Flower and Nature Photography

I taught myself how to photograph with an SLR camera I bought years ago. The best one to start with I think at least is the Nikon D5100. It is the one Oprah gave away in one her last Christmas shows when her show was still on. It is what I got and I still love it even though I also have an upgraded one now. The Nikon D5100 has a guide on it that is very helpful when you just learning this kinds of cameras and want to go beyond automatic for taking pictures. It tells you on the guide how to set up a shot for macro so that you will get a good background blue or what settings to use when you want no blur in the photograph. And what is great is the same lenses I use on it I can also use on my new one since it is also a Nikon.

The cherry blossom flowers are from Spring 2014. I took them with my newest camera which is a Nikon DSLR camera. I used a zoom lens on that particular photo which is my favorite to use for taking pictures of flowers and birds. I will sometimes use my macro lens for flowers. I discovered while on a trip to Kauai and not taking a close up lens that I should have. I only brought my zoom lens and so getting close ups on the beach did not work out well.

The palm trees and the bay in Kauai (above picture) was taken from my balcony with my zoom lens so you can see how well it zooms. I love this lens. Getting a close up when you are standing on the beach was trickier and I ended up realizing that my point and shoot was better for that only because I did not bring a close up lens with me to Kauai.

The above picture shows what my zoom lens does when I am photographing a beach shot. I would prefer a wider view where the ocean was also in the picture.

The video is one I put together with some of my photography taken over the last few years. It has mostly flowers I love to photograph as well as birds I have come upon while out taking pictures of flowers.

The picture of Spouting Horn which is a blow hole where the ocean comes through the rocks was a cool one to take with my zoom lens. It was not close but because of my lens it looks like I was close to it.

I took this picture on windy day and I do not think you can even tell which I owe to my camera's lens which has image stabilization which I talk about in my favorite lens.

My favorite lens for taking nature pictures such as trees, insects, birds and flowers is the Nikon 55-300. It is a zoom lens and gives photographs a very good bokeh or blur to the background. I like this best in photographs as I think it adds beauty to an image and makes the image itself pop.

If you have a Canon camera or prefer them I am sure they have a comparable lens in their zoom lenses.

For closer up macro photography I do still love my 55-300 lens but I also do have the 40mm lens and a wide angle lens that words great for macro photography and even low light and indoor. Although my wide angle lens does not have image stabilization on it like my zoom lens which is a very important factor in how images will come out unless you use a tripod for photography which takes away the problem of hand shake. The zoom lens I use is heavy so it is important for it to have the image stabilization. I find it too bulky to carry a tripod around and set it up.

• A good zoom lens is something you will want to have when photographing nature especially flowers and birds.
• A good tripod
• A good quality memory card (SLR cameras have large file sizes so make sure you get a memory card that will store quite a few photos.
• A good backpack to carry your camera and extra lenses.
• Extra lenses (pick out lenses that are compatible with your camera besides the one that goes with your camera kit if you buy a kit rather than just the body.
• You will need filters to protect the lens glass. I think this is important. Every lens of mine has filters on them. It is best to get a decent quality filter also as that will make a difference in your images.
• A lens cleaner and cloth
• Books on flower photography can be helpful
• Extra batteries. I like to have an extra one that I have charged so I always have a full battery on hand.