Outdoor Tips

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The Editors  |  Dec 01, 2004  | 

It's winter, and with the season come wonderful opportunities to produce some great snow and ice photos. On the following pages are a few tips to help you do just that.

The basic idea is to have the brightest areas of snow or ice appear white, but with a trace of detail. Very small areas can be blank white, but large areas should have some texture and detail.

Lynne Eodice  |  Nov 01, 2004  | 

A lot of photo enthusiasts say, "The sun's out--time to take pictures," and put their camera away come nightfall. But if this is your philosophy, you're missing half the fun of photography. You can take some exciting night shots of colorful neon signs, the streaked taillights of traffic in motion, or shadowy figures silhouetted by street lights.

Lynne Eodice  |  Oct 01, 2004  | 

Autumn is a season of change, accompanied by colorful foliage, pumpkin patches, and costumed children decked out for Halloween. Days become shorter and the sun is positioned lower in the southern sky, creating warmer light than in the summer months.

If you want to photograph fall colors, find out when the peak time will be.

Mike Stensvold  |  Sep 01, 2004  | 

All Photos by Mike Stensvold

 

Proper exposure is important. Color-print film has a lot of "latitude," and digital images can be manipulated extensively, but a properly exposed image will always look better than a "corrected" poorly exposed one.
What is "proper" exposure, anyway? Well, it's the exposure that gives you the...

Lynne Eodice  |  Sep 01, 2004  | 

Beautiful scenic views rank among our most popular subjects to photograph, but surprisingly, they can be one of the most challenging subjects to capture on film or a memory card. The human eye perceives a scene differently than the camera does--we tend to see selectively, while the camera lens simply takes it all in. Also, there are elements that add to our experience...

The Editors  |  Sep 01, 2004  | 

Electronic flash is a versatile photographic tool. From tiny units built into cameras to multi-head studio flash systems with separate power supplies, electronic flash is popular with photographers from snapshooter through pro.

Here are a few handy tips to help you get better photos with flash.

 

 

Mike Stensvold  |  Aug 01, 2004  | 

Shooting good photos in dim light is challenging, but can also be quite rewarding, because capturing the feel of the existing light generally produces a more pleasant picture than using on-camera flash.

The basic problems facing the low-light photographer are being able to use a fast enough shutter speed to permit hand-held shooting, and being able to use a small enough lens aperture to...

Lynne Eodice  |  Aug 01, 2004  | 

All photos by Jay Dickman unless otherwise indicated.

 

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jay Dickman has covered assignments internationally as a photojournalist for the Times-Herald in Dallas, Texas, and as a contributor to National Geographic, as well as shooting for most...

Mike Stensvold  |  Jun 01, 2004  | 

Photographs of beautiful landscapes made in the right conditions can be absolutely stunning. The keys are to be there in those conditions, and to be ready to record them when you find them.

You can greatly enhance your chances of being there at the right time by doing your research. It's frustrating to travel to a stunning scenic site, only to be socked in by a blizzard—or to find...

Lynne Eodice  |  Jun 01, 2004  | 

All photos by Bob Lilly

 

Most of us associate the name Bob Lilly with the legendary Dallas Cowboys player--one of football's former stars, immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Coach Tom Landry has stated, "I've said this before and I'll say...

Mike Stensvold  |  May 01, 2004  | 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to get good bird photos. Professional bird photographers do use some serious items (the 600mm f/4 supertelephoto lens favored by many costs more than my whole "bird" outfit, which includes both 35mm and digital AF SLR bodies), and you probably need similar gear and...

Lynne Eodice  |  May 01, 2004  | 

 

 

 

Rural scenes provide picturesque photo opportunities for those who love to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. These settings convey feelings of tranquility. If you're like a lot of landscape shooters, scenery that includes barns, covered bridges, and miles of open fields may inspire you photographically.

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Mike Stensvold  |  Apr 01, 2004  | 
Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal—hence, the ritual of spring cleaning. It's also a season of contrasts: there's still snow in the high elevations, while the lower regions come into bloom; and there are hot summery spells and cold wintry spells interspersed with milder days. So in most areas, you can shoot "winter" shots and "summer" shots in thespring...
Mike Stensvold  |  Apr 01, 2004  | 

 

 

Real-world tips for the "artistically challenged"

Great artists are probably born, not made. But there are a lot of things 'most anyone can do to make better photos. One biggie is thinking about composition when you shoot. Here are some easy ways to jump-start your creative eye.

Put It Where It Works

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Lynne Eodice  |  Apr 01, 2004  | 

You don't have to wait for good weather to photograph an intriguing sky. In its many moods, the sky can be a wonderful, ever-changing photographic subject. You can take pictures of puffy white clouds, dramatically colorful sunrises or sunsets, an ominous storm front moving in, and possibly a rainbow after the storm clears. Shoot...

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