PhotoNaturalist » Philosophy

5 reasons to minimize your camera gear

Steve Berardi — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:12:11 +0000

Photo by Martin Taylor

Have you ever felt like you were just one camera lens away from completing your ultimate collection of gear? Have you ever said to yourself, “if only I had that 600mm lens, THEN I could take those awesome photos I want.” Or maybe there’s some nifty little accessories that you’re just itching to get.

I think it’s pretty easy to get excited about new camera gear. I’ll admit it: I’d love to get my hands on a 600mm f/4, or that Canon 7D. And, I’m sure you would too

But, then we get reminded by great photographers like David duChemin that gear isn’t the most important thing. The photographer is what really makes the photo, and one of the best ways to improve your photography is to simply just go out there and take more photos. Experiment. Make mistakes. Learn from them.

I think as nature photographers, it’s especially important to minimize our gear, and here are a few reasons why:

#1 – Your vision is infinitely more important than your gear

Has anyone ever looked at your photos and said, “Wow, you must have a really good camera!“? It’s one of the most annoying things we hear as photographers, because we know that it’s not really the camera that makes the photo great: it’s your vision as a photographer. It’s your unique perspective of the world that made your photo great. The camera was just there to capture the light.

#2 – Less gear means less weight on your back

As nature photographers, we usually go on long hikes or backpacking trips with our gear, so we feel it every step of the way. It’s amazing how much lighter your bag will feel if you take one less lens, or just one camera body.

#3 – Saves you money

Those cameras, lenses, and filters can get expensive pretty quickly. If you minimize your gear and focus on the bare essentials, you’ll save a ton of money!

#4 – Forces you to push the limits of your existing gear

Every single camera or lens has limits, but within those limits is an infinite supply of great photographs. I think a lot of times we look at new gear as a solution to one of our problems, and don’t realize we could actually push the limits of our existing gear to accomplish the same thing.

For example, one of my favorite subjects to photograph is hummingbirds. And, of course with birds your lens is never long enough. But, when I saw the hefty price of a long lens like the 600mm, I simply said, “uhhhhh, no.” So, I looked into another [cheaper] way to solve my problem: find out how to physically get closer to the hummingbirds without scaring them away. After watching them closely and learning their subtle habits, I’ve managed to get pretty close to them and get pretty decent shots with a 420mm lens (300mm + 1.4 extender).

#5 – Leaves you more room for other stuff

Without so much camera gear in your backpack, you’ll have more room for other things that help you observe and enjoy nature, like a pair of binoculars or a great book, like The Deerslayer or Desert Solitaire.

Of course, sometimes you really DO need more gear

At the bare minimum, of course, you’ll always need a camera and at least one lens (and a tripod too!). And, if you have a strong desire to photograph certain subjects, then you’ll most certainly need special gear–you can’t really photograph birds with a 50mm lens.

But, before you add that next camera lens to your cart, just ask yourself, “do you REALLY need that? is there no other feasible way to get around your problem?” Don’t be afraid to answer yes (when the answer really is yes)

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About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, computer scientist, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of Southern California.

How to create intimate portraits of nature

Steve Berardi — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:38:37 +0000

Bigelow's Monkeyflower / Photos by Steve Berardi

Which of the two photos above do you like better?

They were both taken of the same flower, with the same camera settings. The only difference between the two shots is the position of the camera.

I’ll take a wild guess that you like the first one more. And, I think this photo is better because it has more of an intimate and friendly feeling to it.

Now, part of the reason the first photo has this intimate feeling is because the flower is more isolated from its background.

But, what’s more important here is the perspective: the first photo was taken from a position looking directly at the flower (which stood just a few inches high). I was lying down on the ground with the camera on the same level as the flower, almost as if I was seeing eye-to-eye with the flower (if the flower had eyes, hehe).

The second photo was taken from a more elevated position: I was kneeling and looking down on the flower with my camera. When we look down on things, we tend to have a slight feeling of superiority or conquer, and this diminishes that friendly feeling.

