Nature Photography

Festival of Nature Bathurst – June 1,2,3 2018

Landscape, Telephoto, Macro/Close-up Records and Documentation and Capturing What You See Peter Gadd Introduction

I have a number of slides that we can go through but I think it might be best to follow your interests and needs so we may be jumping around all over the place.

The intent is to take a workshop approach - to share ideas and discuss A pdf version of this Power Point is available at https://miramichinaturalistclub.com/ Some terms • Optical and Digital Zoom • Full Frame vs APS Cameras (crop factor adds reach) • Camera Phone, Compact, Bridge, Mirrorless, SLR • Wide-angle – 50 mm (full frame equivalent) – telephoto lens • Zoom lens vs Prime Lens • Fast lens • Aperture/Shutter Speed/ISO • f-stop – a measure of light 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4, 5.6,8, 11, 16,22,32 • RAW files – unprocessed data • Digital Noise

Table of Contents Some terms continued • Bokeh • White-balance – light temperature and colour cast • Histogram – a graph showing exposure information • Dynamic Range – light and dark areas in a scene • Filters – Polarizing, Neutral Density, Graduated Neutral Density • Lens Hood • Depth of Field Preview • Grey Card • Resolution – megapixels and dpi • Geotag • Aspect Ratio – image dimension • Meta-data

Table of Contents Smart Phones Stability Limited Focal Length Think Quick Lighting Etiquette Portraits White Balance Habits Landscape Blur What to do with photos Macro In The Act Where to Photograph Composition Night Photography Various Techniques A Short Story Moon Special Techniques Limitations Bokeh Stitching Panoramas Crop Factor RAW Panning Smart Phone Photography

• Convenient • Simplifying • Depth of Field almost limitless • In-phone processing • RAW file capture and processing – ProCamera is one app • Automatic Geotagging • Readily shared • Limitations – creativity, manipulation, action photos, telephoto, image quality due to small image sensor

Table of Contents I was walking along a trail, a berm actually, at a local marsh. I had my 600 mm telephoto zoom at full reach, aperture wide open, camera settings I have as a default, anticipating photographing birds.

Table of Contents Learning by Experience!

What I may have done differently!

My camera and my mindset was recording birds for identification and portraiture … but then

Table of Contents A CHALLENGE! What could I have done to make this photo easier to take? CAMERA SETTINGS for Action Shots

A1 Servo! (Canon) - Focus tracking Zoomed Out! - More room for subject easier to track Auto Focus – range settings Burst

Know your camera – know how to quickly adjust settings. Use camera pre-sets if you have them

Wildlife Portraits - telephoto • Lens stability • Aperture – wide open • Shutter speed – fast • Open up one or two stops for back-lit subject • Give room around subject for fine tuning cropping later • Provide habitat context • Prefer optical zoom if you have a choice • Often has to be “snapshot” • Be prepared • Know subjects behaviour – anticipate • Focus on subject’s eye Table of Contents

Table of Contents Landscape • Can use any focal length • Be aware of focal length distortion • Making a photo • Slow-down • Use a Tripod • Composition Considerations –

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Landscape Continued • Hyperfocal Distance – (focus 1/3 into scene) • Narrow aperture – but not narrowest • Wide Angle very forgiving on DoF • Plan • Golden hour • Include people • Shoot into the sun

Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Macro/Close-up Photography The previous image was actually a close-up taken with a 400 mm telephoto lens

Meta-data: • F10 • Spot metering • 1/1250 of a second • 2.8 meters from subject

To get a shutter speed of 1/1250 at f10 indicates there must have been a lot of light. Background darker than normal because of need for good exposure on subject. Light from the side creates small shadows that allow for the texture to stand out.

Table of Contents Close-up Photography – taken in natural setting Meta-data: • 300 mm • F9 • 1/250 • 400 ISO Far enough away to give enough depth of field Background black – was somewhat distant and apparently not enough light!

