PhotoNaturalist

What’s Wrong With This Photo?

March 25, 2013 By Vic Berardi 19 Comments

Rough-legged Hawk / Photo by Vic Berardi

This is a photo of a Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus). It breeds in the arctic and migrates southward down into the far southern areas of western Canada and throughout much of the United States where it spends most of the winter. Its journey southward and back again is long and arduous. This particular photo was taken in southern Wisconsin in early March.

Before we get into what’s wrong with this photo, let’s discuss a few good things about it.

At first glance, this is exactly the type of photograph that gets the most attention on forums, listservs and social networks. It might even be a photo that could potentially win a photo contest. Why? Because it captures a dramatic scene that instantly makes the observer feel some kind of emotion. [Read more...]

6 Tips For Photographing Shorebirds

January 20, 2013 By Steve Berardi 10 Comments

Sanderling / Photo by Steve Berardi

We’ve talked a lot about photographing birds here on PN: how to photograph them in flight, how to photograph perched birds, and even a few tips for photographing hummingbirds. But, we haven’t talked a whole lot about shorebirds specifically, so I thought it’d be good to share a few tips for photographing these types of birds:

#1 – Get down low to the ground

The single most important thing to do when photographing shorebirds is to get down to their level. This usually means lying down on the ground, so it’s helpful to bring a towel or something to lie down on. Photographing the birds at their eye level does two things: it makes the image more intimate and it usually results in a better background (because from this low angle, the background will usually be farther away). [Read more...]

How To Photograph Birds In Bad Light

December 10, 2012 By Vic Berardi 22 Comments

Photo by Vic Berardi

You’ve probably said it yourself and you’ve heard it said many times, “I decided to stay home today because the lighting was so awful.”

If you’re like many beginning bird photographers, then you check the weather forecast hoping it calls for sunny blue skies. But, then you get depressed when the forecast calls for “mostly cloudy skies” and a chance for rain or snow. You begin to wonder why you have all that expensive camera equipment!

But don’t fret too hard about it! Yes, it’s true that deep blue skies can be great for photographing birds in flight, but it’s actually cloudy skies that create the lighting situations for the most dynamic or dramatic photos, especially those of perched birds. [Read more...]

Quick Tip For Spotting Wildlife

October 1, 2012 By Steve Berardi 7 Comments

Photo by Steve Berardi

One of the most difficult parts of wildlife photography is spotting your subject. Most wild animals tend to stay away from us humans, so it often requires a lot of patience to actually encounter them.

Well, a few weeks ago I took a survival training course and learned something that might increase your chances of spotting some wildlife:

Many animals are highly active immediately before and after a storm.

Or, more specifically: animals become more active whenever there’s a sudden change in barometric pressure.

So, if you go out hiking right before (or after) a big storm, you’re much more likely to see wildlife. Many animals are moving around at this time so they can find better shelter for the coming storm. Somehow, they can sense that a storm is coming. [Read more...]

Remember To Always Put Safety First

August 26, 2012 By Steve Berardi 13 Comments

Photo by Jackson Hole Central Reservations (used under the CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)

Today I read a sad story about a man who was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear while trying to photograph it in Denali National Park (Alaska). Apparently, he was photographing it for over eight minutes, and got within 50 yards of the bear. The bear probably then felt threatened, and attacked the man.

Whenever you see wildlife, it’s always exciting. And, especially as photographers, I think we get even more excited than the average person, and totally forget about safety sometimes in the pursuit of a photograph.

But, it’s important to remember that wildlife can become dangerous if they feel threatened. [Read more...]

Three Reasons to Photograph Wildlife at Eye Level

August 21, 2012 By Steve Berardi 21 Comments

Snowy Plover / Photo by Steve Berardi

When you encounter wildlife, it’s pretty easy to get excited, isn’t it? It doesn’t happen often, so when you’re lucky enough, the first thing you’re probably thinking is, “wow, I do not want to scare this thing away!” (well, unless it’s a bear or mountain lion, heh).

In that moment of excitement, it’s easy to forget about camera techniques and just start snapping photos from where you’re standing. But, if you want an intimate, sharp, and isolated portrait of any wildlife subject, you’re gonna have to get down to their eye level to snap the photo, and here are some reasons why: [Read more...]