Noisy Miner

There are many tips to help you get nicer images from your camera. With today’s cameras, generally the camera is very good in getting the exposure correct, but there are a few settings, where the camera can be overridden to change and improve the “look” of the resulting image. The above image of the Noisy Minor was captured with a Nikon D700 camera and 300mm lens. A shutter speed of 1/1600 second was used and an aperture of f/4.5.

• Have a variety of focal length lenses so that you can fill up the major part of the viewfinder with the main subject. Zoom lenses can give you some flexibility in this regard. Some photographers prefer zooms and others prefer to have a few fixed focal length lenses for variety and different perspectives.
• Sometimes I find that gives a nicer composition to the image if you fill up only part of the frame, but the main subject must still fill a major part of the viewfinder.
• The shutter speed can have a major impact on the image. You need a shutter speed fast enough to freeze any movement of both of the main subject and also any camera movement. Generally in mast normal situations when you are using a normal lens of around 50mm, a shutter speed greater than 1/50 second will be adequate. A tripod can also be used if you want to use slower shutter speeds. Sometime I like to create intentional blur in an image by using a slow shutter speed, such as a waterfall or fast flowing water.
• The creative use of aperture can also add to your images. A large aperture of say f/1.4, will give a very narrow depth of field and help to blur out the background. Also a longer telephoto lens with a lower aperture will blur the background. When using large apertures ensure that all the important parts of the main subject are in focus, this can be checked by using the depth of field preview or by taking several images at differing apertures.
• Purchase quality photographic equipment. Poorer quality equipment will generally give lesser quality images.
• Spend some time looking through the viewfinder and composing the image, changing your viewpoint, re-frame the image until you are happier with the composition. In these days of digital cameras we are inclined to shoot more images and quickly than we did in the film days  with less thought being put into each image. Take your time with each image.
• Enjoy your photography. I enjoy my photography more when I get better results.

Hibiscus Flower

Beautiful flower images can be greatly improved by the addition of a few drops of water. This is only one small and simple tip to help you get better flower images. The two images illustrated here have been captured with a Nikon D700 camera and Nikon’s 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens.

Water Droplets on Hibiscus

There are many ways to help you get that prize winning image of your beautiful flower. In the following points we suggest thirteen tips to help you get the best results.

1. A macro lens can help you get much closer than a normal lens, also most Macro (Micro in Nikon terminology) lenses are much sharper close up compared to a normal lens.
2. Close up supplementary lenses can be used in lieu of a macro lens as a cheaper solution.
3. Extension tubes can also be considered for smaller flowers to enable closer focussing using a normal lens.
4. Be aware of the background to ensure it enhances the main subject.
5. Use a suitable aperture setting, to ensure the depth of field is satisfactory to isolate the main subject matter and to ensure that any background is sufficiently blurred. This helps to concentrate the main interest of the image on the main subject matter.
6. The composition of subjects such as flowers can be made more appealing by not placing the main subject matter at the centre of the image, it is best to place the subject at around one third of the distance from either edge.
7. Lighting can play a major part in flower images and generally subdued lighting is preferred with not too much contrast.
8. Use a small reflector to help reduce any shadow on the main subject.
9. Consider the usage of a fill in flash to give more uniform lighting to the subject.
10. Use as low an  ISO setting as possible to ensure the sharpest image quality.
11. In general, any focal length lens can be used, however I prefer a focal length of 105mm. I use Nikon equipment and they also have the 40mm and 85mm DX lenses and the 60mm, 105mm and 200mm FX Micro lenses.
12. A tripod and cable release will also help to give you a much sharper images.
13. Lastly, add a few drops of water to the flowers.

Binna Burra

Landscape photography is something many photographers aspire to. There are many opportunities for this type of photography of your surrounding area, no matter where you are.

Landscape Photography Definition

Landscape photography is generally aimed to show different spaces and objects within the world where you are. They can be distant or close up micro objects.

This practice of landscape photography is practised by professionals and amateurs alike. The landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature and can sometimes include man made objects. Landscape photographers can give an appreciation of the scenery that is being photographed.

Many landscape photographers show little or no human activity in their photos but strive to attain pure, unpoluted landscapes, that are devoid of human influence.

