#1 – Keep track of good spots for landscape images

This probably happens to you a lot: you’ll be hiking on a trail and come to this amazing vista or perfect rock formation and you realize it would make a great landscape image if the weather or lighting conditions were just a tad bit different. Maybe you just want some of that nice sunset light shining on a mountain peak, or maybe you want a nice puffy cloud to hover over a particular rock.

Well, a GPS device can help you keep track of these spots, simply by adding waypoints. Then, once you get home later, you can write some notes about that particular spot (e.g. “come back in April when there’s more flowers in bloom” or “come back at sunset in winter, when the sun will be at the right angle to shine on this mountain peak”).

#2 – Keep track of burrows

Many animals live in underground burrows (especially in the desert), and are only active for a short time each day (usually around sunrise and sunset). So, one of the best ways to get a photo of them is to sit in a blind near their burrow and wait for them to pop out in the morning. And, with a GPS device, it’s really easy to keep track of these burrows you find while hiking, by adding waypoints.

If you end up sitting in a blind near a burrow, please be careful not to disturb the animal. You don’t want to scare them and force them to abandon the burrow, which could put their life in danger. Please be respectful of wildlife!

#3 – Geotagging your photos

Geotagging your photos can help you remember where you shot a particular photo. And, a GPS device can help you do this if your camera’s clock is set accurately (another great reason to always keep your camera’s clock updated). There’s lots of software out there that can then synchronize your photos with the GPS device: it’ll look at the time a photo was taken, and then look at your GPS log to see where you were at that time.

I’ll talk more about geotagging in a future post here on PhotoNaturalist, so make sure you’re signed up for free updates

Do NOT rely on GPS as your primary navigation tool

As a safety reminder, please do not rely on a GPS device as your primary navigation tool. I think it’s okay to do that with your car GPS, but when you’re out hiking in the wilderness, too many things can go wrong (e.g. the batteries run out, or the device falls from your backpack somehow and you lose it). Always carry a printed map too, and be aware of your route beforehand.

What did I miss?

If you’ve found another great way to use a GPS device to help your photography, please tell us about it by leaving a comment below, thanks!

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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

Related posts:

1. The Secret Ingredient to Good Nature Photos
2. Why You Should Keep Your Camera’s Clock Accurate
3. How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography

Photo by Beverly Joubert

The film was created by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, two very passionate filmmakers/photographers who have dedicated their lives to documenting and protecting the lives of wild lions.

Unfortunately, the population of wild lions is rapidly declining, mostly due to habitat loss, hunting, and disease. In 1950, the African lion population was estimated to be around 400,000. But, today, the population is down to just 20,000.

This film is part of National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative, which is a long-term commitment to stop this tragic decline of the wild cat population.

Photo by Beverly Joubert

Hopefully, you’ll be able to watch this documentary on Friday, but if you don’t have cable, it looks like it’ll be available on DVD in January

The photos in this post were used by permission from the photographer (Beverly Joubert) and were taken during the filming of The Last Lions, premiering this Friday as a part of Big Cat Week on Nat Geo WILD. Big Cat Week is a part of National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative, a long-term commitment to halt the decline of these iconic animals in the wild, which are disappearing at alarming rates.

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1. Learn About the Mighty Mississippi River In a New Documentary from Nat Geo WILD
2. The Secret Ingredient to Good Nature Photos

It works great for those times when you’re forced to hand-hold your camera, but you should always make sure to turn it off when your camera is on a tripod.

The stabilization technology works by unlocking part of your lens, which allows the lens to “correct” movements. But, when your camera is sitting still on a tripod, the stabilizer will often look for movement that isn’t there, resulting in a blurry photo.

To illustrate this, take a look at the two photos I shot below. For both shots, my camera was locked onto a stable tripod. In the image on the left, I had the lens stabilization turned OFF. And, then I simply turned it ON for the image on the right.

Both photos above were taken with the same camera, lens, and tripod. The camera’s position did not move between the shots, and the aperture/shutter speed/ISO also stayed the same. The only difference between the two photos is that lens stabilization was turned ON in the photo on the right.

