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Springbabes Spring babes Babyanimals and birds makefor iconicspring imagesand are incre incredibly dibly cuteand photog photogenic,too. enic,too.
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Backlitleaves Try backlighting backlighting for vibrant foliageimagesthatreveal ageimagesthatreveal theveinsand intrica intricacie ciess of leaves leaves andhighlightshape andhighlightshape and form.Backlighting canfoolmetering canfoolmetering into underexposur underexposure, e, so check your your histogr histogramand amand apply apply between+1.5 between+1.5 to+2EV compensationif compensationif needed.
Morningdew After After a heavy heavy dew, dew, the landscape landscape sparklesand glistensin glistensin themorning themorning light. light. An early early start start isrequired, isrequired, as dewsoonevaporates. dewsoonevaporates. Look Look fortiny water water droplet dropletss clingingonto grasses,leaves andowers. andowers. Alsolookout fordew-cover fordew-covered ed webs webs for interesting interesting close-ups. close-ups.
look look Up Whenphotographing Whenphotographing woodland woodland inspring,the in spring,the canopyof canopyof fresh,greenleaves fresh,greenleaves aboveis easilyoverlooked. easilyoverlooked. Lieon your your backand,using backand,using a wide-anglelens, wide-anglelens,shoot shoot directly upward.Verticaltree trunks converge converge andperspe and perspectiveis ctiveis distorted,creating distorted,creatingunusual unusual,, eye-catc eye-catching hing springimages.
UsealongexposUre Photographers Photographers oftenfavour still still days days forwoodland forwoodland photogra photography phy,, butyou can capturegreatresult capturegreatresultss in wind. wind. Using Using a longexposure longexposure of severalsecond severalsecondss anda small aperture, aperture, moving leavesand leavesand owerswill owerswill blur attracti attractively. vely. A tripodis tripodis an essential essential accessory. accessory.
getdownlow A lowperspecti lowperspective ve creates creates natural-lookingresults, natural-lookingresults, particularly particularly when shooting shooting owers.It owers.It alsoallows alsoallows you to place place more more distanc distance e betweenyour betweenyour subjec subjectt and itsbackdrop itsbackdrop,, helpingit helpingit stand stand out. out. If youintend youintend lying lying down, down, carry carry a grounds groundshee heett toavoid gettingdamp.
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Spring pring flower flower power power!! The vibran Thevib rantt colour colourss ofspri of spring ng flowers flowersmak make e them themid idea eall subj subject ectss for for you you tosho to shoot ot WHENPHOTOGRAPH WHENPHOTOGRAPHING INGFLO FLOWERSin WERSin spring, spring, thereare a number number of accessorie accessoriess thatcan that canmakeyour makeyour wholeexperience wholeexperience easierand easierand more more enjoya enjoyable ble.. A dec decenttripo enttripod d that that allowsfor allowsfor low-levelshootingis low-levelshootingis an advantageas advantageas it helpswith compositi composition on andallow andallow youto shootat shootat slowershutt slowershutter er speeds speeds.. We’d We’d recommen recommend d thatyou use a polarising polarising filterto filterto bring bring outthe vivid vivid colour colourss of the flowers flowers,, reduceglar reduceglare e on wetfoliageand wetfoliageand deepenthe dee penthe blues blues ofthe sky. sky. Understandi Understanding ng depth-of-fi depth-of-field eldis is essentialwhen essentialwhen shooting shooting flower flower close-ups. close-ups. Try using using a macrolens macrolens with with a wide wide apertu aperture re to limit limit thedepththe depth-of-fie of-field ld andempha and emphasise sise themainsubject.Thiswillallowyouto themainsubject.Thiswillallowyouto focus focus on a specifi specific c point point ofinterest ofinterest,, blurri blurring ng outanythin outanything g that that is noton thefocal thefocal plane. plane. If youwantto adda bitmoreinterestand bitmoreinterestand textur texture e toyour flower flower shots,try shots,try shooti shooting ng them them first first thingin thingin themorning themorning,, when when they they are covere covered d in dew, dew, or duringligh duringlightt rainfa rainfall.See ll.See belowfor belowfor tips tips on how torecreatea torecreatea springshow springshower!Why er!Why notgiveyourselfa notgiveyourselfa head head start start for next next springby springby planti planting ng bulbs bulbs inyour garden garden? ? A great great resour resourcefor cefor locati locating ng plantsto plantsto buyfor your your gardenis gardenis theRoyal theRoyal Hor Hortic ticult ultura urall Society’splant Society’splant selector.This selector.This gives gives detailed detailedinfor informatio mation n about when when tobuy andplantyourflowers andplantyourflowers andhow tolook after after them! them! For details, visit: www.rhs.org.uk/rhspl www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/index.aspx antselector/index.aspx
REFLECTOR A reflect reflectorwillallowyou orwillallowyou to bounce bounce lightfrom yourbacklit subjects subjects into into thedarker thedarker areasof areasof your your flowers flowers,, revealingthe revealingthe intricate intricatedetai details. ls. PLAMPI PLAMPI deal deal forholdinga forholdinga reflect reflectorin orin placewhileyoutakethe placewhileyoutakethe shot,or shot,or even even the flowers flowers themselves,the themselves,the WimberleyPlamp WimberleyPlamp isa greatpieceof greatpieceof kit thatoers greatvalue!
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1)DAFFODILS 1) DAFFODILS These characterist characteristic ic yellow flowerscan flowerscan be found found all overtheUK. overtheUK. Lookin Lookin private private gardens, gardens, parks andjust about about every every florist florist across across the nation! 2)BLUEBELLS 2) BLUEBELLS Usually foundin woodland, woodland, heath,and occasionally occasionally on mountai mountain n tops. tops. Readpage74in Readpage74in this this magbook magbook for further information. 3)WOODANEMONE 3) WOODANEMONE Thiscommon Thiscommon flower flower can be found found in woodla woodland nd betweenMarchand betweenMarchand May. May. Growingin 'carpets’, 'carpets’, itcan beidentifi beidentifiedby edby itslong stem stem and three-sectione three-sectioned d leaves. leaves. The flowers are a beautiful beautiful pinkish-white pinkish-whitecolour colour..
5)PINK 5) PINKTH THRIFT RIFT This colourful colourful flower canbe seen seen throug throughou houtt spring spring,, andgrowsin dense dense carpet carpets. s. It hasa distinct distinctivelook,with ivelook,with its manypink‘heads’ manypink‘heads’ growingon growingon stalks stalks.. It is common commonly ly found found on theUK's coastlines coastlines until Autumn. Autumn.
TRIPOD A tripodwillkeepyourcame tripodwillkeepyourcamera ra steady, steady, reducingcamera-sha reducingcamera-shake. ke.It It willalso allow allow youto manual manuallyfocusmoreeasi lyfocusmoreeasily ly with with a macrolens. macrolens. LENS A macrolenssuch macrolenssuch asthe Sigma Sigma 150mmf/2.8Mac 150mmf/2.8MacroEX roEX DGHSM isthe perfect perfect accessoryfor accessoryfor catchingclose-ups catchingclose-ups ofyourfavouriteflowers. of yourfavouriteflowers.
