Nature Photography Naturally

When nature photographers shoot for a "natural" look, they go to their ND Grads

2009-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

During his thirty some years as an award winning outdoor photographer in Colorado, James Egbert has done a lot of thinking about his photography. "With the ever-growing abilities of digital cameras and computer software to make better images," notes James, "comes the point where more becomes less and less becomes more. In other words, instead of making things easier, I think that technology in some ways compounds the process of creating fine art images.

"When I first jumped into the digital fray, I thought I could just do everything like I did when shooting film. Needless to say I experienced many setbacks of one sort or another. While the basic concepts stayed much the same, my techniques had to change and the mental process of how to expose an image drastically changed. As you see by the three images I include with this story, I like to show the natural world just the way I see it. I strive to make my images appear as they did the moment I saw them -- as natural as possible. For many years I did this with film and I am now continuing to do this digitally. I want the process of making an image to be at least 80% done in the camera if possible, but some post processing is always needed to make them match the real scene I photographed. I feel this is the point where a photographer must choose either to be as 'pure' as possible or to become a photo-artist who relies largely on altering or enhancing each image in post production to match how they see it in their imagination. My own photography is firmly in the first category, relying mostly on composing and exposing each image as skillfully as possible using the basic rules of composition and exposure and then using my post production software simply to size, clean and proof my images before printing the final photograph.

"When I use filters, I use them to correct for the limited 'dynamic range' of my cameras with respect to accurately recording and balancing widely varying levels of light under various conditions. That's where my Singh-Ray Graduated ND Filters help my camera correct for its limitations. To simplify my technique even more, I now rely mostly on just two filters -- the Singh-Ray LB Color Intensifier and the Singh-Ray 3-Stop Soft-Step Graduated Neutral Density filter.

"The Intensifier does exactly what it's designed to do: adding a slight touch more color within the warm 'red rock' tones, but the ND Grad filter is the real magic maker. It allows me to achieve well-balanced exposures in high contrast lighting or in scenes with a high dynamic range. This is where some photographers choose to rely on their computer software and HDR techniques to correct their images in post production. Personally, I find that the results from such methods don’t look as natural as I want, and I end up spending even more time at the computer working on images I could have balanced just as effectively in a fraction of the time by using my filters. While I'm certain I could learn to achieve natural results with HDR software, I'm equally certain the multi-step technique -- while touted as simple -- would always require far more time to master consistently and predictably."

James has had his images published in Outdoor Photographer, PhotoWorld, several web-based magazines, books, and Kodak advertising. His 'day job' is in television news photography. You'll enjoy seeing his gallery of many impressive landscapes on his website.

Outdoor Photography Passions

2009-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

From Behind The Camera

The world of a photographer can be an interesting one. The world of an outdoor and nature photographer can be a dangerous and thrilling one as well. Take all of the "stuff" that makes a photographer do what they do and add in mountain climbing, rock hopping and river rafting and you have only scratched the surface.

There is something about nature that reaches out to these people in a way even the most avid "tree hugger" might not understand. Photographers tend to be more intimate with their passion and craft. There are very few obstacles that would deter a truly dedicated and not very medicated outdoor photographer from stretching the fear envelope just to get a shot of a simple flower.

One of the things most outdoor photographers hear when they finally display their images with price tags is, "Oh that's a fine image, but I would not pay that much for it when I can go out and photograph that myself." Inside, the photographer may want to choke the person to death, but on the other hand there's the satisfaction of knowing that the person who just made that statement has no idea of the efforts that go into taking these photographs and will most likely never be able to come close to what they are wanting.

The outdoor photographer is part artist, part mad scientist and part mountain man. They need to have the artist's eye for seeing beyond the apparent, the scientists knowledge of wavelength mechanics and the mountain man's ability to surpass almost everything nature throws at them. One almost over looked facet of the photographer is their dedication to their equipment. A photographer will protect their equipment as if it were their first born. They even are very steadfast in brands and equipment formats.

So what makes these people the breed that they are? Like any other person who is passionate about something, there is something within them that is uniquely bent towards totally immersing themselves into whatever it is that they do. These people are not in it for the money or fame. They do this because of some inner force that drives them to excel on a more personal level of satisfaction. If it were not for the pressure from friends and family, they would probably never show their work to others outside their little circles. They tend to reveal little parts of themselves through their work like most artists do, thus making their work a bit too personal for others to really get it.

As a group, outdoor and nature photographers tend to share the basic insights, but each has their own style of presentation. Each can identify what another did on the technical front, but rarely ever see exactly what the other was really after. Once a photographer goes commercial or professional, their work will tend to reflect less of their inner self and more of the purist view of the subject. Their images will maintain the punch and technical perfection, but a personal preference will often be put aside to appeal to publication editors and the masses. The artist is thus caged deeply within the rules of composition. On their own they may bend or twist a rule here and there just so they can push the limitations of their talents and expression.
So the question is," Where do the rules take over the passion and artistic freedom of expression?" or "What makes a great photograph?" The answer is simply this, " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . . " Each editor or viewer of an image will interpret what is right and wrong about an image. They will see things the photographer may have dismissed. They will reject things the photographer found important to the shot. Each photograph is a canvass of many levels. Remember the next time you view any photographer's work that you are viewing a piece of them as well. You don't have to understand it to appreciate it, just understand that the photographer went to great lengths to capture this scene and bring to you a moment in time and places you were not able to witness first hand.

From Beside The Camera

From Colorado's mountain country to the South's Bayou regions, or the forests of Maine, whatever you love, whatever you fancy, nature photography can be a unique way to enjoy the great outdoors at a different level. A level that includes the photographer surely, but others as well. Though at times an artistic loner, the nature photographer is often accompanied by one or more companions drawn by the same appreciation of the natural world and a desire to experience it more deeply than before. This is when nature photography becomes a hobby that envelopes everyone along for the ride, whether they are behind the camera or not. In fact, it could be compared to a team sport in many ways, with the photographer and his companions collaborating towards the end result of a perfect shot and a perfect day out on the trail, with great memories of laughter and trials shared in the years to come.

Most often, the photographers' companions are family members or friends, though they are often students as well. Whoever they are, they are as passionate as the photographer about getting outside, whether it is a love of hiking and camping, or birding and wildflower identification. Often they carry the poet's soul within them, feeling a deep connection with the wilderness. Regardless of the draw for this diverse group of people, they share a true sense and spirit of adventure with the photographer. They have discovered that looking through the viewfinder at what the photographer sees before he takes the shot adds a dimension to their experience they could not have gotten otherwise. Just as the lens brings the scenic beauty before them into focus, so it brings into focus their emotional response to all they are immersed in. The sharing of adventure and perceptions can be a real bonding force between photographer and companion as they interact with the wild and with each other. The nature photographer's desire to have impact on others through his work is first felt at the response of his companions as they are the first to see his work, and to truly appreciate all that was required to produce those incredible shots. There is a love affair with the subject being shot that both have at different, but complementary levels.

Nature photography can be physically demanding and risky at times, but no one knows this better than his companions. Hiking at high elevation for hours to find the ultimate wildflower shot or watching the photographer perch precariously on slick boulders near a sheer drop off to capture that waterfall, can also be emotionally taxing. But this intensity is part of the attraction for those who choose to go out with him in the field. The photographer also can end up in some often humorous circumstances and reveal his whimsical side unexpectedly, as he goes with the flow downstream or runs uninhibited through fields of flowers on the other side of the hill, making him as interesting a study as the subjects he is shooting for his companions, often devoted people watchers. And what better place to do that than by observing HIM out in the field while he is completely preoccupied? The mixture of challenge and entertainment are another part of the draw for companions to be there in the first place.

