Drone Photography

The fastest growing field in photography right now is aerial photography. Drone technology has evolved over the years and is now at a point where we can do things that past photographers could only do with the help of a helicopter. Drones have become consumer friendly and affordable. They are now not only fairly easy to control but often fun. Brands such as DJI offer features that allow you to control the movement of the drone with your hand.

Photo by agnormark/iStock / Getty Images

Here are a few tips to help you improve your chances at nailing that shot while flying your drone.

Have a plan. Let’s say you’re doing some real estate shots with your drone. The first thing you should do when arriving on scene is walking around the house looking for angles and obstacles. Do not start setting your drone up and get up in the air and then start checking your surroundings. You should know that what you make the swinging arc motion toward the back deck that you have about twenty feet until a tree becomes a possible collision. Even though many drones offer obstacle avoidance technology you should still take the time to get to know your surroundings.

Keep your drone in your line of sight. While this is an FAA rule many people forget to follow it. Besides the added comfort of keeping several thousand dollars’ worth of equipment in your line of sight, you run the risk of crashing or loss of signal the further the drone gets away from you and the controller. Many drones will be rated for a two mile range. Best not to test that. The farther away the drone the farther the signal has to travel to your drone. Best to keep your drone in eye sight in case something bad happens. There is no worse feeling than a fly away where you never see it again.

Learn your equipment. Before you go flying over waterfalls and rivers, take your drone to a wide open field and get familiar with it. Learn how steady it’s hover is. Make sure you have a general idea of how long the battery lasts. I would cycle through three different battery charges so you have a general idea of how long the battery will last. And don’t wait until your battery light is blinking to land your drone. I always land with at least four minutes left on my charge. Better to play it safe. If your drone offers obstacle avoidance technology you may want to slowly fly your drone up to a hay bale or something relatively soft and see how close you can get until the safety features kick in. Again just because your drone can fly 3,000 feet up in the air doesn’t mean you have to.

Know your environment. Do some research before you go out and fly. There are many areas that are no fly zones. Prisons, hospitals and airports are three examples. National parks are also a no fly zone, unless you have a permit. Otherwise you are risking a fine. And while we are on the topic, you should have your part 107. That is the test you have to take to fly your drone for commercial purposes. It also opens up certain areas that you would normally not be able to fly in.

I hope you enjoy my drone video below! 

The Trifecta of Light: 3 Light Settings You Should Know On Your DSLR Camera

So you bought yourself a camera and you’re really enjoying it. Now it’s time to get off Auto mode and dive into the world of photography. Which leads us to today’s lesson. Here are some terms every photographer should know. These are factors for affecting the exposure of a picture. Exposure refers to the lighting of an image. Overexposed means too much light hit the sensor and underexposed mean not enough light got through to the sensor.

ISO

It stands for International Standards Organization and it refers to the industrial scale of measuring light. Today it refers mainly to the sensitivity of a digital cameras image sensor. The higher the ISO the more sensitive your sensor thus allowing more light onto the sensor. And the lower the ISO the less light that strikes the sensor resulting in a darker image. However, you will need to use the ISO accordingly. Shooting at extremely high ISOs can make the finer details appear grainy in your photograph. Learning the settings will take practice so the best way is to just learn by trial and error. When shooting waterfalls in the middle of the day with lots of sunlight you need to use a low ISO. However, while shooting the night sky you will need to use a high ISO. All-in-all a higher ISO makes your photograph lighter, while a lower ISO will make your photograph darker.

Aperture

Aperture is measured in F-stops, this controls the opening in the lens that allows light to hit your sensor. Aperture can be adjusted and will play a big role in your photography. The lower the F-stop, the bigger the opening will be in your lens which will allow more light to hit the sensor. Lenses with a lower F-stop will cost more. Scenarios in which a lower F-stop will come into play will be for night time photography or quick action shots. Some scenarios for a small F-stop would be times when you might want a blurry moving object, such as wind in the trees. This can seem very similar to ISO, and while the two work hand in hand they are different. Remember that ISO refers to the image sensors sensitivity to light and aperture refers to the size of the opening in your lens that allows light to pass through and hit the sensor.

