An Aside: Congratulations Russ, Outdoor Photographer's Newest Tipster!

Photo by Russ Burden

I want to congratulate photographer Russ Burden for an incredible career coup that is long overdue and greatly deserved. Burden's fantastic photo tips and techniques are now being featured on Outdoor Photographer's website!

My blog readers will recognize Burden's style and seemingly infinite fount of knowledge on Monday's regular "Instructor's Tip." Now, readers can find 16 of his articles each illustrated with one of his photos.

Go to the site and just under the top banner on the left side of the home page is a HOW-TO button. Click on it and drag to the Quick Tips title. You'll be brought to a page that has nine of his articles. Click on page 2 and you'll see another seven.

To thank Russ for his willingness to help other photographers grow, I encourage you to read the articles and please leave comments. The more positive feedback he gets, the better it will be for him to continue having his work appear on the website.

"The more people who read the articles, the more will know just how much photography means to me," Burden says. "I'm hoping this helps reinforce to everyone just how important our wonderful art is and that I'd love to share my knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for it with each and everyone of you on a nature photography tour. I need to fill them all, especially in that I have to send my son to college this fall!"

Nice job Russ! You rock, and I'm so happy for you!

Instructor's Tip: No Merging Allowed

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

NO MERGING ALLOWED

While out on the road I often see yellow caution signs - “Lanes Merge - Drive with Care.” I love to ski and being the careful person I am, I take care when I see a sign that says, “Trails Merge - Slow Down.” I’ve heard boaters talk about how careful they need to be when they go through a narrow channel where different waterways Merge. As photographers, we need to heed the same warning when it comes time to create a composition.

Avoiding mergers is a very important guideline to follow when making a composition. A merger occurs when important elements in the photo overlap, touch the edge of the frame, or blend in tonality preventing separation, all in awkward ways. The quintessential example is the tree growing out of Aunt Sally’s head. In that the tree merges with her, it gives the appearance that the trunk or branches are part of her being. You’d think it would be obvious and very easy to avoid, but the fact of the matter is the photographer is usually so zeroed in on the main subject, the rest of the image area is overlooked. I encourage you to study the entire viewfinder for any and all mergers before pressing the shutter. This takes practice and patience but it will net you better images in the end.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Earth, Water and Sky

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

EARTH, WATER AND SKY
As a former teacher, I stressed to my students to always make connections. Whether I was teaching math, writing, or science, I wanted my students to be able to take their thinking to higher levels by making connections either between subject areas or within given concepts. As I practice what I preach, I try to do this with my photography. For instance, I apply the same principles of lighting that I use when I photograph a person to when I take a shot of an animal in the wild. Is the face turned the right way? Is the angle of the light flattering? If I were to challenge you to make a list of commonalities between earth, water and sky, what would you come up with? PAUSE TO THINK...... How many of you came up with color? impact? nature? drama? combining all 3? There are no right or wrong answers. The idea is to get you to think photographically to create the best possible image.


EARTH: The earth has a myriad of colors. From the fall foliage of autumn to the deep greens of the rain forest, every color in the universe can be found. Learning how colors play off each other is important in order to create striking images.


WATER: If you reduce water to its basics, it’s colorless. The reason we see color in water is dependent upon what’s reflected upon it, what’s underneath it, and what’s in it. When photographing water, a strategically chosen shutter speed is important to its overall look. Fast shutter speeds stop the movement while slow ones emphasize it.
SKY: Sky and dramatic color are a marriage made, forgive the pun, in heaven. When the sky goes electric, it often becomes the focal point of the image. A clear horizon with clouds above it create great opportunities for color. But the sky can also be dramatic when there’s an impending or clearing storm. This is true especially when the sky in front of the sun opens up spotlighting the landscape.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Dusk + Dawn Flash

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

DUSK + DAWN FLASH

The word photography comes from the Latin combining photo and graphy. Photo means light and graphy means to write. Hence photography means to write with light. How appropriate it is that in order to make a picture, a photographer needs light with which to etch an image onto a digital sensor. But what do photographers do when the sun level drops and they’re outdoors? For me, it’s flash to the rescue.


