Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2013 i Outdoor Photographer

Photographer: Maria Coulson Location: Eagle Falls, above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California Equipment: Nikon D300, AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-5.6G EDVR lens, Manfrotto tripod Situation: Eagle Falls runs into Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe, and to get to this vantage point, it’s only a short hike from the highway. The falls are full in the spring due to snowmelt out of the mountains. At any time of the year, the view from Eagle Falls is beautiful, but in dry years or after the snow melts, there’s almost no water flowing. Maria Coulson had this picture in her mind for some time, and she knew that she would have to get to this iconic spot very early in the morning to capture the rising sun. With two girlfriends who are also…

TELEPHOTO ZOOM As a nature photographer, you know the value of the 70-200mm focal-length range. With its AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm ƒ/4G ED VR lens, Nikon offers an impressive five stops of image stabilization through its Vibration Reduction technology. This not only helps at the longer telephoto end, but also in low-light situations that call for using slower shutter speeds. This model is smaller and lighter than Nikon’s ƒ/2.8 version of the lens. When used with the D4, D800 series and D600 DSLRs, the 70-200mm ƒ/4 allows you to take advantage of Nikon’s teleconverters for increasing focal length without sacrificing its AF and VR capabilities. Using the camera’s cross-type focus points at ƒ/8 and below lets you double the focal length of the lens to 400mm while maintaining AF to capture…

I love the way winter fog and mist can simplify the landscape and lend a tranquil mood to a scene. Nature is inherently messy most of the time so the ongoing challenge for landscape photographers is to find ways to simplify our landscape photos while still maintaining a scene’s sense of beauty and mystery. I’ve taken some of my most successful images during foggy conditions, often when the sun is just setting while the fog is clearing. On an eventful evening at Lake Tahoe a few years ago, I experienced a rare combination of clearing fog and setting sun that resulted in a diverse collection of portfolio-quality images, all taken within a two-hour time frame. This collection of images went on to include some of my best sellers at our…

THE WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS AT OUTDOORPHOTOGRAPHER.COM give you a chance to submit work to the magazine and to your fellow nature photographers. I spend some time every day looking through the galleries for photos to publish in this section of OP, and I also look at Assignments to choose the Photo Of The Day. While the image has to stand alone, I find that I particularly enjoy submissions where the photographer has told some of the story of how the photo came to be. Some photographs are fully previsualized while others prove that luck is what happens when opportunity and preparation intersect. In this issue, I’ve pulled a selection of wintry photographs. Getting out into the cold and hiking for images takes dedication, but it’s worth it. Snow and ice transform…

For most of us in North America, Antarctica seems very far away. Even if you know which pole it is (South), you may not know that it’s actually a fairly accessible and totally photogenic destination. Working for National Geographic, world-class nature photographer Frans Lanting has spent many months in the Antarctic region, which encompasses wildlife-filled islands such as South Georgia, Macquarie and Campbell. He shares his insights to help Outdoor Photographer readers plan their own once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic trips. "This part of the world has become very accessible in the last 20 years," Lanting says. "In fact, it’s become quite popular. I did a private expedition to South Georgia 25 years ago, when I chartered a sailboat and we did what I believe was the second circumnavigation of the island in…

Jolene Hanson of The G2 Gallery says that the digital revolution has made editing more difficult for photographers simply because we’re now free to shoot so many images. "I think those who are still shooting film have it a little easier," she says. "They’re spending more time determining the shot and have less options to pull from on the back end. So my first recommendation to photographers is to slow down, capture the shot, edit in the camera before you edit at home. Looking over the 3,000 images you took yesterday afternoon is absurd. Treat a shoot as if you have a limited quantity of frames, like you would have with film." When it comes time to edit for a portfolio, Hanson offers these 10 tips to pare down a…

Don’t change lenses outside when it’s cold or raining. Use a zoom lens, live with the prime lens on the camera, or swap lenses in your car and other dry, warm places. Bringing the camera into a warm place from a cold one, or vice versa, can cause condensation, which can damage internal parts. Tightly seal the camera in a plastic resealable bag and let it gradually warm or cool to the ambient temperature of the new location before removing it. Including a packet of silica gel in the bag with the camera helps minimize condensation problems. Another nice solution is to use BRNO dri+ caps. These dehumidifying lens caps hold a replaceable silica gel packet and help reduce moisture when your gear is changing temps.…

The High Pass sharpening technique isn’t what I would call a "true" sharpening process, but rather what I generally refer to as a local contrast-enhancement adjustment. It’s similar in overall concept to sharpening, but the contrast being added to create a sharpening effect occurs across a larger range of pixels. Instead, you can think of the High Pass sharpening technique as being very similar to the Clarity setting available in Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom. As with sharpening settings, when using the High Pass approach, the settings will vary not only based on image content, but also on overall image size. Let’s assume an image where a particular object is 100 pixels across, and where you determine that a Radius setting of 10 pixels for High Pass provides a…

