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nature photography tips and tutorials

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How To Make the Jump To Manual Mode

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At first, manual mode can seem a little intimidating. Finding the right exposure just doesn’t seem as simple as finding the right f-number, does it? That’s probably why most photographers start with Aperture Priority mode before jumping to full manual.

But, shooting in manual will put you in complete control of the image making process. And luckily, there’s an easy way to make the jump to manual mode, while still treating it somewhat like aperture priority mode. Here’s how: [Read more…] about How To Make the Jump To Manual Mode

How to Switch Lenses on Your Camera

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Photo by Andrew Magill (used under the CC-Attr license)
In a previous post, I talked about the importance of being careful when switching your camera lenses, in order to avoid dust from gathering on your camera’s sensor. But I didn’t elaborate much on how to switch your lenses, so here’s my method for switching camera lenses:

  1. Put your camera on a flat surface, so that the lens is pointing straight up
  2. Unlock the lens on your camera body, and turn the lens just a little bit so you can let go of the lens and it remains unlocked (but it’s still resting on the camera body)
  3. Remove the cap on the bottom of the new lens you want on your camera
  4. Hold the new lens in your right hand, and twist off the lens on your camera with your left hand
  5. Quickly mount the new lens with your right hand and lock it onto the camera
  6. Put the cap on the bottom of the old lens

[Read more…] about How to Switch Lenses on Your Camera

Why You Should Keep Your Camera’s Clock Accurate

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When I first get a camera, I always set the right date and time, but then I usually completely forget about it. A few daylight savings time changes go by, and of course I forget to update the time, so for half the year, my cameras are an hour off.

But, there’s also a few other problems: when I first set the clock, I’m usually pretty lazy about it (if a nearby clock says 7:34 PM, I’ll just set the camera to 7:30 PM). Also, a lot of digital clocks lose seconds over time, so with a camera that’s a few years old, my clock could be off by 5-10 minutes (plus any adjustments for daylight savings).

Why does this matter? [Read more…] about Why You Should Keep Your Camera’s Clock Accurate

Why You Should Keep All Your Photos

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Providence Mountains
Photo by Steve Berardi
When you get back home with your camera after a long day outside, do you rush to your computer and inspect your photos immediately?

I think that’s a healthy obsession, because it simply means you’re passionate about your results and dying to find out if you captured that sight just the way you saw it with your own eyes.

However, this rush to review your photos will often cause you to overlook some of your greatest shots. That’s why it’s important to keep all your photos and look at them again–a few weeks, or even months after you first took them. [Read more…] about Why You Should Keep All Your Photos

How to Make Your Camera Shoot Faster

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Shooting photos quickly is one of the keys to success for some types of nature photography, like photographing birds in flight, or any kind of wildlife photography.

As my dad illustrated in one of his articles, shooting just a few more frames per second can really make a difference in your success rate.

If you’re not maximizing the burst rate of your camera when you’re photographing a high-speed action, then you risk missing the shot where your subject is in the perfect pose.

So, here are a few ways to ensure your camera is shooting photos as quickly as possible: [Read more…] about How to Make Your Camera Shoot Faster

Have You Updated Your Camera’s Firmware Lately?

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Update FirmwareFirmware is the low-level software that runs inside your camera, and basically controls how everything works. It’s the stuff that controls how images are written to your memory cards, how the lens talks to the camera and more.

Most digital SLRs these days allow you to upgrade the firmware. But, why would you want to do that? Maybe your camera seems to work perfectly already, so what’s the big deal about upgrading the software? [Read more…] about Have You Updated Your Camera’s Firmware Lately?