Why Not Black and White?

Days like today are great for working on your ideas and learning some new things. I took the river crossing image into my preferred  BW plugin and played around with it.

I applied a red filter to bring up the deer. Took the tree trunk and roots behind the deer down darker so the deer would pop out a bit. I lightened up the deer still more. I burned down the foreground water, again to lighten up the deer.  No formula, just eyeballing the end result.

Why not play with black and white?  It will teach you about how to work with darkness and lightness in the same composition. What you learn in black and white readily translates to your color post processing.  In some ways you might find experimenting with only black and white will help you better manipulate color values. There is the chance you will get hooked on black and white, not a bad problem to have. Whatever makes your photography enjoyable is what matters.

Whitetails Crossing at Ponca Low Water Bridge BW

Making Photo Cropping Choices

There are actually people who think cropping photos is a sin against photography. Seriously? Isn't the point of photography visual expression? Cropping is a fundamental tool. There are a lot of rules created about photography, especially by those who can't figure out composition and visual expression.

The picture below is a crop of the one I posted previously. I don't think it is better or worse, just different. There is no reason to prefer one over the other. I did lighten up the the photo a bit and saturate it slightly. If I were printing this I would spend more time fussing over it.

Note that there is "negative space" in front of the lead deer to the left. That is very deliberate. It is a pretty standard composition strategy to leave space in front of the direction of movement.

This photo is also cropped vertically. I try to place a linear subject along the 3rd lines. Also there is the two tree trunks with roots on the right. I will generally place the vertex of the intersecting 3rd lines between 2 elements that are participating in the composition. These 2 trunks meet that criterion.  Note also, there is not only movement right to left, these trees and roots reinforce the right-to-left sensibility of the composition.

Are these cropping ideas rules? Nope, they are suggested starting points, ways of thinking. If you think differently that pleases me. My concern is that you think about what you do, not whether you agree with me.

The final crop came in at 288 dpi. That is good enough for a pretty good sized print, bigger than most people might want. Might be fun to hack this around in black and white.

Whitetails Crossing the Buffalo (Crop)

Work on your Landscape Photography Skills in Black and White

In my world black and white is far from dead. When I get a color photo that frustrates me, often I will kick it over to black and white to overcome ishy colors like blue greens. If the photo is any good, often a black and white interpretation will show you what you thought you saw. Some photos are great both in color and black and white, others are not.

I am very pattern oriented. In landscapes I like strong lines and good vanishing points. I work in HDR quite often because I like very long tonal ranges.

So why bother with black and white? One reason is that it can help you strengthen your compositional skills. It forces you to find lines and shapes, and highlights and shadows. This will help you pre-visualize better whether you shoot color or black and white.  Black and white makes you work harder to get a great composition.

Because we are in a digital world now, you can retain your color negative so why not interpret your landscapes as black and white and deconstruct your voice.?  If you look at a few pictures you will see your patterns in your work and perhaps think more deeply about composition.

Looking East from the Ponca Low Water Bridge

The picture above had foreground sharpness giving way to softness at the distant point there the Buffalo River.  There are lines and curves, and implied forms. Fall color is always a plus, but it can be a distraction too.

Color is never the whole game. There are lines, textures, rhythms, and so on. Maybe looking at the landscape that has frustrated you for years will be more understandable in black and white.  Try deconstructing your photos by removing color. It can provide a lot of insight.

Steamer Season -- Cold Weather is Start of Steamer Season

I have been shooting elk for a long time now and "steamers" are one of my favorite photo strategies to add something to kind of ordinary compositions. "Steamers" will be possible on early morning shots beginning this week. The obvious first choice is a bull elk bugling, but there are many other choices as below from my archives. I added the shot locations.

Satellite Bull Looking at Harem (43/21 Area)

Backlit Bull Walking and Bugling (Ponca Field)

Bull Breathing Heavy Over a Cow (Ponca Field)

Shag Elk Just Bounding Around (Lost Valley)

Big Bull Just Breathing in Frost (Lost Valley)

Fall Color Update 10/12/13 -- Landscape Tips

Fall color is picking up speed now and should be very good for next weekend's Color Fest at the Ponca Elk Education Center.  See my earlier entry on the Color Fest.

