Final Presentation

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 14.4mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/250

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 12.8mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/640

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 14.4mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/5.0

Shutter Speed: 1/1250

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 60.0mm

ISO:200

AV: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/60

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 60.0mm

ISO:200

AV: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/30

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 16.1mm

ISO:200

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/60

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 6.0mm

ISO:160

AV: f/2.8

Shutter Speed: 1/50

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 55.9mm

ISO:200

AV: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/13

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 6.0mm

ISO:125

AV: f/2.8

Shutter Speed: 1/60

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 25.2mm

ISO:200

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/100

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 12.8mm

ISO:160

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/100

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 12.8mm

ISO:200

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/50

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 12.8mm

ISO:80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/100

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 55.9mm

ISO:200

AV: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/200

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 51.1mm

ISO:100

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/320

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 6.0mm

ISO:80

AV: f/2.8

Shutter Speed: 1/60

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 18.1mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/125

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 11.5mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/250

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 6.7mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/3.2

Shutter Speed: 1/60

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 25.2mm

ISO:160

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/200

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 8.2mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/160

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 12.8mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/200

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 18.1mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/3.5

Shutter Speed: 1/255

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 11.5mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/100

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 6.0mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/4.8

Shutter Speed: 1/125

Flash: No

Camera: Coolpix S4000

Lens: N/A

Focal Length: 19.6mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/5.9

Shutter Speed: N/A

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 38.9 mm

ISO: 200

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/100

Flash: No 

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 60.0 mm

ISO: 200

AV: f/4.3

Shutter Speed: 1/30

Flash: No

Camera: Canon Powershot SX120

Lens: 6.0-60.0mm

Focal Length: 51.1 mm

ISO: 200

AV: f/4.0

Shutter Speed: 1/15

Flash: No

Camera: Coolpix S4000

Lens: N/A

Focal Length: 19.6 mm

ISO: 80

AV: f/5.9

Shutter Speed: N/A

Flash: No

Ecotourism

   The themes of all the articles revolved around the central idea of ecotourism. That is, tourism that doesn't involve disturbing the wildlife in the area or their habitats. One article discussed a series of experiments to observe how a female anole responded to the effects of a photographer, such as sounds of a shutter or a lens focusing or zooming in, or the light stimulus of a flash going off. A couple articles gave tips on how to avoid disturbing wildlife, and  an article posed the question: Does Nature Photography matter?.

   The first article was about experiments to test how a photographer really effects the natural ways of an organism. In this case, a female anole was observed. This animal was chosen for her ability to sense auditory and visual stimuli (a bright flash and the snap of a shutter of a camera). After all of the testing of these stimuli (separately, not as a whole photographer and his equipment) it was found that the anole decreased their display, and perceived the stimuli to be threatening, and reacting in an antipredator way.

    Negative effects of tourism were discussed in the articles as well. Behaviors such as boating, chasing the animals, feeding the animals, and/or distracting the animals are detrimental to the well-being of the animals, and can cause problems such as disrupting eating cycles, distracting mothers from their young, and disturbing the availability of natural food (food the animal would catch on its own).

   There are also some positive aspects to tourism. These include habitat restoration, conservative breeding to help maintain a dying species to be later released into the wild, financial donations (aiding in conservation efforts), and research opportunities. It also  promotes the tourists to travel with a guide, someone who is knowledgeable in the behaviors and cycles of the animals to help ensure they are not disturbed by the tourists.

   It's also important to do all you can to maintain the natural settings of the habitats of the animals you are photographing. Ways to do this include using a good lens to allow you to zoom into your shot and maintain a good distance between you and your subject to decrease the chance of disturbance, not using bait to keep their normal eating habits in tact, and respecting the animals in general.

   The last article asked, "Is Nature Photography Important?". In my opinion, and the author's, yes. It give people insight to sights and views that they wouldn't otherwise get to experience. It also captures the natural beauty of what we already have around us, and breaks us away from always thinking about what we can have that's better, which I think is really important now with all of the technology we have available.

