Some favorites from 2016

It is kind of a tradition for photographers to look back on the previous year and pick out their favorite photos.   Often it is their top 12, one for each month.   Other times photographers will share their favorite [insert large number here] photos online.   Their friends will look at the first dozen or so and then move on.

As artists, we want to pick the very best photos for this list of standout images.  The problem is, what criteria do we use?   The photos that make the best use of the "rules of good photography"?  The ones that were technically difficult to make?  Those taken at the most interesting places, or make people say "Wow!" when then see them?  Making this list is not easy.

I've learned that my favorite photos often leave people saying "that's OK".   What people like is very subjective and often the artist has no idea what others will think is a good work of art.   Just this morning I read an article about the song Joy To The World.   No not that one, the one by Three Dog Night that starts out "Jeremiah was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine."  The group didn’t think much of this song when they recorded it, tacking it on to the album because they needed one more song to complete it. The song ended up being a massive hit and stayed six weeks at #1 on the US Hot 100.  Those of us who grew up in the 70's can probably recite the lyrics 46 years later. Just like Three Dog Night, I have a hard time knowing what other people will like.  Thus the reason I ask others to pick photos for my annual calendar.

This year I have picked out 21 photos that I personally like for my "Best Of Collection".  I didn't use any of the criteria above.  Instead, I picked photos that represent a broad spectrum of subjects, places, and styles.   I then narrowed down to photos that make me happy when I see them.  I may like the image but often they are picked because they bring back good memories from 2016.   I excluded any photo that is on the 2017 calendar because you have already seen those, over and over again.

Rather than put them on a web page for you to flip through, I'm going to write a few blog pages that tell a bit about each photo and why I picked it.  I hope you enjoy some of these.

I am starting off with a photo that was made close to home.  In fact, it was on our back deck.

Carolina Wren

I have set up a place for birds to come get something to eat, drink and hang out. In this case, I set up my camera and took the shot with a remote control from inside the house.  It was January 16 and was very cold outside. I picked this photo because I love the little songbirds that frequent our back yard and this photo reminds me of hours spent on the deck enjoying the birds that visit.

From home, we travel far away to Iceland for the next five photos in this post.  All of these were taken on a trip with several good friends.   We spent a week together traveling around Iceland in a SUV and pickup truck taking photos.   These photos remind me of that good time.

Ice Lagoon

The Ice Lagoon was taken at sunset.  The orange/pink clouds contrast with the blue ice floating on the dark water.   Color contrast is one of those things that can make a photo pleasing to look at.  The triangular block of ice seems to point the way to the mountains and clouds on the horizon.

Northern Lights

I took dozens and dozens of photos of the Northern Lights while in Iceland.  The first night we saw them we were staying in a small hotel.  June went in to tell the others to come out and shoot.   She also told a French family who was staying there in the hotel about the lights.  A young boy was so excited he came running out to see them for himself, wearing only his underwear!

This Northern Lights photo was taken that same night not far from our hotel.  We found a frozen pond to use to capture reflections of the lights. It was a good thing no one broke through the ice that night.

Moving from bright green, the next photo appears to be black and white.

Ice on Black Sand Beach

If you look closely, you'll see this is actually a color photo.   The ice had floated out of the Ice Lagoon and washed up on the beach.  Unlike most beaches, the sand here was a beautiful black from volcanic rock.   When our group arrived at the beach, some went left and a few of us went right and found this natural ice sculpture.  By the time the others made it down to this area the ice had moved and people had walked around and left footprints in the sand, ruining the composition.   The lesson here is when you see a shot, take it.  It may not be there later.

From ice on the beach, we go inside a blue ice glacier.

Ice Cave

The guy who ran our hotel had a van that could drive across ice and snow covered land, right up to some impressive glaciers and a cave in the glacier.  The cave is created by water that makes it's was into cracks in the ice and melts the ice away to form a cave big enough to walk through.   The blue color is from the sunlight passing through the ice, which filters out all other colors.  This is one of my favorites because going in an ice cave was something I'd read about and wanted to do for some time. It was a great adventure and included many good memories.

