Ten Tips for Nature Photographers

Sat May 18, 2013, 8:00 AM

This article came about after a deviant specifically requested that we write ten clear, simple tips for Photographing Nature. Troubleshooting articles and information can be very useful, but sometimes breaking it down into manageable memorable chunks is so much easier. So without further ado please enjoy our Ten Tips for Nature Photographers!

1) Get into your environment

_{Yes, it's rhubarb. To be a true photographer, you must be at one with rhubarb.}

When we talk about photographing Nature, we don't necessarily mean wide expansive rolling landscapes. Whilst they contain any number of elements that are nature focused and made up from natural resources - Nature Photography is about getting into your environment and getting up close and personal with these elements. So think of it like you are Photographing the components that make up that beautiful landscape, or the inhabitants of those rolling hills. With this thought in mind, you need to jump into the environment you're photographing. Whether that means wading into a lake, climbing a tree (carefully!) or crouching down in the forest floor.

2) Plan your Kit

This includes clothing! If you're venturing out with the intention of photographing animals then do wear something neutral. I once had a Kingfisher land right in front of me whilst I was out with the camera. I straightened up slightly for a better angle and my bright blue top instantly gave a warning. The moment was lost! Try and pick something that will blend in nicely with the environment that you're working in. Also carefully consider your Photography kit. A Monopod is less intrusive than a tripod and takes less time to set up, position and use. So if you're able to get crisp shots with one, then take it instead of a cumbersome tripod. Also charge your batteries >< (For those sharper eyed amongst you, you'll see in the shot below, I don't take my own advice

)

3) Tilt and Swivel!

I find that my latest D-SLR is fantastic for capturing low-angle shots purely because it has that ingenious feature of a tilting and swivelling LCD. Coupled with live view and you're in tilt and swivel heaven! It's something to consider if you're looking at getting a new camera and you're seriously into nature photography.

4) Experiment with Depth of Field

A shallow depth of field is often great for focusing on something large in an expansive environment. But if you're wanting to capture tall plants in a wider, longer field then consider using a deeper depth. This is perfect for singly out a few poppies in a long stretch of bobbing flowers.

5) Check your Lens

Macro lens's can be fantastic for shooting up close with various nature beings, but also consider using it for those wider shots too. A wide-angle lens is great for capturing expanse, but a macro lens (especially the one I have which doubles up as a fantastic portrait lens) is very useful as well. Just be sure to check your auto-focal points within the camera so that you're not inadvertently capturing a blur.

6) Check your weather!

I mention this in almost every Photography article that I write, but in most D-SLR cameras you can set your white balance now to fit in well with the conditions. Do this! If you've got a dreary day you can set it to make the most of the conditions, if you've got an overly bright day you can ensure it doesn't give you too much over-exposure. Working with white balance will save your images, working against it...well. Let's not go there!

7) Post-Process...just a little

Editing your Photos isn't bad, it isn't something you should hide under your bed, or something you don't want your parents to catch you doing or even something you should do in the middle of the night because nobody will see you....Yes, you know what I'm talking about! Post-Production! Giving your shots a little boost afterwards can save them, honestly it can. In the image above, I used photoshop to enhance the greens so that they contrasted better with the blue. That's all I did, just a few minor tweaks here and there and you'll be fine!

8) Ignore Time!

Being patient, especially when waiting to capture that million pound shot of a wild animal that nobody has seen for a trillion years, is difficult. I know. I've been there. (Still waiting for the shot!!) But you need to have patience, and you need to not have one eye on the clock. Enjoy your surroundings and take some random shots here and there, you might be surprised when you get back and have a closer look.

9) Hood your lens!

Lens hoods are simple, cheap, effective things that will save your life. Probably not in an apocalypse. But more in times when you're beating yourself up because you didn't have a lens hood on. Honestly, they really are fantastic, they cut out a lot of sun glare and flare and when you're bored waiting for that awesome shot, you can have competitions to see who can roll theirs the furthest!

10) Don't be afraid...

There are things out there that scare us, that we don't want to get up close to, and that we'd rather just walk in the opposite direction of. Spiders, bugs, wasps, bees, ants...the list for many, can be endless. But if you've got the right lens, the patience and a bit of time then you can capture most things without having to get too close and risk your life...

