Around the world young men and women are discovering the sport of bicycle riding, and at most events you will find a photographer or two recording the thrills and spills.

Bicycle and mountain bike races and contests offer unparalleled opportunities to take action photos, and photos of large groups or individuals moving fast over all kinds of landscapes.

They offer a myriad of chances to take individual character shots (closeups of riders striving, concentrating, elated, or downcast). The environment itself is yet another aspect waiting to be featured — steep mountains, dense forests, old towns, sunshine, rain showers, storms, rough roads and smooth.

Some photographers go a step further and envisage the crowds of riders and the landscapes as an opportunity to take photographs that are abstract or semi-abstract compositions.

Cycling photographers can cover all sorts of cycling events, or they can concentrate on just one or two categories, such as road, cross country, downhill, track (for example, velodrome), Mountain X, or BMX cycling. Equally, they can choose to cover local and regional events or national and even international events such as the Tour de France.

Photographers have the choice of using traditional film-based SLR cameras or modern digital cameras. Digital cameras have the advantage that you can take hundreds of photos per event (without worrying about paying for expensive film) and then keep only the very best shots and discard all the rest.

Digital cameras also allow you to edit the shots after the event, improving the color and contrast, and to crop away distracting elements from the shots, leaving just strong, clear images.

Even with modern digital SLR cameras, cycling photography can be quite a challenge because of the varying and often difficult lighting conditions, the speed of the bike riders whizzing by, and the changeable and sometimes trying weather conditions.

Photos of bikes and bicyclists have been taken ever since the nineteenth century. Subjects have included everything from antique high wheeler bikes and “bone shakers” to tandems and tricycles, and from cyclists quietly biking about European and American towns to specialist subjects such as circus clown bikes.

In recent years there have been just a handful of internationally-known photographers who specialize in cycling photography, notable names including Graham Watson and Phil O’Connor.

The books, posters, postcards and photo collections published by these photographers act as an inspiration and guide for amateur and professional cycling photographers and help them to improve their photographic skills, taste and judgment.

Most successful travel photographers are writers as well. Actually in the print world, you can’t separate words from pictures. They complement each other.

What the picture can’t show, the words explain in greater detail. So it’s no surprise that some travel articles are sometimes from husband and wife teams.

That’s the perfect job for couples. Think exotic locations, the love of your life with you and endless adventures together.

My biggest problem with travel photography is that a lot of the imagery you see have been so photographed that they’re the equivalent of visual clichés. What comes to mind when you think of China? Great Wall of China, or the Forbidden City in Beijing? Egypt? The Great Pyramids. India… the Taj Mahal. Indonesia…Borobodur. Cambodia…Angkor Wat.

As in most printed media, the pictures tend to be more important than the words. A visually striking image will draw a casual browser of publication into reading an article even if the headline is not well-written.

A great selection of pictures of one destination can save a article with mediocre writing. But the same can’t be said if the pictures are of poor quality.

No matter how good and compelling the writing, if the pictures are just mediocre, readers will not be drawn to the story.

Poorly composed images, especially ones with lots of technical flaws like low resolution, artifacting and digital noise cannot be rescued. As powerful as Photoshop is, it simply can’t fix or add something that isn’t in a picture.

Even if it can, there is the ethical question of are you allowed to? Most magazine have strict guidelines against such manipulation of images especially in their editorial content.

But poorly written articles can be “massaged” and fine-tuned by editors into some quite readable.

Tips for a successful trip:

1. Careful planning and research of your destination.

Obvious yet a lot of people don’t consider this when making their plans. Festivities like Oktoberfest in Germany, Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California takes place annually at the same time.

And by planning I don’t just mean planning for the length of time you are going to be at your destination. If you’re a digital photographer, you’ll need power to charge your batteries and a way to download and clear off your memory cards or you will be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

If you’re headed abroad where electrical power is different from home, you’ll also a voltage converter. I recommend the Kensington 3317 International All-in-one Travel Plug Adapter.

2. Precise note-taking.

Whether you use a laptop or pen and paper, having good habits like keeping receipts and other bills incurred during the trip is important.