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4) RHODODENDRONS 4)RHODODENDRONS Thesecan The secan befoundin woodland, woodland, andmany and many garden gardens.One s.One ofthe UK's moststunning rhododendr rhododendron on walkscan be foundat foundat BowoodHous BowoodHouse e in Wiltsh Wiltshire ire.. Visit: www.bowood-house.co.uk
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Aprilshowers! April showers! April April is notori notoriousfor ousfor itssudden itssudden andsporadicshow andsporadicshowers ers,, butif you'retryi you'retrying ng to take take a season seasonal al shotandtherainis shotandtherainis nowh nowher ere e tobe seen, seen, whynot fake fake it?Simply it?Simply sprayi spraying ng waterup waterup into into theair near near yoursubjectsshould be enough enough to addthe 'Engl 'Englishweat ishweather her'' look. look. Thewater Thewater drops drops addinteres addinterestt to the flowers, flowers, while while the 'rain' 'rain' falling falling will will remindever remindeveryon yone e of thegreat thegreat British springtime. RIGHT:Usingaremotereleaseanda fastshutterspeed,Helenmanag fastshutterspeed,Helenmanaged ed to capture‘raindrops’ fallingonto thedaodils. Simplebut eective!
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Polariserr punch! Polarise A polar polarisin ising g filter filter,, suchas theone pict picturedhere, uredhere, will really real ly brin bring g out yourspringshots.The filte filterr deep deepensthe ensthe blue blu e ofthe skyas we well ll asthe yel yellowof lowof th the e da daodi odil. l. Italso addss pun add punchto chto th the e det detail ailss ofthe flo flower wer's 's pet petalsas alsas we well ll as theclouds.Rememberr tha theclouds.Remembe thatt polar polarisin ising g filte filters rs are at the their ir mostt ee mos eect ctivewhe ivewhen n use used d ata 90°ang 90°angle le rel relati ativeto veto th the e positionof posi tionof thesun. The HoyaSuper Pro Pro1 1 Circ Circular ular Polar Po larisi isingFilt ngFilteris eris on one e ofthe mos mostt pop popula ularr onthe mar marke ket. t.
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R O S S H O D D I N O T T
Chasing Chasingrain rainbows bows Thereis Thereis notime like like spring spring for shooting shooting rainbows. rainbows. Whenyou see darkraincloudshovering above brightly brightly lit landscapes,there’s landscapes,there’s a good chancethatyou’l chancethatyou’lll also also seea rainbow rainbow.. Brack Bracket et your your shots shots togive youthe best best chanceof chanceof captur capturingthe ingthe bands bands of colourat colourat their their best. best. Youcould combin combine e these these later later in Photos Photoshopto hopto createan createan image image with with an extend extended ed range,whichwillallowyou range,whichwillallowyou a greate greaterr degreeof degreeof contro controll over over thedetails, thedetails, colour colourss andtexturesof andtexturesof thefinal image. image. Finally,a Finally,a polarising polarising filterwill addcontras addcontrastt to thescene, thescene, as well well as saturating saturatingthe thecolou colours. rs.
A D A M B U R T O N
AUTOEXPOSUREBRACKET: AUTOEXPOSUREBRACKET: UseAEBto shoota shoota sequen sequenceof ceof three three imagesat imagesat slightl slightly y dierent dierent exposuresto exposuresto increasethe increasethe chance chance of gettingthe gettingthe bestresult. bestresult. RAINBOW RAINBOWS: S: Shoot Shoot inRaw, asit allowsyou allowsyou to tweak tweak theexposure theexposure andcolourson yourcomputer. yourcomputer.
146 14 6 Shootthe seas seasons ons
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An hour at the farm Dani Daniel el Leza Lezano no head headss down down to hislocal hislocal farm farm to see how how easy easy it isto is to phot photog ogra raph ph some some newb newbor orn n lambs lambs AFTERA AFTERA TRIP TRIP tomy localfarm,I localfarm,I canunderst canunderstan and d whyso manypeop manypeopleare leare vegetaria vegetarian. n. Getting Getting up close close to somecuddlynewbornlambs mademe feel morethan morethan a littleguil littleguiltyaboutmy tyaboutmy month monthlytreat lytreat,, a lamb lamb tikkajalfr tikkajalfrezi ezi.. Bu But, t, like like thetrueprofess thetrueprofession ionalI alI am,I pushe pushed d these these tastythoug tastythoughtsto htsto thebackof my mind mind andconce andconcentr ntrate ated d onthe jobat hand,shoot hand,shootingsomeniceimag ingsomeniceimagesof esof these these wooll woolly y wonde wonders rs forthisShoot forthisShoot TheSeasonsguid TheSeasonsguide.I e.I heade headed d to Sacrewel Sacrewelll Farm, Farm, nearWansford nearWansford in Lincolns Lincolnshire,a hire,a public-f public-frien riendly dly farmwhere lambshad lambshad beenborn beenborn just just days days previo previousl usly.I'd y.I'd check checkedwith edwith them them that that it was okayto okayto take take pictur pictures es befor before e makingthe makingthe journe journey y (Iadvise (Iadvise you you dothe same) same) andheadedther andheadedthere e late late mornin morning g onan overc overcastday astday with with a DSLRand DSLRand an assortme assortment nt of lenses lenses coveringmost coveringmost focal focal lengths. lengths. Myrststopwasa shed shed inwhich inwhich a groupof groupof orpha orphan n lamb lambss was was house housed. d. Whilethishadtheadva Whilethishadtheadvanta ntageof geof allow allowingme ingme toget closeto closeto theanima theanimals,the ls,the lightingwas lightingwas verypoor. verypoor. As wellas very very lowambient lowambient light light levels,the levels,the heating heating lamps lamps gave gave a strong strong colour colour castthat alsoproducedreallyunat alsoproducedreallyunatteri tering ng light. light. Shootin Shooting g in Raw, Raw, I knew knew theWhite Balancewasn' Balancewasn'tt a real real problem problem,, butthe positio position n of theheatinglampmeant ndingdecentlightin ndingdecentlighting g wasnigh on impossi impossible,so ble,so I settledon settledon nding nding a viewpo viewpoint int where where thebright hotspotfell hotspotfell behindthe behindthe headof thelamb,creating thelamb,creating a bright bright halo halo behindit. behindit. Fortuna Fortunately tely,, I wasgiven permissi permission on to enter enter a eld eld where where twoewes and their their lambs lambs were were grazing.Beforeheadi grazing.Beforeheading ng there, there, I boughta boughta coupleof coupleof pots pots of foodfromthefarmshopas foodfromthefarmshopas I though thoughtt a strang strangerbear erbearin ing g giftsmigh giftsmightt have have more more successthan successthan onesimplywielding onesimplywielding a DSLR. DSLR. As I discove discovered,my red,my theory theory wasright. Once Once though though thegate andapproachi andapproaching ng thesheep,they instinc instinctive tively ly startedto startedto trotaway. trotaway. A fewloud shakes shakes of thepots stoppedthem stoppedthem in their their tracks tracks andcaughttheirattenti andcaughttheirattention.Approa on.Approachin ching g slowly slowly,, I allowedthe allowedthe ewesto ewesto feaston feaston thefood thefood andthey andthey weresoonfarmoresett weresoonfarmoresettle led.I d.I took took some some shots shots of thelamb withthe 70-200m 70-200mm m and100mmmacrolenses and100mmmacrolenses,, butwasn't happy happy withthe results,whichwere results,whichwere prettyrun prettyrun of themill. However However,, things things chan changedwhe gedwhen n I layonthe grassso grassso I was was belo below w theireye theireye leve level.Thisinsta l.Thisinstant ntly ly put put them them moreat moreat easeand easeand aftera aftera coup coupleof leof minute minutess theewes theewes satdown, satdown, which which gave gave a fresh fresh perspec perspectiveto tiveto theshots.With themothers themothers relaxed relaxed,, the lambs lambs soon soon came came closer closer,, sning sning at my clothesand clothesand cameraas cameraas I rattled rattled thoughthe thoughthe frames.I frames.I found found that, that, workingat workingat suchclosequarters,the suchclosequarters,the 16-35mmand 16-35mmand 28-70mmzoomsprovedmostuseful.Movin 28-70mmzoomsprovedmostuseful.Moving g aroundslowly aroundslowly,, I was was able able toshift toshift from from ewe ewe tolambandfound tolambandfound thatthei thattheirr nervo nervous usne ness ss had had given given wayto inquisi inquisitive tiveness ness.. Often, Often, I'dhold theultra-widezoom theultra-widezoom close close to their their face face andfoundthey'dsticktheir wetnoses ontothe optics,ratherthan optics,ratherthan pull pull away.Havinga away.Havinga lensclothin my pocketwas pocketwas essentia essentiall to removethe removethe smears!WhileI smears!WhileI startedwith startedwith the28-70mm the28-70mm at thewidestsetting, thewidestsetting, a quick quick look look atthe LCD LCD monit monitorshow orshowedthattheshee edthatthesheep p was was fartoosmall fartoosmall inthe frame frame.. Settingthe Settingthe lensto around around 35mmgavebetterresult 35mmgavebetterresults, s, withthe sheep sheep fairly fairly promine prominent,but nt,but withenough withenough moody moody skyaboveit to addextrainterest. addextrainterest. I leftthe leftthe eldhapp eldhappy y that that I'd I'd capt capture ured d somegoodima somegoodimage ges.I s.I wasalso wasalso gratefu gratefull thatI hadn't hadn't dressedpartic dressedparticular ularly ly smartly smartly.. Complet Completelyfocuse elyfocused d on shootingthe shootingthe sheep, sheep, I hadn't hadn't noticedthat noticedthat while while shiftingon shiftingon thegrass from sheep sheep to sheep, sheep, I'dmanaged I'dmanaged to crawl crawl throughsevera throughseverall rather rather wet'deposits' wet'deposits'.. On gettinghome, gettinghome, theclothes theclothes were were in thewashing thewashing machinelong machinelong beforethe beforethe imageswere imageswere downloa downloadedto dedto thecomputer!If thecomputer!If youdecideto tryshooting tryshooting some some farmanimals farmanimals foryourself,rememb foryourself,remember er thegoldenrules:get permissio permission, n, take take a selectio selection n of lenses lenses anda cloth,and cloth,and above above all, all, wear wear scruyclothe scruyclothes! s!
TOP: TOP: Thorphanshd aodcos accss toth animas animas,, utth ightin ighting g fromth hat amps amps madtaking dcntpicturs prtty muchimpossi. AbOve AbOve:: Ittooka f minutsfor minutsfor thshp torax, utonc thy did,thy rquit happyto happyto ham ham in cosquartrs. RIGHT& RIGHT& belOw: belOw: Adoptin Adopting g a ryo ipoin ipointt andthn shootin shooting g itha modratid-ang sttingga sttingga y far thst rsuts. rsuts.
Finalimage Oncetheewes sett settled, led, thelambsbecame bolder.A bold er.A lowviewpoi lowviewpoint nt allowedme allo wedme to inclu include de thedark,moodysky.
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The EssetalGueto EssetalGueto Outoo Outoo Photogap Photogaphy hy 3rdEdiTiOn
Poppy power! Whocan ignor ignore e theimpact ofa el eldof dof redpop redpoppie pies? s? Make Mak e sureyou’recame sureyou’recameraraready read y whe when n thecountrys thecountryside ide is in bloomthisyear.
3rdEdition the EssealGue EssealGue ou ou Phgaph Phgaphy y
Nature: Natur e: Flora 63 i s t o c k p h o t o
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The EssetalGueto EssetalGueto Outoo Outoo Photogap Photogaphy hy 3rdEdiTiOn
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Natu: Nat u:F Fa a
3rdEdition the EssealGue EssealGue ou ou Phgaph Phgaphy y
Get the low lowdown down!!
Choosingthe Choo singthe rightgear foryour requ requirem irements– ents– in thiscase,choosingkit which whic h willaid close close-up -up photograp phot ographyand hyand get youlow to theground– is esse essentialfor ntialfor getti getting ng theresultsyou want want..
