Sunday, August 30, 2015

John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography



We made reservations to stay at Old Faithful Inn over a year ago. We spent two weeks this summer in and near Yellowstone.

In preparation for the trip, I spent most of the summer slowly reading through John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography.



How do you take great photographs of the big natural world? Many of us love to take photos today and one of our favorite subjects is nature.

Often, however, our photos are disappointing. What are we doing wrong? How can we take better pictures?

John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography is a complete guide to taking great digital pictures of nature. It covers thoroughly all the ways to manipulate your digital camera in order to take great digital pictures of nature. It also covers thoroughly all the ways to take manipulate nature in order to take great digital pictures of nature.


This book is an excellent place to start. About half of the book tells about ways to better ways to use the equipment and better ways to compose photos. In the section on equipment, I learned about filters and flashes and metering and tripods and lenses and exposures. 

I’m a new photographer, so much of the information about ways to use the equipment was new to me, and some of it was over my head. But if you have more experience as a photographer, it will probably be perfect for you. For me, my favorite part of the book was about ways to better compose the photos. In this section, I learned about lighting, framing, close-ups, and learning to see “photo-graphically.”

So the proof is in the pudding, right? Here are some of the photos I took using ideas from this book:













I know I still have lots more to learn, but I think the book helped.




What are you reading today?!




What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week.  It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.









15 comments:

  1. Wow. Those are some horrible photos. ;)

    Totally kidding. Those are great. I think the book definitely helped. Do you think it helped you? That's the important thing, and the proof is definitely in the pudding.

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  2. The book talked a lot about taking photos during the magic windows of light in the early morning and the late evening. Because those times are favorite times for bears and other scary animals, I avoided being out-and-about during those times in Yellowstone, unfortunately.

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  3. Great shots! I do love it when I try something new and it works. Thanks for sharing...and enjoy! And thanks for visiting my blog.

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  4. Wonderful photos - I am particularly fond of the waterfall!
    I want to learn how to take better nature pictures as well and will definitely check out this book to help me accomplish that goal :)

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    1. Thank you, Molly. Let me know if you run across any other good books.

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  5. Interesting and gorgeous shots! Photography seems harder than it looks. My husband recently took a class and I think it helped. The lighting seems tricky at times. I especially like your bison photo.

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  6. I AM BUYING THIS BOOK for my husband. It looks like you learned your lessons well.

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  7. I think those are some great photos! Some day I want to visit Yellowstone. Sounds like a great book!

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  8. I read everything I can re improving photography, I'm going to look for this book. Love your shots, the waterfall one is gorgeous and great drama in the photo with the dead trees.

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  9. Those are fantastic photos, but I already thought your Wordless Wednesdays were pretty awesome, so there! It does sound like a great book.

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  10. Gorgeous :). My favourites are the waterfall and the last one with the window.

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  11. Great photos! They're well-composed shots of interesting subjects.

    I'm not sure I can pick a favorite. The trees in water pops out most when I scroll the page, but I like the other outdoor shots too.

    Enjoy the digital photography adventure!

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  12. Omg amazing photos! The one of the waterfall is fantastic, it's so majestic! I love photos of water :) I love the shots you've posted x

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