There’s a magic quality to the light right before the sun crests the horizon at sunrise and just after it sinks below at sunset. If the subject is front or sidelit by this gorgeous glow of color, detail can be recorded. But if you want to record the subject against this gorgeous backdrop, it falls into silhouette. If you need to reveal detail, it’s necessary to add artificial light. In that flash units of today are so portable and powerful, it’s become the light of choice. To make the image successful, it’s necessary to balance the amount of light emitted from the flash with the amount of ambient light in the sky. In order to do this, the flash has to be able to be dialed up or down from the ambient light meter reading. The amount depends on the effect you desire and the chosen f stop at which the image is made. The smaller the f stop, the more you’ll tax the capability of the flash to be able to emit enough light. On this week's photo, I used flash as a source of fill so detail could be revealed in the foreground dunes and yucca stalk. Come with me on a tour and I'll show you how to improve your images using flash.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: The Shape of Things to Come

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Personal Message from Russ:
I can’t believe another year has passed and it’s time to start a new round of Tips for 2010. I hope you have learned a lot from all the ones you’ve received so far and that they motivate you to get out and take some pics. Please help spread the word about my tours so I’ll be able to continue sending The Tip Of The Week year after year. Referrals are always appreciated. I’ve re-designated 2010 to be The Year of the Photo Tour. I’d love to have you join me so I can share with you first hand all the tips I’ve sent out over the last five years - that’s a lot of tips! Seeing the tips put into effect is a great way to learn more about our wonderful art.

The Shape of Things to Come
Shapes are the building blocks of all structures. From repetitive hexagons woven into beehives to the support systems of skyscrapers, they’re found everywhere. Made of lines, patterns and repeated forms, designs of intertwined networks await the discerning photographer to extract and isolate. Lens choice, light, color, contrast and shooting angle all contribute to the success of capturing images with shapes.

Shape plays a dominate role in identifying objects in everyday life. The silhouette of a dormant tree in winter or the outline of an airborne flock of geese at sunset need no explanation as to what they are. Their forms are familiar, yet often deemed mundane. As a photograph, they’re often overlooked. By learning how to integrate shape, form, texture, lines and patterns into an image, a whole new world of photography can unfold.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Be Persistent

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

BE PERSISTENT

To consistently produce great photographs, there are many concepts about which you need to learn. I consider reading the light to be the most important . Without good light, a good photo is hard to produce. I’ve often been quoted as saying, “I’d rather photograph an ordinary subject in great light than a great subject in ordinary light.” Next on my hierarchy is composition. Even with a great subject in great light, if the composition is weak, that image will lack drama. Also on my list of essentials are techniques with regards to depth of field, emphasizing movement, controlling backgrounds, and subject choice. Along with these obvious photographic concepts is one that has nothing to do with how well you know the art of photography. It’s the art of persistence. Without it, you’ll miss many a great image as you won’t persevere or be patient enough to let drama unfold or wait for the perfect moment when the subject displays the decisive moment.

The decisive moment happens when the action reaches an apex, when a subject portrays the perfect expression, when the animal conveys a special look, when the light becomes its most dramatic, etc. Waiting for this fleeting moment to occur may take, if you’re lucky, five minutes but it also may take hours. It may also never happen. The one guarantee I can give you is that if you don’t try to wait it out, you won’t get the shot. I’ve been told that I’ve been “lucky” that I got the shot where peak action or the perfect expression is captured. I offer to you that persistence and hard work played a much greater role than luck. Staying with your subject, waking up a little earlier than the other photographers, staying out a little later, keeping your eye up to the viewfinder even though it’s not comfortable all determine whether you increase the opportunity to get the shot or guarantee you won’t.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: No Bull....seye: Is Centering Appropriate?

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

No Bull....seye: Is Centering Appropriate?

