protecting highlights, opening up shadows, and making color jump off the charts. The clouds are not the heavy black rain clouds nor the thin God Scrim type.

The Beauty of Saturated Light https://wp.me/p6YJx-iXp when it appears is a photographers best friend. It makes everything come to life with a little camera craft. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

The ZR – It Sure Does! Nikon ZR w/Z26f2.8 What's with the ZR? This is a question that keeps floating my way, a post from last Friday bringing more. "It shoots stills?" That was asked a few times, and yes, it does! It's just like shooting with a Z 9 or Z 8, except that it has no EVF, just one large LCD. Its main role in our gear locker is for its sweet spot, shooting video.

The ZR - It Sure Does! https://wp.me/p6YJx-iXj It can and does up one's still photography! What you say, a video camera ups your stills? @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

And Now, The Sun! Lake Kissimmee captured by Z R / Z26f2.8 Tuesday, one member of our group was trying to crawl into his Think Tank to get warm, it was near 39 degrees with the wind chill. When you're cruising a lake photographing Kites, wind chill is a big factor. So when on Thursday we saw the sun, we were quite excited. Now the temp had only warmed up ten degrees, ten degrees is, ten degrees.

And Now, The Sun! https://wp.me/p6YJx-iX4 after four days on the boat with rain, clouds and 49 degree temps, seeing the sun was a treat. And I was in Florida! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Alley-oop! Belted Kingfisher captured by Z 9 / Z180-600 w/Z2x with DX Crop Down in Florida, working with a favorite bird from an airboat is big time fun! One of the side perks is all the kingfishers about. The downside, them little suckers just don't sit still! It takes all the horsepower I have to get any type of image size. Even then, there has to be something to keep their mind off the boat, a catch is one of them.

Alley-oop! https://wp.me/p6YJx-iWW for such a cute and endearing little bird, photographing Kingfishers can be nothing but frustrating. Even when you're on the water with them! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Old Can Be New Mooney M22 Mustang captured by D4s / 80-400VRII It's human nature when choices are available to side with the rare or sexy. This is real common in aviation photography where biplanes and warbirds overshadow your basic GA aircraft. A lot of the GA aircraft you see flying today were built long ago, like this Mustang from 1964. Recognizing the M22 is a rare bird, a plane I hadn't photographed before, when I was asked to go up with it, I jumped at the offer.

Old Can Be New https://wp.me/p6YJx-iWA the planes that were brand new when we were kids are now "old". But when you photograph them for the 1st time, old is new. @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

Time to Find Red for the Green Travel Air 12-W captured by D5 / 70-200f4 A carpet of spring green is one of the finest background sweeps one can find for an air-to-air. Finding a nice, red plane to put in front of it, like this gorgeous Travel Air 12-W (only a handful are flying worldwide), is a big challenge. Putting them together at the last minute, well, that's a whole other world of hurt.

Time to Find Red for the Green https://wp.me/pXFNo-Gy great spring greens fade quickly so finding the red now to take advantage of them is key! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador

I Love Spring! Sandhill Crane captured by Z 9 / Z180-600 It was a grand morning! Finished with the primary project, so took a moment to look around. That's when this Sandhill Crane nest was pointed out to us and it's week old colt (what Crane chicks are called). What a cutie. We only spent a few moments with us as the wind was coming up and we needed to dock, but what a special moment.

I Love Spring! https://wp.me/p6YJx-iWP because it's the only time of the year you can witness this wonder! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador #NikonPro

Moose Podcast #493 – “Relevance” Moose Podcast #493 - "Relevance" a state of mind, a presence of the camera, relevance. Should it be in the forefront or background of your shooting? Let's talk!

Moose Podcast #493 - "Relevance" https://wp.me/p6YJx-iWG a state of mind, a presence of the camera, relevance. Should it be in the forefront or background of your shooting? Let's talk! @BedfordCamera @NikonUSA #NikonAmbassador