ART247 Digital Nature Photography

Color or B&W

Black and white photography has always been one of my favorite styles of photography. The absence of color leaves more to the imagination and makes pictures seem more special to me. Not every photo looks as amazing in black and white as it does in color and vice versa.

This Video was an excellent resource when deciding if my photos should be color or not. The author discusses the pros and cons to each style as well as what to keep in mind to shoot for a specific style.

The biggest thing that is important when deciding between black and white and color is what the lighting situation is for your photo. The author emphasizes that lighting is used for emphasis in black and white photos so it has to be exactly what you need in order to get a stunning piece. If you don’t have a subject that is emphasized by the lighting then color may be the better way to go.

Alison Pollack

I stumbled upon This article while on reddit about photographer Alison Pollack and her macro photos of fungi. I really liked learning about her and seeing her photos because fungi pictures are so much fun.

I love to take pictures of all of the mushrooms I come across while out hiking and exploring. The amount of detail in one little thing is just so cool. Alison does a fantastic job of capturing the most detailed fungau from a perspective that not many people even think to find.

My favorite photograph of hers is the third photo on this link. All the little blue fungi lined up on rotting wood. You can see how detailed each fungi is but you can also still see how delicate they are. She doesn’t make the fungus seem larger than life, just allows the viewer to see them better and with more appreciation.

Lightroom for beginners

I found This video about Lightroom for beginners. I thought that this was a very helpful video because the authour detailed some very useful tricks that I used while editing my own photos.

The biggest thing that the author stresses in this video is to shoot and edit in RAW images to get the best results. Before now I never even knew raw photography was a thing.

The most helpful thing I gained from this video is that I shouldn’t rely on the contrast slider too much. It’s the first slider I always go to crank up and a careful balance with contrast along with the shadows and highlights will do more for my photos than contrast alone.

Nat geo stars

I found This article from National Geographic about brilliant photographs of the night sky while camping. Camping is one of my favorite hobbies and the night sky is one of the most astonishing sights to see.

I really like this article because it displays how many different ways you can stage a photo of the night sky. With a little planning you can completely change the feeling of the photo.

My favorite photo from this series is 17. The way that the strong diagonal of the Milky Way galaxy points to the intense blueness of the tent keeps the view in the center of the picture and is truly wonderful. I wish I was there.