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Quick Tip for Identifying Your Unknown Subjects

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Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata)
Photo by Steve Berardi
One of the most rewarding parts of nature photography is learning how to identify your subjects. When we place a name on something, it somehow makes us feel more connected to it.

When you first meet someone new, the first thing you tell them is your name.

And, so naturally, when we photograph something we haven’t seen before, we immediately want to know what it is.

But, it’s not always easy to identify your subjects. Sure, you probably know all the common birds and insects of your area, but what if you’re hiking down a trail and see this amazing looking butterfly for the first time?

Well, there’s one thing you can do that’ll make it A LOT easier to identify that butterfly later: [Read more…] about Quick Tip for Identifying Your Unknown Subjects

What To Do When Your Memory Card Fails

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In a previous post, I talked about a few ways to avoid memory card problems. But, even if you follow all those tips, you’re bound to get a corrupt memory card someday.

Unfortunately, technology doesn’t always work 🙁

So, what do you do when you get home with a memory card full of awesome photos and your computer refuses to read it?

Well, there’s a few simple things you can try, like using another memory card reader or another computer. But, after that, your best option is to try using some data recovery software.

As a software developer, I’ve spent a lot of time recovering data from corrupt hard drives and flash drives, so here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way: [Read more…] about What To Do When Your Memory Card Fails

Take a Second Look at Your Subject

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Photos by Vic Berardi
Photos by Vic Berardi
Ever wonder why some photographers see things that you donʼt? True, there is some degree of “right brain” thinking going on with the more experienced photographer, but I think thereʼs more to it than just that.

Whatʼs most important is perseverance and taking a second look at your subject. [Read more…] about Take a Second Look at Your Subject

Why the Sharpest Photo Isn’t Always the Best Photo

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Desert Sunflower photo
Desert Sunflower @ f5.6 / Photo by Steve Berardi
As nature photographers, we tend to have an obsession with tack sharp photos and will do almost anything to increase the sharpness just a tiny bit. After all, looking up close at a sharp photo of a dragonfly is one of the greatest rewards of photographing the natural world 🙂

But, sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice a little sharpness for a better composition.

As an example, consider the photo above of a Desert Sunflower in front of a patch of Desert Sand Verbena (see original size photo too). There are three reasons why the sunflower isn’t as sharp as it could have been:

  1. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and constantly swaying the flower

  2. The camera’s sensor was not parallel to the most important plane of the flower

  3. A pretty large aperture was used (f/5.6), which limited depth of field

Of course, the wind was out of my control, so all I could do for that was wait for the calmest moment possible. But, the other two were in my control. Why didn’t I address these problems? [Read more…] about Why the Sharpest Photo Isn’t Always the Best Photo

How to Photograph Grizzly Bears

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Grizzly Bear / Photo by Robert Berdan
Grizzly Bear / Photo by Robert Berdan
Note from Steve: Today Iʼm happy to publish our first guest post here at PhotoNaturalist. This post was written by Robert Berdan, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Robert has a lot of experience with photographing mammals (something I pretty much have NO experience with!), so I was pleased to accept his post about photographing grizzly bears. After you finish reading, be sure to check out his great website for more articles and photos!

And, if youʼre also interested in writing a guest post, please feel free to contact me. Thanks!
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I will never forget the first time I encountered a Grizzly bear on the trail. I was walking with my friend Frank toward Siffleur Falls on the North Saskatchewan river just west of Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

The grizzly bear raised its large head to get a good look, sniffed and continued moving towards us. I remember saying to my friend, “F- F- F- F- Frank there is a grizzly bear coming towards us!” You are not supposed to stare into the eyes of a bear or run as either might trigger an attack. [Read more…] about How to Photograph Grizzly Bears

6 Reasons Why Flickr is a Great Tool for Nature Photographers

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FlickrAs you might already know, I’m a big fan of Flickr. Although it’s primarily just a place for you to store and share your photos, there’s a lot more reason to use it as well. Especially as a nature photographer. Here are some reasons why:

#1 – Learn from other photographers

There are a ton of photographers on Flickr. In fact, as of October 2009, Flickr has over 4 billion photos. The best part? Every single one is searchable by you.

This means you can search for photos of your favorite subject, and see how other photographers have photographed that same subject. I think we all see the world in a completely unique way, so seeing through the eyes of another photographer can help inspire you.

Some photographers on Flickr also make the technical details of their photos public, so you can see what aperture, shutter speed, and ISO they used for a photo. [Read more…] about 6 Reasons Why Flickr is a Great Tool for Nature Photographers