Technique

ANIMAL PORTRAITS

Look this way big fella! It's like herding cats... I tend to think of wildlife portraits as finding the essence of an animal. Just like human portraits, taking animal portraits follows a lot of the same rules with a few major differences. Whilst you'll have the [...]

THE BEAUTY OF BACK-LIGHT

A rufous-tailed hummingbird in Costa Rica Back-light is, as you might expect, where the light on the subject is predominantly from behind. What this does is produce a dramatic effect, outlining the subject in rim light. All the more stunning if that light is warm in [...]

TEXTURE

I don't know how other photographers describe texture, but I always think of it as visually representing what you would feel if you reached into the photograph and touched the surface of the subject. By the way, don't do this to an elephant! Speaking of elephants, [...]

STUNNING SUNSETS

There's something incredibly evocative about the colours at sunset and sunrise. (In fact, I wrote a whole article a while ago about it for Landscape Photography Magazine) In this blog post, I've collected a few thoughts about what I look for when creating a good [...]

By |2019-04-18T18:35:57+01:0011 Apr 2019|Africa, Composition, France, Kenya, Landscapes, Sunsets, Technique, Tips|

CHIAROSCURO

"What's that?" I hear you say. Chiaroscuro is an Italian word which literally means "bright-dark". It's an artistic term used to describe the use of strong contrasts between light and dark areas to enhance the 3D modelling of the subject and create drama. And I love [...]

CLUTTER: THE ENEMY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION

A good photograph must grab the viewer's attention. That usually means that the subject of the photo mustn't have to fight with a lot of other distracting stuff in the frame. If there's one thing that kills a photo immediately, it's having a cluttered background. The eye likes things [...]

How To Prepare and Pack For a Photography Safari to Africa

I'm writing this article because I remember the mixture of excitement and bewilderment at tackling my first African photography safari in 2008. What to take? What to leave at home? What to prepare? What clothing, money, insurance, visas? All these questions and more I'll attempt to answer here. Going away on [...]

By |2022-12-10T18:59:33+00:006 Apr 2015|Africa, Equipment, Kenya, Lions, Technique, Tips, Wildlife, Workshops & safaris|

How to use Auto ISO

Auto ISO is something that, until I wrote this article, I simply didn't use. Now I find it indispensable: the ability to use ISO as a third control (in addition to aperture and shutter speed) that automatically adjusts based on the available light - particularly in manual exposure mode - [...]

By |2022-12-05T18:29:35+00:001 Apr 2015|ISO, Magazine articles, Magazines, Technique, Tips, Wildlife|

Is Professional Photography Gear Worth The Money?

In this short article for Landscape Photography Magazine (when it had a wildlife photography section), I contemplate whether pro gear really is worth the money. You can download the PDF for free here: LPM Is Pro Gear Really Worth The Money? The latest pro-specification DSLRs are bristling with features that [...]

By |2022-12-05T18:29:37+00:0031 Mar 2015|Africa, Equipment, ISO, Kenya, Magazine articles, Magazines, Technique, Tips, Wildlife|

Bird Photography

In this article for Landscape Photography Magazine (when it had a wildlife photography section) I looked at how to get the best out of bird photography. You can download a PDF of the full article for free here: LPM Bird Photography I was a reluctant birder. It took my first [...]

By |2019-04-05T13:22:55+01:0031 Mar 2015|Birds, Magazine articles, Magazines, Technique, Tips, Wildlife|
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