5 Favorites

I had many other favorites taken from campus that have already been posted for another assignment, and I did not want to repeat them again. So a few of these new ones were taken on campus and the others portray the natural face of Eastern Montana.



I liked this one because it was in perfect focus and center. The solitude of one leaf in a myriad of bare trees is emphasized I think by the Sepia coloring. It is almost boring, but then it has just enough uniqueness to bring your attention back. I am not sure if I like that or not. I am not sure if I would frame it on my wall, but as a photograph using different settings and keeping placement in mind I am pleased with it.

I love playing with lighting, and I love the rock formations in this area, so I love this effect of using extra lighting to bring out the melted look of the rock. This shot was taken on a bitter cold snowy day in Phips park, so I wasn't taking long amounts of time to stand around taking shots and seeing what I had gotten, so I was very pleased to go over my shots later and see how well this had turned out. If there's anything I don't like its that the lighting is a bit too bright. I changed my ISO up as high as it would go, 1600, and turned the exposure up to 2+. In the future playing with this I think I will turn it down a little.

Once again, this was taken in Phips park. It is a close up on a huge wall of rock, and I like the affect of being almost abstract, like you wouldn't be quite sure what it was. With the different coloring and sea star shape I would almost think something to do with the ocean. Nope, eastern montana. I'm from Idaho so I might be a little obsessive about the rocks, because we don't see anything like that at home. I didn't change the lighting or apeture, so this color is just how is really was, with just enough hints of orange and red and blues to be intriguing.

This was one of those times where the shot didn't look so good on my camera, but when I pulled it up on the computer I decided I really liked it. This was taken at the Rims at sunset. The sunset was actually very red, but my digital camera didn't have what it takes to capture that, which in this picture works to an advantage I think. The way the rock comes down from the corner gives a very solid black backdrop for that lonely scrubby little desert bush, bringing your attention straight to it. The intense blue behind with a streak of pale yellow is perfect. It is so simple it is perfect.

Like I said I love playing with lighting, so I love this backlit branch. It takes something ordinary and makes it extraordinary. The repeated pattern of almost identical leaves, all dull and withered that are now practically glowing from a blinding light in the back. I think I did tweak up the ISO here, but not so much as I had in other light pictures, so in this you still see the full outline of all the leaves. Brilliant, if I do say so myself.

Carmyn Joy

I saw Carmyn Joy's pictures on facebook and was struck by her style of color. She does weddings also but I focused mainly on her portraits since they are all taken outside really engaging the scenery. I portrait photography is not exactly wildlife but one of the biggest elements in her pictures is the outdoors that she uses as backdrop. It is not even a backdrop really, but an integral part of the photograph as she has the subject interact with it. She uses nature, or rather, farmland, to put her subjects in an almost surreal environment. It is very simplistic and yet striking at the same time. From the coloring and lighting I would guess that many of the editing tricks we learned in class have been used here. How just a few vibrant colors stick out against such bright lighting is done perfectly. Carmyn has started out as an amatuer getting spread by word of mouth but I really think she'll go big with her style of photography.

Student Art Exhibit

I was impressed with the student art show for Monica Geary, Krista Hoyes, and Cassie Sheidecker. Monica's work focused mainly on fashion, since she is going into design. She used different mediums but most of her pieces showed people modeling clothes or shoes. I was impressed with the detail and the style of her drawing, sort of like pencil sketches, very free and yet detailed and professional.
Krista Hoyes used mainly oil painting, and all hers were of female dancers in flamenco style. Next to each piece she gave a short summary of the type of dance she had painted, and the history behind it. I loved the bright colors she used against a dark background, and how well she blended the colors in the twirling dance dresses. Each painting was vibrant, something to be the center of attention, in clear cut lines and fun expression.
Cassie Sheidecker created her own room for her art exhibit, something I had never seen done before. The room itself was the exhibit, not only the art pieces displayed on the wall. It was done to tell a story collectively, not individual stories of each piece. She used art to tell about living with rheumatoid arthritis, leaving pill bottles hanging from the ceiling and nails sticking out of shoes on the floor. All her painting were different takes on the same portrait of her. It was very innovative and effective.
I think all three have done a good job of creating their own world and using their art to share that world with the rest of us.

