Every now and then it seems that a particular issue in photography becomes especially popular, and I start to get a relatively large number of queries on that topic to be addressed in my daily Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter. Recently, the subject of high dynamic range (HDR) imaging became the focus...
Blurs have always been an intriguing part of photography. They can be technically challenging to create, and require practice, technique, and luck to do well. A variety of subjects are well suited to blur photography, including birds, flowers and even landscapes. Who has not tried to blur a bird...
Wouldn’t it be grand if every photo vacation involved puffy clouds filling an azure sky above rugged peaks, deep canyons or vast deserts awash in alpenglow every morning and every evening of our trip? Perhaps some photographers are so lucky. I am not one of them. Twice now I’ve spent...
When it comes to attracting birds into camera range, nothing is more effective than water. Only a limited number of species come to feeders to eat seed, fruit and nectar, but all birds come to water to bath and drink. Using water for bird photography can be especially powerful if you happen to l...
In animal photography, the subject’s eyes must be in focus. If they’re not, most professional wildlife photographers will tell us that we’ve missed the shot. Why? Because when we look at a picture of an animal (or person) our eyes go to the subject’s eyes first. If they&#...
Sharpening continues to be one of those topics that photographers seem to struggle with the most. It is certainly a subject that attracts a considerable number of questions in my Digital Darkroom Questions email newsletter, and one that inspires considerable debate. In an effort to address these...
On the last day of our six week high-speed flash hummingbird photography shoots in southern Arizona, I shot 20 gigabytes of these marvelous birds in flight. We were leaving the next day for the three day drive back home to Pennsylvania, and I was busy packing the truck with the assorted flashes,...
Modern digital cameras require us to choose a file format for saving our images. The JPEG and RAW formats are the most common choices, but which one to use has sparked debate and led to confusion. This article examines the RAW file format, and provides guidance on how to use it to improve the qu...
This is a continuation of the article I wrote a few years ago, “The Mathematics of Depth of Field.”
In the earlier article, I presented some equations and plotted some results from them. I concluded with a series of “rules” about depth of field (DOF). There were sever...
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I have lived within a mile or two of the ocean for nearly my entire life, spending a lot of time at the beach over the years. My photography has always centered on ocean-oriented subjects, yet somehow I overlooked one of the most obvious marine subjects of all—waves. I have surfed, kayaked, bo...
For compelling bird photos, go beyond portraits. An animated NatureScapes.net thread recently discussed whether or not “boring” would be a valid bird image critique. As bird photographers, it’s a good exercise for us to consider what draws viewers to a particular bird photograp...
My success as a commercial photographer has been characterized by my ability to see and understand light. Wildlife photography is the same without exception. Being able to see and understand light, its quality and quantity, physical properties, etc., and how they relate to your subject and captu...
I’m a big advocate of using a tripod for every image I possibly can. I believe that my compositions get better, I make exposure choices with more thought, and sharpness and image quality are greatly improved. Plus there are many types of images that are simply impossible to make without a...
Sunlight from behind a subject combined with fog can have a dramatic effect on photographs, often producing a rich, saturated setting of golden light. A low sun angle and presence of sufficient moisture in the air are the key ingredients for this effect.
Regardless of how things may initially appear to our eyes, in the natural world nothing is static. Wherever possible I always try to impart a sense of movement in my imagery. This can be accomplished with panning, zoom blurs, long exposures, implied motion or any combination therein.
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