Hey Gang,

I've always liked photography but in the past, I could only operate a point and shoot style camera.

Over the past year, I've been reading and watching videos as much as possible to understand how to shoot in manual. Finally, I just decided to dive right in. I purchased a DSLR and decided to learn hands on...

Over the past month, I've been shooting in manual and been trying to take as many images possible while in the field. I've still got lots to learn, but it's been a fun learning experience.


Through photography, how do you guys "Capture the Moment" while in the Great Outdoors? Please be sure to share your ideas and images.


Here's my avatar

     

Aloha!

Ryan K Sanpei

I can't wait to see more of your photos.......

When I would be out I'd always have a UV filter on the lens regardless of what lens or other filter I was using. Cheap and easy to replace a scratched filter, not so with lenses.
Framing the shot helps. If you're taking a shot of a deer that's looking off to the left, put the deer to the right of the frame as to make it look like it's paying attention to something. If you put it on the left it just looks disinterested or bored. You can play with Depth of Field to bring the background into sharp focus or to blur it out to draw attention just to the subject. I would also look into shutter speed. A fast shutter can make fast things appear to stop and fly off the picture. A slow speed can make it look like time has stopped. I would invest in a good wilderness photography book. You'd get a lot better instructions there.

Dorado, thanks for the much appreciated input!


Here's one that I took this week...

QuoteOriginally posted by S2 Bowstrings:
Dorado, thanks for the much appreciated input!


Here's one that I took this week...


   

Oh not a problem. Glad I can help. About framing the shot. This picture you have. The subject it taking a shot off to the right and you have him framed in the center of the shot. If you were to have him on the left of the shot it would add a little more life to him. A centered subject is fine but playing with positioning can add just a little more to it. You might be able to see it here. Hard to do much with it, But you can probably see what I'm talking about. In (1) He looks interested in something in the distance, while in (2) he looks bored of everything else.
   1)  
  2)  

Thanks Dorado,
Yeah I know exactly what you mean. Many of these are for my Facebook cover pic, so I wanted the subject in the center. The profile pic covers the left and I can't always get the subject in far the right.

Here's a couple of Staci in our favorite hunting area. A few images are still with phones and point and shoots. Just depends on how much hunting time we have on that specific day...

   

 

Mash the button a lot and then mash it some more.

Photography....so much things go into it!!!

Your on the right foot.....shoot in M stay in M, your be a happy camper down the line!!

Come on Riley! Share those images of yours!!!    

Details of the experience help to tell the story, and make good memories. On a recent hunt, we had gobs of hummingbirds, and 2 of them were nice enough to land on my bow that was hanging on a hook.

Yesterday, I was out stumping, and the cloud formations were interesting, so I tried to capture the scene and include bow and quiver. I used a free HDR (high dynamic range) program to accentuate the clouds.

Don't be afraid to include different aspects of animals that you see. We have all seen lots of whitetail deer flags, but how many take photos?


In short, try and think outside of the box when you have camera in hand.

Nice pictures!

Very interesting thread, looking forward to seeing, reading, and learning more on this subject.
Traditional archery and photography just seem to go hand in hand.
Eric

That's funny, I usually see deer the same way when hunting!

Jeremy

Playing around with different angles on the subject...

Scenery, from sea level to 13,000ft...

You're lucky. You live in one of the most photogenic places on earth. You'll have lots of opportunities to improve.

Well what I do, (im no pro photographer or anything, I just like taking photos) I try to tell a short story with every photo.  Its hard tell what is a "good" photo now days because majority take a photo then edit it so much that its no longer a photo.  Since your shooting on M, figure out the DOF and aperature settings.  That to me is what makes a good photo great and what always makes a great photo a crappy one.  hahaha, I dont know ryan, just take a lot of photos!!!!  

 

From the photo above, I wanted that photo that describes the early morning hunt on the lavas.  Waiting for the goats to come off and then beginning the stalk.  The time of day was 6:15, the mountain was well lit and there were very harsh shadows.  I used a aperture of 28 because I wanted most of the photo in focus (shooting in a low mm also helps with it).  Because of the harsh shadows I bounced the flash off of the left side off of a rock.  It took most of the harsh stuff away but not fully, a reflector would have been nice but thats just too much to carry.  UV and Polarizing filter on to get correct colors.  I certainly could go back in and edit the shadows out and what not but personally I dont like to do that.  

Hope that helps a bit!!!  

Aloha!

QuoteOriginally posted by J. Holden:
That's funny, I usually see deer the same way when hunting!

Jeremy

Up until recently, I thought deer had 1 brown eye, a white mohawk and ran backwards!  

In the end, good photography is subjective more than anything....and that's why Riley's advice to take lots of photos (and why most photographers do so as well) is most important.  That "one" photo is often as much a result of right place, right time, and being able to take advantage of it, regardless of all the "planning" one can do.  That's not to say that we shouldn't learn to "shoot" photo's right in the first place....just like hunting, you need to have those skills too, so that when that magic moment "happens", your actions become automatic.  

I think in terms of consistent success, the above is more important than the type of camera you pack around.  Being able to frame and shoot a picture, at a moments notice.   And taking a lot of pics to better your odds that "one" will be great.

The biggest advent in photography in recent years has been the digital transition....being able to take lots of pics is a huge advantage.  That, and the equipment is so much better, and the editing abilities has given all of us the potential to be great photographers, with a little bit of knowledge.   Nothing wrong with good point and shoot cameras anymore....and you often need a lot less time to "capture" that shot than with full-sized stuff....and you tend to carry smaller cameras a lot more.  

I think your photos are great, Ryan....keep it up.    

One thing I've always liked, and to me, takes more practice, is good black and white photography.   Composition is much more important when you don't have all that color and grandure to help "wow" your audience.  On the other hand, B&W stuff can evoke a lot of emotions directed more towards the subjective focus.

In the end, good photography is subjective more than anything....and that's why Riley's advice to take lots of photos (and why most photographers do so as well) is most important.  That "one" photo is often as much a result of right place, right time, and being able to take advantage of it, regardless of all the "planning" one can do.  That's not to say that we shouldn't learn to "shoot" photo's right in the first place....just like hunting, you need to have those skills too, so that when that magic moment "happens", your actions become automatic.  

I think in terms of consistent success, the above is more important than the type of camera you pack around.  Being able to frame and shoot a picture, at a moments notice.   And taking a lot of pics to better your odds that "one" will be great.

The biggest advent in photography in recent years has been the digital transition....being able to take lots of pics is a huge advantage.  That, and the equipment is so much better, and the editing abilities has given all of us the potential to be great photographers, with a little bit of knowledge.   Nothing wrong with good point and shoot cameras anymore....and you often need a lot less time to "capture" that shot than with full-sized stuff....and you tend to carry smaller cameras a lot more.  

I think your photos are great, Ryan....keep it up.    

One thing I've always liked, and to me, takes more practice, is good black and white photography.   Composition is much more important when you don't have all that color and grandure to help "wow" your audience.  On the other hand, B&W stuff can evoke a lot of emotions directed more towards the subjective focus.