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spring

Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints

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Chocolate Lily / Photo by Steve Berardi
Chocolate Lily / Photo by Steve Berardi
Now that we’re well into spring here in the northern hemisphere (and getting ready for summer), there’s lots of wildflowers in bloom. This is one of the best times of year for photography because the wildflowers also bring a lot of other cool stuff to photograph (such as butterflies and other insects).

With so many exciting subjects, sometimes it’s easy to forget that this is also one of the most fragile times of year for the natural world. So, it’s important to “leave no trace” when you’re out on the trail.

Leaving no trace means you leave the wilderness just as you found it (or maybe a little better by picking up any trash you find). It means the only thing you take away is photographs, and the only thing you leave behind is footprints. But, you should also be careful just where you leave those footprints.

To ensure you leave no trace, here are a few guidelines to follow when you’re out on a trail: [Read more…] about Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints

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

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

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 Find Good Locations For Fall Color

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Photo by Dick Rochester / Used under the CC-Attr license
Photo by Dick Rochester / Used under the CC-Attr license
Now that we’re almost in the middle of October, many of the trees in the US are bursting with color as their leaves fall off for the winter. Unfortunately, those colors don’t last long and sometimes they’re better in one area than they are in another, so it’s important to choose your locations carefully.

Luckily, there’s a great tool that can help you track seasonal changes like fall color: Flickr. Although it’s known for being a great website for sharing your photos, it can also be a great scouting tool. Here’s how: [Read more…] about How to Find Good Locations For Fall Color

9 tips for photographing wildflowers with a point and shoot camera

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Photo by Steve Berardi (shot with a Canon G10 point and shoot camera)
Although wildflowers are best photographed with an SLR camera, it’s still possible to take some pretty good shots with a plain old point and shoot camera. And, sometimes this may be the only camera you have with you at the time, either because you’re backpacking far into the wilderness and want to travel light, or maybe you haven’t made the jump to an SLR just yet.

The biggest problem you’ll run into with the point and shoot camera is the large depth of field you get from the super small sensor. This limits some of your options, but there’s a few ways to get around it, and as always, light also plays a huge role in the success of a photo.

So, here are a few tips for photographing wildflowers when you’re limited to a point and shoot camera: [Read more…] about 9 tips for photographing wildflowers with a point and shoot camera