Companions also typically are the photographer's cheerleaders, offering up encouragement and support for his desire to pursue this art. Their enthusiasm to him and his work can be contagious and give fuel to the photographer, as they climb that extra mile or two to see that hidden lake or to just check out what is around the next bend in the trail. That desire to explore the unknown can go hand in hand with the photographer's desire to document it on film, and they play off of each other creating a whole new set of possibilities. Family and friends tend to be honest as opposed to flattering when asked about a composition and as iron sharpens iron, these conversations offer at least the potential for better shots, and relationships.

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, but beauty shared is beauty possessed forever. That is the joy and reward of the bond between the photographer and his companions and the whole point.

Photo Art vs Photography and Filters

2009-04-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

With the world of digital photography and the ever growing capabilities of cameras and computer software tricks one can employ to make better or unique images comes the point of more is less and less is more. When I first jumped into the digital fray I thought I could just do everything like I did when I shot film. Needless to say my journey into digital photography was met with many setbacks in one way or another.

While the basic concepts stayed pretty much the same, techniques had to change and the mental process of how I expose an image drastically changed. Over time cameras have advanced leaps and bounds and alongside that, imaging software has grown in size and wizardry. In fact, I think that instead of making things easier, the technology has in some ways compounded the process of creating great images.

Being a outdoor landscape and nature photographer I strive to make my images appear as they did the moment I saw them as natural as possible. I did this with film and I continue to do this digitally. I want the process of making an image to be 80% done in the camera if possible maybe a little more, but I know I will have to do some post processing of my images in software to make them as perfect as the real scene I photographed. I feel this is the point where a photographer can change their focus from being as pure a photographer as possible or become a photo-artist.

To define the difference between the two would be to enter a fuzzy grey zone, but for myself I define it as follows; A photographer is one who relies mostly upon their ability to compose and expose an image as expertly as possible using only the basic rules of composition and techniques of photography in the camera, only using post production to size, clean and proof images for the resulting photograph. A Photo-Artist captures one image with their camera utilizing many if not all of the same techniques of the photographer but when they enter post production the image can and often will change into an image the artist had in their imagination and taking on characteristics that are too good to be true.

I am in no way saying that the Photo-Artist is in any way the lesser of the two, rather I am just defining the differences of how the two work. I appreciate Photo-Art and often try to do it myself, but know that at this point my expertise with imaging software beyond fixing dust spots and correcting tone or cropping is vastly limited.

In an earlier article I talked about what HDR is and how I understand it is accomplished with imaging software but it was only my understanding from my limited experience with it. I am asked by friends who are starting out in photography or expanding their knowledge how I accomplish the same results without utilizing HDR software or techniques in imaging software.

I often surprise them with the simplistic approach I take to photographing nature in that I utilize the basic concepts of exposure and composition, just as I did when I shot film. When I shot film I made a promise to myself not to use anything that would result in an image that had unreal or un-natural effects. I wanted to be able to capture the scenery I saw the way it was and to leave the image unaltered as much as possible.

End of lens filters were and still are a large part of photography. The great pioneer Ansel Adams didn’t shy away from using filters in his work, nor did he shy away from applying some magic in the darkroom. One of the techniques he pioneered was the “Zone System” which allowed photographers to more accurately create images that emulated what our eyes could see when we composed our images in natural lighting.

The type of filtering Adams used were corrective filters that filtered out wavelengths of light that the camera and film could not do as naturally as our eyes and minds could. I try and do much the same with my own photography. Instead of using filters that may add rainbows, stars and other effects that do not or did not appear naturally in the scene or add colors other effects that changed the image to appear somewhat naturally as different in time of day, season or effected by weather.

When I use filters, I use them to correct for the limitations all cameras posses with accurately balancing different types of light in different types of conditions. Our eyes can adjust to register millions if not more differences in light so that we see things clearly with natural colors and tones. The camera can only balance a small fraction of the light our eyes can see.

To help my camera correct for its limitations I use filters more commonly called corrective filters. Polarizing, Neutral Density Filters, Color Intensifiers, or enhancing filters do exactly that. They correct how the camera and sensor see light and render images closer to how we would with our naked eye. Just as our eyes often are over loaded with light forcing us to wear shaded or sunglasses our cameras are even more sensitive.

When choosing glasses for your eyes you try to pick out the best optical quality and therefore you would obviously want the same for your camera. When I buy filters and use them on my camera I want the best optical quality to have the most natural results. I use Singh Ray filters on all of my lenses for two reasons. Because I own lenses with varying diameters and sometimes use more than one filter at a time, I want to only buy each filter once due to the expense of each filter. Now to simplify that even more I use two particular filters only. I use the Singh Ray Color Intensifying Polarizer and the Singh Ray 3 Stop Soft Step Gradual Neutral Density filter.

The Polarizer does exactly what it sounds like it does, but the Neutral Density filter is the real magic maker. It allows me to shoot balanced exposures in High Contrast Lighting or High Dynamic Range while balancing the exposures.

This is a point that computer software and HDR techniques come in. While there are programs that do the job, I have found in many cases the results don’t come out as natural as I would want and I end up spending even more time in front of a computer working on images I could have balanced just as effectively in a fraction of the time using corrective filters on the lens. Note, you can achieve the same natural results, but the technique while touted as simple often take far more time to master consistently and you end up using up more memory space on your digital cards that could be holding more images of different compositions.

Neutral density graduated filters are given numbers which tell you exactly how many stops of light they're going to reduce the brightness by. The filters come in three strengths, although there are two ways used by different manufacturers of indicating those strengths:

The whole reason for using a neutral density graduated filter is to control the exposure difference between the sky and the ground, so we need to take control of the light metering to make full use of the effect. Ideally, we set our cameras to full manual so that the settings don't change when we start using the filter.

The first step is to determine the strength of filter we need. The simplest method is to take a meter reading with the ground filling the whole of the frame without the filter in place. Now repeat this step but this time with the sky filling the frame. The difference between these two readings will indicate the strength of graduated filter that you need. A 1-stop difference in the readings will need a 0.3 ND graduated filter, a 2-stop difference a 0.6 ND grad, while a 3-stop difference will require a 0.9 ND grad. The most often used filter for me is the 3-stop (0.9 ND one), with the 2-stop (0.6 ND) being used only occasionally. I rarely ever use my ND Grad filter in conjunction with a Polarizing filter.

So, if you're only going to buy one graduated neutral density filter, the 0.9 ND ( 3 Stop SS ND Grad ) is the one to buy. The soft step makes the graduation of the filter more natural and easier over all to work with so that we do not need to hide the point where the lens gets darker or lighter as much or at all.

Once we have decided on the filter we need, use the meter reading we took from the foreground to take our shot. All graduated filters need careful positioning to get the best effect.

To make the most of this our camera, affix the camera securely to a tripod. This is always a good idea for landscape shots anyway. This allows us to slide the filter accurately into position, so the transition from clear to dark falls on the horizon. If our camera has a depth-of-field preview facility that stops the lens down while we are looking through the viewfinder then use it. The darker viewfinder image will make it easier to see the position of the filter.

Important note! If we are using a Polarizing filter with the ND Grad, we need to consider the dramatic drop in light so consider using a ND Grad filter that is not as strong such as the 0.06 ND or 2 Stop SS ND Grad.

It is my opinion that using corrective filters over post production renders more natural images. For one, you can compare the resulting image with the real scene with our own eyes while still at the location where once we leave the location and get in front of a computer screen, we’re left to our memory or imagination which is not always correct.