I’ve been taking pictures for over twenty five years. When I first started I did what most budding photographers do with their subjects. I placed them dead center in the frame and had a lot of extra compositional junk surrounding them. As I read more, took more pictures, joined a camera club, and studied great photos, I realized what an OOPS this was. As my photography evolved, it coincided with the advent of autofocus and did that ever create a profusion of dead centered compositions. With the focus point set dead center in the viewfinder, many photographers succumbed to locking in the focus point in the middle of the frame and not bothering to recompose the image to get the subject away from the middle of the image. Thankfully, camera manufacturers saw what was going on and created multi sensor focus points which helped alleviate bulls eyed subjects.

To create a more dynamic composition, it’s better to place the main subject off center in one of the power points of the frame. These points are often referred to as the rule of thirds. If you create an imaginary tic tac toe board in your viewfinder, the point at which you should place your subject is where the lines intersect. Doing so allows the viewer to bring his or her eye toward the main subject or it leaves room for the subject to move through the image. The choice of which power point the subject is placed can be determined by what surrounds it. If the peripheral environment has distractions and clutter, place the subject at a different intersection of tic tac toe lines and see if the composition is improved.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Backlit Landscapes

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

BACKLIT LANDSCAPES

Backlight can impart many looks to a landscape. It can emphasize a strong silhouette, it can rim light a subject giving it a strong outer glow, it can enhance the look of fog or mist, it can create shafts of light highlighting specific portions, and it can provide you with a sun star as the sun ever so slightly peeks from behind a portion of the subject. It presents a unique quality of light that is often overlooked by landscape photographers. It presents challenges, but the rewards are worth the effort. Subjects must be judiciously chosen. The more you realize which ones work, the more you’ll add many dramatic images to your files.

Backlit landscapes are mostly shot early and late in the day when the sun is close to the horizon. Shape and form of the subject become important as most texture and detail is lost when shooting into the sun. But as with all guidelines, there’s an exception. Autumn colored leaves are great to shoot even in the middle of the day. Backlit leaves take on a glow as if a switch was turned on from within each creating a special translucence and powerful image.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Photographing Mountains

Photo by Russ Burden
I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

REMINDER: There will be no Photo Tip of the Week next Monday as Russ willl be in Bosque Del Apache and White Sands National Monument leading a photo tour. If you really want to learn a ton about composition, depth of field, how to read the light, and so much more about the art of making great images, I strongly urge you to sign up for one of his photo tours. With over 30 years of teaching experience and my passion for photography, Russ will ensure you'll come home a much better photographer in addition to bringing home a lifetime of memories and great images.

Photographing Mountains
There’s an old expression that’s a play on words: “Life’s A Beach.” I have a T Shirt that says, “Life’s A Mountain, Not A Beach.” From the very first time I drove across country from New York to Denver and saw the mountains loom in the distance as I neared the front range of the Rockies, I was hooked.

Add Color For Impact: Autumn is my favorite time to photograph mountains as the deciduous trees reach their peak color. Whether you focus on the Rockies with golden toned aspens or the rolling mountains of the east with multi warm colored hardwood trees, the reds, yellows, and oranges that paint the hillsides add dimension, impact, and specific focal points to any mountain image.

Create Depth: A key technique in creating successful compositions of mountain scenics is to create depth. This is accomplished by including fore, mid, and background elements in the image. Wide angle lenses are employed to accomplish this. By getting close to an important focal point in the lower portion of the frame, the eye is drawn to that area in the photograph. The midground layer needs to support the chosen foreground element and contain interest. The final piece of the puzzle is the background element. When photographing mountains, this is often the key peak of the range. In the end, all elements should support one another.

Timing: Dramatic mountain images are made in the sweet light of the day. This occurs both at sunrise and sunset. Capturing images at these times means getting up when it’s dark and being on location just as the sun crests the horizon. It also entails being out at sunset just before the sun falls below the horizon. At these times of the day, the light is warm and soft. It gives the scene dimension and texture unobtainable in the middle of the day when the sun is overhead.

Quick Tips: I highly recommend you use a polarizer and shoot at right angles to the sun to maximize its effect. Use a long lens to compress scenes where layers of mountains exist to add impact. Use a long lens to create intimate portraits of just the peaks of your favorite range. Incorporate people into some of your shots to show scale. Shoot when there is an impending or clearing storm to capture dramatic light.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: So You Want to be a Nature Photographer?

Photo by RUSS BURDEN
I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

So You Want To Be A Nature Photographer
I’ve heard it said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. As photography has been a long time profession in addition to being a passion, to some extent the above holds true. But before I encourage you to quit your day job, cash out and hit the road with your camera and camper, hear me out with regards to what I mean by, “to some extent, this holds true.”

When I’m out in nature and everything comes together, it’s tough to think of anything that’s better. When the light is dramatic, when the animals display seldomly seen behavior, when the flowers are peak, when the fall colors are prime, all make shooting in the wild, wonderful, productive, and quite often profitable. BUT for those seldomly experienced days or situations, there are countless ones where not a single image is made. The preconceived notion amongst the masses is that all postcard shots are easily repeatable. This is NOT the case.

Are you willing to be away from your home and family for weeks at a time? While you’re on the road, can you live on a budget that makes it feasible to justify the trip? Can you deal with eating meals out of a can while you wait for the light that may be obscured by thick gray clouds to be dramatic? Do you enjoy waking up at 4:30AM and driving an hour to a location and have nothing develop in the way of interest? Can you deal with the rising cost of gas to make the drive to the location you wish to photograph? Can you accept the fact the day you arrive at your location coincides with a severe weather front where rain is in the forecast for the next seven days? So far, how many “Yes” answers do you have?

Let’s continue: Are you capable of photographing other subjects if you are not making sales of your nature images? Does the thought of photographing an occasional wedding make you cringe? Do you have marketing skills that are superior to the hundreds of thousands of other photographers who are trying to make a living selling nature shots? Unfortunately, buyers are not going to knock on your door unless you get your name out there! Can you deal with editor’s deadlines and requirements that differ from publisher to publisher? Do you have computer skills and record keeping abilities so you’ll know which company has what photos and when they’re due back? When you make a submission, are you willing to wait nine months or more to see if you are even in the running to make a sale?

I could go on and on. My goal is not to discourage you from pursuing your dream but to have you appreciate that the glamour behind the occupation is not all it’s cracked up to be. More power to you if you have the drive. So the next time you see an amazing nature shot, respect the photographer for what he or she had to endure. For every published image I’ve had, there are myriads I’ve discarded, thousands I wouldn’t dare show in public, and many more I’ve taken just to prove I was there. As for the future, more of the same as I do love my job.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Get Motivated

Photo by Russ Burden
I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Get Motivated
Every photographer I know has experienced a period when, at one time or another, hits the wall and needs to create distance between themselves and the camera. Call it a lull, rejuvenation period, or simply time off, it’s necessary to maintain creativity. These periods of down time are normal and should be taken in stride. But what happens if these lulls of a few days evolve into a week or even longer. Then it becomes an issue. If this happens to you, try some of the following techniques to get re-motivated.

Join A Camera Club: Camera clubs are organized by photographers for photographers. Depending on the club, meetings are held once, twice or even three times a month. Their purpose is to promote photography through competitions among the members, hold instructional shows on different aspects of photography, and run organized field trips to photogenic locations in and around the area of the club. If you’re not familiar with the concept and you’d like to check one out, search the internet for “photography clubs” in your area.

Give Yourself an Assignment: A sure fire way to get yourself revved up is to develop a photo theme in which you’re interested. It may be one you’ve already started but want to expand on or it may be something completely new and different. Pick a topic that won’t require long drives so you don’t use the drive as an excuse to not pick up the camera. It can be broad based like macro photography or more specific like parts of a car, architectural details, motion, etc. Create a schedule you can adhere to but not too rigorous to become a burden. Try something new such as portraiture, flowers, still life, etc.

Snap Away: Buy a digital point and shoot and go for short walks around the neighborhood. Take pictures of everything you encounter but try to add a new twist to the images. Try unique angles, experiment with flash, get in close, lay down on the ground, use slow shutter speeds to convey motion, etc. When you get back home, download the images. You may find a shot that really clicks.

Vacation Time: Nothing gets the creative juices flowing more than going on a photo tour. I’d love to have you join me. Plan your 2010 trip now.

If none of the above get you going, here are a number of other ideas that may peak your interest.
a) Take one of the classes I teach for the Digital Photo Academy. If you’re not in Denver, the classes are offered in 20 cities around the country.
b) Take a photography course at a local college in your area. If there are none, look to see what your local camera store may offer with regards to instruction.
c) Devote time to playing with Photoshop and try a new technique.
d) Buy a photography instructional book and try some of the techniques explained in it.
e) Plan to shoot the same location during all the seasons showing how it changes.
f) Enter a photo contest. If you win, it will motivate you to shoot more.
g) Shoot everything as an abstract. It will force you to look at the ordinary in unordinary ways.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Fog

© Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

FOG
Foggy conditions elicit moody and ethereal feelings. The light is diffused and even, but very flat. Knowing how to take advantage of this is what makes a fog image successful.

As the elements that constitute the composition recede from the camera position, so does the intensity of their shape, color and contrast. By placing a dominant subject in the foreground, it becomes the primary element. All other parts become secondary as they melt into the background in a wash of mist. The mood this evokes is one of peacefulness. When created properly, photographs made in the fog tend to be very soothing to view.

Shooting in the fog requires precautions to protect your camera from the surrounding mist. Fog does appear in differentiating densities. Therefore its encountered density dictates what is necessary to keep the camera safe. Along coastal areas, fog can be so thick it feels like a misty drizzle. At other times it can be a soft layer of moisture thinly obscuring the sun.

Fog is most commonly found in the early morning before the sun has a chance to evaporate the mist created by the cool night’s air. In that fog is actually a ground level cloud, as the sun warms it, it dissipates. Listen to the weather forecast. A cool night followed by a semi warm morning are the right ingredients to produce fog. So pack a small towel and go out shooting.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Read this personal note from Russ:

I just returned from an absolutely fantastic nature photo tour to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. The weather was amazing and we were treated to one of the most spectacular sunrises in Bryce I've ever had the opportunity to capture. I assure you that the travelers who were with me are nodding in agreement and smiling right now.
Every session proved to be very productive. We originated in Vegas and happened to be there on Halloween. As we were leaving to go to our sunrise session the next morning, the throngs of people were still out and about!
Join me on a tour so you can be one of the participants next time nodding in agreement and smiling. I'll put you in the right place at the right time! I intimately know every location in each park to which I lead a tour - you can't place a price tag on my enthusiasm and desire to get you great images.--Russ

Instructor's Tip: Selective Focus

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

REMINDER: There will be no Instructor's Tip next Monday as Russ will be in Bryce and Zion National Parks leading his photo tour. If you really want to learn a ton about composition, depth of field, how to read the light, and so much more about the art of making great images, I strongly urge you to sign up for one of his photo tours. With over 30 years of teaching experience and his passion for photography, I ensure you'll come home a much better photographer in addition to bringing home lifetime memories.

Selective Focus
Lens manufacturers continuously pour large chunks of research and development money into creating faster and sharper lenses. Zoom lenses are now the standard where at one time, if you wanted a sharp image, they were considered amateurish at best. The sharp zooms of today combined with precise autofocus technology allow tack sharp images to be made fairly easily. Ironically, the out of focus areas in a photograph are equally as important as sharp ones if the picture is to be successful. Herein lies the concept of selective focus.