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Natu Nat u kit kitQ& Q&A A Q I st stu ut t k k th thu uhth hth viwnd viw nd whnsht whnshtinantsf inantsf und un d v v. . Wha Whatt canI d? A Unl Unlessyouown essyouown a cam camerawitha erawitha var varii-ang angle le LCD– lik like e theNiko theNikon n D51 D5100or 00or Can CanonEOS onEOS 600D 600 D – sho shooti otingfromlow ngfromlow ang anglescan lescan pro prove ve awkwar awk ward.Rathe d.Ratherr tha than n hav havingto ingto lieat on theground thegrou nd andcont andcontortyourbodyto ortyourbodyto pee peerr through throu gh the view viewnder nder,, buy a righ right-an t-angle gle nder.. ThisL-sh nder ThisL-shapedattachme apedattachment nt ts onto the eyep eyepiece iece,, allowi allowing ng photo photograph graphers ers to comf comfortab ortably ly comp compose ose imag images es at righ rightt angless to the came angle camera’s ra’s opti optical cal axis axis.. Most marquebran mar quebrandshave dshave the theirown irown ran rangeof geof theseattachments, theseattachme nts, so visi visitt theirwebsite theirwebsitess for details detai ls and mode models. ls. Q Dyuhavanytisfaxi Dyuhavanytisfaxiis isin in shansswhn shtinws? A Fir Firstl stly,alway y,alwayss usea tri tripodwhen podwheneve everr it ispractica ispract icall todo so.Also so.Also,, avo avoidphysi idphysical cally ly depressin depre ssing g the shutt shutter er butto button n as the pressure press ure of yournger can prod produce uce enough enoug h move movementto mentto intro introducecamera ducecamera shake.. Inste shake Instead, ad, trig trigger ger the shutt shutter er remo remotely tely – eit eitherusin herusing g a rem remotedevi otedeviceor ceor you yourr camera’s came ra’s selfself-time timerr facil facility.Finally ity.Finally,, if your camerahas cam erahas a mir mirrorlock rorlock-upfaci -upfacilit lity,use y,use it. By ‘lock ‘lockinging-up’ up’ the came camera’s ra’s ree reex x mirr mirror or priorto takin taking g pict pictures,you ures,you elim eliminatethe inatethe riskof inter internal nal vibra vibration tionss or ‘mir ‘mirror ror slap’ softeningimage softe ningimage quali quality. ty. Q I’vhadais I’vhadaissa sa usfu usfu f ants,t. an ts,t. Is thistu? A Ye Yes, s, it is. Whenrotated corr correctly ectly,, polar polarisers isers reduce reduc e glareand reec reectionsfrom tionsfrom folia foliage, ge, petalsand pet alsand shi shinyfungi nyfungi.. By usi usingthe ngthe lt lter er,, you can resto restore re natur natural al colou colourr satur saturatio ation n and captu capture re imag images es withadded vibra vibrancy ncy.. However,polarise Howev er,polarisers rs do havea lterfactor ofaround ofaroun d twostop twostops,so s,so shu shutte tterr spe speed ed islengthen islengt henedas edas a res resultof ultof usi usingone.In ngone.In good goo d lig light ht orstillcondi orstillconditio tions,thiswon’tbe ns,thiswon’tbe a proble pro blem,but m,but inlow lig light ht orblowyweath orblowyweather er,, it mightt be impr migh impractic actical. al. Q H Hw w canI av avidtt idttinda inda an and d ubby whn whnhtah htahin in ants? A Wea Wearr wat waterp erproo rooff lay layersto ersto pro protec tectt you yourr clothi clo thingwhen ngwhen kne kneeli elingor ngor lyi lyingon ngon the ground grou nd or inve invest st in a grou groundshe ndsheet. et. Consi Consider der theLinpixPhoto theLinp ixPhotogra graphyMat phyMat tohelp kee keep p you cleanand cle anand dry dry.. Usi Usinggarde nggarden n kne kneeli elingpads ngpads is another anoth er goodoption goodoption.. Yo You u shou should ld alsothink aboutwearingphotographer aboutwearingphotogr apher’s ’s shoo shooting ting gloveslikethosefromJustLtd glo veslikethosefromJustLtd (ww (www. w. cameraclea came raclean.co n.co.uk)to .uk)to prote protect ct nge ngers rs and handsfrom thorn thornss and nettl nettles. es.
Ti ids ds and andatn atnativ ativ ca caa a su suts ts TrIpoD: A good, good, solidtripo solidtripod d will will give give you support,stabilityand support,stabilityand guaranteeyour guaranteeyour pictures pictures aresharp. aresharp. Itwill also also slow slow downthe picture-ta picture-taking king process,making process,making you thinkabout composit composition ion and viewpoint.A viewpoint.A tripod tripod alsoassists withprecise focusing focusing,, so youcan ne-tuneyour ne-tuneyour point point of focus. focus. For nature, nature, opt foronethat canbe posit positio ionedlow nedlow tothe ground ground.. A designthatlacksa designthatlacksa centrecolu centrecolumnor mnor onethatcan be position positioned ed horizontal horizontally ly is a good optio option. n. A gearedtrip gearedtripodhead,likethe odhead,likethe Manfrotto410 Manfrotto410 Junior,is Junior,is the perfect perfect choice choice for close-ups close-ups..
BeANBAg: Beanbags oer goodsupport for yourset-up whenplaced on the ground. ground. The bag’s bag’s lling lling naturally moulds aroundthe aroundthe cameraand cameraand lens, lens, and absorbs absorbs the majorityof majorityof movement. movement. When When shooti shootingat ngat groundleve groundlevell – which which nature nature photograph photographers ers do regularly– regularly– theyprovideperfect camera camera support,being support,being hassle-fre hassle-free e and easyto arrange. arrange. For specialis specialistt photograp photography hy beanbags,look beanbags,look at productsprovidedby productsprovidedby Wildlife Wildlife WatchingSupplies WatchingSupplies.. A crumpledcrumpled-up up jumper jumper or a eece eece can alsobe used as a substitut substitute e beanbag. beanbag.
plAmp: A Wimberley Wimberley Plampopens upmanymore opportunities for nature nature photography, allowing allowing youto shoot shoot things things youwouldn’tnormally beable beable to. to. Clamponeendof Clamponeendof the the Plampto anythingfrom anythingfrom yourtripod toa tree tree branch branch,, anduse theother theother tograspyoursubject– tograspyoursubject– it’s it’s the perfect perfect toolfor steadyingdelicate steadyingdelicate plants plants or owers owers if you’re you’re shooting shooting in windyconditions.Costing windyconditions.Costing around around £30,it’s a great great investmen investmentt that that you’llnd you’llnd a numberof numberof uses uses for inthe studioor studioor outon locati location. on. A must-haveaccesso must-haveaccessory. ry.
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The EssetalGueto EssetalGueto Outoo Outoo Photogap Photogaphy hy 3rdEdiTiOn
Fcus cus w wrs rs
UK’sbs UK’s bswld wldwrs wrs
Gtti Gtting ngth th rightshot rightshottak taks sski skill ll– – and and a littlknow littlknowld ldg gof oflig lighti hting, ng, dpth-o dp th-of- f-ld, ld,iw iwpoi point ntand andxpo xposur sur control controlgos gosa a longway long way
Blublls: Onof ourbstknown ourbstknown and mostphotognic mostphotognic wildow wildowrs. rs. Thylook goodphotograph goodphotographd d solo solo oras part part ofa widwid-ang angl l iw.Thytypic iw.Thytypicallypakin allypakin thUK inthrst inthrst wkof wkof May May (spag (spag 74for 74for a tutorial tutorial on howto shoot shoot blublls) blublls)..