Interestingly, as I shot more photos with the lens stabilization turned ON (and the camera still in the same position locked on a tripod), the images got sharper with each shot. So, it seems like this particular lens was able to “learn” that the camera was on a tripod. But, every lens works differently, so it’s not safe to assume ALL lens stabilization works like this.

Some lenses claim to have the ability to always detect when your camera is on a tripod (and it’ll turn off the stabilization automatically), but I wouldn’t recommend relying on that feature. I’m sure that detection isn’t always 100% accurate (just like your autofocus isn’t always 100% accurate).

Plus, image stabilization uses up your battery. So, keeping it turned off will let you take more photos or shoot more video on one charge.

Btw, the text in the photos above is from the side of one of my favorite photography books: Ansel Adams In The National Parks.

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

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1. 3 Great Tripod Accessories
2. How Perspective Affects Your Photos
3. 5 Essential Tools For Closeup Photography

I’ve written about perspective here on PhotoNaturalist a few times, but I’ve also written a couple posts about it over at the Digital Photography School (a great blog that covers all types of photography). And, one of those posts was just published today, so I thought it’d be good to put a list together of all the posts I’ve written about perspective:

Sometimes Close-ups Are Better From Far Away – with an example that shows how you get more control of your background if you move farther away from your subject.

Why You Need a Telephoto Lens for Landscape Photography – with an example that shows how you can manipulate the relative sizes of objects in your image, and how those different sizes communicate different feelings.

Understanding Perspective and Focal Length – a short introduction to perspective, and an overview of what types of lenses are generally used to capture different perspectives.

How to Create Intimate Portraits of Nature – with an example of how the height of your camera affects the feeling of your photos.

3 Reasons to Photograph Wildlife at Eye Level – how perspective affects the feeling and background of your wildlife portraits.

Sometimes the View is Better From Above – how the height of your camera affects the feeling you communicate in landscape photographs.

And, for even more information about how perspective affects your photos, I highly recommend reading the chapter “Basic Image Management” in Ansel Adams’ great book, The Camera.

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. The Secret Ingredient to Good Nature Photos
2. Do You Refactor Your Photographs?
3. When NOT to Use Lens Stabilization

Well, guess what? You can!

That secret ingredient is patience.

One of the hardest parts about photographing nature is that nature is filled with uncontrollable subjects.

That flower will grow where it feels like, not where you want it to grow (in front of a beautiful background).

That bird will perch where he or she feels like it, not where you want it to perch (in that perfect light).

That mountain is not moving–regardless of how much you want to put it in front of your favorite lake to create a nice reflection image.

So, the only way to deal with all this uncontrollable chaos is patience.

Here’s a few stories to help illustrate the importance of patience:

Bald Eagle in Flight

Photo by Steve Berardi

To get this photo of a bald eagle in flight, I had to stand in 5 degree weather for about two hours. Although there were a ton of eagles flying around, only occasionally did they fly close enough to photograph (filling at least 20% of the frame). I’d say for the two hours my dad and I were outside, I probably only had a minute or two of pressing the shutter. For the other 118 minutes, we just waited patiently for those birds to fly closer.

Silhouette of a Creosote Branch

Photo by Steve Berardi

To photograph this silhouette of a creosote bush, three things needed to happen: a good sunrise or sunset, low wind, and I needed to find a good branch to photograph.

In the desert, good sunrises and sunsets are pretty common, so that wasn’t much of a problem. But, it’s usually pretty windy, and these creosote bushes really like to bounce in the air (even on the calmest of days), so I had to wait awhile for that calm day.

Lastly, I needed to find a good branch to photograph: one that pointed almost straight up and didn’t bunch up a lot in any part. Creosote branches tend to grow more parallel to the ground, so it took some time to find a nice branch like this.

Chocolate Lily

Photo by Steve Berardi

To get this photo of a Chocolate Lily, I spent hours looking for a flower with a great background (one that was far away and contrasted well with the brown flowers). And, then once I found this specific flower, I waited patiently for about 30 minutes until a cloud came in to block the sun and help balance the light on the flower.