Selective focus images have very little depth of field. The technique is often used in situations where the background would be distracting if it was sharp. Some of the ways to render an out of focus background are to use wide open apertures, long lenses, get the main subject away from the background, move closer to the subject, and change your image making angle. The purpose is to render a sharp subject or section of a subject immersed in a wash of background color. It allows the subject to pop off the page so the viewer zeros in on the area that’s sharp.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Wildlife Photography

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Wildlife Portraits

Besides running nature photo tours to some of the most glorious scenic and wildlife rich locations in our country, another aspect of my business is portraiture. Whether it’s a portrait of just one person or a huge extended family, I persevere to capture the image in the best light, with the best composition, with the best background, with the optimum lens, and with the best expression. Well what does this have to do with wildlife portraits? Many of my nature photographer friends ask a similar question regarding why I get involved with people portraiture and weddings when I have a strong love for nature photography. My response is always the same. First off, I’m behind the camera which makes me happy regardless what I shoot. But mostly, if you really think about, one helps the other. What difference does it make if I’m trying to capture a great head shot of a mountain goat on Mt. Evans vs. a pleasing portrait of Aunt Sally? For both, I’m taking into consideration all the aspects I referenced at the top of this paragraph. My goal will always be to capture the essence of the animal / person I photograph. Besides, each has a big plus - I can always direct the people I photograph to smile or move to a better location and the animals I photograph never complain that I photographed them from their bad side!

As with a large majority of nature images, the best are made when the sun is low on the horizon close to sunrise and sunset. Mid day light is too harsh with severe contrast issues of dark shadows under the nose and chin in addition to eye sockets that often reveal no detail. Early and late light is soft and warm in tone and provides a much more pleasant image. I try to front light my animal portraits as much as possible especially when bathed in the warm glow of first or last light. Sidelight works, but one side of the face may go too dark depending on the color of the animal and if there's anything bouncing light back onto the shadow side of the face. Here’s the bonus - portraits look fantastic shot in overcast light which can’t be said for most scenics.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: How to Shoot Rainbows

PHOTO BY RUSS BURDEN

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

How To Shoot Rainbows
There’s nothing like dramatic light to take a scenic that’s been shot thousands of times to a new level. Impending storms, shafts of sun spotlighting key compositional elements, fire engine red clouds, all qualify but what rides highest on many landscape photographer’s list of most dramatic are rainbows. They have it all - prismatic color, a stormy sky lit by the sun, early morning or late afternoon light, and if you believe in folk tales, maybe a pot of gold. They’re adrenaline pumping phenomenons that rev up many photographer’s juices.

Finding a rainbow requires a number of natural events to occur. First off, the horizon by the setting or rising sun must be clear and the sun needs to be lower than forty two degrees in the sky. With your back to where it rises or sets, turn so your shadow falls directly in front of you so you’re positioned one hundred and eighty degrees from the sun. The point at which you now face is known as the antisolar point. This is where the arc of the rainbow will appear providing there is moisture in the sky. When all factors come together, a rainbow materializes. Understandably, they’re not an every day occurrence.

When you’re out in the field and it’s rainy, look toward the horizon of the setting or rising sun. If you see an opening in the clouds, look for a foreground in the direction of the antisolar point that has character or interest and wait. Shoot it vertically, horizontally, with a wide angle to take it all in, and with a telephoto to sample portions with the most dramatic color. Use a polarizer to enhance its color but be careful because as you rotate it, you can also eliminate it.
To learn more about this subject, join me on one of my photo tours. Please visit www.russburdenphotography.com to get more information.


Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Special note from Russ: I just returned from my 10 day nature photo tour to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. I wish you could have been one of the participants in that we all shot myriads of images despite the ever imposing smoke from the fires. We had two highlights that may never be repeated - a bull moose in a pond under the Grand Teton and an absolutely amazing final morning with fresh snow on Mount Moran with mist and early morning fog accompanied by a clear sunrise to the east - it still gives me goose bumps thinking about both sessions. Join me on a tour and be one of the lucky ones to return with these kinds of images - I'll put you in the right place at the right time! I intimately know every location in each park to which I lead a tour - you can't place a price tag on knowledge and my enthusiasm.

