Reply To: Hey look a nature photog, lets throw rocks at him!

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I rather LOVE the name. I think it says a great deal about your willingness to try new stuff, make mistakes and learn.

That said, you sound a lot like me. I don’t/can’t/won’t/hate posed images of humans. I absolutely freeze up when people stare straight at the camera in a pose. A quick glance is okay if I’m catching the action. But otherwise it just isn’t my forte. Maybe it’s not yours.

But  yeah. The color is the main problem. Beyond that…

I think maybe you are ready to step just a bit further into details and fine tuning. Nature photography is difficult and takes a lot of practice. There is a world of difference between shooting nature and shooting people who are posed. But if you keep on learning, growing and getting feedback, I have no doubt your talent will show.

That is one stunning cloud photo. Lots of texture and depth. But notice where your eyes land when you look at it: on the utility pole. The contrast in color and brightness draws the eye in and makes the pole distract from the cloud. You are successful at this in some of your shots, but not consistently. For instance the photo of the dragonfly. Beautiful contrast, no distracting background. My eyes started at the mid-tail and ended at the eyes of the creature. The moth photo (moth on left, flowers on right) is excellent. My eyes go straight to his eyes, then down the probiscis just enough to stay on the moth. Wonderful focus (I know because those wings flutter FAST.) Do you understand the technical aspects of this photo of the moth? Why his wings are not blurry and the wings of the hummingbird are blurry? How was that action stopped and the hummingbird wasn’t?

I think your best photos are the ones where you have succeeded in catching dominance and clarity. The photo of the two wasps is a great concept, but the one on the left is not in focus and my eye really doesn’t know where to go. Nothing really sticks out and so I kind of circled from one wasp to the other, then my eyes wandered to the reflection then back to the wasps. How does that work for you?

The more nature shots you do, the more you will notice details that are not in focus. That’s personal development. In the beginning, you are just lucky to have even seen a hummingbird, let alone adjust your camera settings for capture. Next, you try for the beak or eyes in focus; then maybe the feathers and finally you become determined to stop the motion of the wings. It takes time, practice and with nature photography, luck and persistence. You can’t tell your subjects to “hold it there.” You have to learn to manipulate and anticipate in a different way.

So work on dominance and details — know that the tiniest detail can be dominant (like your photo of the worm on the twig — his tiny eye is the dominant factor). Another thing about nature photography is that as you get into these details, you not only learn more about photography, but also more about the creatures around us.

I hope this helps and inspires. And, I can’t wait to see more!