Nature Photography Section Five Recap

             Part five in our photography book was directed at "The Close-up World."  The first section was "Working at Close Range: How to use special accessories and lenses for close-up photography."  This section focused on exactly what it says, how to capture that close-up photo.  It started by talking about the tools necessary to get that close-up shot such as macro lenses and extension tubes and bellows. Bellow tubes and extension tubes are a device that allow for magnification while also keeping a quality image. The only common downfall for these tools is the fact that they often reduce the light transmitted by the lens which creates a limit of the range of stop-action photography. 
             Some alternatives to these methods are to use a close-up supplementary lense which will not limit the amount of light which is a bonus for close-up shots.  Another way to get these close up shots is to use a teleconverter.  A teleconverter is a tool that will increase the focal length of the lense while maintaining the focusing range.   A common and very effective combo is to put a teleconverter and a telephoto lense to capture those close up shots with things like birds, butterflies, etc. 
            By using a telephoto lense you are still allowing the distance between you and the subject so you are keeping it in its natural state uneffected by your presence.  You may also use wide-angle lenses with a short extension tube or a tilt-shift lense to maximize your depth of field.  Another tool that is often used in close-up shooting is using an electronic flash.  This allows for the correct amount of illumination and prevents shadowing or other undesirable effects in your image. 
             Next the book focused on "Wild Flora: Conventional and offbeat approaches to one of nature's most expressive subjects."   There are many factors that come into play when photographing a picture even if it is "just a flower."  With flowers you also need to be very aware of the atmosphere and what is happening especially if winds are present.  You need to be prepared for the movement of the flowers just like you would an animal.  You also need to be very aware of lighting and what you need to do to capture the best colors and traits to your photo. 
              High light is also a problem typically faced when photographing flowers but one great thing is that you have greater ability to block out or control this lighting when you are working with something likes flowers.  A common tool is to just place an umbrella over to block out the unwanted light and to create the lighting you find necessary.  Not only do you need to be aware of the light but also everything else around the image.  You need to create a portait and focus on the same things you would focus on if you were capturing a close up on an animal. 
              Angles also play a huge roll when capturing the floral image and you need to be aware of the different views you want to portray.  You can get that aerial image by shooting above and looking down or you may chose to get the image from bellow or direct ahead when can increase your depth-of-field causing a more "scenery" based image.  Even though shooting flowers seem so simple, there are still many things that need to be focused on in order to get that perfect picture.