Photo by Pumpa1/iStock / Getty Images

Photo by BeeBright/iStock / Getty Images

Shutter speed

This refers to how long your shutter is open. And this is the final factor in affecting your exposure. Depending on your camera model this can be very easy to adjust so it tends to be the first thing people learn about. The longer your shutter is open, the more light penetrates through the hole in your lens (f-stop) which means the sensor gets a lot of light striking it (ISO). You will learn how all of these come together to get you that perfect shot. One thing to remember is that the longer you leave your shutter open the more likely you have a blurry image. So a tripod will come in handy. You would use a fast Shutter speed at a rodeo to freeze the image of the bucking bronco without having a blurry image. You would use a slow shutter speed to get star trails.

Photo by Shuttermon/iStock / Getty Images

Check out some of my new drone footage below. 

What is Steel Wool Photography?

What is Steel Wool Photography?

Steel wool photography is a type of photography that relies on visual effects by taking advantage of the sensors full capabilities. The end results will leave you wondering why you haven’t tried enhancing more of your nighttime photographs with steel wool.

What do you need to take steel wool photographs?

Photo by Steve Gorton/Dorling Kindersley RF / Getty Images

You will need a metal whisk, steel wool, twine to attach to your whisk and a lighter/matches. One thing to keep in mind is that steel wool comes in many different grades. You will want the finest grade there is which will be either 000 or 0000. Grades 1-4 will not light for you.

Photo by Nicvandum/iStock / Getty Images

Things to consider when taking steel wool photographs:

Once you get all of your supplies together there are a few things to consider. Safety needs to be a priority before diving in the world of steel wool photography. You are technically playing with fire. It is important to think of that when you go out on location. It is not ideal to be swinging steel wool around areas with a lot of dead grass or areas with anything that is potentially flammable.

Steps to taking steel wool photographs:

Now, let’s get started. You have your supplies together and your locations have been selected. Here’s what you do next. Take your steel wool and place it inside the whisk. Next, you connect the twine or string to the handle with at least two feet hanging. Finally, you light the steel and start spinning. You can spin as slow or as fast as you’d like. Be cautious, sparks will start flying. Ensure no one is standing nearby.

Last but definitely not least, let's learn some camera settings:

You will have to put your camera on manual mode to get the best results. Unlike astrophotography, you will not want a very high ISO because you are only interested in the light coming off the steel wool. Your aperture will be set in the range of f/6 – f/11. You do not want it super high or low, find a medium. Your shutter speed will be anywhere from 10-20 seconds. I find 20 seconds to be a tad bit longer because often the steel wool runs out of sparks toward the end. Safe go to settings would be an ISO of 100, a shutter speed of 10 seconds and an aperture of f/8. The sensor on your camera will pick up every spark that flies off the whisk from the steel wool. Leaving some very artistic results. Also, keep in mind that the sensor will pick up the light on the surrounding surfaces from the sparks.

Go have a good time and I hope this gets you on the path to some interesting steel wool photographs.

Photography Filters Every Aspiring Photographer Needs

Today we are going to scratch the surface with how to use filters. And no, I am not referring to Snapchat filters that turn you into a giraffe or a dog. We are going to go over what a UV, Polarizing, and Neutral Density filter do to your pictures. Now get your Snapchat filters off your mind because it’s time to go to work.

UV Filter:

UV filters are pretty self-explanatory. They deal with Ultra Violet rays of light. A UV filter is essentially for only one reason, it protects them from the element of your lens. And surprisingly I do not mean from UV rays. Today most cameras, if not all, have a UV filter built in front of the sensor on your camera body. Today a UV filter serves as a last line of defense to your lens. In the unfortunate event that you bump your lens into something or for heaven’s sake if you drop your lens, hopefully, the UV filter takes the brunt of that fall and protects your front element.

Polarizing Filter:

Polarizing filters are used to help fight back glare from reflective surfaces, saturate colors in your pictures and most importantly make your skies pop. They do that by deepening the blue skies and whitening the clouds. However, if you do not use them correctly they will block up to one and a half stops of light from getting to your sensor. So for that matter, a polarizing filter is not meant to stay on your lens at all times. Polarizing filters will have a rotating ring at the front of the filter to help you adjust your settings and achieve your desired results.

