Here are a few items that have worked well for me and will save you a bit of money. I’ve added a very low-end price of each “real deal” item if you were to buy it from a photo supplier.

Aluminum foil and cardboard: If you enjoy shooting close-ups of flowers or insects, a little aluminum foil wrapped around a piece of cardboard makes a sturdy reflector. This simple trick provides a neat way to lighten the shadows on your subject. The real deal will cost in the $40 range.

Garbage bag: Plastic garbage bags can be used to cover your camera and lens in the rain. They come in many sizes so it won’t be hard to find one to suit your needs. I carry a large one so I can lay it down to stay relatively clean while shooting at ground level. In a pinch, a big bag serves as a raincoat as well. The real deal will cost you $20 at the very least.

Umbrella: A small compact umbrella can be used to diffuse harsh light. A white or clear umbrella works best. The real deal will cost you approximately $95.

Pipe insulation and duct tape: Wrap the legs of your tripod in foam pipe insulation and secure it with duct tape. These days duct tape is available in many different colours and patterns. This will help when handling your tripod on cold days and will provide a cushion while walking with the tripod slung over your shoulder. The real deal will usually cost between $50 and $65, or even more.

Beans, cloth and velcro: A homemade bean bag can be made from these items combined with a few sewing skills. Use it to support your lens when shooting from your car window. The real deal will cost you $50 at least.

If you’re lucky, you may have everything on this list kicking around your home. If you have any tips of your own to share please do.

We’ve all been in situations where the subject we want to photograph is in contrasting light and we fail to record the scene as we see it. It can be very frustrating when the highlights are blown out or the shadows are extremely dark and the camera just can’t seem to record them both accurately. 

HDR imagery allows you to get the best out of the shadows and highlights of an image. Photomatix gives us the tools to use multiple exposures of the same scene and combine them into one image. The end result is rather extraordinary as you’ll see for yourself after using the program a few times.

I recently took a step back and revisited the basics with my own personal photography and exercised my exposure technique on a few Ring-billed gulls and crows at a local park. I like to photograph gulls in practice due to their white plumage and crows because of their black plumage—both can be tricky to expose properly in changing light and nearly impossible on bright sunny days when the sun is at its highest.

Some of my exposures were a little off so it was Photomatix to the rescue. As you can see in the image above, I bracketed three different exposures of a gull that I purposely created in camera with the plan of merging them in Photomatix. One image was shot at a normal exposure, one underexposed and the third overexposed. When I imported all three exposures into Photomatix and merged them into one image, I ended up with a HDR photograph.

Photomatix is very easy to use and is intended for those photographers new to HDR imaging. The software includes information on bracketed photographs, a video tutorial and user manual.

It also allows you to take your image one step further into the creative process by allowing you to adjust contrast, colour, brightness, sharpness and more goodies that I’ll let you discover on your own.

HDR software like Photomatix are tools that can be used by professionals and amateurs and will certainly find a place in your digital photography workflow. You won’t be disappointed by downloading Photomatix Essentials 3 today.

Have you been thinking of creating prints from you digital camera files? Wouldn’t it be great to have those images on your website or blog enlarged and displayed in your home or office?

If the answer is “yes” to these questions, you’ll want to calibrate your monitor for the best possible colours and contrast to really make those prints pop!

When you buy a computer monitor, the default settings are not always accurate. In fact, two identical brands and models can produce different color schemes right out of the box, so you really can’t be sure that the colours you see while editing a photo will be the same colours that appear when you actually print a photo. Monitors also fade over time, and ambient light can cause subtle changes in the colours you’re viewing, making editing a frustrating experience.

When I first started printing photos at my local imaging lab, I was always disappointed with the results. At first, I was blaming the lab for my over- and under-saturated prints until I realized my monitor wasn’t calibrated. When I calibrated it, all my photos looked the same on other calibrated monitors and I had to apologize to the folks at the local lab. With a calibrated monitor, my images now look just as I expected after printing.

So, if you’d like to take your imaging to the next level and are serious about producing accurate colours, you’ll need to purchase a quality colourimeter. A colourimeter is a tool used by many colour management experts and serious photographers around the world that measures different wavelengths of colour. One of these colourimeters available to digital photographers, web designers and graphic illustrators is the X-rite i1 Display Pro available at B&H Photo.

This award winning calibration tool works with LCD, LED, Standard and Wide Gamut monitors. This small fist sized device is placed directly on your monitor and is extremely easy to use. The X-rite i1 Display Pro comes with software that can be used two ways—a basic mode suitable for wildlife and nature photographers like me, and an advanced mode for professional designers and illustrators.

