Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography
Page 12
DISCOVERING YOUR PERSONAL STYLE
UPPER ZION NATIONAL PARK, UTAH. In the upper canyon washes of Zion, I often find great lines in the rock formations. This wall had a wonderful S-curve running through it, as if it were an accent over the beautiful leaves below. 24–105mm lens at 58mm, f /16 at 1/2 sec.
I am always amazed by the variety of images produced when eight people photograph the same subject or idea, or even the same scene. Everyone has a unique way of seeing the world, and most of us want to be recognized or remembered for that expression we call our style. Pete Turner once said, “A photographer’s work is given shape and style by his personal vision. It is not simply technique, but the way he looks at life and the world around him.”
When I am reviewing the portfolios of students, they often ask, “Do you see any style to my work?” It’s a valid question. Your photography may already have a style. To find out, gather a large collection of your prints or slides and analyze them carefully. Find the common factors in the photographs. Do you gravitate toward close-ups or landscapes? Are your landscapes only of natural subjects, or do you photograph man-made objects as well? Do you use your wide-angle or your telephoto lens most often? What type of light do you gravitate toward? Are people a regular occurrence in your pictures? Do your photographs portray a message? If so, is there a common message underlying your work?
ICE ABSTRACT, ALASKA. This piece of ice looked like crystal to me. It had calved off a glacier in Alaska and we were lucky to discover it. 35–350mm lens at 350mm, f /5.6 at 1/250 sec.
Make a list of characteristics that stand out to you. Ask someone you trust if he or she sees a common denominator in your photographs. The process will also help you discover favorite techniques, viewpoints, colors, or subjects. You’ll see where you’ve been and perhaps where you’re going with your vision. Take photo workshops and go on tours where you can share your work with fellow enthusiasts. Join forums where you can share your work and get trusted feedback. It’s a great way to see how others view your work and what similarities or differences they might see in your image collections.
Style evolves from constant self-expression. It’s who you are, a combination of your emotions, experiences, and knowledge. You can’t force style. If you are too intense about creating a “look” to your work, you may be seriously limiting your vision and your creativity. Loosen up and photograph what you love—with all the passion, artistry, and technical skill you can muster. Make many photographs, evaluate them, and study the masters whose work you admire. In time, your personal style will become evident. You are original, and your vision will express that. Stay true to it.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE
If I’ve done a good job with this book, you are sitting at the edge of your seat ready to hit the fields, forests, villages, and coastlines to make new photographs! All the ideas in this book will help you, but the most important factor is your imagination. If you stretch your mind, ask that “what if” question, and then act upon your curiosity, you’ll find an endless supply of things to photograph. If you dig deeper into your own feelings about what you love to photograph, you’ll find the emotional connection that may be missing in your images.
What comes next? For some, simply making photographs is good enough. As amateurs, they share their photographs with friends and family and decorate the walls of their homes or offices with their wonderful images. Many belong to camera clubs and are members of online clubs and forums where they can share their work with fellow enthusiasts. I’ve judged for camera clubs, and the real meaning of amateur—“for the love of something”—rings true in these groups. The members are motivated by their love of photography. It often inspires me to see the pictures these people produce.
For others, it might mean getting into it professionally. But remember to keep the joy and passion for photography. If you do so, your images stay alive and vibrant.
Here are some ways to get your work out there to be seen and enjoyed by others. You can:
Build a Web site for your pictures or become a member of sites where you can share your pictures.
Participate in exhibits, both local and regional.
Have your own exhibits in cafes, galleries, gift shops, libraries, and community centers.
Give visual presentations. Many active adult communities and retirement homes eagerly welcome people who can volunteer to entertain their residents.
Make your own greeting cards to send out.
Donate your work to worthy nonprofit causes. Even though many large organizations hire professionals, most, especially smaller ones, don’t have money budgeted for photography.
Start a creative support group with other photographers and artists where you can all share your images and get feedback and ideas for developing your vision and your projects.
A great way to maintain your inspiration is to develop personal projects. For example, I have ongoing projects to photograph water, trees, and the Southwest. Create a collection of your impressions from a place or of a particular subject. It gives you something to plan for, to build on, and to be challenged by as you think of more ways to interpret your topic.
If you let yourself experience the world as a child does, full of wonder, you’ll begin to see the world in new ways. Apply the concepts presented within this book, and remember to play and experiment, too. You are limited only by your imagination, so stretch, open your eyes and heart to what’s around you, and you’ll soon be a better photographer.
LAKE MEGUNTICOOK AT DUSK, MAINE. Canon G9, f /5.6 at 1/4 sec.
