Nature Photography Handout PDF-Mike Trahan
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11/6/2015 Nature Photography Why Bother With Nature Photography? Today Fundamentals: Tech Stuff Some Fundamentals Underlying Objectives: Birds and Wildlife Insects: Butterflies, Dragonflies, Bugs 1. Get best image quality practical Landscapes 2. Increase the percentage of “keeper” Flowers and Plants shots Tradeoffs, tradeoffs, tradeoffs 1 11/6/2015 RAW vs JPG Tech Stuff Exposure • Usually manual or Av • MUST adjust speed/aperture or exposure compensation • Set histogram always on for display Autofocus • Single point or single + surrounding pts • Back button focusing with continuous focusing (AF Servo) RAW (vs. JPG) 2 11/6/2015 Fundamentals Birds and Wildlife Light • Quality • Direction Composition Critical but we’ll only touch on today in some of the genre sections 3 11/6/2015 Birds and Wildlife A Key Problem Getting close enough 4 11/6/2015 Two Ways to Get Closer Stalking Use a blind Use your car as a blind when convenient 5 11/6/2015 A Key Way to Get Closer: Effective Focal Length Equipment Camera/Lens Sweet Spots: 400mm on a Canon 7D crop DSLR Super zoom compacts 400mm x 1.6 = 640mm full frame equivalent Crop DSLR using 400mm f5.6 lens • Canon 100-400mm L • Tamron 150-600mm (newer) Canon 7D using 600mm f4 lens • Sigma 150-500mm (newer) + 1.4 teleconverter (making it f5.6) 600mm x 1.4 x 1.6 = 1,344mm DSLR using 600mm/500mm f4 lens + teleconverter The Well- Equipped Bird Photo- grapher Geek 6 11/6/2015 Default Set-Up For Birds Light Turn on camera and start with: Manual, esp. for birds in flight (sometimes Av) Quality of light 1/1000 Direction of light f/8 ISO 400-1600 depending on amt of light Fill flash High speed continuous drive (unless using fill flash) Handheld; occasionally tripod (with loose head for moving • For catchlight birds) • To supplement low light Have binoculars and field guide Consider using Better Beamer and fill flash set to -1 to -1.7 flash exposure compensation Take test shot and adjust from there Quality of Light Early morning or evening 7 11/6/2015 Harsher mid- day light Direction of Indigo Bunting harsh light Light -Side -Front -Back Lighting P.S. Get Low 8 11/6/2015 Deep woods: Let your fill flash be your Fill Flash fast shutter 1/320 Fill light + F6.3 ISO catchlights 1250 340mm Flash 600RT With Better Beamer Exposure can be critical - check your histogram Wildlife Photography Rule of Thumb When you get a good shot, shoot. When you get another good shot, shoot again. 9 11/6/2015 10 11/6/2015 11 11/6/2015 What you didn’t see 12 11/6/2015 Best Place To Start? Your backyard And your pictures gradually get better 13 11/6/2015 Then add some tricks Create backyard blinds 14 11/6/2015 Or use an actual blind (~$60) How close to crop? Filling the frame 15 11/6/2015 Next Places To Try Another place to try: Adopt a local forest preserve, state and county park(s) Best time – early morning Go on local “led” field trips The zoo • ENSBC (Evanston North Shore Bird Club) http://www.ensbc.org/ • Lake-Cook Audubon http://www.lakecookaudubon.org/ • Volo Bog http://dnr.state.il.us/education/INTERPRT/volo/VOLOBOG.HTM#programs • Others: Chicago Audubon, DuPage Audubon, Chicago Ornithological Society, Illinois Ornithological Society Check IBET for current activity • Web only http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/IBET.html • IBET - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/ - like LCCC Yahoo group • IL Birders Forum - http://www.ilbirds.com – for more discussions Don’t forget post-processing (for legal changes) Rarity or degree of difficulty is not a factor in CACCA competitions White overcast sky problem - Original capture 16 11/6/2015 You almost always want a different background Key Factors Get out - create more opportunities Have camera with you Be patient Relax