In the basic setting, calibration requires no colour knowledge at all. Just attach the device to the monitor and let it do all the work. In the advanced setting you can adjust contrast and gamut and save your custom settings for future projects. You can even add or extract colours from your own images.

Calibrating your monitor can be something that’s added to your computer maintenance schedule and should be done every couple of months, even if you have the best monitor out there.

For more information on calibrating a monitor visit: www.xritephoto.com.

They remain elusive until the sun begins its quiet descent behind a stand of trees. It’s nearing 5 p.m.; air bubbles appear in the still waters and move in the direction of the lodge. I’m anticipating some great photography as I sit motionless on the banks of the pond. My camera’s mounted on a tripod and ready to shoot. Suddenly, head, eyes, ears and nose peek out from the chilly depths. I’m about to photograph a true Canadian icon—the North American beaver.

The light’s perfect for photography at this time of day and I spend 20 minutes enjoying the beavers as they go about their business weaving and jamming branches into strategic places throughout the dam or on the lodge.

Tranquille Creek, located just outside of Kamloops near the Tranquille Wildlife Management area is a birder’s paradise, day hikers dream and for me, a beaver watcher’s extravaganza. If you’re looking to get in touch with nature and spend some time exercising your photography skills, Tranquille Creek’s the place. I’ve often walked the trails in the area and always enjoyed the antics of the beavers. It didn’t take long to realize that this was the spot for early morning and late evening beaver watching.

Beavers influence lakes and rivers to meet their own needs. If an agreeable pond isn’t available, they’ll make one. Trees are cut, dragged to the water and pushed into place. Gaps and holes are filled with mud and stone. Only when the water level has risen to the height desired is a lodge built. Living space is made above water level and emergency, or escape, holes are made under. Occasionally, beavers will forgo the lodge and simply dig holes in pond or stream banks.

In autumn, the beavers begin the harvest to get them through colder winters with an adequate food supply. They anchor bits of tree in underwater channels, leaving them jammed into the mud until needed.

I’ve experienced some amazing feats by the resident beavers at Tranquille Creek, but one stands out clearly in my mind. One of the larger beavers studied a towering tree and a regular trail it used to get back and forth to the water. It then proceeded to cut the tree down. To my amazement, the top of the tree fell exactly on the beaten path made by the beavers. Could this be skill or just luck? Well, I’ll leave that to be answered by the experts, but I must say it was quite the spectacle.

During my beaver watching, I need to be still and quiet as these Canadian icons spook easily. It is however, a true joy to watch them. I highly recommend that you visit this area, take a few photos and watch for beaver signs along the trail.

This moment of improvisation really helped in making a good photo. Lens support is the key that every nature photographer should know about and put into practice. Stabilizating your lens and supporting your camera can be done with a tripod, a monopod, a window mount, a bean bag or—you guessed it—an old fence post.

Back in the 35mm film days, I experimented with all kinds of tripods and often purchased cheap plastic models until I realized the importance of investing in quality. A good quality tripod will improve your images, but it may take you some time to get into the habit of lugging one around, especially, if you’re the type of outdoor photographer that enjoys long hikes into the backcountry and owns a ton of gear. A monopod is a good alternative to the tripod if you want to try something a little lighter and you might be able to find one that doubles as a trekking pole, but a good rock solid tripod can’t be beat for serious image making.

If wildlife can be found along the roads in your area or you enjoy travelling to the mountain parks, a vehicle window mount or bean bag also does a great job of stabilizing your shots. My homemade bean bag is one of my favourite supports. I rest it on my car door with the window rolled down and it works like a charm. You can custom make your own with a little material, a Velcro enclosure and a couple pounds of beans.

Lens support will give you the most out of your expensive camera. It’ll allow creativity with long exposures, increase the sharpness of images and give you the time to slow down and focus on good composition and proper exposure techniques. Perhaps you’ll want to lock up your camera’s mirror and use a remote control during macro photography for even more detail. If this sounds like something you’d like to try you’ll definitely need a tripod.

Camera support is truly essential to good nature photography and the options are varied. Consider the kind of gear you own, the style of photography you enjoy and research the options available to you.
Good luck and good shooting!

Now that you have a few hundred, or even thousands, of digital images stored on your computer, you may be thinking of posting your work on the web. It can be a very exciting time for the photo enthusiast as there are many options available to you.

The first step in creating an online gallery is preparing your images. You wouldn’t want to display all the photographs you’ve taken, but rather only your very best. Edit out all your below average work. Remember that visitors to your online portfolio might only stay a moment or two, so it’s important to showcase those images that show off your personal style and creativity.

