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5 reasons to minimize your camera gear

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Photo by Martin Taylor
Have you ever felt like you were just one camera lens away from completing your ultimate collection of gear? Have you ever said to yourself, “if only I had that 600mm lens, THEN I could take those awesome photos I want.” Or maybe there’s some nifty little accessories that you’re just itching to get.

I think it’s pretty easy to get excited about new camera gear. I’ll admit it: I’d love to get my hands on a 600mm f/4, or that Canon 7D. And, I’m sure you would too 🙂

But, then we get reminded by great photographers like David duChemin that gear isn’t the most important thing. The photographer is what really makes the photo, and one of the best ways to improve your photography is to simply just go out there and take more photos. Experiment. Make mistakes. Learn from them.

I think as nature photographers, it’s especially important to minimize our gear, and here are a few reasons why: [Read more…] about 5 reasons to minimize your camera gear

How to create intimate portraits of nature

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Bigelow's Monkeyflower / Photos by Steve Berardi
Bigelow's Monkeyflower / Photos by Steve Berardi
Which of the two photos above do you like better?

They were both taken of the same flower, with the same camera settings. The only difference between the two shots is the position of the camera.

I’ll take a wild guess that you like the first one more. And, I think this photo is better because it has more of an intimate and friendly feeling to it. [Read more…] about How to create intimate portraits of nature

What went wrong with this dragonfly photo?

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Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
In Bob Dylan’s great song, “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” he proclaims,

“There’s no success like failure, and failure’s no success at all.”

It’s one of my favorite lines. I don’t always think failure is such a bad thing, because we learn so much more from failure, than we do success.

So, I’d like to try a new type of post here at PhotoNaturalist. I’ll start by sharing a recent photo I took that I don’t think came out very well. Then, I’ll explain why I don’t like it and why it “failed.” [Read more…] about What went wrong with this dragonfly photo?

“Wow, you must have a really good camera!”

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Photo by Martin Taylor
Photo by Martin Taylor
Anyone who has ever taken a sharp, properly exposed, and well-composed photo has heard these very words.

A couple of years ago someone I know, a writer of three published books and numerous articles, came across some of my flower photos. He looked at them intensely and said, “Wow, you must have a really good camera!”

I stared at him looking perplexed then smiled and said that I thought his writing was excellent and that he must have a “really good keyboard and computer!” He understood. [Read more…] about “Wow, you must have a really good camera!”

RAW vs. JPEG: Who wins?

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rawjpegIt seems to be one of the biggest debates in digital photography–what’s better: RAW or JPEG? Who wins?

Some pro photographers say JPEG: you should always know the perfect settings for a photo. And others say always shoot in RAW: it’s better quality and you have more power to change things later on.

Well, I think both formats have advantages and disadvantages, so rather than take one side for everything, I’ll run through some of the key differences between them, and then suggest when each format makes sense. [Read more…] about RAW vs. JPEG: Who wins?

How to find subjects for your macro shots

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(c) iStockPhoto / Johanna Goodyear
(c) iStockPhoto / Johanna Goodyear
One of the things that makes macro photography so interesting is its ability to show us the world as we normally don’t see it: up close and personal.

For this very reason, sometimes it’s hard to find good subjects for macro shots. We just don’t normally look at things up close, and even when we do, it’s hard to see detail with the naked eye.

Sure, you could just pop on your macro lens and look everywhere, but it’s hard to see things through that tiny viewfinder. [Read more…] about How to find subjects for your macro shots