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My wife is an avid gardener and photographer. She spends hours
enjoying her garden making images of her many flowers in every
season. During the Fall she will shoot the seed pods left from
the summer blooms and of course the beautiful burgundies and deep
pinks that abound in a Fall garden. When shooting blooms take
your initial shot and then start to move around the bloom shooting
from every angle. A favourite angle that is often neglected is
taken from overhead thus foreshortening the bloom, it’s
fun to listen to the remarks of friends later trying to decide
the identity of the flower. And don’t forget to shoot through
the petals towards the sun to get a backlit image. As you move
around the bloom you will see the colour change with the light
giving many different hues of the same bloom. So spend some extra
time with one bloom and see how many different images it will
render for you as you move around and enjoy it from all angles.
Summer is almost over but Fall is just around the corner. The
colours in my neck of the woods are already starting to change.
Instead of waiting for the full spectrum of colours to appear,
start shooting a little earlier this year. Already yellow and
red is starting to appear in certain areas . I like the contrast
of showing only part of the leafs changing. Don’t wait for
a sunny day, go out and shoot in overcast weather and even in
the rain . Just dress properly and you will be amazed at the vibrancy
of the hues you will be able to catch. Also set that aperture
to it’s widest opening , say 2.8 and move in real close
and only focus on a part of the leave and let everything else
go out of focus. Also, at this time of the year, if you are close
to a river or lake get up early and start to shoot the mist coming
off the water . The water is still warmer than the air which causes
this phenomenon. It is a magical time of year.
Now that you have your camera mounted
on a tripod you have time to look around and expand your range
of vision. We some times are so intent on what we are photographing
we become tunnel visioned. Once you have your subject framed and
have taken the photograph , STOP and look around you. Do a 180
degree turn and look at what’s behind you. You will be surprised
how often you will find the possibility of another photograph.
During a recent workshop in New York City, I found myself shooting
the skyline of Manhattan with the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground.
It was predawn so I had lots of time to look around and explore
different possibilities. There were so many other photographs
to be taken from the same vantage point without moving. By choosing
other lenses and shooting at different focal lengths, I was able
to add to the number of very interesting photographs that I captured.
If there is one piece of equipment in my opinion that will instantly
improve the quality of your photography, it is the use of the
tripod. Reasons are quite simple:
- It slows you down and really enables
you to study the subject that you are photographing.
- The camera becomes extremely stable
and allows you to use slower shutter speeds along with smaller
apertures if needed.
- Composition will improve just by walking
your eye around the perimeter of your viewfinder and removing
any unwanted subject matter that may distract you.
- Minute adjustments, as small as an
inch sometimes, become possible.
- Many models are available and the
weight factor has been eliminated with the use of high tech
materials such as carbon fibre etc.
These 5 steps if done consistently over
a period of time will become good habits and make your life as
a photographer a lot more enjoyable;
- Go to the menu on your Digital camera
and set it so that the shutter will not release unless there
is a card in it.
- Carry an ample supply of cards in a
portable holder.
- Check your setting for your image capture
resolution and determine now what that will be. Raw+jpeg,
fine jpeg etc.
- Check your ISO. I always start with
the lowest setting which is 100 in the Canon and 200 for the
Nikon. You can adjust according to your photography but always
go back to this setting as your starting point.
- Finally , always carry an extra set
of fully recharged batteries with you at all times.
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