Nature Pictures Pdf
Destiny Olatunji
My current primary camera is a Sony a7Riii mirrorless camera. I switched to mirrorless from DSLR over 5 years ago. The advantages are lighter camera bodies, actual through the lens visualization of what the camera sensor sees, as well as markedly advanced autofocus technology for wildlife photos. That is the direction the industry is heading so I think a current high-end camera purchase should be mirrorless. My primary lenses are Sony 24-105 f4 (all purpose), Sony 12-14 f4 wide angle, and Sony 200-600 f5.6-6.5 telephoto.
So much of nature photography is understanding nature. Observing landscape scenery in different times of year with different angles of light and color temperature guides you to finding the right place at the right time of year and time of day. With animal and bird photography, understanding the subject you are shooting is essential. Knowing the activity and movement patterns of birds and animals throughout the day will increase your chances of getting an amazing image. The main thing to becoming a better nature photographer is spending time in nature with your eyes and translating that to where you need to be with your camera. For bird photography, bringing binoculars on a walk helps you understand what is in the area beyond the reach of the naked eye. It is also essential in locating birds prior to bringing the camera to your eye.
The adage still rings true that the best camera you own is the one you have with you. Cell phone photography continues to advance significantly and everyone always has a camera with them now. The phone cameras (including some with multiple lenses) have become pretty sophisticated with good image resolution and built-in image processing algorithms that significantly enhance the final output without much user input.
If you use a cell phone as your primary camera (and no shame there) take the time to learn all that you can about how the camera operates and experiment with the features. There are simple touch gestures to choose the focus spot and adjust exposure levels as you are shooting. And the in-camera editing features are robust but have a bit of a learning curve that is worth spending time on. Just cropping or adjusting the horizon and changing a few levels on a photo can make a dramatic difference.
There are two limitations with cell phones that I see. First is their telephoto ability to get sharp photos of distant objects/animals. The zoom reach may be adequate for travel or simple landscape photography but very limited for telephoto wildlife or bird photography. The second is the control of depth of field (the near to far distance that is in focus). Wildlife photography requires sharp focus of the subject with blurring of the foreground and background which is hard to achieve with a cell phone.
My first camera was a Minolta SRT-101, a 35mm film camera which my parents gave me as a high school graduation gift. Eventually I built up quite a collection of Minolta gear and even started a professional relationship with the Minolta corporation, giving lectures on outdoor photography at various colleges coast to coast. For many years I gave a seminar on closeup photography at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Sadly Minolta shut down their photography business in the 1990s, eventually selling their patents and designs to Sony. Luckily for me, Sony designed their digital cameras to be compatible with Minolta lenses, so I was able to continue to use a lot of my old Minolta gear on newer Sony digital cameras. I have a variety of macro lenses specifically designed to produce very sharp closeup photos of very small subjects like snowflakes, sand grains, etc. I often carry an LED light panel in my camera bag since much of my photography takes place in the shadowy understory of woodlands, where dim lighting can be a challenge.
I never tire of exploring my own yard for photo subjects, especially butterflies and other pollinators in our gardens. Also mushrooms and other fungi. Here are two of my favorite backyard images: a Luna silk moth and a troupe of tiny parasol mushrooms:
I particularly like how the early morning light catches the mushroom stalks and almost makes them glow. Regarding the Luna silk moth, I love how the subtle purple wing markings are complemented by the hues of the phlox blossoms.
And third, share your findings with other naturalists, and they are likely to return the favor. Lancaster has active nature clubs like the Muhlenberg Botanical Club and the Lancaster Butterfly and Entomology Club, both great places to meet and compare notes with other amateur naturalists and photographers.
Every time I find a colorful mushroom hiding behind a log or under some leaves, I am left with the impression that I am the only person who is going to see that exquisite example of creation. The feeling of reward that comes from those little moments of discovery is indescribable. True, no one likes to go hiking with me, since I am the slowest hiker in the woods, sometimes spending half an hour taking a single photo. But I also enjoy sharing my photos with others, hopefully inspiring the occasional person to take their camera along on a hike now and then.
