This is a wonderful area to photograph. The sunsets are spectacular with all the sea stacks against the colors of the sky. Please check out my article and like it. Thanks & Happy Shooting. . .Karen
Tag: landscape photography
A Simple Tip to Enhance Fall Color. . .
I was on my way home from Oregon last Friday, and saw this scene. It was a great example of showing techniques for fall color, and this is the resulting blog entry. All three photos were processed the same way, and there is a marked difference in their color.
The first photograph was taken without a Polarizing filter. The light shines off the top of the leaves, causing the colors to fade or appear washed-out. The colors in the lake reflection are faded too. The White Balance (WB) was set on Auto.
The second photo was taken with a Polarizing filter. It cuts the “glare” from the light, that was bouncing off the leaves in the first photo. There is a marked difference in the colors between these two photos. The yellows are more vibrant, and the browns are warmer. The reflection in the lake has more color too. This is a nice photo, but the color is not as spectacular as it could be. It is missing some direct sunlight, and a focal point in the frame.
This last photograph was taken with a Polarizing filter and with the WB set on cloudy. I cropped (in the camera) to include only the reflection with ducks swimming through the frame. The ducks become the subject, and the fall colors add to the scene. In this instance, I liked the color reflected in the water better than on the trees.
Happy Shooting. . .Karen
Columbia river gorge waterfalls and trails
The historic Columbia River highway gives access to amazing waterfalls, and fall colors. It is a great photo opportunity. Please check it out. . .thanks, and Happy Shooting. . .Karen
How do you do “That”. . .
I’ve been a photographer for years, and started with film. I wanted to be like Art Wolfe. I had seen his photos in National Geographic, and wanted to work for them. I decided to become one of the best photographers in the world, and that would be my life. I would travel the world, take photographs, and people would pay me a lot of money. I was 13 years old at the time.
Through the years, I have been blessed with the teachings of many different photographers. I attended a workshop taught by Frans Lanting in the 1990s, and he told us that nobody in the room would make it as a professional nature photographer, except for the 1 or 2 that did not listen to him. I love a challenge!
Bryan F Peterson’s workshops brought in the idea that creativity and light were the foundation for all successful photographs. I’ve taken several workshops from him through the years, and have “wow-ed” him with a few photographs. This photo of the Painted Desert was the first “wow”, and it was at a workshop. It was followed by silence, in a room full of 50+ people. It is one of my fondest memories about photography.
The other factor that brought me to this point in my career was being recognized as a talented photographer by a local photographer. He taught introduction photography classes, and asked me to assist him. This was in 1995, and lasted for two years. He also encouraged me and others to show our work, by organizing a gallery in LaConner, WA. I was covering a shift at the gallery one weekend, and had the opportunity to listen to a gentleman critique all my work to a friend without even acknowledging my presence in the gallery. Listening to others can give insight, and knowledge about the artist’s audience.
So now when I do a show or talk, people ask me “how do you do that?” I could be anything, such as how did you get the background to go dark. How did you get the picture so colorful? What kind of camera do you use?
Well, a good photograph doesn’t have much to do with owning an expensive camera. It does have a lot to do with knowing how to use the equipment that you own or can afford to own (Point and Shoot or DSLR). It comes down to understanding light, exposure, composition, and how to manipulate the camera to get the artist vision. It takes practice, using all this knowledge to hone a photographer’s skills.
I teach student’s these skills through several venues. On the weekends, I teach through Nature’s Photo Adventures. The 2 hour workshop is called a Photo Walk. This format allows students to learn these skills, practice the skills, and ask questions regarding application of the skills. Many of the Photo Walks happen at the zoo, where there are an abundance of photo opportunities. For the more advanced students, I offer a 1 day workshop (4 hours) of classroom time, and opportunity to practice skills. The format of the classes focus on skills, and students being successful with their photographs.
For those who prefer a classroom setting, I teach a series of Digital photography classes through the City of Edmonds. There are 4 individual classes that are 2 hours of instruction. Each one builds off of the knowledge learned in the previous class. Students can sign-up for these individually. The first class starts with basic camera operation. Class two focuses on exposure and light. Class three works on composition, and the application of exposure/light. Class four finishes with the digital darkroom, and what software programs work best for their costs.
I teach longer workshops through the Pacific Northwest Art School on Whidbey Island. In 2013, I will be teaching a one-day (6 hour) workshop called “From Camera Knowledge to the Digital Darkroom Intensive.” This will be one day focused on basic camera operation, exposure, composition, light, practice shooting, and finishes with the Digital Darkroom. This will be on Saturday, March 23, 2013.
The second workshop I will be teaching here is “An Island Photographic Adventure – Birds, Wildlife & the Environment.” It will be a 2 day workshop with classroom time, and shooting on location. The shoot locations will be on Whidbey and Fidelgo Islands. The workshop will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 27-28, 2013.
My other teaching venue is the Sitka Center for Arts & Ecology on the Oregon coast. I will be teaching “Of the Land, Sea & Air – An Oregon Coast Photo Adventure.” It will be in June, though I do not have the final date yet.
So, when asking a photographer, “how did you do that,” consider taking a photography workshop. . .
Photographing Fall Colors. . .
One of my favorite times of the year for photography is coming up. In the fall, the leaves on the trees turn vibrant yellows, oranges, reds and sometimes purple. Each region has its own timing for the fall foliage. Ours is anytime between late September to mid-November. It all depends on the amount of rain, and when the first frost happens.
The shot below was taken on Whatcom Creek in northern Washington state. This is a long exposure (3 seconds) on a tripod. The depth of field (Aperture) is f22, for maximum sharpness throughout the photograph. The ISO was 100.
