Category Archives: Basic Nature Photography
Photography Patterns: Putting the Spin on Tulips
I love patterns and shapes, inherent in nature as well as manipulated. A favorite manipulation is to spin the camera at a slow shutter speed when photographing flowers, specifically brightly colored flowers like tulips, creating fascinating whirls of light and color. In this series, I was working with tulips from La Conner, Washington, and the […]
Over and Under Exposure Digital Photography Tips
Photoshop Tutorials by Jennifer Apple offer tips and techniques for using Adobe Photoshop for adjusting overexposed and underexposed images, along with many other tips and techniques for using Photoshop with your photographs such as resizing images without blur and tips for beginners to help get you started using Photoshop. I’ll be looking for more websites […]
Basic Nature Photography – Introduction
Welcome to our online basic nature photography book called “How To? What For?” We hope you enjoy all the magic and wonder nature photography can bring into your life. We ask that you take your time to explore this new interest and not just run out with a camera into the wilderness. Study and learn […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 1 – Creating Stunning Images
Learning how to take a good picture – and the difference between a good one and an excellent one – is a critical part of photography. And it is really simple: Get your subject out of the center That’s it. No complicated mathematical equation here. Get it out of the center. It’s that simple. Most […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 2 – Light Makes All the Difference
Writing with light. This is the translation of the word “photography” from Greek. Light literally writes across the film during exposure. Light is the soul of photography. It is critical to capturing the color, form and expression of a subject on film. The artistic language of photography uses expressions representative of color and light. We […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 2 – Light Effects
Many different effects can be made with light. The challenge is not only learning to “see the light” but learning how to expose for the light in your camera. Learning to use the light accordingly and create these dramatic effects adds not only sparkle and excitement but also drama to your images. Sunset/Sunrise Tips The […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 3 – Light, Eyes, and Film
Film sees the world differently than our eyes do. One of the challenges of photography is learning what those differences are so we can successfully put our vision on film. The human eye sees millions of colors and color variations at the same time. The eye sees all shades of white: off-white, cream, egg, ecru, […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 4 – The Camera Body
Camera bodies were originally made from metals, typically aluminum. Today’s cameras have hard plastic bodies and will actually take a lot of abuse. Most modern cameras have a molded hand grip which often stores the batteries. This allows for a more comfortable grip on the camera. In the class, we refer to the “ideal” camera […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 4 – Lens Types
There are a variety of lens types for photographers to use: fixed, zoom, macro, and combinations of fixed and zoom lens with macro capabilities. Let’s examine the differences among them. Fixed focal length lenses Most true macro lenses are of fixed focal length, that is, they don’t zoom. Macro lenses are the most highly corrected […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 4 – Equipment – Tripods, Camera Bags, and Film
We have heard every excuse known to humans why tripods are a pain in the #%$&. Most of these excuses came out of our own mouths. We hate them. So much, we have come to love to hate them. Especially when we know that the bigger and the heavier, the better. But we complain with […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 5 – Equipment In The Field
Taking your equipment out in the field means not only carrying it, all of it, with you, but learning how to use it while out exploring and photographing in all types of weather and locations. Working in a rain forest is a bit different than working in desert conditions. We can’t cover all of the […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 6 – Exposure
What does a properly exposed photograph look like? By properly exposed, we mean that the photo you get back looks the way you imagined that it would. If you want a blue sky, the sky comes out the right shade of blue. If your goal was a silhouette but your photo shows all the details […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 7 – Photographic Designs in Nature
This is the section in which we explore the design elements of nature photography, maximizing our creative nature through the camera. There are no limits to a creative mind behind a camera. It is up to you as to how creative you want to become in your work. Our job is to teach the basics […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 8 – Nature Photography Tips and Advice
We’ve put together a collection of articles to help you with your photography, whether it be taking it to the next level to start selling your work, or simply expanding your creativity. For more articles and information on nature photography, visit our web site at www.cameraontheroad.com. It hosts more than 500 articles on nature photography, […]
Basic Nature Photography Chapter 9 – Appendix: Apertures Explained
1 1 * 1.4 = 1.4 1.4 * 1.4 = 2 2 * 1.4 = 2.8 2.8 * 1.4 = 4 4 * 1.4 = 5.6 5.6 * 1.4 = 8 8 * 1.4 = 11 11 * 1.4 = 16 16 * 1.4 = 22 22 * 1.4 = 32 Did you […]