Even if you’re not writing the article, precise notes on how to get from town A to town B, how much the fare was, the duration of the drive are all details which add value to your pitch to magazines or collaborative effort with a writer.

Remember your recall will not be so good once you’re home. Foreign names have a way of sounding the same when you get home, so good note-taking is critical.

Your article will have more credibility if you provide details since a travel article is part “how-to” and part narrative. Another reason for those notes is documentation when you claim the trip as a business expense.

3. Digital SLR with wide and telephoto zoom lens

Think “light.” If you’re lugging around a lot of gear, you’ll be too beat to use your camera. Traveling light doesn’t mean you leave essentials like a healthy supply of extra memory cards, batteries and flash units at home.

If you’re bringing along a laptop, then a supply of writable CDs or DVDs is important.

Even if you don’t have a chance to edit your images after you download them to your computer, you should burn those images as a backup and mail them to yourself.

That way if all your gear is stolen, you’ll still have images to show when you get home.

Digital photography backdrops are very important as they provide an attractive background that can enhance photographs a great deal. More digital photographers than ever have turned to digital photography for many reasons, which include the convenience, cost, and ability to make photos unique looking by enhancing the images. Available in a wide range of styles and colors, finding the perfect digital photography backdrops for every image or photo is easier than ever.

In today’s market there are several different digital photography backdrop types available for both amateur and professional digital photographers with a different application for each type. The basic background is certainly one of the most popular and best-liked types of backdrops. These use the digital photography backdrop types to conceal the background in the photograph behind the subject with a more satisfactory one. A digital backdrop is also an excellent way to take an average digital portrait and, using a good digital photography backdrop, change it into a quality photograph that resembles one from a professional photography studio. Digital photography backdrops of this type have both commercial as well as personal applications. There are innumerable types of digital photography backdrops geared toward family, friends or children and intended just for entertainment and fun. Some of the many include:

• Image enhancing blocky letters
• Fanciful creature backdrops
• Bright color backdrops
• Island themed backdrops
• Sports themed backdrops
• Holiday themed backdrops
• Landscape backdrops
• Abstract themed backdrops

Compatible with numerous photo-editing software types, digital photography backdrops are very easy to use. Although you can use digital backdrops with practically any image and background, images or pictures taken against the green or blue backgrounds seem to transfer the best to digital backdrops. It is very easy to use photo-editing digital photography backdrop software. Simply open the image, using photo-editing software, onto the same chosen backdrop screen. Render the prior background transparent and then paste the image onto the backdrop, using photo-editing tools. Photo editing programs include tools that edit and smooth any rough edges when using photography backdrops.

The internet is one of the best places to find good digital photography backdrops as online retailers often have a far larger selection of backdrops. Many online retailers are professional photographers themselves, so along with selling digital photograph backdrops, they will share their extensive expertise with you if required. These online retail websites permit customers to look at the digital photography backdrop types they carry before purchasing any and provide customers with troubleshooting tips, easy to follow instructions, and answers to questions people may have about the product.

For a digital photographer looking for backdrops or props to use when taking photos, thrift shops are an excellent place to start looking, as you often find inexpensive and unusual items that will work great. Camera shops and computer stores often sell digital photography backdrops. Very low cost backdrops include using tape and rolls of seamless paper or low thread count, sold color sheets that only need ironing before using. For a photographer that is shooting something small, cheap fabric, curtains and tablecloths work well.

Nature photography as an art form has been around for a long time, but recently it has found respect on the walls of up-market galleries. This is a big change from 20 years ago, when nature photography was only considered worthy of second-rate postcards and calendars.

Over the years, postcards and calendars began to improve in quality as nature photographers with real talent entered the industry. High quality posters of whales, wolves, elephants and spectacular landscapes from around the world were suddenly worthy of framing. Finally nature photography galleries began to appear and, more importantly, turn a profit.

When I opened my gallery in 1993, many people still felt that you could not make a living selling photography; that people would only buy paintings to hang on their walls. These days, new galleries are opening everywhere; some good, some not so good, and a few that have really hit the big time.