The Great Sand Dunes National Park

2009-03-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

The Great Sand Dunes National Park and the southwestern part of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range within are, in my mind, the most opportune locations in Colorado for landscape photography. Seeming totally out of place at the edge of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains, these dunes of pure golden sand cover an area of about 35 square miles and reach heights of 700 feet above the floor of the flat San Luis Valley, making them the tallest dunes in the United States. The valley below, which is over 7,500 feet in elevation, extends for more than 100 miles south into New Mexico and is bordered by the San Juan Mountains to the west and the lower Sangre de Cristo Range to the east, hills that mark the edge of the Rockies and continue southward toward Santa Fe. I’ve observed wide varieties of flora and fauna throughout the area. Wildlife sightings are common. Recent observations include mule deer, elk, coyotes, golden and bald eagles, ravens, magpies and, just outside park boundaries, American bison. Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro, Tamron 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-6.3

To Get There

There are several ways to get to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, but seeing that a majority of visitors to Colorado pass through Denver, I'll offer the Eastern route. From Denver or Colorado Springs, drive South on Interstate 25 to Walsenberg and exit on to Colorado Highway 160 West through La Veta Pass. 15 miles before Alamosa you will see signs for Route 150 which takes you directly to the main gate of the park.

What to Bring

The Dunes has fun for all ages and if you have little ones consider bringing a Snow Saucer or Shell Sled for them to ride down the Dunes on. There is wildlife peantiful so a set of binoculars would be beneficial and then you already know to bring a camera. You can photography all the year round but keep in mind that wind blows nearly all the year round too. In vesting in a system to keep the fine dust out of your camera would be very wise. There are several camera and lens weather shields you can find at a good camera shop anda weather proof bag is alsoa smart investment.

Pick a lens that can serve several functions to keep you from the temptation of changing lenses out on the dunes. Most importantly protecyt yourself with a good sun screen in the daylight hours and have water ready at all times.

April 2009 Outdoor Photographer Magazine Article

Outdoor Photographer Magazine April 2009

2009-03-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag Man?

2009-03-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

We all need a place where we can put our stuff. It’s the only way we can keep it all in one place where we can find it. I don’t know how many times in my early days I would be scrambling around all night gathering gear I wanted to take on a trip only to end up scrambling around early the next morning running late then when I finally did make it to the location I was going to, I remembered all the stuff I forgot to bring and needed. If you’re like me you have more camera gear then the law should allow. If you own a digital SLR, a few lenses, and a bunch of accessories, a camera bag is not just a necessity it is like needing air to breathe.

A camera bag protects your camera gear when not in use, and is the ideal place for your extra photography stuff. If you keep it all in one organized place, you are more likely to have what you need when you need it.

Here are some tips for finding the perfect bag for your digital gear:

Get a bag that’s big enough for the gear you now own, and any additional equipment you anticipate buying in the near future.
If you’ve got a lot of gear, consider purchasing a hard shell case that’s big enough for all of your equipment, and a soft bag or backpack for day trips.
Purchase a bag or backpack that’s comfortable. Make sure you try the bag or backpack on for size in the camera store.
Also consider if it meets TSA and Airline requirements for carry on.
Place your camera in the bag and put it over your shoulder. If it’s not comfortable, ask the sales person to show you a different bag. There’s nothing worse than a chaffed neck after a day-long photography adventure.
Make sure the bag has enough pockets for your stuff. The bag should have a place where you can park extra memory cards, spare batteries, and other accessories and maybe a sandwich.
Make sure the bag is made so that you can get to your gear quickly. There’s nothing worse than fumbling for a piece of equipment when your digital Kodachrome or Fujichrome Moment disappears.
Consider purchasing a customizable camera bag. These bags come with removable partitions that are held in place with Velcro.
If it rains a lot where you live or are going to do your photography thing, purchase a water resistant camera bag, or one with built-in rain cover.

I prefer a camera back pack mainly because more often than not, it’s a backpack I need because I will be hiking in to a remote location and it is easier to carry all my stuff on my back keeping my hands free during the hike. Besides there are usually plenty of places on the back pack to strap on extras like the tripod, water bottles, food bags and maybe some overnight gear, just in case.

While the backpack stands out and says to the world, “Hey look , I’m a photographer!” The comfort of having nearly everything I could want with me when I might need it, far outweighs the stigma. There are tips that tell you when you go on vacation not to carry or travel with an obvious and expensive camera bag, so not to attract the attention of thieves, but I know from experience. The thieves are not looking at the bag you carry to know if you’re a tourist and an easy mark. They’re looking at you. They know who belongs and who’s a tourist with goodies to take.

My advice is to be vigilant with your gear and make yourself look like a wary tourists who knows how to take care of themselves. Thieves look for the easy mark, not one that may put up a fight and bring unwanted attention to them.
In any case your bag should be the one you plan to carry on and fit within the TSA and Airline storage requirements. Also leave the tools and cleaning solutions behind if traveling by air. You can pick many of these items up when you arrive or just FEDEX them ahead to your hotel, and they will be waiting for you safe and sound. If you have a large enough check in bag you can fit your tripod into for the flight, use it.

Many airlines or some TSA agents will give you a hard time if you plan to carry on your tripod. It’s easier to avoid the tension and enjoy the trip if you preplan and prepare for the sometimes all to anal rules we now travel within. Besides, you don’t need your tripod on the plane and it’s a pain to place in the overhead compartment.

The best thing to do is to contact your airline, or local TSA office and get the requirements from them. Remember, keep the film, “uh er” Memory cards dry and safe!

Being a Nature Photographer is a State of Being

2009-03-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked by email, phone calls or in passing, “What does it take to be a nature photographer?” and over the years my answer has gone from philosophical, to technical, to educational. So, what’s the answer, you ask then. Well there really isn’t just one answer. It takes a little of every answer I have ever given, so why don’t I try to sum it all up here?

If you’re anything at all like me, you enjoy being outdoors, and love to make photographs, and probably have the basic keys to becoming a nature photographer. To start off let’s define what a Nature Photographer is. First and foremost a nature photographer is a photographer who’s dedicated focus is on the natural world. Devoid of manmade objects or scenes, showing the natural world as untouched as possible is the basic idea behind being a nature photographer.

Most photographers who photograph nature are not purists; they tend to venture into a wider genre of landscape and nature photography. They will allow minimal evidence of man’s existence in their images or maybe more in some cases. Some go into agriculture, archeological, zoological, wildlife, and in some cases architectural elements of photography. Travel and adventure are two genres that often benefits from photographing nature.

So for the sake of trying to simplify the whole deal, I am going to try and avoid the division lines and just appeal to the basic premise of what it takes to be a photographer of the natural world around us. Photographing nature is physically, as well as mentally challenging, but it offers such amazing rewards that you are sure to be drawn back time and time, again.

The first step in to becoming a nature photographer is to understand what draws you in. What appeals to your senses and speaks to your deepest core. You can find limitless numbers of books, photo essays, and displays by world renowned and emerging nature photographers and through them you can be inspired. I first became inspired to photograph nature when I was a young man in the Navy. There was something peaceful about being in the middle of a vast ocean than called to me and said, pick up a camera.

I shot roll after roll after roll of sunrises and sunsets, which by the way, is hard to distinguish in photographs in the middle of any ocean. I photographed dolphins playing just off the bow of the ship, I photographed Seagulls and other sea birds. I photographed Coastlines and sometimes the vastness of nothing but deep blue water. While in the Navy I photographed a great many other things that had nothing to do with nature, but it was the natural scene that I felt compelled to photograph. It became more than a passion for me, it became a natural act just as breathing.
The second step to being a nature photographer is to understand the basic elements of photography and make them second nature to your thinking process. The third step is to understand artistic composition and all the elements to a work of art in any medium. They will teach you how to see.