and enjoy nature – let photography be a plus Be ethical 17 11/6/2015 Bugs: Butterflies, Dragonflies, Bugs: Butterflies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Insects Damselflies, Insects PhotoNaturalist free ebook: http://photonaturalist.net/how-to- photograph-dragonflies-free-ebook/ Getting close up: • Macro lens • Closer focusing telephoto lens • Canon 500D close up diopter (for any DSLR make) • Extension tubes Working Distance and Magnification Extension Tubes vs. Diopters Telephoto with with only Extension Tubes Close-up Lenses Lens Native Focal Length Magnification 12 mm 25 mm +2 Diopters +4 Diopters → 50 mm 0.15X 0.39X 0.65X 0.25X 0.45X 100 mm 0.14X 0.26X 0.39X 0.34X 0.54X 200 mm 0.16X 0.22X 0.29X 0.56X 0.96X Lenses used for above comparison: Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 100 mm f/2.0 USM, Canon EF 200 mm f/2.8 II USM From Cambridge in Color Canon 500D http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/macro-extension-tubes- closeup.htm#calculator-closeup 18 11/6/2015 Telephoto + 500D diopter 19 11/6/2015 Some Considerations Best months: June-August (when birding is poorer) Narrow depth of field a key issue Be very conscious of the background Handheld or tripod Shoot in a flat plane parallel to your sensor Not parallel to sensor Parallel to sensor Ditto with butterflies 20 11/6/2015 Look for ways to make it interesting 21 11/6/2015 Landscapes Landscapes Light: Best light –30 mins before sunrise through early morning golden hour AND same in reverse for sunset Side lighting best - front lighting can be flat looking Flat front lighting Better side lighting 22 11/6/2015 A Sunrise Sequence Why Is Light Around Sunrise or Sunset So Prized? Let’s see. 10 sec.-2.5 sec-30 sec HDR exposure @ f22 ISO 200 23 11/6/2015 .4 sec.-.1 sec-1.6 sec HDR exposure @f20 ISO 100 24 11/6/2015 1/5 sec.-1/60 sec-1/4 sec HDR exposure @ f14 ISO 100 25 11/6/2015 Alpenglow – before sunrise/after sunset 1/20 sec-1/80 sec-1/5 sec HDR exposure @f13 ISO 100 Default Set-Up If The Sky Is In The Picture Av mode (aperture priority) F11 (or f22 if you need it) You MUST use either: ISO 100 (or 200) Wide-angle lens On a tripod HDR (or equivalent) Use a circular polarizing filter With a remote shutter release (or 2 sec timer) Consider using mirror lockup if shooting in ¼ - 1 sec range Graduated Neutral Density Filter Use exposure compensation to get best first image exposure you can Take HDR - Use exposure bracketing +- 2 stops with three exposures or Graduated Neutral Density filter 26 11/6/2015 27 11/6/2015 For night shots, use: Shutter speed under 30 secs ISO 400 or more Fast lens f2.8 or better if available Landscapes Background Composition: Try for foreground, mid ground, and background Midground Horizon line not in the center (ok for reflections) Have a clear subject Adjust your shooting position Foreground 28 11/6/2015 Example of a Centered Reflection Lovely Colors But What’s the Subject??? Adjust Your Shooting Position Some other considerations Up and down, side to side Don’t always shoot at eye level Leading lines 29 11/6/2015 Moving water – 1/15 to 1/5th sec shutter (HDR too) Black and White Don’t Forget to Shoot Panoramas 30 11/6/2015 Flowers Flowers Flowers Bright but overcast days best Photonaturalist ebook: http://photonaturalist.net/free-ebook-on- • Avoids harsh shadows wildflower-photography/ • Gives saturated colors Close up equipment as with bugs Depth of field often crucial Use diffuser or light box when sunny • Need high f stop to keep all of subject in focus • Results in slow shutter speeds so need tripod– although some shoot handheld Wind is your enemy • Want out-of-focus background • Consider focus stacking or high/low f stop for post-processing 31 11/6/2015 f2.8 f22 Morning dew 100-400mm lens with 500D diopter Two layers using layer mask 32 11/6/2015 The End 33 .