Japan Tour Report 2015

March 08, 2015 in Japan, Sigma 150-600, Steller's sea eagle, Tour, Travel, Travel report

Japanese red-crowned crane pair in a snow storm. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/30s, f/11, 150mm, ISO 64, EV + 1.3, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

Japan really delivered this year with great conditions, superb opportunities for our tour and thanks to a really wonderful group of people the trip was a big success. Sitting in my office in Los Angeles with 87 degree weather outside I am wishing I was back in Japan right now!

Japanese red-crowned cranes displaying in the snow. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1250s, f/7.1, 550mm, ISO 64, EV + 1.3, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

The Usual Subjects and Locations

There are four main areas that are visited on my Japan tour. We started out in Tokyo and moved to the beautiful Nagano area, sometimes known as Japan's Alps, on the first day to target snow monkeys at the famous monkey park. Then we traveled to the northern island of Hokkaido to target the rare Steller's sea eagle, whooper and the ultra rare Japanese red-crowned crane for the next nine days. This amount of time almost guarantees that you will see excellent snow and ice conditions for eagles and cranes.

The Weather When photographing cranes in Japan you hope for at least one day of snow, this year the weather delivered with a few days of snow storms and even a couple of blizzards to make things interesting. Thankfully at the crane park even in bad weather you are always few steps away from a heater, warm food and drinks.

Out of the nine days on Hokkaido we had a great mix of all kinds of weather, snow, cloudy, and overcast with only two days of full sun. In Japan clear weather is not ideal since it means harsh light and usually lower temps.

Japanese red-crowned cranes in Hokkaido. All Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810 and UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

Equipment

I recommend telephoto zoom lenses for locations like a crane park where you are limited to a certain distance. The images above were made at focal lengths from 200 to 600mm all made without having to change lenses. When you don't have to stop and change the lenses, or switch the bodies, you can relax and concentrate on expressing your creative vision. This strategy has proven to work very well for me over the years in Japan.

Since I decided not to bring a big prime lens this year all of the images in this post were made with the new Sigma 150-600 sports lens in Nikon or Canon mount. How did this lens work over a 500 or 600 prime? I can tell you I didn't miss flying, carrying or shooting with a prime lens for one second and I will not be bringing a long prime lens next year thats for sure.

On this trip I carried a new (medium sized) F-stop photo backpack with not one but two Sigma 150-600 sports lenses, with hoods on, and a Sigma 24-105!

Red-footed red-crowned crane bank top view at the Akan crane park. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1600s, f/6.3, 600mm, ISO 640, EV + 1.3, Manual mode, Handheld.

The Cranes The japanese red-crowned cranes have a more highly developed display and mating behavior than typical cranes like the sandhills. In one hour an entire large group of cranes will display over and over again. This is one of the reasons I never seem to get bored of shooting the JRC cranes.

The japanese red-crowned cranes are the rarest on the planet with total numbers less than 3000. The non migratory population on Hokkaido number about 600-1000.

Japanese red-crowned crane dropping in during a snow storm. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1600s f/8, 600mm, ISO 1100, EV + 1.3, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod. We spent four full days targeting cranes at two main locations and a couple of backup spots to make sure we get the cranes in optimum conditions. This is my favorite photographic combination on Hokkaido, it just doesn't get any better than 50+ cranes calling and displaying in falling snow, sometimes all at once!

Snow Monkeys

Snow monkey nit-picking in the sun at the monkey park. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/500s, f/11, 300mm, ISO 200, Manual mode with Auto-ISO. UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

Over the years I have spent lots and lots of time around the monkeys in Japan and it never gets boring. The young monkeys like to keep moving and seem to always be up to mischief and the adults are always seem to be doing something interesting.

Napping in each others arms. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/500s, f/11, 380mm, ISO 560, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, +0.7 EV. UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

The monkey park can get crowded, this year was the busiest year ever at the park, but the wave of crowds eventually thin out leaving with some very good, sometimes excellent opportunities.

Young snow monkey checking out my camera under the watchful eye of its older sister. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/500s, f/8, 380mm, ISO 560, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

Blizzard

Japanese red-crowned cranes in a blizzard. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/30s, f/11, 150mm, ISO 64, EV + 1.3, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, UniqBall UBH 45 head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

My group was lucky to see and photograph the cranes in blizzard conditions. It was amazing to see the cranes react to the blizzard conditions by forming a tight group and big gusts of wind triggered an alert posture of some kind, anyway the blizzard definitely got their attention, as you can see in the image above. It really seems like the cranes enjoy the snowy weather because as soon as the wind would die back down just a little they would spread out and start a frenzy of displaying even going into copulatory stances a few times.

