It’s relatively easy to set a camera on Auto, go to a great location, and start shooting pictures. Becoming a photographer (serious amateur or professional) starts when there is an understanding of light, exposure, and composition. It happens when the camera is taken off Auto, and we start changing the ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. We start creating the images from our own experiences, instead of letting the camera’s programing make the choices for us.
To tell a story with our photographs means to control these aspects of the process. It asks questions like: “how much of the photo do I want in focus?” or “do I want the birds wings soft or tack-sharp?” or “do I want the picture to look grainy or flawless?”
All of these techniques have different exposures to work with. This combined with the elements included in the frame. The photo below is a Northern Harrier (hawk) soaring. I chose to include the snow-covered mountains at the bottom of the frame, to show some of the environment. The image is cropped in height, to bring focus to the Northern Harrier and the mountain.
This next image is of two Brant in flight, a relative to Canadian Geese. They migrate south during the winter, and nest above the Arctic Circle. This is a winter shot, and the Olympic Mountains are in the background. The background is soft in this image, because I chose a slower shutter speed (1/250 sec), and panned with the birds. They fly very fast.
Again, I cropped this one in height to draw attention to the birds and their environment. By panning, I blurred any man-made structure on the other side of the water. There are houses there, and they have blended into the surrounding trees.
This last image is taken with a larger Aperture. I wanted to show the streams path, waves, and the birds. These are Bonaparte’s Gulls, Mew Gulls and Glaucous-winged gulls. The lines from the stream start in the fore-ground, and lead the eye towards the birds. The waves in the background add a “back” to the photograph.
I cropped this in height to show the birds. This is a story about slack-tide on Puget Sound. It is the time the birds gather on the beach, bathe, and drink fresh water.
I teach these skills and more in my workshops. Happy Shooting. . .Karen
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
This was taken in 1995 on slide film, and scanned to a digital file.
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.
This was taken in 1997 on slide film, and scanned to a digital file.
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. . .
This was taken in 1992 (I think) on print file, and scanned to a digital file.
Here is my latest article on the Olympic Peninsula. Please check it out, and subscribe to my articles. You would be helping me out. . .thanks & have a great day. . .Karen
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.
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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
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.
This is Mitchell, OR, which is located about 15 minutes from the Painted Hills Unit. This is just before sunset.
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.
These hills are bathed in early morning light. They are located in the John Day Painted Hills Unit in Eastern Oregon.
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
The trails are well marked, and some are partially boardwalks.
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.
Every photograph is built from the elements the photographer sees through their lens. On the surface, it is a subject like the ocean, bird or person. Beyond the obvious, our photographs consist of lines, patterns, shapes, color, textures and more. What goes into our compositions is what we see, and how we arrange it in our viewing space.
The photograph below is of the incoming tide along the Oregon coast. The ocean is lit by bright sunlight, and the waves are crashing over the rocks. Other people like this photograph, because of the subject. What I see in this photo is its subject. Then, I see the lines, texture and color of the image. The waves create diagonal lines. Splashing water and the rocks create texture. The colors of the water are vibrant greens and blues, due to the sunlight.
Many of these concepts are the basics learned in an art class. A photograph, like a painting, is made up from the same principles. With the painting, the artist has the choice of brushes, paints, color and artistic license of subject placement. The photographer is working with different tools. Being based on light, a photograph at different times of the day or different weather, will affect the photograph. Our brushes are exposure, lens choice and camera choice. Our color is dependent on the amount or quality of light. Subject placement is limited only by our ability to move or observe a subject.
In the photograph below, both the rocky shoreline and the wave make powerful lines. Between the two, they meet creating an arrow pointing to the left and out of the frame. The perspective is from the cliff top. A lower perspective would have changed the relationship between the wave and rocks. It’s up to the photographer to decide how to place the elements in the frame.
With landscapes, many of the elements are stationary. Waves do have a short life-span, but they will repeat themselves. Birds perch, swim or fly. They may not repeat an action. A bald eagle will catch a salmon out of the ocean. If the photographer misses the shot, he/she may not get another chance to take the photo. Living beings add some unpredictability to any photographic scenario.
The photograph below is of Stellar Sea Lions. At the moment of the photograph, they were sleeping on the shoreline. This can make a static photo, since they are not doing anything. In this case, I used the environment to bring in interesting elements into the composition. The sea lions are on the left side of the photo, yet a small whirlpool sits on the right side. These three elements make a triangle for the viewer to look at. The texture and color of the water complete the composition.
This next image is of two Brant in flight, a relative to Canadian Geese. They migrate south during the winter, and nest above the Arctic Circle. This is a winter shot, and the Olympic Mountains are in the background. The background is soft in this image, because I chose a slower shutter speed (1/250 sec), and panned with the birds. They fly very fast.
This last image is taken with a larger Aperture. I wanted to show the streams path, waves, and the birds. These are Bonaparte’s Gulls, Mew Gulls and Glaucous-winged gulls. The lines from the stream start in the fore-ground, and lead the eye towards the birds. The waves in the background add a “back” to the photograph.
I teach these skills and more in my workshops. Happy Shooting. . .Karen