ORCAS, ALASKA. Orcas are one of my favorite mammals. They are always traveling, so when we encounter them, it’s very special. To capture the gesture of breathing, I watched for the instant when they surfaced and caught their backlit breath. Capturing good moments consistently requires knowing animal behavior so you can anticipate a great shot just before it presents itself. 100–400mm lens at 400mm, f /6.3 at 1/320 sec.
WHAT’S IN THE BAG
Gear can be addictive when the manufacturers offer up the latest and greatest camera, or lens. But as Sam Abell once said, “It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use.” It’s not the gear that makes the picture, after all! I use Canon 35mm digital cameras, lenses, and flashes. They are top-quality, and are great for what I want to do. However, any 35mm camera can perform the basic functions that we need to create great photographs that don’t require special effects. Choose a camera for the features it has, how it feels in your hands, and how the controls and menus are laid out.
Here’s what I carry in my bag:
Cameras: Canon 1DS MK III, and a Canon 1D MK III or a 5D MK II
Lenses and extenders: 17–40mm F4, 24–105mm F4 IS, 90mm F2.8 T/S, 70–200mm F2.8L IS or a 100–400mm F3.5–5.6 IS, 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, a Lensbaby, two extension tubes or the Canon 500D diopter. If I am doing extensive macro work, I will add the 180mm F4 macro, but I often use the 90mm tilt-shift with an extension tube or the 70–200mm with the 500D diopter, for close-up work.
Flash equipment: 580 EX II flash, off-camera flash cord, wireless transmitter equipment, Sto-Fen Omni Bounce diffusion dome, and the Flash X-Tender, a folding flash concentrator with Fresnel lens (the latter, if doing wildlife photography)
Filters: A 3-stop graduated ND filter, circular polarizing filter, the Variable ND filter, the Color Combo, and a few other filters, all made by Singh-Ray
A 32-inch fold-up diffusion disc and a soft gold/white reflector hangs outside of the pack
Model/property release forms on index cards
Macro kit, when doing a lot of it (paintbrush, hair clips, fishing line), and the McClamp (see the resources list)
Spare batteries for cameras and flash, lens-cleaning cloth, sensor cleaning kit, eyeglass repair kit, strong bulb-type blower, Allen wrench
Hoodman LCD Loupe
Rain hoods to fit various longest lens/camera setups
Leatherman Wave multipurpose t
ool
Headlamp and mini flashlight with red lens for night photography
Small notebook, pen, compass, remote shutter release
Spare quick-release plate
Depth-of-field chart
If I’m doing travel or street photography, I carry the following:
One camera body (sometimes two)
17–40mm F4 L lens, 24–105 F4 L IS lens, 70–200 F4 L IS lens, and a Lensbaby
Teleconverter
Polarizing filters, the 500D diopter, a remote release for camera, and flash with Omni-Bounce diffusion and a wireless setup
Lens-cleaning cloth, sensor-cleaning kit, eyeglass repair kit, spare batteries, Allen wrench, small flashlight or headlamp
Model/property release forms on index cards
Rain hood for camera/lens
I use carbon fiber tripods with Really Right Stuff ball heads. For mounting my 500mm, I use the Wimberley Sidekick, essential for balancing the weight load of that lens. I also pack a tabletop tripod. (Note: All my cameras and lenses are equipped with Really Right Stuff quick-release plates. They are well-designed, strong, and easy to use.)
ASPEN TREES, CALIFORNIA. I liked the clean white structure to these bare aspen trees. 105mm lens, f /16 at 1/5 sec.
RESOURCES
CAMERA EQUIPMENT
The manufacturers listed below make great products for photography. While others certainly exist, the ones listed here make the gear that I use, and I have found their products to be well-designed and highly functional.
Bogen Corp. www.bogenimaging.com
Canon USA. www.usa.canon.com
Lowepro USA. www.lowepro.com
McClamp. www.fmphotography.us
Lensbaby. www.lensbaby.com
Really Right Stuff. www.reallyrightstuff.com
Singh-Ray Filters. www.singh-ray.com
Think Tank Photo. www.thinktankphoto.com
Wimberley. www.tripodhead.com
SPECIAL SOFTWARE
The following software products are ones I use and like:
Helicon Focus
www.heliconsoft.com.
Image stacking software that solves depth-of-field problems.
Lightroom
www.adobe.com.
Software designed to integrate image processing, editing, organizing, and showcasing your photographs.
Nik Software
www.niksoftware.com.
Easy to use software for creating black-and-white images, applying color filters, sharpening, and reducing noise. Works with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture.
Photomatix
www.hdrsoft.com.
Software for merging exposures using High Dynamic Range technique, and for generating highly illustrative effects to your images.
Topaz Image Enhancing
www.topazlabs.com.
Software for enhancing your photographs and adding painterly effects.