It might seem like a bad thing to check the weather and see extreme weather warnings highlighted in bright red for the area you will be shooting in all day. On the contrary bad weather often means great photo opportunities.

Japan continues to still have plenty of snow, thankfully, something that has been the case in Alaska over the last couple of years.

The Steller's Sea Eagle

Hokkaido is still the best location on the planet to photograph the steller's sea eagle and for anyone that loves to photograph eagles seeing the SSE on pack ice is something that you will never forget. We spent two days photographing the steller's and next year I will be adding additional photo sessions.

My group had perfect timing as the blizzard that gave us the awesome conditions for the cranes shut down the roads to the eagle peninsula and not only kept everyone from leaving town but also kept the eagle boats in the harbor for 3 days.

If you have ever thought about photograph the steller's sea eagles in Japan do it now. The pack ice has been steadily declining over the years and due to the huge increases in gas and oil development in the region who knows how much longer this will be happening (for example a Russian oil rig was lost in Jan in the area). Also the world's population of SSE is less than 5000 and is declining steadily every year.

Steller's sea eagle banking hard against a sea ice background. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 1/1600 s, f/7.1, 270mm ISO 640, Manual mode with Auto-ISO and +2/3 exposure compensation (yes EC in manual mode) handheld.

Steller's sea eagle hard bank image made with my new Canon 7D EOS Mark II. This lightweight combo with a 240mm to 960mm range and 10 fps is just about perfect for the eagles in flight. FYI, I am putting together a future post about my findings with this camera and lens combo right now.

Steller's sea eagles perched on sea ice in the Nemuro Straits. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1250 s, f/6.3, 600mm ISO 7200, Manual mode with Auto-ISO and +0.7 EV , handheld.

Steller's sea eagle redirection against the Shiretoko Peninsula in morning light. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 1/2000 s, f/8, 240mm ISO 400, Manual mode with Auto-ISO and +2/3 exposure compensation (yes EC in manual mode) handheld.

Being able to photograph the steller's sea eagle in flight is definitely a highlight of this tour. They are easy to distinguish from the white-tailed eagles also found at the same spot by the way they fly. Thankfully they are slower and the darker color, almost black, makes an easy target for your camera's AF system.

White-tailed eagle top view bank. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 1/2000 s, f/8, 534mm ISO 200, Manual mode with Auto-ISO , handheld.

Another highlight for me was photographing the smaller white-tailed eagles. A close cousin to our bald eagle the WTE or white-tailed eagle can be found all over Asia and Europe but there is not another place on earth where they are so tame and easy to reach and photograph at close distances.

As I sit in my office writing this blog in Southern California I cant help but think about what fantastic opportunities we will find next winter in Japan and I can hardly wait to make it back to Hokkaido to lead my 2016 tour! I hope you can join us.

2016 Japan Winter Wildlife Tour Sunday February 21st - Saturday March 5th, 2016, 14 Days: $8200. Deposit $3000. Maximum 6 photographers + Leader Robert OToole and co-leader.

Single western style single rooms, mini bus (van) transport, mobile Wi-Fi, small group size of six, english speaking guide and special afternoon eagle photo sessions.

For more tour info follow this link: http://www.robertotoole.com/workshop/hokkaido-japan/

Sunday February 21st - Saturday March 5th, 2016, 14 Days: $8200. Deposit $3000.

Maximum 6 photographers + Leader Robert OToole and co-leader.

Any questions or comments? Leave a question below or send me an email.

Japan 2015

February 22, 2015 in Japan, Nikon D810, Sigma, Sigma 150-600, Tour, Travel, Travel report

Juvenile snow monkey with an early morning snack at the monkey park. NIKON D810 with Sigma sports 150.0-600.0 mm lens @ 400mm, Auto-ISO at 400, EV +.3, 1/500 at f/11

My first week back in Japan has been great so far with great light, huge piles of snow everywhere and I am with the best group of people I have ever led in Japan. This was the year of the baby monkey with 75 young ones born at the park but this was also the busiest week ever at the monkey park with great weather and the chinese new year holiday creating the perfect storm of crowds but overall the conditions were still great.

Next stop Hokkaido!

Below is a 100% pixel crop of the above image to give you an idea of what image quality the 150-600 sports lens is capable of. This was my first trip to Japan without any prime lenses and my Sigma 150-600 and 120-300 lenses are working out great so far.

100% actual pixel crop NIKON D810 with Sigma sports 150.0-600.0 mm lens. BTW this image was shot at f/11 which is not the lenses sharpest aperture.

