Eloquent Nature by Gary Hart

Why do all my pictures of the moon turn out to be white blobs? I get this question a lot, and the answer is really quite simple: the human eye can capture a greater range of light than the camera can. For example, while your eyes have no problem resolving all the detail in both the brightest highlights and darkest shadows on a sunny day, your camera simply can't do it. This is why, when photographing a friend standing in shade on a sunny day, the friend is nearly black when the background looks perfect, or the background is completely washed out when your friend is exposed just right. And this is exactly why a full moon looks so beautiful to your eyes, yet photographs as a white blob--while your world is dark when a full moon is overhead, the moon is basking in full sunlight. Some photographers resort to combining an image of a properly exposed moon and an image of the properly exposed foreground to create a composite image of a scene with the moon. But if you're like me and prefer expressing your photographic creativity in the camera and not the computer, this option is out. But don't despair, there is a way to photograph all the detail in the moon *and* your scene with a single frame. Since the moon rises a little later each day (roughly an hour), each day, and a full moon rises at sunset, the moon rising the day before it's full is in the sky a little before sunset. This moon is nearly full (sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a full and nearly full moon). So just before sunset on the day before the full moon is will give you a brief window of time after the moon rises, but before the sun sets, when there's still enough light to photograph the scene with the moon in it. This principle also applies at sunrise on the day after the full moon, when a brief window exists after the sun rises but before the moon sets. For more information moon and moonlight photography, read my article that appeared in the April 2010 issue of "Outdoor Photographer" magazine: http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/shooting/shoot-the-moon.html.

Follow the light. It seems like such a simple concept, but I'm afraid many photographers choose subject over light. The next time you're out with your camera, forget the scene you came to photograph and figure out where the light is best. Find a subject illuminated by the nice light and craft your scene to emphasize that subject. Here atop Sentinel Dome it would have been easy to concentrate on one or more of a variety of dramatic subjects, including El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Cathedral Rocks. But the best light this morning was the warm sunrise glow on an anonymous tree and a clump of wildflowers. I composed the scene to emphasize the weathered tree's character in the warm light, relegating unlit Yosemite Falls to background status.

Looking for an inexpensive way to get into (or enhance your) macro photography? Try adding some extension tubes to your camera bag. Inserting an extension tube between your camera body and lens enables you to focus more closely. I’ll use an extension tube on any lens, from telephoto to wide. And they’re great with a macro lens. Sometimes I’ll stack multiple extension tubes for even closer focusing. “Experts” say you shouldn’t use an extension tube with a wide angle lens because it makes your focus point too close. But this Yosemite dogwood image was taken with an extension tube on a wide lens, and the closeness allowed me to nearly fill the frame with the blossom. (That’s Bridalveil Fall in the background.) What’s the downside? As you add extension you cut the amount of light reaching your sensor/film. And extension tubes narrow your range of focus and prevent you from focusing at infinity (but I consider this a good thing for macro work). I’m usually a little reluctant to use third-party hardware, but I make an exception with extension tubes, which are simply hollow tubes with no optics. Here’s a website with more information on the brand I use (Kenko): http://www.thkphoto.com/products/kenko/slrc-04.html.

Is it ever okay to put the horizon in the middle? Absolutely. Sometimes it's impossible to decide which is better, the sky or the foreground. In those situations I simply split the scene in the middle. Mirror reflections, like this sunrise scene from Mono Lake, are particularly good for this.