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How To Recover Photos From a Corrupt Memory Card

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Compact Flash Memory CardAlthough there are ways to reduce the risk of memory card problems, you can never escape them completely.

Sooner or later, you’re going to come home from a wonderful day in the wilderness with a memory card loaded with great photos, but when you try to download those shots to your computer, your memory card will fail for whatever reason.

Well, when your memory card decides to stop cooperating with you, here are a few things you can try to save your photos: [Read more…] about How To Recover Photos From a Corrupt Memory Card

What To Photograph On An Overcast Day

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Photo by Steven Burke (used under the CC-Attr-NC-ND license)
Photo by Steven Burke (used under the CC-Attr-NC-ND license)
In Southern California, we have this thing called “June Gloom” where pretty much every day in the month of June is overcast or cloudy. Some people call it our punishment for having bright sunny days for the rest of the year.

But, I look forward to the overcast skies because although they produce some gloomy feelings, they also create some very unique lighting conditions that bring out some of the best colors found in nature. [Read more…] about What To Photograph On An Overcast Day

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!

6 Tips For Photographing Sand Dunes

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Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
Sand dunes are some of the most visually stunning subjects you’ll find in the desert. In a land that’s dominated by sharp cactus and pointy rocks, dunes provide some relief with their smooth curves and soft sand. So, naturally they make good subjects for photographs. Here are a few tips for photographing them:

#1 – Watch where you walk

Avoid walking through the middle of dunes, since that’ll mess up those nice lines in the sand and ruin any opportunity to photograph the dune. Instead, walk around dunes, or only walk through dunes you know you don’t want to photograph. [Read more…] about 6 Tips For Photographing Sand Dunes

How to Photograph Landscapes With the Moon

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Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
Including the moon in a landscape can sometimes add a nice sense of balance or contrast to an image, like in the photo above (taken in the Colorado Desert of California).

But, photographing a landscape with the moon is a little tricky and requires some patience.

One of the problems is that the moon won’t always be where you want it to be. And, since the moon is so far away, sometimes it’s hard to get both your foreground AND the moon in sharp focus.

So, here are a few tips for dealing with these problems: [Read more…] about How to Photograph Landscapes With the Moon

9 Tips For Photographing Perched Birds

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Black-throated Sparrow / Photo by Steve Berardi
Black-throated Sparrow / Photo by Steve Berardi
We’ve talked about bird photography fairly often here on PhotoNaturalist, including posts on how to photograph birds in flight and how to photograph hummingbirds in the wild. Well, today’s topic is photographing perched birds, like in the photo above of a black-throated sparrow.

Bird photography can be frustrating at times, and it may seem like you always need a longer lens, but with a little patience and a few little tricks, you’ll be coming home with good bird photos in no time. So, here are a few tips to get you started: [Read more…] about 9 Tips For Photographing Perched Birds