H e L e N D I x O N
trf: During During latApril, thrift thrift will carpt carpt clitopsalong clitopsalong th UK coastlin coastlin.. Bright Bright and colourful,it colourful,it crats crats idalforgroundintrst idalforgroundintrst for wid-ang wid-angl l coastal coastal iws. iws. Fxlvs: Ths wildowrs bloom bloom in arlysummr. arlysummr. Thir Thir hight hight maks maks thmwll-suitd thmwll-suitd to bingshot bingshot inrticalform inrticalformat at and thylook photogni photognic c backlit backlit by th ning ning sunshin. sunshin. orcds: Th Th UKishom UKishom to around around 60 spcis spcis of wildorchid. Thy Thy njoya njoya wid wid arit arity y of habitats,so habitats,so rsarch rsarch spcis spcis rst. Try croppingin croppingin tight tight to isolat isolat indiidual owrs. ps: Poppis Poppis ar summr summr owrs, owrs, thriingon thriingon nglctd nglctd ground ground.. Thy Thy cangrowin larg larg numbrs,cratinggrat numbrs,cratinggrat swaths swaths ofcolour.Tr ofcolour.Try y shooti shootingfroma ngfroma low anglor anglor as part part ofa widriw widriw..
Depth-oF-FieLD Thaprturyou Thaprturyou slctwillhaa slctwillhaa larg larg inun inuncon con howyournatur howyournatur imagslook imagslook.. Thsizof thaprturgra thaprturgratlydict tlydictat atss th amountof amountof dp dpthth-ofof-l ld d – thzonof accptabl accptabl sharpnss sharpnssin in frontof, andbhind and bhind,, your your point point offocus. offocus. A wid wid aprtu aprtur r (small (small f/numbr)lik f/numbr)lik f/4produ f/4 producs csa a shallow shallow dpth-of- dpth-of-ld,idal ld,idal if youwishto you wishto rnd rndrr backgroun background d dtail dtail plasantlyout plasantlyout of focus. focus. A narrow narrow aprtur aprtur(larg (larg f/numbr) f/numbr)likf/16 likf/16 gnratsplnty gnratsplnty of dpth-of- dpth-of-ld,which ld,which is bst bst suitdto suitdto imag imagss whr whr youwantth subjc subjctt to bsharpthrougho bsharpthroughout.It ut.It is import important ant thatyou don’tlt yourcamraautom yourcamra automatic atically ally control control aprtur aprturslc slction,which tion,which would would b th cas cas ifyou wr wr using using progra program m or shuttr-pr shuttr-priorit iority y mod.Instad,manuall mod.Instad,manually y slct slct aprtursby aprtursby usingithr yourcamra’s aprtur-p aprtur-priori riority ty or manual manual xposur xposur mod. mod. Dpth-of- Dpth-of-ld ldis is alsoactdby alsoactd by thfocal th focal lngth lngth of thlns th lnsand andcam camra-tora-to-subj subjct ct distanc,with distanc,with th zonof sharpnss sharpnssappa apparing ring progrssi progrssilyshallowrat lyshallowrat longr longr focallngths andat highrmagn highrmagnic icati ations ons,, as wouldb wouldb th caswith a macro macro lns.Naturphoto lns.Natur photograph graphrs rs will will oftnha oftnha tocontnd tocontnd with with a limit limitd d dp dpththof-ld,so of-ld,so focusing focusingmustb mustb pinpoint pinpoint accurat.A accurat.A tripod tripod willaid focusing,hlping focusing,hlping photograph photographrs rs to n-tun n-tun and position positionthir thir pointof focus. focus.
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WILDOR CULTIvA CULTIvATeD,plants TeD,plantsand and owrs owrs grow grow in many many dir dirnt nt guiss guiss.. Butwhilthy canarygratlyin canarygratlyin siz,shap,colo siz,shap,colourand urand apparanc apparanc,, mostplants canb can b approachdin approachdin much much thsamway photog photograp raphic hicall ally y – forall kinds kinds of plantlif,th plantlif,th tchni tchniquand quand wayin which which youlightthm you lightthm is actuallyquit actuallyquit similar. similar. Thrfor Thr for,, whthr whthr youisita you isita localpark, public public gardns, gardns, statly statly hom, hom, wildmadow, moorland,coastlin moorland,coastlin or ancint ancint woodland,our woodland,our adic adic willnsur yourtur you rturn n withincrdibl withincrdibl imags imags timaftr tim. tim. Lightin Lighting:You g:You mightthinka mightthinka sunny sunny dayprovides theperfectcondition theperfectconditionss fornaturephotography fornaturephotography,, butthereverseistrue.Anoverc butthereverseistrue.Anovercastday astday,, or shootingin shootingin themorning themorning or evening,givesyour evening,givesyour ower ower shots shots better better colour colour anddetailas thelight issofterand shouldn shouldn’t ’t castharshshadows. castharshshadows.
Whnphoto Whn photograph graphing ingplant plantss – particula particularly rly in closclos-up– up– itis oftn oftn bttrto bttrto switchto switchto manual manual focusing focusingto to giyou gratr gratr control. control. Admittdl Admittdly,working y,workingwithsuch withsuch a limitd limitdzon zon of sharpnss sharpnsscan can prochallnging,but prochallnging,but you canalsous it toyour adant adantag ag.. A shallo shallow w dpth-of- dpth-of-ld ld canb can b a usful usful cratiand cratiand isualtool isualtool.. Usinga Usinga wid wid aprtu aprtur,likf/2. r,likf/2.8 8 or f/4, f/4, youcan isolat isolat your your subjc subjctt agains againstt a dius diusd d backdr backdrop– op– prfc prfctt forpickingout forpickingout a singlow singlowrr from from allth othrsgrow othrsgrowing ing around around it.Artyor it. Artyor nabstract-looki nabstract-looking ng rsults rsults arpossib ar possibl l by intntiona intntionally llyusingwafr-t usingwafr-thin hin dpth-of- dpth-of-ld ld to highlightsmall, highlightsmall,intr intrsting sting dtail dtailss – lik lik a ptal ptal orstamn. orstamn. Th Thris ris no scrtform scrtformulaas ulaas to howmuchor howlittl howlittl dpth-of- dpth-of-ld ld is bstfor bst fornatur natur imags. imags.Th Th trickis to xprimnt xprimnt.. Try dirnt dirntfocallngth focallngth and aprtur aprturcomb combinati inations ons untilyou achi achi th ll ll of dpth-of- dpth-of-ld ld thatsuits your particularsubjct.Riwrsults particularsubjct.Riwrsults rgularlyon rgularlyon thLCDmonitorand thLCDmonitorand zoom zoom into into your your imag imagss to scrutinissharpnssand scrutinissharpnssand dpth-of- dpth-of-ld.If ld.If yourcamra has a dpth-of- dpth-of-ld ld priw priw button button,, usit.
