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Join Our New Weekly Newsletter For More Great Photography Tips!

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Email NewsletterToday I’m excited to announce the new PhotoNaturalist Weekly Newsletter. This is a free email newsletter that will contain a list of great photography tips, sent out every Thursday night.

Every week, I read a ton of photography blogs, and come across many great tips and tutorials that I share on our Facebook and Twitter pages, so I think this email newsletter will be a great way to send out a summary of the links I share each week. [Read more…] about Join Our New Weekly Newsletter For More Great Photography Tips!

How GPS Can Help Your Photography

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GPS DeviceI just recently started hiking with a handheld GPS device to log my hikes and so I could have elevation data wherever I go. But, I’ve also started using it as a tool for photography. Here are a few ways it’s helped me:

#1 – Keep track of good spots for landscape images

This probably happens to you a lot: you’ll be hiking on a trail and come to this amazing vista or perfect rock formation and you realize it would make a great landscape image if the weather or lighting conditions were just a tad bit different. Maybe you just want some of that nice sunset light shining on a mountain peak, or maybe you want a nice puffy cloud to hover over a particular rock.

Well, a GPS device can help you keep track of these spots, simply by adding waypoints. Then, once you get home later, you can write some notes about that particular spot (e.g. “come back in April when there’s more flowers in bloom” or “come back at sunset in winter, when the sun will be at the right angle to shine on this mountain peak”). [Read more…] about How GPS Can Help Your Photography

A Fun Way To Improve Your Wildflower Photography

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Photo by Vic Berardi
Photo by Vic Berardi
As spring approaches and the dreary overcast days of winter are still upon us, we anxiously await going out in the field for some wildflower photography. But, while you’re waiting for those flowers to pop up, you can still do something to help you prepare for those wildflower photos.

Over the winter, I picked up several excellent flower photography books and a few showed some techniques for indoor photography. So, I thought, why not give this a try and see if I can apply what I learned to outdoor wildflower photography. I didn’t have any studio lighting, so I decided to experiment with what I already had. [Read more…] about A Fun Way To Improve Your Wildflower Photography

How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography

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Pitcher Sage / Photo by Steve Berardi
Pitcher Sage / Photo by Steve Berardi
In close-up nature photography, there’s a constant battle of trying to find that perfect balance between a sharp subject and an out-of-focus background.

An out-of-focus background is essential to a good close-up photo, because it helps draw attention to your main subject.

But, it’s not always easy to get that nice background. Sometimes the background is just too close, or your subject has a lot of depth (forcing you to try a smaller aperture, which then puts more of the background in focus).

So, how do you deal with this constant battle? Well, here are a few ways: [Read more…] about How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography

Free eBook on Wildflower Photography

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With spring beginning here in the southwestern United States, I thought it was time to update our free ebook on wildflower photography. The original version was released about three years ago, so it was due for an update.

Most of the content is the same, but I’ve learned a lot in the last three years, so I’ve updated just about every page in the book, and replaced a few tips with newer articles.

Anyway, here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll learn in this ebook: [Read more…] about Free eBook on Wildflower Photography

How To Get Started With Animal Tracking

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If you’re serious about wildlife photography, then it’s helpful to learn a little about animal tracking. Knowing where an animal typically hangs out or walks around can significantly increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time.

Learning how to accurately track animals can be a long process, but here are a few simple ways to get started: [Read more…] about How To Get Started With Animal Tracking