Nature Photography How To

Commercial photographer Joel Grimes has been making outstanding images for over 30 years, so when he says there’s one simple Photoshop tool he “can’t live without, we stop and pay attention. And while this “essential” tool isn’t exactly a secret, Grime’s uses it in a unique way.

Blue hour, that magical time just before sunrise or sunset, is usually a great time to shoot. With the sun just below the horizon, beautiful blue tones bathe the landscape and create a dreamy soft glow.

Summer means stormy weather, with threatening thunderstorms that offer great opportunities for dramatic landscape imagery—especially when lightning is involved. The challenge to coming up with dramatic photographs is dealing with the complex lighting conditions that electrical storms present.

This is a great time of year to make macro magic, as there are flowers, insects, and other small creatures just about everywhere you look. All you really need is a close-focusing lens and the following tips from Swedish pro Micael Widell.

This is a great time of year to photograph our feathered friends, and as you’ll see in this comprehensive tutorial, with the proper skill you needn’t travel further than your own backyard to make some truly spectacular images.

Every so often we come upon a simple-and-effective processing technique that will make a big difference in outdoor photographs. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in the seven-minute tutorial below.

There’s no better source for photography advice than an experienced National Geographic photographer, and in the eye-opening video below Jim Richardson shares his five favorite tips for travel and destination photography.