47 Comments

And God Created Woman

Sat Apr 20, 2013, 8:21 PM

- A S t r e e t P h o t o g r a p h y F e a t u r e -

two_six_nineby - OskarAlfons-vu

One day in the Garden of Eden,

Eve calls out to God,

"Lord, I have a problem!"

"What's the problem, Eve?"

Sagrada Familiaby - Kevrekidis

"Lord, I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden

and all of these wonderful animals

and that hilarious comedic snake,

but I'm just not happy."

Adidasby - vulezvrk-vu

"Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above.

"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution.

I shall create a man for you."

Street Photography Jerusalem 31by - bazzazx

"What's a man, Lord?"

"This man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits.

He'll lie, cheat, and be vain and glorious;

all in all, he'll give you a hard time.

6 womenby - Y4why

But...he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things.

He will look silly when he's aroused,

but since you've been complaining,

I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs.

contraby - arslanalp

He will be witless and will revel in childish things

like fighting and kicking a ball about.

He won't be too smart,

so he'll also need your advice to think properly."

A bit of a shockby - daliscar

"Sounds great," says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow.

"What's the catch, Lord?"

"Well... you can have him on one condition."

"What's that, Lord?"

All Alone My Pet?by - Batsceba

"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant, and self-admiring...

So you'll have to let him believe that I made him first.

Just remember, it's our little secret ...

The Wigby - StamatisGR

...you know, woman to woman."

Support The Featured Artists

Don't forget to visit the featured Artists and fave their works!

_{Also check out these great Street Photography groups on DeviantART:}

_{Header Image: The Birth of Venus (Italian: Nascita di Venere)}
^{c. 1486 - by Sandro Botticelli.}
_{Journal Title shamelessly lifted from the 1956 French Film,}
^{"Et Dieu... créa la femme" (...And God Created Woman)}
_{Joke: Found online.}

246 Comments

A NOTE TO MYSELF AND TO YOU - OUT THERE 8

Journal Entry: Mon Apr 22, 2013, 11:47 PM

A Note To Myself

</h1>

by Bark

Jumbles and tumbles of words, mockingbirds

There's nothing new here, fly away

Find the edge of the day and lift it up

from the darkness

Build a city of dreams and live in it

Construct monuments to the Somethingness

The something that exists once you've peeled

all the layers away

Stop the yammering and hammering of worn-out ideas

Circling the same spot where nothing grows

Find the light and bathe in it until an Eden-like

garden explodes

Life, with a capitol 'L'

Please enjoy the incredible artwork of these deviants and give a little friendship:

Visit their galleries, give some favs

and if you like this news, give a comment, please, for more attention!

This Journal Skin was designed by ~Night-Beast

203 Comments

Project Educate: See the light and remember it

Fri May 17, 2013, 1:48 AM

Photography Week

See the light and remember it

Lighting in photography is a living, changing art. One of the most important abilities of a photographer is to see light and to remember it. Light is the most changing element in our daily life. We move among solid objects and among people who do not change drastically during a day or a week. But visually the appearance of our environment and of people around us may change from one hour to the next due to the time of day, the weather, or the particular source of light. Photographers are aware of these changes and store in their memory the impact different types of light have on our emotions and our subconscious. For a photographer, watching the light becomes second nature.

Some of the photographer's palette of tools:

-The angle of light

-Quality (hard or soft)

-Color

-Intensity

Angle of light

front lighting:

side lighting:

back lighting:

Surreal State Of Enlightenment. Sunset. by ~LevAni11

Quality of light

Hard vs Soft: Light can be hard, soft or gradations in between.

Soft lighting gained its popularity because it gives the scene a more natural look than hard lighting. But at the same time, it has a danger of lacking character. Soft light is very forgiving. Uncontrolled, it is still acceptable photographically. It's really hard for soft light to look bad, but it's not hard for hard light to look bad. If you go too soft in the lighting, it just becomes boring. The difficult thing is really to light softly, but to create a contrast at the same time.