You might want to look for galleries of nature photography online or in your town. Expose yourself to the work of as many different artists as you can. Take notes on the composition, lighting, subject matter and technique of these pictures. Use them as inspiration for your own methods.

Keep in mind, very rarely does a photograph do the beauty of nature justice. But nature photographers are always up for this challenge. Personally, I refuse to say that it is possible to have a full time professional career in nature photography but it is possible to be professional in how you work and present yourself as a nature photographer. Being a nature photographer revolves around being comfortable in all harsh elements and continually striving to being published in various magazines, such as National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Nature’s Best and other publications. That’s not to say that’s all there is to being a nature photographer.

I think to be successful at anything takes dedication, education and a deep desire to evolve technically and personally in any craft. So by putting your work in art shows, submitting to magazines and self publishing photo essays, you are on the road to learning and growing.

I have found that it is best to become a sort of non-specialist and venture a little bit into other forms of photography. Learn to see things from other angles. In most cases it can deepen your passion for one subject just by appreciating others. Photography as a craft is much like medicine. You can be a general practitioner or a specialist and be successful either way.

I would have to be honest and say I am a general practitioner of photography, as I have worked in portrait studios, shot print photojournalism, videography and even product photography. The great thing about that is the lessons I’ve learned to create captivating images in those specialties ahs taught me different ways to photograph my passion and vice versa. So my advice is not to close yourself off from other forms of photography. Branch out, learn different techniques and disciplines as they will make you an overall better photographer.

Now, let’s get back to being a nature photographer. One of the funniest things I have ever seen or heard of is a person that calls themselves a Nature Photographer and all they do is drive up , jump out and click a shot off then rush off to the next scene. In order to be good at any subject, it takes a little knowledge of the subject. Nature photography is about getting away from your creature comforts and spending a little time getting down and dirty. Actually, it take a lot of time doing exactly that. It is also about being there even when conditions are not picnic perfect. It means standing, sitting, crawling, hiking, and even climbing in some of the foulest weather you can imagine.

I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten up at midnight, drove hours to a trail head, hiked hours in darkness up long winding trails only to sit on a rock high in the mountains on what would be a miserable day, just to get a glimpse at a scene that might only last seconds, then hike miles back to by car and drive several hours home, then spend hours poring over several exposures I took just for one image, and in some case, end up with nothing printable in my opinion. I think it has been said that the ratio of truly marketable images to trash is 1 out of a hundred. I think that ratio has grown to one out of a thousand because digital photography has allowed us to snap away and create more crap piles of digital files. Think of it this way. When you see images in magazines and books or art galleries, you are seeing a tiny fraction of that artists work. You are seeing only the cream of the crop.

You need to know how light works at a select location throughout the year and time of day. Light is key to what we do and what you might think of as a bad day for photographing is more often than not a perfect blend of conditions for images that have impact. It’s going to literally take a bit of blood, sweat and tears to be successful at this genre of photography. It is not a passing hobby, it is a form of religion, dedication a true passion. It is a state of being.

So the next time you see an image that moves you and inspires that twinge of creativity rooted somewhere down deep inside you, don’t jump too quickly to say, ”I can do that.” It would be better to ask yourself first, “Do I have the time, energy and personal passion to lay my life and world on the line to try to attempt shooting something like this?”

The Magic of Falling Water

2009-03-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

What exactly is it about moving water captured in photographs that is so captivating? I guess to answer that, you would have to first look at the qualities of water that are so attractive then put it into motion. For us, living and breathing creatures, water is an essential to life, and thus we are forever bound to it like the air we breath.

Unlike the air we breath we can see water and feel it as it changes, we can hear it and some say smell it. In the case of air, seeing it and sometimes smelling it, is not always desired. I don't know if I can ever answer those questions completely or simply. All I know is that photographing water either standing still like glass or rushing down as falls or rapids always draws my attention. Id like to point out , however, that waterfalls are definitely not the easiest subjects to photograph, yet not the hardest either, so a few simple steps and things pointed out for you to consider will more than likely put you on the right path to creating those milk or bridal veil waterfall effects that are so popular.

Lighting

By and far, lighting is key for making any successful photographic effort. All too many photographers tend to focus their attention on composition as it relates to subject, subject placement and the elements that make up a scene, but they tend to over look how important light is.

When I head out to photograph waterfalls I as a rule, make sure I have considered the light I might have to work with. In any geographical area, lighting can change on a dime, so it helps to understand how certain lighting will affect the outcome of your pictures. When photographing most waterfalls, the absolute ideal lighting conditions is overcast days. Cloud cover acts as a diffuser, which allows the light to fall on the scene completely evenly, which in turn results in a more balanced image, with contrast in mind.

There are certain conditions where direct sunlight is favorable, however. Waterfalls, which have dramatic backdrops, are much better suited for clear days when the whole scene can be fully appreciated. Complications with lighting come into play when there are either scattered clouds, or no clouds, and objects, which cast shadows on the scene (trees, cliffs, etc), surround your subject. Bright sunlight and shadows in the same scene doesn't present an issue for human eyes, but because no camera film or digital has anywhere near the Dynamic Range of the human eye, pictures of the same scene will not appear the same. In situations like these, it can be hard to produce a good picture, so don't get your hopes up. The best advice is to take a few shots at different shutter speeds, metering off of different areas of the scene, and hoping for the best.

ISO Considerations

The ISO setting in your camera is nearly a paramount consideration. The ISO setting of the sensor you use with your camera determines a great deal of how your waterfall photographs turn out. High ISO settings produce higher noise - essentially the same as grain in high ISO films, but more pronounced. For waterfall photography, use the slowest speed (lowest number) possible. This is usually ISO 50 or 100, for many of the top level cameras and ISO 100 or 200 on the entry level cameras. Not only does this increase the amount of detail, it also increases the amount of light necessary to make a proper exposure, and allowing for longer exposures.

Taking the Right Amount of Time

I like to compare this to cooking. All too often many red meats and fish are over cooked. In some cases, they are undercooked as well, so finding the right combination of temperature and time is essential. I like to think of exposure as hot sauce or spices. Too much and you get burnt and too little, well, we dont want too little either. Here's where you ask yourself, "Self? Why would I want longer exposure?" Well, slow shutter speeds result in the silky "wispy milk or angel hair" effect commonly seen in waterfall pictures. Most professional photographers use long exposures on waterfall studies at some point or another in their career The resulting pictures have a much more delicate or peaceful feeling. Not all waterfalls are good studies for slow shutter photography, however. For waterfalls of either great height or volume, slow shutter speeds more often than not serve to lessen - or even mute altogether - any feeling of power which faster shutter speeds may convey. Here is where you ask, "So when do I use one and when do I use the other"? Just keep reading.. Longer shutter speeds are generally best used for waterfalls with small volume, heavy contact with bedrock, small resolving pools or in isolation studies.

There are, of course, exceptions to this thinking the Big Thompson River Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park comes to mind - but in the broadest sense, smaller waterfalls are much more conducive to slow shutter photography. One thing to keep in mind is that the taller the waterfall, the longer it takes the falling water to blur evenly. There are many photographers who subscribe to the rule of exposing about 1 second for every 100 feet of height in the waterfall. In some cases, longer exposures are necessary. For smaller waterfalls, shutter speeds from about one 10th of a second and slower will achieve the proper blurring of the water.

Now, before I get too far, it really isn't the water that is streaking and causing those white wisps of joy we want to photograph. It is tiny air bubbles in the water stirred up by rocks, branches or other debris as the water falls over the edges and into the base of the falls. Some call it froth, like that of a cold glass of beer or a nice hot cup of cappuccino. Fast shutter speeds usually offer the best results used to convey the power or size of a waterfall. For some of the tallest waterfalls, a fast exposure can much more clearly define both the size of the falls, as well as the force and directions the water falls in. Fast exposures typically work best in brightly lit scenes, or scenes where the lighting is uneven and not desired. Fast exposures should also be used if you don't have a tripod to work with, because it is impossible to hand hold a camera steady enough to prevent image blurring. Shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster will all but negate the need for a tripod.

The camera's aperture works in conjunction with the shutter speed as with most any other subject matter to obtain the desired results. For slow shutter photography, the aperture should always be stopped down as far as it can be - usually anywhere between f/11 and f/32. Not only does this ensure that the scene is completely in focus, it also decreases the amount of light entering the lens, which increases the necessary length of the exposure. I personally feel that when photographing waterfalls, the aperture should be restricted to the smallest size possible to maintain a sharp scene overall. In brightly lit scenes, this may not always be the case, however, so just experiment, bracket your exposures, and see what works.

Filters

The most important filter to carry when photographing waterfalls is the Polarizer. Polarizing filters do two things: saturate the colors of the image, and reduce or remove glare on reflective surfaces. The one catch with polarizers is that they only work to maximum efficiency at a 180 degree angle to the light source (in this case, the sun), so if the sun is in front of you, a Polarizer will be useless, but if it's behind you, it will work perfectly. In terms of waterfall photography, the Polarizer is best for reducing glare on wet rock next to the waterfall itself, to help focus attention on the waterfall. If foliage around the waterfall, or whatever you are photographing, is wet, the polarizer will reduce the glare on the leaves, and make the greens stronger as well.

A Graduated Neutral Density Filter (ND Grad) is necessary to take balanced pictures of sunsets, or scenes where half of the frame is brightly lit and half is shaded. Usually this filter isn't terribly useful for photographing waterfalls, but there are several outstanding cases.

Composition

Discussing composition is like telling someone how to breathe. Composition is highly individual, yet there are a few basic things you might want to keep in mind. If you've ever taken a class on photography, you're most certainly aware of the rule of thirds. Those of you who don't know what that is, the basic concept is to divide the image into three equal parts using whatever natural lines there are, so that horizon lines aren't dead center in the image, but rather top or bottom centered. Further, offsetting the focal point of the image to the left or right of the center of the frame also adds a significant amount of interest to the composition.

Another thing to consider is the use of line such as an S curve where the subject, in this case the waterfall flows through the scene in a serpentine fashion creating a more interesting scene. Another line is the diagonal where the scene subject starts in one corner of the frame and traverses through to nearly another. The one element I have never heard was the good book rule. I like to think of waterfalls as a good book with a beginning a middle and an end, yet there can be a cliff hanger! In any case try to get as much of the water fall in the frame and always, I mean ALWAYS look out for those elements in the shot that are scene killers!

HDR as I understand it.

2009-03-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

HDR (High Dynamic Range) Images are the all the buzz on nearly every internet photography forum recently. In this tutorial, I will attempt to explain from my limited yet continually expanding understanding of this technique what HDR is and how to work with it. I will not profess to know it all and the information here is not the final or even the first word on the subject. My limited background in post production photography has always relied on me getting most of the work done in the camera first before relying on post production in software programs and actions. Therefore, to keep with my personal view of photography we will look at several considerations that must be made, before capturing any image for HDR post-processing procedures. The first part would be to answer the question; what the heck is HDR?

What the heck is HDR?

While HDR is often thought of as a new subject or technique in photography, it has been an inherent part of Digital photography from the outset of the medium. In reality, the HDR phenomena has been a part of photography even in the initial analog film process. In my opinion, the most well known pioneer of photography, Ansel Adams worked with the HDR theory in nearly every image he produced. The concept he preferred to call it was known as Dynamic Range exposure.

Dynamic Range, is a measure of how many levels of light an image capture device, such as your digital camera, or film can capture. For those who are versed in the “Zone System” the translation should be elementary, as many of the concepts and techniques apply in HDR photography. For the purists out there, the question is, can I accomplish this in film photography and basically the answer would be a strong affirmative. You’re not breaking some unwritten rule of what makes photography pure photography versus photo-art.

The best example of working in Dynamic Range is to shoot a bright sunrise. Ask yourself why it is when the sun is exposed properly, the rest of the image appears dark and underexposed? The best explanation is to say that unlike our eyes the Dynamic Range at which a camera can record the image has less over all Dynamic Range than the scene being recorded. Naturally, a sunrise is a perfect high-contrast situation. The rising sun and the surrounding sky are hundreds if not thousands of times brighter, than other exposure zones in the image. While most digital sensors are extremely sophisticated, and so are film emulsions, some scenes are still too much for them to render for bright highlights, and deep shadows.

This is where the concept of an HDR image comes in. You know that if you shoot a sunrise, and meter for the sun, the rest of the scene will be overly underexposed, likewise if you meter for the rest of the scene, the sun and the sky will turn into an overexposed void of white. In some cases the range of exposre can be corrected by use of a Graduated Neutral Density filter. But for the sake of this tutorial we will bypass this option and get right to the pre and post production procedures of HDR photography. So what do you do? This is my favorite part, as this is where, “What If” comes into play.

What if you could simply bracket your image exposures, later take the properly exposed portions of each exposure of a particular scene, and seamlessly stitch them all together into one perfectly balanced exposure? You can and that’s what HDR photography is.

Post Production

There are several options for creating your HDR image in post production. In both the MAC and Windows based software systems you have a wide choice of programs you can use. One of the more popular programs is Photomatix. It allows you to merge all of your exposure together generating a 48bit image, from which you then tone map the image, or in every day English, you tweek the image to a point where the highlights and shadows are exposed properly to your tastes.

First Things First

Long before you get into the computer post processing aspect of HDR you need to have your images captured correctly. Unless you don’t breath and have a shallow pulse allowing you to shoot very steady at a high rate of speed accurately, you will need a tripod! Seriously, with a few rare exceptions you should have your camera on tripod anyways for landscape and outdoor scenic photography despite using high speed lenses with image stabilization systems. Another important element is choosing the right type of scene. You want a static scene for the best results and for the simplicity of matching numerous frames of exposure when they are shot correctly..

The most important part of creating a proper HDR image is the correct spacing of exposures. It would be easy to say that you should always bracket at a set 1.5 stops and you would have the optimal exposure range, but there are many times that will not be correct. The spacing of exposures will often vary based on the scene itself and the amount of dynamic range it presents. So I would propose you take as many different combinations as you can of a scene to become familiar with the different ranges you might encounter.

Other than memory capacity in your computer, there are no limits of how many exposure combination you can work with. However keep in mind you can accomplish the right range of exposures in just three exposures of a scene. The trick will be to vary the range of stops between each exposure. Most if not all DSLR cameras allow you to set the bracketing steps between 1.5 and one-third stops between each exposure. There are cameras, I am sure, that allow for more ranges.

Case in point, my Nikon D90 has an automatic bracketing button used in conjunction with a command dial that allows me to customize the bracketing order and range of an image. I can then take several versions of bracketed images and then play with those in Photomatix or Photoshop later. You can cheat if you want and in RAW format only create an under and over exposed set of copies from the original image to create the same results as doing it in the camera, but once again, I’m all about doing it in the camera first.

One important thing is to set your camera to the lowest ISO possible or to use as much noise reduction as you can. Just remember, there is no one silver bullet, you will have to use a lot of trial and error. Your choice of software will vary, and every image will look best at different settings.

Summary

To start, limit yourself fewer exposures at first, and then study your final products to figure out what you need to do better. Experiment with exposure bracketing. Try different spacing, and with time you will find what works best for you in nearly any given circumstance. After all, even with HDR imaging, some people will choose to expose to fit their individual tastes. Whether it is for more shadows, or more highlights, it is all based on your personal taste of the right exposure.

To summarize, producing high quality HDR images is primarily in the range of exposures you make a scene. Whether it is three or more, expose your primary shot for the part of the scene that is most important, and bracket other exposures on either side of perfect from there. Eventually you will streamline your image capture process with custom camera functions.

There is a plethora of information both online and in print about the wide range of available software, and the process itself. Nonetheless, this is just a taste of what you can do so go ahead and use other resources, and experiment to find what works best for you! If you are a visual learner like I am, I want to direct you to a learning source I am now using to better my photography and understand my camera. Mind you I am a Nikon user and the source is geared to Nikon users. Aim your browser to; D-Town TV and be ready to take notes. I am sure that for Canon users you can find more HDR information at Digital Learning Center, Canon .

A friend of mine wrote a great tutorial on HDR and I want to direct you to his as it gets more in depth than I do, so please point your browser to,Jesse Speer's Site.

What Camera System Do You Use?

2009-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

At almost to no end, I am asked this every day... I almost want to climb atop Pikes Peak and Scream as loudly as I can..." What does it matter!?" Seriously, I have used almost every brand of camera made and guess what? They're all quite capable of making the greatest photograph ever made, but the real key to the puzzle is, it all depends on who's hand they're in and how they are used.

To define how great photography is made, you need to take the camera out of the room for a moment. Great photography is made first through a visualization in the mind made by an optical impression captured by the eyes and sent to the brain then emotionally filtered, spiritually filtered and then frantically but purposefully stuffed into the lens and little black box where the film or digital sensor is waiting to record the result of your short term mental breakdown.

Actually when I am teaching my workshops or speaking to those who are gearing up for one, I don't say it quite that way, but this is the point I try to convey in a more politically correct fashion. When seeking a camera system for your photographic journey, consider what you need to capture the images that your eyes and mind tell you are the best thing since slices bread or a six pack of bottled beer. the questions you need to be asking are, what am I trying to capture, what is my main subject matter, what do I want to do with the images I capture. Each of these will determine the equipment needed to do what you want.

When a potential student asks me anything about what they need, I turn in to Socrates and start asking questions of them so that they can answer their own questions. I do this in the field when teaching as well, but the best way to find answers is to ask questions and sometime the best answers are questions. When I go out to buy equipment my primer is usually that I saw an image in a magazine or website that made me stop and go wow. Then if I am lucky the photographer left some notes on how he or she created the photograph and thus I find some gadget or tool I must have or I will surely die. that's what I tell my loving and patient wife and as she rolls her eyes and hands me the credit card I am off to buy the holy grail of photography. Thus the moral of the story is that a smart photographer will never have the credit card on them at all times, or they will surely become the poor starving divorced "wanna be" photographer. personally I know some really well equipped photographers who never get out to photograph anything because they spent all their money buying the latest and greatest, "bestest" and most highly rated equipment known to man kind and now they're broke. I know "bestest" isn't a real fancy or even a real word, but it works for me.

When I buy my equipment, I make Abe Lincoln Scream in pain as I pinch every penny I can, while not compromising on quality. I look for the basic functions versus the bells and whistles. I ask myself, do I need a camera that does it for me, or the one that makes me think for myself and create the images I want to create. Hint... the answer is go cheap! Heck I can't drive 255 mph so I don't need a Ferrari I'll take the beat up abused Jeep in the corner that's going to get me where I want to be when I get there.

I used to work at a camera store and a lady came to the counter and asked to see a professional camera, I grinned turned around and grabbed a throw away Kodak box camera and handed it to her. With puzzlement she looked at me and pointed at the super gigantic Nikon F5 sitting on the golden pillar of honor bathed in a warm glow of halogen light saying, "No that's the camera I was talking about I want a professional camera for my husband to learn on." Again I grinned and pushed the little Kodak disposable her way and said, "This is as much a professional camera as the one you pointed to as well." I had her hooked and confused. She then asked me, "What makes that camera a professional camera like the one I was pointing to?" "It depends on who is holding it." I explained, "Every camera in this store can be a professional camera in the hands of a professional, but on that same note every camera including the one you pointed to is also an amateur camera in the hands of an amateur."

Once she saw that I wasn't going to sell her a camera that her husband didn't need and was the most expensive, I began to ask her what his interests in photography were and what he hoped to do. I also asked her if he planned to do this as a casual hobby or become an overnight professional. I asked about his current knowledge of photography and equipment and by the end of the sale I sold her two lower priced fully functional Nikon F100 bodies and lenses so she could learn photography along side of her husband. She came back once a month after that and always asked for me when buying new equipment. By the way they have also attended many workshops and classes that I recommended as well.

So does it matter what Camera I use? What Film I use or what lens? The answer is both yes and no! Yes it matters what I use for functions I need, but brand and model do not. Go out and buy whatever brand you find that has the functions you need and enjoy!

Photography Composition Cheats!

2009-03-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Just the other day, I was having a philosophical and ethics based conversation with one of my Sons over using Cheat Codes to play Computer and Video games. Like a finely primed lawyer I presented what I thought was an open and shut case. I narrowly made it to the end of my soap box top production and plea to the jury when he calmly pointed out, You know, every one of your articles on photography is just the same thing. Youre giving away free information about something that new photographers should either pay for or at least learn how to do on their own. Talk about being humbled.

So now that my home law practice has closed on its very first case, I thought to myself, Self? You know hes right! Why not just write it all out and give away the cheats and call it what it is? Ive covered many topics already in my list of photographic articles, why not do the cheats on Nature Photography Composition? So, these are just a few of the little tricks used by some of the top professional and advanced amateur photographers in the field.

Be Selfish

Remember your first date with the one that caught your heart? Well composing a well thought out scene to photograph is much the same. Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder and that is what you are hoping to be beholding in the final print. What it comes down to is understanding that you need to be totally attracted into the scene, it must move you emotionally before you can even hope to show it to someone else and hope for the same reaction.

Ive worked with 4 photographers, all standing side by side pointing their cameras at what appeared to be the same scene, and yet, when I took a moment to peer through their view finders I found a very different image in each one. What had happened is that each of them saw the same basic scene, but each one was drawn in by something uniquely attractive to them personally.

I went a step further to learn why by asking them each what made their individual compositions so attractive to them. It was as if I were listening to each one described the love of their life. That was very compelling to say the least. What it really comes down to, is that you must make a photograph with your heart first, then your eyes, then the rules that follow.

What this creates is the opportunity for drama or impact within the photograph. What that is, is entirely up to you alone. This harkens back to a statement made by the first Cheat writer, Ansel Adams when he pointed out that there are always two people in a photograph, the subject, and the photographer.

You must put yourself into your photographs.

Someone else once told me that I should be creating photographs that I feel are good enough for me, not what I think someone else would think are great. This is the key to communicating through your art, and in fact where it becomes art and not a mechanical reproduction of a person, place or thing.

Maturity Prevents Premature Exposure

What the heck does that mean? Basically it means, that before you squeeze off a shot on a scene that you have emotionally connected with and are ready to do the deed, you need to make sure that the scene is mature enough to be taken. You need to sit back and ask yourself if anyone else will see what you see in the shot. Are you going to fill the frame with color, patterns, textures, shapes and light only to have someone else ask, Uh, ok What is it?

You want to hear the Ohhs and Ahhs or Wows when people look at your images, and to be totally honest, you want to put that image away and come back to it a week later and be totally swept off your feet again. How do we do this? The first step is to understand the basic rules of composition and use them to mature your composition into something that most anyone can understand.