I’ve talked about this topic before, as it applies to photographing wildlife, but I think it’s just as important for any kind of nature portrait. The position of your camera in relation to your subject (whether it’s above, below, or on the same level), will determine the feeling you portray in your photo.

So, to create that intimate and friendly feeling in your nature portraits, you have to photograph your subject on their level. You have to see them eye-to-eye.

Sometimes this might mean lying down on a bed of sharp rocks and being sore for a couple days, but the rewards are well worth it

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“Wow, you must have a really good camera!”

Vic Berardi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:26:46 +0000

Photo by Martin Taylor

Anyone who has ever taken a sharp, properly exposed, and well-composed photo has heard these very words.

A couple of years ago someone I know, a writer of three published books and numerous articles, came across some of my flower photos. He looked at them intensely and said, “Wow, you must have a really good camera!”

I stared at him looking perplexed then smiled and said that I thought his writing was excellent and that he must have a “really good keyboard and computer!” He understood.

Below is one of the photos he looked at. To most people this looks like a simple photograph of an interesting flower: a Fringed Gentian.

Photo by Vic Berardi

What they’re not seeing is that this particular flower was only 10” tall and was in fairly moist ground and that I was virtually on my belly lying in mud.

They’re also not seeing the reflector my wife was holding to get that subtle backlit effect and the shower curtain draped over a tree branch that we had diffusing the light but in such a position to still let the sunlight fill the bottom of the flower.

They’re also not seeing, or should I say feeling, the multitude of mosquitoes biting me because I refuse to wear too strong a repellent because it might get on the plastic components of my equipment and cause them to melt.

How about this next photo?

Photo by Vic Berardi

Anybody who has ever attempted to photograph dragonflies or butterflies knows that trying to shoot photos of these critters is virtually impossible.

So, is a photo like this luck? Hardly. Understanding a species such as this Four-spotted Skimmer is vital to photographing them. Many dragonflies almost never seem to rest, whereas skimmers frequently come to a favorite perch and rest for several minutes. Patience is required. But that alone doesn’t make a good photo. You still have to have good technique to get good sharpness and perfect exposure.

What the inexperienced might not see is that this photo has several elements working in its favor. It is perfectly exposed, tack sharp and has an interesting look about it. What is not seen is that I purposely and patiently waited for this dragonfly to land in front of the small yellow flower patch that complimented its coloring.

What also is not seen is that to do this I needed a spot that I wouldn’t be looking down at the flowers and have the dragonfly image taken from the top. I wanted the flowers behind it and the dragonfly level to the eye. The ground I was standing on had a slope to allow the perch to be level and the flowers show behind.

To get the sharpness I had to use a tripod and mirror lockup. And, to get depth of field you need to use at least f/16. A low ISO of 200 and f/16 in bright sunlight requires a shutter speed of approximately 1/200 second. But lighting here was slightly diffused by a thin layer of clouds so I had to use a third of a stop slower.

The last photo that gets the, “Wow, you must have a . . .” statement is this one:

Photo by Vic Berardi

Here we have a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at an angle that one can only wonder how this photo was taken! Again, perfect exposure and sharpness are absolutely mandatory. Exposing for the undersides of a backlit lightly colored bird is very tricky. But how was this photo taken?

This bird was perched when I first saw it. Many of the perched hawk photos I shoot are taken when the bird is alongside the road either on a utility pole, a fence or an overhanging tree branch.

I prefer to position my vehicle with the bird on the passenger side. I pull up slowly, exit the vehicle as cautiously as possible and take whatever shots I can before the bird takes off.

Many times the bird remains perched even after I’ve taken all the shots I want and other times it takes off as I slow down and before I exit the vehicle. This bird did the latter. Knowing I couldn’t get out of the vehicle quick enough I extended my lens through the open sky window and fired away as the bird passed over me. By the way, I always leave the sky window open, even in winter!

But what is it about these three photos that make them a “Wow, you must have a really good camera!” photo and how does it apply to nature photography? The answer is quite easy.

