Category Archives: How To

Anatomy of a photo #35: Elephant Seal and Scientists

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

Wide angle lenses exaggerate the distance between between two objects, while long lenses and telephoto lenses can actually compress the appearance of the physical distances between objects. Notice the size of the elephant seals head, relative to the size of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, documentary, elephant seals, How To, How to, marine life, photography, portraits, wildlife photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Anatomy of a photo #28: Great Blue Heron, boats and mist Part II

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

When photographing wildlife, the situation is constantly changing. The “wild” in wildlife is not there by accident. These animals and birds are not trained, they act and react according to their own needs and instincts. There is no studio, no … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, birds, California, documentary, How To, How To, How to, landscapes, Location, road side, SLR, underwater, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anatomy of a photo #25: Male Elephant Seal

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

I’ve worked with the nearby national seashore for years now, supplying them with images and documenting different projects around the park. Sometimes the park lets me take part in things like the elephant seal count. When this happens, I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, elephant seals, ethics, How To, marine life, nature photography, photography, wildlife photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Anatomy of a photo #21: Great Blue Heron

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

I noticed I somehow missed entry #21, so I am heading back in my posting numbers a little. I was hiking in one of my local state parks (I won’t name which one, as it is nearly undiscovered, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, birds, California, How To, How To, nature photography, photography, portraits, SLR, wildlife photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anatomy of a photo #20: Portrait of a sheep

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

I was originally taking pictures of the sheep that are blurred out in the background, when this wooly lawn mower came munching by. I quickly changed my focus, realizing that this nearby sheep would also make a nice image, especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, How To, photography, portraits, road side, ruminating, SLR | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #19: Spider on a bedewed web

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

  I took this image early one morning (I feel like I start so many of these “Anatomy of a photos” with those same words) while I was out chasing that early light. The grass was still wet, and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, How To, nature photography, photography, portraits, SLR, wildlife photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #18: Boat and fog

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

Early morning light is some of the best, but living out here on the edge of a continent, we sometimes have what we call “fog.” I’ve found that there are times when “fog” can create a late or second “magic … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, How To, landscapes, photography, road side, SLR, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #17: Horizontal and vertical landscapes I

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

This one is a double photo. The lesson is simple. Sometimes it can be good to rotate your camera 90 degrees, because it can give the image a very different feel. Also, when doing landscapes, especially of valleys and such … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, California, How To, How To, landscapes, nature photography, photography, portraits, road side, SLR | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #16: Morning lily pads

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

I made this image in my early days of digital photography, before I knew all the ins and outs of modern cameras. It didn’t really matter though, as many things such as exposure, compensating for bright light, focus, composition- all … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, California, How To, landscapes, nature photography, photography, SLR, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Anatomy of a photo #15: Frosted fence

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

This early morning picture of a frosted fence illustrates the affect that aperture can have on a photograph. The closer you focus to where you are standing, the shallower your depth of field will be. For this photo I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, How To, landscapes, nature photography, photography, SLR, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #14: Three Willits in pickleweed

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

As I look through my photographs of animal images, I notice more and more that there are two main lighting conditions that most of my favorite portraits were taken in- early/late low angle sun, or else while the subject was … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, birds, How To, kayak photography, marine life, nature photography, photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anatomy of a photo #13: Sunlit waves

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Galen Leeds Photography

This image highlights the importance of being willing to head out for pictures no matter what the weather… or even because of bad weather. I took this picture during a break in a storm at a nearby beach. The day … Continue reading →

Posted in Anatomy of a photo, California, How To, How To, landscapes, nature photography, photography, SLR, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment