Nestled between the Cascade Mountains to the east and Puget Sound on the west, the Seattle area is filled with opportunities for day trips under $100. Three National Parks are within a two to three hour drive from downtown, the Cascade Mountains offer incredible hiking opportunities, Lake Washington and Puget Sound have numerous beaches, and the city offers many parks for exploration. A ferry ride takes the visitor to islands within Puget Sound or the Olympic Peninsula. The area is dotted with wineries, parks, and museums. Whether watching a sunrise or sunset, locals and visitors can enjoy the culture and beauty of the Emerald City.
Photography is the art of taking light waves, controlling their intensity, and creating a visual image. Though this process, there are several decisions or choices make regarding exposure, composition, and subject. During my workshop at Sitka, we spent one day hiking through the forest. I usually spend my time working with students individually, and pointing out areas of interest. I teach by both talking and showing examples.
The image below is from this workshop. We were looking for forest birds, and learning about habitat. Then, we came upon this tree, and the wonderful photographic opportunity. I pointed out the tree with all the fungus growing on its right side. It was a great subject to test out depth-of-field (aperture) and composition.
Shot Info – 100mm; 400 ISO; 1/60 sec.; F5.6
The entire area covered by fungus was large. It was at least 5 feet in height, and covered the back side of the tree. The trail allowed us to walk near and partially around the tree. The image below is a portion of the whole, and the depth-of-field keeps the fungus in focus, and part of the moss. The background in a series of white circular shapes and dark greens. The white is the over-cast sky, and the green is the forest.
This was shot with my 100-400 mm lens at 200 mm. I selected a section of the fungus that showed the top and bottom textures.
Shot Info – 200mm; 400 ISO; 1/60 sec.; F5.6
In the image below, I cropped tighter by shooting at 400 mm. I changed the background to the forest, which turn various shades of green. The closer crop allows the details of the subject to show in the frame. . .textures, water drops, and spider webs. I left a small section of the tree to anchor the subject in the frame.
In both this image and the one above, I left space at the bottom of the frame, so the bottom fungus are complete. This gives the eye a completeness of the subject, and avoids looking incomplete. More next time. . .
Happy Shooting. . .Karen
My next workshop is July 27 & 28, 2013 at the Pacific Northwest Art School.
I returned from teaching a fantastic workshop at Sitka on the Oregon coast last Thursday. We had the opportunity to photograph thousands of nesting birds. The low tide offered us an opportunity to walk closer to the bird colonies, and gave an opportunity to see tide pools filled with marine life. The lower rocks were filled with Harbor Seals.
One of the biggest parts of the class was learning to make order out of the pandemonium of the scene. The air is filled with the calls of the birds, the ocean waves are crashing on the rocky shoreline, and the constant movement of the birds. The area had over 60,000 nesting seabirds, raptors and songbirds. The species most prevalent were Common Murre, Brandt’s Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle, White-crested Sparrow, Turkey Vultures, Gulls, and Great Blue Heron.
The photo above is a small section of the Common Murre colony. Often times, these areas are windy. It is advisable to use a lens with Image Stabilization (Vibration Reduction, etc.), or a sturdy tripod, when photographing the birds. Video clips always require a stable tripod.
The photograph below was taken from the beach looking up at the birds. These nesting areas usually have several species of birds nesting together, though each has a “zone” they will use. In this instance, the birds at the top are mostly Common Murre, while the Cormorants are intermingled or below. The lowest level in this image would be the Gulls.
In addition to all the visual, audio, and physical input, it is important to remember to think about composition, exposure, and focus. The image below was visualized before being taken. The composition is relatively simple. The exposure allows the fore-ground to silhouette against the sky. These are the pieces that create the successful image within the arena of pandemonium of the scene.
My next workshop on Bird & Wildlife photography will be July 27 & 28, 2013 through the Pacific Northwest Art School.
The Art of Photographing Birds is more than equipment, exposure and location. Each of this items is required, but will not guarantee a memorable photograph. In general, photography is more than the sum of the equipment used. It is the vision of the photographer. The equipment is the tools to manifest the vision into a photographic image.
The image below is a male Wood Duck. The sunlight enhances their color, and makes them brilliant. It’s in the details that make the difference between a good photograph and a “wow” image. This photo shows how I saw the duck, as he was swimming in the pond. Another photographer may have seen his colors differently.
