Recent Nature Articles

Comprehensive Guide to Shooting and Editing Astrophotography Time-Lapse Videos

The Syrp Genie caught everyone's attention with its contemporary design and advanced automation features that made it a time-lapse photographer's best tool in the field. Today, photographer Mark Gee shares tips on how to set up and use the Genie while offering a few great suggestions that apply to all methods of landscape photography, from what apps he uses on his phone to help him plan every shot to how to edit for final output. Need to shoot a time-lapse soon? Whether you're experienced or just starting, there's undoubtedly something in here for you.

VonWong Goes Stormchasing for Severe Weather Backgrounds in Portrait Series about Climate Change

No stranger to unique and challenging photography pursuits, Ben VonWong's latest adventure sent him across the Western United States in search of summer thunderstorms, with an entourage of assistants, filmmakers, and models helping along the way. VonWong shared this behind-the-scenes video, but also some insightful information as to the conversation he hopes to start– one about the seriousness of climate change.

Behind the Scenes with Photographer Craig Kolesky Shooting Skiing and Biking in the African Desert

It can be a real creative challenge to try and concept, as well as execute, something that has never been done before, especially in photography. Adventure photographer Craig Kolesky accepted that challenge and ended up in the desert of Namibia, with two unlikely athletes for such a location. I asked Craig a few questions about this project that he shot for Red Bull Photography.

New Locations and How A Photographer Can Find Them

When I was younger, my dad took a class on photography at a local community college. To this day, he says that the biggest thing he learned from the class was that to take interesting pictures, you have to go to interesting places. I suppose that if you are a travel, landscape, or nature photographer, that is true. What a lot of people don’t realize is that interesting places are all around us. Having grown up in Ohio, I always thought that I was stuck in a dreary, featureless landscape of corn and soybeans.

The Beautiful Results of an Underwater Photographer and MIT Physicist Working Together

Keith Ellenbogen is an underwater photographer whose work centers on marine conservation, while Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist whose work revolves around fluid dynamics inside black holes. When they met at a party in 2013, they realized they could combine their talents to produce gorgeous video of some of nature's most interesting marine life.

Mac Stone Discusses His Conservation Photography at the Everglades

When people think of visiting the Everglades, wading around neck deep, alligator infested waters isn't exactly what most folks have in mind. For Florida-born photographer Mac Stone, this is what he calls his office. Stone has been steadily developing his work in conservation, particularly of wetlands. He recently gave a compelling speech at a TedTalks event, discussing not only his evocative work but importance of the wild areas he works in.

Canon's New Ultra-Sensitive Camera Shows Incredible Video of the Milky Way and an Awesome Glowworm Cave

The ME20F-SH is Canon's latest, crazy-high ISO camera, able to record clean video at over ISO 4 million (not a typo). Early footage was lackluster in content, and early media stated the natural security-field uses for such a camera. But the latest video suggests the ME20F-SH could be used to shoot incredibly beautiful footage of our world that wouldn't have been able to be captured the same way in the past.

Try Not to Flinch While Watching Rattlesnakes Strike at This GoPro Invading Their Den

YouTuber Michael Delaney found a pit full of rattlesnakes and, despite anyone's best suggestions, didn't turn back. Instead, armed with a GoPro on the end of a stick, Delaney recorded the scene, most of during which the only audible audio was the collective rattling of the bunch. Eventually, repeated strikes from multiple snakes knock the GoPro off of its mount and into the middle of the pit (good luck getting that one back). Put it some headphones, put the video on full screen... I dare you not to flinch at the first good strike...

Multi-Part Video Series on Mastering Drone Footage Is a Must-Watch That Will Make You Drool While You Learn

Cinema5D founder Sebastian Wöber's latest three-part tutorial on drone shooting starts off with quite the introduction in Part I. Wöber could honestly be saying anything to accompany his to-die-for footage, but what makes it so fantastic is how great the information in this video is. From safety to beginner tips on getting started and how to get that cinematic shot you have in your head (don't worry, Wöber has plenty examples if you don't), Part I has you covered. And there's more to come...very soon.

