Welcome to the eleventh in a 12 part series about how to improve your nature photography.

Step #11 – Learn to use the digital darkroom.

Back in the days of film, photography was simpler.  Not easier, simpler.  When I went to Africa, I shot to my hearts delight.  Find the subject, point the camera, take the picture, move on.  When I got home, the first thing I did was take all my film and ship it off to the photo lab where they would do all the processing.  Digital has changed that.  I am no longer dependent on the lab to process my images.  Now I am the lab.  So are you.  As digital photographers we have total control over our final images.  This is empowering, but it also presents a challenge.

We have to deal with the fact that no one else is going to do our processing for us.  For better or for worse, we are in complete control of your images.  When they look great, we get the credit.  When they look bad, we still get the credit.  Let me let you in on a little secret.  Every single digital image you take needs some adjustment in the digital darkroom.  Now I’m not talking about complex adjustments like removing distracting branches or ex-boyfriends.  I’m talking about image optimization.  The little adjustments to color and contrast that make the image pop.  Cameras do not record reality nor do they put a personal style into the image.  For that, photographers need postproduction.  This means becoming comfortable in the digital darkroom.  You don’t have to be a master of Photoshop, but you do need to pick an image editing program and learn how to use it.  Photoshop elements, iPhoto, Lightroom, Aperture, and GIMP are all good programs.

Take a look at each of the animated images below (watch each of them for a few seconds and they will change).  Each image shows a before and after version of the scene.  First is the camera’s unaltered original RAW capture.  The second versions shows what 10-20 seconds worth of work in Lightroom can do to an image.  I think you will agree that the second image is better.

This Tawny Eagle was moving up and down the tree branch trying to get into a cavity nest for dinner.  The lighting was difficult and there was no way to reposition where we could shooting from.  The camera recorded the scene as a partial silhouette.  Using the digital darkroom (Lightroom) I was able to bring out the colors of the image in a way that more accurately represented what my eye saw.  It also transforms a shot that should be thrown away into a unique behavioral image that is worth keeping.

The opportunity to photograph this candle at twilight presented itself as I was walking back to my safari tent.  The composition was done in camera, but Lightroom let me alter the white balance setting of the RAW file to enhance the blue colors of twilight.

Backlit images are difficult to expose, especially when you want to keep the detail in both the subject and the background.  Using Lightroom I was able to adjust the exposure settings and pull detail out of both the river and the elephant, making for a much more pleasing image.

This image was “exposed to the right”, an exposure technique used to pull as much detail as possible from the digital sensor.  When opening the image in Lightroom, the image appears overexposed.  By playing with the exposure settings, extra detail can be pulled out, especially in the white sky.

Leopards have a bad habit of spending their time in the shade.  I am sure it helps to escape the heat, but it sure can be frustrating when it comes to photography.  After capturing the image, the shadows were lightened, which brought the color and detail back to the subject.

I want to offer a warning before you jump into the digital darkroom.  You will probably spend more time in front of your computer then you do in the field.  By becoming the lab, we have exchanged time for image control, so be prepared to spend a lot more time in front of the computer.

Welcome to the tenth in a 12 part series about how to improve your nature photography.

Step #10 – Be ready for the action.

As much as we might wish things were different, wildlife doesn’t wait.  If you are not ready when the action starts, you miss it.  A lion’s snarl lasts less then a second.  Would you get the shot?  Here are a few tips wildlife photographers can use to improve their chances.

First, know your equipment.  Every second you spend fiddling with your equipment is a missed photo opportunity.  Mastering your equipment takes time, but the payoff is well worth the effort.

Second, get setup ahead of time.  Don’t wait until you find a subject before getting ready.  When I am looking for subjects I have my camera out and ready to shoot.  I don’t want to waste time pulling the camera out of a bag.  I also preset the exposure based on the current light conditions.  If a opportunity presents itself, I want to start shooting immediately, not mess around with exposure.

Third, learn the value of patience.  Wildlife spends most of its time doing boring things.  If you want your shots to go beyond the ordinary, you need to wait for those rare behaviors to occur.  Fights and interactions are more photogenic then grazing or sleeping.  The downside, of course, is that such behaviors are rare and often end before you have a chance to point your camera in the right direction.  If you want to photograph action, you have to have the patience to wait for it and be ready when it happens.

Fourth, learn all you can about animal behavior.  I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again, knowing animal behavior is the single best way to be ready for the action.  Understanding what is happening greatly improves your chances of predicting what will happen next.  More importantly, it will improve your chances of being in the right place at the right time.

During the mating season, male zebra are some of the meanest, nastiest animals on the planet.  They fight constantly.  This behavior creates some wonderful photo opportunities, but the challenge is making sure you are ready when the action happens.  The kick recorded above took less then a second from start to finish.  While some luck was involved (I had my camera pointed in the right direction), I improved my odds by having everything set up ahead of time.  All I needed to do when the actions started was to focus and shoot.

The Mara River in northern Tanzania is home to thousands of hippos.  From any overlook it is possible to see hundreds of these massive animals wallowing in the water.  On occasion, brief fights break out.  It is impossible to predict where the fights will happen (whatever starts them happens underwater), but if you react fast enough you can capture the action before it ends.  In this case I was sitting on an overlook along the northern edge of the river.  I held my 500mm lens in my hands (one of the few times I have used it without either a tripod or a beanbag) and I waited.  By constantly scanning the herd and using my ears (fights are noisy), I was able to react fast enough to capture several fights.  The above images is one of my most successful results.

Sometimes the action is not high speed, just brief.  These two young cheetah (probably brothers) were resting within sight of our vehicle for over an hour.  Every five to ten minutes they would shift around, alternating between sitting up and lying down.  The image I wanted to capture was with both of them sitting up and looking at each other.  It took over half an hour before all the elements came together.  Then, for less the a second, it happened.  Out of a group of 15 photographers, I was the only one who got this shot.  By knowing what I wanted and being willing to sit and wait until it happened, I got the shot (and no, it is not photoshopped).

Vervet monkeys are fast.  When they start to move you don’t have time to change the camera settings.  This image was as much luck and anything, but it shows the value of having the camera settings established before you find your subject.

Leopard sightings are always a reason for excitement.  Most of the time, however, the photographer is treated to a large cat sleeping in a tree.  Not the most exciting subject.  For those willing to wait, opportunities present themselves.  After waiting for over an hour (yes, I said an hour!) we were treated to the sight of this leopard sitting up, yawning, climbing down the tree, and walking along the road.  Those who were not willing to wait missed the rare opportunity to photograph a leopard while it was up and about.