Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2013 i Outdoor Photographer

Photographer: Marc Adamus Location: Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada Situation: Bow Lake in the Canadian Rockies is at an elevation of 6,300 feet. Winter closes in early at that elevation, but Marc Adamus beat the impenetrable weather to get this wintery scene. Adamus is well known to OP readers for his creation of richly colored landscapes. Adamus is driven by a desire to make photographs that reflect his emotional impression of the scene, which is why so many of his images, like the one on this issue’s cover, are so dramatic. For this image, Adamus used a depth-of-field blending technique to render sharpness from the distant mountaintop to the intricate hoar frost formations, which were very close to the lens. Depth-of-field blending has been growing in popularity as photographers likeAdamus, George…

CANON EOS 70D The new Canon EOS 70D has Canon’s new Dual Pixel CMOS AF system, which provides a combination of contrast-detect and phase-detect AF. The upshot is the ability to have fast, accurate AF in still and motion shooting, and in low light. The touch screen lets you choose an AF area and smoothly rack focus when you’re shooting video. This ability to smoothly rack focus gives you a very sophisticated motion shooting technique. Estimated Street Price: $1,199. Contact: Canon, www.usa.canon.com.—CR TAMRON SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD A 70-200mm lens is a mainstay for any nature photographer. The new Tamron SP 70-200mm ƒ/2.8 Di VC USD has a fast ƒ/2.8 maximum aperture and Tamron’s VC image stabilization system. The Tamron Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) motor is fast and…

Stop!” it shouted. I slammed on the brakes of the car. Who had called out so clearly as I motored down Highway 120 from Tuolumne Meadows toYosemite Valley? But I already knew the answer. I had caught a glimpse of the old tree just before I heard it call. The old tree?! Yes, I freely admit, sometimes trees do talk to me, and when it happens, I consider myself very lucky. To refer to it as an old tree was a bit of a misnomer, however. Its top had long since gone missing, and half the giant stump that remained had been burned away by fire. Yet it was still powerful enough to hail me. I grabbed my cameras and, as if drawn by a giant magnet, trudged into the…

Meet Frank Smith, and you understand why amateurs have always been the driving force behind photography’s progress, whether as art, science or business. Smith brings an energy and a passion to his photography that professionals, however much they love what they do, tend to lose to the day in and day out of a career. “I’ve made a conscious effort not to do photography as a career,” says Smith, who’s certainly good enough to do so. “I wanted to be very careful to always photograph what I like and not be tainted by whether or not my images will sell.” That’s not to say his images don’t sell. Smith’s handsome prints, which range in subject matter from landscapes to portraits, are used for fundraising by organizations as varied as the…

The camera sweeps low and steady across a field of large boulders, trees and a wide river whose water churns inexorably toward an unknown destination. Suddenly, the ground drops away revealing a thunderous waterfall. Millions of gallons of liquid are in free fall and a colorful rainbow arcs across the billowing mist. During the entire history of photography, perspectives from above have been difficult, if not impossible, to capture without budgets large enough for the chartering of full-sized aircraft (helicopters and airplanes). Aerial imagery provides an unparalleled sense of scale and context to a story, but the challenges involved in achieving such shots have prevented most photographers from even attempting to get them. In the past few years, developments in a new form of remote-controlled unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) called…

When you’re out shooting in wintery weather, the first rule to remember is that snow is dust—until it melts. There’s always debate about keeping the camera and batteries warm to keep them functioning. This is certainly important in extreme temperatures, but if you’re shooting in more moderate, but still below-freezing conditions, your camera probably doesn’t need any special attention. To make sure you’re adequately powered, you can keep extra batteries in a warm pocket and change them out as necessary. By keeping the camera itself at ambient temperature, you ensure that any snow that comes into contact with it can be quickly dusted off without any drama. That’s all well and good for clear days or even falling snow, but what do you do when there’s nastier precipitation? While you’re…

We spend a lot of time discussing technical aspects of a photograph in OP. We produce in-depth articles that show you how you can take control over exposure and sharpness, and how to use your camera’s sophisticated and powerful features. In this issue, we have an article with Linde Waidhofer that looks at a particularly interesting compositional technique. Waidhofer frames elements within the photograph that lead your eye to the main subject of the photos. The way she does this creates depth and dimension, and it keeps the viewer moving through the image. A lot of photographers will use keyhole compositions to create a frame within a frame. Waidhofer’s technique is more subtle and, in my opinion, more dynamic. As you go through the article, you’ll notice that the technique…

In my role as a Canon Explorer of Light, I recently presented a short, but intense seminar to the ASMP Student Chapter at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. The event was especially interesting to me because I graduated from Brooks more than 40 years ago. It was a real treat to work with an SRO audience of young, fresh, enthusiastic, soon-to-be-pro photographers and their instructors. Back in my student days, preparation for a career in nature photography wasn’t part of the school’s agenda; my instructors barely tolerated my sometimes outlandish efforts to incorporate my passion for nature into every assignment. So when I had these creative young people, my future fellow Brooks’ alumni, in my clutches for an evening, I put together a program that featured…

One of the main dilemmas for nature photographers is how to frame an image. The choice of camera position and lens angle greatly affects the image design. Nature often provides us with chaotic lines, shapes and colors from which we must distill and extract the essence of our subject. What we include in the frame, as well as what we exclude, is a key factor in the success of our compositions. I was inYosemite National Park recently photographing one of my favorite subjects, corn lilies. Returning to a favorite patch, I was happy to see they were still fresh green in spite of recent hot weather. The leaves were covered with pollen and a light rainfall added some water drops. The wind was blowing, which meant the leaves rarely held…

