Ask The Pros!

Q. I will be in Moab, Utah, this weekend and want to shoot the full moon rising at Delicate Arch. I have an Olympus 510 with three lenses (70-300mm is my big one). Any tips for shooting the full moon against a colorful surrounding? Thanks!
—Kelly Horne

A. Kelly,
The moon is really tricky. It’s a small object in the sky that’s usually very bright compared to the landscape. Remember that the moon is getting hit by full sunlight as bright as daylight, yet the dusk landscape, for example, is getting dark. Many of the shots you’ve seen with a large moon were done as double exposures in the days of film or with two shots in digital then merged in Photoshop. One shot is of the landscape shot normally; the moon shot is done with a telephoto lens to make the moon look big.

It’s possible to get a large moon and the landscape in one shot, but conditions have to be just right in order to do that. You have to do this when the moon is near the horizon right at sunset. Then the sun will be lighting your scene and the moon in the same way, allowing an exposure that captures both well. You also need a telephoto (300mm would be okay) to get the moon large enough to see.

It’s possible to simply get a moon in the shot. In that case, it might be a white spot because it’s so bright for the exposure. The key to this is to get the moon large enough (i.e., use the right focal length for it and the scene) and have it appear in an interesting part of the composition. The latter isn’t always easy, as the moon won’t simply move into the position where you need it! Finally, you can shoot HDR (high dynamic range). With HDR, you take several exposures, one to get the moon at the proper brightness, one to get the landscape at the proper brightness and one or more in-between. Then with a program like HDRsoft’s Photomatix or LR/Enfuse, you bring that range of exposures into one photo resulting in an image closer to what you actually saw compared to the limitations of the camera.
—Rob Sheppard

Q. What is the most important piece of gear you carry into the field?
—Joe Castillo

A. Joe,
It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s not camera gear. As a photographer working outdoors, being comfortable in whatever the elements bring my way is very important. I need to stay dry, warm or cool, and be protected from insects that can be deadly as well as annoying, and from sun that can cause cancer. The gear also has to perform in off-trail situations, and protect me from sharp rocks, thick brush and stream crossings. With that in mind, my most important gear is my clothing and boots. I think I know almost as much about foul-weather gear as I do about camera equipment, and I probably have almost as much money invested in the clothing as I do in cameras and lenses.

A unique perspective is one tool for visually communicating the wonders we’re so fortunate to witness, as you can see in this image of foliage in Vermont.

Skimping on this part of your equipment can be life threatening. It pays to research these products and spend as much as you can afford. Running a strong second as critical equipment is a tripod. I think most serious photographers are getting the message that a tripod is not a pain-in-the-neck cross to bear, but an integral part of the image-making process. Also, with the digital revolution, it’s difficult to do HDR, focus management and digital pans without one. With ballheads and the great quick-release mounts now available, using a tripod is easier than ever. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can get great images on a regular basis without a good one.
—Tom Till

Joe,
A. The thing between my ears! Successful photographers have to think, analyze and find solutions on the fly to the problems in front of the lens. Wildlife photographers have to do this not only for the photographic craft, but the biology they’re seeing, and translate all that experience in a single click to their audience. And, of course, connected to that brain has to be a heart. Passion is the key to grabbing the viewer’s heartstrings!
—Moose Peterson

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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.
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?
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.
sean gleeson makes this comment

Monday, 27 July 2009

can you adjust the apeture for depth of field on a casio exilums880 camera thanks
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?
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
blaze831 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
captian roger makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

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

Thursday, 18 June 2009

Really good article. I enjoyed reading what the pros had to say.
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.
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
SilverWolf4445 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?
gompfer 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

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