Add Magic to Your Wildflower Photos

While the flower is the point of the composition, but the context provides the magic, the sense of the eternal. Most have a first impulse to take photos where the entire flower fills the frame. Over time, I have gone the other direction. I want to express the flower in context, and clearly in a moment in time, meaning a moment in light, something given and ephemeral.

I was drawn to this composition by crossing light, that dead limb setting the flow of the picture, the unusual purple blue of this bloom, and the amazing curly grass.

If we get it right, a composition captures the magic of nature. We never really get "the picture", we are given "a picture". Cultivate the habit of looking at context as well as subject, look for the magic given, heaven in a wild flower. Feel the magic, accept the photo given in a moment of light.

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour.” 

― William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Horned Violets Ponca Wilderness

15 Minute Workshop Series -- Wildflower Pictures are Flower Arrangements

Sharp Lobed Hepatica -- Lost Valley Trail

I really like to take pictures of wildflowers. Sharped Lobed Hepatica is one of my favorite species. I like the nodding buds, blooms that tilt and tip at many angles, and the long fuzzy stems. There is a lot going on, and there are many choices offered to a photographer who seeks an exceptional wildflower composition. Here are some thoughts on choosing the shot, and how to work in post processing on flowers.

First, flower pictures are flower arrangements. Look at a book on flower arranging and you will get great ideas about how to organize flowers in effective compositions.

Second, don't forget the context around the wildflower. The picture to the right incorporates not only leaves, but a sweeping blade of dead grass. Note that it criss-crosses with a stem in the back. This gives the composition a Japanese feel. 

Third, shadows matter. Shadows tell a story in the picture. You can see the direction of the sunlight -- it is mid morning. There are pleasing traces on the leaves of shadows coming from the petals. Shadow nuances add complexity and interest without distracting from the subject. 

Fourth, backgrounds are a special case of context and darkening them slightly can add a 3D character to a photo. This makes the subject pop out forward in your pictures and make your photos deep. 

A while back I wrote a short piece on what we could learn from master painter Leonardo da Vinci about composition and post processing photos. It certainly applies here. I think he provides an outstanding road map to think more carefully about post. 

15 Minute Workshop Series -- Leonardo da Vinci on Post Processing

Recently I have been reading the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci to understand painting theory. Back in his day, painters argued over how to create the best compositions based on theories about light and perception -- pretty brainy stuff and they fought like tigers over it.

Post-processing is where photographers become painters. "Post" is where we manipulate light, color, focus, and sharpness to get to our final creation.  My images might look different than what I took, but I may well have had a different visualization of the final image in the first place.

Post processing is makeup, not makeover. My bias is that the results of post processing must be plausible, not fantastic.

Most images are really improved in post processing, because no camera is accurate. I have really narrowed what I do in "post" and miss the last 5% to be gained by spending more time (unless I am grinding on an outstanding image). There are a few things I do that I think many do not do. Here is my short list:

1. Noise reduction if the photo requires it. Sometimes selective to certain areas of the photo.
   
2. I crop, and I crop shamelessly. I don't know why anyone cares if someone crops, and really, it is simply your choice (and none of their business). We sure don't need all the megapixels we have these days. Good crops make better compositions.
   
3. "Values" matter more to me than anything else in post processing. Values are the tonal ranges in the photo, in my mind including saturation, sharpening and focus. In the old days it was dodging and burning, today we have more powerful tools like the NIK plugins and masking tools in PS and other programs to work selectively on areas in the photo.
   
4. OK, what do I do with values? First, I subtly make the subject(s) of the photo lighter, more saturated, more contrasty, and sharper.  Second, I do the opposite with other aspects of a photo, the supporting elements and background, sometimes in stair steps from front to back. This pushes the less important parts of the photo "back". I will work with each part separately in many cases. This will give your photo depth, and make it more 3D.
   
   Think about this. Your final image is about both your subject and the background and supporting parts. The final quality of the image is about all these things working together visually, it is much more than the subject, good composition is the subject in context.
   
