Nature Photography Tips 16 to 19

© Paul Mozell
The fourth installment in a new series. Your feedback is welcome! All photographs in the series are available as fine art prints and licensed stock images.

16) Silky smooth waterfalls and surf

Sideside homes on Bass Rocks, Gloucester, MA, Cape Ann. (Paul Mozell)

Sideside homes on Bass Rocks, Gloucester, MA, Cape Ann.

Most of us are drawn to silky smooth water photographs. Is it the other-worldliness that is appealing? Achieving the effect is very simple. It’s all about selecting a shutter speed of at least 1 second — avoid using Auto or Program modes. Sunny days are not ideal because there’s just too much contrasty light. So work early or late in the day, under a thick forest canopy or an overcast sky. You’ll need a sturdy tripod or even a beanbag, and ideally, a cable release. Set your camera on its lowest ISO setting to minimize the amount of light Continue reading

Nature Photography Tips 11 to 15

© Paul Mozell
The third installment in a new series. Your feedback is welcome! All photographs in the series are available as fine art prints and licensed stock images.

11) Use long lenses to capture wide landscapes and wide angle lenses in small spaces —sometimes. I’ve stood on countless mountaintops with grand vistas trying to convey the depth and dimension of the scene with a 24 or 28mm lens. So often it just doesn’t work. Its like trying to wrap your arms around a gigantic beach ball. Unless the sky is full of dramatic clouds you’ll end up with a frame full of featureless sky and a shrunken landscape. Instead, look for the details in the scene. Use your long lens to flatten out a portion of the landscape and do the opposite of what the binocular vision shaped by your two eyes is urging you to do with the wide lens. Conversely, when you’re in a small space like a dark forest or a narrow gorge, pull out the widest lens you have to enlarge the space. Continue reading

Nature Photography Tips 6 to 10

© Paul Mozell
The second installment in a new series. Many of the tips are not specific to nature photography. Your feedback is welcome!

6)  Shoot every day. So many aspects of photography improve with practice; some subtle, some obvious. Just as a musician needs to play or sing every day, and an athlete has work out each day to maintain his or her edge, your nature photography will benefit from daily exercise. This includes your facility with camera settings and lighting, and the clarity of your vision and creative viewpoint.

Sunset glow on Bass Rocks, Gloucester, MA. Toyo Field, 4x5.

7)  Ask for feedback. “What do you think of my photographs?” can be a tough question to ask; especially if you are afraid the answer won’t be what you want to hear. But getting feedback from a variety of sources will improve your photography. Flickr users will give you plenty of feedback as will the users of the new photo-sharing site 500px. Local photography clubs, workshops, and classes can be a good source of knowledgeable, compassionate opinions.

8) Exhibit your work. Get out of the closet and show your work. Chances are you can show several pieces each year at a local art association. Visit the private art galleries in your area and inquire if they are selling photography. Many galleries don’t. If they show some interest, present a portfolio of local subjects. People vacationing in Down East Maine want to return home with photographs of the seashore, not images of Yosemite. Some restaurants can be decent venues — but price your work lower than you would at a gallery. Continue reading

Nature Photography Tips 1 to 5

© Paul Mozell

Today I’m launching a series of short tips about how to improve your nature photography. Each post will have about 5 pointers and my working list currently runs to fifty points. At some time in the near future all the points will be published as an e-book or perhaps, something more ambitious. Your comments are welcome!

A pond in Harold Parker State Forest, Andover, Massachusetts. Nikon d300, 18-70, Manfrotto tripod and ball head.

 1)    Landscape photography – it’s the journey that counts. In all the years I have been making landscape and outdoor photographs, my quest for beautiful and compelling images has taken me on some wonderful adventures — even if the final photographs were not rewarding. Try thinking of your camera as something that helps you to see the world, rather than just a tool for making images.

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Rainy Day at the Pond

The rain was very heavy for most of the day yet I had to get out and make some photographs. With my camera shielded by an umbrella mounted on a tripod with a “Superclamp”, I composed this shot of a pond in Harold Parker State Forest in North Andover, MA.

Cape Ann Photography: Sailboats, Ospreys, and Seashore

© Paul Mozell

Cape Ann’s jagged coast and its fishing and sailing heritage, continue to inspire my camera and my soul. Recently, I’ve been exploring boat-building shops, looking for examples of traditional handiwork. Marine architect and boatbuilder Harold Burnham is currently building the pinky schooner Ardelle. When the beautiful red oak and locust boat is launched this summer Burnham will operate it as a charter out of the Gloucester Maritime Historical Center. Harold Burnham is the eleventh generation of his family to build boats in Essex, Massachusetts. Click here to learn more about the project.

The Ardelle will be launched in the Essex River early this summer.

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Interior Photography


I recently photographed this library in a private home in Boston. The custom floor to ceiling bookshelving in the octagonal-shaped room was designed and built by L.”Stroker” Rogovin of Arlington, MA. The challenge in making this image was to maximize the angle of view, minimize linear distortion, and balance the exterior with the interior light sources. A certain amount of post-processing achieved the look I was going for.

One Hour in the Spring Woods

I had a little over a hour free this afternoon before picking up my daughter from school — enough time for a little bushwhack through Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield, MA. ( All photos available for licensing and as gallery prints.

Anemonella thalictroides, Rue Anemone

American Beech leaves, immature.

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Jazz In the Park


I grew up in New York City and in my teens and twenties I loved the diverse and ever-changing  street performers scene in Central Park. Then, I photographed musicians with a twin-lens Rolliflex and today I worked with a digital Nikon. Regardless of the photographic format the music still thrives and jumps off the page.