1. The first and most important tip I found in the articles regardes the tour guide. Seeing as this person is essentially the brains of the operation, I thought this was the first step. This person know all about the wildlife that you would encounter on the trip, and should be aware of your intentions (to capture photos, not just go see a lion and go back to camp when it gets hot). They also (I would think) would be knowledgable about the behaviors of the animals and can let you know when the best times to see them would be. Overall, I found this to be one of the most important things to consider in a safari trip.

2. Another thing I think is important is the vehicle you ride in. You should do your best to get your own vehicle, and if not, then avoid tourists or other people with different goals than you at all costs. This can be a huge distraction, and impatience and different prioritites can cause huge problems and your pictures can suffer greatly.

3. Memory! A huge part in a succesful trip would be that you have sufficien memory cards to hold your photos. This way, you don't have to limit yourself on how many pictures you take and can spend more time focusing on the environment you're in and taking the best photos you can.

4. Another important element to consider is support of your cameras. As mentioned in the articles, many parts of Africa have strict rules and regulations on means of travel through parks and other wildlife environments. They often won't allow off roading and require drivers to stay on provided paths. Because of this, most photos must be taken while still in the vehicle. This would make it pretty difficult to use the support of a tripod, so instead bean bags can be used to support cameras and lenses in the vehicle. This way, you can ensure your expensive cameras and lenses' quality won't be wasted due to a shake shot.

5. Lastly, it can't be forgotten that you're in a very dry, hot, and dusty part of the world; so keeping your equipment clean is essential. Packing along cases to protect your camera when not in use, using a shower cap to cover elements of the camera when shooting, and bringing a microfiber cloth to wipe off loose dust is a good idea.

Flowers inside flowers!

This was taken in Sturgis, SD in 2009 with a Nikkon Coolpix 7600. As previously stated, before this class I only liked pictures of flowers with close up, centered flowers. And though I've now strayed from that, I posted this one because it is one of my favorites. My favorite thing about it is the way the insides of the flower is ringed with little flowers! I didn't notice this until I was close up to the flowers to take the picture. It's just amazing to me that beauty like this exists in nature. I also like the slight angle of the inside of the flower, it seems to present itself to the viewer.

Orange and Purple

I took this in 2009 with a Nikkon Coolpix 7600 in Sturgis, SD. Although I don't remember the exact location I took it in, I really loved this shot. I loved the colors, and I've never seen any flowers with this color combination before so it really caught my eye. I also love the way the two flowers are at different angles, so my eye moves back and forth between the two. I also like the background, it's not distracting but it adds another layer of detail to look through after the flowers. Before I took this class I was all about close up, centered flowers, and after learning more through this class, looking through them the second time, this picture stuck out to me because it doesn't fit that description.

I took this picture in Boston, MA in 2005 with a Nikkon Coolpix 7600. I really love this picture because of the way the wings of the dragonfly seemed to be pointing downwards, I can't really explain it I just really like the attention it brings to the dragonfly. I also like the lighting, and the way it's hitting the leaf the dragonfly is on the most. It also brings more attention to the dragonfly. I would've liked a little bit more zoom to enhance the detail of the dragonfly itself and more of the wings, and maybe some cropping to put it off center. Overall though I like the lighting and the wings best.

Overtaken by Nature

I took this picture with a Nikkon Coolpix 7600 at Riverfront Park. Although it breaks the rule of "diagonal lines are more attractive than vertical lines" I loved the way the trunk seemed to be overtaken naturally by vines, and the way they wrap all the way around the remains of the tree and add so much color. I will also admit it's a little busy with all of the other trees and plants around it, but I was still fascinated with the reds and oranges that enveloped the trunk. I also think the trees on the sides of the trunk in the middle seem to frame it so the focus is on my favorite part.