Digital Nature Photography, 2nd Edition

Digital Nature Photography, 2nd Edition

by John Barbara Gerlach
Released April 2015
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781317805137

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Book description

Identifying a beautiful image in nature is easy, but capturing it is often challenging. To truly seize the essence of a photograph shot out of the studio and in the world requires an artistic eye and impeccable set of photographic techniques. John and Barbara Gerlach have been teaching photographers how to master the craft of photographing nature and the outdoors through their workshops and best-selling books for more than twenty years. 　Now, equipped with brand new images to share and skills to teach, this celebrated photo team is sharing their latest lessons in the second edition of Digital Nature Photography.

Notable revisions in this new edition include introducing the concepts of focus stacking and HDR, as well as expanded discussions of multiple exposure, wireless flash, RGB histograms, live view, shutter priority with auto ISO, hand-held shooting techniques, and the author’s equipment selections. The inspiring imagery in this book covers a broader range of subjects than before including ghost towns, the night sky, animals, and sports, in addition to the classic nature photographs we expect from this very talented author team. This book is a comprehensive guide to one of the broadest subjects in photography, explained and dymystified by two respected masters.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
    1. Our Formula for Successful Images
    2. Writing Books
  8. Chapter 1 Cameras and Accessories
    1. Camera System Choices
    2. Key Camera Features
    3. Sensor Size
    4. Camera Batteries and Chargers
    5. Memory Options
    6. Avoiding Memory Card Problems
    7. Protect the Camera
    8. Camera Strap, Cable Release, and Attached Lens Cap
    9. Your Camera System
  9. Chapter 2 Choosing and Using Lenses
    1. Lens Makers
    2. Third-party Lenses
    3. How Lenses Work
    4. Maximum Aperture
    5. Fast Lens Advantages
    6. Focal Length
    7. Image-stabilization
    8. Lens Choices
    9. We Prefer Zoom Lenses
    10. Wide-angle Lenses
    11. Standard Lenses
    12. Telephoto Lenses
    13. Super-telephoto Lenses
    14. Tilt/Shift Lenses
    15. Macro Lenses
    16. Teleconverters
    17. Lens Accessories
    18. Consider Your Lens Needs Carefully
  10. Chapter 3 Mastering Exposure
    1. Exposure Guidelines
    2. JPEGs
    3. RAW
    4. Exposure Strategy Summary
    5. Exposure Basics
    6. Law of Reciprocity
    7. Exposure Aids
    8. Understanding the Camera’s Exposure Meter
    9. Autobracketing
    10. You Can’t Meter Everything!
    11. Summary
  11. Chapter 4 Conquer Extreme Contrast with HDR
    1. A Little History on Solving High Contrast
    2. A Better Way to Overcome Contrast
    3. Single Image HDR
    4. Still More Processing
  12. Chapter 5 Shoot Sharp Images
    1. Start with a Clean Lens
    2. Handheld Photography Techniques
    3. When You Do Not Need a Tripod
    4. Tripods
    5. Tripod Head Accessories
    6. Sharp Shooting Techniques
    7. Focus Accurately
  13. Chapter 6 Focus Stack for more depth of field and Sharper Images
    1. Tilt/Shift Lenses
    2. Focus Stacking to the Rescue
    3. Focus Stacking Advantages and Disadvantages
    4. Software Choices
    5. The Focus Stacking Process
    6. Lens Choices
    7. Processing the Stack of Images
    8. Conclusion
  14. Chapter 7 The Magic of Light
    1. The Qualities of Light
    2. Bottom Line
  15. Chapter 8 Close-up and Macro
    1. Magnification Definition
    2. Ways to Focus Closer
    3. Shooting Sharp Images
    4. Ideal Close-up Light
    5. Summary
  16. Chapter 9 The Power of Flash
    1. Flash Advantages
    2. Flash Basics
    3. Getting Started with Flash
    4. Selecting Your Off-Camera Flash System
    5. Getting in Sync with Flash Sync
    6. Multiple Flash
    7. Conclusion
  17. Chapter 10 Compose Pleasing Images
    1. Let’s Be Honest
    2. Compositional Guidelines
    3. There Are No Rules!
  18. Chapter 11 The Night Sky
    1. Photo Equipment
    2. Focusing
    3. Stars as Points of Light
    4. Star Trails
    5. Process the Stack of Star Images
    6. Northern Lights
  19. Chapter 12 Our Digital Office
    1. The Evolution of our Business
    2. Editing and Storing Images
    3. How We Edit Our Images
    4. Storing Images
    5. Software Choices
    6. Conclusion
  20. Resources
    1. Custom Camera Equipment for Outdoor Photographers
    2. Photography Workshops
    3. Photo Stacking Software
    4. Books
    5. Websites
    6. Magazines
    7. Photographic Equipment
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Digital Nature Photography, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): John Barbara Gerlach
  • Release date: April 2015
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781317805137