Outdoor Perspectives

Retaining detail

Andrew — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:32:44 +0000

When you take a photograph, using any type of camera, and expose the shot for the mid-tones (which is what usually happens), the amount of detail in the very dark and very light areas is quite low. This is because the cameras has a relatively low dynamic range - you can either see detail in the lighter areas and not the dark, or you can detail in the dark ares and not the light. Read article »

The key to a better shot?

Andrew — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:05:43 +0000

I'm sometimes asked by people, "What can I do to take better photos?". There is one tip I think is relevant to everybody. It's one I learned early on, and I think it really helped develop my ability. It can be used in almost any type of shot, be it landscape, wildlife or architecture. I'd like to share it with you as I really feel it will instantly improve your photos. Read article »

Mushroom picking

Zanete — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:09:30 +0000

It’s an early September morning with sun rays reflecting off the morning dew on spider webs, distant calls of a black woodpecker and the tweeting of crested tits high up the spruce trees. We slowly walk along our favourite forest path where I know mushrooms I’m after should grow. And sure enough, here is the first Cep (or Penny Bun as it’s also called). A bit further a bunch of yellow Chantarelle mushrooms is scattered amongst green moss. And more ceps, And more… We walk from one mushroom to another, and the basket is getting heavier and heavier. Read article »

Wolves in Latvia: Past and Present

Zanete — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:52:32 +0000

"Where is Latvia?" I bet many people would ask straight away. It's a part of Europe, with Latvia being the middle of the Baltic States, between Estonia in the north and Lithuania in the south. It also borders Russia and Belarus. And it's thanks to our eastern neighbours that there's a strong wolf population in the Baltics in general, and Latvia in particular. Read article »

Wolf Tracking

Zanete — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 18:49:16 +0000

Following a one-day's track is like a detective story uncoiling its secrets right in front of your eyes. Let's take a one-day tracking of a wolf pack in Kemeri National Park, Latvia, as an example. We head out to the forest on a fine spring day when the sun melts the upper layers of snow forming an ice crust at night. We find a track of two wolves crossing a stream. A few blood drops on the snow next to the track indicate that one of them was a female wolf in heat as March is the breeding season for this species. Read article »

Monitor Calibration

Andrew — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 20:26:42 +0000

If you're a digital photographer or you have some knowledge of computer graphics, I'm sure you have your monitor calibrated nicely. However, if you have never tweaked your brightness and contrast levels against a greyscale chart, this short article explains what you should do in order to view my photos as I'd like them to be viewed! Read article »

Lynx Capture!

Zanete — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:26:14 +0000

It's no secret that Latvia has one of the biggest populations of European lynx (Lynx lynx) in Europe (counting several hundred individuals). However, until recently, this species has been poorly studied, and the first studies (started in mid-1990s) involved examination of harvested animals (sex and age, diet, parasites etc. - basically all kind of information one can obtain from a dead animal). Read article »