The hardest source of light known in nature is the noonday sun; whereas an overcast sky is the softest source known.

soft light:

The paper heart of children birds. by *LVSkoglund

hard light:

Color

Light has color. We all can differentiate the different color temperature the light has when you are walking in that beautiful light just before the sunset or normal day light, or flash.

to all the ships at sea by ~sarahannloreth

madeleine with strange suitcase by *SlevinAaron

Intensity

The amount of daylight changes with the hour, weather, season and latitude.

A fun exercise

Staying as close to home as possible,find a location that lets you face east and head there in time for the sunrise. Compose your shot with a focal length between 35-50mm and shoot into the sunrise. Shoot the same composition one or two hours later, then at noon, then two hours before sunset, then one hour before sunset, and then at sunset.
Repeat this exercise during these same intervals with another composition but as you face to the south.
Finally, download the images into your computer and look at them in a slideshow. That way you will really see and feel the difference of the light and the difference that the right time of the day can make.

Feel free to share your results of the exercise in the comments below!

What kind of lighting do you tend to use in your photography? Are you a hard light lover or a soft light lover? And why?

52 Comments

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Journal Entry: Thu May 16, 2013, 3:24 PM

--- dear friends and visitors,
unfortunately I'm not longer able to make my large news in deviant art... the stashwriter only shows the numbers of the thumbs but not the pics...
so I'm just going on here with my little journals here... hope you enjoy it ...

Please enjoy the incredible artwork of these deviants and give a little friendship:
Visit their galleries, give some favs
and if you like this news, give a comment, please, for more attention!

This Journal Skin was designed by ~Night-Beast

78 Comments

The wellness of your camera sensor

Wed Apr 24, 2013, 12:36 AM

How many of you remove the sensor dust from your digital camera's sensor on a regular basis? Sometimes, services can be expensive or you just don't have time to take your cameras to be checked and cleaned whenever it needs to.

Here are some tips on how you can spot the dust on your camera sensor effectively and how to remove it.

Checking your sensor.

Shooting the test image

Start off by setting your ISO to the lowest (normal) range, for example 100 for Canon and 200 for Nikon;
The test shot has to be completely out of focus, so go ahead and manual focus to infinity on a piece of paper OR to close focus for the sky;
Now it's time to set the aperture. It's usually okay to set your aperture at f/22, that way all the spots are well defined and ready to lift off!
What lens to use? Usually something like a telephoto lens will do;
RAW or JPEG? Either of them is okay, as long as you set your JPEG at the highest quality and file size;
Shoot your test image.

Post processing the test image

Open your image in an image editor (e.g. photoshop, GIMP);

Desaturate it by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate or by hitting Ctrl+Shift+U for windows or Command+Shift+U for mac. You may see some spots at this point.

Go ahead and make a levels adjustment layer above your background image ( you can find it either by going to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels, either by clicking the black and white circle icon at the Layers panel)
Next, let's increase the contrast by bringing in the two end sliders to meet the ends of the peak from the histogram (which represents the tonal gradient that you have captured within your image)

This is how the image looks after increasing the contrast:

And a 50% zoom of the image:

Cleaning your sensor

Important! Make sure you have a fully charged battery. You don't want to run out of battery while you're cleaning your sensor, you may damage it and the expenses are pretty high.
Find the item in your camera menu that flips up the mirror and lets you access the sensor;
Lay the camera down on a table and don't touch anything as you clean;
You may want to use an air blower to remove the dust on the sensor;
Do not use canned air;
The image a lens projects onto the sensor is upside-down, and when the camera processes the image it is flipped right side up. So what you saw in your image has been flipped.

After that, shoot another test image and compare it with the other one to see if the spots have diminished. Sometimes they won't and that is pretty tricky because you'll have to use a special sensor-cleaning brush or swabs or solvents in order to remove the spots that still linger on the sensor.

Final tips and tricks

- Take this matter seriously and be prepared when cleaning your sensor; you don't want to damage it and later pay for an expensive repair.

- Be sure to read the directions of the products you use very carefully.

- The products you use need to be kept very clean.

The cleaning process can be tedious, but you don't always know that when you send your camera to be cleaned it will be done in detail, with sufficient attention. And even if you do, you can always check it after it was done.

Good dust hunting!

45 Comments