With landscapes it is good to include subjects such as strongly outlined landforms, selective ambient lighting. However the definition of landscape photography is very open and broad. There are urban, industrial, macro and nature landscapes. A beach with parasols, sunbathers or chairs can be a landscape photograph.

There are many techniques to help you improve your landscape photography and some of these are summarised below:

1. In landscape photography, sharpness is paramount. Sharpness is all about technique and many issues need to be taken into account such as camera stability, subject movement, that is right sometimes landscape objects can move for example trees and leaves moving in the breeze.
2. Include some object in the foreground to give the image some form of depth. This can be trees rocks or some other object.
3. Polarising filters can give a real boost to a landscapes, particularly to the sky. The filter will give a nice saturated boost to the blue sky.
4. Neutral density filters can allow you to use slower shutter speeds. This can enhance images to give them a different feel by blurring moving water or blurring moving clouds.
5. Using High Dynamic Range (HDR) techniques can really assist in increasing the range of tones in the image. This is very useful where bright and high contrast lighting is illuminating the scene.
6. Stitching images together can be very effective in showing a wider angle of view which is often required with landscapes. This can be a very good decision as stitching images will save you the cost of extreme wide angle lenses. A stitched image with a longer lens will often give an overall image with less distortion than the same image taken with an extreme wide angle lens.
7. Many landscape photographers will only use wide angle lenses for landscapes, however some very effective landscapes can be captured with telephoto lenses, even super telephoto lenses to help isolate a section of the landscape.
8. Make use of Depth of Field in capturing your landscape. Stopping down a lens will give you greater depth of field which can be critical in a landscape. With some lenses stopping down the lens by a couple of stops may improve the sharpness with some lenses.
9. Some post processing may give a real boost to your landscapes such as slight sharpening or a saturation boost over all of the image or apply it selectively over certain areas of the image.
10. A tripod and remote shutter release will help improve the sharpness of a landscape image.

Emu with Chick, Coffin Bay, National Park

There is always room for improvement with our image making. In this article I will give you a few tips to improve your photographic techniques by outlining various camera settings to help improve your images.

Auto ISO

The Auto ISO setting on your camera will automatically adjust the cameras ISO setting when you exceed certain parameters set in the cameras menu. The auto ISO settings in the camera will take into account the settings you have chosen such as the maximum ISO sensitivity to be used and the minimum shutter speed that will be used before the ISO is automatically increased. This functionality is really good to give more flexibility in your shooting.

A very important feature of Auto ISO is that in Manual Mode, with auto ISO set on, you can set the aperture and shutter speed and the ISO will automatically adjust to give the correct exposure.

Auto FP High Speed Sync

Auto FP (Focal Plane) High Speed Sync will allow the camera to use higher shutter speeds than the normally allowable shutter speed, which can vary from camera to camera but is generally 1/250 second.

Auto FP High Speed Sync will allow the camera to synchronise with the dedicated flash with shutter speeds up to 1/8000 second.

Multiple Exposure

The multiple exposure setting is probably quite obvious in that the camera will take two or more exposures on the same image.

Interval Timer

The interval timer will allow the camera to capture many images at predetermined time intervals between exposures, but the longest exposure is limited to 30 seconds. These settings can be very useful when taking many images of star trail for example and stacking the images in post processing. This process will help to reduce noise in the final stacked image.

Monochrome

Using this setting images can be captured in monochrome. However sometimes it may be better to convert to monochrome in post processing as the post processing will be more flexible in selecting the tones required.

Active D-Lighting

Rainbow Bee Eater - Goodna

This image of a Rainbow Bee Eater has been captured at Goodna, near Brisbane. I went there to see the beautiful Jacaranda trees in flower but there were plenty of birds around to side track me.

The above image was captured at ISO500, f/11, 1/320 second exposuere time.

Images like this are very difficult to capture with great detail.

There are several tips which can be applied to help you get sharper bird images when using long lenses.

