The DPS Ultimate Guide To Nature and Outdoor Photography

The dPS Ultimate Guide to
Nature and Outdoor Photography
a ultimate guide by David Shaw

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dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

3
Contents

1. Introduction 4
2. Landscape Photography 9
3. Macro Photography: The World Up Close 24
4. Wildlife Photography 32
5. Conclusion 47

4
INTRODUCTION

Introduction 5
High on a ridge in the Brooks Range of Northern Alaska, I had an epiphany. It had to do
with photography, sort of. Really, it had to do with the world in which we live. You see, I was
climbing this steep slope on a little forgotten drainage in the western portion Gates of the
Arctic National Park. There was no sign that anyone had been this way before, and really,
there was no reason that anyone would have.
When I eventually topped out on the ridge, late on an August evening, the sun still shining
from the northern sky, I found a pillar of stone.

Introduction 6
The rock stood 15 or 20 feet high, a narrow obelisk that looked as though it had been planted,
or perhaps grown from the earth itself. It hadn’t of course. The stone had been pushed into its
delicate position by the constant slow shift of the thawing and freezing ground below.
It struck me, in that moment next to the standing stone, that I was about to be the first person
to photograph these rocks. Ever.
In one fell swoop; I realized exactly what it is about photography that I love. It’s seeing
things in a way that others have not. Seeing things for the first time. Not just stones on a
wild mountaintop, but viewing frequently photographed scenes in a new way. The most
photographed landscapes still hold potential for novelty. And creating that novelty in images is
one of the great pleasures of the art of outdoor photography.
And here is the rub; good outdoor

photography is about creating new
images, not just copying what has
already been done. If there is one
message in this article to remember,
that’s it.

Introduction 7
A Note on Ethics
Below, you’ll find many of the tips I’ve learned over the years as an outdoor pro; landscape
techniques, macro tips, and an introduction to wildlife photography. From exposure to
composition, I’ll cover a lot. But one thing I want to note first, and it’s probably the most
important thing I’ll mention is this:
Do No Harm!
Outdoor photography is extremely popular. We landscape and wildlife photographers travel

across the planet to make images, and our presence is having an impact on the places we
visit. It’s our job to ensure that our actions do not damage the resources we photograph.

Introduction 8
Here are some guidelines
• Respect other users

What we are doing is no more important than the activities of others. Be respectful
of other photographers and non-photographers alike. In some parts of the world,
photographers are becoming disliked because of our actions. We cannot allow this to
happen. Be kind to others. Your long lens does not give you the right to be a jerk.
• Don’t harass wildlife

I once watched a pair of photographers, quite literally, chase a herd of caribou around
the edge of a lake in the Alaska Range. The best images of wildlife are natural images,
not shots of caribou fleeing across the landscape. If your presence or actions are
impacting the behavior of the animals, it’s time to back off.
• it may be dangerous!
Animals like elk and moose may look harmless but can do a lot of damage. Likewise,
too many tourists have gotten too close to bears (with no barrier) and then if the bear
attacks a human it could be put down. Don’t endanger yourself or the animals – keep a
safe distance.
• Follow the rules

Most of the refuges, parks, and other lands we photograph have rules in place for a
reason. As photographers break those for the sake of an image, it hurts the reputation
and possible future access for all of us. Know the regulations and follow them.
• Leave no trace
The next visitor to your location should have no idea you were they before them.

9
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

Landscape Photography 10
Above, I related the story of finding the bizarre standing stone in Alaska’s Brooks Range.
Those kinds of photography opportunities are by far my favorite. I love shooting someplace
where few if any others have been or photographed.
But mostly, I like the way a piece of dramatic topography under beautiful light looks. I like
how it appears to my eye, and I like how it looks through the viewfinder of a camera. When I
manage to make an image that brings back all those feelings of the experience, and when I
can relive those moments of outdoor beauty over and over again, then I feel very successful
indeed.
Equipment
Landscape photography does not need to be equipment heavy. On many excursions, I may
carry only a single camera equipped with a wide-angle zoom lens. But when I really want to
work a scene, or my sole mission is to make images, then I’ll carry a few more things.

