Jim Zuckerman

Jim Zuckerman  |  Oct 27, 2014  |  0 comments

Every photographer has a personal vision and a particular taste in composition, light, color and so on. For example, many photographers chose nature’s details simply to abstract the color and form they find. Others like to use extremely shallow depth of field—also called selective focus—so only a sliver of the subject is sharp while the rest of it is soft. People who are intrigued by the beauty, intricacy and complexity of nature usually shoot with the opposite approach. They want to reveal as much detail in the subjects as possible so those who view their work can appreciate the designs and the patterns in the images with tack sharp clarity.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Sep 30, 2014  |  0 comments

One of my favorite details to photograph is ice. It is as artistic and intriguing as anything you’ll encounter, and I never tire of the beautiful patterns and shapes I find. From ice crystals on a window (#1), to the impressive formations of glacial ice, such as (#2 and #3), the abstracts in ice that nature generates has been a life-long fascination for me.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Aug 19, 2014  |  0 comments

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. What this refers to is the digital sensor’s ability (or lack of ability) to render good detail in both the highlights and the shadows in a photograph. Our eye/brain combination is extremely sophisticated, and as we look at a contrasty scene (such as a landscape in noon sunlight) the detail in the shadows and in the bright sunny areas is quite clear to us. A photograph will not look the same as we see it.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jul 21, 2014  |  1 comments

Everyone is insecure about getting the correct exposure. We have good reason to be insecure because too often we’ve experienced over- and underexposures when we didn’t expect it, and that leaves a lasting impression that exposure technique is a mysterious and elusive thing.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jul 21, 2014  |  0 comments

I’m sure that everyone who has ever owned a camera has taken pictures of flowers. It’s impossible not to. Flowers are too beautiful to resist, and there are so many species and varieties that you could devote your entire life to shooting nothing but flowers and hardly scratch the surface.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jul 21, 2014  |  0 comments

The beautiful designs and colors that can be found in the feathers of many species of birds offer wonderful photo opportunities. You can create frame-filling shots of unique patterns, and it’s also possible to make interesting arrangements of the feathers that become a unique art form unto itself.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jul 21, 2014  |  2 comments

Photography gives us the ability to freeze moments in time that are impossible for the human eye to see. The collision of a drop of water with a pool of water is an event that is intriguing to see, and without the aid of a camera and flash it would be impossible to study, appreciate and admire.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jun 20, 2014  |  0 comments
Light can be manipulated and controlled to suit our artistic needs. There are limitations, though. You can’t turn midday sunlight into a sunset, and it’s not possible to change the direction of the light such that you artificially introduce long shadows in a scene devoid of them. Nevertheless, there are things you can do with respect to color, intensity, contrast and even reflections that are worth exploring.
Jim Zuckerman  |  Jun 20, 2014  |  0 comments

Previously I discussed photographing bubble solution stretched across a frame. You can get the same swirling pearlescent colors in the spherical surface of a bubble as it’s sitting on glass. When I was experimenting with this a few years ago, I discovered that you could even blow a bubble inside a bubble and then another one inside of that. Image (#1) is a picture of a bubble in a bubble in a bubble in a bubble.

Jim Zuckerman  |  Jun 20, 2014  |  0 comments

Most people find the bones of animals fascinating. Nature photographers are usually drawn to them like a magnet, and when they are in a particularly beautiful environment, they make captivating subjects. Too often, though, bones are scattered in an unattractive way or they are laying in dirt or underbrush that isn’t especially appealing. In that case, it’s a simple matter of arranging the various elements so they are more pleasing.

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