OP – The Blog

(© Ian Plant) As nature photographers, we know all about the “Circle of Life,” the path unwinding that moves us all till we find our place within, yadda yadda yadda. We see the Circle in action all the time, watching as predator strikes prey and animals succumb to sickness and cold, witnessing the endless cycle  

(© Ian Plant) I am sometimes asked to give advice to aspiring photographers seeking to improve their skills. My answer is always the same: shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. It is often said that practice makes perfect, and this is no less true for photography than anything else. And frankly, this advice applies even  

(© Ian Plant) Just over a week ago, in the backcountry wilds of Patagonia, I made a sunrise image that I had been dreaming of for years. It was taken at one of my favorite locations beneath iconic Mount Fitz Roy, a place I had photographed many times, but only at sunset. As the peaks  

(© Ian Plant) With most U.S. destinations overflowing with photographers these days, many shooters are beginning to look elsewhere for locations that are (as of yet) not completely covered with a thicket of tripod legs. Belize in Central America makes a wonderful and relatively easy destination for U.S.-based photographers, for several reasons: Belize is just  

(© Ian Plant) A reader recently emailed me with an interesting question: How is your photography affected by the fact that you earn your living from your work? In particular, he was curious about how the “immense pressure to capture killer images” on each excursion affects my shooting, and how it might influence one’s decision  

(© Ian Plant) The main challenge of photography is to draw the viewer’s eye into the picture, and once there, to hold interest over time. Your choice of subject matter alone typically will not be sufficient to do this. A strong composition is required to entice the eye, and keep it engaged. This problem is of  

(© Ian Plant) “Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.”—Junichiro Tanizaki. Although it is often said that nature photographers “chase the light,” what we really should be doing is chasing contrast between light and shadow. It is at the  

(© 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