Here is my camera equipment list, and some notes on each item:
• Full frame DSLR: Though not vital, the full frame sensor is useful for taking advantage
of wide-angle opportunities.
• Wide-Angle Zoom: The 17-40mm f/4 and 16-35mm f/2.8 are probably my most-used
lenses for landscape photography.
• Mid-Range Telephoto Zoom: Like the 70-200mm f/2.8. I like the way this lens and
those of similar focal length can isolate parts of the landscape.
• Compact or Mirrorless Camera: In my case this is a Panasonic Lumix GX85. This is a

great second camera and when I’m traveling light, it’s my only camera.
• Wide-Angle, and Mid-Range Zoom Lenses for the Mirrorless Camera: To cover
similar focal lengths as my full-frame DSLR (minus the extremely wide, sadly).
• Tripod: Rarely do I leave this behind.
• Polarizing Filter: Great for removing glare and reflections.
• Variable Neutral Density Filter: For long exposure work, a neutral density filter is
great. The variable filters allow you to adjust the amount of light coming through into the
camera.
Throw in a bag or backpack to carry it all, and this kit will cover about every landscape
opportunity you might encounter. While I’m sure each landscape photographer has their own
suggestions, additions, or subtractions, these are my necessities.
See an article I wrote recently for another approach to taking less: How to Find More Creativity
Through Using Less Gear. Also read: How to Decide What Gear to Pack for a Wilderness Trip.
Composition and Exposure.

Composition and Exposure
I always have a difficult time writing about composition and exposure because this is where
art becomes a part of the photographic process. Sure, there is a “proper” exposure, in which
the highlights aren’t blown out and the shadows retain detail, but a world in which every image
was “properly” exposed would be a very boring place.

Instead of what is right, it’s better to understand how your settings will impact your image.
Then you can decide for yourself what is best for your situation.
Shutter Speed
The speed of your shutter indicates how long your sensor is exposed to the light coming from
your scene. A fast shutter speed will halt motion, while a long one will blur moving objects.
In landscape photography, you may want to freeze the motion of a splashing river or leaves
blowing in the wind. Or you may prefer them to blur, providing a sense of that motion. The
important thing is to understand how your shutter speed choice will either blur or freeze the
subject, so you don’t end up in that dreaded (but all too frequent) in-between.
Aperture
Your aperture plays two roles. It controls how much light is allowed into the camera, and it
controls the depth of field.

At a wide aperture, say f/2.8, your lens will allow a lot of light to enter the camera, meaning
you can use a faster shutter speed (see above), but it also means you have less depth of field
(DOF). Which is to say, that only a narrow portion of your image, from front to back, will be in
focus.
A small aperture like f/16 will mean that a longer shutter speed is required to attain the
exposure you want, but more of your image will be in focus.
If you want to isolate your subject from your background or foreground then a wide aperture
will help you achieve that. However, if you want your image sharp from the foreground to the
background, then you need to select a narrow aperture.

Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two down from wide open, so for maximum overall
sharpness, consider an aperture around f/8 to f/11.
ISO
The ISO controls the apparent sensitivity of your sensor to light (I say “apparent” because for
a bunch of technical reasons that I really don’t care about, raising the ISO doesn’t actually
increase the actual sensitivity, just how the camera’s algorithms report the light in the final
image - blah, blah, blah). So, in practice, increasing your ISO will allow you to use shorter
shutter speeds at higher apertures. Got that?

The drawback is that using a high ISO also tends to create digital noise. However, cameras
are getting exceedingly good at controlling noise. With my current equipment, I regularly shoot
at ISO 3200, 6400, and occasionally higher without a second thought.
Coming Together – The Exposure Triangle

Those three factors (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO) control the brightness, depth of field,
and sharpness of your image. They interact with one another, and you can’t change one
without adjusting at least one of the others. If you aren’t familiar with how each of these
settings impacts the final shot, then go out and spend a few hours experimenting so you
understand the exposure triangle.
Exercise:
Spend an hour shooting in Manual Mode. Adjust the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Assess
how each change impacts the final image. Did it get brighter? Darker? Sharper? Did moving
subjects blur or freeze?

Composition
The Classic
The classic landscape shot entails an interesting foreground object that leads your eye back
to a dramatic background. It’s classic because it works. But it’s also a formula that is very easy
to get wrong.
In a simplistic form, a landscape image is composed of a combination of lines, layers, and

planes.