Any questions or comments? Leave a question below or send me an email.

Bosque del Apache New Mexico Report 2014

December 16, 2014 in Bosque del Apache, Bosque del Apache NWR, Tour, Travel, Travel report, Workshops

After nine years of leading tours at Bosque I have seen more than my share of unforgettable moments that keep me coming back. This year the conditions were not all time but Bosque still delivered really great moments for all my tour participants. Be sure to click on any image below if you would like to launch the viewer and see a larger version on the image.

Early morning crane display. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1250 s, f/6.3, 600mm ISO 640, EV + .3, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, Jobu MK3 gimbal head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

The weather at Bosque this year was different (this seems to be common theme with all of my tour reports this year). The weather was so warm we no snow and only a couple of mornings with temps below freezing. The upside to the warm temps were some unusual bird behavior. The cranes would display and dance in large groups in the mornings, not as much as other crane species but for sandhills it was pretty special. One afternoon my group watched a large group of cranes bath for about an our. This might not seem like anything special but in my nine years of spending lots and lots of time on the reserve I have seen a sandhill bathe there once before. Unfortunately the bathing was too far away to shoot but it was interesting to observe.

Early Late evening fly in speed blur. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/20 s, f/6.3, 600mm ISO 72, EV + .7, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, Jobu MK3 gimbal head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

The cranes pools have always been reliable at Bosque and one of my favorite spots of all time. This year was different, the pools really were the place to be since they were the only reliable location to shoot on the reserve! My favorite spot, the north crane pool was overgrown this year, really limiting the spot's opportunities but management has promised me the north crane pool will be trimmed and back to normal in 2015!

All of the images in this post were made with the new Sigma 150-600 sports lens. This year I decided not to bring a big prime lens for the first time. How did the lens perform at Bosque? Superb, even wide open at 600mm. This trip to New Mexico was my first chance to shoot with this lens so I will post a field report on the lens performance once I am done my current trip in Hawaii. I am looking forward to sharing more images and my experiences on this new lens! Sigma really did an amazing job with the lens.

Pintails bathing in morning light and mist at the flight deck pool. Sigma 150-600 Sports lens and Nikon D810, 1/1250 s, f/6.3, 280mm ISO 900, Manual mode with Auto-ISO, Jobu MK3 gimbal head and Jobu Algonquin Carbon Tripod.

The main or flight deck pool is past its prime by the time my groups were there since it is flooded in October but still the pool was had lots to offer in December with ducks and great light most mornings like in the image above.

Lots more coming in part two of this report coming as soon as I can finish up editing images.

If you would like to join us next year my 2015 tour dates will be available really soon, you can email me anytime to be placed on the interested list.

Any questions or comments? Leave a question below or send me an email.

Eagle Tour Report Part 2

April 02, 2014 in Alaska, Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle Workshop, Tour, Travel, Travel report, Workshops

Epic 12 Days of Eagle Photography

Over the last 9 years of leading eagle tours in Alaska the photo opportunities have been getting better and better but this year the opportunities were unprecedented. In the first week my first tour group were really lucky to see all kinds of weather conditions over five days from snow flurries to a blizzard and finally sunny conditions but the she second and third groups were able to enjoy something I have never seen before in all of time leading tours, 12 days of sun with light to non existent winds. The winds were what bird photographer dreams are made of, SE wind in the morning and SW wind in the afternoon, which are ideal. We had superb action in gorgeous light with perfect winds for 12 straight days, unbelievable!

Eagle mid strike in late afternoon light. Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S @ 290mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/2000th s at f/5.6, ISO 640, handheld.

The location for the image above is easily one of my favorites in Alaska. This is a protected tidal pool with distant spruce trees and snow covered mountain tops in the background and offshore winds in the afternoon.

For most of the time this year light levels were high enough to allow ISO levels in the hundreds (not in the thousands) with plenty of shutter speed.

Bank landing on the beach in warm early morning light. Sigma 50-500mm OS HSM @ 340mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/2000th s at f/8.0, ISO 640, handheld.

As a display of aggression some eagles when landing near a group of others with bank hard and call when landing. I try to listen for and single out these individuals whenever I hear and eagle calling.

Full spread landing. Sigma 50-500mm OS HSM @ 340mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/2000th s at f/8.0, ISO 640, handheld.

Eagles usually prefer to land on something above ground level like this driftwood log on the beach for example so preparation and patience always pay off with images like this.

