Category: Photo Tips
Quality of Light - 1
I like to tell people that the light more than any other factor influences what and when I shoot. Which is very true, I shoot mostly in the mornings and the evenings not only because that is when my subjects are most active but also because that is when the light is at its best.…
Backlighting - 1
The last direction light can come from is behind your subject. This can create some fun and exciting effects in your images. Most silhouettes take advantage of backlighting. In the shot accompanying this post I manually set the exposure to place the sun as a medium orange, this renders my subject as a silhouette. When setting…
SIDE LIGHTING
If you recall we have been talking about lighting and more specifically about how the direction of the light affects your image. This week we are going to talk about side lighting. With side lighting the light is coming directly from your left or right. This type of lighting creates some useful effects. One of…
FRONT LIGHTING
When I think about lighting there are two main things that I like to consider before making an image, the direction and the quality of light. For the next few installments we are going to discuss how the direction of the light affects your images. The most basic direction of light and the lighting…
DYNAMIC RANGE
As promised this week we are going to start our discussion on light. The first thing you need to know is that your camera cannot record the same range of light that your eyes can see. As you look around whatever environment you are in you will likely see a whole range of tones from…
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LIGHT
For the next few weeks I am going to talk about light and how it affects our images. Light is everything in photography. It is in fact, what creates our images. When we release the shutter, the mirror flips up and the shutter opens. This allows photons of light to pass through to the sensor…
Using High Speed Flash to Photograph Hummingbirds in Flight
My absolute favorite way to photograph hummingbirds is to use high-speed flash to create images of the birds in flight. I like to use high-speed flash because the super-fast burst of light freezes the bird’s wings. Up until recently this type of photography was fairly inaccessible requiring specially made flashes and other equipment. Now however,…
PHOTOGRAPHING HUMMINGBIRDS
Here in Michigan August is the absolute best time of the year to photograph the jewels of the bird world; hummingbirds. At this time of year the young have fledged and hummingbirds are feeding constantly as they put on weight for their journey south. Virtually all of my hummingbird photography takes place around feeders. I…
Partnerships
Conservation groups and organizations are always in need of imagery to help get their message out, and for use in their mission to educate the public. One of the things we can do as photographers is to give the gift of our work to these groups. Much can be gained from these associations, even beyond…
SPRING WARBLER PHOTOGRAPHY
For the next couple of weeks here in Michigan warbler migration will be going in full force. Photographing warblers is likely one of the larger challenges in the field of bird photography. I like to say shooting warblers is like trying to photograph a hyperactive two year old with wings, after they have just washed…