HDR has become a hot-button topic in photography, in general, and in nature photography, in particular. I receive a number of emails from photographers with declarations like "NO HDR...Never Used It, Never Will" in their signature lines. If you’ve been a reader of this magazine, you know that I don’t necessarily agree with such extreme sentiments. HDR has inherited the same bad rap that Photoshop and even the whole notion of digital photography once had. Extreme "never used it, never will" positions in all of these aspects of photography are usually born out of a lack of understanding an aspect of technology. The fact is that HDR, like everything in technology, can be well used or misused. We’ve all become somewhat accustomed to thinking of an HDR shot as one…

Many Images, One Frame Q I have one of the new Canon cameras that allows multiple captures on a single frame. How can I use this feature in a creative way? J. Crowe Via the Internet A The multiple-exposure capability is featured on recent Canon cameras (the EOS 5D Mark III and the EOS-1D X) and on many Nikon and Pentax bodies. The idea is to allow the photographer to take a series of digital captures (maximum nine for Canon, 10 for Nikon) on the same frame. This isn’t a new idea; professional film cameras had this capability decades ago. Before this feature was added to DSLRs, we were limited to taking a number of separate captures on separate frames, then compositing them into a single image in the computer…

Location The North Shore of Kauai is lined with stunningly vibrant tropical beaches. Kauapea Beach, known by the locals as Secret Beach, is located between the towns of Kilauea and Princeville. At approximately 3,000 feet in length and 75 feet in width, it can be reached by driving down an unmarked long, dusty and bumpy red dirt road off of Kalihiwai Road. The steep downhill trail to the beach takes a few minutes to hike, and the roots and rocks can be very slick when wet. Once you arrive, however, the beach is massive, with beautiful white sand and amazing black lava rock formations that have been eroded into interesting shapes by the ocean. There’s plenty to explore for many return photographic opportunities, including an island landmark, the Kilauea Lighthouse,…

Sharpness is the most essential technical element of composition and quality in most photographs. We’re obsessed with maximizing the range of sharpness (aka depth of field) in our images-achieving it, and positioning it to enhance the message, is evidence of our skills as photographers and artists, and arguably the first criterion by which our work will be judged. Whether landscape, wildlife, sports or macro specialists, outdoor and nature photographers are pretty much always in search of sharpness. To maximize sharpness, a thorough understanding of depth of field is helpful-what it is, and how to expand it and precisely apply it in your photography, from film and digital single captures to advanced digital multiple-image composites. Depth Of Field 101 Depth of field (DOF) is the distance within an image between the…

Five years ago, if you wanted to travel light, you had to choose between a DSLR and a compact digital camera. The former offered great image quality and versatility, but were much larger and more costly. The compacts were easy to carry, but suffered in terms of versatility and image quality. Then, along came a new breed: the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera. By doing away with the DSLR’s bulky and complex moving SLR mirror, mirror box and pentaprism or pentamirror viewfinder, manufacturers were able to produce much smaller cameras, yet retain DSLR-size image sensors and, thus, DSLR image quality. The first mirrorless models were Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras from Panasonic and Olympus featuring the same 17.3x13.0mmsensor format used in Four Thirds system DSLRs. These were soon followed by models from…

DO: 1 Follow the gallery’s protocol, i.e., read and respect the application process. 2 Treat the staff as you would treat the curator, director and owners. Galleries are a small family, and everything you do is noticed and shared within that family. 3 Resubmit annually. Your work is constantly changing and evolving, as is what the gallery is looking for. In addition, the curator will watch your work grow and this may spark their interest. 4 Have clear projects that you’re working on and evolving. Doing the same thing over and over again is a great practice to work out your style and vision, but once you have a sense of style in your imagery, it’s time to apply it to a bigger picture or concept. 5 Maintain a current…

Manfrotto’s Lino Pro Field Jacket is a stylish, comfortable all-weather coat that keeps warmth in and wind and water out, while providing freedom of movement. It features two interior pockets with modular pocket inserts that can be removed and used as kneepads while shooting low-level images. The design distributes the weight of pocket items to the shoulders, and there are shoulder-pad inserts to cushion the weight of camera bags. The black jackets are available in men’s and women’s styles and sizes.…

March Hare Madness Captured on the Isle of Texel in Holland, UK-based photographer Richard Peters says there’s an abundance of hare like these tangling during the imminent mating season. "Every spring," he says, "the males and females can be seen boxing in the fields, and this particular day was no exception. It was very overcast, and there had been fog in the air earlier in the day, meaning most of our sightings were in very low-contrast light. In the afternoon, our luck changed as we watched these two battle their way across the field and straight toward us. We couldn’t believe our luck that they came so close, in fact, too close, as they almost ran straight into our car! The action with boxing hare is fast and furious, making…