Neutral Density Filters (ND):

Neutral density filters block the amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor. Using these will allow you to set your exposure and aperture to settings that would normally result in an overexposed photograph. A neutral density filter will allow you to get those soft, flowing waterfall shots, or those beautiful wasps cloudy sunset shots. My favorite thing about an ND filter is for $50 you can get a tool that allows you to completely bring your photographs to the next level.

I hope this gives you a little insight into the three out common types of filters. I strongly encourage any photographer to add these filters to their camera bag tomorrow. They will come in handy.

Check out filters here. 

Preparing for Your Wildlife Photography Adventure

Photographing wildlife can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences as a photographer. With no guarantee of the outcome, it is up to the photographer and his equipment to make the best out of an unpredictable situation. Here I have assembled a basic list of the equipment that will help you capture wildlife as you never thought possible.

Camera: In my bag is a Nikon D750. This is a full-frame DSLR camera that offers 24 megapixels at up to 6 frames per second. This is plenty fast enough for capturing most wildlife. Your settings will vary depending on the weather conditions however, I always shoot in RAW mode. This will give your photos the highest level of quality. You will want to keep your camera in manual mode to easily adjust your shutter speed and aperture to get a solid picture.

Camera bag: Check your camera bag before you leave. Make sure you have extra batteries and memory cards. And make sure your batteries are charged before you leave. There is no worse feeling than getting into the woods and realizing your battery is dead. A good habit to get into when you get back from a shoot is to go through your bag and make sure everything is organized and charge your batteries. However, don't forget to check your bag before leaving so you do not accidentally leave your battery on the charger. The Lowepro Whistler BP 350 AW is my bag of choice when carrying my setup. This bag allows me to hold up to three lenses and a full frame camera.

Tripod-Bipod: Different people will have different preferences on what they prefer to hike with. Personally, however, I always strap my Manfrotto Aluminum Tripod to my bag and I am never let down. While bipods are lighter and more portable, tripods offer the most support. It's nice being able to set your tripod up and leave your camera on it while you check your gear.

Lens: For wildlife, you will need your telephoto lens. You might want to bring one more lens in case your adventures take you to a hidden gem but don't kill yourself by bringing all your lenses with you. Especially if you are hiking out into the woods, try to take all the essentials and leave the miscellaneous supplies behind. I would suggest at least a 300mm lens. I personally use a Nikkor 200-500mm lens for my wildlife photography. Remember wild animals are wild and need to be left alone. It is best to keep your distance for your safety and for the animals’ safety.

Filters: While you should always have a UV filter on your lens for added protection. I suggest that you also purchase a circular polarizer filter. This filter will bring out the clouds and colors in your shots. I always keep a neutral density filter in my bag because you never know when you're going to come across a stream or waterfall. A neutral density filter adds F-stops to your lens to allow a long exposure shot during the day without your shot coming out overexposed.

Bear spray: It doesn't matter what you're are intending to photograph if you are in an area with bears or other predators make sure you bring some form of non-lethal defense spray. You are in nature, as beautiful as it can be you need to be prepared for the ugly side of nature.

Water: You should always bring water. The last thing you want is to hike all the way up to the observation spot and realize you didn't bring your water bottle after grabbing it. If your bag doesn’t have a dedicated spot for water I suggest you bring a small water bottle and a water filter. Water filters are lightweight and compact giving you the ability to filter extra water on the trail.

Patience: Most importantly you need patience! Even the best-made plans sometimes go astray. It is impossible to predict what wildlife will do. Sometimes you will see animals and sometimes you will be stuck reading a book. Whichever it is, the good news is that you are out in the woods and that is always a good day.

Hopefully, you found these tips and tricks about wildlife photography to be helpful for your next outdoor adventure. I have linked the products I talked about above for your convenience. I hope you find them to be as useful as I do on my photography adventures!

Visit my Wildlife Photography Gallery here.