By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
If you’ve read any Texas-based magazines over the past 25 years, chances are you’ve seen some of Russell Graves’ photos or read some of his words.
Now, he’s published a new e-book to help others explore wildlife photography.
“The book is called The Big Book of Wildlife and Nature Photography,” Graves told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “It’s 60,000 plus words and 300-plus pictures inside with technical information. The technical information is really important to photographers, because a lot of photographers, myself included, will break down and understand how pictures are made by looking at the technical details like shutter speed, aperature, ISO and things like that.”
Graves, a Fannin County Farm Bureau member, published the content in the form of an e-book to give readers access to an additional resource.
“I’ve got 3.5 hours worth of video content in the book,” Graves said.
There are two versions of the e-book. The standard version has a grizzly bear on the cover catching a fish in its mouth. There’s also an outdoorsman edition.
“For the most part, both books have the same content. The only difference is the outdoorsman edition has a little bit of additional content for people who like to hunt and fish and want to understand how to better capture their outdoor adventures,” Graves said.
The book serves as a resource for both beginner and advanced photographers.
“If you’re a complete beginner, you’re going to find enough in there to help you get better at the craft,” Graves said. “If you’re experienced, there may be a little bit in the front of the book that you already know, but there’s a big block of information in there on just how to get closer to wildlife, how to be better at the craft, how to think about photographing wildlife from a story-telling standpoint and not just take a quick snapshot of it.”
The instructions in the book are neutral, so all photographers—whether they use Nikon, Canon or another brand—are able to understand the technical information.
“It runs the gamut from just the basics of camera settings and what things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO means, all the way to more advanced topics that really delve into a lot of wildlife conservation topics,” Graves said.
There are chapters on using decoys to get animals closer to you, being a good outdoorsman and a good steward of the land.
“Hunters, anglers and people who are geared to be outdoorsman love wildlife anyway, so it’s a great reason for them to extend their seasons beyond the traditional hunting season just to continue to get outdoors and carry their cameras,” Graves said. “For people who live in cities, it’s a good opportunity for them, because everyone has a city park where you’ll have ducks, songbirds and other urban wildlife you can photograph.”
What wildlife is available to photograph varies by time of year and location.
“If you’re wanting pictures of white-tailed deer, probably the best time of year to do that is going to be November when they’re in the rut, and the bucks are making themselves a lot more visible,” Graves said.
The winter is the best time to photograph predators like coyotes and bobcats.
Wild turkeys, songbirds and young wildlife are more easily found in the spring.
“I would say any time of the year is a good time to be out taking pictures,” Graves said. “In Texas, probably the worse time of the year is August, but if you’re industrious, you can even find subjects that time of year, as well.”
You don’t have to spend thousands on equipment to enjoy photographing wildlife.
“Really everyone has the capacity of taking great pictures whether you’re just using your cell phone or a more advanced camera like I use,” Graves said. “Because that technology is available to everyone, it’s really created an opportunity for everyone who loves nature, wildlife and the outdoors to get outside.”
Since the book has been publishing in an electronic format, it can be downloaded to smart phones, tablets, e-readers and other devices for easy access in the field or at home.
You can find the e-book under the books tab at RussellGraves.com.
Russell Graves is not only an accomplished and successful photographer but also an award-winning and innovative teacher. for years, he was a teacher of agricultural sciences and FFA advisor at Childress High School. His students were well taught, and they were often state winners in agriscience research competition. For a country kid from Fannin County, Russell may have strayed from his locale, but he never lost his roots in agrarianism, rural life, livestock, and wildlife. When photography became profitable for him, students at Childress were robbed of a fantastic ag teacher but gained an artistic genius with a camera! What talents this man has!