Check Your Background

Don't worry, I'm not talking about a background check where your skeletons are dug up and shared with your perspective employer.   I'm talking about the background in your photo compositions.

When composing a shot it's easy to focus all your attention on the subject and let your mind tune out the distracting elements in the composition.    Unfortunately, those distracting elements will be very noticeable when you get home and bring the photo up on a computer.   Those things you never noticed can ruin a photo.

Here's a recent example.  My dad grows Orchids as a hobby.  While visiting this last week I took a few minutes to go into the yard to see what I could find to shoot.  This bloom was particularly pretty, but a good spot for an Orchid to grow is a bad spot to photograph it.  There was a wooden fence and the bright wall of a neighbor's house behind it as you can see here.

I was shooting with a 300mm telephoto lens that I stopped down to f/4 to minimize the depth of field and blur the background as much as possible.  In this case the flower and the fence were too close together to blur the fence enough.   The solution was to get low and shoot up at the flower.  By doing this I was able to take the fence out of the picture and just have the neighbor's house in the background.  The house was much brighter than the flower so I exposed for the flower, which made the wall appear to be solid white, which is a pretty nice background in this case.

I think the second shot is a more pleasing composition.  Anyone looking at it will look at the flower and not be distracted by the background.

The background is not the only thing to watch out for when composing your shot.  Watch of objects that stick into the photo from the bottom, top or sides that can be distracting.  In the shot below the railing for the bridge I was standing on was included in the lower left corner. 

In the last example a cut log is showing up in the bottom of the photo.   It was actually the remains of an old bridge but does not seem to fit in the forest scene and should be eliminated.  Sometimes you can eliminate a distracting element by picking it up and moving it.  Other times, you have to move yourself and recompose to eliminate the distractions

The best thing to do when composing is to slow down and look.  Move around and see what other compositions you can come up with. Finally, watch out for the background and other things that can distract from the main subject.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

The sage wisdom of Dr. Seuss can be applied to outdoor photographers.   We will go places and do things that may seem absurd to most people.  We go in directions that normal people would just shake their heads in wonder if we really "have brains in our head". While on vacation, June and I will get up an hour or two before sunrise, stay out until well after sunset and go hard all day long.   When doing that in the Pacific Northwest in June sunrise is before 5 AM and sunset is after 9 PM, which makes for a very long day.  Between those hours an outdoor photographer will spend hours in one spot sometimes photographing the same subject and other times just sitting and waiting for the light to change.  These extended times in one place can be separated by a mad dash to get to the next spot at just the right time.  On an easy day we might go back to the hotel and sleep for a couple hours in the middle of the day.  After a couple days of this we might take our nap just about anywhere like my friend Chuck Barnes.

Chuck Recharging

 

 

I am blessed to have a wife who is willing to put up with my craziness.  Not everyone is as lucky as I am.

 

When we get to the places we have decided to go that day we may do things that make people wonder what made us "decide where to go".  One example of our craziness is what I consider the best way to photograph a waterfall -- standing in the creek or river below the falls, often with the camera a few inches off the surface of the water.  Sometimes this water is spring snow melt, making it not too many degrees above freezing.   By getting to places at the right time and getting into the best place for a shot we can come away with interesting compositions, such as this one of Bridal Veil Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.

Bridal Veil Falls

 I took this at the end of the day when we were both pretty tired but the light was good for shooting waterfalls so off we went.

Shooting Munra Falls

Earlier in the afternoon we had seen this guy taking photos at Munra Falls.  We ran into him at Bridal Veil Falls as well.  He was younger and had more energy than I had left and was climbing over boulders and through the stream to get the best shot.

I'm hoping to hike to some falls in Virginia  this Thursday morning with a photographer friend.   If we're lucky, it will be foggy and raining.  The best conditions for taking photos of waterfalls, streams and forests.   Oh the places we will go!

Lost in Port Townsend

On the last day of our 17 day trek across Washington and Northern Oregon we had a full day to enjoy ourselves on the way back to the Seattle - Tacoma airport.  We visited a few places in Olympic National Park that we had missed earlier, checked out some tide pools looking for sea life, and visited the Jardin du Soleil lavender farm in Sequim.   All along we had the airport programmed into the GPS so we knew exactly how long it would take to get to the airport from where ever we were. 

You can click any of the photos to flip through larger versions.

One of our stops along the way was Port Townsend.   They advertise themselves as a victorian seaport with a maritime heritage and a touch of urban chic.  National Geographic calls Port Townsend one of the most sophisticated places west of Seattle   It reminded us of downtown Asheville NC.   We explored the town for a while, ate at The Elevated Ice Cream Shoppe, and wandered the streets.

There were some people set up selling some things (we weren't sure sure what and didn't stick around to find out).   One lady had a bunch of old dirty bottles lined up on a bench.  Behind her was a boat with bicycles arranged on top that were wrapped in Christmas lights.  The bottles were interesting but I guess that bicycle art looks better at night.

