Tag archives for Cameras
Photography Tips
Posted by 
National Geographic Traveler photo editor Dan Westergren is traveling with us on our expedition to Montana. He is teaching all of the contest winners how to use their cameras and take good pictures with them. Here are some of Dan’s top tips for taking photos!
-Don’t always put your subject in the center of your picture. Divide your frame into thirds in your mind, horizontally and vertically, and place your subject at the intersection of the thirds.
-Take your camera with you whenever possible. Pay attention to your surroundings…always pay attention.
-Try different angles and positions. Don’t always shoot standing up, straight on…lie down, squat low, or climb up high. Try showing more sky and less landscape.
-Pay attention to the light. Your photos can be very dramatic at sunrise, at sunset, or with cloudy skies.
-Keep moving around and try different angles until you find just the right spot to take your picture so it includes every element. Focus on the subject, think about composition, and then take several photos till you get the one that feels great.
Posted by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas wanted to test their new invention, a remote-controlled buggy-mounted camera in Tanzania. The “Beetlecam,” outfitted with powerful motors, off-road tires, long-lasting batteries, and a digital SLR camera, can enter places where people can’t go. It takes pictures at set intervals or by remote control, but when the Burrard-Lucas brothers tried to take pictures of lions from a distance with the BeetleCam, a curious lioness made off with it!
The lions destroyed the camera, but its memory card was recovered in one piece, giving us a glimpse of the photographs the lion “photographer” took.
See more pictures and read more about the lion photographer on National Geographic News.
Play Crittercam: African Adventure and recover more footage of lions!
Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas
Grace K Lands in the Mud
Posted by “Whoa!!!” I yelled when I lost traction in my wet, rubber boots. Splat!!! I was lying, facedown, in Amazonian mud. I can laugh now, but I sure wasn’t laughing then. It was 8 a.m. We had just started our journey to spot giant river otters at Oxbow Lake.
I pulled myself upright. I was covered from head to toe in brown, sloppy mud. This was not the look I was going for. I was OK, but I couldn’t say the same for my new camera. It was practically encased in the dirt. Perfect…
Thank goodness for Luis, our jungle guide. He took my equipment, wrapped it in a towel and put it in his backpack. We continued on our hike to the lake. Once on the boat, Luis wiped most of the grime off of my camera.
“You were lucky, Grace! The lens cap stayed on. Also, the body of the camera seems OK.” The zoom control was a different story. It was a mess. I sat there looking at my suddenly-not-so-brand-new-looking Nikon camera. I was filthy and worried. I put the camera away. It began to rain–and we didn’t see any giant river otters.
Read the whole post »
