Wild Photography

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books on capturing the wild photographically. Entire magazines are dedicated monthly to the subject. So I won't attempt to re-invent the wheel. I will just include some tips here on how I take nature pictures, some digital advice for nature photographers, and assorted techniques I've learned from years of shooting- with film (both real and digital).

What is nature photography?

Nature photography can include a variety of subjects, ranging from the stars and moon in the night sky to microscopic life under a microscope. The most common themes of nature photographers include landscapes, plant life, animal life, and macro views of natural subjects.

The Elements

Unlike indoor photography, the nature photographer is subjected to the elements. Sometimes the weather can be favorable, such as a bright but cloudy day, not too hot and not too cold. And what do you do on the other 364 days of the year? First, it's important to protect your camera. The same rules that apply to caring for a film camera apply equally, if not more so, to digital cameras. They have delicate electronic parts, and moisture, cold, heat, and other environmental extremes can make the camera stop working.

If it's raining, I often use an umbrella, to protect me and the camera. If it's a really heavy downpour, or the wind is blowing the rain horizontally, it is also good to cover the camera separately. You can do this with either a commercial cover, or a plastic bag, like a ziploc. If the camera gets wet, dry it off as quickly and thoroughly as possible. If shooting in a tropical climate, protect the camera from constant humidity by storing it in a ziploc (and also preferably placing the ziploc within further protection, like a Pelican case) with lots of dessicant. I generally use silica gel. Even in remote places, dessicant can be dried, with the sun, or a fire, for reuse.

Heat can play havoc with any equipment (and photographer). Try to keep yourself and your camera cool. Don't leave your camera in a parked car in the summertime- temperatures inside might get so hot that your camera would be fried (not to mention possibly stolen). If shooting in the sun, your camera should be able to handle whatever temperature you can. But if your camera has a black body- like my current Nikon Coolpixes, it can get hotter because it absorbs heat more, so try to get it in the shade every so often if you're in a very hot and sunny location (you'll probably appreciate the chance to cool off too- ostensibly for the camera's sake).

If it's really cold, the camera may not work if the batteries don't stay warm. This isn't a consideration for most locations, down to about 20 degrees. But much colder than that, and you need to really keep your batteries warm. So I usually carry my camera inside a pack, or better yet, in a jacket, until ready to shoot. When going from the warm indoors out, or vice versa, be careful to avoid condensation. I acclimate my camera before going out on cold days. And when returning from a frozen photo shoot, it's a good idea to put the camera in a ziploc while still outside, then let it warm up for about half an hour before opening the bag indoors. This way, condensation occurs on the bag and not the camera.

Exposure

Moving right along, an important consideration for photographers is exposure. No, not the kind discussed in the previous section. You definitely don't want to learn too much personally about exposure- to cold. Assuming you successfully made it through exposure to the elements, now it's time to figure out about camera exposures. You do want to choose the right exposure for your subject. Indoors, photographers can carefully control this with light. Outdoors, we are at the whim of sun, shade, snow, backlight, and too little light, as night approaches or recedes.

Exposure is determined by two things: shutter speed, and aperture or f-stop. Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open, and aperture is the size of the opening that allows light in. When used in combination, they measure stops. Standard stops are, for example, 1 second, 1/2 second, 1/4 second, etc. Each speed is half of the previous shutter speed, but twice the next. The f-stops also represent doubles and halves, for example, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11. One drawback of digital is that, unlike regular film cameras, there are a limited range of apertures. My Nikon 990 won't go as high as f/16, a common setting used for the "Sunny f/16 rule", used commonly to set the proper shutter speed. The principle, however, is that each number is an opening in the lens half the preceding number, but double in size of the following number. For example, at f/8 the opening is twice the size of f/11, but half of f/5.6.

So how do you apply all these numbers in the field? Wildlife photography is so diverse that there is no one optimal setting for all pictures. If you want to maximize depth of field, the greatest sharpness of objects both near and far in your photo, you want to have a higher f- stop. But this means the shutter speed is reduced. So, if you want to capture a fast moving animal, you need to balance the compromise of depth of field with capturing your subject as something other than a blur.

Most cameras, including the Nikon 990 which I currently use, have several types of exposure systems. Matrix, spot, and center-weighted are the standard types used, including on the 990. Matrix is a general all purpose system, and with the 990 reads from 256 areas of the frame to set a general exposure. If you are in a tricky lighting situation, you might want to switch from this to the other modes. Spot metering exposes for the subject you select, but if the background is either much lighter or darker, they may not be properly exposed. Center weighting is often a good compromise, giving about 80% priority to your selected subject, but still exposing at least somewhat for the background. The metering system you choose depends on the importance of having your subject in absolutely correct exposure, and the complexity of lighting.