"Off The Beaten Track" in Svalbard - Photographing Melting Ice, Polar Bears, and More

A few weeks ago, I shared the second episode of the video series "Off the Beaten Track," where photographer Chris Schmid visited the land of the Maasai people, photographing their culture and the wild animals of the National Reserve in Kenya. Chris recently released the third episode where he explores a much cooler climate. Svalbard is one of the most remote places in the Northern Hemisphere. This episode is beautifully shot with the DJI Inspire 1 and DJI Zenmuse X5, giving you a new look into the quickly melting ice and the polar bears who live there.

Breathtaking Time-Lapse of Arizona's Monsoon Season

Over the summer, photographer Mike Olbinski spent an astounding 48 days on the road chasing storms during the monsoon season in his home state of Arizona. His epic new video, “Monsoon II,” is a captivating collection of the best of the best time-lapse footage he captured during his extended time on the road witnessing these giant storm systems. This is one time-lapse video you need to check out.

Planetary Motion: Photographer Creates 3D Motion From NASA's New Moon Photos

Canadian Designer, Photographer, and Cinematographer Tom Kucy doesn't sleep. Less than two days after we reported on NASA's huge release of over 10,000 never-before-seen photos from the Apollo space missions, Kucy decided to work them into a project that involves taking these almost half-century old two-dimensional film images and converting them into moving, stereoscopic 3D photographs.

Action Scene From 'Everest' Without Sound Effects Reminds Us of the Importance of Great Sound

While the original source couldn't be independently confirmed, the studio behind the recently released movie, "Everest," apparently sent BBC a clip of the still unreleased film without audio effects. Instead, throughout the entire otherwise hair-raising scene, the actors speak to each other in a tone seemingly more appropriate for a focus group discussion between amateurs trying to solve a Rubik's cube than for a life-threatening situation climbing Mount Everest.

NASA Releases Gorgeous Color Photos of Pluto's Moon, Charon

NASA recently released beautiful color photos of Pluto's moon, Charon, taken by the New Horizons spacecraft just before its closest approach on July 14 of this year. The photo shows an extraterrestrial object with a complex and storied history.

Photographer Gets Creative, Turns Coconut Into Camera

Nope, we're not joking. Photographer Kotama Bouabane is creating photographs using coconuts. While he used the fruit in several different ways to create images, his most interesting method simply involves tape, a coconut, and some photo paper! Read on and check out the video for more!

Film and Photoshop: The Story of a $900,000 Stock Photo

It's a photo so ubiquitous that if you type "iceberg photo" into Google, it's the first two image results. And the sixth. And the tenth. Ralph Clevenger's iconic photo of an iceberg's tip peeking out from the water while the substantial body of it remains below has graced countless publications, from full-page magazine advertisements commissioned by major corporations to the ever-famous "Imagination" motivational poster. It's a photo that is so famous that it's been copied, stolen, manipulated, parodied, and imitated an innumerable number of times over its nearly twenty-year existence. It's even made rounds on the internet as a hoax that Snopes picked up.

These Time Lapses of Flowers Blooming Are Mesmerizing

Majo Chudy set up a small studio in his home using grow lights and some blankets to capture perfectly lit time-lapses of flowers blooming. As you might imagine, it wasn't quite as easy as it sounds.

Watch Every Episode Of Photographing The World Behind The Scenes Right Here

Over the last two months we have been releasing one episode a week of our Behind the Scenes series of our world tour with Elia Locardi. In this first season (Season 2 is currently being edited), we visit both Iceland and New Zealand to film our latest tutorial on all things landscape photography.

How to Post Process the Night Sky in Lightroom

Creator and editor of Lonely Speck, pro night sky photographer Ian Norman is back with another great tutorial. Being nothing short of passionate when it comes to astrophotography Ian always seems eager to share what he has learned over the years. In his latest video Ian gives us the rundown on how he post processes Milky Way photos in Lightroom.

Life on the Road: The Realities of Traveling While Working as a Filmmaker and Photographer

In the last few weeks I interviewed both the Wickstrom’s and the Hage’s, creative couples who make their living while traveling full time. In this article, I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned from spending two months on the road with my partner, while trying to stay on top of projects and work on new ones. Come to find out, it is not as fun and dreamy as it sounds.

How New Zealand's Strange Magnetic Field Almost Destroyed Our Drone, P.T.W. BTS Ep 6

Photographing The World BTS episode 6 is finally here and this is the one many of you have been waiting for. At this point in the series I had flown this drone in 7 different countries in snow and rain, and I even crashed it into the side of an ice cave but it kept on working. The streak finally ends in New Zealand when I have my first and only serious crash.