I use a Canon R6 full frame mirrorless camera with a 100mm macro lens now that I have more professional equipment, but when I started, I was using an older DSLR model, the crop sensor Canon Rebel T3, combined with my favorite lens, 60mm macro. To this day, even though I have upgraded, I still think my best nature work was done on the Rebel.
Nature photography is impactful because it gives the photographer a chance to leave the real world and enter a special, almost secret world that surrounds us if we know where to look. It can be a way to connect with this planet, to connect with the plants and creatures that have called it home for thousands of years, and aid in your own conservation efforts. One of my permaculture teachers said something in class that has always stuck with me. He told me that you can only protect something once you love it, and you can start to love it once you understand it, and you can start to understand it through dedicated observation and respect for the wild. For me personally, photography was pivotal in my learning and understanding of the natural world.
I am far from alone in seeking solace in nature to help ease mental and physical health issues and like many others, the time I have spent immersed in the local landscape has given me the space, healing and perspective to deal with difficult times. Nature photography has developed from a method of recording species into a meditation practice for me. In meditation the practitioner seeks to dissolve the ego and its constant chatter and connect to a universal consciousness beyond the confines of the self. When focusing my lens upon a flower or insect, I experience that sense of losing the self and the feeling of separation between myself and the subject softens and blurs. Looking at the world through this lens of perception I see my encounters with nature as meetings with and not observations of, and the scientist in me gives way to the artist. This is why I am drawn to present my subjects in an ethereal way.
Shooting through foliage and into the sun also creates beautiful abstract botanical bokeh. I find using manual focus helps compose an image that maximises this effect. Firstly, pick out your subject from the tangle of the undergrowth and focus in on it. Then, sometimes shifting the angle of the lens or your position slightly, the bokeh in the image comes to life. As I use a macro, I tend to be about a yard or two from my subject whilst shooting in this way.
If it looks as though the whites in the image are going to blow out then waiting for the light to change, a cloud to pass by or adjusting my position slightly so I am shooting through different foliage can help to prevent this.
The softness in the poppy image above was created by shooting though a fallen petal that I had found on the ground. I often employ this technique to soften an image and the improvised natural filter also has the same tones that are in the subject.
The marbled white butterfly above is a common sight in the field margins here in Dorset, and shooting through a haze of ox eye daisies gave me the soft bokeh in the image above. With the small blue below, the very shallow depth of field separated the subject from the tangle of vegetation.
I have always been drawn to muted and cooler tones, and my work over the years reflects this. In part I think this is because I have visual stress and dyslexia and find it hard to look at bright colours, especially yellows and oranges. But I also think this colour pallet better expesses how my emotions are calmed and thoughts uncluttered when in communion with the subjects of my photography. I usually tone down the vibracy the yellows and oranges in any image and bring out the blues, greys and violets. I use Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik Analogue Pro and Camera Raw to post process my pictures. The panels I like to create of collections from walks or of single subjects are created in InDesign.
I will usually start editting any image in Lightroom. Below are a list of some of the adjustments I will usually make when shooting in the style outlined above. Of course this is a generalisation, but hopefully if you wee looking to create something similar it will be a help to you.
As you move the opacity slider you can see how this affects the ethereal quality of the picture. It is then possible, should you wish to pull parts of the image through using a mask or the eraser tool, or to just apply this effect to parts of your image.
Shooting on the woodland floor and in meadows will expose you to ticks. I am frequently bitten by them and have taken anti-viral medication for Lymes disease on a few occassions. Do make sure you are covered up, especially in long grass and where deer are present. Check yourself over when you leave a site. Use a tick remover to safely remove the little sods and if you have flu like symptoms or a bullseye rash or any concerns following a bite do seek medical advise.