nature photography

One Landscape Photograph: 10 Tips

Above: Mount Rainier, 2011. Click image to enlarge.

If you like landscape photography, I think you will like myMaster Landscape and Seascape Photography on-line class. 

In looking at this image, I thought I'd try to give as many tips as possible. Here goes.

1) Use a slow shutter speed to blur the water. 1/4 sec. used here.
2) Expose for the highlights - always shoot with your histogram and highlight alert activated.
3) Get max depth-of-field. Use a wide-angle lens, small aperture and focus 1/3 into the scene.
4) Crop creatively, and know that cropping gives us a second chance at composition.
5) Use a foreground element to add a sense of depth to an image.
6) Keep a micro-fiber cloth handy to clean your lens around waterfalls.
7) Keep your camera dry by using a rain cover.
8) Use a sturdy tripod to steady your camera during long exposures.
9)  Process creatively to create a mood - the more important element in a photograph.
10) Work with a good guide who can offer suggestions on where to make good images.

For hands-on training in landscape photography, check out 2016 photo workshops.

Explore the light,
Rick

What's new? My 36th book: Creative Visualization for Photographers.

Introducing My Latest e-Book: Conquer Photographic Composition - and Explore the Wonders of Iceland

Click images to enlarge.

My latest e-book is here: Conquer Composition - and Explore the Wonders of Iceland. The e-book features the same photographs and tips that are included in my iPhone and iPad app, Conquer Composition app  – with the addition of five photographs/tips and the location for each photograph.

The e-book is priced at $4.95. Click here to download from my on-line store.

In the e-book I share with you some of my favorite Iceland photographs that illustrate 34 important composition techniques - techniques you can use for all your photography.

Part I (pages 5 to 38) includes a composition technique and the location for each photograph.

Part I (pages 5 to 38) includes a composition technique and the location for each photograph. Part II (pages 40 to 73) includes exposure information for the photographs.

I created this e-book for Android device users who don’t have iPhones and iPads – as well as for photographers who prefer to learn from e-books. This e-book offers both photography and location suggestions for photographers who plan to visit Iceland.

For more in-depth advice on composition, check out my KelbyOne class: Composition - the strongest way of seeing.

And for more advice on exposure, see my KelbyOne class: Light - the main element in every photograph.

For hands-on training, check out my workshops!

Explore the light,
Rick

Friday's "Photo Failed It To Photo Nailed It!" Capture a Bird in Flight

From time to time here on my blog I'll run a post: Friday's "Photo Failed It Photo To Nailed It!" The concept is twofold:
1) I'll share a pair of pictures, along with tips, that illustrate how you can nail a shot;
2) You'll see that pros don't always get it right the first time. :-)

This post: Capture a Bird in Flight (BIF).

I took the opening photograph on one of my Alaska photo workshops. I feel as though I nailed the shot because:
• I had the focus point set on the gull;
• Auto focus was set to AI Servo - which tracks a moving subject;
• I got a good exposure – by checking my histogram and highlight alert;
• My camera was set at high-speed continuous shooting.
• I captured animal behavior;
• I was in the right location for the right light;
• The background was not distracting;
• And . . .  I was damn lucky to get a perfect silhouette of the gull's head on its wing.

The funny thing about the photograph: the gull did not "nail it." He dropped the fish after a brief catch!

My gear for the shot:
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 100-400mm IS lens.
Exposure Info: ISO 640, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., exposure compensation: -0.33 (to preserve the highlights while shooting on the Av mode).

Above is one of my Failed It shots from the same shoot. The failure was caused because:
• My camera was accidentally set on One Shot AF;
• I did not have the focus point set on the gull:
• My camera was not set on continuous shooting.

See what happens when you "shoot before you think" - and don't double check your camera settings! :-)

Learn more about bird photography in my on-line class, Master the Art and Craft of Bird Photography." Save $10 with code: rsbirds1.

Explore the light,
Rick

For Close-ups, Go Macro and Wide-angle

rick sammon 1.jpg

Here's a quick tip: When shooting a subject close up, shoot it both ways: use a macro lens (or the close-up setting on your zoom lens), and then photograph the subject with a wide-angle lens.

Basically, you are taking a portrait and an environmental portrait - which is a good people photography tip, too. 

That's I did when photographing this moon moth at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Florida – one of the stops on my Florida Photo Caravan and Digital Delray Workshops (info on my 2014 Workshops page).

I took the opening image for this post with my Canon 15mm lens (which has been replaced with the Canon 8-15mm lens). I took the picture below with my Canon 50mm Marco Lens, which has been replaced with the Canon 60mm Marco Lens. 

rick Sammpon 2.jpg

The wide-angle shot is a natural light shot. For the macro shot, I used my Canon MR 14-EX Ringlight, which is an invaluable accessory for macro lens shooters. 

If you like butterflies, I have two iPad apps for you! Flying Flowers is a wallpaper app that's free, and Butterfly Wonders, which includes close-up photography tips, only cost $0.99. Info on My Apps page. 

Explore the light,
Rick