Archive for Ian Plant
About Ian
Ian Plant is a full-time professional nature photographer and writer living in Virginia. He is a frequent contributor to several leading photo magazines, including Outdoor Photographer. Ian is the author/photographer of over a dozen print and electronic books, including Chasing the Light and The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography (2009). Ian leads several nature photography workshops, digital photo tours, and online classes each year. To view more of his work and online tutorials, visit his website www.ianplant.com or his blog www.ianplant.com/blog.
(© Ian Plant) Although the fundamentals of good composition do not change with lens choice, different lenses can lead to significant differences in approach. In my last post, I discussed using telephoto lenses to isolate elements and simplify a scene. This approach requires one to think critically about which elements are important to a composition,
(© Ian Plant) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! I hope this holiday season finds you all happy and healthy. My warmest wishes and regards, and a hearty thank you for all of your support!
(© Ian Plant) Each lens in your bag requires a different approach and way of thinking for a given scene. The way you use a long telephoto lens, for example, will be different from the way you use a wide-angle lens. The differences can be quite fundamental. I like to say that a wide-angle lens
(© Ian Plant) It is axiomatic among nature photographers that the middle of the day is best avoided. The light is harsh and lacking the warm tones of sunrise and sunset. If you keep your mind open to the possibilities, however, you can make magical images even when the light is at its “worst.”
I made
(© Ian Plant) It is a myth that a photography master can simply walk up to a given scene and instantly recognize the single best shot available, and achieve perfection with only one try. As the legendary George Stocking once told me, “one shot leads to the next.” Photography is an iterative process, and if
(© Ian Plant) Nature throws a lot of obstacles in our way: nasty weather, hordes of biting insects, and bad light are just a few that immediately spring to mind. Good photographers, however, doesn’t let such hurdles drag them down. Instead, they look for ways to turn obstacles into artistic opportunities.
For the image above of
(© Ian Plant) I recently spent a week photographing Acadia National Park in Maine. Although I was drawn there by the gorgeous display of fall color, it is water more than anything else that defines Acadia and ends up being an important element of most photographs of the park. Here are some tips for successfully
(© Ian Plant) Canon has just announced the upcoming release of its newest EOS digital camera: the Canon EOS-1D X. As a Canon user, to say I am excited is an understatement. We’ve been waiting for a long time for a replacement for our 1D Mark IVs, 1Ds Mark IIIs, and 5D Mark IIs. Is
(© Ian Plant) I’ve just released Series Two of my Creative Digital Processing video tutorials. I’ve also released a new free video tutorial called “Optimizing Photos for Web Presentation,” which discusses techniques for resizing, sharpening, and color optimizing photos for display on the web. I’ve embedded a low-res version of this video here; you can
(© Ian Plant) Sometimes nature can be a bit overwhelming, making it difficult to find coherent compositions that successfully convey your artisitc vision to your viewers. In order to excel at nature photography, one must learn how to use composition effectively to find order in an otherwise chaotic environment.
There are several strategies one can employ
