October 2008
|
How-To
-
Digital Exposure Tips From The Pros
Don’t rely on setting the camera to auto or fixing a photo after capture. Check out what the pros have to say about exposure.
Mastering exposure is every bit as important for a digital shooter as it is for a film photographer. Routine technical choices about metering, lens aperture and shutter speed remain the basic ingredients for a well-executed photograph. But what if you’re trying to capture a forest freshly covered in snow, or photograph a close-up shot of a bee crawling on a sunflower, or compose an image of the ocean just after sunset?
-
Keeping Your Camera Steady
When you have to work fast to frame and focus, keeping your camera steady can be a challenge. Try these tips to keep the shots sharp.
Anyone who has attended a George Lepp seminar knows that tripods are a favorite subject! And in the age of digital, where multiple composited images solve problems such as excessive contrast and limited depth of field, a tripod is a must.
-
Panoramas: Getting The Big Picture
Stunning panoramas are within your grasp with this step-by-step process
By David Skernick And Brian Valente
What is a panorama, and why would you create one? Although panos have been around for a long time, advances in tripod heads and software have made creating excellent panoramas much easier. How do you know when you have a panoramic opportunity?
-
Quality Of Light
Beyond illumination, there is the mood of a photograph
Family and friends have to get used to a photographer’s definition of good shooting conditions. They’ll ask, “How’s the weather out?”, whereas a photographer will ask, “How’s the light?” One of the key components of any photograph—whether you’re working in a studio or outdoors—is the quality of light. The “feel” of the light in a photograph often can determine its visual impact.
-
Sound Practices II
More sounds for your images
By Bob Krist
In this, the second installment of “Adventures in Multimedia,” I’ll discuss some basics about gathering and editing sound. Last issue, I covered choosing and using a digital sound recorder, whether it’s one of the dedicated units like the Olympus LS-10 or Zoom H2, or even your iPod with one of the optional recording microphone attachments that are becoming ever more popular.
-
There And Back Again
Returning to your favorite places gives you the chance to push the boundaries of your own photographic exploration
By Bill Hatcher
The question I’m asked most frequently at workshops and when talking with other photographers: Where is my favorite place to shoot photos? The intent of a question like this is to discover what’s at the core of what I like best when I look for a photo location. When I answer with a string of places, including mountains, deserts and locations around the world, this doesn’t address the question with a tidy answer.
Gear
-
Gadget Bag: Travel Zooms
These “do it all with all-in-one zoom lens” solutions can be ideal travel partners when you want to minimize your gear
By Jon Sienkiewicz
Whether you call them “travel zooms,” “walkabout lenses” or simply your “go-to glass,” zoom lenses that cover the 18mm to 200mm range (or thereabouts) have a place in everyone’s gadget bag.
-
In Focus: October 2008
Step up to shooting with a D-SLR using the EOS Rebel XS, the latest entry-level camera from Canon. Top-notch features include a DIGIC III image processor, 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, 2.5-inch LCD with Live View, Auto Lighting Optimizer, 7-point wide-area autofocus (AF) sensor and 3 fps continuous JPEG burst rate.
-
Is Now The Time For Full-Frame D-SLRs?
With more options, state-of-the-art technology and lower prices, D-SLRs are worth a careful look for serious outdoor shooters
Nature photographers now can choose from among four “full-frame” D-SLRs, thanks to Nikon’s new D700 joining the D3 and Canon’s EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D.
-
Solutions: BushHawk Shoulder Mount
If tripods and monopods don’t work for you when photographing fast-flying wildlife, try a BushHawk
As an avid bird photographer, I’ve tried to photograph birds with big telephoto lenses. When I used film, I shot lots of pictures, but didn’t get many keepers. After I purchased my first digital SLR camera and had taken lots of travel pictures, I decided to try it out on the birds.
Locations
-
Old World Charm
Fine-art photographer Ben Ham merges the best of a film-based process with the best of a digital process to create the quiet beauty of his nature images
By Mark Edward Harris
Ben Ham makes his way over a craggy landscape wielding a huge bellowed camera and an equally impressive tripod. He’s looking for just the right angle that makes the difference between art and documentation. It’s a scenario that could be from 1888.
-
The Challenges Of Yellowstone
Salvatore Vasapolli gets off the beaten path, works around the crowds and shoots in fast-changing light. He shares some secrets from his 20 years of photographing this jewel of the American park system.
Salvatore Vasapolli has a long list of photographs in his stock library, but one place that continually has inspired him for more than 20 years is Yellowstone National Park. The reason is simple, he says: It’s unlike any other place on earth.
Columns
-
Autumn Light
Keep it clean and simple for the most dramatic photographs
By William Neill
Every season of the year has its special qualities for the landscape photographer. Autumn is no exception. By the end of summer, I already find myself wondering where I’ll go to photograph and how the colors will be this year. Every autumn season is different, and we all hope that this year will be the brightest and most colorful.
-
Camera Dunking
A waterproof digital camera offers whole new possibilities for your photography
By Rob Sheppard
Water and digital cameras don’t mix. If you drop a digital SLR into the water, you might as well just leave it there and hope that insurance will cover the replacement costs. Yet recently I’ve been dunking a camera into all sorts of water. Of course, this isn’t any ordinary camera, but a compact and waterproof, point-and-shoot digital camera.
-
Getting The Most Out Of Fall Color
Autumn Color • Bracket, Bracket, Bracket • Edit, Edit, Edit • Finding The Problem
By George D. Lepp
Fall is here, and my past experience is that I never come back with the brilliant leaf colors that were before my camera. Do I need special filters on my lenses, or is it all done in Photoshop?
-
Lake Martin Rookery, Louisiana
By Joe Todd
Located within the Cypress Island Preserve near Lafayette, La., the Lake Martin Rookery is a bird-watcher’s paradise. The lake offers a unique habitat that attracts nearly 60 percent of all U.S. bird species to a scenic forest of oak, cypress and tupelo trees.
|
 |
Get 11 Issues of Outdoor Photographer for only $14.97! That's 77% off the cover price!
|
