OUTDOOR DIGITAL NORTON'S PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK How To Shoot Like a Pro Voyageur Press First published in 2010 by Voyageur Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Frontispiece: Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA Marine iguana and sea lion, Fernandina Island, Copyright © 2010 by Boyd Norton Galapagos National All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this Park, Ecuador. Shot publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher. with a lO-22mm lens. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or Publisher, who also disclaims any liability incurred Title page, main: in connection with the use of this data or specific details. lake Baikal in south- We recognize, further, that some words, model names, and designations mentioned herein are the property central Siberia, Russia, of the trademark holder. We use them for identification purposes only. This is not an official publication. in misty morning light. Voyageur Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. For details write to Special Sales Manager at MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Title page, inset: Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA. Close-up detail of bark and wood of To find out more about our books, visit us online at www.voyageurpress.com. bristlecone pine, library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mt. Evans, Colorado. Shot with a lOOmm Norton, Boyd. [Outdoor digital photography handbook] macro lens. Boyd Norton's outdoor digital photography handbook: : how to shoot like a pro / Boyd Norton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7603-3298-6 (sb : alk. paper) 1. Outdoor photography. 2. Nature photography. 3. Photography-Digital techniques. I. Title. II. Title: Outdoor digital photography handbook. TR659.5.N6552010 778.7'I-dc22 2009023211 Edited by Danielle Ibister Designed by Cindy Samargia Laun Cover designed by Matthew Simmons Design Manager: LeAnn Kuhlmann Printed in China For Barbara, who has shared in most of my adventures-and survived. Voyageur Press has published a number of my books, and the folks here-Michael Dregni and Danielle Ibister-have been great to work with. I'd like to thank a longtime friend, the very talented photographer Jim Griggs, for his valuable help in some of the technical parts of the book. And a special thanks to my lovely and patient wife, Barbara, who endured the long days (and many nights) when I was sequestered in my office writing this and other books. Introduction 8 CHAPTER 1 Digital Basics 20 CHAPTER 2 Jt's All AbouUight 32 CHAPTER 3 Dynamics of Pictures 4A CHAPTER 4 In-the-Field Workflow 66 CHAPTER 5 Creative Use of Lens_es 76 CHAPTER 6 Expanding Your CreatMty 88 CHAPTER 7 Into the BoondDcks 100 I I II IIIII CHAPTER 8 Landscape and ScenicPhotograpby 118 CHAPTER 9 After th_e Shoot 136 CHAPTER 10 l:IelpfuLJjps_aod Tricks _152 CHAPTER 11 Dealing wilb Mixed Media 184 CHAPTER 12 The Einal Image 192 Resources _ 20A Index 205 About tbe Author _ 208 INTRODUCTION Back in the early 1990s, when digital cards-also require electricity. As time went This is one of the rarest photography first came to our atten on, these problems were alleviated by the animals in the world, the tion, digital imaging seemed like invention of better, longer-lasting camera Baikal seal called nerpa, something that was too far off in the future batteries and storage devices. With such great found only at Lake Baikal to be of much use. Early digital cameras were improvements in such a short period of time, in central Siberia. These, strictly for studio use, tethered by wire to a it's obvious that, in the future, things will the world's only fresh computer. The sensors weren't all that good, continue to get better and equipment even water seals, are extremely and there were predictions that it would be more reliable. shy and difficult to get a very long time before digital photography I've been publishing my photos in maga close to. I had made many could match the resolution of film. zines and books for more than forty years, trips to Baikal in the past, We now know that the technology has and until a couple of years ago, all of these shooting film, and this made some amazing advances. Chief among images were created on film. Old habits die was the first time I used them are small, high-capacity storage devices hard. I think film. And I love the emulsions digital-allowing me to flash memory cards-and high-resolution image that I have tested so thoroughly because they check the images soon sensors. Together, these advances have made match my way of seeing the natural world after shooting. Shot on digital photography truly portable for use in the around me. a lO-megapixel DSLR field-in other words, outdoor photography. So it wasn't easy for me to take the (ISO set at 400) with a My own transition to digital photography plunge into digital photography. Or, as an 100-400mm IS lens and was slower and later than most, partly because old film-shooting friend calls it, "going over a l.4x extender, giving me I spend so much time in the boondocks of the to the Dark Side." (He has, by the way, now an effective 900mm lens world. Why was that important? My major switched to digital.) (with the 1.6 multiplier of concerns had to do with the electronics and A couple of factors made me switch. One the sensor). electrical needs for digital. It's not always pos had to do with the improvements in digital sible to charge batteries in the rainforests of technology. Today's cameras are capable of Borneo or Peru. And storage devices, such as creating images of very high quality-high portable hard drives and laptop computers enough to suit the demands of picture books needed for uploading images from flash and magazines. 9