PENGUINS CHANGED MY LIFE. In fact, it was a chance encounter with a group of emperors on the Antarctic ice more than 30 years ago that turned me into a wildlife photographer. It also inspired a multiyear and slightly obsessive quest to find and photograph all 17 of the world’s penguin species in the wild. Among theworld’s animals, penguins are absolutely unique. Although true birds, they can’t fly, and despite being considered slightly ridiculous, they’re spectacularly adapted for the world they inhabit. What’s more, penguins enjoy some of the most beautiful real estate on the planet. Seeing penguins in the wild is a top goal for many wildlife photographers and animal lovers everywhere. For those of us in North America, however, it can seem a daunting enterprise. Inconveniently, and as…

Nature photography encompasses a wide range of subject matter, from landscape vistas to birds in flight. Naturally, some cameras are better for some types of photography than others. For example, most would prefer a pro DSLR over a “flat”-style mirrorless camera for birds in flight. But today’s DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are quite good across the board, and you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a highly capable nature photography camera. In this article, we’ve selected the top sub-$1,000 interchangeablelens models from the major manufacturers. For each camera, we’ve highlighted the basic facts about it, what kind of photographer we think it’s best for, and its unique features and strengths. In some cases, there was a model hanging out close to $1,000 that we wanted to identify, as…

Winter In Yosemite February 13 & February 16, 2014 Winter inYosemite is an amazing time for photography. Summer crowds are gone, and the skies are clear. Pro photographer Bob Evans invites you to join him for one of two outstanding sessions. He has been shootingYosemite for over 20 years and has extensive knowledge of all the great locations, including the famous Horsetail Falls. The sessions are on February 13-16 and 16-19. Both sessions include hands-on instruction, critiques, newfeatures of CS 6 and Lightroom 5, and a luncheon. These workshops are designed to teach you new skills that will advance you to the next level of photography. Evans focuses on composition, light in the landscape, ND filters and more. Although lodging isn’t included, group rates at the lodges are offered. Many…

Yellow-Eyed Penguin In New Zealand In this issue of OP, we have a feature article by Kevin Schafer on penguins and where to go to photograph them. While there’s a general impression that penguins live exclusively in bleak, icy locales, that’s not always the case. Schafer explains, “This picture, taken on one of New Zealand’s offshore islands, makes clear that not all penguins live in the ice and snow. Using the wonderful, fairyland native forest to shape the composition, I captured this endangered yellow-eyed penguin just emerging from his burrow.” Bear Lake After Sunset Glenn Nelson’s photo from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, was submitted to the OP Assignments, and it was the Weekly Winner of the Parks, Preserves & Monuments Assignment. This photo was taken in August 2013 on…

Location As oneof the last remaining intact temperate ecosystems, visiting Wyoming’s YellowstoneNational Park is like taking an adventurous journey back in time to the last Ice Age of the Pleistocene epoch some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago when hordes of megafauna roamed the prairies of North America. Driving along the northeast entrance road in the Lamar Valley in the northern part of Yellowstone during winter, you experience hordes of bison and wapiti (elk) seeking shelter from the harsh weather conditions of the high plateau at the center of the world’s oldest national park. The wildlife isn’t timid, and youcanget very close, but you must respect the safety regulations and stay at safe distances from thewildlife. Theanimals don’t care much about safety regulations, and I’veexperienced coyotes, wapitis and Rocky Mountain bighorn…

Looking at some of Linde Waidhofer’s photography, it occurred to us that she has a way of framing subjects within the rectangular frame. These “windows” within the frame create depth and guide the viewer through the composition. Obvious examples are found in keyhole photos of the desert Southwest. Waidhofer’s images are frequently less obvious. She uses shadow, silhouette, natural and man-made features, reflections and colors to create her windows on the world. We sent Waidhofer a selection of images, and we asked her to describe each one, as well as how she composes and frames the subjects. —Christopher Robinson, Editor The assignment seemed simple: Describe the processes, technical and mental, by which I composed a series of favorite photographs—but it encouraged me not just to remember the story of each…

We always think of snow as being plain white, but the reality is that it’s a malleable element that can take on any of several colors depending on the conditions in which you’re shooting. The lighting as well as how you make use of your camera controls have a profound impact on the color of water when it goes from a liquid to a solid. Control over the colors of snowbegins with your exposure. Historically, inexperienced photographers had a lot of trouble with snow because it can fool the in-camera meter so easily. All reflected-light meters want to make the subject they’re metering render as middle gray—Zone V, if you’re using the Zone System. With the simple meters in old film cameras, it was very easy to underexpose snowon a…

We’ve all seen it—that glowing violet fringe that sometimes lurks like a dirty halo in out-of-focus areas and along highcontrast boundaries of dark objects photographed against a bright sky. It’s called chromatic aberration, and although it’s most often visible in its purple robes, it can appear as other colors. Lateral chromatic aberration is seen as red-green or blue-yellowfringe. Axial chromatic aberration is purple or green. This unpleasant phenomenon occurs because it’s very difficult to coax more than two colors of light to focus on the same point. We call it an “aberration,” but in reality, it’s natural for light to be uncooperative. Think back to grade school when your science teacher showed you what a prism could do to a shaft of light. Remember how the seemingly white light broke…

Built-in wireless features have most often been found in the compact camera market, frequently viewed as a way to quickly share photos with social-media networks. But now the technology has taken on a wider scope, with manufacturers bringing the technology to higher-end cameras, triggers and card readers, and incorporating additional creative control and design. To this end, photographers are now able to use wireless features in every step of the workflow, picking and choosing which wireless features best adapt to individual needs. WiFi Cameras Typically, most wireless technology has followed the schema of using a proprietary app on your smart device to connect to your camera for viewing and transfer of photos. This is still the norm with many, but some manufacturers are adding control functions to the app, or…