Welcome to our online basic nature photography book called “How To? What For?” We hope you enjoy all the magic and wonder nature photography can bring into your life. We ask that you take your time to explore this new interest and not just run out with a camera into the wilderness. Study and learn about the techniques within these pages and start small, your backyard or neighborhood garden or vacant lot. There is a wonder of nature to be found and much of it is closer than you image. Even if you live in a busy city, buy a bunch of flowers from a flower shop and set up a small practice studio in your living room, playing with the light from a nearby window, your flash, or even the light in your house. Experiment and practice and you will find a new sense of wonder as the natural world is slowly exposed to you.
As you pour through these pages, you will be inundated with all the how tos and what fors about nature photography. We will do our very best to make it simple and fun, but it can get complicated, especially when we get to the math problems. We’ve included a lot of exercises at the end of each section and chapter to help you put into practice what we’ve just shown you. There are photographic examples and lots of commentary to help you learn all you can about nature photography.
These notes are meant to cover much of the detail taught in our live program. Many aspects of nature photography are covered in depth and others are covered only lightly. We highly recommend reviewing the book lists in the Appendix to learn more about specific areas of interest. Foremost, we recommend the first book purchase you make be John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide. We offer it for sale in our Photography Books We Recommend section. We also recommend you take time during your studies to peruse all of our book recommendations on nature, nature photography, and travel to further enchance your studies.
When you have completed this educational series, take time to visit the rest of our web site for more information at www.cameraontheroad.com. Our Learning Zone is stuffed with tips, techniques, and tricks for nature photographers.
- NEW!! We now have our entire Basics of Nature Photography book in PDF form ready for download.
- NOTE: The following pages will feature black and white photographs to speed up reviewing and printing.
- Table of Contents
Who are Brent and Lorelle VanFossen?
Brent and Lorelle, together, share over 40 years of photographic experience. They are well known for their enthusiastic approach to nature photography, not only with images and writing, but also through workshops and programs. The VanFossens offer a variety of programs dedicated to nature and the outdoors, focusing on nature photography. Currently, they are presenting nature photography and other programs in Israel, their home for the past few years, as well as nature photography tours for photographing birds and other subjects in Israel. Well known online as well as in print, the VanFossens were one of the early program presenters and hosts within the online community discussing photography and travel on the Compuserve Photography Forum, and are frequent guests on programs and zines on the Internet including on the RV Forum and other travel and outdoor sites. Together, Brent and Lorelle’s work has been featured in Outdoor and Nature Photography Magazine, Shutterbug, Arriving Magazine, Bill Cooper’s CruiseLetter, Jerusalem Post, The Mountaineer, PSA Journal, Seattle Times, Doll Magazine, Women in Business Magazine, and a variety of newspapers and commercial publications.
Currently, you can follow their adventures and learn about nature photography, traveling, and life in Israel and in general on their popular web site, www.cameraontheroad.com. It features more than 500 articles and is updated frequently.
Copyright – VanFossen Productions
Tulsa: 11320 East 32nd Street, Tulsa, OK USA 74146 918-492-9667
www.cameraontheroad.com
lorelle@cameraontheroad.com
Participants will hold Brent and Lorelle VanFossen, VanFossen Productions, its representatives and sponsors and all affiliates harmless from any and all claims. All recommendations and advice, verbal or in writing, is solely based upon the experience and current knowledge of the instructors and holds no guarantees on results.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations for reviews, without the written permission of the authors. Design, typesetting and production by Lorelle VanFossen.