The Rule of Thirds If you dont already have a grid on your view screen imagine a tic-tac-toe grid and place the subject of your scene anywhere except the center box to give your subject an environment to work in. If you have an element in the scene that acts as a line, try never to run it 90 degrees vertical, rather run it diagonally through the scene to add interest and possibly a leading line element to the main subject.

Leading Lines Leading lines are exactly what they sound like, they are lines that lead you to a point of interest in the over all image. There are two powerful types, Diagonal and S-curve. The S- Curve not only leads you to a subject, but also a more scenic route through the scene so you can stop and see other little things on the way in.

No upstaging allowed This is often where many less experienced photographers go astray. It is possible to have other subjects compete for attention in your photograph. You want the point of the most impact to demand all of the attention of the viewer, however there are times you need a supporting element that points attention to the subject. Just look for the scene-stealers and get rid of them if possible.

If you keep these three points in mind, you will have gained 75ore control of your images, but the 25eft is just as important. You need to understand lighting, perspective and color too. There are countless articles you can find on these subjects alone and all worth your time to research in more depth.

I always try to make all of my landscape photos as unconventional as I can. Where I live in Colorado, you cant sneeze without hitting another nature photographer and with that much competition for attention in the market place, I need to make my work stand out from the crowd. I think about how a plain snapshot of the scene would look, and then I try to make my shot it as wildly different from that as possible!

To achieve this I use every one of the rules mentioned above in a variety of combinations, but the one that always pays off, is my connection to the scene I am photographing.

Comedy Action or Drama

So when we think about creative landscape photography, we want to think impact! Try different angles to uncover obscure relationships between your characters, and shoot at different times of day to explore uncommon themes. The hours on the borders of dawn and dusk are most productive! Think about the graphical elements in your photograph. Look for unusual patterns, colors, textures, lines, contrasts, and shapes.

Just like any powerful novel or entertaining movie, our creative juices in a photograph become a dramatic visual story and require three basic elements. Our landscape photo needs a cast of characters, a central theme, and strong relationships between the characters. This interaction is what we usually call Drama! What we really want in a creative landscape photo is "Dramatic." The central theme leads to the main relationship. And once I know the relationship, I have identified the characters! Sound familiar? I try to keep all my attention on just one character one subject.

Heres a handy survey I found used not only by myself, but many successful photographers to help prepare a composition. It will also help you slow down and take the time to carefully build the scene!

You need time to ask yourself;

What is it that draws me to this scene?
How can I best present this with impact and emotion as a photograph?
How can I isolate the main theme or subject?
What equipment will I use or need?
Are there any complications
Things I dont like,
extreme lighting,
fast moving elements,
awkward angles,
bugs, dust, snow, rain,
wind etc.

How will these things affect the outcome of the photograph? How will I minimize them, or how can I use the complications to make more impacting photograph?

To help you take a really dramatic photograph, you need to ask yourself, "Self? What's the ONE thing here that really moves me and why?" Then you need to ask one more very important question that will make the difference between shooting just whats in front of you, or creating a uniquely dramatic photograph; What If?

It is the what if factor that makes the difference between a point and shoot moment and a truly creative venture. Try it for yourself, the next time youre taking landscape photographs.

K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple & Sexy!

It is very essential to remember the three essentials of a well composed story; characters, themes and relationships! In a maturely composed photograph, the subjects are your characters, the theme is the emotion you are feeling about the scene and what you want to capture, and the relationships add the drama.

To command attention, I try to simplify the number of "things" in my photo so the three essentials remain strong. A good example is a Three Ring Circus. There are a lot of things going on at all times and it is very hard to focus on all of it so you make yourself focus on just one thing, yet you still end up getting distracted. So you listen to the Ring Master to cue you to what is the most important thing you need to watch. In many cases, the circus uses spot lights to isolate the real thrills!

The same thing often happens when we compose our photos. If there are too many items in the composition, we can strain our emotional message and dilute the significance of the story our landscape photographs are telling. This is where you become the Ring Master and Spotlight Operator to point out the main subject and keep it simple and sexy!

Working your Subject

Most of the time, I find if I am truly taking my time on a shot, Ill be trying out different views of my subject, and different perspectives with respect to other elements that I may want in my landscape photograph. I am "working all the angles - working my subject!"

Slowing down will lets me explore my subject from all possible vantage points. Down low, up close, adding different foreground elements, standing on something for a new perspective, investigating all possibilities for capturing something unique and dramatic!

Light can reflect in many different ways, depending on where YOU are to see it. So I try to keep moving, recomposing, using the one eye method I probably look like a complete weirdo to people who may see me doing my thing, but, hey, artists are supposed to be "eccentric!"
If you have traveled to an exotic place and are photographing the dramatic landscapes there, you owe it to yourself to make your time there really count. Investigate the scenery as thoroughly as you can! You may never have the opportunity to shoot creative landscape photography of this place again, so maximize every moment.

The Difference between a snap shot & photograph is a Tripod!

You had to know that sooner or later I would have to get all technical and mention a piece of equipment. So, the hottest tip I can give you is not really one of those, hey I never thought of that myself. types of tips, but you've been working too hard trying all these techniques to be disappointed with your efforts just by missing this one thing.

I have to include it to help give you the best chance to make sure the other secrets will work, so you'll be consistently creating better photographs.

If you suffered the lack of sleep and got up extra early to get the perfect light, spent a fair bit of time thinking about how to capture the shot, how to compose it, defining it and more it would be a sin if you wasted the perfect moment by taking a chance using only your "steady" hand. And if you got up and out as early as I tend to do in the morning, you probably had enough coffee to make your eyes float and make a Squirrel look sedate its time to say, gimme a tripod, please!
Of all the photography in the world, landscapes lend themselves pretty well to careful composition and the sensible use of a tripod, because you can more-or-less plan your shot. One of my editors once offered me the quote, The Difference between a snapshot and a photograph, is a tripod! She was 100 orrect beyond the point of obvious.

My main reason for using a tripod is not only for the tack sharpness I get from a steady platform, but the ability to compose my photograph, then take a step back to resize the over all scene I am working with. Many times I find myself at the location I plan to work in and frame up my first scene, before the light is how I want it, so I have the opportunity to step back and consider other compositions. I will grab my back-up camera and a standard lens and go to the right or left, higher or lower and finally closer or further from the scene to consider a wide range of other possibilities.

Use a GOOD tripod. Mine is a well used but very nimble Bogen / Manfrotto set up. Its lightweight, and sturdy. And will hold the camera in positions I could never find myself in to get just the right perspective to the subject. My tripod accepts several different types of heads from Ball to Pan and Tilt heads, all of which offer various capabilities. I use the pan and tilt because it makes me slow down and take my time to think through every step before pressing the shutter release.
Whether you only have a car roof, a table, or a steady boulder, for support, you can use this tiny wonder to guarantee sharp, clear and awesome creative landscape photography.

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

This is a topic that many photographers tend to be very sensitive about. Its like picking out underwear or shoes. Its very personal.

I meet many photographers who approach photography like magicians - bound by a code to keep trade secrets! So if I am really giving away some true secret that should be guarded and never let out, I'm about to be in a heap of trouble because, I am about to share some of the real and often debated secrets of creating really impacting yet natural photographs. Abra-cadabra Ala-kazaam, Poof!

We all know Mother Nature doesnt always look like the Supermodel or Mr. Perfect we dream of. Just like any of those, there comes a time for a little camera magic and light bending and blending by using photographic filters or special effect tricks. When it comes to what is Natural or believable it turns out there is a fine line between reality and fantasy. I tend to lean more into reality thus I use filters or tricks that either corrects for the lack of tonal range my digital camera or film will render. I use a circular polarizer and a Graduated Neutral Density Filter almost exclusively in the field, but there are a few others that can work well without crossing over into the world of the un-real! Still, they create more opportunity to use my imagination and get really creative!