The last photo for today was also taken in Iceland.

Good Friends

This was a grab shot I made while we were on the black sand beach.  June and our good friend Lynn were resting on a rock waiting on the rest of us to get our fill of photos.   Besides being a photo of two lovely ladies, this is one of my favorites because of the variety stories contained in the photo.   Anyone who has been on a photo trip with June and I knows that she will grab up my camera bag every time I turn my back, which she has done again in this photo.  For this trip, we had metal grippers called Yak Tracks on the bottoms of our boots so we wouldn't fall and bust something when walking on ice.  These Yak Tracks were constantly falling off, and you can see June and Lynn are missing one each.  You have probably noticed they appear to be dressed like twins girls who's mother has picked out their matching clothes.  Our friend and guide extraordinaire for this trip John "Snake" Barrett had come up with an extensive list of items to bring for a week in Iceland, including jackets, pants, gloves, and boots.   We had several online group video chats before the trip to go over his recommendations.   He even provided custom made caps to keep our heads warm.   As a result, many of us were dressed alike and when bundled up looked like we were there attending a Twin Convention.

The best part of this photo is it reminds me of the friendships we have with others we have met over the years.   The trip to Iceland was fantastic, but the lasting friendships are what counts and what we will remember long after we forget the adventure and photos.

I hope you have enjoyed these photos.  I have certainly enjoyed remembering the experiences behind each one.   I'll post more over the next few days.

Iceland Photo Adventure - I can highly recommend this trip.

This past March, June and I spent a little over a week in Iceland with a group of photographer friends.  The trip was put together by John "Snake" Barrett.   John and Jim Begley are putting this trip on again as an official workshop.   If you ever thought about going on an Iceland photography adventure, this is a trip I can highly recommend.

John is a great organizer and will make sure your trip is as fantastic as possible.   We stayed in some fun eclectic places, including a dairy farm, an old school, and a hotel at the base of a volcano.   We hit the spots at the best times and John was always looking for quick adjustments to improve our chances of making some great photos.   Here's his website http://www.johnbarrettphotography.com/

Jim is one of the best photographers and teachers I know.   Check out his website http://www.wowphotoshdr.com/

Don't just take my word for it.  You can see the results of my trip in my Iceland Gallery.
http://www.thesiggins.com/My-Gallery/Travel-1/Iceland-

If you're interested, contact John and Jim at Info@JBPhotoTours.com.

Telling A Story

People like stories.   It starts early in life with "read me a story Dad" but it doesn't end as we grow older.   Storytelling is an important tradition here in East Tennessee with the National Story Telling Center in Jonesborough and the National Story Telling Festival.  You can even get a degree in storytelling at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.

We usually think of storytelling as an oral tradition but paintings, drawings, and photographs can visually tell a story in a powerful way.    Ansel Adams said there are always two people in a photograph - the photographer and the viewer.   The photographer needs to think about how to capture an image in such a way that it can tell a compelling story to the viewer.

There is a wealth of good information available on how to tell a story with a photograph.   Just try googling "photography storytelling" .

I'm going to try to use some of my photographs from our trip to Iceland to tell the story of geographic isolation and the forces of nature that define the culture of Iceland.

Although Iceland is not a large country it is defined by large expanses of wilderness with few signs of people or buildings.  The landscape is made up of volcanic mountains and very few trees. The people who live outside the capital of Reykjavík and the small towns along the coast have to deal with being isolated from their neighbors.  How can I use my photographs to tell the story of isolation in Iceland?

A wide panoramic photograph that shows a single building in a vast landscape can make the viewer feel the building stands alone in a vast frozen wilderness.   If I had made the photo of the building without the mountains or just the mountains without the building it would not tell the same story.

Above is a photo of June walking on the black sand beach before sunrise.  A small single figure in a simple uncluttered landscape can give the feeling that the person is alone or maybe even lost.

