Have a question? Ask A Pro!

[webadmin]

Have you ever wanted to ask a professional how they approach the landscape or wildlife or how they set up their camera for great photographs? What about asking what kind of gear the pro uses and why? Well here's your chance. Send us your questions and we'll submit them to a panel of professionals and we'll get some answers! In the July issue of Outdoor Photographer we'll run an article with a selection of the questions and personal answers from some of the best OP contributors and outdoor professionals.

[Michelle]

I'm really new at this. I tried to enter the contest but it said that it was no longer accepting. The deadline isn't until May 6th and my file sizes were under 4 and they are all jpeg please help, I would like to enter

[envila]

I have a new MacBook Pro and want to upgrade from Iphoto and IDVD for editing pictures and making presentations. What program do you recommend'
Regards

[coachwhit59]

This my first post. I'm going on an Alaskan cruise in July. My questions is - What to take?? We will have several excursions at different ports. I will list my equipment and any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brett

Canon 1D mark III
Canon 40 D
Canon 5D
Lenses: EF-S 10-22, EF 28-135 IS, EF 50, EF 70-200L, EF 100-400L
Filters : Cokin neutral density and split neutral density

[jim300]

Hi, I would appreciate any help you could offer. I am traveling at the end of August to Alaska (Cruise one way and short stay there) and am trying to find anything on how to shoot Icebergs properly. Also am wondering about if anything should be done for white balance since it will probably be combination of all kinds of weather. Settings??
The third thing I am wondering about is if I can use a monopod on ship and maybe use some type of foam or padding to reduce ship vibration.
Last is maybe best area to see for nature and wildlife within 3-6 hours of Anchorage. (yea I know there is a lot!)
Thanks for any and all help.
I did search for some of these things but couldn't find very much at all.
Jim C

[jt5164]

I'm looking to buy my first grad ND filter, and I see that Singh Ray filters are considerably more expensive than Cokin filters. What are the advantages of using a Singh Ray over using a Cokin grad ND filter? I'm currently using the Canon EOS 50D, and the Canon 16-35mm, f2.8 L lens for most of my larger landscape images.

Jeff

[quanmei deng]

On this month outdoor photographer page 88 mentioned that " Gimbal heads" good for telephoto lens. I'm searching a good combination of tripod, ball head and sidekick for my future 500 canon leans. I found sever professional photographers recommend RRS BH-55 (right stuff ball head) on line, and they switch from Arca-swiss ball head to RRS BH-55. At this time, I am thinking to buy Gitzo GT3541lLS tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head and Wimberley sidekick. Is this a good combination? Thanks for giving advice.

[mysticphoto]

I see this happening a lot with lenses but no one seems to have a answer-how do you get dust,dirt off of the inside of a lens?
I have read about using a vacuum but with all of the high dollar lenses out there and all of the delicate parts I think that is a big NO! DON'T USE IT!

I aquired some pretty hefty Nikon lenses from a friend and after doing a rather frigid photo shoot the other morning I discoverd that all of the Nikon based lenses have some real dust/dirt issues.
The problem seems to be on the aperture side of the lens and being that most lens are sealed it becomes a matter of whats the best way to clean these without breaking the bank?
this is a problem that many are having but no real answers as to how to correct it.
thanks for any input
mystic Photo

[miah3349]

I was wanting to know. I have a canon 50D. the sensor on it is APS-C. it says when you put an L series lense on it, it adds approx. 1.6x to the focal length. My Question is if it adds 1.6x to the focal length does it increase the F-stop?

Thank you
Jeremiah

[CaptBionic]

Greetings

I am going to Luray Caverns and want to be able to capture the caverns. I have a Nikon D60. Any tips? Flash? Longer exposures? Higher F stop?

Thank you........

Steve

[photog1960]

SHOOTING A FULL MOON...Last night was my first attempt at shooting a full moon with some saguaros and mountains in the foreground. Can someone give me tips on how to do this?? My pictures either turned to dark or the moon was blown out. I want to try this again next month to try and perfect my images.

Thanks.

[pvgeorge]

After reading Marc Adamus' article on his July 2011 cover picture I dowloaded a trial version of Helicon Focus. I shot several shots of close in, mid and far field objects, and then tried to merge them according to the program's instruction. I used a Pentax K200 with a Sigma 18-200 lens set at macro, on a tripod with remote shutter release. I used manual focus to bring the close, mid, and far field shots into focus. The aperature was fixed at f22. No matter which of the Helicon Focus methods and sliders I used, the results were not satisfactory, with portions of the resulting processed image out of focus and with ghosts.

While each of the individual shots had the same number of pixels, each image had a slightly different field of view, effectively creating images which could not be merged without ghosting. Am I doing something wrong or is there some way of correcting the process so each image has the same field of view before doing the Helicon Focus manipulations?

[cam335]

Envilla

If you want to edit pictures I would go with Photoshop CS5 instead of iDVD or iPhoto. Photoshop is a more powerful tool when it comes to editing pictures. If you are willing to spend a little extra money then the program is worth it.

[dalex]

I'm relatively new to DSLR photography and I wondered the best method of photographing the moon. I saw a breathtaking 3/4 moon with a halo through the branches of my Sycamore tree and tried to capture it. I didn't do so well. I am still learning about shutter speeds and apertures and would love some advice.

[trlong1]

I am a frustrated pharmacist and I dream of becoming a pro photographer in landscapes and wildlife. I am curoius how can I make the transition from one profession to the other and how do I get a start in the business?