City Escapes Nature Photography: City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

Newsletter

February, 2014

Your Support Helps More Than Our Bottom Line

As many of you know, every January since our inception we have given 1% of our gross sales to organizations such as the Nature Conservancy that work to protect the landscapes and creatures that make our fantastic jobs possible. We get so much joy from the natural world that we feel it is our corporate obligation –- and our honor –- to help protect it. Money isn’t the complete answer, of course, but it certainly helps. It is with the utmost gratitude to all of you that we are able to report that this year, we were able to make the biggest donation we have yet made. As long as we are around, we will be happily writing this check every January, and with your continued support, it will grow steadily larger each year. We hope that you get additional satisfaction in knowing that not only do you get a fantastic image when you purchase from us, you are also helping to provide critical funding that helps these treasured areas survive. We truly, deeply thank you for your support of us -- and the beautiful places of the earth.

Overexpose for Perfect Snow Shots

With the northeast and the southeast taking turns getting blasted by nasty snow storms, and even parts of the country that rarely see snow getting bits of the white stuff, I know that some of you intrepid photographers out there will be venturing out to get that perfect, rare shot of your kids playing in the snow, the car buried up to its windows, etc. Trusting that all of you will put personal safety and the safety of others above all else, I want to remind you that your camera will want to turn all of that beautiful whiteness into a dull gray. (For an explanation of why, and more in-depth tips on how to correct this problem, see our January, 2012 newsletter: “Exposure Compensation.”) Meter off of something in the middle-color range, such as a blue jacket, a brown tree trunk, etc. If that is not possible, or it doesn’t give you satisfactory results, set your camera to overexpose by about 2/3 of a stop. This will allow more light to hit the sensor, brightening up that snow to the white that you see instead of the gray that the camera sees. Just leave the idiotic, likely-to-break-a-bone- (or worse) if-something-goes-wrong stuff to us professionals. We aren’t any more graceful than anyone else, but it’s somehow less tragic if we get hurt. And it will give you something to laugh at as you are nestled all warm and cozy inside by the fire.

February Specials

Get 10% off of unframed, 8x12 prints of “Waiting Out the Storm – Moose” and / or “Alien Landscape – Palette Springs in Winter” when you order from our specials page. As with all of our unframed prints, these prints are eligible for our No Hassle Returns.

Fun Facts

The Olympics are coming! In the spirit of all things Olympia, how much do you know about Mount Olympus?

· Mount Olympus is in Greece, in the Olympus Range. It’s not the only one, though. There is also a Mount Olympus in Turkey, Cyprus, Utah, and Washington State, among others (the latter in the Olympic Range).

· The Greek Mount Olympus has 52 peaks (!).

· Zeus and eleven other gods were believed to live on Mount Olympus, and to have meetings on its highest peak, Mytikas.

· The Olympic Games, held since 776 B.C. in the southern part of what is now Greece, reached the foot of the northerly Mount Olympus at the end of the 5^th century B.C. A nine day festival to honor Zeus was initiated in the town of Dion.

· A full 25 percent of all plant species in Greece are found on Mount Olympus.