Life on the Road: DesignEgg's Andy Wickstrom on Photography, Business, and Travel

Many of us dream about the idea of traveling, and using our skills as photographers, filmmakers, or designers to sustain a lifestyle that allows us to travel and work at the same time. Guys like Elia Locardi come to mind, but his methods are just one of many different ways to make a nomadic working lifestyle a sustainable one, and in this article I’ll tell you the story behind Wickstrom Design.

HAZMAT Surfing Video Predicts a Dangerous Future for Our Oceans

Earlier in the week, we shared Michael Dyrlands, HAZMAT Surfing photo series. To recap, HAZMAT Surfing is a photo series that gives a futuristic look at what surfing could be like twenty to twenty-five years down the road and spreads awareness of our oceans contamination. Dyrland came up with the idea after he was unable to enter the water on a trip to LA because of ten billion gallons of run off that had polluted the ocean after an evening of heavy rain. Dyrland has now released a video version of HAZMAT Surfing, which continues to spread awareness of the contamination of our oceans.

10 More Photographers You Should Be Following On Fstoppers

Last week I made a list of 10 of my favorite photographers to follow on Fstoppers and a few people complained that too many of them were "portrait" photographers. I've scoured the community again and today I've created a new list with 10 incredible, additional photographers who shoot much more than your average portrait.

You Will Be a Happier Person after Watching This Elegant and Peaceful Timelapse

Every so often Fstoppers will post a video on Timelapse Photography. Well, it's that time again because this particular one is worth your while. David de Los Santos is a computer engineering student who enjoys making incredible timelapses of flowers blooming. His latest timelpase is a sequel to another one that was filmed in 2014 called Flowers opening timelapse. The original video received a Vimeo Staff Pick and was featured on National Geographic's website. Both videos are scored by composer Roger Subirana with peaceful and uplifting music.

Relativity and the Context Within: Thoughts on Power and Responsibility in Photography

An unedited photograph I took in the Santa Cruz Mountains and posted on Instagram got a decent amount of feedback. People asked questions about where this was, what kind of dream world I had uncovered, and if they could repost it in some form in different areas of the web. I loved this image, too; but naturally, I began to wonder what it was that was so special or engaging about this photograph? I almost never take anything but "people" shots.
Take an Emotional Journey Through Time with Photographer's Amazing "Past and Present" Project

Three years ago, Photographer Christian Carollo came upon his grandfather's travel photography from across the United States. The initial spark for the "Past and Present" Project started with a particular image of the small coastal town of Winchester Bay, Oregon. Christian wondered if he could replicate the image and he succeeded. This was the start of an epic and awe-inspiring project now known as the Past and Present Project. Christian has traveled all over the United States, continuing to replicate his grandfather's images. The results are breathtaking and have re-inspired in me the true emotional potential a single image can have.

Fstoppers Visits New Zealand, Is Attacked By "Wingless Bird" P.T.W. BTS Ep 5

Photographing The World Behind The Scenes Episode 5 is here. In last weeks episode (episode 4) we spent our last day in Iceland, and our photography guide went on a rant about photographers that is so hilarious, his rant has more views than the entire episode. In episode 5 we leave Siggy behind and fly to the opposite side of the world, New Zealand.

HAZMAT Surfing Photos Raise Awareness of Contaminated Oceans

Michael Dyrland is a photographer based out of Washington. On a trip to Los Angeles for a shoot, Michael was hoping to score some classic California days and get into the ocean for some epic surf. The conditions Michael encountered were not exactly what he had hoped for, following and evening of heavy rainfall, he was confined to the beach for several days because the ocean was contaminated with ten billion gallons of run off. As Michael puts it, the contamination was composed of “sewage, garbage, oil, and shit (literally, human fecal matter).” Michael made the decision not to paddle out to avoid being vulnerable to staph infections, respiratory illness, MRSA and Hepatitis C.
Photographer Paints Florescent Scenes on Naked Bodies Under Blacklights

John Poppleton is a Photographic Artist from Northern Utah. Since 2010, John has been photographing black light bodyscapes. Each shot is a process that takes several hours where John uses temporarily florescent paints to turn the human body into a beautiful landscape. John then photographs his freshly painted subject under black light to create some truly awe inspiring pieces.