Lighting Thlight’squali Thlight’squalityand tyand dirct dirctionis ionis a ky ingrdin ingrdintt for anynatur any natur imag. imag. Strong Strong sunlig sunlight ht is oftn oftn bst bst aoid aoidd d as it canb too harsh harsh tocapturth tocapturth n nst st dtail dtail.. Whil Whil shadowlsslight shadowlsslight might might b considrddull considrddull and liflss liflssfor forsomsubjcts,a somsubjcts,a bright bright but orcast orcast dayis prfc prfctt forowr forowr or woodla woodland nd photograph photography.On y.On dayslik this,th cloudcor simulatson simulatson hugsoftbox,producin hugsoftbox,producing g bautiful,nly bautiful,nlylit litrsul rsults. ts.In In fact,in strong light, light, it canb can b worthwhil worthwhil casting casting yoursubjct inshad– usingyour usingyour shadowor shadowor an umbrl umbrlla la – to lowrcontr lowrcontrastand astand allowyou allowyou to captur captur authnticcolour authnticcolour anddtai and dtail. l. Gnrallyspaking Gnrallyspaking,, orhad orhadlightis lightis bst aoid aoidd d asit casts casts ugly ugly shadow shadows. s. How Howr,you r,you canrli can rli shadow shadowss by placing placinga a rctor rctor narbyor narbyor byusinga smallburstof smallburstof ll-inash. ll-inash. Traditional raditionally,th ly,th bstlightis bst lightis duringarly mornin morning g andning andning,, whn whn itis natura naturallysoft llysoftr r andwarmr andwarmr.. Thsun’slow positi position on casts casts longr longr shadows shadows thataccntuat thataccntuat shapand form form – so itis wll wll worth worth sttin stting g your your alarm alarm arlyand arlyand stayin staying g outlat. outlat. Also,at Also,at ithrnd ithrnd of thday,thsun’s lowpositio lowposition n maks maks it asir asir to shootsubjctsin bautifulbackligh bautifulbacklight. t. Backlight Backlighting ing– – whnth principallight principallight sourcis sourcis positi position ond d bh bhindth indth subjc subjctt – is particularl particularly y wll-suit wll-suitd d to plants plants andowr and owrs. s. It highlightsth highlightsth intricacyof intricacyof translucn translucntt
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Depth-of-field Makingowersstand out againstt theirsettingis agains halff thebatt hal thebattle.Usea le.Usea wid wide e apertur aper ture e tocreat tocreate ea shallow depth-of-eld.
subjects subjectslikeleaves likeleaves andpetal and petals, s, and places places emphas emphasis is on shape,formand shape,formand nedetail– nedetail– like like tiny tiny hairs hairs or prickl prickles es on owerstems owerstems.. The drawback drawbackof of shooting shootingtowar towards ds thelight the light,, howeve however,is r,is theriskof are. are. Attacha Attacha lens lens hood hood orshieldthe front front ofthe lens lens to help help preven preventt are are anda reduct reductionin ionin contra contrast.Back st.Backlit lit subjects subjectsalsotend alsotend to trouble trouble metering meteringsyste systems, ms, fooling fooling thecame the camera ra intounderexposing intounderexposingresul results. ts. Whil While e thisis thisis a bene benetif tif you you wantto wantto shoo shoott silhou silhouett ettes,if es,if youdon’tit canspoilan image. image. Checkyour histogramregularl histogramregularly y and increase increase theexposu the exposure re by applying applying positive positive(+) (+) exposure exposure compensation. Lastly Lastly,, don’t don’t overlo overlook ok ash. ash. Ifyou don’t don’t have have a reect reector or tohand,ash canll inareasof distractin distracting g shadow. shadow. Shootat a reduced reduced output output toensureyouretain toensureyouretain thesoftqualitie thesoftqualitiess ofnatural ofnatural light.Flashcan light.Flashcan createuglyhotsp createuglyhotspotson otson reect reectivefoli ivefoliageor ageor petals petals,, though though,, so itis worth worth soften softeningashburst ingashbursts. s. You canuse anythi anythingfor ngfor this this from from tissuepaperto tissuepaperto a ashgun’s ashgun’sdedic dedicateddiuser ateddiuser or third-part third-party y softbox. softbox.Flashcan Flashcan alsobe useful useful for simplifyin simplifying g a subjec subject’sbackg t’sbackgrou round,as nd,as thefall-oin thefall-oin light light cancreate cancreate a pure pure blackbackd blackbackdropif ropif surroundingvegetat surroundingvegetation ion is outside outside the rangeof theburst. theburst. Whilethe Whilethe eectcan eectcan look look slight slightly ly unnatu unnatural ral,, it canstill canstill bea more more desira desirableopti bleoption on thancapturingyour subject subject against against an ugly, ugly, distracting background.
Backgr Backgroun ounds ds & ‘gard ‘gardenin ening’ g’ It is easyto underesti underestimatejust matejust how important important a subject’sbackgro subject’sbackgroundis undis and the overall overall eect eect ithas. What What youexclud youexclude e from from theframeis oftenjustas oftenjustas impor importan tantt as what what youinclude youinclude.. Uglybackground Uglybackground elements elements likepartially out-of-fo out-of-focus cus highlight highlightss and distractin distracting g bitsof vegetatio vegetation n drawthe viewer’s viewer’s eyeaway from the subject. subject. Peerthroughthe viewnderand viewnderand explore explore the subject’ssurroun subject’ssurrounding dings. s. Distractin Distracting g elements elements can oftenbe excludedeasily,either excludedeasily,either bychangingview bychangingviewpoi point nt orusinga larger larger aperture aperture to create create a shallower shallower depth-ofdepth-of-eld. eld. It is often often possibleto possibleto remove remove distractin distracting g vegeta vegetatio tion n bygently bygently atten atteningit ingit byhand or usingscissors usingscissors – nature nature photograp photographerscall herscall this this ‘gard ‘gardeni ening’ ng’.. Keepa Keepa pair pair of scisso scissors rs inyour camerabag camerabag just just forthispurpose forthispurpose.. Just Just becareful becareful notto damageothe damageotherr owersin owersin theprocess theprocess.. Whena subject’sbackgro subject’sbackground und is particular particularly ly messy messy,, small small tweaksare tweaksare unlike unlikely ly tosuce. tosuce. In situation situationss likethis, an articialbackgrou articialbackground nd may be best.To create create yourown backdrops,spray backdrops,spray diere dierent nt colour colouredpaint edpaintss onto onto a pieceof pieceof card card to simulatean simulatean out-of-fo out-of-focusbackdrop cusbackdrop,, or simply simply photographfoliage– photographfoliage– withyour lensdefocused lensdefocused – beforeprin beforeprintin ting g theresultsat theresultsat A3 orA4 size size andattachin andattaching g them them tosticardto createan createan authentic-looking authentic-looking articial background. It’s timeslikethis timeslikethis that that youmaynd a Wimber Wimberley ley Plampparticularly Plampparticularly helpful. helpful.