What about you?

If you have a similar story to share about how patience played a big role in one of your photos, please share it with us by leaving a comment below.

Please post a link to your photo too, if possible. Thanks!

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. How Perspective Affects Your Photos
2. Evolution of a Nature Photograph
3. How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography

As my dad illustrated in one of his articles, shooting just a few more frames per second can really make a difference in your success rate.

If you’re not maximizing the burst rate of your camera when you’re photographing a high-speed action, then you risk missing the shot where your subject is in the perfect pose.

So, here are a few ways to ensure your camera is shooting photos as quickly as possible:

Use the Fastest Memory Cards Your Camera Can Support

Not all memory cards are made equal–some are faster than others. So, to ensure your camera is shooting as fast as possible, it’s important to use the fastest memory cards it can support.

You can usually find this information in the technical specifications of your camera (check your manufacturer’s website), or sometimes it’s in the manual too. The main thing you want to pay attention to is whether or not your camera supports UDMA, and if so, what level (e.g. UDMA 4, 5, 6).

If your camera supports UDMA-5 cards, for example, then make sure you get memory cards that also support that level. This is important, because if you stick a UDMA-6 card in a camera that only supports up to UDMA-5, the card will still work, but it won’t be faster than a UDMA-5 card. You can save some money by only buying the fastest cards your camera supports.

Check Out Speed Tests For Different Memory Cards

One of the weird things about memory cards is that some cards are faster on specific cameras than others. So, the best way to find the fastest memory card available for your camera is to look for some speed tests on the Internet.

Make sure you find a test that is specific to YOUR camera though, because although the Sandisk Extreme Pro might be the fastest card on one camera, it might be one of the slowest on another camera.

If you use a Canon or Nikon camera, check out Rob Galbraith’s excellent database of memory card speed tests (see if your camera is included in that drop-down list in the upper right corner of the page). He also has a test for Canon’s 7D which hasn’t been added to the list yet (notice how in this test, the fastest card for the 7D is the Lexar 600x, but the fastest for the Nikon D300s is the SanDisk Extreme Pro).

Enable High-Speed Shooting

Some cameras have a special mode you have to use for high-speed shooting, so make sure this mode is enabled. It’s usually in the menu where you select the drive mode (e.g. single shooting, high speed, or timer/remote shooting), but check your camera’s manual to be sure.

Only Shoot Photos in One Format

Most digital SLRs have the option of shooting in both RAW and JPEG at the same time (usually labeled in the camera as “RAW+JPEG”). Although it may be tempting to use this option so you have a bunch of JPEGs that you can use as “quick look previews,” it significantly slows down the camera and will decrease the amount of frames per second you capture.

So, to ensure your camera is shooting as fast as possible, only shoot in JPEG or only shoot in RAW (check out this previous post for pros and cons of each format).

What did I miss?

If there’s another little trick you’ve discovered that helps your camera shoot faster, please share it with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. How to Switch Lenses on Your Camera
2. What To Do When Your Memory Card Fails

Black-throated Sparrow / Photo by Steve Berardi

Bird photography can be frustrating at times, and it may seem like you always need a longer lens, but with a little patience and a few little tricks, you’ll be coming home with good bird photos in no time. So, here are a few tips to get you started:

#1 – Photograph them in direct sunlight

This isn’t always a requirement, but it’ll help you get a faster shutter speed (which helps freeze the bird’s sudden movements and increases your chances of getting a sharp photo as you’ll likely need to handhold your camera). And, the direct sunlight also helps you avoid those ugly harsh shadows which usually cause exposure headaches.

#2 – Wait for them to come to YOU

If you try approaching a bird, you’ll almost always scare it away well before you get close enough to fill even 10% of the frame. Even if you try to move as slowly and quietly as possible. But, if instead you just sit somewhere and wait for the birds to come to you, they’ll often get pretty close. Sometimes they’ll even get too close! Just be patient!