Table of Contents Macro

Macro-lens • Allows focusing at very close range • Size of subject is a 1 to 1 (or greater “magnification”) ratio with image on image sensor • Shallow Depth of Field • Stability of subject and camera essential • Ambient light in short supply • Moderate light – reflector, diffuser, shade

Table of Contents Macro continued In the field: • Look for best specimens if photographing plants • Insects in the morning can be found in a dormant state • Line up plane of image sensor to be parallel with plane of subject • Wind protection - shield • Use a Light box • Angle of view • Use a “Plamp” • Consider background • Show context Table of Contents Composition: • Rule of Thirds • Leading Lines • Foreground Element – needs narrow aperture setting • Background Awareness • Eliminate distraction • Element in or out • Look for patterns – odd numbers to be preferred • Consider angle of view • Leave room for subject to move into if facing left or right • Leave headroom • Show context Table of Contents Resolution

• Image Sensors described by “megapixels” Image resolution: • For computer screens 72 DPI (pixels or dots per inch) is adequate • For printing about 300 DPI is recommended usually A Short Story available only through the lens of a camera!

Table of Contents The Characters! Eastern Kingbird Tree Swallow Tree Swallow Fledglings Easter Kingbird Fledglings

Table of Contents Camera Limitations

• Wide Angle and Telephoto Distortion (50 mm is what eye sees) • Converging lines with wide angle (level camera if possible) • Dynamic Range • Dark Scenes and Light Scenes – based on 18% grey • Colour Rendition • Shutter Lag • White Balance • Chromatic Aberration • Not bifocal – depth not necessarily obvious • Over expose for back-lit subject – bird on a branch for instance Table of Contents Table of Contents Crop Factor (DSLR) – Full Frame vs ASP image sensors

Canon DSLR cameras - 6D or smaller numbers are full frame lenses. Nikon 7000 numbers and 5 are full frame? Full Frame is based on 35 mm cameras, image sensor has less dense pixel arrangement and handles light better. The crop factor applies to non-full frame cameras and gives effectively more focal length • For a Canon lens 1.6, for Nikon 1.5 • A smaller portion of the field is captured by the smaller image sensor on an APS lens so is magnified. • A 400 mm lens has the equivalent of 400 x 1.6 = 640 mm lens (Canon) • A 24 mm lens has the equivalent of 24 x 1.6 = 38.4 mm lens (Canon) Table of Contents Camera Stability • Good hand positions on camera • Tripods/Monopods/BEAN Bags can be used • High shutter speed will help overcome camera shake • Use remote shutter release or self-timer • Easier to hold camera stable that has a viewfinder • Brace yourself against a wall, a tree etc. • Focal length – using a telephoto lens is like trying to hold the far end of a long stick steady

Table of Contents Lighting

• Use natural light is possible • Avoid direct flash, bounce light or use off camera lighting • Bright overcast day gives even lighting – has many advantages • Strong lighting give fast shutter speed, quick focusing. If subject is evenly lit `down sun` the colours stand out and shutter speed is fast, focus is faster too. • Strong Direct Daylight disadvantages: deeper shadows, loss of texture, cold

Table of Contents Flash Fill – moderated flash • When background is brighter than subject • Moderate flash out-put – camera might do it automatically • Be prepared for trial and error • Tricky to make it appear natural • The brighter the ambient light, the deeper the shadows, therefore more flash fill required • Moderated flash is useful for night photography

Table of Contents White-balance – Light Temperature

• Different light sources have different temperatures and can create a colour cast over a photo. • Auto white-balance can work well most of the time. • For outdoor photography • Daylight • Shade • Cloudy • Mixed lighting (varying sources) can be troublesome. • Easiest to control in RAW Table of Contents Depth of Field

The part of the photo that Is acceptably sharp and considered in focus. It extends approximately 1/3 in front of subject and 2/3’s behind. Determined by: • Focal length of lens - the shorter the focal length the greater the depth of field. • Proximity to subject

