My daughter and I, were just returning from dropping off my son a birthday party, and we were just getting out of the car and heading into the house.
As I was opening up the front door with my keys, I noticed out of the corner my eye something on the lawn, and a focused on the object.
I was startled to realize, that I was looking at an immature Red-tailed Hawk, standing in the middle my front yard, eating something.
Daddy photo of Madison on iPods 01
I motioned to my daughter to get her attention, and then to be quiet, by putting my finger to my lips with one hand, and pointing to the direction of interest with my other hand.
Seconds later, there was this very quiet – “That’s cool!”
Madison photo of Daddy on iPods 01
What was even more astonishing, was the bird did not seem to care at all about what was going on around it.
Cars drove up and down the street, people open and close doors, and dogs barked, which did draw some attention, but not what you would expect for a bird on the ground.
As Madison and I continued to look at the hawk, out of the corner of our eyes, we saw my wife’s vehicle coming down the hill, and as the van approached, Madison ran to warn my wife to be quiet.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk 017
I took this opportunity, to run into the house and grab my camera!
When I returned, Amy and Madison were watching the hawk, and I started to take pictures.
Again I was amazed with the docileness of the creature as it stood there and feed.
As I took more pictures, I soon realized that Madison had returned with her iPod, and was taking pictures, and I was able to direct her into taking pictures of me, taking pictures of the bird, and I soon returned the favor!
Immature Red-tailed Hawk 083 – Head Detail
At one point, I was on my stomach, and I had crawled within about 8 feet of the hawk, with my 70-300 mm lens, and was able to get some really nice portraits of our bird.
After a few more minutes, I suggested that we go inside, and allow our friend to eat in peace.
As we walked into the house, Madison asked, “Can we call him ‘Mr. Hawking’?”
Updates
10/6/2012 – With some help from local bird photographers, Mike Mill, and his father, Mike Blue Mill, helped to identify this beautiful creature as an immature Red-tailed Hawk. One of the reasons that we were able to get so close was because it is so young, and does not know to fear humans.
I am very happy to announce, that the very nice folks at the Citadel Bank in Oxford PA have asked me to be their featured Photographer for my series of Covered Bridges in the Oxford area!
The Open House will be Thursday, October 18th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, and light snacks and beverages will be served.
I originally photographed these bridges back in 2010, and since that time, these images have only existed in electronic form, but with this Open House, I finally get to actually print some!
If you are interested in attending, please let me know by October 11th!
For several years now, I have been doing more and more photography work in High Dynamic Range (HDR), and I have been trying to find a way to make the required bracketing easier and more efficient.
The Canon XTi does allow for auto bracketing, but only over three exposures.
120912 Marsh Creek Spillway hdr 12
I have been able to figure out ways to make it easier to get nine stops, but after that, it is not as automatic.
Back in 2010, when I was doing my covered bridges, it was not uncommon for me to do exposure bracket of 13 to 15 stops, and I would do this by manually making the three clicks, per stop, on the camera dial, and then trigger the exposure with my Canon Remote Switch RS60 E3.
The biggest problem I ran into when doing this method, was the potential for both camera shake on the tripod or misalignment due to movement on the tripod head and the only real way to find out if this has occurred, is when you are back at the office, while evaluating the images on a big screen.
I have also detected blurred images due to the mirror in the camera going up and down during exposure. As far as I know, there is no way to lock the mirror “up” on the XTi.
Then in early August, while reading my Google+ page, I noticed one of my contacts had just received their “Trigger Happy Remote” and was excited to use it. I continued to read the comments, and someone also mentioned TriggerTrap.
In doing further investigation, I ended up writing the blog entry, “Searching for the Remote” in which I compare several different remote triggering devices.
After a couples of days, I was contacted by Haje Jan Kamps at Triggertrap.com, and was asked if I would be interested in doing a product review in exchange for a free set up.
I was all too happy to say Yes!
Equipment Used
Canon XTi (circa 2007)
iPod Touch / iOS 5.1.1
Bogen Model #3020 tripod
Tripodclamps.com RAP-B-121-UN7U Cell Phone Clamp
Connecting
When one does go to the Triggertrap.com website to purchase the dongle and cable, they will find a wizard that will walk them through the choice of a cable for their particular camera. In my case, a CL-E3 for the Canon XTi and iPod Touch.
While waiting for the cables to be delivered, you can download either the free or paid version of the software directly to your device, and begin to explore the application, and possibilities.
The website also offers several tutorial videos to help explain the various settings and modes available within the application. Some of the App screens may look a little different, and that is many due to the tutorials being done on an earlier version, but the concepts are the same.
Once you have the cables, you connect the dongle directly to your camera, and then the additional cabling directly into the iDevice/Android, and your ready to start!
Features & Testing
Needless to say, there are a lot of things that one can do with this system, and it is only really up to the imagination of the photographer, what they can do with it.
Here is a list of the Modes that are currently available, and I do plan to at least test all of them at some point, but there are definitely some that I do not see myself using.