A line can be a visual element, like the trunk of a tree or a winding stream, or it can be implied,
in a way that two interrelated elements cause your eye to move back and forth. Either way,
lines are the viewer’s path through the frame.
Layers are elements that occur through the depth of the image. These can be any element
in the image, grass stems, trees, rocks, rivers, mountains, etc. But they stand alone in
successive layers, each a bit further back in the image.

Finally, planes are elements that provide a clear sense of depth. Say, a road disappearing into
the horizon, or a river winding away up a mountain valley.
The ways these things interact are what cause an image to be pleasing to the eye, or to fail. In
a classic composition, the foreground element and the dramatic background are tied together
through these elements and interact in some way. Perhaps this is color, form, juxtaposition, or
some other aspect of interest to the viewer.
All these aspects of an image become a pleasurable maze for photographers. With practice,
you will begin to understand how to make them relate to one another in a pleasing way.
Landscape Details
Any natural view will have a number of interesting elements held within such as; a flower, a
stone, a shadow, splashing water, or distant peaks. A long lens will allow you isolate those
details from the surrounding clutter.

I use this technique often with mid-range telephoto lenses. Think of this technique as
simplifying an image down to its most fascinating component.

A Note on Focal Length
The focal length of your lens will impact the depth of field of your image. The longer your lens,
the shallower your depth of field will be. This makes it very difficult, if not impossible to keep
an image sharp from foreground through the background when using a long lens.
That’s why isolating distant details is a great use of a telephoto lens. Compositions with no
foreground generally won’t suffer from the compressed depth of field.
With the use of a wide-angle lens, on the other hand, it is much easier to attain a deep depth
of field. An aperture that is a stop or two lower will often bring an entire image from foreground
to background into focus.

Exercise:
Starting with a mid-range telephoto like a 70-200mm or similar lens, focus on the details of a
landscape. Make some photos of these details, moving around to see how the light changes
with your angle. Experiment with each.
Once you are comfortable with the details before you, change to a wide-angle and see if you
can find pleasing compositions that incorporate the details you just photographed, but also
include the surroundings. As you back up to a wide-angle view, think about the lines, planes,
and layers within the image and how they interact. Is the result pleasing or chaotic? What can
you do to improve it?

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MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY:
THE WORLD UP CLOSE

Macro Photography: The World Up Close 25
Through the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens this bright green beetle looked monstrous, and
surprisingly beautiful. The iridescent carapace practically glittered in the soft light of the
overcast day, while the purple highlights of the antennae and around the eyes stood out from
the leaf background.
It was a rainy day in the rainforest of southeast Mexico, and my fieldwork had been called off
due to the weather. I spent my rare morning off gathering some of the many insects that had
congregated overnight on the porch, and a menagerie of beetles, spiders, and katydids now
sat beneath upturned jars on the windowsill next to me.
One by one, I placed them on a clean green background of a Heliconia leaf and made images.


Equipment
Close-up and macro photography is a specialized discipline, requiring a suite of its own
equipment including lenses, flashes, tripod heads, and more. For photographers that
specialize in this type of photography, it is a serious investment.
Fortunately, there are a few shortcuts, which can save you from investing hundreds or
thousands in macro-specific equipment.
Lenses
Macro lenses allow for a very close focusing distance and are usually equipped with some
moderate magnification. 50mm, 100mm, 150mm, and even 200mm are common focal lengths
of macro lenses. They tend to be fast, usually around f/2.8 and are pricey pieces of glass.
If you have the budget for it, by all means, invest in a high-end macro lens, but for those of us
with more limited funds here are two alternatives:
Extension Tubes
These are exactly what they sound like, simple tubes that go between your camera and the
lens. Extension tubes increase the distance between the lens and your sensor allowing a
closer minimum focus (but preventing the lens from focusing on distant objects). When applied
to a good quality lens, some amazing images are possible.
Lens Reversal
Have you ever turned a pair of binoculars around backward and used them as a magnifying
glass? If so, this is the exact same principle.
You take an old, manual lens (focus and aperture), standard or wide-angle lens (never a
telephoto), buy a cheap adapter that allows you to attach the front of the lens to your camera,
and you get an instant macro. For fifty bucks at a used camera store you can often find a
suitable lens, and for another $10 or $15, you can buy an adapter from Amazon that fits
the filter threads on the front of the lens and allows you to click it into your camera. Bingo!
Reverse-lens macro created!