Table of Contents Blur • Blur – Motion Blur and Camera Shake - consider; • Image Stabilization switched on? • Camera Stability – camera grip, brace, tripod, viewfinder • Shutter Speed • Depth of field too narrow – consider focal length and subject proximity • Creative Use of Blur • Panning a moving subject to blur background (shutter speed 1/80 or so) • Bokeh • Zoom Burst • Use “flash freeze” – with slow shutter speed

• ``Milky`` water – long exposure, might need ND filter Table of Contents

Caught in the Act

Wildlife behaviour is always interesting • Be prepared • Anticipate • Patience • Good lighting helps • Birds fishing (GBH) , birds feeding fledglings, birds courting

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Table of Contents Night-time Photography

• Longer Exposure – remote release or timed shutter release • Higher ISO needed • Focusing Difficult • Dynamic Range Limitations • Long exposure for Northern Lights … more than the eye sees! • Have a small flashlight with you • Try “painting with light”

Table of Contents Moon Shots

• Moon rise can be a dramatic photo but tricky. • The balance between the moon’s brightness and the darkening sky. There is perhaps almost a magic moment. • Calculate not just when the moon will rise but where. • It is difficult to record or render an accurate exposure. • Moon colour is difficult also --- orange can be troublesome • Moon’s features will not show up well in the full moon’s light, to show texture light needs to come from the side. Table of Contents Bokeh

Determined by • Focal length of lens being used • Proximity of subject to camera • Proximity of background to subject

Quality determined by • Colour • Softness • Some structure/pattern can be effective if not a distraction

Purpose is to help subject stand out and to compliment it

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Table of Contents Table of Contents Shooting RAW

RAW retains a lot more data than the usual .jpg format. There is very little in camera processing. The LCD view though is a .jpg so what you see may not be what you get. You can moderate • White balance • Exposure • Colours • Contrast • Sharpness

Table of Contents Shooting RAW continued

You can’t of course change • ISO • Focus

Any camera that has the capability of shooting RAW will come with processing software. By far the best software is Adobe Lightroom Files are large Processing takes some time but with practice can be done quickly

Table of Contents Limited focal length?

• Crop image • The more megapixels the better • RAW files will give more data to work with • Use a blind • Good to show environment in which subject is located

Table of Contents Etiquette

• Subject sensibilities – wildlife can be under stress • Trespassing • Local rules e.g. National Parks don’t allow for use of recorded bird calls and songs • These should only be used sparingly and not during mating season • Consider other photographers

Table of Contents Habits: Routines – good habits Check battery and card Check settings in camera Check weather

Routines to avoid • Doing the same things – not trying new things • Shooting angle • Camera settings • Changing lenses

Table of Contents What to do with photos?

• Own record and interest • Use to confirm identity • Enter to data bases such as eBird, BugGuide, eButterfly, I-Naturalist • Print and display • Create • Social media – share • Publish • Storage and back-up Table of Contents Find our where to photograph?

• Check for “hot spots” in data bases • Zoos – it is possible to shoot tigers through a fence and the camera doesn’t really show the fence as it could be completely out of focus • From your networks • Tourism Departments

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Some variations

• Multiple Exposures • Time lapse photogpaphy • Strobe Flash

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Special Techniques

Back button focusing Panning with moving subject Panorama - stitching Multiple Exposure HDR Exposure Bracketing

Table of Contents Stitched Panorama • Use manual settings so exposure doesn’t change • Manual focus for the same reason • Overlap each photo by 1/3 to ½ • Keep camera level • I have found hand held shooting the easiest • Try using camera in vertical position to get more of the scene • Useful for counting and identifying birds in a survey situation

Table of Contents By the way, can you determine the mistake and what caused it? Panning

Panning birds in flight • Anticipate • Easier if sky or water is background … no competition for auto-focus • A1 servo • Burst

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