5. I sharpen last. I also re-sharpen after I reduce or increase the size of a photo. I will sharpen selectively if it is indicated to my eye.  

What I found is that Leonardo's ideas on painting composition in the late 1400's tracked with what I have learned in hacking around in post processing. Guess I should have read his notebooks, would have saved me a lot of time.

I recommend reading books on painting to learn more about composition. Painters have been wrestling with composition for hundreds of years, they have a lot to teach us.

"Swiffer" is Cropped and Edited
Makeup, Not Makeover

10/25/12 Elk Herd Locations in Boxley Valley

The elk left the fields by 8 AM today, in keeping with the summer pattern of recent days. This will likely change today if the weather forecasts can be believed. The best place to see the elk has been the Ponca fields in the north end. Today there was one pretty good sized herd in there.

Don't forget the Color Fest this weekend at the Ponca Elk Education Center and my free photo workshop. Call 870-861-2432 to reserve your seat. 2:00 PM each day the 26th & 27th, rain or shine, the workshop will be held.

Required Reading for the Color Fest Workshops

Creative Voice is About Answering Your 
Own Questions About Composition

Friday and Saturday at 2 PM I will be doing free elk photography workshops at the Ponca Elk Education Center. Call 870-861-2432 to reserve your seat.

Contrary to popular opinion, good photography is thoughtful, and the best results come from thinking carefully about what you do. We will be talking about the questioning process, and how to figure out what to do. And how to think about what equipment to buy.

The link below takes you to a blog entry I did early this year. My goal is to get you to learn how to ask effective questions about your photography so you can get to the next level on your own. A new camera is not the key, a new way of thinking is. The blog entry below is a good start. Please read it before the workshops this weekend.

http://arkansaswildlifephotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/learning-composition-questioning.html?showComment=1336878959578#c3206271887804983012

2012 Color Fest, Ponca Elk Education Center

Elk watchers will want to visit the Ponca Elk Education Center's annual Color Fest. Color Fest is an art show with demonstrations held each fall during fall color season. Each day at 2 PM there will be a free elk photography workshop by wildlife photographer Michael Dougherty.  Call the center at 870-861-2432 to reserve your seat for the workshop.

2012 Color Fest Flyer

Recent Scenes from Boxley Valley

These are my favorite recent pictures, all from the last week.  Boxley Valley is now a multi-state destination for wildlife photographers and watchers. 

I will be doing a free elk photo workshop at the Ponca Elk Education Center at 2PM each day during the Color Fest, October 26th and 27th. Call to reserve your seat  870-861-2432.

Elk Photographers in Boxley Valley 10/7/12

Satellite Bull Crossing Buffalo 10/5/12

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.

Steps to Photo Mastery in 2012

This first day of 2012 was perfect. This was a morning of fewer opportunities but it was wonderful to be out shooting and just walking around. Old photographers, like old hunters, appreciate just being out there. There is no bad day with the camera, especially in the wild. 

This morning I hiked a short upper wilderness stretch of the Buffalo National River, known as the Hailstone. Yesterday I got pictures of otter in a nearby farm pond. Otter often move every day and today was no different. I bet on a couple of upstream pools that might hold them today but that turned out to be wrong. I thought it was no better than a 30% shot that I would see them -- it was OK. 

Long Scale, Two Colors, Shapes & Lines
Winter Photography is a Time to Learn

I did get a decent landscape, but like most winter river landscapes it is austere. I consider winter the best time to work on your skills as a photographer. I love the simplicity. 

I stalk through the ice, detritus and steel blue water shopping patterns and long tonal scales. What were bright colors are now shades of brown. This is a season that favors black and white, and minimalists like me. 

I practice one fundamental exercise with many variations. I challenge myself to find photos where there seem to be none. Generally I will do this with one lens. There is no distraction from the task at hand. My goal and focus is to find photos where there seem to be none. 

