October 2016 - Esther Beaton

5x Growth – a Conservation Success Story

Several years ago, I partnered up with science writer Karen McGee to produce a feature on Gould’s Petrel for the UK magazine, Geographical. Most stories of endangered species I find confronting, but this one turned out to have a happy ending. Gould’s Petrel nests almost exclusively on a tiny bunch of rocks off the coast […]

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Behind the Scenes, Bird Images, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, New South Wales, Professional Photography, Threatened speciesbird photography, Cabbage Tree Island, conservation, environment, Gould's Petrel, John Gould Nature Reserve, National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, Port Stephens, seabirds

A quick lesson in quick lighting

What makes this family “portrait” so pleasing? No, it’s not the fact that it’s my family – my sister and nephews. It’s the lighting. My sister has taken this “selfie” while keeping in mind all the rules of a good photo: 1. Tight cropping. She’s not afraid to even chop a bit off one of

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People Photography, Photography Equipment, Photography Techniques, Quick Tipsbounce light, family, grab shot, portrait, smartphone

Don’t frame too tight

Sometimes, when I’ve been judging photo competitons, I’ve had to evaluate an image where the subject in the photo is wedged so tight in the frame that you get an uncomfortable feeling looking at it. When I’ve commented that “there’s no room to breathe” the photographer usually rebuts me by saying “but I’ve been criticised

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Bird Images, Cute Animals, Nature and Wildlife, New South Wales, Photography Techniques, Quick Tips, Wildlife Photographybird photography, composition, hollows, Nature photography, old growth trees, photography, tree hollows, wildlife portrait