There are a number of signs painted on brick walls of the historic old buildings, including an old Bull Durham sign.   I find these old signs to be very interesting and the older the better.

Some the most interesting parts of the old historic buildings are in the details, such as this old door.   Old and weathered I wonder how long it's been there and what has happened in Port Townsend during it's time.

We stopped at an old historic home that is now an Inn. The Ann Starrett Mansion was built in 1889 and is a beautiful Victorian home painted in pastel pink, red, blue and green.   Some stairs going up to a porch caught my eye.  The diagonal line and flower pot repeating pattern make for an interesting composition.

After we left Port Townsend we stopped at Port Gamble then headed for the airport.  A short while later we realized our GPS had routed us to a ferry.   We knew nothing about the ferry, the schedule, or where we would end up so we decided to take a different route.  The GPS then routed us to another ferry!   It took us a while to get back to the main road because we had wandered farther afield than we thought.  Lessons learned - allow plenty of time, don't rely 100% on a GPS and bring a good map as backup.  In the end we had just enough time to get to the airport and catch our flight home.

I hope you enjoy these photos from Port Townsend.

When to use IS/VR

IS is Image Stabilization.(Canon term)
VR is Vibration Reduction (Nikon term)

The both mean the same thing.  Technology built into a lens or the camera senses camera movement and makes constant micro adjustments to compensate for that shake.  It's a great technology that allows you to shoot hand held is situations that would result in blurry photos if you didn't have it. 

If you have IS/VR turned on and your camera is not moving, such s when it is on a tripod, the IS/VR will actually introduce vibration trying to adjust for movement that is not there.   Under most conditions you want to turn it off when mounting your camera on a tripod.  Don't forget to turn it back on when you go back to shooting hand held or you will be disappointed when you look at your photos later.  Some of the newer lenses can sense when there is no movement and turn the IS/VR off.  None of mine do that so I have to rely on my memory, which is why I get more blurry photos than I should.

5D Mark ii, 300mm, 1/40 second

I recently learned that there is an exception to this rule.   I was in the Palouse region of Washington State on top of Steptoe Butte, which is a quartzite island jutting out about 1,000 feet above the rolling Palouse hills.  Because there is nothing else around to slow the wind it gets pretty breezy up there.   I was shooting with my 300mm telephoto firmly attached to a tripod but the camera was being blown around by the winds.  My fist shots were disappointing because they were blurry.   I then turned IS on and the change was dramatic.   The blurriness caused by the camera motion was gone and my images were sharp.

5D Mark ii, 105mm, 1.3 seconds

5D Mark ii, 300mm, 1/8 second

These are all shot with either a 300mm lens or a 24-105mm @ 105mm on a Canon 5D mark ii with IS turned on.

As with most things, there are exceptions to the rules.  Don't assume that if you are following what you were told you will always get great results.  It's important to be aware of conditions and make the appropriate adjustments to the rules.

The most important photography investment you can make

Photographers know that there is an seemingly endless list of photography things we can buy.  Just browse on over to Adorama or B&H websites.  You can spend hours just browsing the cameras, lens, filters, tripods, memory cards, lights, back packs, software, computers to process and store photos, and loads of other gizmos.   We tend to contract an infectious disease of that spreads among photographers - GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).  The manufactures of camera gear don't help when they bring out new versions every months.

We all have a budget we are willing to spend on our photography.  For some it is modest and others it may be pretty high but it's not infinite.   If you were limited to buying one thing that would make your photographs better, what would it be?  What one photography related thing would you spend your money on?

For me it's not something you can buy at Adorama, B&H or the local photography store.   It's that thing behind my eyes and between my ears.   My experience is that money spent learning is a much better investment than the latest gizmo, gadget, or software.   There are many ways to improve photography knowledge and skills.  You can take a class in a classroom or online.  You can read books.   For me the best was to learn is to attend a workshop with top notch leaders and other photographers that are interested in improving their photography.   It's like being immersed in a cloud of photography knowledge that you absorb just by being there. 

Before signing up for a workshop you should do a little research.  What is the objective of the workshop?  Some are more guided trips that get you to interesting places at the right time but don't provide any real instruction.  Make sure the instructors are familiar with the places you will be going.  All outdoor photographers know that the weather influences what you can take and when. 

Chuck in A Fog

You need an instructor who knows the area and can adjust the workshop plans to accommodate the weather.   You should learn if the instructor is a good teacher as well as good photographer.  I know some great photographers who are not strong teachers.  Your leader should be both.

I recently attended a workshop with His Light Workshops led by Bill Fortney.  Bill has a great team of instructors that are there to help and make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop.   This was my third workshop with His Light Workshops and I have already signed up for another in July.   I've known Bill for a number of years and know he is a great teacher that is passionate about photography and teaching others.   In addition to his staff of instructors, Bill brings in special invited guest instructors.  We were blessed to have Matt Kloskowski on this workshop.  