Lights
Embrace natural light if you are just starting out in macro photography. Find a place with
bright, diffused light, and start there. Once you have a strong grasp on working up close, you
may choose to add artificial light.
From ring lights to external flashes, many macro photographers will use artificial light to
cleanly illuminate their tiny subjects with studio-like lighting. If you have a flash, and either a
remote cable or wireless triggers, you probably have what you need to get started.
Start off by attaching your flash near, or directly onto your lens, so the light falls just a few
inches in front of the glass. Shadows are emphasized up close, so you want to minimize the
distance between the flash and your lens.
Tripod Heads
A very useful accessory is the macro tripod head. These allow you to move your camera
forward and backward very smoothly and precisely without having to adjust the tripod. With a
simple twist of a knob, you can slide your camera forward or backward a couple of inches (or
millimeters).
In the narrow depth of field world of macro photography, this allows you to focus by changing
the camera position rather than the focus on the lens. If you get serious about this kind of
photography, it is probably a worthwhile investment.
Read: Equipment for Macro Photography – Video Tips.

Beginning Macro Field Techniques
The easiest place to begin with macro photography is with a subject that doesn’t move around
much, like flowers. Starting with fast-moving insects will be a very frustrating way to learn the
process.
Start out in soft, natural daylight, and forget the flashes for now. Choose a cloudy day, or pick
a subject you can easily move into a shady spot. Direct sunlight, just as in human portraiture,
is often too harsh and contrasty, resulting in burnt-out highlights or blacked out shadows.
Once you’ve figured out the process under steady, natural light, you can integrate flash.
Composition
Macro lenses, reversed lenses, and extension tubes all share one common feature: an
extremely narrow depth of field. Even with the aperture stopped down, the amount of the
image in focus will be measured in millimeters. Because of this limitation, you need to choose
your focal point very carefully, it will, after all, be the only thing in focus on your image.

Many times I’ve made images of small subjects only to find out later find later that my focal
point was off. By all means, compose creatively, but make sure the important part of your
image is in focus. For insects or other small creatures, that almost always means the eye. For
flowers, you’ll likely want to focus on the stamens and pistils. Be aware, and focus carefully.
Note on Post-Processing Macro Images

While a full post-processing tutorial of macro photography is outside the scope of this article,
be aware there are focus-stacking techniques. Think of this like HDR for depth of field.
In essence, you create a series of images in which you steadily move the focus point through
the scene so you end up with a series of photos, each with a different slice in focus. Focus
stacking then brings those all together into a single image providing otherwise unattainable
depth of field. There are more resources available online about this technique if you’d like to
learn more.
Read: A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking.

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WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

Wildlife Photography 33
More than any other discipline of outdoor photography, wildlife is the place where we as
photographers need to be responsible, cautious, and respectful. Earlier, I related the story of
watching a group of photographers chase a herd of caribou.
I dearly wish that had been the only occasion I’ve had to see wildlife photographers acting
stupidly, but sadly, my list goes on: a photographer purposely flushing flocks of Sandhill
cranes at a wildlife refuge to get flight shots, the abuse of call-back recordings of song-birds
which results in nest failures, dangerously close approaches to bears and moose, and on and
on.
I just can’t write about wildlife photography without saying this: Good wildlife photography is
a game of patience. You cannot make shortcuts by chasing, flushing, baiting, or otherwise
harassing your subject and expect to get decent images. So please, please, three times,
please! Take the time required to make the image, it will be easier on the wildlife, and I
promise your results will be far, far superior.

Equipment
Though lovely images of animals can, and have been, made with every focal length (some of
my favorite images are wide-angles), most wildlife photography involves long lenses. My most
frequently used lenses for wildlife photography are Canon’s 500mm f4L (often with a 1.4x
teleconverter), 100-400mm zoom, and the 70-200mm f/2.8. None of those are cheap, though.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of alternatives on the market. Brands like Tamron and
Sigma have introduced big telephotos that, although still pricey, come in way under the prices
offered by Canon and Nikon. A year or two ago, out of curiosity, I rented Sigma’s 150-600mm
Sport lens, and was extremely impressed.
Come to think of it, I strongly recommend you try lenses out before you buy them. Renting
is a great, and reasonably priced, option to try out a variety of lenses. Or, if you don’t shoot
wildlife often, you can rent a high-end piece of glass for a single trip, without having to dole out
thousands on your own lens.

