By Ginger Dunn

Photography is as much about evoking emotion and telling a story as it is about the technical aspects of camera settings. A photograph can be technically perfect in every way; however, if it doesn’t move the viewer it is of very little interest to the audience.

As a photographer I want to connect the relationship between photography, emotion and my favorite subject….animals. I’ve loved animals since my first childhood memories. Photographing them has been a long time interest of mine. In recent years I have become more serious about capturing emotion and revealing stories in my images. We’ve all heard the old saying, “The eyes are the windows to the soul”. In photography capturing the eyes of any animal in sharp focus is a key technical aspect; however, it is much more as well. The eyes tell the story of an individual showing us sadness, happiness, fear, and a wide range of emotions. Think of some of the really great photos of wildlife you’ve seen. The story can usually be seen in the eyes. A lioness stalking her prey, a newborn foal with his mother, or a zoo animal seeing its keeper approaching with today’s meal all bring to light part of the life of an individual. Continue reading →

By Brian Stamm

Novice as well as professional photographers can have a lot of fun with changing the shutter speed of their camera. Playing with length of time the shutter is open when taking a photograph can lead to very interesting photographs. Most people are familiar with the “slow water” shots where streams and rivers take on a silky look and provide an almost ethereal feeling. But slow water is just the beginning. There is a lot more that slow shutter speeds can do to help a photographer create that unique piece of art and here’s how to do it. Continue reading →