I find myself using spot metering, the most extreme form of calibrating subject exposure, when photographing very light colored objects against a darker background. For example, taking pictures of wildflowers that are white or yellow against a forest backdrop is a good use of spot metering. If it is important to accurately capture the surroundings, to convey a sense of the habitat, then center weighting might be a good compromise. If a scene is all basically similar in tone, such as a dark flower in a dark forest, then matrix metering is fine.

All the metering systems are designed to make the middle tone value correctly exposed. This is the idea of a gray card- giving an exposure reference in the field to allow the camera to meter properly. Technically, this gray gives an 18% reflectance, between black and white. Black reflects 9% light, and white reflects 36%; so although not strictly halfway between black and white, this is how gray is measured- 18 percent is the real reflectance of gray. If you don't want to carry a gray card, you can often find gray or middle tone objects in nature to substitute, such as the gray of a tree trunk. Make sure you meter in the same light you will be shooting, since the meter reads the reflection of light. So if you are shooting an animal sitting in the shade, but take your reading in the sun, it won't work very well.

You can also use exposure compensation. To bracket in order to ensure that at least one of your shots is properly exposed, you can adjust the EV (exposure value) setting of the camera, usually from -2 or 3 to +2 or 3. The danger with +EV and digital cameras is the tendency for blooming, areas that are highly overexposed, that can spill into adjacent pixels. Sometimes this even leads to a nasty white line across your image, especially if shot at certain angles into the sun. However, I often try a range of EV values, especially when standard settings don't seem to be capturing the shot.

Composition

Composition is a way of looking at your photographic subject. A pleasing composition to one photographer may be jarring to another. But if you want to convey your vision to the world, you need to decide whenever you take a picture what you are trying to capture. Choosing a subject isn't enough. You need to think about perspective, about how much of its habitat to include, and where to place the plant or animal in the frame. You want to decide if you want to stop its motion, or capture some of the feeling of movement. It is also important to consider depth of field- do you want the background to be fuzzy, or sharp?

The old tried and true rule of thirds is generally useful. If you divide your photo into thirds both horizontally and vertically, whatever you and emphasizing about your subject should fall somewhere where these lines intersect. Of course, rules are made to be broken, and sometimes you might want your photo to be framed plop in the center of the frame. But in general, this rule provides a pleasing composition. 

Another aspect of the rule of thirds is that the subject of major emphasis may represent, for example, two thirds of the image space, while the more minor graphic element will be just a third of the space. If there are three elements, then all three may be equally weighted, or one part, like a foreground flower, could occupy two thirds of the space, with two flowers in the background like an echo, occupying only the remaining third.

When following this rule, you should also consider the elements offsetting your subject. For example, let's say you are shooting a deer walking off into the sunset. You should place the horizon either high or low in the frame, not splitting it in half. If you have the horizon a third of the way down from the top of a picture, then the viewer's eye is drawn to whatever is in the landscape in the foreground. If the horizon is a third of the way from the bottom, then attention will be drawn to the sky, and perhaps the sunrise, or a dramatic cloud formation. 

Similarly, if the deer is walking into a meadow, which is basically just endless grass, then use this essentially empty space to offset the form of the deer. If the deer is a dull brown, and the sun is a brilliant orange, use these contrasts in colors to offset each other. The rule of thirds can be used to balance elements in your picture.

This brings up another element of composition. If you want to create a sense of dynamism in your photos, you need to convey a sense of motion. In the case of the deer, the viewer will wonder where the deer is going. Since a photograph captures only an instant in time, you need to create a sense of motion. You can provide a negative space, something that is basically empty, waiting for your animal to walk into it. Then the motion is implied, since the photo is basically static.

This provides a balance to your subject, and if you put the space in the direction the animal appears to be walking, people looking at your photo will make the leap of faith that you are indeed taking a picture of a deer walking out of your frame. This is especially true for animals, which are usually in motion, and the way an image is shot should allow for the space to be in front of the animal, where it would most likely be moving. But even things that don't move, like a tree or a mountain, should be given some space above them, to show how it reaches toward the sky.

You also need to decide whether you want to freeze your subject, or show it in motion. If you want to freeze the action, you need to shoot at a very fast shutter speed, like 1/500 of a second or more. If you want to show something in motion, the flight of a bird, or flowers swaying in a breeze, you may want to shoot at a speed as slow as 1/15 or less- mounted on a tripod, of course.

Depth of field is another way of changing the composition. You can have a very narrow focus on just one thing, like a flower, throwing the background and all the surroundings out of focus. You can also try to focus on several things at once, like a spider capturing prey in its web. Then you might want to have the sharpest focus on the spider, but make sure they prey in the foreground or background is reasonably sharp, so you can see the tension between predator and victim.

There is a reason that nature photographers tend to have bad backs. Not content to shoot other people at eye level, we constantly point our cameras up at the skies, or are flat on the ground capturing some tiny plant or animal at its own level. It is much more effective and compelling to see the world from its point of view. If you are shooting something that isn't likely to be gone in an instant, consider all possible angles. Shoot from slightly above, from below, from left and right. Sometimes just varying the angle of the camera makes a huge difference.