Including a person in a photo can give a sense of scale.  Without the tiny figure in the photo above the viewer may not understand how big the landscape is.   

The photo above also includes a couple objects that give a sense of scale.   The pack in the foreground and the van in the distance connected by a path through the snow tells a story of a difficult journey.   It was not difficult to exclude signs of civilization in this photo.  We were miles from anything.

Iceland today is very connected via the internet.  In the past, people living in Iceland had to travel long distances or find other ways to communicate.  This is an old short wave radio that people used to get news and music from around the world. 

Do these photos tell a story?  You'll have to decide for yourself.   Next time you're out taking photos think about how you can tell an interesting story that others will want to see.

Avoiding Mergers

Last week I wrote about how slight changes in the camera position and focal length of the lens can have an unexpected impact on a photo.   Today I want to give an example of changing the camera position to avoid something called mergers.

While on our recent trip to Iceland with great friends and photographers we stopped at a small stream just off the road.   The water was smooth and partially covered with a skim of ice.   Add a very interesting cliff face in the distance and you have many opportunities for interesting compositions.

Some of our group shooting the reflections

To get the mountain and cliffs in the reflections you must position your camera low, just a few feet off the ground and surface of the water.  

55mm and lower position

The stream had some thin ice on the surface, which added some interest to the surface reflections.  I picked out a position where the shape of the skim ice and the near bank mirrored the shape of the mountain in the distance.  You can see this in the photo above.

I made several different shots at different focal lengths, camera heights and positions.  I also changed the camera from landscape to portrait orientation.  When out in the field it's important to move around and try different angles, heights, focal lengths, etc.  It's frustrating to get home and realize I missed the best photo because I didn't move around and look for different compositions. When I got home I had 28 different photos from this location to choose from. In the end, I choose the photo below as my favorite.

50mm and higher position

There is only a slight difference between the two photos and it's in the space between the ice and the reflection of the mountain in the water.  Both photos show the ice mirroring the reflection of the mountain, but the second photo above has a little more separation between these two elements.  If I had positioned the camera even lower the ice and mountain reflection would have merged or overlapped.  When compositing a shot it is important to pay attention to mergers between important elements and avoid them when possible.  Here's a short article on mergers with a better example.

This example and the one from last week illustrate how little changes can improve a photo.   I hope you get some value from these examples.  I'm still working through my photos from Iceland and will post more as I make more progress.

A Different Perspective

Well, we're back from a week in Iceland and a week in Florida.  What a contrast!   Iceland was wild, cold, and empty.  Florida was crazy, warm, and crowded.   I'm probably in the minority here, but of the two I pick Iceland hands down.  I'll be posting photos from both trips as I work through the thousands of photos from these two weeks.

As I was working through some Iceland photos, I came across two that show the effect of camera angle and focal length and how a little change in each can make a significant change in a photo.

Both photos were taken at the same place at about the same time.   I only changed the camera position and the focal length of the lens.

Camera Position Lower, Focal Length = 24mm

To me, the first photo gives the viewer a sense of vastness.  The pool of water surrounded by ice and snow is the dominant element.  You can see the water flowing away and the mountains in the distance but you have to look for them.   It's hard to get past that dark pool.

Camera Position Higher, Focal Length = 35mm

For the second photo, I raised the height of the camera on the tripod just a bit.   This allows the viewer to better see the water flowing away from the pool towards the mountains in the distance.  I changed the focal length just a little from 24mm to 35mm.   The longer focal length in the second photo made the mountains appear to be closer.  A shorter  focal length (wider view) will make distant objects  appear to be further away.  The longer the focal length (greater zoom) the closer they will appear.  They are still not the dominant element but I can easily see them.

My friend and our guide in Iceland John "Snake" Barrett took this to an extreme.

A Really Different Perspective
Photo by Chuck Barnes

This is the same location as my two photos.    I can't wait to see what his perspective looks like.

I hope this illustration is useful.  Check back for more photos and tips.