Photography
Mountain Photography Tips
Taking great images in the world's biggest mountain ranges isn't rocket science, nor is it the sole domain of professional photographers. This series of articles is a crash course, and assumes you have already mustered the basics of taking a decent 35mm image. Articles and images by FTA Principal Dave Hancock.
Gear and Film
Dave uses a combination of Kodachrome 25 and Fugi Velvia slide films. His camera bag holds a Nikon F3, a Nikon F5 (both 35mm film formats), four various Nikon ED lenses from a prime 24mm to a 28-200 zoom, and a SB-24 Nikon flash. Note most of his best images were taken on the older F3, the F5 being a relatively new, and very expensive, addition to his kit that he has yet to get any real use from. Dave will be undertaking 2 Himalayan trips within the next 3 months and plans on giving the new camera a 'good working over".
Aperature Setting
"There is one golden rule when setting aperture, almost always you will want the highest possible setting - ie F8 to F22"
Summary of Photo Tips
At the end of the day, the kind of film your using, or even the kind of camera you have ( I say this slightly tongue in cheek as I shoot on Nikon F3's and F5's..) wont give you a great image.
NIght Photography
Far too many photographers seem to think that picture taking has to stop once the sun has set in the evening. Personally I find this the most exciting and challenging time to capture great images. I love the surrealism, mystery, and unexpected encounters one comes across when shooting at night.
National Geographic Effect
This technique is one you see used regularly in high end magazines. I call it the NG effect because the editors of that magazine were first to really embrace it for its inherent artistic value. In the mid to late nineties it seemed you could not open an NG magazine without seeing this technique used at least once.
Neutral Density Graduated Filters
A split graduated ND filter reduces the amount of light (lumen) coming into the (normally) top of your viewable frame.In doing so it helps the film balance out the light variance so it more accurately sees what the human eye can see.
"Far too many photographers seem to think that picture taking has to stop once the sun has set in the evening. Personally I find this the most exciting and challenging time to capture great images..." Dave Hancock