Anyway, back to equipment, here is my wildlife kit:
• DSLR (or 2)
• 500mm f/4 lens
• 100-400mm lens
• 70-200mm lens
• 1.4x teleconverter
• A sturdy carbon-fiber tripod with a gimbal head
Techniques
There is a saying in photography: “If your image isn’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”
This is nonsense. However, getting close to animals, either physically, or by using a long lens,
is often the easiest way to create a compelling image.
There are many exceptions (see composition on next page), but proximity does help.

Getting close requires patience. If you approach an animal on foot, your subject will almost
always feel threatened and move away. Humans, after all, are predators, and for most
species, nothing good happens from getting close to a predator. That leaves a few options.
Go where the animals are accustomed to people.

At many wildlife refuges, back gardens, national parks, etc., the animals are used to seeing
people or vehicles and will allow you to get much closer (you still need to be cautious
particularly around large, or dangerous animals). In such areas, cars can make a great mobile
photography blind.
Animals are also often familiar with people around popular trail systems, and will pay little
attention to passing walkers. You can use these areas to your advantage.


Use a blind
Many wildlife refuges are equipped with photography blinds where you are hidden from view
of the wildlife. These are great, pre-established places to shoot. You may even consider
building your own backyard blind for shooting your local birds and other wildlife.
Camouflage
I have a sheet of camo fabric that I’ve cut holes into for my camera lens. I sit on the ground, or
a low stool, and throw this over my head and tripod. This portable blind serves well, as long as
I have the patience to stay still for extended periods of time. It keeps my form obscured, and
animals more willing to approach.
Patience
Most of the above techniques also require patience, but simply waiting for the right opportunity
is the most straightforward approach to wildlife photography. Find a promising location with
good light, and simply wait to see what happens. I bet most of my best images of wild animals
have been made this way.

Exposure
I strive for the “proper” exposure in the field. Which, means (if I’m honest) that I leave it up
to the camera. Capturing the action, the expression, posture, and the setting are the most
important parts of wildlife photography.
I can fiddle with brightness later in the post-processing, but not if I didn’t capture the image
from the start. So I recommend, particularly as a beginner, that you do what I do and let your
camera do most of the work.
My settings under most conditions with a long lens are something like this: Shutter priority
(see below for more on this), ISO 800 (or so), and auto everything else. If for some reason the
images aren’t coming out how I want them, I’ll adjust things around, but this is my standard
starting point.
Shutter Speed
As with any moving subject, you may opt to strive for sharpness, freezing the motion of the
animal, or you may be aiming for a more creative motion blur. I often mix it up, shifting from
sharp to blur in just a few seconds. This is why I shoot wildlife primarily in Shutter Priority
mode, so I can make that change easily on the fly.

During a recent shoot of a migrating caribou herd, my workshop participants and I had a
couple of thousand animals pass by in a single file line. I was constantly changing the shutter
speed to get different effects as the caribou trotted past 25 yards away.
I ended up with a huge variety of shots, from crazy blurs to tack-sharp detail. Variety is
important.

Composition
Get low! Next time you see a wildlife image that you like, take a look at the position from which
it was made. I’ll bet you that the perspective is low, probably at eye level of the subject or
below. When I’m photographing birds or small mammals, I’ll often lay flat out on my stomach.
Humans see the world most often from a standing position; it’s how we are accustomed to
viewing things. Photos from that perspective, looking down on our subject, aren’t any different
than how we normally see the world. In other words, boring.
When you drop down, however, you are now seeing the world in an atypical, and therefore far
more interesting way. So get low!

Portraits
The simplest of images is the portrait, with a clean background and a sharp subject. Often
these will be under flattering front-light. Many wildlife photographers strive for this type of
image, and this type of image alone.
The secret to success in wildlife portraiture is getting close to your subject, and having a
setting where the animal can be cleanly separated from its background. A large aperture, like
f/4, will help blur the background cleanly. Overcast, soft light, or front light is ideal.
Action and Motion
No doubt, a good, clean portrait of a wild animal is a lovely thing and a pleasure to make, but
after a time, I find the formulaic view of wildlife rather boring. I like to see behavior, action, and
motion in images. These tell a better story, and to me at least, are far more compelling. These
kinds of images also require a lot more time in the field.

