Nature Photography Day June 15 2020 – Taking A Great Nature Photograph

By Neil Moore of Moore Photographics. Neil is an experienced photographer who has a studio in Cadley, near Marlborough and he has been awarded a licentiateship of the British Institution of Professional Photography. This BIPP accreditation is a worldwide recognition of excellence.

Did you know that since 2006, June 15 (next Monday) has been designated Nature Photography Day. It was originally created by the North American Nature Photography Association to celebrate taking pictures of natural elements including landscapes, geological formations, flora and fauna in their natural habitats and zoos. 

The aim was to generate and share the joy of nature, awareness of nature’s diversity and power as well as support issues around environment and conservation. 

It speaks to me because nature photography is one of my passions as well as one of my areas of business. I have a vast archive of images – many taken in Wiltshire itself – which customers can access and use in their own marketing. 

For me ‘nature photography’ covers two distinct disciplines:

• Wildlife 
• Landscape

I find both are exciting and rewarding and require similar yet different approaches. Therefore when on a business shoot with client, I will always plan to take some photographs for me afterwards or before that shoot, especially if I am in another part of the country.  

If you enjoy nature too – here are some tips and suggestions to perhaps take part in Nature Photography Day yourself this year.  

1. I always check the weather forecast the day before as this affects a lot, including the clothes that you wear.  If the weather is changeable that can also add a dynamic for a landscape, albeit not always so good for wildlife (except when photographing seals, or cormorants).

2. Find out the times for sunrise or sunset (can be known as the ‘golden’ or even the ‘blue’ hour) when you can get some amazing images especially if you are in a new location or on holiday. 

3. Choosing your kit for spontaneous shoots – for impromptu situations where you know you are going to take pictures but don’t know what you will encounter, I have two matching camera bodies, and If not using a specialist lens, they are coupled with my trusty 24-70mm lens and the other with my other trusty lens 70-200mm attached.  Both have quick releases so I can couple them with a tripod if I need to. When searching for wildlife or landscapes they are slung over each shoulder that way I can react quickly should the sunlight create a shadow which emphasises the landscape, or an animal or bird comes into view.  I call this my photojournalistic approach to nature photography.

4. Choosing your kit when you have more control - when I’m being more thoughtful, I plan the shoot in the same way I would for a client. In these cases I am able to call from my travel kit bag the following essential items:

• Tripod
• Wide angle lens for wider landscapes
• Tilt shift lens for either greater depth of field, or perspective when capturing buildings as part of the setting
• My collection of lens filters to carefully balance the sky against the landscape
• A couple, or more flash strobes to place light more effectively with closer items
• A light meter, and grey card in the kit bag, however over the years I know how the camera produces the best images from its settings.

5. Some of the best images can be taken by being low to the ground so consider taking something to lie on or kneel on – it could even be a bag of some kind which you can take out of your pocket. 

6. Don’t forget your own garden or backyard – people will often wander off from their homes without exploring nature that’s up close and personal. Take a good look around your outside space. There are some glorious insects such as spiders, beetles or even every day flowers which look amazing when you really take the time to photograph them.

7. Talk a walk in a park close to home – as with the point above, we often walk past natural areas which we are used to seeing yet we don’t really notice. Make the time to really look and photograph that fossil on that rock etc. 

8. Water – water can make great images whether it’s a drip, or a small stream, or a cascading waterfall. 

9. Share some of your images on the day on your own social media to show off the nature where you live – or to highlight an area of conservation that’s important to you. 

10. When you notice nature in the way that photography creates, you will care for it more deeply. Why not join a local photographic group and share your passion? 

I’m ending by showing two photographs – the landscape is one of the images which earned me my BIPP licentiate the other is my ‘mouse’ image.

This photograph of a mouse was planned – although the pose it made was a bonus. I had spotted it running around outside my back door so decided to capture it within a photograph. 

After taking a number of photographs I could see I could get a good image though the glass of the door (after it was cleaned of course).  I had from time to time thrown my apple cores for it to eat and saw that it was happy to chew on them in a position that I could photograph from the comfort of my living room.  

Then one day I accidently found an apple in my fridge that was slowly decaying.  I cut it in half and placed the first half in a position I could photograph.  The mouse did the rest!

For more information visit https://www.moore-photographics.com