The Field

Instead of blogging about some really good famous photographer, this week I decided to blog about my experiences going out and gathering pictures for my final project. First of all, it is always harder than I expected. I didn't have the good idea of planning my shoot, I would just show up at parks and wander looking for good shots. Having a list like from the assignment last week helped alot. Then I have specifics to look for. Since I don't have a tripod, I would try and take my shots from an angle that let me use nearby rocks to rest my camera on, or lean on while taking pictures. This resulted in some pretty odd contortions on my part, I'm kinda glad the parks didn't have alot of people when I was there. I did notice things we went over in class, like a gorgeous sunset full of red would just not take on my camera. It always left out the red. And partly because of the cold, I think, my battery kept running low really fast. So I had to wait a minute and turn my camera back on between shots. I even tried some of the 'stalking' tips we learned for various animals. I think I'd need a telephoto lens for really good shots there, but I did get some fairly close of a rabbit, even though I admit the rabbit looked kind of terrified so I guess that goes against the ethics of respecting their space. But I learned alot about my camera, and the best feeling is going back through your shots and saying yes! look at that one!

thursday's outdoor shots

My choice; I was playing with the lighting and ISO on manual while looking for my red shot and this is what happened. It may be a bit overkill but I loved discovering the effect of super bright lighting and how I could get it on my camera. The lighting is set at +2 with the ISO at I think 800.

Rule of thirds; this is using the landscape setting on my digital which translates to slow speed auto I believe.

Detailed close up; I love this because the black and white makes the detail seem sharper, since there is no color the eye only notices the levels sharpness and contrast. This is manual, set to cloudy, black and white, ISO 200.

Blurred motion; I kept trying to capture falling snow but the camera would only focus on what was behind it and ignore the snow, so I just took a shot of the dumpster to give a solid background. Landscape, slow shutter, auto.

Panning; I tried panning the squirrel and it was all blurry, so I added a car panning to try again and there was no blurring to show that it was even moving. The squirrel was slow shutter auto, but the car was a fast shutter auto, I didn't have time to set the camera before I shot.

For my hyperfocus I used the landscape mode, slow shutter speed to get detail on all planes of the picture. This is a little hard to see, but the branches are at varying levels of distance from front to back. I suppose it is a good mark for their clarity that it is hard to tell them apart.

Sillouhet; Landscape mode, slow shutter auto, with the exposure set at -2.

Reflection; I got the leaf refelction including the leaf, slow shutter auto. But that seemed a bit boring so I added two other reflection photos I got that don't actually show what is being reflected.

Use of red; I loved this shot and kept trying to get my camera to focus on it but couldn't figure out how, until one kind soul pointed out the close up button on my camera, so I had to go back and take this. Landscape setting, slow shutter auto, with the little flower button that means close up detail.

Daniel Sofer

Ok, I have found my photographer of the week. Many of Daniel Sofer's scenic shots are not primarily of nature but mix nature with the elements of a city. Instead of bringing attention to nature as beautiful he uses nature as obviously beautiful to bring beauty into manmade structures. Generally I think man made structures are pretty ugly by themselves but Sofer has managed to really make them look beautiful. My favorite are his beach pictures. The way he utilizes light to be everywhere, in the sky, in the water, in the reflecting sand, and the light is a different hue and form in each. I could not find what he used in taking his pictures but in this one I am guessing fast shutter speed to catch the suspended water droplets with no blurring. He is based out of California and in addition to 20 years of photography he is a professional web designer. His website is http://www.hermosawavephotography.com/.

Working at Close Range

In this week's chapter I loved the effect of sharp narrow focus with a blurry background achieved using extension tubes and or bellows. The extension tube and bellows allow you to zoom in and magnify small objects with very distinct detail no matter how many times the object size has been increased. The magnification combined with narrow focus allows perfect detail of the subject with blurring of the background, or other objects in the foreground and I think the effect is incredible. This makes wonderful shots of small objects such as flowers and hummingbirds as shown in the book. You have one subject in perfect detail, and the rest of the picture is just color. It makes the picture look half picture half painting. It is just really awesome.

Nature's Mystical Mirrors

The first thing in preparing to photograph water reflections is be prepared to get in it. Tripods that can handle being in the water, waders, and a zoom lens for when you can't get that close because of obstacles.
The best time for reflections is before and after sunrise. Since that means you will be out in the dark, you need to know where to go and how to get out beforehand.
The hardest thing about getting reflections is that you have to wait for the water to be still. The best times are dusk and dawn, but even then sometimes you just have to wait. Wind is less likely in areas with buffers. To keep from seeing the pool's bottom instead of reflection, place the tripod low.
Using a density filter brings the contrast of the picture out more clearly. To best do this, you will need a polarizing filter, a one stop split density filter, and a filter holder. Attach the polarizing filter, adjust it to dark so the reflection from the water is most distinct. Check the histogram to make sure everything is centered in it for good lighting ratios.
A two stop split density filter can be used to darken overly bright skies and snowy mountains. Shading both the object and its reflection brings the shadows into a range the camera can more easily detect. You will need to adjust the filters to fit along the angle of the border betweeen land and reflection, since it is rarely in an even horizontal line.

The Power of Perspective

This chapter covers one of the most important aspects of taking a nature photograph, which is to convey 3D depth of a flat picture to the human eye. Out in the real world with two eyes we can move to see a view from multiple angles. Unless done carefully, a single shot of a view is cannot convey the same meaning to the human eye. To take a shot that will convey this, emphasis needs to be placed on anything that shows depth.
Use the size of objects in the scene to act as markers for distance. Objects that are close seem large and objects that are small seem far away. You can use animals, flora, rock formations. If possible it is best to to let these receding objects lead to the main point of focus. Anything with a pattern can be used to show distance as one end of the pattern fades away.
The type of angle lens used can work with the size of objects to emphasize distance or closeness. A wide angle lens will make the objects seem farther apart. Telephoto lenses will seemingly compress the picture together. With either of these it is best to take your shot as near as you can to the first size object marker.
To mimic the height a person would normally see a veiw from, place the camera at a 45 degree angle above the horizontal line. While setting up your camera try to avoid overlap. Focus your camera in the middle of the nearest object marker.
If you do overlap, try to overlap with objects with contrast, so their is no muddling on which is which.
The best way to present a landscape is with it lit from the side. The best time to do this, as with most photography, is early or late in the day. Atmoshpere blurring such as fog, pollution, or rain can be played on to create the sense of what is close and what is far.
The five types of planes to look for when searching for deep perspective shots are as follows;
1. The closest plane shows interesting landscape details that set the scale for the composition;
2.the middle plane has good objects as size markers to draw the eye into the view
3.the feature plane shows the main interest
4. Clouds are ideally puffy
5.the sky plane in back are in pure shades to backdrop the scene.

Paul Schiller

This week I was looking for photographs that captured imagination in nature, and I came across a great picture gallery by Paul Schiller. All the pictures were good, but I tried to list the reasons why some just stood out for me. First of all the contrast was so great in these they drew the eye away from all the pictures around them. Most of them are centered with shades of red drawing the eye to the main focal point, outlined in black so nothing is distracting on the edge. All use some very slight diagonal lines to lead the eye to the main focus and strong use of shading contrast with light. The trees are just stark shades of light softened by blue. In the first with red leaves, the narrow focus sharpens the leaves in front, otherwise the picture would not have near the effect. Beyond aesthetics these pictures just capture your imagination to the area they were taken, it makes the nature scene in them look very inviting. These are just a small sample of Paul Schiller's photos, he takes panoramics and wildlife, and flora photography. Check out his site Acts of Nature; http://www.actsofnature.com/

Getting Close and Animals In Action

In Getting Close Tim Fitzharris gives basic rules for how to get close enough to wildlife to take good pictures without scaring them or getting hurt yourself. The first is to have respect for wild animals and only approach when they permit it, and than only as far as they are comfortable. This works best with animals that are used to the presence of humans, such as in a park reserve. Knowing about the animal you are shooting helps to know when they are most active and where they can be found. This will help you set up you camera so you can use your time wisely. Fitzharris points out that all animals have their own individual preferences, so if one does not like your approach, you may be able to find another who does. The easiest way to get close to an animal is to not--with a telephoto lens. This way you don't disturb teh animals. If you are going to approach the wildlife, there are three strategies; 1. approach directly and slowly, low to the ground being respectful of their comfort level and leaving a way out. 2. circle from the side and appear to be interested in something else. 3. hide, and let them approach you, using blinds such as your car or camouflage. Another little tip he gave which seems immoral is bribing your subject with peanut butter. Where's the integrity?

