Photographing Small Animals at Eye Level.

On Sunday I drove to the North Shore to photograph the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle; even though I knew it was going to rain. Sure enough when I arrived it began to rain. I grabbed my gear hoping there would be a short break when the rain would stop; and  walked to where I knew the sea turtles would be relaxing. I hunkered down beneath a small tree with my poncho draped over me and my gear, and waited. A small window of opportunity arrived and that's when I was able to capture this picture.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Because the turtle was facing the ocean this would assist with adding character to the picture. I needed to turn my back on the ocean, which is breaking the rule of never turn your back on the ocean, and dropped to my knees so I would be eye level with the turtle. When photographing small animals or children, instead of photographing them from the dominant position, (basically standing above them), take the photo at eye level. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

What's All The Buzz About Social Media

As a participant in social media, whether it's Twitter, Google+, or Facebook, I often ask myself, what's all the buzz about social media. As a photographer I mainly use Twitter and Google+, so I only gathered some facts about these two platforms. Facebook, Linkedin, Stipple, Pinterest and several other social media sites are worth a look.

The purpose of this blog is informational only. Here are some interesting facts to generate discussion; or  just to get you thinking. 

(Disclaimer: It appears the sources I cite are reputable and may be a little dated, but I'm sure they are not too far off the mark).

Twitter 

- In the U.S. there are over 140 million users, Hong Kong is the fastest growing, and in the U.K. there are over 10 million users.
(Source: Media Bistro and Infographics).

- 69 % of tweets are suggested by friends, whereas 47% are on line searches.
(Source: Web Analytics World).

- The average user follows or is followed by 51 people. 16% have no followers, no tweets, and no friends.
(Source: Diego Basch Blog).

Google +

- Web sites using the 1+ button generate 3.5 times the visits than those without the button.

(Source: Hub Spot).

- Google + users average 12 minutes per day per visit.

(Source: Jeff Bullas).

-Google + is used primarily by college students and software developers. 63% are men.

(Source: Remcolandia).