A retired Northwestern librarian explained how to take quality nature photographs without a professional camera Wednesday night at Evanston Public Library.

Lloyd Davidson, who ran the event, and his wife Arden Davidson are exhibiting their photography in EPL through Sept. 30. The Davidsons’ exhibit debuted Sept. 8 and is located on the library’s second floor.

The Davidsons have travelled across the globe to take photographs. From taking shots of Alaskan glaciers in the back of a six-person plane to capturing exposures of sunset-bathed canyons in the American Southwest, the pair has represented diverse forms of nature through their camera lenses.

While emphasizing the prowess of DSLR cameras, Davidson discussed how he has managed to get quality nature photographs from unexpected sources such as a 5-megapixel digital camera and an iPhone camera.

Davidson compared photographs taken with his Nikon D810 and his iPhone 6. He said he recognized how versatile the iPhone’s camera capabilities were, adding that a creative eye can capture stunning photographs regardless of the camera.

“You still see a tremendous amount of detail,” Davidson said. “The contrast is not quite as high … but a lot of the differences can be addressed in Photoshop.”

Of all the locations they have photographed, Davidson said his favorite site was Patagonia in Argentina.

“The wind was wonderful — there were 60-mile-per-hour winds,” he said. “We were surrounded by fantastic clouds in Patagonia.”

Arden Davidson agreed with her husband that the site was her favorite.

“(In Patagonia) you get wonderful cloud formations,” she said. “The wind just rips right through them.”

Lloyd Davidson discussed freely experimenting with filters and tints, using Photoshop to enhance and edit his photographs.

He began his presentation with a fundamental tip for all good photography: “Keep everything simple and uncluttered and fill the frame.”

About 10 audience members took notes and asked Davidson questions on photographic technology, terminology and how to better their personal photography skills.

Karen Davis, an Evanston resident and the Davidsons’ neighbor, discovered the event through a neighborhood e-mail list.

“My photography skills are very amateur,” Davis said. “I learned that I probably don’t need to buy a $4,000 camera to take good photographs.”

Davidson said he hoped attendees learned at least one thing from the presentation.

“(For people) to realize that photography is more the photographer than the camera,” he said.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ireneesoto