Ask The Pros!

The Saber at sunrise, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Patience is your best tool when dealing with light and the environment. Waiting for just the right conditions can pay off big time.

OP online readers were asked for the questions they wanted answered the most, and here are the answers, direct from OP contributing photographers.

The Community section of OP on the web is an interactive area for readers, photographers and the OP editors to compare thoughts and ideas on photography, with topics like gear, wildlife, software, great photography spots and more. Recently, we opened a discussion there for our readers to send in their most pressing and unanswered questions, which we then submitted to some of the world’s most famous professional nature photographers. From digital cameras to the best lenses to the aesthetics of nature photography to how these pros got their start in the first place, we received countless amazing submissions, and here we compile some of the best. Be sure to visit the forum to discuss the answers and to submit even more questions for future articles!

Q. I’d like to know how or if there are ways that a great sunrise, sunset, morning fog and other sought-after conditions can be predicted with any degree of accuracy. I’d love to have a list of things to look for in the morning, during the day and in the evening that might be indicators of a good photo opportunity on the horizon.
—Paul Stewart

A. Paul,
There’s no foolproof method of predicting when great light will occur, but there are clues if you pay attention. Colorful light at sunrise and sunset occurs when the air is clear and clean. Air molecules scatter the blue light out of the beam of sunlight, leaving the warmer tones to continue straight ahead and illuminate your subject. Haze, humidity and dust scatter all wavelengths equally, reducing or eliminating the selective sorting of wavelengths that leads to great light. One quick test of air clarity is to extend your arm and place your thumb over the sun. If the sky is fairly blue right up to your thumb, the air is clear; if a blazing white patch of sky surrounds the sun, the day is less promising.

This rattlesnake image has a fresh perspective. A web search revealed that most images of rattlesnakes are of them rearing or coiled up. To me, this shot has great light, composition and clarity, but then takes it a step further by showing a unique perspective.

Storms usually wash dust and haze out of the air for a day or two, which is one reason shooting right after a major storm is often rewarding. Clouds, of course, can block sunrise or sunset light no matter how clear the air, but they also add interest to otherwise bland skies. For that reason, clouds reduce the chances of getting a shot, but increase the chances that if you do get a shot, it will be a good one. One final piece of advice: You never know what’s going to happen until it happens, so you just have to go and find out.
—Glenn Randall

Q. As a professional, you’ve built up quite a collection of amazing photographs. What are the most important elements you look for when sorting through images in order to choose your favorites? For instance, how would you select which ones to enter into competition?
—Matt Angiono

A. Matt,
I have three words that I always keep in mind when editing images: composition, clarity and light. With composition, I’m looking to create an interesting composure of the scene unfolding before me. I look for anything in the image that doesn’t have importance to the image’s theme. If there’s anything that detracts from the photo, it’s sent to the trash. Clarity has two definitions for me. Is the image as tack-sharp where it should be, usually the subject? And, does the image communicate a clear meaning to the viewer? Will they understand what I wanted to achieve with the image I’m presenting to them? Finally, light isn’t necessarily the drama of the light in an image, but rather if I used the available or artificial light in the photo to best illustrate my subject and give the viewer something more.

As for entering competitions, images need to contain everything I just mentioned, and then they need a little bit more. Anytime that I enter a competition, I look at the winning images of the previous years. Then I pick images that I’ve shot that take it one step further—a more interesting composition, different perspective, super-dramatic color or light, or something that I haven’t ever witnessed.
—Jay Goodrich

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20 Comments

John Gompf makes this comment

Friday, 12 June 2009

Is post processing a necessity or an option. Can you shoot digital and get the shot you want without any post processing? I never hear anyone saying they don't post process. The challenge in slide film was to get the shot because you couldn't manipulate it. How much of that has gone to the way side because of the ability to post process? John
Michael Varela makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

I want to start photographing the outdoors,but I need a camera that's low cost,good pictures,and great relability for landscapes.So what camera would best fit me?
Luther makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Hi. I've been an Outdoor Photogpraher subscriber since 1987. I'm astonished by the problems I am having trying to locate a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Park. I get tons of commercial trail maps, "attraction" maps, etc, but cannot locate what I need: a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Monument, recently promoted to Joshua Tree National Park. Has greed really completely displaced service on the Web...? Any reasonable tips would be appreciated. I will be in the Joshua Tree park area July 3 for a couple of days, and would really like to nail a dynamite sunrise or sunset shot. Thanks for your help. By the way, I live about 1.5 miles from Art Wolfe. Thanks, Luther Martin
Melissa makes this comment

Monday, 15 June 2009

I have Lightroom and ACDsee on my computer, I would like to know what applications to use to create a black/white photo with color accents. I cannot figure out how to layer and erase on this program. Is there a different program that would be better for this? Could someone give me step by step instructions on how to do this technique? Thanks in advance for the help.
Maureen makes this comment

