Thanks for tuning into episode 26 of The Understand Photography Show!

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Here are the show notes for episode 26 of The Understand Photography Show:

Understand Photography General Notes

Four Weeks to Proficiency in Photography - The next class begins March 21. Truly knowing photography is a great gift for yourself or someone in your life!

Check out our free webinar video to learn about what you need to know and to experience Peggy's teaching style! https://understandphotography.leadpages.co/4-weeks-photography-education-video/

Upcoming Trips:
St. Augustine 4-Day Trip

Come see Peggy and many famous speakers at the F3C Conference! - Photography: The Art and The Science on March 10-12. You don't want to miss out on this weekend jam-packed with incredible information!

Register on our MeetUp website and you are automatically joined in a Florida camera club - which means a huge discount on the F3C Conference!

Join our Understand Photography Facebook group to ask questions and get feedback!

For classes, private lessons, photography trips, and other events, check out our schedule on our Meetup website.

Show Notes for Episode 26: Wildflower Photography ft. Roger Hammer

The Florida Master Naturalist Program: http://www.masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu/

Roger retired from Castellow Hammock Preserve & Nature Center in Miami-Dade county, one of first citrus farmers in Florida. As of today, he has photographed 96 of Florida's native orchids.

Falcon Guides (www.falcon.com) are color-coded and you can find flowers by color and by region. Roger says that Falcon makes you a better photographer because they don't just accept any photos, so you want to submit top-notch quality.

Roger had these books published:
- Everglades Wildflowers: A Field Guide To Wildflowers Of The Historic Everglades, Including Big Cypress, Corkscrew, And Fakahatchee Swamps
- Florida Keys Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the Wildflowers, Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Florida Keys
- Central Florida Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Lake Wales Ridge, Ocala National Forest, Disney Wilderness Preserve, and More than 60 State Parks and Preserves
- Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies in Tropical Florida: A Companion for Gardeners - 200 plants you can grow in warmer counties
- Florida Icons: 50 Classic Views Of The Sunshine State

The specific regional ones are the most helpful, because the larger a region the book covers, the less useful it becomes.

"You'd be better served by putting your money in to the lens than the camera body."
- Roger Hammer

Roger wants the highest DOF possible. He likes working in Aperture Priority mode; he sets fstop and it picks the speed. Almost all of his shots are betweeen f22-f46; most of them are f32 if he can get away with it.

Equipment Roger uses and recommends:

• Full-frame camera
• 105mm Nikkor 2.8 macro lens
• A good, lightweight tripod
• Wired shutter release (not wireless ones because they have a delay)
• Light diffusing umbrella (below) - it dilutes the brightness, such as a white flower in full sun. It also blocks the wind and takes away shadows and bright/hot spots. You either lay it on the ground or hold it strategically.
• Wimberley plamp (below) - It is recommended to attach it on the leg of a separate tripod; if you do it on the one you're using, the shutter will vibrate it a bit. Roger carries a small lightweight tripod.

Finding flowers:
- Regional guide books
- Florida Plant Atlas - If you know botanical/common name of plant, you can search for it. They also have herbarium specimens, which are cutoff and pressed plants. The label data tells where plants are located.
- Do a Google search for the park, and add "management plan". Usually at end of the management plan is a plant list for that park.

Editing photos:
- Roger said his best editing advice is to "field photoshop", which means picking things out of the photo before you take the photo. Typically this includes straight lines through the pic (such as pine needles, sticks, etc), spiderwebs, etc.
- You don't need Photoshop: Open the photo on your computer, click "Tools", and click Adjust Color. From there, you can adjust the contrast, brightness, sharpness, tint, and saturation.
- Roger uses Photoshop to get rid of blemishes, spots, tears on leaves, or imperfections in the flowers.

Contact Roger Hammer:
Roger L. Hammer's website

See you next week for episode 27!