In learning how to shoot animals in action, what you really learn is all the preparation that goes into it beforehand. Rarely will you come across a good action shot and have your camera ready to capture it perfectly just by chance. you have to start by knowing where to show up, knowing what is happening with the animals and the seasons in that area, their behavior, and know when to show up. For action shots this usually means early morning or evening, when the light is faint. This is also when most animal activity occurs. Preparing you and your tripod low to the ground is less threatening to wildlife, and more complimentary to them in the pictures. Once you start shooting don't stop to check your pictures until you are done, you don't want to miss anything. Practice and knowledge of your different camera settings are needed for focus of different kinds of action shots, alternating between auto and manual. you can prepare for a shot by setting your stage area and waiting for an animal to come in it, this requires you to have a good idea of its behavior patterns.

Nick Brant

Nick Brant is a photographer from the UK now living in California who studied film and painting, and eventually gave up directing to go into photography full time. He takes black and white photographs of wildlife in East Africa. The reason he goes there is because, he says, "There is perhaps something profoundly iconic, mythical, mythilogical even, about the animals of East Africa, as opposed to say, the Arctic or South America". What's catching about his pictures is the up close personal feeling you get to being up close to these animals in the elegant black and white. Then you read about him and discover he does not use telephoto lenses because he wants to include as much sky and land as possible. So he really is getting close to these wild animals, sometimes within a few feet. And he really does do a good job of making the place look somewhat magical, like someplace unheard of. He has published his photographs in a book called "On This Earth".

"They're my elegy to a world that is steadily, tragically vanishing."

http://www.younggalleryphoto.com/photography/brandt/brandt.html

No_clever_names_left

The photographer I found is on Flickr and I could find only his first name Michael and the title of his blog which is No_clever_names_left's photostream. His name may not be clever but I'd say his photos are. His nature photography varies a bit with nature, wildlife and camera tricks but he is nice enough to put all the info of each shot below it to show how he got shots like the water shot above. That is just a shot he took with no tinkering. ISO 100, 400mm, f/40, .6 seconds, using a tripod. The shots he got of water swirls, of fog, of waterfalls, are amazing. He plays around with different lenghts of exposure so some of his photos are very sharp and some are blurred but in such a way that draws attention to the picture making it ingriguing. Some very cool pictures here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael07/

Designing Picture Space

After reading Designing Picture Space I decided to go through my pictures and see what I could match to the components listed in the book, to have a more solid idea of what they are.



Light; people love light. The contrast of light with blue shadow draws more attention to the light highlights. Rule of thirds; the icicle as the center of interest is placed one third from the top. Contrast; the main point is outlined by shadow and then highlighted by light on the bottom.

Center of interest; the cat's face is in the center because of the tree trunk but leaning towards rule of thirds because it is farther towards the top 1/3 than in the center vertically. The diagonal stalk of grass draws the attention to the cat, particularly if you're a woman and start looking at the bottom left.

Dominance; the warm orange of the butterfly makes it the sole focus, while the cool green complements it without fighting for attention. The shadows in the back set a solid background that lets the light in front highlight the foreground to make the picture more 3d. Both of these also enhance the color of the butterfly. Center of interest; the butterfly in the center and also closest to the camera brings the eye to it first. The butterfly is also slanted diagonal which makes it more pleasing to the eye than it would be horizontal.

Center of interest; the sun is the main focus of attention even though it is farthest in the back because it is in the center, the strongest source of light and also the only warm color in the photo. The striking difference gets the lookers' attention first.

The first thing that grabs your attention is that it is such a huge close up- large draws more attention than small. A combination of contrast between light and dark in diagonal across Nick's face draws interest to it, also in the contrast between the blinding light in the top left with the soft dark hues of his eye. The brown freckles soften the picture so the light difference will not be too harsh.

I keep trying, but the link will not work. Sorry.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4788685_take-compelling-photographs.html

Now What?

