macro photography Archives -

Controlling the narrative

March 16, 2021 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Tips

Photography is visual communication. What we put into the photograph communicates what we see in the scene or situation. We control the story through subject matter, composition, and exposure. Post processing the digital file enhances our narrative about the subject.

The narrative portrayed in a photograph is subjective to the photographer and the viewer. It is the culmination of light control, color / black & white, softness or sharpness. It is often defined by the interpretation of the subject by the photographer. In the image above, the tulip is photographed in soft, diffused light with a shallow depth of field. The light creates soft colors that are reminiscent of springtime.

The shallow depth of field is controlled by the aperture setting. The light is softened by clouds and the trees. This photograph was taken indoors by a window with a screen. The screen acted to diffuse the background colors, and the camera was close enough not to detect the pattern of the screen.

Equipment: Canon 5D Mk IV; Sigma Art Lens 24-105; Extension Tubes; Tripod

Filling the entire frame with color, texture, and shapes directs the attention to the subject. In this image, the viewer only sees the color of the flower and its petal pattern. The brightness of color is reminiscent of summer. This is a dahlia flower, and the light came through the roof of a greenhouse. The light is even due to the position of the light to the flower. The lens of the camera is parallel to the top of the flower. This allows the amount of focus in the photograph.

Equipment: Samsung Galaxy J7 Phone

This last photograph was taken at a very crowded urban area. There were several hundred people under the trees admiring the beautiful cherry blossoms, and tall buildings. This is a time where being selective and creative with the situation needs to happen when choosing the subject. In this scenario, the time of day is crucial for the right lighting of the blossoms and the photograph’s over-all color.

Equipment: Canon 5D Mk II; Canon Lens 17-40 at 17mm

May your Spring be filled with Great Photographs. . .Karen

A Big Thank You. . .

November 30, 2016 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

I decided this year to give a big Thank You for an amazing 2016. I am so grateful for all the students that enrolled in my classes / workshops, all the likes on my photos and blog, and my clients.

Digital Photography Basics is my new eBook, and I just published it on Amazon. I am offering it for FREE through Friday, December 2nd.

Please feel free to download, share, or give as a gift.

Happy Shooting. . .Karen

Great Photography Weekend Destinations

August 31, 2013 by karenulvestad, posted in Location

Leavenworth is a wonderful day or weekend adventure for all ages. The town schedules year-round festivals, and is located in the scenic eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Highway 2 travels through the town, and is the easiest way to reach this beautiful destination.

On the way to Leavenworth, Stevens Pass is a beautiful area for photography. On the west side, there is Deception Falls, and it is well worth the stop. The trails lead to the falls (which can be seen on the south side of the highway), and along the river. Stevens Pass ski resort is at the top of the pass, and is a wonderful alpine area in the summer months. On the east side of the pass, Lake Wenatchee is about 5 +/- miles to the north, and the view looks into the Cascade Mountains. Highway 2 traverses through Tumwater Canyon, which has several pull-outs for safe observation of the scenery and wildlife.

In the opposite direction, the Olympic Peninsula offers incredible opportunities of photography. This area is home to a large temperate rainforest, Olympic National Park, beautiful waterfalls, Lake Crescent, and the Pacific Ocean. There are many hiking trails through-out the area, including the North-South trail through the heart of the Olympic National Park. Highway 101 travels through the area, and signs show the directions to the scenic areas.

Lake Crescent sits just west of Port Angeles, and has both a campground and cabins/lodge on its shores. It is part of the Olympic National Park, and the highway follows the shoreline of the lake. It’s nestled between tall foothills, and surrounded by forest. There are many pull-outs along the lake to view the area, or hike a trail. The light is incredible during the early or late hours of the day, and it is not uncommon to have overcast/foggy conditions in the area.

Further on, Highway 101 travels through the town of Forks, and onto the Pacific Ocean Beaches. There are several beach back-packing trails in this area, and Third Beach is one of the longest. It is a great way to see parts of the coastline that most people don’t see. There is a lot of wildlife in the area, and incredible landscape photography opportunities.

For more information, visit http://seatt le.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-weekend-getaways-in-the-seattle-area/.

Of the Land, Sea & Air – A Coastal Photographic Adventure

March 25, 2013 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Location, Workshops

“It was perfect for all levels. It was a great combination of technique and artistry.” Susan H.

We will have minus tides during this workshop, which will allow students to view and photograph tide pools, walk closer to bird nesting areas and marine mammal resting areas. It’s a great opportunity to learn the details of bird and marine mammal photography, and shoot at beautiful locations. The coastal waters are filled with harbor seals, gray whales, and sea birds during the late spring season.

The workshop starts in the classroom, with an interactive presentation about exposure, techniques and equipment. Then, students go out into the field and practice what was learned in the classroom, ask questions and learn how to spot wildlife. Composition is discussed through-out the workshop, both in the classroom and in the field. The workshop is about 30% in the classroom and 70% shooting in the field with instruction.

This last photograph is the students photographing harbor seals in the surf. Most of the subjects can be photographed with a 400mm lens or shorter. It is recommended that students bring a tripod. For more information or to sign-up, visit Sitka Center.

Learning Your Digital Camera can be Fun!

January 25, 2013 by karenulvestad, posted in Digital Darkroom, Instruction, Workshops

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?

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

It’s time for snow in the north Cascade Mountains

November 8, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Location

This is a great area to photograph the mountains, bald eagles and other wildlife. Please check out the link to read the rest of the article.

It’s time for snow in the north Cascade Mountains.

It’s a Small World. . .

