For many aspiring wildlife photographers, capturing beautiful portraits of their favorite birds or animals in the wild is often their primary goal. This is certainly an understandable and a worthwhile endeavor. When I began photographing wildlife over thirty years ago, I was inspired by the stri...
When I began shooting RAW files, the processing tools available were somewhat rudimentary. I labored with the early Adobe Camera RAW converter to process my files (Lightroom didn’t exist then), but often felt I could not get the final images to look exactly the way I envisioned them. Part...
When teaching photography workshops, I often get asked to discuss the most impactful techniques needed to create excellent wildlife photography. I often tell them about the four angles of success: a triangulation of the sun angle, height angle, head angle and background angle.
The novelty fish-eye lens has long allowed photographers to explore a unique look and perspective in their picture-taking endeavors. Invented more than 100 years ago, the ultra-wide angle lens has a 180-degree angle of view and produces a hemispherical rather than the linear view that normal rec...
Using black backgrounds is a divisive issue in nature photography; people tend either to love them or hate them. I’m more selective. I quite like black backgrounds for nocturnal animals as they give a totally natural look. I’ve had people tell me, for instance, that they prefer red-eyed tree...
All of us go through a period of low productivity in our photography; we get stuck in a rut. Maybe we’re doing the same thing we’ve always done or perhaps we can’t envision how to do something different than what every other photographer is doing. Even though I initially developed a reputa...
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements in the image.
Successful composition should lead the viewer’s eye toward the most important parts of the image. It should help portray whatever it is that you wish your image to convey. Good composition is a crucial element of a great photogr...
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Composition is an essential aspect of a good photograph. It’s our choice as photographers as to how the elements will be arranged in a photograph. It’s no wonder we take time to setup a photograph, making several technical and creative decisions along the way. However, there is always the op...
As an outdoor nature photographer, I generally prefer to take my pictures, well…outdoors. However, a recent family emergency prevented me from getting out into the field as often as I would have liked. To prevent cobwebs from forming on my equipment, I needed to come up with ways to stay activ...
Double exposures are a fun way to add a little creativity to your flower photographs. Sometimes, I’ll shoot a close-up, then pull back and shoot a much smaller version of the same flower—giving it the appearance that it’s “nestled” within itself. Other times, I’ll combine two totally...
Several years ago, while standing in line at a camera store, I began thumbing through the pages of a book about photographing flowers. I came across a section showing a studio set-up of a single rose wrapped in blue tissue paper in a cone-like fashion. The finished photograph was a close-up of t...
There are several ways to add more color to your photos—many of them in post. But, I’m a little old-school. Although I run all of my photos through Photoshop, I primarily use the software to enhance what’s already there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a purest who believes it’s a mortal...
Flowers are usually best photographed on overcast days. The cloud cover acts as a giant softbox, effectively evening out the light by eliminating all dark shadows. Sometimes, this flat, contrast-free lighting is exactly what I’m looking for. Other times, when I’m in the mood to spice...
As exposed surface temperatures cool, atmospheric moisture condenses in the form of water droplets. These droplets, commonly referred to as dew, can form on grass, leaves, railings and even car roofs in the early morning hours. However, it’s the formation of dew on flowers that can turn a...
I heard the sound of quick footsteps first. When they stopped I heard a click. Seconds later, the footsteps started again followed by another click. This pattern repeated itself another three or four times. When I finally looked up, I saw a man briskly walking through a cluster of daffodils. He...
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