Thursday, 18 June 2009

Really good article. I enjoyed reading what the pros had to say.
Stephen Ross makes this comment

Saturday, 20 June 2009

I use a Nikon D-200 with a Sigma 150mm macro, Nikkor 80-400 zoom and 24-80mm zoom. All three lenses have their smallest aperture at f-22. However, I have noticed numerous times that the camera display will often register f-stops from f-29 through even f-45 when I am scrolling the f-stop dial in Aperture mode. Am I actually getting those smaller f-stops registered by the camera when the shutter is activated or is the camera only registering f-22 set by the lens?
captian roger makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

what would be the best online photography class to take to become a pro ???
Mark Dornblaser makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

How do I downsize a 30MB image file to something less than 1MB for online submissions to photo contests without the image becoming totally pixelated? Thanks! Mark
Brian makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

I am new to digital cameras. I have one question. How does one know when to use the right aperture settings in certain condition in daylight, hazy in the background, moving objects at night. I generally use f4 when there is low light & set the iso to 1000 depending on the conditions. In a setting my f stop f5.6, f11 & beyond in what situations would I use these higher f stop??. Would this be for getting more depth of field when shooting wildlife?. Thanks in adv.
Wayne makes this comment

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Hi, I have a EOS 40D with a variety of lenses. I no longer have a standard zoom as I gave it away with my rebel xt. I wanted advice on choices for replacement. I gravitate towards landscapes, city scapes and street portraiture and i wanted to upgrade to a fast lens. My choices as i see them are the EF-S 17-55, 17-40L, and the sigma and tamron equivalents. My challenge is I'm concerned As to whether the cost of the canon 17-55 is worth it considering it's apc format or should I get the 17-40L or even the sigma or tamron equivalents. Which do you recommend?
Christian Egeland makes this comment

Monday, 29 June 2009

I have made numerous trips to Alaska and cannot believe how blue the icebergs are. I understand they absorb all the colors except blue. Anyway, I have used everything from my old Pentax K1000, camcorders and most recently my Sony DSC-H2 digital camera with the same results. The pictures always lack the beautiful blue in the icebergs that the naked eye sees. What do the pros do to capture the blue and not just get almost all white?
R. Nuport makes this comment

Wednesday, 08 July 2009

Greetings: Seeking expert opnion. 1. Technically, which is better... a. Lens IS ...Canon, Nikon ... or b. Sensor shift IS... Sony, Pentax ... 2. Is there a way to estimate approximate correlation of distance between full wide angle shot, and full zoom shot, to achieve at least one half full size shot with fully zoomed lens. Good example is the Ad Shot on inside cover of OP, of Tamron Lens at 18mm and 270mm. The zoomed shot pretty much what may be obtained at 10 feet or so. Thank you for your time and help in every particular. R. Nuport.
Michael Leitao makes this comment

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Hi, I am beginner and would like to study photography, i would like to purchase a profesional camera but need help in buying one. for the moment i dont have a big budget so would like to buy a camera which i could use for atleast 3-4 years to go. but at the same time would like to have the option in adding lens in order to upgrade my camera. I need help, please guide me through. Michael Leitao.
Terry Bloom makes this comment

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

I went on vacation and shot everything in raw format. When I got home I am having trouble getting my pictures to download. Some of them seems to have been converted to jpeg and others are raw or thm files. Do I have to have special software to download the raw and thm files?
sean gleeson makes this comment

Monday, 27 July 2009

can you adjust the apeture for depth of field on a casio exilums880 camera thanks
picky makes this comment

Friday, 14 August 2009

So, the explanation of the cover photo of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park neglects to say that it was a double exposure. It mentions that it was shot with a 17-35mm lens, on film. However, with a wide-angle lens the moon would not even be remotely close to the size that it appears in the photo. A longer lens, at least a 300mm, was obviously used to shoot the moon. Also, the time of day is all wrong for the moon to appear in that position. It's the old full moon, double exposure on film technique. To achieve this, an entire roll of film is used up to shoot the full moon against the black night sky. Then, the film is re-loaded in the camera and the other photo is made. I'm rather disappointed that this publication has passed that photo off as a single exposure.
Melissa makes this comment

Friday, 04 September 2009

I am getting ready to buy a Canon 50d and a lense. I have a tight budget and can really only afford one lense for now. I am considering the 18-200mm although I have learned that the wider range reduces quality. Would I be better off to wait and save up the money to by multiple lenses? or would the 18-200 be fine for now? Is the quality with this lense good enough to produce marketable photos for magazines, calenders, ect?
bucky mccamy makes this comment

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

without using a ladder how could i stand on the ground and take a picture 15 or so feet above ground.Like taking pictures of statues.Accessories like a stand to hold the camera and a way to snap the lens.
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