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How Your Clothes Affect Your Nature Photos

September 13, 2017 by Steve Berardi 9 Comments

Western Fence Lizard / Photo by Steve BerardiYou probably already know that you can wear camouflage to help hide yourself from wildlife in order to get closer and photograph them, but there’s also other ways your clothes can affect your photos.

It turns out that something as simple as the color of the t-shirt you’re wearing can drastically affect how close you can get to your subject.

I read an interesting article last week about a scientist, Breanna Putman, who’s studying animal fear responses, and she recently published a paper about how the color of your t-shirt can affect how close you can approach a common lizard in southern California, the Western Fence Lizard (photo above). [Read more…] about How Your Clothes Affect Your Nature Photos

Filed Under: Close-Up, Tips, Wildlife Tagged With: camouflage, clothes, Wildlife

Captive vs. Wild Images

July 22, 2015 by Jim Braswell 9 Comments

Common raccoon
Common Raccoon / Photo by Jim Braswell
Today’s post delves into an area we photographers often find ourselves … dealing with photographic ethics. Photographers have to constantly contend with ethics. Do you need a model release? Do you need a property release? Am I about to shoot on public property, or do I need to obtain permission to be here? As with everything in life, we have rules and regulations that we must adhere to when conducting our business. One of the most “gray areas” we encounter in nature photography is one of photographing wild animals versus photographing captive animals. [Read more…] about Captive vs. Wild Images

Filed Under: Philosophy, Wildlife Tagged With: captive, ethics, Wildlife

Need Help Identifying a Bird In Your Photo? Check out this website!

June 10, 2015 by Steve Berardi 3 Comments

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
Have you ever photographed a bird and had no idea what kind it was? Sometimes it’s easy to identify it later by looking through a bird book, and sometimes not so much. And, even when you do identify it, it’s nice to get some confirmation from other people.

Well, we’re in luck, because a team of ornithologists and computer scientists at Cornell have developed a web app called Merlin that helps you identify the bird in your photo. And, it works surprisingly well! [Read more…] about Need Help Identifying a Bird In Your Photo? Check out this website!

Filed Under: Tips, Wildlife Tagged With: bird, birding, cornell, id, identify, merlin, photo, Wildlife

How To Use A Photographic Blind

February 23, 2015 by Jim Braswell 1 Comment

Shooting from a photographic blind can be very useful, particularly when photographing wary animals. Although I do not routinely use a blind, there are situations where I do. Such as when shooting birds at a feeding station, or at a watering hole.

On one occasion, I was photographing songbirds at a watering hole in the south Rio Grande River Valley of Texas, when this Greater Roadrunner showed up:

Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner with Grasshopper / Photo by Jim Braswell
[Read more…] about How To Use A Photographic Blind

Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: bird photography, blinds, nature photography, photography, Wildlife

How To Prepare For An African Safari Trip (Part II)

December 8, 2014 by Jack Dausman Leave a Comment

Photo by Jack Dausman
Photo by Jack Dausman
Last week, Jack talked about how to prepare for an African safari trip. This week, in part two of his post, he talks about how to capture the moment once you’re there.

Early Morning

Landscape photographers enjoy the early light of pre-dawn. Be sure to explain this interest to your guide, well in advance, as it will take some extra planning. Game reserves have a lock-down policy against any night time excursions because there are still incidents of poaching. To leave before dawn will require some coordination. [Read more…] about How To Prepare For An African Safari Trip (Part II)

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips, Wildlife Tagged With: africa, african, plan, prepare, safari, Tips, Wildlife

How To Prepare For An African Safari Trip (Part I)

December 2, 2014 by Jack Dausman 2 Comments

Photo by Jack Dausman
Photo by Jack Dausman
The lioness bared her fangs and we took the moment. Click. We had tracked three lions for about an hour in the Kenyan Samburu Game Reserve, waiting until the senior lioness had relaxed near the road. It had required another 20 minutes of patience before she had looked in our direction and grimaced.

Safari photography is a unique blend of sports and landscape vision. Animals don’t pose. And, the lighting can’t be set. You have to be prepared for the moment. Sadly, I’ve seen many instances where people have traveled thousands of miles to show up at a game reserve with only a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera; after which they are somewhat disillusioned with the end result. The opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime imagery demands forethought. Here are my favorite tips for capturing the magic of an ancient world and its animal citizens. [Read more…] about How To Prepare For An African Safari Trip (Part I)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: africa, african, masai mara, safari, samburu, trip, Wildlife

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