Let’s face it; wild animals spend a lot of time just chilling out. Birds perch for extended periods,
bears sleep or graze, and big cats climb trees and lounge. Action is uncommon, which means
you have to spend a lot of time waiting for it.
I was photographing at a famous bear-watching spot in Alaska a number of years ago. It was
early in the season and the salmon had not yet arrived, but there were bears about, waiting for
the fish. I was standing on a viewing platform, watching a single, young Brown Bear standing
below a waterfall. There were no fish, and I got the impression he was as bored as I was.
Tourists and other photographers arrived around me, watched for a few moments, took a
photo, and then ambled off after a few minutes with nothing happening. I waited.
After more than an hour, another bear appeared down river and waded up toward the falls.
It was of similar age, and size, they might have even been siblings that had been separated
for a time. But when the second bear appeared, the bored demeanor of the first changed
completely. He grew alert, staring at the intruding bear. Then, almost without warning, the first
bear charged the second, throwing sprays of river water into the air as it splashed.

The second stood its ground and for a few brief seconds, the two fought. They swatted each
other with powerful blows and snapped jaws down on shoulders. It was over in 20 seconds,
but I was breathless. No damage had been done to either bear and afterward, the two actually
stood side by side, rather companionably, for a long while as they waited for salmon to arrive.
In those 20 seconds, I captured a series of images missed by dozens of photographers who

had come and gone, unwilling to be patient.
Wide Angles
When you have a cooperative or curious subject, few techniques will yield a more compelling
result than getting close, and low, with a wide-angle lens. A few years ago, when I was guiding
on an expedition cruise through the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, I had several such
opportunities.

In the Falkland Islands, a curious Striated Caracara hopped up to have a look at me, while on
South Georgia I had a great encounter with a South Polar Skua. The images I made of these
two birds are some of my favorites of that journey and perhaps some of my favorite wildlife
images.
Wide angles show off not only your subject but also the surroundings and can be extremely
effective story-telling images.
The drawback, of course, is that such opportunities are rare indeed. You’ve got to have
your subject very close, and that takes time and effort, while being prepared when the right
opportunity arrives.

To maximize your chances, keep a second camera with a wide-angle lens (heck, even your
phone will work) available while out shooting. That way, when a critter draws close and the
opportunity for these unique images arrives, you won’t have to fumble with swapping lenses.

47
CONCLUSION

Conclusion 48
As I wrote this lengthy piece on outdoor photography, I felt I could have gone on and on about
every single aspect of this discipline. There is just so much to know, and to learn; so many
subjects to study, understand, and practice.
It is daunting, but outdoor photography is as much about the journey as anything else. I love
making images that work, don’t get me wrong, but I love even more the process of being
outside. I love the way a camera makes me more aware of the play of light, and the movement
of animals across a landscape.
Photography can be a tool toward a better understanding of the world, but we have to use our
cameras with respect and caution. Be mindful of your actions, be careful of our impact, and
make beautiful photos. Along the way, you may find your experiences, rather than the final
images, to be the most rewarding part. Now go explore.

49
Author bio
David Shaw is a professional writer, photographer, and wilderness guide based in Fairbanks,
Alaska. His images and writing on photography, natural history, and science have appeared in
hundreds of articles in more than 50 publications around the globe. He is currently accepting
sign-ups for an Aurora photo workshop in September of 2018.
Find out about the Aurora workshop and other tours, his photography, and read his science
and nature blog.
Catch him on Facebook and Instagram to see more of his stunning outdoor photography.

50
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3. Macro Photography: The World Up Close 24

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

And here is the rub; good outdoor

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Outdoor photography is extremely popular. We landscape and wildlife photographers travel

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Here are some guidelines

• Respect other users

• Don’t harass wildlife

• Follow the rules

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Here is my camera equipment list, and some notes on each item:

• Compact or Mirrorless Camera: In my case this is a Panasonic Lumix GX85. This is a

• Tripod: Rarely do I leave this behind.

• Polarizing Filter: Great for removing glare and reflections.

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Composition and Exposure

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Coming Together – The Exposure Triangle

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

In a simplistic form, a landscape image is composed of a combination of lines, layers, and

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

A Note on Focal Length

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Read: Equipment for Macro Photography – Video Tips.

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Beginning Macro Field Techniques

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Note on Post-Processing Macro Images

Read: A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking.

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography

Anyway, back to equipment, here is my wildlife kit:

dPS Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography