I cannot teach this workshop often enough! This is the core of a successful photography. The idea is to “capture” the subject’s essence in the 2 dimensional image of a photograph. . .to “tell” a story about the subject.
With people, it is often a smile, tears, or other emotion / action within the photograph. This ideal can be brought to a landscape, wildlife image, or macro subject. Each photographer has their own unique view of the world, and the objective is to share this with the viewer.
Accomplishing this vision includes camera knowledge, composition, “seeing”, and weaving all this into the photographic image.
I love this workshop the most, because we explore all these aspects of photography in the classroom, and strive to combine them in the field. The focus is on techniques, vision, and composition.
I look forward to meeting all the individuals that join this journey to photographic perfection.
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.
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)
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.
