Photography is a great hobby or profession to have. There is just so much room to learn, grow and have fun that for me it would be a dream job. But, for now it is just a "passionate" hobby. One type of photography I really like is nature photography. Lets face it animal species are dying off even as we try to save them. The world is becoming more and more populated meaning we are loosing more and more of our open spaces. As an example just look at what happen when China built the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei, China.

The 600 kilometer (375 mi) long reservoir created by the damn has or will flood some 1,300 archaeological sites and alter the appearance of the Three Gorges as the water level rises over one hundred meters at various locations. Cultural and historical relics are being moved to higher ground as they are discovered but the flooding of the Gorge will undoubtedly cover some undiscovered relics. Some other sites cannot be moved because of their location, size or design. For example the hanging coffins site high in the Shen Nong Gorge is inherently part of the sheer cliffs themselves.

These historical sites contain remnants of the homeland of the Ba, an ancient people who settled in the region more than 3000 years ago. One of the traditions of the Ba was to bury the dead in coffins in caves high on the cliff, some of which are submerged and others will soon be submerged *.

* Some of the text above was taken from the Wikipedia web site. The full article and text can be read at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam. If you would like to learn more Google: Three Gorges Dam

While progress is progress one can't help but feel the loss of such historic sites. This is where photography and nature photography comes in. Using our cameras we can photograph nature be it wonderful landscapes or incredible animals so that when these are gone, lost to the mists of eternity we still have a record of them not only for ourselves in this time, but for those that come after us. Just imagine what we would have today if we had photographers in ancient Egypt or during Christ's birth or death. While we can't go back and photograph those things, we can photograph what is hear now so that in the future people will be able to see what has changed and what has been lost.

If we are going to have a historical record of nature on our world for our own enjoyment and remembrance as well as for future generations we need to know how to capture nature with our cameras in the best way possible. Thanks to digital cameras we have more people in the world today shooting pictures than in the entire history of photography combined. This is an exciting time, but we need to strive to do more than just point our camera and press the button.

For those of us that like nature photography one of my favorite books on the subject is Digital Nature Photography The Art and the Science by John and Barbara Gerlach, from Focal Press. This modest sized full color book is a real pleasure to read. It is loaded with inspiring photographs of nature. The information provided inside of it is easy to understand and easy to put in to practice.

Chapters:

Chapter 1: The Excitement Over Digital Photography
Chapter 2: Developing Your Photographic Skills
Chapter 3: Choosing Your Digital Camera
Chapter 4: Exposure Essentials
Chapter 5: Using Lenses Effectively
Chapter 6: Shoot Sharp Images Consistently
Chapter 7: The Magic of Light
Chapter 8: Composing Strong Images
Chapter 9: The Exciting World of Close-ups and Macro
Chapter 10: Using Flash Effectively
Chapter 11: Carrying Your Photography Gear
Chapter 12: Final Thoughts

Digital Nature Photography is a book designed for any photographer that wants to hone their skills for taking nature photos. It covers everything you need to know to capture nature at its best and help preserve it forever. If we are going to alter the face of the Earth with our society then the least we can do is document what is there before it is lost forever. Thanks to digital cameras and books like Digital Nature Photography it is now easier and more fun than ever before.