#3 – Use a blind or avoid sudden movements

Birds (and any wildlife) are extremely sensitive to movement, so if you make any sudden movements you’ll likely scare the bird away. Ideally, you should wait for the birds from a blind (to completely mask your movement). But, if a blind isn’t available, then try to be as still as possible.

#4 – Find a spot with a lot of good perches

When you’re looking for a spot to sit and wait for the birds to come to you, you should be looking for a couple of things. First, you obviously need a place with some good bird traffic And second, find a spot that has a lot of good places for the birds to perch. A good perch is somewhat close to you (so you can fill the frame with the bird), and has a good background (it should be far away and contrast well with the type of bird you’re trying to photograph). Ideally, you also want some perches that are level with your camera, so you can capture some intimate shots of the bird.

#5 – Use a monopod or tripod for support

You won’t have time to lock in the ballhead on a tripod, but you can still keep it unlocked and use the tripod legs for some added support. Or, you can invest in a lightweight monopod. Keeping your camera still will increase your chances of getting a tack sharp photo.

#6 – Enable rapid shooting and take lots of photos

You’ll want to take a lot of photos rapidly for a couple of reasons. First, the bird will likely make a lot of sudden movements so you want to ensure you photograph him/her when they’re standing still in a good pose. And, second, since you’ll be somewhat hand-holding your camera, taking lots of shots will increase your chances of getting a sharp one.

#7 – Set your autofocus point to the center spot

Most lenses will autofocus the fastest in the center of their view, so set your autofocus point to the center spot. And, focus on the bird’s eyes because that’ll be the first place the viewer looks in the photograph. It’s critical for the eyes to be tack sharp.

#8 – Set your lens to autofocus on far objects

In a previous post, I mentioned how you can flip a little switch on your telephoto lens to make it autofocus faster on far objects. The switch basically tells your lens to only worry about focusing on far objects, and not waste time on close stuff.

#9 – Watch and learn about their behavior

When you’re out there sitting and waiting for birds to get close enough to photograph, take that time to observe other birds and look for patterns. Or better yet, read some books about them too. Learning more about their behavior can help you predict what they’ll do in certain situations. Or, for example, you’ll learn that some species will continually return to the same perch, offering you a pretty easy opportunity for a photo.

What did I miss?

Do you have another tip for photographing perched birds? If so, please share it with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. 6 Tips For Photographing Sand Dunes
2. The Secret Ingredient to Good Nature Photos
3. Quick Tip for Identifying Your Unknown Subjects

Photo by Steve Berardi

By the time you get out your camera, put on a longer lens and find the right exposure, that bird or dragonfly is probably in another zip code.

That’s why it’s a good idea to always keep your camera ready for action as you’re hiking down a trail. Always keep it by your side and ready to photograph a distant subject that may only be there for a second or two. Here are a few tips for making your camera ready to go:

#1 – Keep your longest telephoto lens on the camera

Most wildlife and insects don’t let you get very close, so keep your telephoto lens on the camera to ensure you fill the frame as much as possible. The longer lens will also help you isolate your subject more.

#2 – Take off the lens cap

This seems like a no-brainer, but I’ll admit I still forget this one sometimes. Putting your eye up to the viewfinder and realizing your lens cap is still on is a five-second mistake that could cost you “the shot.” Keeping your lens cap off will make your lens more vulnerable to dust and scratches (if you happen to drop the camera), so also make sure you use your lens hood too!

#3 – Disable mirror lockup

Mirror lockup is great for those times when you have a controllable subject and you’re shooting from a tripod, but when you’re doing any kind of action photography, mirror lockup will just slow you down. So, turn it off.

#4 – Enable continuous shooting

To increase your chances of getting a sharp photo as you’re handholding your lens, make sure you enable continuous shooting so you can just hold down that shutter button as the camera rapidly takes more shots.

#5 – Set ISO to 400 or 800

You can also increase your chances of getting a sharp photo by using a faster shutter speed, and increasing your ISO will tremendously help with that. For bright and sunny conditions, use ISO 400, but if the sky is overcast don’t be afraid to increase it all the way to ISO 800.

