| It is possible for nineteen dollars and ninety five | | | | artifacts show up in the smooth areas of the |
| cents plus the cost of the paper and framing to | | | | picture, a software called PureImage will remove |
| create a work of art worthy of hanging on your | | | | the artifacts while preserving the edge sharpness. |
| wall. All it takes is a little planning, a five to eight | | | | When photographing nature subjects, use a |
| megapixel camera and a good printer . Today | | | | smaller f stop like f4.0 or f5.6 in order to insure a |
| there are digital cameras that will equal the quality | | | | good depth of field. Many types of light will |
| of film cameras, but they are quite expensive. I | | | | produce good pictures, but the tried and true |
| know you advanced photographers who swear | | | | early morning/late afternoon is foolproof. Other |
| by large format will be the first to state that | | | | successful lighting is shooting into the sun |
| large format contains more detail and less grain | | | | (bracketing is a must), using a sunset as a source |
| that 35mm and you are right. But we SLR | | | | and skim lighting. Use any trick to improve the |
| photographers have to go with the camera that | | | | dramatic values: framing the main subject for |
| we have and work within that format. | | | | increasing the apparent depth or darkening the |
| Professional photographers these days enlarge | | | | edges to bring attention to the main subject. |
| their photo image files to wall size and get | | | | Emphasize the vastness of a natural feature by |
| beautiful results. | | | | including a diminutive figure in the composition or |
| A five to eight mega pixel digital camera set on | | | | with the use of a super wide angle lens. |
| 50 or 100 ISO can be enlarged to 18 x 24 | | | | Telephoto lenses are often used in nature |
| without showing pixels or losing sharpness. | | | | photography, even for scenic shots. The flattening |
| Save the image in a RAW or TIFF file. If a JPEG | | | | properties of the telephoto lens compresses |
| file is necessary, choose the extra fine option. I | | | | distance and plays up fog and mist for an eerie |
| recommend a compact flash card with at least | | | | effect. Of course, these long lenses are invaluable |
| 512MB of memory. Even though the digital file is | | | | when photographing animals in their natural setting. |
| forgiving when printing out a slightly over or | | | | Some zoos and animal parks contain enough |
| underexposed image, bracketing the average | | | | greenery to help the telephoto lens fool the eye |
| exposure is a wise precaution. The greatest | | | | into thinking that these animals are in the wild. |
| danger in an overexposed image file is loss of | | | | They are also useful in isolating an interesting |
| detail in the highlights. An underexposed image file | | | | composition when getting closer is not an option. |
| will lose definition in the shadows. By bracketing | | | | A vacation is an ideal time to capture beautiful |
| the image, some image software makes it | | | | scenics. A light tripod that hangs under your |
| possible to exchange portions of the images for a | | | | camera case or one of the new pod bags is not |
| perfect final exposure. Digital files act more like | | | | too heavy a burden and will improve the |
| transparency film, requiring an exposure within on | | | | sharpness of your photographs. Remember that |
| half stop of normal. Do everything you can to | | | | all hand held pictures contain some percentage of |
| prevent the image from softening. Clean your lens | | | | blurriness, depending on the shutter speed. A |
| immediately before use, keep the lens out of the | | | | tripod enables you to choose a small aperture |
| rays of the direct sun and use a tripod if available. | | | | with no penalty. Take the time to compose your |
| In camera sharpening is not as effective as after | | | | photograph, paying attention to vertical lines and |
| processing sharpening in the computer. The same | | | | how the areas are balanced within the frame. Run |
| goes for adding contrast to the basic camera | | | | your eyes around the outside of the view finder |
| settings. A well balanced color setting will make it | | | | to check that everything is included safely. |
| easier to print perfectly. Since digital images are | | | | Landscape photography is challenging but |
| extra sensitive to color balance changes in light, a | | | | rewarding if one comes out good enough for the |
| camera with a custom white balance is a plus. If | | | | wall. We just may make you sign it! |