Photography by Vincent Mistretta

The Archives

August 2009




  • Wildlife

    The Zoo is a Magical Place

    I asked my daughter if there was anything special she wanted to do, just she and I, before school started on Monday. She answered quickly, “Go to the zoo”. So off to the zoo we went. Her request happened to coincide nicely with some work I wanted to do photographing big game in preparation for an upcoming trip to Botswana (Okavango Delta) and Zambia (Victoria Falls) hosted by David Cardinal (www.cardinalphoto.com). I think David still has 1 opening for the trip. If you are interested please contact him.

    Today was a lovely day in the N.Y. Metro area and the Bronx Zoo was packed! We had a great day visiting several of the zoo habitats. It is a magical place for children. Most had big smiles on their faces. My daughter and I could not have had a better day together.

    I told my daughter to pick which of today’s photos she liked best and that I would use them for this blog post. I was surprised at how much time she spent at my computer mulling over her choices. Here are some of her favorites and a few of mine as well. Most of these pictures were taken through glass so the focus is not the best.

    No Respect

    No Respect

    Sleeping Panther

    Sleeping Panther

    Monkey in Tree

    Monkey in Tree

    My personal favorite for a whole lot of reasons:

    Manly Mandril

    Manly Mandril

    If you are interested in supporting the Zoo or more directly the Wildlife Conservation Society, here is the link: (www.wcs.org)

    All photographs taken with Nikon D700, 70-300 VR lens and Lexar Digital Film

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  • Education

    The 3 P’s

    If the 3 R’s are the cornerstone of education (yes I am dating myself by admitting I know what the 3 R’s are) then the 3 P’s are their equivalent in photography. No, there is no formula to the 3 P’s… no wild theories. Simply stated the 3 P’s are Practice, Patience and Persistence.

    In photography I think I have practice and persistence covered, however; I need a lot of work in the patience department. To utilize a new photography technique learned at a workshop, you need to employ the 3 P’s. If you identify an area of your photography that needs work, the 3 P’s will help.

    When it comes to nature and wildlife, patience is one of the most important virtues in order to be a successful photographer. No matter how much we want the perfect shot, animals and the weather don’t always cooperate. For me, installing a series of bird feeders on my property and using them to practice my patience (pun intended) has helped me tremendously in this regard.

    Another area of my photography that consistently needs work is hand holding. Strange thing for someone taking pictures for 30 years to need to work on you might think. I have spent the last 23 years working behind a desk. The muscles, movements and techniques needed to hand hold a big lens need to be practiced regularly.

    I also regularly practice digital darkroom techniques. The technology side of this art is changing all the time and accepting this change is necessary to compete and improve. As I spend more time trying to improve my craft, my appreciation grows for the amount of effort necessary to be good at photography. I have often been frustrated by the uneven improvement in my photography, but now realize it is part of normal progression. Like any job, what you put into it is what you get out and photography takes a great deal of effort. It makes me realize that this is not a hobby, passion or art form that is easily perfected. It simply means that I need to continue employing the 3 P’s.

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  • Mammals

    Deer on the Dune?

    No I don’t mean my wife, not that kind of dear. I was walking out by the beach yesterday morning and saw a pair of antlers sticking up out of the sea grass. As I moved closer the little fellow (I thought) picked up his head.

    White Tailed Deer hiding in the sea grass Quogue, N.Y.

    White Tailed Deer hiding in the sea grass Quogue, N.Y.


    As I tried to move closer, the big fellow moved to the other end of the dune and thats when I realized just how big he really was.
    White Tail Deer standing on dunes in Quogue, N.Y.

    White Tail Deer standing on dunes in Quogue, N.Y.


    I really thought this guy was much smaller than he turned out to be because of the fact that just his rack was visible from the sea grass. As I got closer, I still couldn’t believe how much antler was coming out from the grass. Just to the left of the picture, maybe 10 feet away, is the ocean. Not a typical place to find a deer.

    Photos taken with Nikon D3X, 200-400 VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film.

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