Backgrounds
Gardening
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The EssetalGueto EssetalGueto Outoo Outoo Photogap Photogaphy hy 3rdEdiTiOn
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w w d ds s Tinywater droplets droplets addscale, sparkle, sparkle, depth andinteres andinterestt toyour ora ora shots,so shots,so oneof thebesttimes thebesttimes tophotogra tophotograph ph natureis natureis after after rainfa rainfall ll oron dewy dewy morni mornings ngs.. You You canalso create create yourown droplets droplets using using a gardener’s gardener’s sprayor atomiser atomiser.. Sprayyour subject subject from a shortdistanceuntil dropletsform. dropletsform. They willglistenattractively willglistenattractively in the sunlight sunlight and also also projec projectt a refrac refractedimag tedimage e ofthe subjec subjectt direct directly ly behindthem behindthem.. Infact,why notuse a macrolens macrolens orclose-upatta orclose-upattachm chmentand entand makethe refractedimage refractedimage the focal focal point ofyourphoto? ofyourphoto? Still Still condit conditio ions,a ns,a tripodand tripodand pinpointfocusingare pinpointfocusingare a must.Keep depthdepthof-eld of-eld as shallow shallow as possibleto possibleto ensure ensure the backgrou background nd subject subject isn’ttoo sharp. sharp. The best best result resultss will will come come from from a carefu carefull set-up set-up:: spray spray a leaf leaf orbladeof grassso grassso that that drople droplets ts form,then form,then aligna aligna colour colourfulowe fulowerr behindit behindit –in a pot pot orvase orvase – toprodu toproducetheref cetherefra ract cted ed image. image. Glycerineworks Glycerineworks better better than water; water; its highervisc higherviscosi osity ty makes makes itmorestable itmorestable andit is less less aecte aected d byevaporat byevaporation ion.. Youcan ndit ineye dropsand dropsand stainremov stainremover er,, or purcha purchase se foodglycerine foodglycerine fromhealth shops. shops.
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Viewpoint A photographe photographer’s r’s viewpointhas viewpointhas a signicant signicant bearin bearing g on thelookof thenalresult,so thenalresult,so select select yourshootingangl yourshooting angle e carefully carefully.. Nature Nature photograph photographers ers areoftenadvised are oftenadvisedto to shootfrom a parall parallelangle elangle,, as this this create createss themost natural-lo natural-lookingperspect okingperspective iveand and willalso help maximise maximisethe the availabledepth-ofavailabledepth-of-eld eld.. Certainlyshooting Certainlyshootingat at eye-levelwill eye-levelwill workin manycircumstance manycircumstances, s, producingengagingand producingengagingand intimate intimateresul results. ts. However However,, youshoul you should d avoid avoid gettin getting g into thehabitof alwaysshoot alwaysshootingat ingat the same same angleas angleas your your imageswillbegi imageswillbegin n tolook repetitiveand repetitiveand youwon’talways you won’talways capture capture the best best result result.. Breakout Breakout ofyour comfor comfortt zone zone and approa approacheverysubje cheverysubjectwith ctwith anopen mind: mind: don’t don’t beafraid beafraid toadopta lowor overhe overhead ad viewpoint.An viewpoint.An overhead overhead shooting shooting angle angle is particular particularly ly well-suit well-suited ed to relativel relatively y at,open owers owers – likeox-eyedaisi likeox-eye daisies, es,corn cornmari marigolds golds,, rosesand gerberas.Positionyour gerberas.Positionyour camera camera parallel paralleloverh overhead eadto to maximisedepth-of- maximisedepth-of-eld eld andcropin tight tight toll theframe.Placi theframe.Placing ng the subject subject centrallycan centrallycan workwell in thisinstan this instance, ce, creatinga creatinga feeling feeling of symmetry symmetry.. An overhead overhead anglewill anglewill also also proveeect proveeectivewhenyou ivewhenyou wish wish to emphasisea emphasisea subject’s subject’stextu texture re or detail. detail. Theshiftin perspe perspecti ctivecause vecaused d bysimply bysimply loweri loweringor ngor raisin raising g your your cameraangl cameraangle e canhave a huge huge impac impactt on pictur pictures.When es.When photograph photographing ingsubje subjects cts signicant signicantly ly above eye-view eye-view,, thesubje the subject ct immediate immediately ly looks looks smaller smaller andless and lessimpo imposing.In sing.In contrast, contrast, when shot shot from from a worm’s worm’s-ey -eye e view,a view,a subjec subjectt appear appearss toloom larger larger.. A lowviewpoi lowviewpoint nt can lookvery striking strikingwhenphotograp whenphotographingowers hingowers or fungi.Lie fungi.Lie on theground theground andpointyour camera camera upwards, upwards,or,alternat or,alternatively ively,, holdyour cameracloseto cameracloseto theground theground anduse a right-angl right-angle e nderor an articulate articulated d LCDto
Viewpoin Viewpoint: t: Shootingyour Shootingyour subjectfrom subjectfrom undernea underneathgives thgives a whole whole newdimension newdimension to yourowerphotographs yourowerphotographs,, makingyour makingyour subjectsappeartallerand subjectsappeartallerand moreimposing. moreimposing.
comp compos ose e yourshot yourshots.It s.It isbest isbest tousea wide-a wide-angl ngle e or sheyelensfor sheyelensfor themoststriking themoststriking results. results. Plants Plants willappear articiall articially y talland imposing,while imposing,while owers owers willstand outboldl out boldly y agains againstt thesky.If thesky isclearand blue,a blue,a polarisinglter polarisinglter cansatura can saturate te its colour colour further further andgiveyourshotsaddedpunch.. andgiveyourshotsaddedpunch Your Your viewpointhas viewpointhas a signicantimpact signicantimpacton on the strength strengthof of yourcomposition, yourcomposition,so so always always take take a fewmomentsto fewmomentsto walk walk aroundyour aroundyour subject subject andexplo and explore re the possibiliti possibilities es before before deciding decidingon on yourshootingangle. CreatiVeblur Whosaidyou have have to captur capture e image imagess of owers owers sharply sharply or realistica realistically?Creativ lly?Creativity ity is oftenwhat leadsto original,stand-outnature original,stand-outnature images. images. Subject Subject or camera camera blurcan transform transform an otherwiseordinary otherwiseordinaryshotinto shotinto a Monet-like Monet-like masterpiec masterpiece. e. If owers owers or foliage foliage arebeing are being wind-blown wind-blown,, emphasisethat emphasisethat movementrather movementrather than than tryingto tryingto freezeit. freezeit. Setyourcamera Setyourcamera to shutter-pr shutter-priorit iority y or manual manual exposure exposure modeand selecta selecta slow slow shutte shutterr speed speed inthe regionof regionof 1/2secto intentiona intentionally llybluryour bluryour subject. subject.This This workswell withbright,colou withbright, colourfulowers rfulowers like poppie poppiess or tulips tulips.. You You nee need d to achiev achieve e just just the rightlevelof rightlevelof motionblur motionblur:: toomuchand the subject subject won’tbe recognisabl recognisable; e; too little little and thelevelof moveme movementwon’tappea ntwon’tappearr to be deliberate. Thelength Thelength of shutte shutterr yourequirewillvary yourequirewillvary depend dep endingon ingon thewindspeedand theeect theeect youdesire. youdesire. You’llneed ou’llneed to employtria employtriall anderror – simply simply experimentwith experimentwith dierent dierentshutte shutterr speeds. speeds. And,if necessary necessary,, attach attach a solidNeutral
Nature:Flora Nature: Flora
3RDEDITION The EssentialGuide EssentialGuide to Outdoor Outdoor Photograph Photography y
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Top five fivepubl public ic gar garden denss
Kew Gardens: Kew Kew isthe UK’s UK’s most most famous famous garden. garden. Thereis nevera shortage shortage of beautifulsubjectsto beautifulsubjectsto shoot. shoot. The large glasshouse glasshousess ensure ensure youcan takephotos whateverthe whateverthe weather. weather. www.kew.org LostGardens LostGardens of Heligan Heligan:: Located Located nearSt Austell Austell in Cornwall,this Cornwall,this spectacul spectacular ar garden garden fellinto decline decline during during the First First World World War. War. Restor Restoredto edto itsformer itsformer glory glory inthe mid-90 mid-90s. s. www.heligan.com Wisley: Wisle Wisley,in y,in Surrey Surrey,, isthe Royal Royal Horticult HorticulturalSociety’sflagshipgarden.With uralSociety’sflagshipgarden.With richborders,colourful richborders,colourful rosegardensand a state-ofstate-of-thethe-art art glasshous glasshouse e hometo an impressiveplant collection. www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley Eden Project: Project: Eden,in Cornwall, Cornwall, boasts boasts the world’s world’s largest largest greenhous greenhouse. e. Its artificial artificial biomesarehometo biomesarehometo plantsfromall plantsfromall around around theworld. theworld. You You will will findno shorta shortageof geof picture picture potentialhere. potentialhere. www.edenproject.com
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Creativeblur:This Creativeblur:This isa fantasti fantastic c techniqu technique e if youget thelevelof motionblur motionblur spoton. It’sa greatwayto greatwayto adda feelin feeling g ofmovemen ofmovementt and and lifeto yournaturephotography yournaturephotography..