The day was over-cast, hence the lack of dark shadows and bright highlights. This can work two ways for a photograph. First, it give even lighting, since the clouds diffuse the sunlight. Second, too much sky showing becomes un-interesting, and can take away from the photograph. In this photo, I cropped out the sky, and focused on the creek, fall foliage and surrounding landscape.
This next example deviates from a traditional landscape photograph. The trees, leaves and stream become an abstract image. This effect is created in the camera by “zooming” the lens. In this case, I used my 17-40mm lens. In this case, I started at 17mm and zoomed to 40mm.
This is a 1 second exposure at f10. The ISO was 100.
This last photograph was taken on a sunny day. I chose a shaded bend in the river, and cropped out the brightly lit background forest from the frame (in camera). Composition can intensify the fall leaves, by surrounding the tree with a single color. In this case, it is the other green trees that have not turned color yet. I set my camera’s White Balance on Cloudy, which “warms” up the colors in the photograph. A polarizing filter is handy to cut the “glare” from the top of the leaves.
This was shot with my 100-400mm lens, at 100mm. The exposure was 1/60 sec, f4.5 and ISO 100.
For more information about locations, visit my Examiner.com articles, and subscribe to my updates.
Happy shooting. . .Karen
Northern Cascade mountain scenic loop
Here is my latest article, and a great idea for travel on the Labor Day weekend. Please check it out. If you like my articles, please subscribe. Thanks, and have a wonderful day. . .Karen
Visiting Olympic national park
Here is my latest article on Olympic National Park. Please check it out. Hope you enjoy, and have a great day. . .
Happy shooting. . .Karen
Filters & Color
Filters can be used to enhance colors in a photograph. They may filter out some light rays, while accentuating others. My favorite filter is a Polarizing filter.
With a polarizing filter, it cuts the “glare” from the sunlight off of the surfaces being photographed. It can turn the sky a deep blue, or bring washed-out colors back into a normal range. The photo above was taken in the morning around 9 am. This was shot in the high desert in Eastern Oregon, and the light started becoming harsh a little after 9 am. The polarizing filter enhanced the blue sky, and the red in the hillside.
The photo below was taken later in the day. The leaves are green, because of the polarizing filter. This filter can change water reflections, by enhancing them or making them disappear. In clear water, this allows for the bottom of the water source to be seen, like in the last photograph.
The digital medium requires a circular polarizing filter, to properly work with the medium. It is most effective 90 degrees from the sun, though it does continue to work at lessor angles (with less polarization). The filter freely turns, and the amount of polarization in the photo is affected by this.
There is not a filter that can correct bad lighting, such as mid-day in the desert. Creating brilliant color in photographs requires good light, proper exposure, correct white balance (WB) and appropriate filters. Some of my previous posts discuss lighting and exposure.
More later, and Happy Shooting. . .Karen
Photography Destination – John Day Painted Hills Unit
In the mountains east of Prineville, Or, the small town of Mitchell is located 15 minutes from the John Day Painted Hills Unit. The town of Mitchell has a population of 120 people, and is located directly on Highway 26. The Oregon Hotel offers affordable accommodations, and is pleasant to stay. Main Street is across the creek from the main highway. During our stay, it was quiet and peaceful. Temperatures in the summer reach the 90 – 100 range, and July is the hottest month. With the aspen in the hills, fall would be a beautiful time to catch the colorful hills, and fall colors.
The area is home to three separate units, and all are home to fossils, beautiful landscapes and wildlife. We saw numerous Ravens, Hawks, Falcons, Deer and other wildlife.
The Painted Hills are layers of volcanic ash from the time the Cascade Mountains were young. Today, we see these hills as layers of reds, yellows, whites, blacks and greens. The sunlight changes the colors of the hills throughout the day. The sunlight becomes harsh around 9 am in the summer. It has the best color during the early morning hours, and later in the evening. The photograph below was taken a little after 6:30 am. I polarized filter is very useful in this location.
Besides sweeping landscapes and panoramic, the area lends itself to abstract compositions. The vibrant colors, textures and shapes create a landscape filled with possibilities. The light-colored boardwalk (s) create a brilliant contrast to the colors of the hills. In the photo below, this is the boardwalk through color cove.
More later, and happy shooting. . .Karen
Photography Destination – Fort Casey
Living in the Pacific Northwest offers many beautiful photography destinations. Simply living near Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountains or the Olympic Peninsula give many opportunities for sunsets, waterfalls, tide pools and wildlife. For the urban photographer, there is Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Bellingham. One of my favorite places is Fort Casey. It is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Seattle, and located on beautiful Whidbey Island.
The park is home to Fort Casey, the WWII fort that helped protect Puget Sound from the Japanese. It is one of three forts located at the mouth of Puget Sound. The other two are Fort Ebby and Fort Flagler. Another structural features of the park is Admiralty Head Lighthouse.
The park is home to a lot of wildlife, that are comfortable around people though still wild. I’ve photographed deer, fawns, bald eagles, rabbits, small birds, harlequin ducks and various species of gulls. The cliff top is a large grassy area, surrounded by forest. It overlooks Puget Sound and Port Townsend. There is a trail to the beach, which is cobble stone and sand.
As a photographer, I never run out of subjects to photograph. The concrete bunkers, of the fort, offer line, texture and angles to shoot. The contrast between the concrete and nature is wonderful too. The fort still has one of its large guns on display, and visitors can look at it up-close.
Besides the vistas, wildlife, lighthouse and fort, there are plenty of flowers and macro opportunities.
Happy shooting. . .Karen
