A Guest Post by Valerie Jardin . I am a photographer. I love the outdoors and I live in the state of Minnesota. Even if you love snow and extreme temperatures, I can assure you that, by the end of January, you will be starved for some color in nature and less bulky clothing. Living in a ‘black and white’ landscape for several months every year makes you appreciate little things. As a photographer and nature lover you develop an eye for details. Here are a few tips to help you survive a long, cold and snowy winter while photographing nature. First and foremost, be ready for extreme temperatures and wind chills before heading out into the woods. Hand and feet warmers and layers of clothing are common sense. Thin gloves under your heavy mittens so that you don’t get frostbites when you need to make camera adjustments are a good idea. Having a large plastic bag handy to seal your camera or your entire gear bag in before going back to room temperature will prevent heavy condensation on your precious equipment. In the middle of winter, there will be a time when you find yourself in a creative rut, when you are going to get tired of photographing ‘Winter Wonderland’ however pretty it may look. You are starting to dream about grass, dirt, spring flowers and the return of the migratory birds. I usually reach that state of mind around mid January. So what do I do? I get out there with my camera and my snowshoes and I shoot. What do I look for when out on a nature walk in January? I pay attention to details, patterns, the slightest bit of color, animal tracks, wildlife. Why not experiment with some black and white photography or use a creative effect lens such as the Lensbaby Composer? Here are a few examples of images I shot on some of the most dreary and cold days this winter, most of them within walking distance from my house: The color of the blue spruce really stands out in the snow. Look for interesting shapes, here the shadow and drift look like a giant spoon Patterns in the snow Snow covered fox tracks Use a shallow depth of field to isolate a detail Deer always look so beautiful in the snow. They are almost impossible to spot in the woods any other time of the year. Experiment with black and white Need a little creative boost? A special effect lens such as the Lensbaby Composer can be a really fun tool to look at nature differently I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are located in a cold state or country, spring is coming… Happy winter shooting! Connect with Valerie on Facebook or Twitter or visit her website . Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . How to Stay Motivated to Photograph Nature after Months in the Snow and Cold . . . → Read More: How to Stay Motivated to Photograph Nature after Months in the Snow and Cold
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Today we’re going to kick off a week of digital cameras, and we’re going to start things off with the Canon PowerShot SX210IS, a fairly robust system that, though it doesn’t look all that impressive, will still pack a whole lot of value into a relatively slim casing. The Canon PowerShot … . . . → Read More: Canon SX210IS Digital Camera Review–High Dollar Value  Simple is not always simpler! I knew little about this piece of technology (the Panasonic HM-TA1. ) before I laid eyes and hands on the actual gear itself so, in my usual gung ho approach, I tapped the little power button, pressed a few appropriate buttons and shot some movies and stills. Did I get what I wanted? Not exactly. But after a five minute read of the instruction book I wrapped my tiny mind around how it actually works. Panasonic HM-TA1 Features The Lumix TA1 is really quite simple to use and very powerful in what it can do: it’s sized like a mobile phone; it captures 3264 . . . → Read More: Panasonic HM-TA1 Multimedia Digital Camera [REVIEW] Photography is a part of the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the globe. The widespread availability and ease of owning a camera is a product of the digital age – and aren’t we all so fortunate for it. Whether you have a simple point and shoot to capture family moments and day to day ramblings or a multi-thousand dollar medium format with a digital back for large production advertising, photography touches all of us. It begs the question, why do we photograph? For some it’s as necessary as breathing. It’s as much a part of who we are as the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, the friends we associate with and the values we hold dear. It’s who we are. To others it’s an enjoyable hobby or past-time – a great way to spend some free time or a way to capture little family moments. Whatever your personal level of involvement in photography is, taking photos is something we all love to do. Perhaps there is a deeper psychological explanation. Our time on this earth only lasts for so long, and a camera allows us to preserve memories far past when they might have slipped our mind. It helps us pass those memories into the hands of future generations. Our photos are little legacies of the life we have led – our travels, experiences, food, family, friends, work relationships and more. Each photo is a window into a moment, and the collections of images we take over the years are a window into who we were and what we valued. Ultimately it comes down to a simple truth – seeing that moment captured makes us genuinely happy. Photography should make you happy. Never let someone impede on your personal happiness. You love HDRs and someone else doesn’t – who cares? You are enamored with landscapes but your friends think they’re droll – don’t let it bother you. You’re a fashion nut but no one gets your style – just keep being you. Enjoy your photography for what it is – your own. Know that not everyone will appreciate it, but if it personally fulfills you, that’s all that truly matters. Be true to yourself and you’ll never regret a day of your life. Share with us, why it is you photograph. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Why We Photograph . . . → Read More: Why We Photograph This book won’t help you set the right exposure for a shot, nor will it help you compose, add filtration or do a later digital clean up when all has gone wrong. Authors Greenberg and Reznicki deal with the legal side of picture-making in its 126 pages: copyright, model releases, asserting your rights, pricing your work, chasing defaulting clients etc. The manual is published in the USA, so the info within its pages applies to the situation in that country; many of the topics may have different legal shades and interpretations in your own country, however the over-riding message within its pages are the same the world over: be careful, know your rights, know the boundaries, know the ropes. If they were not of such importance, the examples given in the book carry much caution. Like this one: A bank asks its employees to stay back after closing so that some shots can be taken for promotional purposes; there is no obligation to stay back and no releases are signed. Some workers remain and end up in the shots made by a photographer, assistant, makeup etc. The staff members pose and the shoot takes several hours. Ads and promos come out. Some employees, having never signed releases, claim violations of NY law. They win! And on copyright in times past. Well before copyright law came into being some ‘artists’ used drastic methods to state their rights: Shah Jihan who commissioned the Taj Mahal used one extreme method to deter anyone from making a reproduction of his amazing creation: as the workmen finished their tasks, the Shah ordered one of their hands to be cut off. Have you seen a second Taj Mahal? Drastic but it worked. Author : E Greenberg & J Reznicki. Publisher : Lark Books. Distributor : Capricorn Link. Length : 126 pages. ISBN : 978 1 906672 420 5. Price : Get a price on the Photographer’s Survival Manual on Amazon (currently 28% off). Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Photographer’s Survival Manual . . . → Read More: Photographer’s Survival Manual Panasonic is one of the biggest names when it comes to digital cameras and their Lumix brand is no different. A highly anticipated release from Panasonic under said brand is none other than the Lumix DMC-GF2, pictured above. The company has given us plenty of insight into this device’s hardware but … . . . → Read More: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Gets Officially Priced  Late last night Panasonic announced four new Lumix digital cameras for 2011, the ‘lifeproof’ DMC-TS3 , the ultra-compact DMC-FX78 , and the long-zoomed DMC-ZS10 and DMC-ZS8 . All of these units offer some appealing features, like GPS functionality ( TS3 and ZS10 ), Touchscreen interface ( ZS10 and FX78 ), and full HD video capture ( TS3 , ZS10 , FX78 ). For more details about these new models, see our preview pages for each camera by clicking on the model numbers above. . . . → Read More: Panasonic Unveils Four New Lumix Digital Cameras  The advent of digital cameras initially caused, and is still responsible for, a tsunami of excitement. The excitement is enjoyed not so much for experienced photographers but for the vast numbers of people out there who just like photographs, not for their intrinsic value, but for what you can do with photos: embellish a coffee mug with shots of the family; dress up a calendar; personalize a mouse mat … the list goes on. Snapshot by LateNiteSoft is a fascinating piece of Mac software that addresses this need and gives the photo lover a tool to take personal images to a new level. It’s easy to use, relatively cheap — and a heap of fun to use. So, instead of sitting in front of a supermarket photo machine, you can now do many of the tricky tasks at your place with the home printer. It presents you with a work screen, onto which you can import your favourite photo. Once in view you can then embellish it with speech bubbles, insert text captions, then add borders to frame your image. The app gives you control over final print size, anywhere from 3 . . . → Read More: Snapshot Software Review [Mac] 2011 is a big year for 3D. Movies, TV and even videogames are going 3D, but the one market that every manufacturer wants a piece of is that of user-created 3D content. Whoever comes out as the favored maker of 3D digital cameras is going to be sitting pretty. Nikon Japan had plans for the release of a service called My Picturetown 3D that would allow subscribers to rent a glasses-free 3D photo frame and convert their 2D photos into 3D. Unfortunately, it looks like those plans have been delayed. Nikon says Mypicturetown is still on the way, but will hit Japan in March, instead of January as planned. A delay in the Japanese release almost certainly means that we’ll have to wait even longer before we see something like this in the US. . . . → Read More: Nikon Delays My Picturetown 3D |
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