Density Density (ND)filte (ND) filterr to artificial artificially ly lengthen lengthen the exposure exposuretime.A time.A polarisingfilter polarisingfilter willalso length lengthen en your your shutte shutterr speedby speedby upto two stops,as stops,as well well as intens intensifythe ifythe sky. sky. Anothe Anotherr funand eecti eectivetechn vetechniqu ique e is to move move or ‘pan’ ‘pan’ thecameraduringexpo thecameraduringexposur sure. e. This This canworkin closeclose-upor upor when when shooti shooting ng a largerexpa largerexpanseof nseof flowers– flowers– bluebe bluebellswork llswork well, well, for example.Simply example.Simplymovethe movethe camera camera while while pressing pressing theshutte the shutterr to create create beautiful, beautiful, artistic artisticstrea streaks ks of colour colour andtextu and texture. re.T Try movingthe movingthe camerafromtop camerafromtop to bottom bottom,, or sideto sideto side side.. Ifyouareusing Ifyouareusing a lenswit lenswith h a trip tripod od collar,you collar,you couldeven try rotating rotatingthe the camera camera in a circularmotion. circularmotion. Finall Finally,if y,if youare using using a zoom,try zoom,try a zoom zoom burst. burst. Thisis another another simple simple technique,but technique,but result resultss canlooksurrealand canlooksurrealand striki striking.Sele ng.Select ct a shutte shutterr speedlong speedlong eno enoughto ughto allowyou allowyou time time toadjust toadjust thezoomfromone extrem extreme e tothe other other duringexpo duringexposur sure,and e,and zoom zoom thelens smooth smoothlyfor lyfor thebestresults.Agai thebestresults.Again, n, this this is a hit-and-mi hit-and-miss ss techniqueand techniqueand results results won’tbe to everyone’staste. everyone’staste. However However,, digital digitalcaptu capture re promotes promotesthistype thistype of creative creative experiment experimentation ation.. It doesn’t doesn’t costanythingbut costanything but time time totry these these things– things– andyou might might be surpri surprisedat sedat howgoodthe result resultss appear appear..
Nationa Nationall BotanicGarde BotanicGarden n of Wales: Wales: The gardens,in gardens,in Carmarthen Carmarthenshire shire,, are home to an amazing amazing collectio collection n of over8,000 dierentplant dierentplant varieties,spread varieties,spread across across 560 acres acres of beautifulcountrys beautifulcountryside,as ide,as wellas themed gardens. www.gardenofwales.org.uk R O S S H O D D I N O T T
Double exposures exposures Bycombinin Bycombining g onesharp onesharp imagewitha imagewitha second second out-of out-of-fo -focusfram cusframe,it e,it ispossibleto ispossibleto adda beautiful,dreamli beautiful,dreamlike ke quality quality to yourflower image images. s. Theeect Theeect issimilar issimilar tousinga softsoftfocus focus filter, filter, producingethereal producingethereal-loo -lookingresults kingresults thatparticularly thatparticularly suitimagesof backlit backlit flowers. flowers. Thetechniq Thetechniquerelie uereliess onthe useof a tripo tripod, d, as bothimagesneed to be iden identical tically ly composed composed so theycan overlap overlap seamlessly seamlessly.. Many Many DSLRs DSLRs allowyou allowyou to createa createa double double exposurein-came exposurein-camera ra – withthe camera camera combinin combining g the twoimages to produce produce a single single file. Select Select the camera’s camera’s multiple multiple exposure exposure setting setting via the camera’smenu camera’smenu (check (check your camera camera’s ’s manualfor manualfor detail detailss ofhow todo this), this), selecta selecta total total oftwo framesand framesand then then take take two two images: images: onesharply focused focused and the other blurry blurry.. Theamountyou Theamountyou defocu defocuss thelens will will aectthe aectthe streng strengthand thand look look ofthe final final result result.. Itcan take take severa severall attemp attemptsto tsto getthe righteect righteect.. Howeve However,not r,not allcamerashavea allcamerashavea multiple multiple exposurefacilityand exposurefacilityand youhave limited limited contro controll over over thelookof thefinalresult thefinalresult when when combinin combining g images images in-camera in-camera.. An alternative alternative is to blendthe images images during during processin processing, g, combinin combining g the images images in layers. layers. Doing Doing so allowsyougreat allowsyougreatercontr ercontrol,as ol,as youcan vary vary thestrengt thestrength h ofeach frame frame.. It isevenpossible isevenpossible tocreate tocreate a soft-f soft-focu ocuss eectusingjustone eectusingjustone sharply sharply focused focused image: image: simply simply create create a copyof thephotogr thephotographand aphand adda degreeof degreeof Gaussi Gaussian an blur blur tothis layerbefor layerbefore e combin combiningit ingit with with the original,sharp original,sharp frame. frame.
Standardexposure
Multipleexposure
Nature: Flora 70 Nature:
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