After the edit is complete and the portfolio images are all ready to go, it’s time to decide on the type of online presence you desire. Will it be a group gallery where you share a site with other photographers or do you want to stand alone with your own website? There are advantages to both.

Photo sharing sites like Flickr and 500px will include you with a community of professional and amateur photographers. On sites like these, your work can easily be critiqued by other users and in the case of 500px, by the editors as well. It’s important to note that sites where users can comment on your work are useful, albeit sometimes humbling. You may not always get the feedback you want, but constructive criticism can be beneficial in your growth as a photographer.

If you’d rather have your portfolio stand apart from the crowd, consider Zenfolio, Photoshelter or your very own custom website build by a designer. Zenfolio and Photoshelter offer almost everything you need to market and sell your photography. Both of them have great pre-designed themes to match your style, and they also help you back up your work. Backing up your files with these photo portfolio companies is a great idea, but make sure you back up your files at home for extra peace of mind.

Designing your own personal website is also a great idea. Are you familiar with WordPress blogs? Well, you can design a website with WordPress too. It’s easy to find a web host and download WordPress, or you can use the free hosted version of WordPress. You’ll have access to plenty of photo gallery themes that not only allow you to manage all your photos, but build a custom blog as well. Adding a blog to a site is an invaluable tool when it comes to keeping your visitors up–to-date with your work. A custom website gives you many options and it appears to be the way professional photographers are showcasing their work and communicating with their clients.

Take the time to research some of the online companies I’ve mentioned here. Many of them update their services frequently. No matter how you choose to display your photography, it’s a lot of fun for the everyday enthusiast and an important decision for working professionals.

If you’re in the market to purchase a new digital SLR, or ready to upgrade the one you already own, you’ll have to do a little research and find out what type of camera sensor is right for your style of shooting.

Camera manufacturers have created two kinds of sensors—full frame and cropped. The debate on what sensor is better has been ongoing for some time now, and it appears that some of the professional and serious photographers out there have both types of cameras in the gear bag. This proves that there is value in both of these sensors. Of course, buying two camera bodies is way too expensive for most of us, so let’s take a brief look at the differences to help you make a choice.

The full frame sensor is roughly the same size as the 35-mm film we used in the past. It takes high quality pictures, allows a wider angle of view, and offers the ability to use higher ISO values. The full frame sensor is physically larger in size and has less pixel density. This allows the camera to produce images with less noise, or grain as we used to say in the film days. This large sensor is great for wide angle landscapes or if you often find yourself trying to shoot moving subjects, like wildlife, in low light.

A camera with a 1.6x cropped sensor, also known as an APS-C sensor, has higher pixel density so it doesn’t produce the highest quality image at increased ISO levels. The trade-off however is the image crop factor. This allows your subject to appear much closer than if viewed through a full frame sensor. An APS-C sensor is great for bird and distant wildlife photography. For instance, if you have a 200-mm lens mounted on a small sensor you’ll be shooting at an effective 320-mm. A cropped sensor can be found on consumer and professional camera bodies with Canon and Nikon being among the current leaders in the industry.

This image of a California bighorn sheep was taken with a 1.6x cropped sensor camera. If I had used a full frame sensor camera, you would see much more of his body in the photograph.

Making the decision on what type of sensor would better suit your photography is one of the most important choices you’ll make as you research that new camera. Both sensors have their place in the camera body market, and if you’re lucky you’ll get the opportunity to try both. The light gathering qualities of the full frame sensor can really improve the detail and quality of your images, but you’ll love the extra reach available with the cropped sensor while trying to capture small birds and wildlife. This subject is rather extensive and I encourage you to learn what you can about the current camera bodies and the sensors that power them.

One of the great scenic roads in the area is the Red Rock Parkway. This 15 kilometre drive to Red Rock Canyon can provide a wide variety of creatures to photograph. Black bear, elk, coyote and white-tailed deer can be seen on a regular basis and you’re sure to come face to face with Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Grizzly, moose and cougar can also been viewed, but are less common. Wildlife is everywhere in the park and in addition to the Red Rock Parkway, a walk along Blakiston Creek, or a drive on the Akamina Parkway, are sure to produce great photographic opportunities.

The Rocky Mountain elk mating season has begun and will last into November as huge herds of elk move into the grasslands. The elk rut is a spectacular display of behaviour that cannot be missed. Although the Waterton elk are not as tame as the ones you might find in other national parks, the sights and sounds of bugling bull elk still abound in this breathtaking landscape. During fall and winter mule deer can be photographed in and around the town of Waterton. The deer have taken up residence near the town in order to avoid cougars and other predators. For the wildlife photographer an obvious benefit is being able to photograph big bucks that are accustomed to having people around. One mule deer hotspot appears to be Waterton Avenue running along the shore of Upper Waterton Lake.