SUGGESTED READING AND TUTORIAL PRODUCTS
Brandenburg, Jim. Chased by the Light. Creative Publishing International. This wonderful book documents a season, one photograph per day.
Burkholder, Dan. Producer of Tiny Tutorials, a set of instructional DVDs for creating a unique look with your fine art images. Also wrote Making Digital Negatives for Contact Printing. www.danburkholder.com.
Kemper, Lewis. The Photographer’s Toolbox for Photoshop. A great set of instructional DVDs for processing and editing your photographs using Photoshop. They are very easy to understand and follow along, and highly recommended by this author.
Neill, William. Landscapes of the Spirit. Bulfinch Press. Beautiful images and inspiring text.
Patterson, Freeman. Photographing the World Around You, Photo Impressionism and the Subjective Image, and many others. Key Porter Books. These books cover design, composition, and color and present alternative techniques for expressing creativity.
Peterson, Bryan F. Understanding Digital Exposure and other books. Amphoto Books. These well-written books cover everything you need to make great pictures, no matter what your subject.
Sweet, Tony. Fine Art Digital Nature Photography, Fine Art Flower Photography, and Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process. Stackpole Books. Expressive images and the information you need to create your own.
Willmore, Ben. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques (Adobe Press), Adobe Photoshop CS4: Up to Speed (Peachpit Press), and HDR and Beyond in Photoshop CS4, New Riders Press.
USEFUL WEB SITES
www.betterphoto.com.
Great resource offering online courses in outdoor, nature, travel, people, stock, and portrait photography. Offers camera specific courses and Photoshop classes, too. Public forum, member galleries.
www.dofmaster.com.
This site has very useful depth-of-field charts for purchase.
www.Luminous-Landscape.com.
Great tutorials on every concept and technique in photography. Also features forums, columns, essays, product reviews, and more.
www.TheCandidFrame.com.
Offers inspiring series of informal podcast interviews of photographers.
www.tmelive.com.
The Mindful Eye. Daily critiques, articles on editing, podcasts, and more thought-provoking and insightful content.
www.lynda.com.
Great resource for lessons on using a vast array of software applications.
INDEX
Abell, Sam, itr.1, Chapter 10.1
Adams, Ansel, itr.1, itr.2, Chapter 2.1, 5.1
Allard, William Albert
Artistic interpretations
about: overview of
focusing through other objects
impressionistic montages
montages
panning
soft-focus effects with lensbaby
zooming lens
Balance
Bernhard, Ruth
Book, about
Bullock, Wynn
Camera equipment
to carry in bag
handling intuitively
resources
for traveling or street photography
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Chapter 4.1, 7.1, 10.1
Checklists
composition
for creating photographs
self-evaluation
Close-up (macro) photography
Color
harmony
impact of
properties of specific colors
setting white balance, Chapter 2.1, 2.2
temperature of light
Composition, See also Message of photographs
balance and
checklist
checklist for creating photographs and
defined
dominance of subject and
horizontal or vertical orientation
importance of, itr.1, Chapter 5.1
learning to see and
less is more
negative space and, Chapter 5.1, 5.2
optimizing situations
proportion and
purpose of
rhythmic
rule of thirds
scale and
Curving lines
Depth. See Visual depth
Depth of field
Diagonal and oblique lines, Chapter 3.1, 3.2
Diffused glow, Chapter 8.1, 8.2
Diffuse light, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 6.1, 9.1
Diffusers, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 10.1
Dominance of subject
Eastman, George
Eisley, Loren
Essence, finding
Evaluating progress
discovering personal style
getting feedback
next steps for you
self-evaluation
Exposing to the right
Expressive images
about: overview of
capturing gesture
celebrating moments, Chapter 7.1, 7.2
expressing motion
varying point of view and
Extension tubes
Filters
diffusers, Chapter 2.1, 2.2
graduated neutral density (ND), Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 10.1
polarizing, itr.1, itr.2, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 6.1, 10.1
variable neutral density (ND), Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 10.1
Flashlights
Focus(ing)
choosing between background and foreground
closer than normal
depth of field and
extension tubes for
impressionistic montages using
making pictures without
mastering
selective, defining depth with
selective, for dominance, Chapter 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
selective, for flowers, Chapter 9.1, 9.2
soft, with Lensbaby
through other objects
Form
Freezing motion
Gesture, capturing
Graduated neutral density (ND) filters, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 10.1
Haas, Ernst, Chapter 2.1, 8.1
Harmony, of color
High Dynamic Range (HDR), Chapter 2.1, 8.1, 8.2
Highlights
clipping
diffuse light and
losing detail and
overexposing or not, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4
tonal contrast and, Chapter 2.1, 2.2
Histogram, Chapter 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
Horizontal lines
Horizontal or vertical orientation
Impressionistic montages
Kelvin scale
Lensbaby
Lenses