I feel it is important to take nature photos from an angle not normally seen. The gentian photo was taken at a very low level in a controlled but natural lighting. The dragonfly photo was taken at a low angle to let the flowers in that background add contrast to the photo. And lastly, the hawk photo is at an angle very few people see in the split second a close bird flies overhead. Most people would duck and never see it at all!

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About the Author: Vic Berardi is a raptor lover that lives in the Midwest. He is the founder of the Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch and every weekend of the year you’ll find him searching for hawks and photographing them. Several of his photographs have been published in a leading raptor journal and in articles he has written. During the year he gives presentations teaching others about hawks and hawk migration. Vic also photographs dragonflies and wild flowers and is always respectful of nature and its creatures.

“Stop and take a look around once in awhile”

Steve Berardi — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:26:26 +0000

Have you ever seen the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day off? One of my all time favorite quotes is at the end of this film when Ferris says,

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

Bueller wasn’t a naturalist (or a photographer), but I think his advice is the key to enjoying nature.

In our modern world of cell phones, next day shipping, and instant access to just about anything, it’s really hard sometimes to take a break and escape this “on demand” attitude.

But, to really enjoy nature and see all of its beauty, you have to look through patient eyes. You have to stop and take a look around once in awhile.

Here’s a short story to help illustrate what I mean:

When my sister came to California for a visit last summer, we decided to go hiking on one of my favorite trails in the San Gabriel Mountains. It’s a fairly secluded trail with lots of mountain views along the way, and just barely far enough from the city to make you forget about concrete for a second

We hiked for about four or five miles, enjoying the scenery and the various lizards that roam around the California chaparral. By the time we got to the end of the trail, we were ready for a break, so we veered off the trail a little bit and sat on a few rocks next to a stream.

The stream is primarily fed by snow, which had long been melted, so the water flow was pretty weak. But, the dwindling stream allowed us to witness an amazing event: hummingbirds taking turns sipping water from the stream.

There was always one hummingbird drinking, while 3-4 hovered (“waiting in line”) about a foot above the stream. As soon as one was done, the next would drink, and so on.

We watched them for as long as we could, and then headed back up the trail as the sun was going down. I didn’t have my camera with me, but returned the following weekend and was able to get a couple good photos:

Female Anna's Hummingbird / Photo by Steve Berardi

Male Anna's Hummingbird / Photo by Steve Berardi

The point of the story is that we never would have witnessed these beautiful birds if we didn’t stop and take a look around. If we just zoomed through the trail, we would’ve missed them.

When walking down a trail, you quickly scare away all kinds of wildlife, even if you try to be as quiet as possible. But, if you stop and take a look around for awhile, a lot of that wildlife you just scared away will come back.. And, sometimes they’ll even let you take a photo of them

So, if you get a chance to go for a hike this weekend, try to leave the modern day “on demand” attitude at home, and just enjoy what nature presents. Patiently.

About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, computer scientist, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains or the Mojave Desert, both located in the beautiful state of California.

What is a natural photograph?

Vic Berardi — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:24:58 +0000

Photo by Vic Berardi

Sometimes as nature photographers, our minds focus too much on getting a good photograph, instead of just enjoying nature and being there to capture some of the light we come across.

It’s important to keep nature natural, and I’ll tell you a story to help illustrate what I mean. It’s about the ethics of attracting animals by “baiting” them–feeding them in an effort to get them to come closer to you, so you can get a photograph.

Journey of the Snowy Owl

A few species of owls, in particular the Snowy Owl, Great-gray Owl and the Northern Hawk Owl, migrate down into the lower 48 states during the winter months and occasionally take up temporary residence in urban areas. This is true for other birds of prey including hawks such as Rough-legged Hawks and Western Red-tailed Hawks.

As many photographers know, capturing photos of wild birds is quite difficult and capturing spectacular photos is near impossible unless you have unlimited patience and the right techniques.

Why do you take photographs?

