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The Benefit of a Point and Shoot Camera

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When you first got an SLR camera, you might’ve buried your point and shoot (P&S) camera in a drawer somewhere. But, the point and shoot camera can actually be a very valuable tool in developing your photography skills.

Since they’re so small and lightweight, you can bring them just about anywhere. And, you don’t have to spend a bunch of time setting up your shot.

With an SLR, you might spend up to thirty minutes setting up a tripod, and changing a bunch of settings on your camera. But, the point and shoot is always ready to go–it’s why they’re called “point and shoot” 😉 [Read more…] about The Benefit of a Point and Shoot Camera

Where to Get Precipitation Data

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With spring just around the corner here in the southwestern United States, it’s time to start scouting out places for wildflowers. And, one of the best ways to do that is to look at winter precipitation data.

Precipitation isn’t the only thing that affects a good wildflower show, but it can usually be a strong indicator of where the good spots will be (especially in areas that receive little rain to begin with, such as the desert).

So, where do you find all this great precipitation data? Well, there’s two sources I’m relying on this spring: [Read more…] about Where to Get Precipitation Data

How to Give Your Photography a Turbo Boost

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Lake Tahoe
Photo by Steve Berardi
You know those turbo boosts that you get in car racing video games? You’ll be driving along, struggling to get out of 9th place, but then you use a few turbos and BOOM––all of a sudden you’re cruising in 1st place! Woohoo!

Do you ever wish you could use those turbos in real life too?

Well, in photography, you can! Sort of.

The secret is to dedicate at least one full week to nothing but photographing nature. It’s kind of like a mini photography boot camp.

Take a week off work, and go on a long road trip, visiting places you’ve never been before, but have always wanted to check out. It’s important for these places to be “fresh” to you, because it’ll excite you to visit someplace new and that usually translates to a stronger urge to create a photograph. [Read more…] about How to Give Your Photography a Turbo Boost

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

Photographer’s Ephemeris now available for iPhone!

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The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE)I’ve written about The Photographer’s Ephemeris before: it’s a free desktop application that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It’s a tool that helps show you the exact position of the sun and moon on a particular time of day, overlaying their azimuths on top of a Google Map.

It’s hard to explain the entire program in one sentence because it does so much. But, it’s a tremendous tool for landscape photographers, because it can help you scout out areas and determine ahead of time if the sun will shine on a particular mountain peak at sunset.

Well, this great tool is now available for the iPhone too! Here’s a list of the app’s great features: [Read more…] about Photographer’s Ephemeris now available for iPhone!