El Capitan Edgar Callaert and a friend saw that weather was approaching Yosemite Valley with a very low snow level so they got themselves there before the roads closed. He describes the trip as a great example of how online weather sites can help plan your photo trips. "Love NOAA," he says. Callaert woke up the next morning, which was Christmas Day, to this scene in the valley. "Sometimes things line up really well," he says. "Cold feet and hands were completely worth it." See more of Callaert’s photography at www.edgarcallaert.com. Toyo AII Field camera, Rodenstock 210mm ƒ/5.6, Gitzo tripod, Linhof ballhead, Fujichrome Velvia 50 Fresh Snow On any given winter day, you might see any number of animals or outdoor enthusiasts tracking through this alpine meadow in Big Cottonwood…

Every photographer will have grappled with the question of how much to edit photos in the camera or later with tools like HDR software, Photoshop and Lightroom. This topic resurfaced recently when a friend and I discussed the article written by Tom Till in Outdoor Photographer. In the article, Mr. Till confessed to being an "addict" to oversaturated colors and HDR to pump up the colors in his gallery prints over the last few years. I commend Mr. Till for recognizing he had been pushing his color processing too far. My friend commented that he has seen the same excessive use of HDR, oversaturation, etc., here in Australia. HDR and similar post processing have long been popular in the competitive arenas of travel, fashion and landscape photography, but it’s also…

Just beyond the foothills of Anchorage lies Chugach State Park-a half-million acres of some of the most accessible hiking, skiing, camping, rafting, climbing, wildlife-viewing and photographic opportunities in Alaska. These are the grounds that New Mexico-based photographer Michael DeYoung has been exploring, camera in hand, for over two decades. His experience as an Air Force meteorologist has given him the tools to be acutely aware of weather patterns, using this knowledge to get into position at the right time and right place in a place known for climatic extremes. The name "Chugach" derives from the native Alutiiq culture in the regions of the Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound. This magnificent area of the 49th state has survived both man-made and natural disasters. In 1964, a tsunami generated by the…

Over the past few years with the advent of simplified, robust and speedier high dynamic range (HDR) software, not to mention the implementation of graduated neutral-density filters (also known as graduated filters or grad NDs) in Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw (the converter used for RAW image processing), Lightroom and other plug-ins and software, I’ve found myself using the grad NDs in my camera bag less and less. I wondered if I was getting lazy in the field, or if these new digital options were providing more control and better results. So I decided to put it to the test to see if there was still a need for on-lens, in-camera grad NDs. Understanding Grad ND Filters Clear on the bottom and dark on the top, graduated or split neutral-density filters…

Many photographers have aspirations, secret or otherwise, of hanging our finest works on the walls of an acclaimed art gallery. But how do we make that dream a reality? Outdoor Photographer sat down with Jolene Hanson, director of The G2 Gallery in Los Angeles, to discuss the practical steps photographers can take to catch the eye of a curator and possibly make it into a gallery. "Getting work into a gallery really depends on two factors," Hanson says, "what the gallery is looking for, and what is unique about your work. As you can imagine, galleries are bombarded with artists interested in exhibition or representation; we get no less than one inquiry a day. As a result, there’s a clear way in which galleries look at potential work. "Most galleries…

Some of the most spectacular outdoor photo opportunities occur in cold weather-snowy landscapes, clearing storms, winter wildlife and more. Aside from the photographic challenges, the main key to success is keeping yourself and your gear warm and dry. Here are some tips to follow. Seek Covers! Pro DSLR bodies generally are weather-resistant, such as the Pentax K-30 and K-5 series, but there are some things to consider. First, not all of the lenses for those bodies are weather-resistant. Make sure you’re using a weather-resistant lens on the body if you intend to expose the combo to the elements. Second, the body is weather-resistant only when all the openings are sealed. If you lost the little rubber cover for one of the connection terminals, the camera is no longer weather-resistant. Finally,…

Autumn In Patagonia Photo Safari April 13-28, 2013 This one-of-a-kind photo safari is timed to coincide with the absolute peak of the autumn colors in Patagonia. The highly popular tour brings participants to five of Patagonia’s top mountain landscapes, best wildlife-viewing spots, historic estancias and national parks. Led by American photographer/guide Rex Bryngelson, a resident of Patagonia for over 20 years, the 16-day tour is modestly priced and offers the widest array of photographic destinations found on any Patagonian photography tour. Participants visit the icons of Torres del Paine, Fitzroy and the Moreno Glacier, and also explore unknown corners of Argentina’s Santa Cruz Province and Chile’s remote Aysén Region, including the exotic Marble Caves of Lago General Carrera (OP December 2009), the Northern Patagonia Ice Field, Cerros San Lorenzo and…