Most people take photos for that final spectacular shot to show that they’ve achieved something. We do it first for ourselves, then we share that photo with others.

However, it’s the “what” we do that doesn’t seem to cross our minds. The lure of a wild owl migrating down from the arctic or some remote region to the north ignites something in all of us. It’s the wilderness coming to us instead of us going to it. But is it?

Think of that Snowy Owl that migrates down from the arctic. Most that do are juveniles less than a year old. Most of the adults stay in the arctic. When we take a photo of a Snowy Owl near a city on an empty corner lot that isn’t exactly what I would call a shot taken in the wilderness. It’s a shot taken of an occurrence, an illusion of the wilderness.

The use of “bait,” such as live mice or a chunk of chicken liver, increases the chances for this illusion and it fools everyone. Most importantly though, it fools the owl. Ethics are traded for aesthetics.

Sure, many will find justification in what they do and many others will compliment them for their final result. But, I need to know one thing. Why do we want to tame a wild animal? For any reason other than to take away something it has and we want?

There is nothing natural about these methods–only deception. Evolution and the natural process are abated and replaced with urgency.

How to take natural photographs

For those who want good photos from a naturalist point of view, a few things need to be kept in mind:

Why are you taking the photo in the first place?
For money?
For accolades?
For personal records of what you’ve seen?

Answer these questions first and you may find out more than you think.

To get truly natural photographs, you need to have:

Patience
Persistence
A very good knowledge of the subject’s behavior and habits

This all takes time–sometimes lots of time. But, the reward for taking photos this way is far greater than the shortcuts many take to achieve what they alone think is acceptable.

The photo at the beginning of this article is of a dark morph Western Red-tailed Hawk, and was taken over the course of 20 plus hours of observation and patience. I won’t go into the long details, it may even take 20 hours to explain, but this particular hawk did something predictable based on those observations and I happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Completely natural and the bird never knew I was there. Neither did its evolutionary soul. That is a natural photograph.

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Don’t be a photographer, be a photonaturalist

Steve Berardi — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:37:56 +0000

Photo by Steve Berardi

Do you remember why you first got into nature photography? Most likely it was the mesmerizing beauty of nature that inspired you to buy a camera and attempt to capture those precious landscapes, or that wonderful flower, or that unique wildlife.

I remember clearly what inspired me to buy my first SLR camera–the American Southwest. I still cannot describe what I love about the desert so much, but maybe it’s the desolation, or its ability to prove the infinite strength of life. Ever since seeing the desert landscape, I have been on a mission to capture all that glorious natural light.

As you become a better photographer and get caught up in learning all the latest tricks and buying the latest gear, it’s easy to forget what originally inspired you to learn photography.

Our mission here at PhotoNaturalist is not only to make you a better nature photographer, but to remind you of the beauty of nature and to inspire you to always expand your knowledge of not only photography, but more importantly–for you to expand your knowledge of nature. So, instead of just being a nature photographer, strive to be something more–a photonaturalist.

Being a passionate naturalist is essential to getting great nature photographs because it makes you appreciate nature on an intimate level.

For example, instead of dreading an early wakeup to get that awesome sunrise shot, embrace it and remember what makes the sunrise so special–the sun’s rays being refracted as they travel through the thick of the atmosphere. Think of how simple that concept is, and the effects it creates as a result.

Here are some quick tips to help you shy away from the label “nature photographer” and instead obtain the title of photonaturalist:

Don’t be disappointed if you come home on some days with no good photographs

Leave your camera at home sometimes and just enjoy a nature hike alone (I only bring my camera on about 60% of my hikes)

Don’t just read books on photography. Also read books on ecology, natural history, geology, or whatever part of nature fascinates you most

As a computer scientist, one of my favorite quotes is by Hal Abelson, “Computer Science is not about computers in the same way that biology is not about microscopes and petri dishes.”

I think the same idea applies to nature photography:

Nature photography is not about the camera, it’s about a naturalist trying to capture light into a box.

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