We are entering the early fall color period when there is plenty of green mixed in with fall foliage.  I love this stage of fall color because it offers so many creative choices.  The picture below is one of my favorite early fall color landscapes.  I think the date on it was October 10 a couple of years back.  I think the variety of colors really adds a lot and draws you in.  That is the essence of early fall color landscapes.  This is where we are at right now and it is changing every day.

Early Fall Color Landscape -- Buffalo River at Ponca Access

Fall color will be very good now for at least a month.

This year think about playing with light in unconventional ways.  This was taken late in the day as the sun was setting.  I think it adds something to see long tonal scales in the bluffs that are often rendered flat.  The dark tones on the left and right create a natural frame that leads your eye around the photo.  Shadows also create a vanishing point on the lower right.  To me, this landscape is emotional.

When doing your compos, think of how a painter would approach this subject. You can bet it would be much more than "point and shoot".

Picture of the Day

No elk today, but a hunting cottonmouth entertained me while I waited 2 hours for the elk to cross.  I like all wildlife, and I really like the filtered light for this picture. I realize I will probably never sell this picture, but I like it anyway. 

This filtered light is amazing. I would not have bothered to take the picture except for the amazing light and the reflection of his uplifted head. 

This is the first time I had a snake float in the water, lift its head, and check me out for a few minutes. Otherwise he just crossed the river repeatedly and hunted the banks and gravel bars. 

Filtered Light Makes this Photo Exceptional

Rut Coverage Plans -- Current Viewing Conditions

I will take a little different approach on covering on this year's rut. It will include maps and herd locations as before, but it will also include periodic essays and tutorials on photography.  I am working on my first book on photography so there will be some spillover.

For me there is nothing that ignites my passion for photography like the elk rut. Sure, I love wildflowers and landscapes, river shots, otter, mink, and butterflies, etc. But nothing is the equal photographing the elk rut. For these next 3 months elk are my focus.

I am certain your mental approach is the primary key to your success as a photographer and sets the stage for your continual improvement. Fundamental to this success is getting clear on basic issues that go very far beyond f-stops, shutter speed and so on.

Bull Fight from 2012 -- Eye to Eye Near Ponca

Photography is about creative expression, not hardware. Creative expression is about being clear about what you are going for. I will have a lot to say about that. Time to start your "bucket list" and pre-visualize what elk shots you are going for.  If you are clear on what you seek, your chances of anticipating the opportunity and getting the photo improve a lot.

Current Conditions
Elk viewing is still in a summer pattern. Hot summer temperatures have shortened elk viewing. Elk head for cover now often by 8AM and come out fairly late to avoid the heat. The good news is that today temperatures are backing off some.

This last 2 weeks a lot of Boxley Valley has been hayed. The timing of this is just about perfect for the rut -- leading it out by about 2 weeks. For now elk are pushed back a bit, but I expect that to change as things return to normal.

Butterfly Shooting is Very Good Now

If you visit to photograph the elk herds, you will definitely want to have a secondary target in mind.  Summer heat is back and the elk will be gone by 8 or 9AM.  My favorite second subject at this time of year are butterflies.  Early rains have created strong summer wildflower blooms. For some reason hummingbird moths are thick this year in many places.

Below is my favorite hummingbird moth picture so far. I call it "pollen puss". My standard strategy for this sort of photo is to pick a flower composition I like and just wait, often for hours. I would say this photo took me 6 hours to get.  As always, there is plenty of luck in getting a decent photo.  I chose a top lit flower in this case for an out of the ordinary compo.

Learning Composition -- Questioning & Visualization

This Picture is an Elk Painting Animated by Angular Light
Elk Photos are Elk in Context -- That is the next level

I got a note the other day I have not answered, mostly because I don't have a simple answer. The questioner wanted to know how I get the elk pictures I get, what advice I could offer. I have been thinking about it from two perspectives. First, how do I take elk pictures. Second, how did I teach myself to take elk pictures (or anything else for that matter).

Anyone who reads what I write knows that in my mind, composition is the point of photography. Everything else is secondary. Good composition transcends equipment, bad composition is indifferent to great equipment. Composition is the key. It is composition that communicates.

