Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Outdoor Photographer

How To Use Histograms For precise exposures that best capture a scene’s dynamic range, ignore what the image preview looks like and rely on the histogram. Assignments Sharpen your skills and share your best shots in our weekly “Assignments” photo challenges. Submit your images that fit the week’s theme—you may be our next Assignment winner. Improve Your Wildlife Photography Mastering wildlife photography takes patience, knowledge of your subject and an ethical approach. Browse Melissa Groo’s “Wild By Nature” columns for insights and techniques. Tip of the Week Available on our website—or delivered directly to your inbox—our free “Tip of the Week” provides shooting and processing techniques to sharpen your photography skills. Sign up today. Connect With Us Get the latest news and be inspired by great photos from the Outdoor…

You can see the depth of Paul Nicklen’s commitment to the environment and its inhabitants above and below sea level in his every frame. The National Geographic photographer, filmmaker, marine biologist and conservationist’s latest book, Born To Ice, brings the top and bottom of the globe to living rooms and libraries around the world. One can almost feel the bone-chilling efforts that the Vancouver Island-based Nicklen goes to in recording these magnificent yet unforgiving polar regions. His childhood experiences and field of study give him the ability to dive deeper—literally and figuratively—into his subjects. Outdoor Photographer: How did you evolve from a marine biologist into a conservation-focused photographer? Paul Nicklen: As a wildlife biologist with the government in the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife, I was doing very left-brained research. But…

New Hampshire winters are cold and snowy. Mid-January of this year was especially brutal, with temperatures below zero for several consecutive days. But with this sudden extreme cold comes the opportunity to photograph “sea smoke” along the coast. Sea smoke is water vapor that forms when extremely cold air moves over warmer water and the thin boundary layer of warm air just above the surface. As the evaporating water rises, it condenses into a fog or sea smoke. Having some luck photographing sea smoke in Rye Harbor the previous week, I woke up early on a Sunday morning and drove out to the coast to photograph the sunrise coming up over Whaleback Lighthouse in New Castle. The temperature was -5 degrees Fahrenheit with strong wind. The wind chill temperature had…

“It had been a pretty dry winter, which isn’t very normal for Maryland,” recalls Jessica Nelson. “In fact, we hadn’t had any measurable snow since winter had started. Then March hit, and we got snow squalls and storms every other day right before spring arrived. The birds were quite confused at the silly weather patterns we were having, and so were the trees. However, I was very happy to have captured the snowfall in early spring. I just love that the trees were sprouting some new colorful buds that looked pretty against the white snow. But the pop of the yellow goldfinch, which was morphing into his bright summer colors, really caught my eye.” See more of Jessica Nelson’s photography on Instagram @gagglephotog.…

A sense of adventure is inherent in the practice of photography in wild places. In this issue, we feature the work of photographers who take risks and put themselves in extreme situations and conditions to make their images. Paul Nicklen’s initiation as a professional photographer—one that led to the eventual achievement of working for National Geographic—was an act of youthful rebellion. Disillusioned with the restrictions of his job as a wildlife biologist working with numbers rather than his creative instincts, he resigned his post and promptly set out on a three-month solo expedition in the Canadian Barren Lands. “I was 26,” he recalls. “I had a plane drop me off. I was living on the tundra with wolves and bears, not seeing another person for three months.” That experience was…

The Departing Night By Matt Meisenheimer “The Snake River is one of the iconic rivers out west, and it just happens to flow by some of the most majestic mountains in North America in Grand Teton National Park. I took this shot on a spring morning at the base of the river just outside Jackson, Wyoming. Conditions didn’t look promising as the peaks were enshrouded in clouds when I first arrived, but as the sun began to rise, the peaks were slowly revealed. It turned out to be a fantastic morning, and I captured this frame during the pre-sunrise alpenglow.” See more of Matt Meisenheimer’s work at meisphotography.com. Bandon Beach By Keith Lisk “The Oregon Coast offers endless opportunities for great images. While on a weeklong trip down the coast,…