FESTIVALS and PARADES
Parades and festivals offer wonderful opportunities to capture great images of people in costume, photo journalistic events, and decisive moments of expressions. Whether you aim your lens at the participants or toward people in the crowd, you won’t find yourself running short of subject matter. A small town parade or festival can provide more opportunities than a grand scale one such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in that the restrictions to gain access to the participants aren’t as rigid. Check the events sections of your local paper to see when one is scheduled and give it a whirl.

People Shots: Knowing how to work with people is equally as important as knowing how to work the camera. If you see an interesting face, don’t be afraid to approach that person and ask if he or she wouldn’t mind being photographed. More often than not you’ll get a positive response. When you begin to make your photographs, direct the person as to where to look or place their hands. If the background is cluttered or distracting, take a look around the area to find a better shooting location and ask if he or she wouldn’t mind moving. Be friendly while you're engaged in your image making by simply talking about the event. Look for that special moment of emotion that completes the time spent with your subject. Don’t be discouraged if the first time you try this it doesn’t pan out. The more you make the attempt, the more natural it feels.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Wide Angle Wow

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

NOTE: There will be no Photo Tip of the next Monday as Russ be in the Tetons and Yellowstone leading his 10 day photo tour. If you really want to learn a ton about composition, depth of field, how to read the light, and so much more about the art of making great images, I strongly urge you to sign up for one of his photo tours. With over 30 years of teaching experience and Russ' passion for photography, you'll come home a much better photographer in addition to bringing home lifetime memories.

WIDE ANGLE WOW
Whether you photograph landscapes, people, photo journalism, travel, macro, or just about anything else, one way to take your image making to the next level is to attach a wide angle lens to your camera. To really introduce you to the world of wide angle, I’m referring to lenses 24mm and shorter based on film cameras. If you’re a digital shooter, you’ll need to allow for the magnification factor and get a super wide, 12-24mm digital lens. Whether you shoot film or digitally, these lenses allow you to take advantage of wide angle perspectives. In this world of wide angle, there are many advantages and a few pitfalls. I share with you four that I call, “GET IT / ALERT / CAUTION / TIGHTEN UP.”

GET IT: Depth of Field - Inherent in a wide angle lens is greater depth of field. This allows the photographer to get everything from the foreground to the farthest point in the background in focus. Given enough light to stop down to f22, many will provide the ability to focus from within inches from the front of the lens out to infinity.

ALERT: In Your Face Foreground - When I run my nature photo tours and I bring the participants to a location where the beauty starts at our feet and runs as far as the eye can see, I have them get down low. This is the first step in producing what I call an “in your face foreground” shot. I want to create a photo where the foreground element is so close to the camera, it’s “in my face.” This creates a dominant foreground which is critical in making a great scenic.

CAUTION: Filter Vignetting - As its name implies, a wide angle lens has a wide field of view. With this in mind, if you add more than one filter to it, it begins to “see” the filter ring and puts dark corners in your image. The more you stop down the lens, the greater the chance of increasing the area of darkness. This is why it’s important to limit the number of filters you attach to a wide angle.

TIGHTEN UP: Close Quarters Shooting - wide angle lenses are synonymous with shooting in cramped spaces. They allow you to include everything in the composition. The wider the lens, the greater the picture area. When I photograph a wedding, ninety five per cent of the shots I take at the reception are made with a wide angle.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Step away from the car

Photo by Russ Burden.

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR

Over the years I’ve been photographing nature, I’ve accumulated my fair share of images made close to the car. The only problem is they look like everyone else’s shots. Unless the light is doing something very dramatic, these shots are a dime a dozen. There is satisfaction knowing I have them in my files, but past that, I don’t do much with them. To me, the real satisfaction is getting away from the road and capturing the gems that can only be had by walking, looking for, and finding the shot no one else has.