Trigger Modes
Cable Release Mode (Free)
Works without issue, just make sure you are in Bulb mode
The cable release mode is by far the easiest mode to work with right out-of-the-box, and works just as you would expect it to.
Your iDevice can be used as a simple remote trigger, two different types of bulb triggers and program mode.
Long Exposure HDR Mode (Paid)
Abandoned Paper Mill hdr 05
This was the Mode that I really wanted to Test the most.
All you really need to do is to find your middle exposure, enter “it” into the App, select the number of Stops, and the EV value between the frames, and push the button, and sit back and relax.
There is no need to make the mental calculations or be present during the triggering operation!
Not having to stand at the tripod, allowed me to walk away, and scout for the next shoot!
Issues
When I first started to test this Mode in my office, I found that I was not getting the correct number of exposures within my requested bracket.
Doing some reading within the Triggertrap website, the issue seems to be related to the minimal exposure length supported on your camera in the Bulb setting.
Once I was in a situation where my minimal exposure length was greater than 1 second, I did not run into the issue again.
I do need to figure out a shooting workflow to get around this, and once I have, I’ll post it.
Motion Mode (Paid)
Tested
Undetermined at this time
When I first read about the various Modes available, this was another that piqued my interest.
The basic concept is that you register a base image into the iDevice, and if anything changes, trigger the camera.
Well, this did not work for me.
I could not get a preview, so I was unable to use this mode.
I did visit the support section of TriggerTrap, and really did not find anything that described my issue, and plan to post a question when I try again.
I do wonder, again, if it is the age of my equipment, so I am not writing off the whole mode. Maybe because the XTi does not support “Live View” could be the issue?
Time-lapse Mode (Free)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
I have ideas, but I’m not sure about letting my camera and equipment stay setup for that long.
Seismic Mode (Free)
Have Not Tested
Distance Lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Not likely to use
Eased Time-lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
LE HDR Time-lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Tesla (magnetic sensor) Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Star Trail Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Peek-a-boo Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Bang (Sound Sensor) Mode (Paid)
Works
I have not really tested this Application to its fullest extent, but from my basic setting up the controls, I was able to trigger the camera when I snapped my figures or clapped my hands.
Conclusion
If you are doing HDR or Long Exposure photography, this iOS software application is well worth the look at, and it’s flexibility both in terms of Cameras and Modes makes it all the more interesting!
In terms of my favorite mode so far, the “Long Exposure HDR” Mode”, which to a HDR photographer, is almost as easy as ‘point-n-click’!
Tips and Tricks
If you really would like to make your life easier when working with iDevice and Tripod, I would strongly suggest that you take a look at the TripodClamps.com offerings.
In my case, I purchased a RAP-B-121-UN7U The RAM Universal X-Grip Cell Phone Holder, which at first I thought it was a little expensive, but after using the clamp with a TriggerTrap for a while, I found it well worth the worth the financial investment.
After reviewing the information, we exchanged a few more comments on Google+, about my concern for the iPod slipping from the four fingers of the clamp, and I was reassured that the rubber and the tension from the string grips would be sufficient.
So I ordered a unit, and several days later, my box arrived, and I quickly put the unit together and on my tripod for testing in my office.
Interestingly enough, I did allow my kids (8g & 6b) to play with the clamp and my iTouch, while connected to my camera, and I did not see any real reason to worry if the iTouch was slipping, even as my kids removed and replaced the iTouch, several times. I did this to try to judge the grip strength.
They could do it, but not easily.
Testing on Land – Completed and qualified
My next test was going to be over some water, on a little damn spillway near me.
This was my first time carrying my tripod while the clamp was attached, and it became quickly apparent, that it was there.
At first, there was now only one way I could carry the tripod on my shoulder, without the unit poking me in the head or shoulder, and while climbing through the brush, it was another item that did get caught in the branches as I walked around.
Another thing that I wanted to check, while over water, was how easy it was to trigger the camera from the iDevice, and not cause any additional movement further up the tripod.
Yes, I tried this on land, but there is something about being over water, and about to trigger a 15+ minute series of exposures.
One already has to worry about the water rushing around the tripod legs causing vibrations.
I was happy to find, that the clamp did not seem to transmit any additional moment, and the iDevice seems to be more sensitive than I had realized!
120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 – (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100Testing over Water – Completed and qualified
Conclusion
If you are interested in a way to attach your iTouch to a Tripod, I would definitely invite you to take a look at this TripodClamps.com offering.
I am also still looking for a water-proof case for my iTouch, and the Clamp seems to have enough extra ‘reach’ that I will not have to by another mount.
Even though I did run into some issues while first working with this Clamp, that seemed more about me, learning how to best work with new equipment, then the function of the clamp, and I offer the following “Notes to Self”…
Notes to self
Carry clamp in a vest pocket while walking/exploring
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
![120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 - (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100](https://i0.wp.com/www.aseymour.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/120912.Marsh_.Creek_.Spillway.bw_.07.01.jpg?resize=580%2C387 "120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 - (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100")