So, how do you take pictures of a new subject? I know my basic approach is to deconstruct the subject, then look at composition of the "chunks", then reconstruct the subject combining the chunks. I break the subject into parts that move, and parts that don't move. I also look at context, the setting, the time of day.

I spend a lot of time practicing composition through visualization away from the camera. Careful thought can equip you with "virtual experience" that you can draw on when opportunities arise.  Research supports visualization as real practice.

Sounds pretty simple eh? Let's look at elk composition as an example:

Driving Legs and Counterpointing Antlers Make This Post-Rut
Sparring Pretty Good -- Better Than Statues Tapping Antlers

Deconstructing the Animal For many years now when I see a subject I see a collection of shapes that combine to make the whole animal. The head looks like a triangle, the body like a rough rectangle, the legs like sticks, straight, crossing or bent, the neck like a strip, the haunches like ovals superimposed over the body, antlers like hoops, unique shadows, and so on. Static shapes.

Movement moves these shapes in relation to one another. Is the elk twisting, or head up or down, or is the head folded over the body? Is the body straight on or angled? Are its lines resonating with other lines in the composition? Is its movement counterpointed with another elk? And how? How do they counterpoint? Dynamic movements.

There is a larger message in this madness (if you haven't walked away). Good composition hinges on great questions. It is the quality of your questions that will drive your understanding. Tip: When you are stuck, try to dig out the question you are answering. You probably need to ask a better question to get to the next level. This applies to just about everything I have learned in life. Experts ask great questions. Figure out the questions and you will learn very fast. Do not shop answers. Questions matter most.

Deconstructing the Context  Animal photography occurs in a natural setting. That context includes light of all sorts and angles, contour, geology, fence lines, tree lines, tree trunks, curves like streams and swails, buildings, roads, etc.  And so on. It seems impossible, you need a great combination of the animal and its context to get a killer photo.

Putting it Back Together -- Reconstruction and Synthesis
Now we return to visualization. This is where what seems hopelessly complex comes together. In your mind's eye, assemble your subject, elk in this case, into a context you know. Visualize what you consider to be ideal images based on these elements. Because you are visualizing, words fall away and reconstruction now becomes easier.

Trust the Unconventional, Juxtapose the Unexpected
I Chased this Photo for Years After Pre-visulalizing It

I have used this analogy a few times, but it fits. Athletes deconstruct their movements, learn new ones, then drill incessantly until they instinctively do the right thing. This discipline never ends.

When you take your photography to another level, you need to take apart what you do, take apart your subject and the context, ask great questions about combinations, then, and only then, visualize what you seek away from the camera. This visualization will inform your compositional voice. It will also sharpen your anticipation in the field.

Creative expression is a blissful, but focused practice. The pathway to an unending stairway of improvement is focus, questioning, deconstruction, reconstruction, and visualization. You need to do this for every new subject. While much is the same about different subjects, much is different. You will never get the final picture of any subject,  but you will be on an unfolding path to deeper engagement and mastery of your subjects and art.

My gift to any student is to help them become excellent questioners and self-learners.  A great philosopher Exupery said education is not a forcing in (answers), but rather a leading out (questions). I hold to this.  Ask me a question, and I will ask you to question. You have gifts that I can see in you that you need to trust. You don't need my answers.

Imagination and Communication in Photography

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader's."  
Stephen King


So too in photography. 

Gifts Given and Moment's Captured to be Shared

Your artistic expression must charge straight into the imagination of your viewer. Leave it to a writer to distill the essence of our craft. 


This reminds me of a recent session with a workshop participant. I had her bring photos that she loved but felt there was something missing. I took one of her images and interpreted it, and asked her if this edit was what she saw. She said yes, that is it exactly. It was a little spooky for her I think. 


If one examines an image with the heart, looking for the expression that must be there, it can be revealed in post processing. Ansel Adams had it right when he said the negative is the score, and the print is the performance. 


We must not lose sight of the fact that cameras come up short in capturing light. They get about half the tonal range of what you see in reality. Often this means they do not capture the intimations of your heart. 


In the place behind your reason, you feel why you took certain photos. You were drawn to them intuitively. You might think the composition to death, but there is that other dimension. Be courageous in your post processing to restore your creative vision. Open up your heart's expression to finish in your viewers heart.