• In general I find it easier to use a lens which is not too large or too heavy. I really like my 300mm f/4 lens for this reason. Some of the bigger lenses with more reach, are far more difficult to handle, for example 400, 500 and 600mm lenses.
• I prefer to hand hold my lens and use a monopod, I find that hand holding, gives far more flexibility in being able to  stalk and approach birds.
• A monopod will give a big advantage in keeping your camera steady. My 300mm lens does not have vibration reduction, however with the monopod I have captured images at shutter speeds down to 1/60 second and still retained excellent sharpness.
• If you get to know your camera at higher ISO levels, it will help you to get sharper images by using higher shutter speeds, so up the ISO as required.
• Be careful in using low apertures, as at low apertures the depth of field can become very narrow. The depth of field will also get very narrow as you focus closer to the subject.
• When operating the shutter button do not depress the button suddenly ,it is best to gradually roll the finger over the shutter button gradually as this will help avoid moving the camera.

Bird photography is one of the most difficult subjects to photograph so just practice and practice.

Cattle Egret

Photography of birds is one of the most difficult subjects to capture, here we will give you some tips which assist in improving your bird captures. The above image of a Cattle Egret was photographed in a Zoo environment.

• Frequent places where birds regularly visit, such as honey eaters at certain flowers or birds at water holes.
• Use a long lens to bring the bird closer.
• Use a camera with a smaller sensor, a Nikon DX format camera is better than an FX format camera.
• Use a bird hide.
• Stalk the birds so as to not scare them.
• Birds are easier to photograph in Zoos or nature reserves.
• Walk through aviaries are excellent to get closer to many rare birds.
• Walking around the shores of lakes or inlets may enable you to get closer to water birds.
• Using a tripod will give you much sharper images especially when using long lenses for birds.
• A monopod is very useful for stabilizing a long lens.
• If a moniopod or tripod is not available, stabilize the camera against some firm object.
• Falconry Demonstrations can be good to get closer to the birds.
• The use of  binoculars are very useful to watch where birds are.
• Use fast shutter speeds to  help freeze the action.
• Use low apertures also to help freeze the action.
• Join a bird watching club to help find the location of birds.
• Get some bird books to study the habits and feeding patterns of birds.
• Early morning or late evening are good times to find birds, also the lighting is better at these times.
• If photographing birds near nests be very careful to not disturb the birds.
• Be careful of the back ground to ensure it does not intrude into the photograph.
• The best bird photographs are generally captured in the wild, in their natural environment.
• Try to get as close to the bird as possible, by gradually approaching the bird and getting images as you approach, as you get closer the bird may fly off, but use this opportunity to get a flight image as the bird takes off.

There are many things you can do to improve your photography. In the following article we will sumarise the ten main thing you can implement to make your images stand out.

1. Shutter speed

The shutter speed can have a huge bearing on the quality of an image. A slow speed will create blur resulting in an unsharp image. A fast shutter speed will freeze action and help obtain sharp images.
Sometimes the photographer may intentionally create blur to give a creative impact to the image.

• Exposure Value
• High Sutter Speed
• Slow shutter speed
• Creating movement

2. Aperture

The aperture setting determines how much light the lens lets through to the sensor and this determines the correct exposure.
The aperture also determines the depth of field and which parts of the image will be in focus.

• Lens aperture
• Exposure value

3. ISO

The ISO setting determines the sensitivity and needs to be set depending on the amount of light available. In bright light use a lower ISO setting and in duller light use a higher ISO.

• ISO speed
• Auto ISO

4. Get in close

Get close to the subject to fill the viewfinder frame  completely up with the subject.

5. Focus on subject

The camera will have auto focus points in the viewfinder, make sure the focus is on the main subject. With people photography ensure that the eyes are in focus.

6. Keep it simple

Do not try to get too much in the picture. The simpler the composition the more impact the final image will have.

7. Watch the background

Watch for any distractions in the background, keep the background simple so that the main subject will stand out against the background.

8. Move the subject slightly off centre

Generally the composition of the image will look much better if the main subject is not in the centre of the images, keep the main subject to one side.

9. Keep the camera steady

The use of a tripod nor monopod will assist in qeeping the camera steady. Also use a remoter shutter trigger if possible.

• Using a tripod
• Using a monopod
• Remote releases
• Camera Vibrations

10. Take your camera everywhere

One thing needs to be stressed, is to take your camera everywhere you go. If you do not have your camera you will not get any images. If you normally use a Digital SLR get a smaller camera so you can carry it around easily when not using the DSLR.