As far as photography genres go, adventure sports photography is fairly new. While this genre is an outgrowth of expedition photography—explorers have documented expeditions using photography since the early 1900s—adventure sports photography as we know it today has only really been around since the early 1970s. By adventure sports, I mean sports like rock climbing, mountain biking, surfing, skiing, snowboarding, B.A.S.E. jumping and whitewater kayaking, to name a few. What qualifies as an “adventure” is debatable, but for this article, we’ll define it as an activity with an unknown outcome involving risk. Hence, even if you’re creating images of other types of adventures that aren’t adventure sports, many of the tips and techniques discussed in this article will still apply. GET TO KNOW THE SPORT For the most part, the…

Why would I need a mirrorless camera? Spoiler alert: It’s not about the size. I already have a full-frame Canon EOS 5D Mark IV for general photography, an EOS-1D X Mark II for action wildlife and a 50.6-megapixel EOS 5DS R for high-resolution and studio photography. I don’t really “need” another camera. Still, as I’ve watched the advancement of mirrorless digital camera technology, I’ve been intrigued by the possibilities of a capable camera that was smaller and possibly lighter, with a high-resolution electronic viewfinder (EVF) that would give a “Live View” rendition of the exposure in real time. I wanted to use that viewfinder to follow a subject, such as a flying eagle, while capturing 4K video. And, of course, the camera would need to be seamlessly compatible with my…

CAMERAS BEST NEW FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS SYSTEM: NIKON Z 2018 was a turning point for full-frame mirrorless systems, with both Canon and Nikon introducing new cameras and lens mounts after years of speculation and wondering when they would enter this market. Sony has had this segment all to itself since introducing the a7 and a7R in 2013, and in that time has seen its market share explode due to the popularity, performance and consistent development of that system. It was inevitable that Canon and Nikon would need to address the photographers who were leaving their systems for Sony’s mirrorless options. Both companies made a strong debut, and though there’s a lot to like about both the Canon EOS R and Nikon Z series cameras, Nikon takes the top spot for introducing…

Location The name Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area may be a mouthful, but the location more than lives up to the outstanding title. YHONA is located in Newport, Oregon, and juts a mile out into the Pacific Ocean. A stroll to the westernmost point will bring you to Oregon’s tallest lighthouse, a naturally formed black cobblestone beach, tide pools teaming with life and a sea stack that’s home to one of the state’s largest common murre nesting colonies. The headland is a spectacular place to witness the natural drama that happens when ocean meets land, and it’s a jackpot for nature photographers. In a single location, one can capture the spirit of the Pacific Northwest coastline. Bald eagles are known to prey on the nesting murres, creating opportunities for thrilling…

Winter is a memorable time for photographers who enjoy the challenges and the rewards that come with photographing the season. Dedication comes to mind when we think of photographers who enjoy going on adventures in freezing temperatures to capture images in conditions that other photographers wouldn’t be willing to consider. A trip to the park in summer means hot weather, overcrowding and congestion. On the other hand, winter is the perfect time to try shooting some unique perspectives of your favorite places. The solitude and peacefulness of a winter scene allow us to see the landscape in a whole new light. What makes winter unique for the photographer is the chance to experience nature on a more intimate level, to think more deeply about what one is trying to capture…

In addition to being a photographer, I own and run a fine-art print lab out of my gallery in Monterey, California. Because of that, I see a lot of files from a lot of different cameras come across my computer screen and through my printers. Recently, I printed a series of images that were fairly large in size. Some were 31x36 inches and others an even larger 36x42 inches. And I was shocked at what I was seeing. Shocked! To be clear, the camera that took these files that impressed me so wasn’t showing me quality in detail and tonality that I’ve never seen before. In fact, quite the opposite—I’ve seen better and seen it often. The reason I was impressed was because I had never seen detail and tonality…