Photographing Nature

25 years of nature photography instruction in one gorgeous, full-color, hands-on course

Anyone can photograph nature-just step outside and you're on location. But becoming a good nature photographer takes expert training. In Photographing Nature, Ralph Clevenger, whose images have appeared in such publications as Nature's Best and National Geographic, shares the techniques he's been personally using and teaching to aspiring photographers for the last 25 years in his popular nature photography course at the elite Brooks Institute.

In this stunning, four-color course-in-a-book, each chapter opens with a spectacular photo spread from the natural world that Clevenger uses to illustrate themes and techniques essential to mastering nature photography. Just as he does in his classroom at Brooks, Clevenger explains how each photo was captured, the tools and techniques used, and typical problems related to capturing such a photo, along with solutions. Chapters also include sample Q&A sessions as well as assignments you can try yourself.

By the time you've worked through all of the techniques in this beautiful, yet informative book, you'll not only photograph the world differently, you'll see it differently as well. With a foreword by George Lepp, one of North America's best-known contemporary outdoor and nature photographers.

Auteur

Ralph A. Clevenger teaches courses in nature photography, stock photography, video production, and undersea photography at Brooks Institute. Clevenger has traveled throughout the world on assignment. His clients include the Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Nature Conservancy, Denali National Park Wilderness Center, the National Park Service, and the National Marine Sanctuary. His publication credits include Audubon, Aqua, Islands, Oceans, Outside, National Geographic magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Popular Photography, National Geographic Books, Smithsonian Books, Sierra Club Books, and many other national and international publications. Ralph's stock images are represented worldwide by Corbis Images.

Share your work with the author and other readers at www.flickr.com/groups/photographingnature

Contenu

Foreword x
Introduction xii

1. Play nice 2
   Ethics
   Knowledge and creativity
   Equipment
   Becoming part of the solution
   Questions and Answers

2. You need more stuff? 24
   Stuff
   Practice
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers

3. It's all about the light 50
   Qualities of light
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

4. Not everything's black-and-white 74
   The color of nature
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

5. Flash! And you're in control 92
   Light at 1/20,000 of a second
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

6. Wet-belly photography 110
   Finding flowers and chasing bugs
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

7. Garden variety shots 128
   Nature so close
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

8. The wonder of wildlife 146
   Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

9. An ounce of prevention 166
   Zoos
   Equipment
   Lighting
   Questions and Answers
   Assignments to try

10. Land, sea, and sky 186
    The wide view
    Telling the story
    Equipment
    Lighting
    Questions and Answers
    Assignments to try

11. Looking through the frame 206
    The frame
    Composing the image
    Equipment
    Lighting
    Questions and Answers
    Assignments to try

12. What are you looking at? 228
    Preconceptions
    Equipment
    Lighting
    Questions and Answers
    Assignments to try

13. On the road 248
    Road trip
    A 'typical day' of shooting
    Equipment
    Lighting
    Questions and Answers
    Assignments to try

14. Back in the lab 272
    Becoming the lab
    Manipulation
    Equipment
    Lighting
    Questions and Answers
    Assignments to try

Appendix: Resources
Index