Whenever I see amazing photographs I feel inspired. But when I actually trot out into the world with my camera and look around, well, the light sort of fades. Even when I do see something that looks neat, looking at it on my camera screen just doesnt' capture it. Suddenly the challenge of taking the regular world as I see it and drawing out beautiful or interesting pictures is somewhat daunting. In class we've gone over how to photograph, so I looked up an article "How to take Compelling Photographs" that might give me a nudge on what to photograph.

1. Change perspective. Go close, or far away, from high or above, not just eye level from where you are standing.
2. Balance. Think of the picture as a painting, and you want everything in placed in a way to catch attention and be pleasing to the eye, not just randomly shot.
3.Try for contrast. It will be noticed faster.
4. Look at light and color. This I thought was interesting, is not to go looking for subjects but for 'beautiful formations of light and color'. To completely change the way you think of the world before you go looking for a shot so you will notice more and better situations to shoot, which involve the lighting and color often more than just the object.
5. Take pictures with your mind. Train yourself to see without the camera so you really notice what is going on. You will learn to see more of tiny details this way.
6. Tell a story with your picture. Before you take your shot ask what kind of story it tells.
7. Nature is always the best. Whenever you are stuck, surround yourself with nature and animals for inspiration.
8. Use Digital. It allows you to do more with your picture.

Alaska

In this week's blog I decided to share the pictures that I found researching Alaska. Sites they can be found on are;

http://www.kenaifjords.com/

http://www.denaliair.com/index.htm

http://http//www.knikglacier.com/

http://http//www.knikglacier.com/huntercreek4a.htm

Callu

I found this amazing photographer/artist called Callu who I'm sure must not be new to everybody else, because these pictures are amazing. But all I found on him personally was him as a modest blogger. Most of his pictures use narrow depth of field focus shots using close ups of small things, insects, flowers, water drops. General romantic subjects with mind blowing results because of the techniques he uses. I don't know if these have been photoshopped or not, but very good use of color, lighting, and focus. I think I first got this feeling standing next to a bluegrass singer for the first time. That feeling of 'seriously? you can do that?' Just Wow.

http://http//amolife.com/image/flowers/nature-fairy-tale.html#

These first two are my large depth of field. This first I actually took earlier so I don't know what settings it is on, but I thought it did better at showing distance and space for a wide depth of field.



The second I took on manual mode with a -2 on the lighting, so a small apeture for sharp features in the foreground and back.

This is my narrow depth of field shot. I was a little disappointed at how blurry it was because I was holding the camera-no tripod. Ideally the leaves in front would be very clear, and only the back would be blurry. I used the manual setting, so I could set the lighting to 2+.

For both my short exposure and long exposure I used a moving model to show the difference between the two. Many thanks to my friend Katie for modeling her forms for me.

These two are short exposure. The first is manual so I could do black and white. The second is portrait for fast shutter speed.

These two are long exposure. For me on my canon digital camera that means the landscape setting.

4 photos

Ok we are taking four pictures over the weekend with varying depth of field and exposure time. These are just some general ideas I have we will see how they turn out.

narrow depth-since I want to start out simple I would like to take a leaf shot in a tree, and have it in focus with the rest of the tree behind it blurred. Maybe backlight the leaf.

wide depth- it would be good to get a large depth of field in a sunset picture, just to capture for my friends and family who don't live here the 'big sky'.

short exposure- I'm going to try for that squirrel outside the library and see what I can get. It does actually hold still pretty well but I might be able to get some good shots with it moving.

long exposure- I would like to do a night sky but maybe mixing the stars with the city lights. If you can even do that, I'm not sure. To have stars streaking mixed with lamplights or headlights.

