DOF in Wildlife Photography
Even though photography is a creative craft, a certain amount if technical knowledge is required to lift that craft to the next level.
For me, one of the most important skills any aspiring wildlife photographer should learn is the understanding and control of the depth of field (DOF) in their images. The ability to isolate your [...]
Sharpening Your Wildlife Images
I trust that you had a fantastic Xmas and that you have settled into somewhat of a normal eating pattern after the obligatory overindulgence of the silly season! We had a fantastic time with family and now, being back at the lodge, it already feels like months ago. Great memories though.
Fresh from a few days [...]
Cropping Wildlife Images
A big thanks to Pieter Pretorius for his guest post and video yesterday.
I was lucky enough to to meet Pieter last year when I did a drive for WildEarth TV. He is truly one of the nicest people you can imagine and his passion for what he does shines through in his images. Personally I [...]
To Preset or Not To Preset.
Lightroom presets have opened up a whole new world of one click creative possibilities. Love them or hate them they are here to stay.
It has been pouring with rain for the last three days so in order to kill some time I had a look through some Lightroom presets. A preset is a series of [...]
Going Solo in Lightroom
If you have ever gotten confused by all the toolbars in Lightroom try going solo.
The above screen capture shows, in red, the panels & sliders you use in Lightroom when processing images. Very user friendly once you know your way around things but it can feel very messy at times as well. If you start [...]
Shooting the Light
Still in the process of bringing some older posts across since the move to Worpdress. This is one of them and more coming soon.
Why do we stop to have a drink when the sun sets?
I am all for having a drink and watching the sun set, and for some this is a near-religious experience, but [...]
The Goal is to Improve. Not Change.
The processing of wildlife images remain a highly debated subject. Yes or no? If yes, how much?
Recently I was asked how a specific wildlife photograph could be processed in Photoshop or Lightroom in order to improve it. Wait!! Before we all get excited and start arguing the rights and wrongs of processing wildlife images stick [...]
Working the Histogram in Wildlife Photography
The histogram is a graphical representation of the tonal range (exposure) of an image. If you shoot with a digital camera you will be able to check the histogram of every image as soon as you have clicked the shutter. This is one of the most helpful tools you can use in the field.
The far [...]
Black & White – The Zone System
(Nikon D300, Sigma 50-500 @ 195mm, 1/640, f/8.0, ISO 250)
We all know when we like am image.
It has to do with the composition, subject, our mood on the day and a myriad of other variables. One of those, and probably one of the more important ones, include exposure and levels of light and dark in the image. I am currently working [...]
Expose to the Right
There has been a lot of talk as to whether you should under or overexpose when shooting with a digital camera. The answer is simple. You should expose correctly.
Ok, let’s look at it a little closer. Your goal should always be to expose your image as correctly as possible. That is ultimately your goal and [...]
Which Mode Should I Use?
One of the most asked questions out in the field must be “Which mode should I be using?”
It depends on what you want your image to show. The story you want to tell or the action you want to capture. If you always shoot in Auto or Program mode you are allowing the camera to [...]
Metering. What is it? What does it mean?
Whether people who are viewing your work know anything about photography or not, exposure is important.
It is up to you as the photographer to make sure you produce correctly exposed images time after time and not just shoot and hope for the best. This is probably one of the more difficult for someone just beginning [...]
How To: Process a Sunrise
African sunrises are spectacular and sometimes seem to carry on forever.
Photographing these amazing colors sometimes turns out to be quite a disappointing exercise as the images do not always show your viewer what you saw. Had an experience like this a few morning ago. Sat watching the sun rise behind a dead leadwood and shot [...]
Basic Color Theory
Photography is about light.
Obvious statement, but let’s look at it in a little more details. For more scientific details you canclick herebut the short version is that light, which is what you are trying to capture in your images, has different wavelengths which renders it visually as different colors. The visual color range is something [...]
Should You Manipulate or Alter Your Digital Images?
Having spent quite a bit of time browsing through magazines and various web sites the last while, this question keeps on popping up and there does not seem to be any ‘civilised’ agreement about the answer.
Should you ‘Photoshop’ or ‘alter’ your digital images?
Why should this be such a contentious issue? Whether for a crop [...]
