On Saturday and Sunday Joe and Mary Ann will share a life-time of tips and techniques they have learned while photographing the worlds wildlife. From the advantages of digital capture to the proper use of electronic flash, you will be amazed at what you wil learn.

Getting to NCTC: http://training.fws.gov/meet/gettinghere.htm 

Topics to be covered include: 

Digital Workflow – Shooting digital images is a dream come true, but managing those digital files can be a nightmare. We’ll show you a near-fool-proof system for keeping track of your files from the initial download to the final output. Never lose an image again!

Maximizing the Digital Potential – Digital images and powerful software programs has broadened photographers’ horizons, if only they’re aware of this powerful potential. We’ll show you how to think digitally so that you can create stunning panoramas, challenging exposure composites, and focus composites that may change the way you look at the limitations of depths of field! We’ll discuss the importance of the RAW format and how to maximize images through competent RAW conversions.

Shooting It Right – While RAW conversions can salvage a less-than perfect exposure, it’s time-saving and often critical to get the exposure right in the initial capture. We’ll show you how to expose accurately, interpret histograms, and, most importantly, learn how every exposure meter thinks.

Composition – Photography is more than point n shoot, and by following sound compositional guidelines you can transform ordinary images into works of art. We’ll show you our techniques for making powerful images.

Lenses – The lens is your photographic eye to the world and selecting the best lens to capture your vision is critical. We’ll show you how to make the most of your lenses to maximize depths of field, to select the best angle of view, and the best ways to maximize your amazing autofocus lenses.

The $4,000 Mouse – In this fun introduction we’ll show you the tools we used, and the lengths we went to, to capture some exciting images of a common woodland inhabitant. You’ll understand why mastering your equipment is so important and how, by doing so, you can capture images you never thought possible.

Understanding Electronic Flash – Most photographers avoid using flash because of the disappointing results they obtain. This doesn’t have to be, and here we’ll show you how to use your flash most effectively. You’ll learn how TTL flash works and how you can incorporate flash photography with your ambient light shooting, how to use fill-flash techniques, and how a TTL flash can be used to capture high-speed action.

Ethics and the Nature Photographer – With more and more photography enthusiasts heading outdoors it’s important to practice good ethics in our pursuit of images. We’ll be discussing ways this can be done, both in the field, through your shooting, and even with digital techniques in post-production.