Wildlife Photography

The DxO ONE goes to Alaska

I had so much fun with my DxO ONE in Africa, that I brought it half-way around the world with me to Alaska to use as my “grabshot” camera on my Brown Bear photo safaris. We had a cooperative mother bear with two cubs in a beautiful setting, that my big telephoto was never going to capture all in the same frame. So I quickly snapped this image, using only the DxO ONE. It was processed using my default “travel photo” preset and cropped & rotated to square up the horizon, and then downsized to 1920 pixels so I could upload it over our satellite link:

Capturing an African safari memory with the DxO ONE

Clearly telephotos dominate when we think of safari lenses. But sometimes the most compelling images are the ones that show both ourselves and the animals. Having a small, quick, camera that can record the moment is a huge win. I took a number of such shots with the DxO ONE on our just-finishing safari to Botswana and Zimbabwe, but this was one of my favorites:

Quick tip on when your next point and shoot should be a superzoom

While smartphones have put a large dent in the compact camera market, tens of millions are still sold, and I often get asked about what features to look for when purchasing one. Headline numbers in ads often include not just resolution, but zoom range. Some models, like the I'm currently testing, offer ranges up to 30:1 (effectively a 720mm telephoto lens at the long end). It is really tempting to think, "Wow! Why not get one that does that?" However, there are tradeoffs...

Pro tip: When and why to use a tripod

Photographers have all sorts of opinions about tripods. Some won’t use them, some won’t shoot without them, and most of us use one sometimes. Especially with image stabilization and high-ISO options on modern digital cameras, tripods are not as essential, nor do they need to be as heavy, as they used to be. But they still provide value in many cases – some obvious and some not so obvious. It is worth going over the advantages of using a tripod so you can make an informed decision for yourself:

Some new ways to enhance the color of your wildlife photos

Think Tank StreetWalker HardDrive: The Ultimate vehicle safari backpack

Think Tank Photo StreetWalker HardDrive (Black/Silver/Blue)Regular readers will know that for yours I’ve been searching for the perfect backpack for taking on African safaris – or to other locations where we shoot from vehicles. For international travel, the bag has to meet carry-on requirements, so it can’t be too long. It also needs to either be a roller, like the ThinkTank Airport Takeoff or the LowePro X200, or at least have really nice backpack straps for lugging through connecting airports. At the same time, it needs to be compact enough to fit on the seat in a vehicle and move around in potentially tight spaces on boats or trucks. Plus it needs to accommodate a couple bodies, several lenses including a long one, and a laptop. Enter the

Mountain Gorilla trekking: Up close & personal experience

Safari photo tips & FREE Alaskan safari giveaway!

B&H Photo Competition: Win a safari, learn how at our event on October 31st

B&H, along with Wilderness Safaris, has launched a very cool , with close to $50K worth of Safaris & gift cards as prizes. It is free to enter, and offers 8 categories, so that every style of animal photographer has a chance to win! You can learn all about the contest online, or I’ll be presenting a session on Creating Award-winning photography & Introducing the B&H Photo Contest next week, at 1pm on the 31st at the B&H Event Space. I’m sure it will be popular, so !

Join us for a B&H Photo Walk through the Bronx Zoo in June

I’m really happy to say that I’ll be leading a photo walk for B&H through the Bronx Zoo in New York on Thursday, June 7th. The event is free, but you do need to pay for your Zoo admission. For those of you in or around the New York area its about the easiest way to get some practice in on your wildlife photography. Open to photographers of all ages and all amounts of gear! You can . Lorrie and I hope to see you there!

Photo Ethics In The Field: My New Posting on B&H Insights Blog

There is a lot of discussion about the ethics of altering images in Photoshop. But even more important is how we as photographers act in the field. There are many ethical issues which arise whether you're doing travel, nature or wildlife photography.

All About Nature Photography -- All in One Place!

 


For those of you not familiar with NANPA is one of the oldest, largest and most respected groups of Nature Photographers in the U.S. We've been proud to be a corporate member for several years and this year are especially excited to be offering a half-day workshop on wildlife photography as part of their annual Summit in March. If you haven't been to the Summit it is a great place to meet and learn from experts in the field of nature photography, network with your peers, and get some shooting done.

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