John has been a professional nature photographer since the early 1970s. His work has been published in many publications and books, including National Geographic, Nature's Best, National Wildlife, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer, and many others. In 1997 he received the first-ever Outstanding Photographer Award given by NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association). Nikon chose him as a featured Legend Behind the Lens in 2002, while Microsoft designated him an Icon of Imaging in 2006. He has been part of Epson's Stylus Pro fine art print makers group since 2001.
John has published six books on nature photography, plus five ebooks on Photoshop and Lightroom. He has photographed on every continent, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from Provence to Patagonia. Previously he used a variety of film cameras, primarily 35mm and 6x17cm, but switched completely to digital capture several years ago.
I ran across a photo of Gary McGhee's while my friend and I were looking at some photos for fun one day. I like his pictures because they are so serene and peaceful. On his website he says, "Photography has really opened my eyes to the world we live in with 4am rises followed by a two hour drive to places like Snowdonia National Park in North Wales and the Lake District National Park in North West England. I hope that my photographs reflect some of the beautiful scenery and light that I have encountered during the magical dawn and dusk light".
The second article I read from Popular Photography is titled "Shoot For the Moon". The author Ian Plant discusses his reasons for using the moon in so many of his pictures as well as his techniques for shooting.
He says," The moon is one of nature's power elements, instantly drawing attention and establishing a primal connection with viewers. I'm always looking for way to incorporate the moon into my nature photography-- it adds mood, drama, and compositional interest". Moon photography falls into three basic types, according to Plant; You can use it as a subject in its own right, as a secondary element with other subjects or as a light source for outdoor scenes.
When shoot the moon in whatever sense it is essential to use a tripod and an electronic cable release to make sure that your pictures are vibration-free and as sharp as possible. Long exposures of the moon will create motion blur that will start to show up is exposures longer than 1/15 sec if you are shooting with a telephoto lens. Anything longer than 1 sec will blur with just about any lens due to the fact that the moon is always moving as is the earth you are standing on.
The first article I read in Popular Photography is titled "The World Below". Written by Jad Davenport, this article is all about the new advances in underwater photography as well as some tips for getting the lighting how you would like it and a few other tidbits of information. Davenport refers underwater as "the most hazardous and difficult shooting environment there is".
In shooting underwater photos there are many things to be aware of. First, shooting underwater, especially salt water which is particularly corrosive, will mess with your electronics in less time than you would imagine. Also there is the amount of pressure as you go down into the water. (Think of how your ears feel when you dive into the deep end of a pool. Now multiply that exponentially to get the amount of pressure in the depths of the sea.) To fix these problems manufactures have produced pressure- proof equipment that span the entire spectrum of camera gear. From ones made of plastic, polycarbonate to top-of-the-line aluminum for DSLRs.
Another obstacle that must be overcome is lighting. As you get deeper into the ocean some colors, such as red, are not visible. So getting color into coral and fish can be quite a challenge. "It's important to have a little light in order to add color and detail in an otherwise monochromatic scene" says photographer and marine conservationist Brian Skerry. He uses a heavy-duty Hartenburger 250 TTL strobes on articulated arms connected via sync cavles to his Nikon D3X and D3S bodies in aluminum Subal housings. Even the most powerful strobes lose about 1 stop of output for every foot they travel through. Sometimes there can even be too much light as well. Sometimes simply dialing your stobes down or moving them away from your subject help get the right balance of light.
The last topic covered in the article is titled "Macro Management". Here Davenport discusses different shots that are usually taken in underwater photography. He says, "Since you can generally get enough visibility for telephoto shots, most underwater photography is either wide-angle or macro".
