Robert OToole Photography
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  • Mar26

    Midway Atoll

    Posted in: Travel report, Workshops

    These are some of my favorite images made on a recent trip to Midway Atoll.

    Earlier this month I was invited by Arthur Morris to join him on Midway Atoll as a co-leader of one of his Instructional Photo Tours. Once I arrived I felt lucky to have the opportunity to experience the place. Thanks again Artie!

    Example

    Short-tailed Albatross, Sand Island, Midway Atoll, NIKON D700 and Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR with Nikon TC-17E II 1.7x Teleconverter, hand held, 1/1250 sec at F8, manual metering, flash off, ISO 1600. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography.

    Midway is like a photographic dream. Most of the three million birds there pay no attention to humans and are not bothered at all being photographed so they go about normal behavior as if you are invisible. I could spend a lot of time there. If you have an opportunity to visit there I would recommend it. The weather was surprisingly pleasant with low humidity, the ocean colors were unreal and the birds were unbelievable.

    Example

    Laysan Albatross beach landing, Sand Island, Midway Atoll, NIKON D700 and Sigma 70-200 F2.8, hand held, 1/1600 sec at F5.6, manual metering, flash off, ISO 400. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography

    As usual Artie’s IPT was full interesting and pleasant people so it was a pleasure spend time with everyone and help out teaching and leading when I could. Everyone had a great time and I enjoyed every minute.
    Visit my gallery on this site to see more of Midway :
    http://www.robertotoole.com/galleries/midway/

    Example

    Laysan Albatross riding a wave updraft, Sand Island, Midway Atoll, NIKON D700 and Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR with Nikon TC-14E II 1.4x Teleconverter, hand held, 1/1250 sec at F8, manual metering, flash off, ISO 640. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography.

    During my time there I spent a few minutes with my Panasonic LX-3 point and shoot recording short clips of some of the most interesting albatross behavior. I have had such good feedback from people about these I will be recording at least some video during all my future trips and workshops.

    Here are three clips, hope you enjoy them.

    Laysan Courtship from Robert OToole on Vimeo.

    Albatross Runway, Midway from Robert OToole on Vimeo.

    Black-footed Albatross Midway Atoll from Robert OToole on Vimeo.

  • Mar6

    Bald Eagles in Alaska!

    Posted in: Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle Workshop, Workshops

    Earlier this week I returned from a very successful workshop series on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska and I have some great news. If you would have ever dreamed about photographing Bald Eagles this is the perfect workshop for you. The opportunities during the last workshop series were unbelievable. In fact they were even better than any of my previous trips to Homer and Kachemak bay in the last five years. You can see some images from this trip in my latest images gallery: http://www.robertotoole.com/galleries/latest-images/

    The trip went so well that I will be setting up a summer and fall Bald Eagle workshop series and I am finalizing pricing and other details right now. Send me an  email or use the contact info or form on the right side of the page right away to be placed on the interest list to be the first to receive final details.

    Example

    NIKON D700 and Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX HSM, Handheld, 1/1600 sec at F5.6, manual metering, flash off, ISO 400. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography

    Example

    NIKON D700 and Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX HSM, Handheld, 1/1600 sec at F5.6, manual metering, flash off, ISO 400. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography

    Example

    NIKON D700 and Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX HSM, Handheld, 1/1600 sec at F5.6, manual metering, flash off, ISO 400. Image Copyright 2010 Robert OToole / Robert OToole Photography
    Most of the images made in this workshop were in the 70-200 or 100-300 range. A 500 or 600 was nice to have on hand for tight portraits but was not needed for flight images. All of the images above are only cropped top and bottom to fit the screen format.

  • Mar6

    Welcome

    Posted in: Announcements

    Example

    Hello and welcome to the new site.

    This is where you will now be able to find the latest up to date information and news on my workshops, shows, product releases and presentations.  Also I will post new images, tips, techniques, stories, and interviews with friends and participants. I’ll try to make this blog a little more interesting than reading your camera’s user manual!

    Please bookmark this blog, email to a friend/colleague, or subscribe to the RSS feed. You can subscribe by using the button in the menu at the top of each page, it is the one on the right labeled subscribe. Once you hover over the button you will see your options including the option to subscribe with email updates.

    So, there you have it, the introduction to my new site. If you have questions or comments, please ask. I’m listening, feedback is appreciated and encouraged. Please let me know what you think and be sure to share any ideas or constructive criticism. Also let me know what you want to see posted in the future. You can send me an email or leave a comment below. Thanks.

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