John E. Marriot

Since I'm on the trip to Alaska, I found some good shots from there by John Marriot, a photgrapher based out of Canada. I mainly focused on this one of the northern lights, since he uses 30-90 second exposure to get the swirling effect of the lights while the background is holding still. I liked most the shots from the Yukon in Blackstone and Reflection Lake, and Muskwa Kechika Wilderness.

http://www.wildernessprints.com/galleries/north5.html

John Shaw

I really like the pictures I found by John Shaw. The detail is sharp and the color is so vivid, they really catch your attention. When I looked up his information I was interested to learn he majored in philosophy, religion, and literature because those are my majors, and here this guy is making a living selling amazing photos to nature magazines, writing, and teaching workshops;

"slow down and think about what you are photographing and keep working until you can find that one good image."

http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/icons/shaw/bio.aspx

http://www.johnshawphoto.com/favorites_gallery/garden-of-gods-snow-arch.htm

Exposure

Knowing how to use the tools on your camera, and the tricks of lighting, will help make your pictures much more defined, showing what you want how you want it.
With modern digital cameras, most of knowing exposure is simplified to reading the histogram on it. Think of it as a compass or looking down the sights on a rifle that can think for you. It is a chart that automatically tells you if all of what you are looking at is being included in your picture. You can adjust the aperture (opening size in front of the lens), or the shutter speed (how fast the picture is taken) until the histogram shows that you have the exposure you want.
Light meters on the camera record lighting for your image, but in very light or dark fields they get confused and make it gray. In this situation you may want to change to another mode;

1.Evaluative/Matrix Metering
general purpose- usually used as default setting
2.Average Metering
Evaluative is better. Don't bother
3.Spot Metering
spotlights one area of picture. Good for wildlife
4.Center-Weighted Metering
emphasizes central 75% of picture. will not use very often


You can control the amount of light in your picture by adjusting time (shutter speed) and intensity (aperture).
exposure modes;
1. Aperture Priority (AV) Mode
gives depth of field. landscape=small, wildlife=big
2.Shutter Priority (TV) Mode
allows you to choose the speed and leave the rest to the camera. not used often
3.Manual Mode
Do everything yourself. useful in landscapes or extremely light or dark scenes.

In said light or dark situations, press the Exposure Compensation button.
Using variations of metering with the histogram aide in difficult shots such as backlighting, white light scenes, sunrises/sunsets, or very dark scenes.

Amancay Maah

I tried to find the photographer who did my sisters wedding, because those pictures were awesome. I didn't find her, but while looking I found another one who was also really good and did some shots with blurring in the background that I thought was really good. I had not of using that on anything other than nature shots, but she did it in a portrait, with good results. Her name is Amancay Maah, a globe trotter out of Hood River, Oregon. She also does portraits with the edges darkened, I've added the link to it.

http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp=&q=Amancay+Maah#/photo.php?pid=2359423&id=34482813120&ref=mf

Super Telephoto Lenses

Reading this made me fairly happy with my canon digital camera, but now I wish it had more zoom in range, closer focus, and was waterproof. Honestly, the numbers and abbreviations of camera speak in the book still seem a bit like mysterious code to me, but I am starting to catch on. (hmm, this button says ISO, this button says Auto). Seeing all the cool pictures and tricks that happen when you know the code is incentive for me to stay with it.

Tripod

When I first heard about how important tripods were for picture quality, I was a bit miffed at needing one taking nature shots. Why would I want to lug around a tripod when I'm hiking around outside? Then I compared my pictures to their pictures....and yeah, tripods are good idea. Or at least some creative substitute until I can afford one. Having said that, ideally I think I would want one made of carbon, since its light and absorbs vibration the best. Wimberlly Sidekick looks like a good choice for lenses, since its good for variety and I'm still experimenting.

http://www.chasejarvis.com/

I saw Laura's story and was intrigued by the idea of using pictures to tell someone's life. Ok, the documentary is not a new thing, but the way he flashed pictures alternated with videos of her running was cool. The videos zoomed in close when she ran, say on her feet with autumn leaves, or in the rain, that didn't take the focus off her but added more to what she was saying.

I liked the difference of Jase Charvis' portfolio because it was more than still pictures he had taken, it was what he had done with the pictures. It told a more complete story than the picture itself.