All this activity in the world of nature photography has inspired new generations of photographers to look at nature photography as a hobby or possible profession. These new nature photographers grew up in a very different world than the one I come from. Technology that was unimagined back then is now commonplace, and new photographers have more power in their hands than ever before. But what implications does all this technology have for nature photography?

Nature photographers must now decide how much they will allow their photography to be influenced by technology. In earlier days, good nature photography required a very simple approach; find a great subject, in the best possible light, and use your skill with a camera to capture what you saw. Today it is quite a different story. A nature photographer can (if they choose) find a decent subject, photograph it in whatever lighting conditions they happen to find, then go home and completely alter the colours, the contrast, and even the detail of the picture. The result can be an image that owes more to the marvels of technology than to the wonders of nature.

Each to his own. It is not for me to judge the creative decisions of another photographer. But the question that is in the back of your mind right now deserves to be asked; is this nature photography?

Every photographer is entitled to pursue their craft any way they choose. Of course skills with computer software are just as creative as traditional nature photography skills. However, the person who views a photograph deserves to know what they are looking at, especially if that person is a customer prepared to part with their hard-earned money.

I know many photographers get quite defensive on this subject. Camera clubs around the world continue to wrestle with the issue of judging natural photos alongside manipulated photos. Some clubs have tried to divide competition into separate categories, only to find people sneaking their digitally altered photos into the unaltered category for equal recognition. Understandably, ’software photographers’ want their talents to be recognised on the same level as the ‘in-camera photographers’. And so they should, but not in a way that ignores the difference between the two disciplines.

This is not an attempt to denigrate the skills of the software photographers. It just seems to me that the viewer, and in particular the paying customer, deserves to know.

Increasingly the public is becoming suspicious of good photography. Anything that is outstanding or unusual is now assumed to have been altered or manipulated using computer software. In many cases, it probably has. Unfortunately, this suspicion gives little credit to the traditional photographer (and there are still plenty of us out there) who prefer to do the creative work in the field, before they press the shutter, and reproduce what was captured on the day.

You can’t imagine, unless it has happened to you, how frustrating it is to proudly display your best nature photography, only to hear people say ‘These days it’s all done with computers.’

For the record, my photography is as traditional as it can be in the digital age. Software is becoming essential to my work, as I go throught the process of scanning thousands of slides from my years of travel. Not to alter a photo, but to balance the colour and contrast to make sure the printed photograph matches the original slide. It is also an enormous benefit to finally be able to restore images that have been scratched or otherwise damaged by age.

Digital cameras offer many features that are user friendly, so it is extremely easy to change from a film camera to a digital camera. You will find many benefits to using a digital camera– one of which is that a photographer does not have to spend money on film, which allows them to take unlimited pictures.

Digital cameras also have a built-in LCD screen enabling the photographer to instantly view their pictures before they are printed. A photographer is able to frame their photos better through the LCD screen. The best thing about an LCD screen is that a photographer is able to re-do a photo if it didn’t look as expected. It is very easy to delete and re-take the photo if it does not look good!

You can find all types of digital cameras out there. Both simple point and click cameras and digital SLR cameras include advanced features that you will love. Some of the features in a high-tech digital SLR camera are:

1. The photographer is able to set a digital SLR camera to many different features including aperture priority, shake-reduction, and ISO settings. Or you can make your photography experience much easier by setting the SLR camera to automatic which allows you to focus on other things.

2. Digital SLR cameras broaden your horizon by allowing a photographer to change lenses. Switching out lenses enables a photographer to take many different kinds of photographs with just one camera. A high quality lens allows you to shoot in many different conditions with much brighter and sharper images.

3. Owning nice photography equipment sets a higher status for the photographer. Other people view you as being more experienced in the photography field because they see the nice equipment. It is easy to gain that higher status because the equipment is very affordable!

Although you have many camera options out there, you should definitely choose a digital camera over a film camera. Because digital cameras are so affordable, there is no question about what kind of digital camera you should buy– digital SLR cameras are the way to go.

