Great moments in Nature Photography

Sometimes my timing is dreadful when I take a photo. These photos show how close, but also how far, I can get from the shot I wanted. None of these pictures have been cropped — I present them to you in all their glory. Seriously though, if your attempts at wildlife photography end up with some debacles like these, then who cares? With digital cameras it costs nothing to just try again!

It’s a bit tricky working out what kind of Corella this is.

I knew this Little Wattlebird (above) was about to take off and so I tried to get a pic of it with its wings spread out in that beautiful late-afternoon light. I guess it didn’t work out so well.

Indian Myna exits stage right. (That’s its right not our right.)

Indian Myna exits stage top.

Less-than-superb photo of a Superb Fairy-wren.

Noisy Miner

Rainbow Lorikeet. Seriously, did you think this kind of shot only happens rarely?

This was more a case of bad panning than bad timing but it kind of fits the theme. Pacific Black Duck

Pheasant Coucal

This White-faced Heron didn’t want to show its face.

Beginners’ series on digital SLR photography

The essential basics

Digital SLR photography — a beginners’ guide
A quick guide to understanding your new toy

Learning from examples
Picking up where the first article left off

Understanding aperture
This is one of the fundamental tools for controlling exposure.

Understanding shutter speed
This is another of the fundamental tools for controlling exposure.

Making sense of technical stuff

Megapixels
How many is enough?

How much camera gear do you need?
Sometimes, less really is more

How to choose a lens
Making the right choices can improve your shots and save you money

Tips for using tripods
Getting the most out of them

JPG versus RAW
Which is the best way to work?

Understanding histograms
Making sense of this handy tool

APS-C vs full frame
The differences explained, and what it means to your photography

Pixel density in sensors
Helping APS-C cameras photograph distant objects.

Fast lens, slow lens
What’s the difference?

Understanding colour temperature
It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Understanding resolution
What it means, as it applies to digital photography

Photography words explained

What’s a 100% crop?
I explain a term you often hear in digital photography

What are specular highlights?
You’ll recognise them when you see them

What is bracketing?
A commonly-used word for a handy trick

Photography at night

Photographing small critters
in the dark
How I take my shots when there’s no light

Taking pictures of the moon
You need a fairly long lens, and these simple tricks

Common problems and their solutions

Washed-out colours in photos
Why it happens, and how to prevent it

Understanding exposure compensation
Why your photo subject can look so badly exposed, and what to do about it

Understanding dynamic range
Dealing with too much contrast

Working in harsh light
Getting some of the colour back into midday photography

Getting sharper pictures
Understanding the things that stop your photos from being tack-sharp

Noise in your images
What causes it, and what can you do about it?

Taking things further

Using a telephoto lens to blur the background
Here’s an easy-to-understand explanation of why it happens

Macro photography part 1
Using your DSLR for bug shots

Macro photography part 2
Ironing the bugs out of bug shots

One simple trick
The easiest way to get better wildlife photos

Wildlife photography
Tricks the pros use to get better pictures of critters

Bird photography part 1
Small, distant, and feathered does not have to mean a bad photo

Bird photography part 2
More hints for beginner bird photographers

How I take photos of frogs
These tiny critters require a technique all their own.

Using software to ‘fix’ your photos
A few suggestions for image editing

Advanced stuff

Image Stacking
Using software to achieve extraordinary depth of field

Sneaky deep-etching
A fast way to cut complicated objects out of their backgrounds

Other photography stuff

BLOG (sort of)

The elusive waterskiing duck
It started out as a fun idea …

PHOTO GALLERY

Pics of Australian critters
Some of my recent images

PHOTO SALES

Looking for the right picture?
A small selection of the photos available