Getting away from your car ensures you’ll get pictures that are different from most other photographers. Even if you wander short distances, you’ll be amazed how the landscape changes. For instance, rather than shoot toward a fall colored stand of aspens, get inside it with a wide angle lens and shoot up toward a blue sky emphasizing the grandeur of the trunks and leaves. Find a roadside stream and then walk up or down it looking for mini rapids, wildlife, or a unique plant that my not be growing at the pullout.

A great tool to have if you wander far is a GPS especially if there are no trails and you need to find your way back to your vehicle in the dark. When I lead my photo tour to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, its use is indispensable. There are no trails and it’s very easy to get lost. Before we go out on a sunset shoot, I mark the car as a way point and we wander around the dunes looking for great ripples or classic yuccas. Once the sun sets behind the mountains, it’s essential we get back to the car with as much efficiency as possible in that the gates close at darkness and my clients wouldn’t appreciate getting locked in. By performing a GO TO on the GPS, a direct path back to the car is created allowing the group as much time as possible to shoot and still get back to the vehicle in time to exit the monument.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Wildlife

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Wildlife
Wildlife photography is an art, a sport, a pursuit, patience challenger, persistence tester, an effort in research, a bit of luck, and many other concepts all bundled together. Some days offer a plethora of image making while others end with the camera never raised to the eye. Weather, animal activity, time of day, right place right time, and more all help determine the success of the shoot. Lots of variables with which to deal. This is what makes coming home with a trophy shot worth the hunt. The difference of as little as one second can take an image from being a winner to a run of the mill animal photo. Found below are some ideas to help you capture a great wildlife shot.

SHOW THE BEHAVIOR: To separate your wildlife images from the majority of most animal photos, wait for the animal to display some sort of behavior. If the animal is not doing anything, the image becomes a record shot. This type of image is not as exciting. It lacks impact, action and intrigue.

STOLEN MOMENTS: Whether you’re shooting animals, people, sports, dramatic light, etc., there’s always going to be a decisive moment where the action, expression, or gesture reaches a peak. It may be the glance of an eye, a compelling smile, or a run in full stride, but at some point, a specific moment reaches its climax.

TELL A STORY: Rather than simply document what the animal looks like, tell a story about how it lives, what it does, how it hunts, its mating behavior, etc. The challenge is to do this in a single frame. All aspects must come together to depict the behavior you choose to portray.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.

Instructor's Tip: Been There, Dune That

Photo by Russ Burden

I hope you enjoy this week's "Instructor's Tip" by one of my favorite instructors, award winning nature photographer Russ Burden. To learn more about how Russ captured the above image, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Been There Dune That
Sand dune photography requires care to keep your gear clean, stamina to make your way through soft sand, a flexible schedule to shoot at sunrise and sunset, and research to know what the dunes offer at the time of year you intend to shoot. Dune photography provides the photographer with opportunities to capture grand scenics, intimate abstractions of ripples and dune curves, wildlife potential, and macro possibilities of animal tracks, vegetation, and wind blown patterns. With the myriad of subjects you’ll encounter, you’re bound to walk away with some winners.

Sunrise and Sunset: The best times to shoot the dunes is within the first fifteen minutes of sunrise and the last fifteen minutes before sunset. With the sun at an optimum angle, you need to work quickly as the light on the dunes constantly changes so you need to get the shot and move on to another to maximize your time. Look for strong areas of shadows and highlights to give your images a three dimensional effect and to emphasize the patterns of the sand.

Walking: Walking through sand is much more difficult than on flat surfaces. As you begin to ascend a dune, you’ll find that for every forward step you take, you slide back a half. Make sure you’re in good shape and in the mindset to do some strenuous walking. Be prepared with snacks and lots of water as you’ll easily become dehydrated. You can pack light as most of your shooting will be done with a wide angle zoom.

Take a class with Russ or a fellow Digital Photo Academy instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took Russ' intermediate and advanced courses last year, and he continues to be a strong source of knowledge and encouragement as I progress in my photography.