At its base, a photo is a symphony of colors, lines, shapes and tonal values organized in a pleasing pattern. You task is to recognize what is plainly in front of you, then make choices about what to include, and what to throw away. This includes choosing with your heart. It is a simple idea, but tough to pull off. 

Becoming more thoughtful about the creative process of deconstruction and reconstruction will be one key to your success. There is such a thing as talent, but there is nothing here that cannot be taught and improve anyone's skills. Even the talented, perhaps especially the talented, need to understand what they do naturally through deconstruction if they are to reach the next level. 

The point of practice some ways is to make the intuitive deliberate then more deeply intuitive, in a deepening cycle of learning. Much as athletes do drills regardless of skill level, photographers must do their drills regardless of skill level. Pablo Casals, the great cellist said that one day without practice and he would notice it, two days without practice and his audience would notice it. 

The point is this, the path to mastery has no final destination. We all travel this path. If we work at our craft, we continue down the mastery path closer to the destination that will never be reached. If we do our exercises, we will move down that path more quickly. The satisfaction comes in the learning process, and experiencing days like today. Surely one thing learned along the path to mastery is that accepting what nature gives us is blessing enough. 

The Thinking Side of Photography

Lately I have been meditating on my free February workshop presentation to the Harrison Camera Club. The topic is Wildlife, Wild Flowers & Wild Hairs. It is important to me not to be entirely serious. I am certain there is wisdom in stepping back from certainty and understanding that all things are "wiggly", the world is about verbs mostly and few nouns intrude. This includes all rules, mine included.

My core focus will be on "wild hairs". I think about photography a lot. I deconstruct, take apart, the creative process believing that careful thinking is the most important creative tool any photographer has. Put another way, "your head should always be attached" when you take photos. It is true that serendipitous photos come your way if you are hacking around, but you can get better results if you re-attach your head.

Here is a short list of my personal wild hairs about photography:

Pre-visualization & Light 

• Great photos tell stories. To quote poet Muriel Rukeyser "The universe is made of stories, not atoms". Like stories, pictures range from haiku to novels. You will succeed the extent to which you tell a story. Does your photography evoke emotions? 
• Equipment is not photography any more than brushes are painting. I really get fatigued over this confusion. My recommendation on equipment is that you should not buy before you hit a creative barrier in your actual picture taking.  The time may come when the lack of a certain lens will matter, or not. Toting 25 lenses mostly hurts your back, it does not expand your creativity in most cases. Often I take just one lens. Yup.
• Composition is what matters most. How do you learn composition? Dig, study and shoot. Step outside your norms and make mistakes. Study composition in painting for landscapes and portraiture, study composition in flower arranging for wildflowers, etc. Take risks, try stuff. Etc.  If an image "speaks to you" figure out why and how it was taken. 
• Learn to see light. Seriously. Many photographers simply don't see. Do you know your camera sees only 50% or so of the light of your eyes, meaning short tonal range? You can expose for the shadows or highlights, or take HDR's to capture the whole range in the scene. Understand that subtle differences in light will be amplified in your image.
• Study Photography through Pre-Visualization. You can learn a lot by relaxing and thinking about light and composition for any subject. Forget the camera, use your imagination to identify what you seek in light, shadow, form, and organization of those forms.  For animal photography, what behaviors do you seek? For landscapes, what lighting, what forms and lines, placement of objects, and so on?  If you do pre-visualization exercises you will recognize an opportunity much better when it presents itself. 

Opportunities Must be Recognized 

This short list is only the beginning really, but it does cover the high spots. Each of the 5 points is a book in itself. My photo $150 one-on-one workshops get at these points (and others). 

Ansel Adams said that getting 5 good photos a year was a good average, any more was a very good year. That is the confession of a master who understood the points above (and more). 

Now is a good time to study. The challenge of working in the subtle tones of winter forces your hand as a photographer. Finding compositions in this context is always challenging, but you must believe there is a photo. Be thoughtful, make mistakes, learn. Greet the 2012 season with a new creative approach.