Submitted By: Albreht Moy
Photographic filter is an attachment that will allow certain kinds of light to be able to pass through, and able to reduce or block out other unwanted light sources.In short, the term filter really means anything that modifies the incoming light in some way and includes: polarizing screens, multi-image prisms,close-up attachments, soft focus filters, neutral density (ND) filters, graduated ND filters, and color filters for black and white photography. Filters come in two main shapes: round and square.

Filters add color and a certain touch to a photo that complements the individuals style of photo taking. When you are using a black and white film with filters, you can darken or lighten the tone of the subjects color. The color filters that are used can darken the tone of an opposite color and brighten the tone of the color filter that is being used. For an example, a red filter will make the red leafs on an autumn tree look very rich and bright, while on the other hand the sky behind it that was blue, is now almost black.

Neutral density filters reduce the light entering your camera so that a slower shutter speed,or a larger aperture can be used. Graduated ND filters are used to balance out bright skies against darker foreground scenes.

A neat filter is called the star filter. This type of filter in photography is placed on the cameras lenses to create a star look effect form any source of light. This is very popular with television game shows and used for portraits to provide a soft overall diffusion. A split field lenses is really a full lenses but only half of it is close-up, it is great for taking a picture of something close-up at the bottom like a small flower or bug in focus. The top of the lenses is just blank or empty and the camera uses its lenses to background in focus, say the mountain in the distance.

Like any subject in nature photography, waterfall photos also come with their own set of challenges. A beginner can be disappointed with their results time and time again, simply due to simple mistakes that can be easily overcome. Really good waterfall photography is not about expensive equipment or hi-tech methods; just a decent camera and a basic understanding of a few manual settings.

In fact, a really good waterfall photograph probably owes more to good lighting and composition than to technology. This is great news; it means you can improve your waterfall photos no matter what sort of camera you have! Here are five simple tips to help you take some great waterfall photos of your own.

Waterfall Photography Tip #1. Choose the Right Weather Conditions. Many waterfalls are found in the rain forest, or in heavily wooded areas. That means the same rules of lighting that apply to rain forest photography also apply to waterfall photos. Most of the time you will get your best photos in overcast weather. Cloud cover creates even, low-contrast lighting that eliminates harsh patches of light and shade from your waterfall image. While we are on the subject of lighting; avoid using your flash in most situations. It will destroy the atmosphere created by the natural light.

You should also try to avoid windy days. If you are working with a slow shutter (see tip #2), you don’t want the trees to be blowing about and blurring the background in your photo.

Waterfall Photography Tip #2. Experiment With Shutter Speeds and Carry a Tripod. You have surely seen the soft wispy effect photographers create by shooting flowing water at very slow shutter speeds. This is a popular technique and has great impact for some photos. However, it is not the only method you should try. Some photos can look great, but if you do all your photos this way it can become boring and repetitive. Also, the wispy effect just doesn’t suit every waterfall. In my experience, cascading waterfalls that tumble over rocks and have several levels look great at slow speeds. I usually a shutter speed of one second. However, waterfalls that fall straight down over a ledge into a pool usually look better with a bit more definition; try a speed of about 30/sec or 15/sec. Experimenting with different speeds will always get you the best result in the end.

Regardless of the effect you are after, you should always have your tripod with you for waterfall photography. If you are in the forest on a cloudy day, the level of light will be very low, and you may find yourself forced to use very slow shutter speeds whether you like it or not.

Waterfall Photography Tip #3. Explore Downstream. When you arrive at your location, the first instinct is usually to stand right in front of the waterfall and take the most straightforward angle. However, the best result is often found when you explore downstream. You may find an angle where the stream cascades toward you, with the main waterfall in the background. Or you may be able to frame waterfall through the branches of the trees. There really is no end to the possibilities; the point is, there is never only one shot to take at a waterfall, and the obvious photo is not always the best.