Imagination means were creative and we like to find novel ways to solve problems, so when Nature doesnt cooperate with my plans, I try to be resourceful. As in any dramatic production, I've found the use of props can drastically improve the show! Here are a few examples of my "tricks" that help me make landscape photography that is much more than a snapshot: They'll work for you too, guaranteed!

If I ever need a little ambiance, or a little more "atmosphere", I breathe on the lens and get it foggy. As the fog evaporates, I take the shot!

In situations where there is a lot of contrast from sunlight streaming into a dark space, the shade of a canyon, for example, and you are shooting from the darkness, throw a little dirt in the air to create those wonderful "sunbeams."

I cannot count the times Ive been accused of cheating a little, but some photographers use special effects filters on a regular basis to create extraordinary yet far from believable results however they are presenting their work in that manner, so I dont really think this is much different except that I am keeping the effects I create realistic and as natural as possible.

I have been known to bring a small spray bottle full of water on my many shoots. If there was no dew overnight, I can instantly create my own, by gently spraying a fine mist of water on or around my subject. This works very well with Macro compositions yet, if I am creating a large landscape, a thin glistening of water on my main foreground subject can really bring out the colors in the foreground while adding more interest and completing the impact I want to communicate to the viewer.

Remember to ask, What If?

The points Ive offered here are only a few of what really stood out to me as I browsed through countless websites and photography forums looking at the work of amateur and professional photographers alike. While there, I found many consistent traits both positive and negative. In many cases I find the point and shoot approach, the carbon copy approach, and finally the cram it all in there approach. I have even found at least one of these in my own work from time to time.
The key is to consistently ask your self over and over again, WHAT IF? What if I lower my perspective, what if I over expose it this time or under expose it, what if I try vertical over horizontal, what if I experiment in one way or another just to make this image different from the countless others I have seen before by other photographers.

In music, a singer will attempt to make a song their own even if it was originally performed by a well known and respected performer before. We hear them on the radio all the time, and in many cases we find the newer version as good if not better than the originals rendition. So go out and make your own interpretations of your scenes. Make it yours by asking yourself, What if?

You Only Learn By Doing!

When I was a Kid I tried to learn Karate by reading books, needless to say no matter how well written those books were, nothing compares to getting out there and taking the punches and learning by doing. There are two schools of thought on this, you can prescribe to. You can get out on your own and learn through your errors and critiques when you present your work online or you can attend a workshop or two and learn under the guidance from experienced photographers with hands on, or as I like to call it eye in the viewfinder instruction. In either, you will learn and grow over time, but I have found the workshop approach more rewarding in every way.
So like Nike has says, Just Do It!

Winter Scenic Photography Tips

2009-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

The ground hog came out and said Spring is soon upon us. The calendar on the wall states that spring has officially arrived, but here in Colorado, all that seems like a funny joke...Colorado tends to change seasons in its own sweet time. So to say it's time to get out and shoot winter scenes in April may seem a bit odd to the out-of-towner, to those nature photographers who have endured a few "Colorado" seasons, we know that Old Man Winter is still alive and well.

The thought of going out to shoot winter scenes in January and February seems a bit too rugged for me. I would rather be at home next to a warm fire, sipping hot cappucinno and watching the weather channel showing the warm weather in Tahiti. Instead, I wait until mid-March & early April to get out my snow shoes. When all those spring-breakers are heading to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, I'm heading up to the high country.

Two hours west of Colorado Springs are some of the most beautiful winter scenes I have ever witnessed. Just outside Buena Vista are located San Isabel National Forest, Sahwatch Range, or other places like, the Sangre De Cristos and Rocky Mountain National Park are places where you can witness the most photogenic mountains that rise over 14,000 feet above sea level. On a clear day, when the air is clean and crisp, elk and mule deer can be seen venturing into the lower valleys in their search for food

Some the large snow fields in Colorado are beginning to melt at this time of year, creating run-offs and photogenic cascades to the small creeks and rivers. Most of the time, the skies are clear and the snow glistens like millions of diamonds on a carpet of white. However, in the midst of this beauty lies the potential for avalanches. As the warm spring sun starts to heat up the snow, conditions become more favorable for these dangerous occurrences. So learn the warning signs of a potential avalanche and be aware of the conditions along your intended route, taking extra caution when trekking away from the main trails. Always be prepared with the extra water and supplies that may be needed should you become stranded for a short period of time. I always recommend that a travel plan and a map be left at home, detailing your routes and destinations. In addition, give people an idea of when you're planning on returning and a time to start looking for you if you don't report back on time.

While there are many excellent techniques and strategies for capturing winter scenes on film, here are a few that work well for me -

Early To Rise - Get up early and get to where you want to shoot before the sun comes up. The best time of day for most scenes is early morning and late afternoon, when the sun is burning through more of the earth's atmosphere, casting warm-colored hues on the scene. This warm, dramatic lighting can add a mystic feel to the image.
Almost 3-D - Keep in mind that it's desirable to close the aperture to a narrow opening of f/22 or f/32 in order to increase depth of field in the final image. A good nature scene should have compositional balance, the foreground leading to the main subject and through to the supporting background. Watch for distracting elements in your view finder that would detract from your subject. Be very picky! Following this guide will enhance the image to the point where you feel like you can actually step into your printed image. Most importantly, use the K.I.S.S. theory (Keep It Simple Stupid). Don't overload the image with too much of the scene; keep the subject clear and the image uncluttered.

In The Zone - I suggest that if you have a newer camera that is equipped with zone or "matrix" metering, you should set the camera on aperture priority and let the camera figure out the shutter speed to balance the exposure with your selected f/stop setting. Alternatively, consider substitute metering, bracketing, or use of the "sunny-16 rule" to arrive at the correct exposure in these tough-to-meter snowy winter scenes. Film selection is also important, my preference is for slower speed slide films that provide fine grain and rich color. Professional grade films enrich color and provide the best saturation to create vivid images that just pop off the paper.
Lights, Action, Color - When photographing any scene be sure to have something colorful in the image! Red willow bushes, clear blue skies, golden dried grass, and old buildings that are weather beaten but still retain some color are good examples. When set against snow, colorful subjects will stand out better.
Ignore The Weather Channel - While clear blue skies can add a crisp, cool feeling to your image, many times it's more effective to have a little bad weather to make a good photograph. No matter what your subject is, look for fog, snow, and steam to add depth and interest to your images. These situations will more often than not produce dramatic images that convey the real feeling of winter in Colorado. A typical exposure may require opening up by one half to a full stop, which will help details pop up from any haze in the scene.
Chasing The Sun - Regardless of the time of day, your position in relation to the sun is important. The sun's position can drastically change a landscape in a matter of minutes, especially at sunrise and sunset. Follow the sun through a scene and watch for changes in light. Many times it takes several shots to capture the right balance of light, color, and contrast in a scene. Also keep in mind the direction you point the lens when shooting in bright sunlight. Details tend to get lost when you are shooting into the sun due to lens flare and ghosting. Metering is the most important consideration in these situations as green pine trees can turn black and snow can turn grey due to underexposure. Be sure you are versed in your camera's metering system and can correctly compensate in these tough lighting conditions.

Shooting snow scenes is a challenge for any photographer no matter the experience level, but persistence will pay off in the long run as you expand your knowledge and fuel your desire to be creative in your photography. So get out there, be safe, and be a part of winter photography in Colorado.