Question for the nature and wildlife shooters

[factoryphoto]

Hi everyone,
I have been shooting sports photography for a while now.. Ive never really shot any night time or outdoor stuff.. Ive been browsing some of the photos on fredmiranda.com and I am simply blown away with his and some of the other people on there's work. My question is HOW? lol how are they getting there pictures of clouds and stuff so different from the naked eye? I shoot nothing but motocross, I ride,race and love it and make a pretty good living doing photography,resumes, pvt shoots,races ect... Thing is I just purchased a new home and I was to decorate the place with my own photos... Ive never read a whole lot about photography just sports shooting... So I have no clue when it comes to shooting sunsets, mountain ranges.. lakes..night shooting ect... Can any of you give me some basics for shooting this kind of art? I have a 20D with a ef 28-15mm f/3.5-4.5 and a 70-200 f/2.8 IS both canon glass... I have a feeling alot of these pictures I look at are photoshopped but I dont want to take away from these photographers they are just awesome shots. Well any info would be greatly appreciated so I can start on my little journey to the side of "art" photography
Thanks alot,
Hoss

[Lesmac]

Hi Hoss
A couple of items I would consider, firstly a wide angle, I use a 17-40L for most of my landscapes, (on a 1DS MKII), which is a great wideangle, on a 20D I woulds consider a canon 10-22mm.
Secondly, a good solid tripod is a must, not only for those long sunset exposures, but it also slows you down, makes you reflect and consider an image.
Third, a set of ND grads, essential for balancing sky/land exposures.
Finally, and probably the most important, landscape photographers don't shoot scenes, they shoot light, get to feel light, and you will take images that will stir the soul.
A selection of landscapes in my gallery if you are interested
http://lesmclean.photoblink.com/

[factoryphoto]

Hi Hoss
A couple of items I would consider, firstly a wide angle, I use a 17-40L for most of my landscapes, (on a 1DS MKII), which is a great wideangle, on a 20D I woulds consider a canon 10-22mm.
Secondly, a good solid tripod is a must, not only for those long sunset exposures, but it also slows you down, makes you reflect and consider an image.
Third, a set of ND grads, essential for balancing sky/land exposures.
Finally, and probably the most important, landscape photographers don't shoot scenes, they shoot light, get to feel light, and you will take images that will stir the soul.
A selection of landscapes in my gallery if you are interested
http://lesmclean.photoblink.com/

Thank you for the quick response :)
What exactly is ND grads? Is that how they are making the sky so blue and beautiful?? Also I am unable to get on your site.. I will try typing it in myself but the link is not working for me...Ok I just got it to work.. Les !! your photos are amazing..How ,how and how lol How are you getting the water to look like that.. What setting to you shoot with? My god those are absolutley breath taking.. My girlfriend is also amazed.. She just said to me "you wish" haha umm yes I sure do but I will learn it.. What is the shutter speed you shoot for photos like these?

[Citizensmith]

Finally, and probably the most important, landscape photographers don't shoot scenes, they shoot light.


I've always been very aware of paying attention to lighting when doing landscapes, but I've never heard it phrased quite that well. I'll have to keep that thought with me.

[Lesmac]

LOL, thanks Hoss.
A link to ND grads
http://www.dannyburk.com/nd_grads.htm
Basically they are generally filters half grey and half clear, because the sky is a few stops brighter than the land (generally), they balance the exposure.
On my running water shots I generally shoot in low light, usually just before sunrise or after sunset, enabling a long shutter speed (1/2 sec upwards), also the light is not so contrasty at that time.
Any questions, just fire away, if I can help, I will.

Les

[Jesper]

Gradual neutral density filters...

Also, a (circular) polarizer filter helps to make the sky more blue and create more contrast between the sky and the clouds, and can also help to minimize reflections from non-metallic surfaces (such as glass and water).

[Lesmac]

Forgot, regarding ND grads, I use cokin P series, they are cheap and cheerful, but do the job.
Les

[Jon]

Some of the finest and most controllable ND grads in the business - Singh Ray (http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html), with a link to Galen Rowell explaining how to use them.

[factoryphoto]

guys forgive me for my ignorance with these questions lol Les I saved this photo from your gallery.. Ok dude how are you shooting something like this? What are you camera settings? AV mode? TV mode? How do I get a long shutter speed? 1/2 sec upwards... I know i know im a rookie totally, I can get the motocross stuff good.. here is a mx photo I took recently.. How do I get that back ground blue lol
http://www.derosion.com/uploads/1103852116.jpg

http://www.derosion.com/uploads/pb85375.jpg

[Molydood]

Les, your pictures are mindblowing, some of the nicest I have ever seen.
Im guessing you make a living out of this? If not you should do.

Hoss, I can't help, but it may encourage you to know that I am also total rubbish at landscapes, it's a fine art.

[factoryphoto]

Some of the finest and most controllable ND grads in the business - Singh Ray (http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html), with a link to Galen Rowell explaining how to use them.

Hey jon exactly which ones on his site are the ones to get? Are they sqaure like that and you hold them in front of the camera or they actual filters that screw on like the polarized ones I have on all my lenses to protect them..? Im buying these things today

"molydood" cool to see someone at my level hehe

[robertwgross]

Fixed neutral density filters can be (screw on) round, or they can be rectangular. These are generally useful for knocking out two or four stops of light to blur the water in a stream.

Graduated neutral density filters are rectangular. There were a few made in the round version, but there is no way to put the transition line where you want with the horizon. GND filters are generally useful when you have a consistently bright sky and a dark foreground.

Rectangular filters (e.g. Cokin) fit into a filter holder which screws onto the front of your lens.

---Bob Gross---

[factoryphoto]

So what do you think I should start off with? What would be a good set up for my 20D and 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 ? There are alot of filters on the "singh-Ray" web site, I tried calling to get some basic info to start me off but no answer..

[Adam Hicks]

Has anyone mentioned that other little image modification trick... Photoshop? This is where the art vs. end-justifies-the-means argument starts. But mother nature had a little help with some of these beautiful scenes.

BTW that motocross image is fantastically sharp... but sometimes you want a little blur to show the motion. In that image the flying dirt convinces the viewer that it's not a pose, but in others you want a little wheel blur (just like trying to avoid prop-stop on planes.) To do this keep the camera in Tv and set the shutter around 1/200 or so depending on the speed of the vehicle and your distance from it (the closer you are the quicker it goes by!)

When I do vehicle pans I always pop the camera in Tv (which I'm an Av user till death otherwise) and figure the proper shutter speed to give me a nice sharp car with good radial blur on the wheels and road blur as possible. The better you get the slower the shutter can be and the more drastic the effect.

Adam

[factoryphoto]

Ok so I found this on Bh photo.. Ive purchased everything through them..Here is a list of things.. By reading alot of the threads on this forumn people say to get the biggest "p" cokin size they make.. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 and a 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5.. Will the 77mm work on both?? I know for the 28-105mm my lens protector is a 58mm is that what size cokin P I need or can I get the 77mm to fit both my lens..tell me what you think is a good start for some outdoor shots from this list.. Thanks alot everyone
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=4032

[Jon]

So what do you think I should start off with? What would be a good set up for my 20D and 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 ? There are alot of filters on the "singh-Ray" web site, I tried calling to get some basic info to start me off but no answer..

Did you read the Galen Rowell article linked to from the Galen Rowell Grads filter page? that should answer most or all of your questions. His basic kit was a 2-stop soft grad and a 3-stop hard grad.