One of the best things about my eagle tour, something most people can't believe, is that you don't need 500-600 or 800mm lens. My favorite images made on the tour this year were from 90mm to about 350mm on a full frame camera. My favorite lens this year by far was the Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S. For lots of people, me included, a 300 prime lens can be great birds in flight lens but for shooting conditions on this trip a 300mm prime can definitely be too much so a 120-300 f/2.8 zoom or 70-200 with a 1.4X are just about ideal.

Inverted bank before diving in perfect late afternoon light. Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S @ 300mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/4000th s at f/4.0, ISO 400, handheld.

Eagles really seem to enjoy radical maneuvers in flight, like this upside down flip right before a dive.

One afternoon my group was treated to an air-show when a sub-adult eagle blasted barrel roll after barrel roll miles above the tree line. It left everyone speechless.

Eagle hovering with talons out in late afternoon light. Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S @ 170mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/4000th s at f/4, ISO 320, handheld.

With stiff offshore winds, perfect late afternoon light and 50 eagles in the air your available memory card space seems to evaporate into the cold air.

A stiff breeze will keep eagles up in the air hovering then when they want to dive they stick out their talons, flare their wings and tail out slamming on the air-brakes before they pitch forward into a dive. This is the split second of maximum stall right before the dive. This is something I will never get tired of seeing in the viewfinder!

Eagle roost. Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S @ 300mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/4000th s at f/4.0, ISO 400, handheld.

Soft light and lots of eagle roosting, this is exactly what you want to see when you arrive at a photography location first thing in the morning.

2015 dates have been confirmed so if you would like to join me next year contact me as soon as possible to avoid being disappointed since the 2013 and 2014 tours were sold-out. For more info:

http://www.robertotoole.com/workshop/bald-eagles/

Eagle Photo Tour Series 2015

Mar 14th - 18th, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

Mar 20th- 24th, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

Mar 26th – Mar 30, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

Tour leader: Robert OToole

March 14th - 18th, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

March 20th - 24th, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

March 26th - Mar 30, 2015, 5 days $3900. Deposit $1950. 5 photographers maximum.

Tour leader: Robert OToole

Any questions or comments? Leave a question below or send me an email.

Eagle Tour Report 2014

March 19, 2014 in Alaska, Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle Workshop, Tour, Travel, Travel report, Workshops

Part One - Sunny with a Chance of a Blizzard

Over this past week my first tour group and I have been super lucky to see everything Alaska has to offer in terms of photographic possibilities and some of the most challenging shooting conditions I have seen up here. Over 5 days we have seen everything from a full blizzard to perfect sunny conditions and almost everything in between. For only the second time since 2005 I had to cancel a shoot in Alaska due to a blizzard that slammed into the area with 45 mph winds, 10 foot waves and snow and ice coming down sideways just as we were gearing up to leave for a shooting session.

Eagle inverted right before a dive, Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @ 340mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/1600th s at f/8, ISO 400, Manual mode, handheld.

Eagles seem to enjoy aerial acrobatic flying. They will often throw themselves into an upside down position at the top of a climb, as you can see above, to redirect straight down into a steep dive. Sometimes if you are lucky to be close enough you can hear the wind rush off their wings in a low roar as they shoot by. Sometimes you can actually feel this rush of wind if are right below them.

Over the next few days after the blizzard we had great opportunities with clouds, snow, wind and even beautiful sunny conditions on the last day of the tour. On the last shooting session of the tour the participants had enough of shooting and literally called it quits completely worn out by all the continuous action over the last couple of days. The group all had huge smiles on their tired faces as we headed back on the last session of the tour.

Eagle wing up threat pose, Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @ 500mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/500th s at f/8, ISO 500, Manual mode, handheld.

When an individual eagle lands near a group they sometimes land with wings straight up, beating only the tops or tips of their wings while calling. This threat pose is always great to see but can be very hard to catch unless you are looking out specifically for this pose. After years and years photographing eagles I have only been able to capture this behavior a half a dozen times or so I was really happy to see this opportunity for my group.

Eagle inverted, Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @ 210mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/40th s at f/8, ISO 100, Manual mode, handheld.

Low light levels and deep dark backgrounds makes for great opportunities for speed blurs. The low light makes it possible to use low ISO levels and the dark background in the image above makes details in the eagle really stand out. 1/40th of a second gives you just enough blur to show the speed of the subject.

Eagle inverted, Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 OS HSM @ 270mm, Nikon D4, manual mode, 1/2000th s at f/5.6, ISO 640, Manual mode, handheld.

Even though I have shot this for what seems like the millionth time, I still love the fully extended wings forward eagle bank. For this session the cloudy sky gave us super soft light and nice soft backgrounds.

More images and details coming soon in the second part of this report including 2015 tour dates!

Any questions or comments? Leave a question below or send me an email.