Photography Workshop
April 16, 2011 - Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Tom Carlisle, Photographer
Learn Some Simple Rules
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Get up early… stay out late…avoid the mid-day unless you are doing bird photography or photography where you are prepared to deal with the "contrasty" light
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Camera and subject movement is most often your enemy; although it can work for you
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Your default approach should be to use a tripod or monopod or “be the tripod”
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Many bright, blue-sky days are not good for photography
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Mid-day light usually has too much contrast
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Neither film nor digital camera sensors can handle the huge “exposure” variability (contrast and dynamic range) that our eyes and brain can handle…. of up to 20 f stops. Films can handle maybe 4 f stops and digital maybe 5 f stops
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Put the sun at your back, except when you don’t
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Read the camera manual…even Nikon manuals are useful these days!
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Manage high contrast by avoiding most of it and managing the rest technically and artistically
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Learn to love overcast, fog (even light rain) and stormy transitions
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Learn how to preview images on your camera’s LCD screen and learn how to interpret the histogram
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And by the way…read the camera manual
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And use a tripod or monopod
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