#6 – Set your aperture to the widest or sharpest

If your lens is pretty sharp at it’s widest aperture, feel free to use that, but also consider stopping down by one stop (that’s where most lenses are their sharpest). The wide aperture will help you get a fast shutter and help isolate your subject against its background.

#7 – Pre-set the exposure for direct sunlight

Throughout the day as the light conditions change, you should continue to update the proper exposure on your camera for a subject that’s in direct sunlight. But, also keep mental notes of other exposures: if the sun goes behind a cloud, side light, back light, etc. Use the histogram to help you find that proper exposure. And, memorize the f-number series so you can quickly jump between apertures/ISOs and update the exposure quickly.

#8 – Turn on image stabilization

Since you usually won’t have much time to take the shot, you’ll be stuck with hand-holding your camera. So, remember to turn on image stabilization (or vibration reduction on Nikons).

#9 – Make sure you have room on your memory card!

Also make sure you have plenty of room on your memory card, so you don’t start shooting photos in a burst and then get stuck because you filled up your memory card!

#10 – Pre-focus your lens

If you’re trying to target one specific subject (e.g. hummingbirds) that you can usually approach at a regular distance, then you can save time by pre-focusing your lens to where you think you’ll encounter your subject.

What did I miss?

Is there something else that you do to keep your camera “ready for action?” If so, please share it with us by leaving a comment below!

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. How to Switch Lenses on Your Camera
2. Be Careful Where You Buy Your Camera Gear

Photo by Steve Berardi

Well, a few weeks ago I went out to photograph bald eagles with my dad, and I came back with my first acceptably sharp photo of a bird in flight, yay!

So, I’d like to share what I think are the two biggest reasons I finally got a decent shot:

#1 – Carefully move your camera with the bird

You’ll get the sharpest photo possible when the bird is not moving across your camera’s focal plane (sensor), so the key is to carefully track the bird with your camera.

For most of the two hours my dad and I were outside photographing eagles, we were really just watching them. Only occasionally did they come close enough to photograph, so the majority of the time we just watched. And, I think that really helped me track them when they did get close enough to photograph, because watching them helped me get a feel for their speed.

If you’re having trouble tracking the bird in your camera, try going out sometimes where you only watch the birds, and don’t even bring your camera. Just watch.

#2 – Fill the frame as much as possible

Ideally, you’d want the bird to take up the whole frame, but you probably won’t be that lucky very often. I’ve found that you need to fill at least 20% of the frame to get a decently sharp shot. And, you don’t necessarily need a super long lens to do that (I used a 400mm lens in the shot above), you just need patience. In the two hours that my dad and I were watching and photographing the bald eagles, only about four or five times did one fly close enough for us to fill up a good amount of the frame.

Yeah, other things helped too…

Of course, there were other things that helped me get a sharp photo too, like a fast shutter speed, a high burst rate camera (I used a 50D with 6.3 fps, and a 7D with 8 fps), but I think the two things above are what really helped the most.

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. The Secret Ingredient to Good Nature Photos
2. How Perspective Affects Your Photos

In previous posts, I’ve talked about a few ways you can get better control of your autofocus. But, there’s also a little switch on your lens that can help it focus faster.

The switch (pictured above on my Canon 300mm f/4L lens) basically tells the lens where you’ll be focusing: either on a near object or a far object. It limits the range of where your autofocus will search.

So, with the switch turned to 3m or beyond, my lens won’t try to focus on anything closer than 3 meters. This makes the autofocus work a lot faster when I know I’ll be focusing on something far (like wildlife). It’s a good idea to get in the habit of checking this switch before you get into “wildlife photography mode”

This little switch may not be available on all lenses (it really only makes sense on long telephotos), but check your lens and manual to be sure. I did a quick search for Nikon lenses and found out a similar switch is available on their longer lenses, it’s just called something different: focus limit switch (you can set it to “LIMIT” or “FULL” where the “LIMIT” setting will only try to focus on far objects).

If you enjoyed this article, and would like to read more, please signup for free updates by email or RSS.

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.

Related posts:

1. How to Switch Lenses on Your Camera