John E. Marriot

Since I'm on the trip to Alaska, I found some good shots from there by John Marriot, a photgrapher based out of Canada. I mainly focused on this one of the northern lights, since he uses 30-90 second exposure to get the swirling effect of the lights while the background is holding still. I liked most the shots from the Yukon in Blackstone and Reflection Lake, and Muskwa Kechika Wilderness.

http://www.wildernessprints.com/galleries/north5.html

John Shaw

I really like the pictures I found by John Shaw. The detail is sharp and the color is so vivid, they really catch your attention. When I looked up his information I was interested to learn he majored in philosophy, religion, and literature because those are my majors, and here this guy is making a living selling amazing photos to nature magazines, writing, and teaching workshops;

"slow down and think about what you are photographing and keep working until you can find that one good image."

http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/icons/shaw/bio.aspx

http://www.johnshawphoto.com/favorites_gallery/garden-of-gods-snow-arch.htm

Exposure

Knowing how to use the tools on your camera, and the tricks of lighting, will help make your pictures much more defined, showing what you want how you want it.
With modern digital cameras, most of knowing exposure is simplified to reading the histogram on it. Think of it as a compass or looking down the sights on a rifle that can think for you. It is a chart that automatically tells you if all of what you are looking at is being included in your picture. You can adjust the aperture (opening size in front of the lens), or the shutter speed (how fast the picture is taken) until the histogram shows that you have the exposure you want.
Light meters on the camera record lighting for your image, but in very light or dark fields they get confused and make it gray. In this situation you may want to change to another mode;

1.Evaluative/Matrix Metering
general purpose- usually used as default setting
2.Average Metering
Evaluative is better. Don't bother
3.Spot Metering
spotlights one area of picture. Good for wildlife
4.Center-Weighted Metering
emphasizes central 75% of picture. will not use very often


You can control the amount of light in your picture by adjusting time (shutter speed) and intensity (aperture).
exposure modes;
1. Aperture Priority (AV) Mode
gives depth of field. landscape=small, wildlife=big
2.Shutter Priority (TV) Mode
allows you to choose the speed and leave the rest to the camera. not used often
3.Manual Mode
Do everything yourself. useful in landscapes or extremely light or dark scenes.

In said light or dark situations, press the Exposure Compensation button.
Using variations of metering with the histogram aide in difficult shots such as backlighting, white light scenes, sunrises/sunsets, or very dark scenes.

Amancay Maah

I tried to find the photographer who did my sisters wedding, because those pictures were awesome. I didn't find her, but while looking I found another one who was also really good and did some shots with blurring in the background that I thought was really good. I had not of using that on anything other than nature shots, but she did it in a portrait, with good results. Her name is Amancay Maah, a globe trotter out of Hood River, Oregon. She also does portraits with the edges darkened, I've added the link to it.

http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp=&q=Amancay+Maah#/photo.php?pid=2359423&id=34482813120&ref=mf

Super Telephoto Lenses

Reading this made me fairly happy with my canon digital camera, but now I wish it had more zoom in range, closer focus, and was waterproof. Honestly, the numbers and abbreviations of camera speak in the book still seem a bit like mysterious code to me, but I am starting to catch on. (hmm, this button says ISO, this button says Auto). Seeing all the cool pictures and tricks that happen when you know the code is incentive for me to stay with it.

Tripod

When I first heard about how important tripods were for picture quality, I was a bit miffed at needing one taking nature shots. Why would I want to lug around a tripod when I'm hiking around outside? Then I compared my pictures to their pictures....and yeah, tripods are good idea. Or at least some creative substitute until I can afford one. Having said that, ideally I think I would want one made of carbon, since its light and absorbs vibration the best. Wimberlly Sidekick looks like a good choice for lenses, since its good for variety and I'm still experimenting.

http://www.chasejarvis.com/

I saw Laura's story and was intrigued by the idea of using pictures to tell someone's life. Ok, the documentary is not a new thing, but the way he flashed pictures alternated with videos of her running was cool. The videos zoomed in close when she ran, say on her feet with autumn leaves, or in the rain, that didn't take the focus off her but added more to what she was saying.

I liked the difference of Jase Charvis' portfolio because it was more than still pictures he had taken, it was what he had done with the pictures. It told a more complete story than the picture itself.

http://www.betterphoto.com/article.asp?id=26

Water in Motion: Going with the Flow
by Kerry Drager

I found this article on photographing water. I've always been interested in water pictures but never got them to turn out right. Now I know there are techniques to make them pretty. I feel enlightened.

Things to keep in mind when taking shots of moving water; distance (i.e. the closer the blurrier), low light, low ISO- the slower the better the quality. Smallest lens opening- the article explains how to do it, deep tinted filter and tripod.

What seemed like the best advice was to play with your camera, taking many shots of the same scene with different settings. That I know how to do!