PhotoNaturalist - nature photography tips and tutorials

nature photography tips and tutorials

winter

How To Stay Warm on Those Cold Days

by 10 Comments

Adult Bald Eagle sitting on a snowy tree limb
Bald Eagle in Snow / Photo by Jim Braswell
Ironically, as I write this post, I’m sitting in a motel room in the Colorado Rockies, waiting for the temperatures to warm up. I arrived here a couple of days ago, to shoot the bighorn sheep in the rut. Although I love to shoot nature in the winter, you also need to use common sense.

When temperatures are record-breaking lows (like right now), or wind chill advisories are in effect (like right now), it may be best to stay indoors. What makes the frigid temperatures I’m encountering on this trip even more of an issue, is the fact that I have to hike back into a canyon for about 3 miles to find the sheep. Then, of course, 3 miles back out. But tomorrow’s forecast is for warmer temperatures (in the 30’s), so I will be getting out tomorrow! So how do you prepare for shooting in cold, winter weather? [Read more…] about How To Stay Warm on Those Cold Days

8 Tips and Tutorials For Winter Photography

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Vic Berardi
Photo by Vic Berardi
With all this super cold and snowy weather we’re getting up here in the northern hemisphere, I thought it’d be good to put together a list of helpful tips and tutorials for winter photography 🙂

So, here are a few posts we’ve written about winter here at PhotoNaturalist, as well as some great articles from other blogs:

#1 – How to get a perfect exposure of a snow-covered landscape

If you try shooting a snowy landscape with autoexposure, then you’ll almost always end up with gray snow in your photos. So, this post gives you a few ways to avoid that common problem. [Read more…] about 8 Tips and Tutorials For Winter Photography

Nature Photography In The Least Expected Places

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Vic Berardi
Photo by Vic Berardi
It’s the dead of winter, you live in an area that doesn’t have classic winter scenery, then you look outside and see that it’s cold and dreary. The last snowfall was at least a week ago, so taking photos with beautiful fresh snow in the background or foreground isn’t an option. So, you decide to stay home and wait for a better day…you shouldn’t. There are opportunities out there on any given day to take nature photos, if you just look hard enough.

A couple of weeks ago I ventured out on such a day and after becoming exhausted at trying to find something to photograph, I happened to drive over a small creek and stopped to look and see if any water was moving. There wasn’t but something else caught my eye: autumn leaves & ice! I pulled over to the side of the road, got out with my camera and tripod and slowly looked at all the small scenery along this very small and mostly frozen creek. What I saw was limitless in compositions and beauty! [Read more…] about Nature Photography In The Least Expected Places

A Fun Way To Improve Your Wildflower Photography

by 19 Comments

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

Where to Get Precipitation Data

by 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

How to Find Good Locations For Fall Color

by 11 Comments

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