Often, I get asked “how close are you to the bird?” or “how long is your lens?” My longest lens is a 100-400mm with image stabilization. So, that means that I need to get relatively close to the birds, or crop a lot out of the image. The photos above and below are un-cropped. The last photo was cropped a little to bring the focus to the owl, instead of the shapes of the branches. I was about 25-30 feet from the owl.
So, how do I get close to birds? There are several factors that contribute. The first and most important is myself. Am I looking like a predator? Or, am I appearing non-threatening and/or part of the environment? All three of these birds are wild. To approach these birds, I need to feel calm and peaceful. If I’m distracted by “life things”, I cannot get close enough to take photos like these. Wild birds and animals are sensitive to their environment, and always looking for the “threat” to their existence. Rule #1 = Be calm, quiet and peaceful.
The gull photo above was taken at a local beach. Most of these birds are opportunist, though very cautious. Some people who visit this beach will chase the gulls and other birds, which makes them wary of humans. Further down the beach is a resting/feeding area for migratory birds. Unfortunately, some people think it’s ok to allow their dogs to chase the feeding/bathing birds, and have the impression the birds “like” being chased. So, when we go to photograph the birds, they are very skittish of humans. Rule #2 = Earn the trust of the birds.
The Barred Owl photo below was taken at dusk. Being up in a tree, the owl is less wary of people, and focusing on hunting. He stayed for a few moments, then flew off to find food.
For more tips and techniques, check-out one of my up-coming workshops at Sitka Center on the Oregon Coast or Pacific Northwest Art Center on Whidbey Island.
Bird migrations happen twice per year. In the spring, the birds are heading to their nesting grounds. Many of these areas are in the Arctic or inland from the coast. Along the shoreline, these birds are feasting on the spring bounty of food, to make the long flight to their nesting grounds. These birds can travel several thousand miles each spring and fall. For the full article, visit http://www.examiner.com/article/where-to-find-migratory-birds?cid=db_articles
Spring is a wonderful season to adventure out to the coast for a day, weekend or longer. The change from winter to spring is highlighted by spring storms and warmer sunny days. The migratory birds are passing through to their nesting destinations, which include species of sandpipers, seabirds and others.
From trickles of water to roaring flood-stage torrents, waterfalls are an ever-changing photographic subject. Their structure changes slowly over time, but the water falls differently every second. If one took 10 photographs in a row of the same waterfall, each would look different.
Below is an image taken of a small creek. This small area is isolated by using a telephoto lens, then cropping top/bottom of the image, to create an expansive feeling to the photograph. The motion of the water is in-focus. To accomplish this, the shutter speed needs to be at 1/60 second or faster. It is dependent on the speed the water is flowing. With an image like this, it is best to use a tripod to stabilize the camera and be selective about composition. This was taken on a sunny day, and this portion of the creek was in the shade.
TIP – When using a tripod, remember to turn-off the image stabilization on the lens.
This is a small portion of a stream cascading down and over rocks.
Waterfalls come in all shapes and sizes. What makes each unique is the way the water has sculpted the rocks surrounding it. The image above was a small section of a creek. The image below is much larger, and the first falls above a gorge that ends in a 50 +/- foot waterfall. This was a foggy and over-cast day in Mount Rainier National Park. The water in this image is not crisp, yet the rocks are sharp. To get this effect, the shutter speed needs to be 1/8 second or slightly slower. With these shutter speeds, the camera needs to be stabilized on a tripod or other method of stabilization. The aperture was F22, which created a larger depth of field, in comparison to the image above.
TIP – When a tripod is unavailable, try using a rock, tree or other object in the environment to stabilize the camera and/or one’s self.
This waterfall was just above a small gorge that ended in a larger falls. It is in Mount Rainier National Park.
Time of year plays a part in capturing great waterfall images. The photos above were taken during the summer months. The image below was taken in the fall. The leaves have fallen from the trees, and offer a full view of the Whatcom Falls. The ground is covered with autumn colored leaves, adding color to the forest floor. This was taken on an over-cast day in October.
The “milking” effect of the waterfall is due to a slow shutter speed. In this case, it was 1/5 second, and a bridge rail was used for camera stabilization. This was shot with a wide-angle lens, and the aperture was F10.