Waterfall Photography Tip #4. Put You Wide-Angle Lens To Work. A wide-angle lens comes in handy for a few reasons. Firstly, it has a naturally strong depth of field. If you are using a slow shutter speed for the water, it is important to keep the rest of the photo sharp. If your main subject is moving and the surroundings are out of focus, your result will just be a big blur. Secondly, the wide-angle lens has an exaggerated sense of perspective, allowing your viewer to feel that they are looking up the stream or into the rain forest, not just at a flat picture.

Waterfall Photography Tip #4. Let The Flow Of Water Shape Your Composition. Whenever you compose a photo, you use the lines and shapes in the picture to create the best impact. The direction of movement in the water can create a powerful visual flow in your photograph. The viewer’s eye will naturally follow the direction of the water, so you should use this to help shape your composition. If you stand downstream so that the stream flows toward the camera, you can create a distinct visual direction in your composition that will truly catch and lead the eye of the viewer.

So, there you have five very simple ways to take better waterfall photos. As in all nature photography, writing and reading about it is never as inspiring as getting out and doing it. I hope these tips give you some motivation to grab a friend, get out there and practice. Have fun!

It’s called black and white photography, but it’s so much more. There’s the black at one end of the spectrum, white at the other end, and a whole lot of beauty in between. Just like the old black and movies of the 1940s, black and white photographs can appear classic and romantic.

Black and white photography is all about contrast. Texture creates a great deal of interest in a black and white picture. Shooting from different directions and different times of day will produce shadows and shading and result in an entirely different picture of the same subject.

If you’re new to the world of photography, beginning to photograph in the simplicity of black and white allows, or forces, you to focus on the real subject of the photograph and nothing else. You’re not distracted by the color, which can sometimes detract from the picture. Whether you use film or digital, black and white photography is at your fingertips.

Consider investing some time doing research. There are some good books devoted to the art of black and white photography. But nothing can replace experimenting as one of the best ways to learn. Most beginners look for bright, sunny days to grab their camera bags and head out for a day of photography. These conditions aren’t what will produce the most striking black and white images. To get some really amazing shots, take your camera bag and go out early in the morning when there’s some frost or fog across the field, lake, or mountains and take as many shots from various directions to capture the pure beauty of the landscape. Take some shots during an active thunderstorm from your porch or on a gray, misty day in the forest.

Portraits are another photographic category that lend themselves nicely to black and white photography. Where color shows every blemish and blotch on the skin, black and white tends to lessen the flaws of the skin tone and presents a softness. Many brides choose to have some black and whites included in their wedding albums. It adds an elegance and, again, there’s the undeniable romantic touch it lends to the collection of photos.

So watch the weather channel and keep your camera bag stocked and ready for those cloudy, overcast days to shoot some of the most perfect black and whites possible. Have some places already selected that you want to photograph so you don’t waste your day looking for a subject. Make sure you have charged your camera or have extra batteries. And most importantly…HAVE FUN!

Learning how to take photos that sell is not hard at all. However, it does take some work. Before I learned how to take sell-able photos, I’d struggle to get my photos sold online. This article shows you how to take more profitable shots.

The main type of photo that will be discussed in this article is stock photos. Stock photos are very different than any other type of photo. Their primary purpose is to sell. Most people that buy stock photography use it for advertisements, book covers, magazines, etc. The pictures are purchased to add visual appeal or make an ad look more appealing to buyers.

When you take stock shots, you have to work differently. Taking pictures the normal way just doesn’t work very well. Your aim should be for a mix between two important aspects:

1. Sells Looking Shots
Stock photos all have that certain look to them. They are simple, have very easy concepts that anybody can understand, and are composed in a basic manner. Stock photos usually have plain backgrounds, high key even lighting without any harsh shadows, and are as sharp and focused as possible. Most stock photographs are too perfect looking.

2. Your Own Style
Anybody can take stock shots like described above. This is the generic type of photos that most agencies have. The key to taking great stock pictures is to balance this generic stereotype with your own personal style of photography.This is what will show your own unique voice. The trick, however, is creating the right balance.Too much personal style and your photo becomes artsy instead of stock photo material. And too little style and too much generic looks will make your photo just like all the others on those sites.