August 26, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Tips

Macro photography is the art of seeing the small. It is taking the miniscule, and making it the subject of a photograph. The subject could be printed larger than life-size, and it’s details could be tack-sharp. It requires a macro lens or extension tubes for true macro photography. These tools allow the lens to be closer to the subject, thus magnifying the subject in the photograph. Subjects for macro photography are as varied, though flowers or insects seem to be a favorite subject among photographers.

Close-up photography can be done with a macro lens or a short focal length lens (such as a 17-40mm). It is different from macro, because of the difference in magnification of the subject. Another difference is the lens “sees” the subject differently. It can feel more “sweeping” in perspective than a standard macro lens.

The pink image below was taken with a 100mm Macro lens. The photograph is a pink rose. The sweeping lines of the petals create an abstract pattern in pink. This rose was about 3-4 inches in diameter, and this is a small portion of the rose.

The lighting was a big factor in this image. It was a bright sunny day, around mid-day. I looked for a flower that was in the shade, so the lighting would be more uniform across the entire flower. It the flower had been in direct sunlight, there would have been a difference of exposure exceeding 2 stops of light. Translated this means that either the shadows would have been black, or the highlights would be white.

Close-up photographs can reveal the hidden beauty of the subject. The photograph below shows the subtle color changes and details of a succulent. The focus is on the tight grouping of new leaves in the center, and this is controlled by the Aperture. The Aperture is the Depth of Field (DOF). In close-up images, the DOF is more noticeable than a sweeping landscape, because the camera/lens is so close to the subject.

This image was taken with a 17-40mm lens at 40mm. Shorter focal length lenses allow the camera/lens to focus closer the subject. The DOF was f4.0.

The image below is of one of my favorites. Water droplets act like a fish-eye lens, and show everything behind them within. This was taken with a 100mm macro lens at f4.0. There is a noticeable difference in the DOF between the succulent above and the fir needles and water droplets below. Each lens and technique give the photograph a different feel.

One additional note is to remember to use a tripod with Macro and Close-up photography. The slightest shake is magnified in this type of photography.

More Later & Happy Shooting. . .Karen

Color & Composition

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction, Tips

The world around us is filled with opportunities to make photographic images. Often, we see a photograph, yet the end result does not reflect our vision. It’s easy to get caught-up in the moment, and forget to “see” what is actually in the picture. The “cool” subject gets lost in the photography, and it becomes a collection of “things” that distract from our original vision.

There are several ways to “clarify” what a photograph is about. In the picture below, the mushroom stands out against the oak leaves. This photograph was taken under a large oak tree in the middle of an urban area. I wanted to photograph the colorful mushroom, and have it stand-out as the subject. I used the similar colored leaves as the background, chose a depth of field to indicate they were leaves, and the mushroom is completely sharp. It is best to use a tripod for this type of photo. The second part of this image is the use of color. The leaves reflect the color in the center of the mushroom. The yellow and white of the mushroom stand-out against the reddish colored leaves. I did reflect light into the scene with a gold reflector.
This next image is of a cob of corn. This is a macro shot taken in my studio. I used studio lighting, a tripod and my 100mm macro lens. In the camera, I cropped the photo to include this portion of the cob. I liked the variety of colors and designs. Each is similar, yet unique. I used the repetition of shape to create a pattern, and it could be viewed as an abstract photograph.

This third example was taken in the kitchen on a cutting board. I used one studio light, kitchen lighting and ambient light. My focus was on the color of the fruit, and this was the focus of the studio lighting. The cutting board turned a warm color with the lighting. This was taken with a shallow depth of field, so the board would become a soft background. It’s important to crop in the camera, to retain the file size and information for the photo. Each of these photos uses color and cropping to give importance to the subject.

Happy shooting. . .Karen

Nature’s Light & Time of Day

January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

Daylight changes through-out the day. The harshest light is mid-day, where the sunlight travels through less atmosphere. The warmest light is in the morning or evening. The photography shown here was taken in the evening, as the sun was setting.

The orange and pink of the sunlight reflect on the water’s surface, and the warm light baths the birds in flight. The blue is the reflection of the blue sky.

If this was taken during mid-day, the colors would be “washed-out”, and the light would appear to be hard or harsh.

The best time of day to shoot photography is before 10 am and after 2 pm. The sunlight travels through more of the Earth’s atmosphere, and it is less harsh. Colors are more apparent either earlier or later in the day. The colors of the subject will be warmer, and more vibrant.

More Later. . .Karen

Small Things in a Big Way. . .

September 5, 2011 by karenulvestad, posted in Instruction

Macro is taking something very tiny, and composing a complete photographic image from the subject. I love macro. It helps change my perspective of all the “big” things that I photograph, such as birds, people, landscapes and. . .

Macros are mini landscapes. The composition comes from the lines, shapes, colors and textures. It becomes a focus on the minute.

The idea of exposure changes. The photograph shown here has a large depth of field (DOF). I used F32. The reason for the large DOF is that the closeness of the lens to the subject.

The most important tool for macro is a good tripod to hold the camera steady. This shot at a long shutter speed, and could not be hand-held. Also, a slight blur is more noticeable in macro due to the magnification of the subject.

More later. . .Karen

Tag: macro photography

Controlling the narrative

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A Big Thank You. . .

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Great Photography Weekend Destinations

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Of the Land, Sea & Air – A Coastal Photographic Adventure

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Learning Your Digital Camera can be Fun!

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It’s time for snow in the north Cascade Mountains

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It’s a Small World. . .

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Color & Composition

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Nature’s Light & Time of Day

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Small Things in a Big Way. . .

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