Light is also an essential element of a photograph. This extends beyond just determining the correct exposure for lighting. The lighting of midday, casting harsh contrast between sun and shadow, is entirely different than the subdued and often glowing light of sunrise and sunset. I remember on a trip with a photographer friend of mine, they were obsessed with "the light". It helped me tune into the subtle nuances of lighting, and appreciate when light works with and against you in capturing a view in nature. Nature photographers speak of the magic light of sunrise and sunset, when the mellow golden colors everything with a surreal glow.p

Books

To learn more about how to photograph, it is important to read voraciously. There are three subjects of importance to a digital nature photographer- nature, photography, and the digital world. I will provide a listing here of some of my favorite books in each subject. There are thousands of relevant books, and maybe I have missed your favorite (if so- let me know and I can add it to the list!).

Nature

I have a huge library of nature books. Since my background is in natural history, all my knowledge fans out from there. I have literally thousands of books on nature. My favorites tend to be field guides, because unless you can identify what you are photographing or observing, it is hard to move on and have a more in depth knowledge of it. So for me, a lot revolves around knowing what it is I am seeing. From there, I consult more specialized texts on that plant or animal. I may learn something unique about its habits, that encourages me to stalk it (with camera) and try to capture this on film.

The most popular field guides are the Peterson series. Started by Roger Tory Peterson with a field guide to the birds, complete with his useful focus on field marks, they have since been supplemented with multiple volumes by many other contributing authors, and now include not only useful guides to the western and eastern US, but also other habitats as well, such as Mexican Birds, for more exotic travelers. 

Providing an example based on my first Wild Things topic, Wildflowers, I will list several specific books you might consider, including ones I use regularly to help in identifying flowers where I live in northeast Tennessee. These guides are all available as a series for other organisms, so chances are that if you especially like the approach to flowers, you will equally like it for other subjects you might wish to identify and photograph, such as insects or birds.

Peterson Field Guides, Wildflowers, Northeastern/NorthCentral North America, by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny. 1998. Houghton Mifflin Co. (Boston).

Flowers: A Guide to Familiar American Wildflowers (Golden Guides), by Alexander C. Martin, Herbert Spencer Zim, and Rudolf Freund. 1987. St. Martin's Press

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region, by William A. Niering and Nancy C. Olmstead. 1979. Alfred A. Knopf (NY).

There is also one standalone classic field guide to wildflowers that I regularly use:

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, Lawrence Newcomb. 1989. Little, Brown.

It is also helpful if you can find guides to your local wildflowers, to help narrow down species common in your area. For example, I am especially fortunate to have a wonderful book for my region that is part field guide, part photographic tips:

Wildflowers of the Southern Appalachians, How to Photograph and Identify Them, by Kevin Adams and Marty Casstevens. 1996. John F. Blair (Winston-Salem).

And, I guess I should admit it, I also have and regularly use the equivalent of field guides for dummies- Peterson First Guides. They come in surprisingly handy, and are so small it's easy to tuck one into a camera bag if you think you might need it. For example:

Peterson First Guides, Wildflowers by Christopher Leahy, 1998

Photography

Although I have some general photography books, most nature photography books adequately cover general photographic principles, and have the added benefit of applying what you need to know immediately to your favorite photographic subjects- wild things. So I will only list here the books I've found especially helpful on nature photography. These are in alphabetical order by author, and don't reflect my preferences.

Photographing the Natural World, by Heather Angel. 1996. Sterling Publishing Co. (NY)

The Art and Science of Butterfly Photography, by William Folsom. 2000. Amherst Media (Buffalo)

The Art of Photographing Nature, by Martha Hill and Art Wolfe. 1993. Crown Publishers (NY)

Photography of Natural Things, by Freeman Patterson. 1994. Van Nostrand Reinhold (NY)

How I Photograph Wildlife and Nature, by Leonard Lee Rue III. 1984. W.W. Norton and Co. (NY)

John Shaw's Closeups in Nature. 1987. Amphoto (NY)

Digital Photography

Digital photography is a significantly different beast than conventional film cameras. It is important to learn the pros and cons of this new medium, and explore and exploit them to the fullest. Although it is definitely useful and generally relevant to read about SLR and other forms of film photography, it is important to learn the ins and outs of digital photography as well. Some books I have found helpful, again in alphabetical order by author, include:

Virtual Wilderness. The Nature Photographer's Guide to Computer Imaging, by Tim Fitzharris. 1948. Amphoto Books (NY)

Teach Yourself Digital Photography in 14 Days, by Carla Rose. 1997. Hayden Books.

Digital Camera Companion, by Ben Sawyer. 1997. Coriolis Group Books (Scottsdale)