Don't jump guys!

I've been to other workshops with other instructors and keep coming back to Bill's because he is a strong Christian who attract other strong Christians to his workshops.   It's not unusual to have prayer time before heading out.   It doesn't get much better than being in God's creation with great people who love the Lord.

Here's some more photos from the workshop in Palouse Washington,  Mount Rainier National Park, and Olympic National Park.

Looking for the best spot to shoot Palouse Falls

Workshop participants are all outstanding in a field

Going to the edge for the best shot.

What, me worry?

At the end of the week I had to say goodbye to old friends and new friends.   But I know I'll see them again in a future workshop.

The end of the day

I'm working my way through my photos from the workshop and also the prior week when June and I were in vacationing in the Washington and Oregon coast region.  Watch for other blog posts.

Time for the second curtain.

OK, this is a bit of an advanced topic but one that fun to try.   It's called second curtain flash, rear curtain flash or show sync flash.  I mentioned it to a friend and accomplished photographer Saturday night and he had never heard of it.   That made me think maybe I should blog a bog on the second curtain.

First, a little explanation of how a camera shutter works.   There are two halves called curtains and they work just like a curtain would.   Before you click the shutter release the curtains are closed and no light is reaching the sensor.  Imagine a stage with the curtain closed.  The place where the two curtains meet is all the way on one side of the stage.  When you take the picture the first curtain slides open exposing the sensor (stage) to light.  Once the time determined by the shutter speed has been reached the second curtain slides across closing the shutter.  Unlike a theater curtain this all happens very quickly around 1/60 of a second.    But if your shooting under low light conditions you might have a long shutter speed.

First / second curtain setting determines when the flash fires.  By default the sequence of events (first curtain) is as follows

1. First curtain opens
2. Flash fires right away
3. Second curtain closes after a period of time

 When the camera is set to second curtain the events are slightly different

1. First curtain opens
2. Flash fires after a period of time (shutter speed)
3. Second curtain closes

Under most conditions this makes little difference to the photograph.  It does make a difference when the subject is moving and you use a flash.   When the flash fires it produces a bright light for a very short time, which freezes motion.   If you shutter is open longer than the time the flash is on then any movement will create a ghosting effect.  You know, the blurs where people moved while you were taking a longer exposure.   First or second curtain setting determines where the frozen image is in relation to the blur.   With first curtain you get the sharp image when the flash goes off, then the blur.   With second curtain you get the blur then the sharp image.  Confused?  Take a look at this image.

In this image the car is moving from right to left.  I shot from a tripod with a 1.3 second exposure and my flash set to second curtain.  During the 1.3 seconds the car moved across the frame leaving streaks (it was moving slow).  Then the flash fired and froze the car in place on the left side.   To me this seams like a more appealing image than with first flash in which case the car would have been frozen on the right with the blur moving to the left if front of the car.

 Here's a second example with a 0.6 second exposure.  It was much later at night than the first image, which was a dusk where there was more ambient light.

The can see the driver is frozen talking on her cell phone  (not a good idea) but the tail lights create a cool cartoon blur effect.

Want to see more examples?  Do a google earch for second curtain flash images. If you want to read more check out Neil van Niekerk's blog.

 I'm pretty sure most cameras have this feature but it may be down deep in the menu.  Another case where you want to get your camera manual out and actually read it.

Trying New Things

Last weekend I splurged on myself and bought a new lens.  I found a good deal on a refurbished Canon 300mm f/4 L telephoto.   This is the same model I rented when I went to Reelfoot Lake back in February.  I really liked that lens and have become tired of carrying around my heavy Sigma 80-400 zoom.  This is the lens I plan on taking with me when looking for wildlife shots.

Today was the first chance I had to try it out.  I went out exploring the yard planning to use it to get some bird shots.  I filled the feeders and waited.  While I was waiting I noticed our recent rainstorms had knocked the dogwood flowers down and there were several on a shrub in the back yard.  What the heck, I had my camera and 300 lens so I decided to see what I could get.   Now this is not how I would have taken this shot if I had planned it.  I would have had my tripod, macro lens, and cable release to get as sharp a picture as possible.   Being too lazy to go back in the house I shot the flower petals handheld about 9 feet away with a 300mm lens.

1/400 second, f/5.6, ISO 640 using Canon 7D

I'm pretty excited about the way this came out.  The best part is I tried something new.  

I've traveled great distances to many interesting places to photograph.  I've attended workshops and learned a great deal at each one.  One thing I have learned is you don't have to go to a workshop or travel to exotic places to improve your photography.  One of the best exercises is to limit yourself to a small area and only one lens.  It forces you to use your eye to look for interesting subjects and compositions right under your nose and to think differently when composing a shot.  It makes you move past the obvious and easy shots.   As with anything else, the only way to improve is to practice.  

It's starting to look like rain again.  I may be back out taking this shot again shortly with rain drops of the leaves and petal.