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Where to Get Precipitation Data

February 7, 2012 by Steve Berardi 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Wildflowers Tagged With: data, flower, hotspot, noaa, nws, precipitation, rain, scouting, snow, spring, underground, weather, wildflower, winter, wunderground, wundermap

Evolution of a Nature Photograph

November 28, 2011 by Vic Berardi 19 Comments

Fringed Gentian / Photo by Vic Berardi
Fringed Gentian / Photo by Vic Berardi
Sometimes when you come across a subject, you immediately know how to photograph it and create a pleasing image. But, other times (and perhaps, most of the time), it takes some thought and experimenting to find that image you’re looking for. You start off with a basic shot, and continue tweaking or evolving it, until you eventually obtain that image you set out to create.

For example, one day earlier this fall, I set out to photograph one of my favorite fall wildflowers: the Fringed Gentian (Gentiana crinita). They’re generally found in open areas next to higher quality wetlands, and usually grow in clumps of a hundred or more flowering plants.

Photographing them can be challenging since their habit of growing in clumps can make it hard to isolate one or a few of them in an image. Nevertheless, the Fringed Gentian is a beautifully delicate wildflower that deserves the very best attention in depicting that very beauty and fragility. [Read more…] about Evolution of a Nature Photograph

Filed Under: Macro, Tips, Wildflowers Tagged With: art, closeup, create, creativity, evolution, flower, image, nature, photo, photograph, refactor, wild, wildflower

New eBook on Wildflower Photography!

March 7, 2011 by Steve Berardi 15 Comments

Wildflower Photography (eBook)Today, I’m happy to announce that the new edition of my eBook on wildflower photography is now available.

The eBook is a complete guide to photographing wildflowers with a digital SLR. It will teach you how to take stunning photos of wildflowers, and how to post-process them in Adobe Photoshop (CS 4 or later and Elements 8 or later). [Read more…] about New eBook on Wildflower Photography!

Filed Under: Wildflowers Tagged With: cs, digital, ebook, edition, elements, equipment, examples, exposure, flower, new, photography, photoshop, second, slr, wildflower

How to Photograph Hummingbirds in the Wild

July 12, 2010 by Steve Berardi 12 Comments

Black-chinned Hummingbird / Photo by Steve Berardi
Black-chinned Hummingbird (juvenile female) / Photo by Steve Berardi
Hummingbirds are amazing little birds: they’re the only birds that can fly backwards, and they’re the fastest animal on the planet (if you measure speed in body lengths per second, heh).

They’re fairly easy to photograph if you setup a feeder, but I prefer to photograph them in the wild, since my goal is to photograph truly wild moments. Sometimes that means waiting awhile for a hummingbird to show up at the perfect flower, but your patience pays off when you get that truly wild photo.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve learned so far about photographing hummingbirds in the wild: [Read more…] about How to Photograph Hummingbirds in the Wild

Filed Under: Tips, Wildlife Tagged With: behavior, bird, blind, camo, flower, habits, hummingbird, kwik camo, migration, photograph, wild, wildflower, Wildlife

How to create intimate portraits of nature

March 15, 2010 by Steve Berardi 13 Comments

Bigelow's Monkeyflower / Photos by Steve Berardi
Bigelow's Monkeyflower / Photos by Steve Berardi
Which of the two photos above do you like better?

They were both taken of the same flower, with the same camera settings. The only difference between the two shots is the position of the camera.

I’ll take a wild guess that you like the first one more. And, I think this photo is better because it has more of an intimate and friendly feeling to it. [Read more…] about How to create intimate portraits of nature

Filed Under: Macro, Philosophy, Tips, Wildflowers, Wildlife Tagged With: camera, close up, composition, emotion, eye level, eye-to-eye, eyes, feeling, friendly, how to, intimate, Macro, nature, photo, photography, photos, plants, portrait, position, wildflower, Wildlife

New eBook, Digital Wildflower Photography, is now available!

March 2, 2010 by Steve Berardi 16 Comments

Digital Wildflower Photography (cover)Today I’m happy to announce that my new eBook, Digital Wildflower Photography, is now available.

The first thing you’re probably wondering is how it’s different from the free eBook I released last spring. Well, this new one is over twice as long at 55 pages, and has a ton of new content.

While the free eBook was really just a collection of a few tips for getting better wildflower photos, this new ebook is more of a complete guide that will teach you how to take stunning wildflower photos and how to post-process them in Adobe Photoshop (CS and Elements 8). [Read more…] about New eBook, Digital Wildflower Photography, is now available!

Filed Under: Photoshop Tutorials, Tips, Wildflowers Tagged With: aperture, book, digital, ebook, examples, exposure, how to, learn, pdf, photographs, photography, photos, spring, Tips, tutorial, wildflower, wildflowers

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