Waterton Lakes National Park is a low-key destination that has much to offer the photographer. The wildlife can appear docile, but never forget they’re wild animals trying to survive. When travelling on foot carry bear spray, and while photographing from your vehicle keep a safe distance from wildlife and respect other visitors and park staff.

I recommend a visit before the end of November. But, no matter when you find the time, Waterton’s wildlife bonanza can be enjoyed throughout the year and should be included in your future wild outdoor adventures.

Photo by Peter Sulzle

As a wildlife photographer, I am always looking to capture as much detail as possible in my images. Along with composition and exposure, I look for sharpness. I like to see fine detail in a bird’s feather or each hair on a bear’s face clearly defined.

Several years ago, I came to the realization that images like this come from the quality of glass in the lens. I quit purchasing the latest camera models just for the sake of keeping up with the times. Unless a new model came out with features that suited my needs in the outdoors, I’d keep my money in the bank to invest in new glass.

Every year, the major camera manufacturers entice you with new camera bodies that offer the latest technology in digital photography. New and improved sensors, weather resistant seams, better focusing systems and video capabilities are only a few of the changes in today’s digital SLR.

The advancements are truly incredible, but will that new camera body actually improve the quality of your photography? Well, perhaps it will if you already own a high quality lens. If not, I would strongly suggest you invest your money in some new glass instead of that body upgrade.

Look into your camera manufacturer’s selection of lenses and you’ll notice lenses made for your everyday consumer and lenses made for serious photographers. You’ll notice a price jump in the high-end lenses as well, but if you’re serious about your images, the money will be well spent. When it comes to camera gear, you usually get what you pay for.

In general, the lenses you get in a camera kit do a good job, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you added a high-end lens to your arsenal, you wouldn’t be using that kit lens nearly as often. A high quality lens will give you better colour, less distortion, faster focusing, better clarity and contrast and give you the option of shooting at higher shutter speeds.

High-end lenses are also produced with higher quality materials than the amateur lenses. This is especially beneficial if you bring your camera into harsh conditions or if you travel with your camera gear.

Of course, the choice is yours on whether to upgrade your lens or your body. I’d suggest taking a serious look at your options before spending your hard earned money. I can say, however, that the joy of using really great photographic equipment will get you out there more and more. With quality equipment, you can concentrate on creating your images instead of worrying about your gear.

Photo by Peter Sulzle

Making the transition from using your camera in automatic mode to manual mode is the best thing you can do to improve your images. These days, every digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) and almost every compact point-and-shoot camera will allow you to create photographs manually.

Breaking free of your camera’s preset shooting modes will enable you to take control of light and make you a better photographer. It’s definitely a bit of a learning curve for those of you that simply point and shoot, but well worth the effort in the long run as you slowly become familiar with how your camera reacts to different exposure settings.

Inside your camera’s body is an image sensor that records your subject. Think of the image sensor as a digital version of film. Your job as a photographer is to control how much light reaches the sensor to obtain an accurate exposure. Sure, shooting in automatic mode does this all for you with decent results in good light, but as an outdoor photographer, light is constantly changing. This is where your skills at controlling the ISO speed, shutter speed and aperture size come into play.

The ISO setting controls how sensitive your image sensor is to light. For most DSLRs, this setting begins at 100 and can be set up to 3200 or higher. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive your camera becomes. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that image quality does drop when using higher ISO values. Experiment with your camera to see what is acceptable for your style of photography.

Your image sensor is covered by a shutter. Shutter speed will determine how long the sensor is exposed to light. The longer it’s kept open, the more light enters the camera. A shutter speed dial allows you to control this speed in fractions of a second. A fast shutter speed such as 1/500 second will freeze action—great for sports and wildlife on the move. A slow shutter speed like two seconds or even longer will blur moving areas of your landscape—great for creative scenes that include moving water.

Lastly, you’ll need to know how to control the aperture size. Like the shutter speed and ISO value, aperture is controlled by a dial on most cameras and controls the depth of field in your image. For example, if you set your aperture to f/2.8 you will blur out the background of your subject—popular for portraits. By setting your aperture to the other end of the scale such as f/22, you’re ready to capture every detail of that grand landscape.

Consult your user manual and become familiar with how to operate your manual tools. Learning to control these three basic manual settings on your camera will increase your enjoyment of photography and make you a better photographer.

Follow Peter’s blog at www.petersulzle.zenfolio.com.