This was taken in the fall, and is a wide-angle shot of Lower Whatcom Falls.
This last image is Snoqualmie Falls at flood stage. The roads to the waterfall had been open a couple of hours earlier. It was flowing at 78,000 cubic feet of water per second, and it was incredibly loud. This was taken with slide film, and scanned to digital.
These locations are great to photograph waterfalls. It takes some planning to capture the photographic image one is seeking. The things to consider are weather, time of year, equipment, and accessibility to the location. In addition, it is good to factor in the costs associated with travel, food and/or lodging. For more tips and instruction, consider contacting me for workshop information.
Happy Shooting. . .Karen
This is Snoqualmie Falls with 78,000 cubic feet of water per second. The road to the falls had opened earlier in the day.
Winter is a magical time to photograph the natural world. The world is changed with the white of snow or frost. Trees become dormant for the season, and visually become lines in the composition. The temperatures drop below freezing, and it is a different environment for operating a camera. Exposure changes to reflect white.
Below is a photograph of starlings in a tree covered with hoarfrost. The dark tone of the birds is in direct contrast to the white of the sky and tree limbs. For the frost to appear white, it is the time to over-expose the photograph. The dark tone of the birds will yield subtle colors and details. This image was shot at 100 ISO, 1/60 second shutter speed, and F8 aperture. I chose F8 to bring a larger depth of field to the image, yet knew sharpness didn’t matter for the background. The fog had not lifted too far from the ground, and was a mono-chromatic white.
The reason that snow or white subjects need to be over-exposed is due to the nature of the camera’s light meter. The light meter reads the world as 18% gray, when it reads 0 (or the center of the meter). To compensate, the exposure needs to let more light into the camera, so the whites look white.
This second image has foreground, midground and background. I wanted to show the fore and mid ground in focus, and let the fog become the backdrop for the image. This photograph was shot at 200 ISO, 1/60 second shutter speed, and F10 aperture. It gave me the depth of field I was wanting to show in the image. The use of the tree branches at the top helps create a feeling of depth in the image, and help show the subject.
This last image was a long-needle pine tree covered in hoarfrost. The ice crystals still maintained their crispness, and the cones were a nice contrast to the rest of the photo. I used a shallower depth of field to blur the background, and bring the viewer’s focus to the cones, needles and hoarfrost in the front of the image. The exposure for this one is 200 ISO, 1/60 second shutter speed, and F5.6 aperture.
In the film world, photography was relatively simple for the photographer. We selected our film, shot our photos, developed the film (either ourselves or at a lab), edited the photos, and finished with a final product. We had a choice in film speed, and type of film. For creative affects, we had filters for our lenses, camera mounted flashes and other gadgets.
With digital photography, cameras are programmed with all this information. Film has become a media card (Compact Flash, SD, XD, etc.). Digital Photography is defined by processors and megapixels, instead film brand and speed. Instead of the photo lab developing our pictures, we have computer software (Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements, Picasso, Gimp and others). We can print our photos at home on our printers or send them to a photo lab.
So, where do we begin with our digital cameras?
Kodak Slide Film scanned to a Digital file.
For some, the transition from Film to Digital is easy. For others, it is a struggle, and can be confusing. I’ve worked with all ages (children, teens, adults & seniors) and levels (beginning & intermediate) photographers with understanding the functions of their Digital cameras. Each person has a different way to learn the complex menus and functions of modern cameras, and need individual attention to learning the information.
The photo above was taken in 1997 with Kodak slide film and scanned to a digital file. It was taken at Arches National Park, and all the elements came together for a wonderful photograph. The photo below was taken in 2005 with a Canon 10D digital camera. It was taken at Arches National Park too. Both of these images were shot in Manual mode.
From the Digital Camera to the Digital Darkroom Intensive is a one day (6 hour) hands-on venture into camera operations and workflow for digital photography. I offer this class once a year at the Pacific Northwest Art School on Whidbey Island. Here is a link to their website and the class.
Join my workshop for a fun-filled day of learning Digital Photography and the Digital Darkroom. The last photo is John Day Fossil Beds, and was taken in 2012 with a Canon 5D Mark II.
Happy Shooting. . .Karen
Canon 10D (6.3 megapixels)Canon 5D Mark II (21.3 megapixels)
