BLOOMINGTON - Georgi Baird has been taking pictures of critters and the countryside since she was a little girl. Ask why, and she'll tell you a story of growing up as an only child in a small town on a dead-end street with not much to do but wander outside looking for bugs, flowers and birds.

"Then I found this old camera we had and started taking photos. I've been hooked ever since, though I'm still definitely an amateur," the Twin City woman said.

Her love of nature comes through in each picture she takes as she roams national and state parks and natural areas in the Midwest and elsewhere in the U.S. She is excited about her subjects that transform her work from snapshots to art. Her suggestions to improve your photos arrive in time to catch the autumn glory.

"Photography lets me capture the character and personality of these amazing places and say, 'I was there, I saw that.'

"To me, I guess it is a way to capture a tiny bit of nature and the outdoors and bring it inside. I like the idea of capturing and freezing a moment in time that will never happen again," she said.

Pantagraph photo editor David Proeber owes his career in photography to an outdoor art assignment in high school. Students were told to draw something outside, but taking time to draw in chilly weather was not his idea of a good time.

"It was too cold," he said, laughing. "So, I borrowed my dad's 35 mm camera and took shots."

Many people travel to places they want to capture on film or digital images. But their pictures don't always turn out the way they'd like. Baird and Proeber say some simple tips can change those negatives into pleasant memories.

Start with the right equipment

"Digital photography is amazing from the standpoint that you can take as many images as you wish, as long as you have plenty of room on your photo card, and you're not paying for and wasting film and development," said Baird. "In addition, it's quick and easy to download your digital images to your computer for further manipulation, enhancement, cropping, and printing."

Be prepared

Make sure your digital card has plenty of space. Take extra batteries. A tripod and a shutter cable can help with close-ups and time exposures.

Quality in, quality out

Like real estate agents, nature photographers learn the importance of location, location, location. But you don't have to go halfway across the country.

"Like birds and don't have outdoor cats? Set up several bird feeders relatively close to your windows with trees nearby," said Baird. "Hang a hummingbird feeder right on your window. You can get photos of them from just a few feet away. Keep your camera set up and ready in the window."

Other great nature spots nearby include Comlara Park, Lake Bloomington, Moraine View State Park/Dawson Lake and The ParkLands Foundation properties along the Mackinaw River.

Traveling for pictures is fun, but, your best shots start before you leave.

"If you want to photograph cacti blooming in Texas or migrating sandhill cranes in Nebraska or wolf packs in Yellowstone or the shaft of light in Antelope Canyon, do your research well in advance. Know what the weather conditions are going to be and what to expect in the way of flora and fauna. Plan your vacation time in accordance with what you want to see and photograph," she said.

Timing is everything

"You should get up early to get the good morning light and the best wildlife activity," Baird said. "You have to be willing to go where the action is. You can't photograph the white pelicans that are sleeping on Lake Bloomington this morning, if you don't get there until noon. You'll also miss the better light coming in from the side instead of straight overhead. Morning and evening light have more color typically than bright, harsh mid-day light. Slightly cloudy or overcast days may enhance your colors, too. Generally speaking, it is much better to have the sun behind you."

Practice makes perfect.

Digital cameras offer several advantages, but two stand out: Photographers can see their work immediately; if they don't like it, they can delete it and take more. And, unlike film, there's no added cost to taking more images.

'Bracket' exposures

Experiment with light and depth of field.

"That means to take an image at the camera's suggested exposure, then overexpose a shot, and underexpose a shot; or increase/decrease your shutter speed; or increase/decrease your aperture," she said.

"When shooting close-ups like wildflowers, insects, or dew drops you typically want good 'depth of field,' or how much area is in focus. Use a macro lens if you have one. Get greater depth of field by using the aperture mode on your camera. To get good depth of field you need to have a relatively small aperture. The bigger the number the smaller the aperture and the better your depth of field.

"For capturing wildlife, you will need to have faster shutter speeds. Accomplish this by increasing your ISO to 200 or 400 or even greater depending on the conditions. Faster shutter speeds will stop the action. A wider aperture (giving you less depth of field) will also let you use faster shutter speeds."

Each photo should have a sense of place

"Ask yourself as a photographer, where am I, and what am I looking at?" said Proeber. "That allows you to isolate what is really important and eliminate distractions."

As an example, Proeber told how he went to California to photograph beaches last year.

"One beach begins to look the same as the next when you've seen a dozen of them. The question is what makes this scene different than all the scenes I've seen on this trip? It may be the way the light filters through the clouds or how it creates shadows based on the landscape. It could be the color of the water because of the depth. All those elements create a sense of place," he said.

Avoid static posed pictures

"In any travel photograph, you need to look for people who are reacting to their environment, something as simple as someone walking along a path or looking up at the sky or sitting in the shade of a tree. Adding people to the photograph adds a sense of depth to the image," Proeber said.

'Compose' the photograph

"Composition is the key to make dynamic photographs stand out from standard photographs," Proeber said.

Remember the rule of thirds. Imagine three lines traveling horizontally and three vertically across the frame.

"The intersections of those lines are where you should be placing the most interesting part of the subject. It can be a fence line, a tree, the sun, but have it at one of those intersections," he said.

Organize your images

Baird downloads images and saves them in appropriate folders.

"I have birds in one folder. That folder is subdivided into folders containing types of birds such as eagles, cedar wax wings, owls, and woodpeckers."

She uses PhotosShop to tweak her pictures by adding or reducing light, adjusting color and cropping. She uses Lightroom to view her photo collections.

Backup your photos

Baird uses Final Cut Pro to create photo presentations.

"You can make your images dissolve in and out, add music, special effects, titles, and more."

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Learn more

Visit www.takeGreatPictures.com for tips on getting better vacation shots. The Web site highlights photo projects you can do with the kids, including how to turn your favorite vacation shot into a giant puzzle. The site, a nonprofit, joint venture between photographers and manufacturers, also has suggestions on the best cameras.