skagit valley tulip festival Archives -

Spring has sprung in parts of the world, and the flowers are coming forth. Often times, locations are crowded with people when the light is best for shooting. In the Puget Sound area, spring means cherry blossoms on the University of Washington campus, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and Washington Park Arboretum. Every season has its crowds. . .so, how do you find the photograph?

In the photo above, the throngs of people are obvious, and the garbage cans are over-flowing. The scene is quite noisy, and full of activity. Everyone is out because of the sunshine and the cherry blossoms. This is Sunday on the University of Washington campus (at the Quad). It is late afternoon light, which is warmer than mid-afternoon.

One way to cut-out the crowds is to choose selective portions of the buildings and cherry blossoms. The image above shows the Gothic architecture against a vivid blue sky, and framed with the subtle pink cherry blossoms in front. The crowds are below the bottom of the frame, and the photo takes on a peaceful quality. It exudes quite afternoon on campus.

Another way to exclude the crowds is to change perspective. This shot is looking straight-up under the cherry trees. The branches become a linear component of the composition with the repetitive pattern of the cherry blossoms. The only limit to the possibilities is one’s imagination. . .

Happy Shooting. . .Karen

copyright Karen Ulvestad — This photograph was taken in the tulip fields during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. There were hundreds of people in the fields on this day.

Event provide a great opportunity to photograph nature, though they can be very crowded with people. There are a few techniques that can be used to create the photograph that shows the elements the photographer wants his/her view to enjoy.

First, it is important to control the aperture or depth of field (DOF). Many times, a person in the background can disappear with a shallower depth of field. They become another shape or color without definition. In the photo above, the DOF is shallow enough to blur the tulips in the background.

Second, take the time to look at all the elements in the photograph. In the picture above, I missed the two women at the bottom of the picture. During the event, people were suppose to stay out of the field, but everyone wanted their picture taken with the tulips. In this instance, I should have waited until they left the field.

Third, selectively crop the photograph before taking the picture. At a crowded venue, it is important to take time to visualize the photographic image before taking the picture. This is where the elements of composition can help the photographer select what goes into the photo. This concept is shown in the image below.

Fourth, it is important to consider your perspective of the scene or point of view. Often times, the chosen perspective can naturally crop-out unwanted elements from a photograph. In the top image, the perspective eliminates the people and buildings from the photograph. In the third image, the perspective includes all of the different colors of tulips in the garden, while eliminating people, structures and the road from the photograph.

Also, it is important to experiment when composing a photograph in a crowded area.

Have a great photographic outing soon. . .Karen

Tag: skagit valley tulip festival

Selecting the Shot. . .

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Shooting Nature in a Crowd

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