May 8, 2018 | Wildlife Photography
Angry?
Can just ONE word change the entire meaning of a sentence? We all know it can. What do you think ONE word can do to change the meaning of your photograph?
Bad?
When are often distracted from the visual communication, storytelling in our photography with little things and miss that ONE word that makes or breaks the story we’re trying to tell.
Love?
However you want to think of it, gesture, lens, f/stop, background, DoF, whatever that ONE thing is, you have to THINK of it, see it, feel it, incorporate it into your photograph. Because we all know the power of just, one word.
Note: DO NOT attempt this with a wild griz. This is a scientific griz used to understand more about griz biology and has limited, very limited association with humans. Jake still lives, his website is here.
Apr 30, 2018 | Landscape Photography
Have you ever made plans to go shoot at a location, months in advance and then once you arrive on location, you can’t get to that spot? We ventured to The Palouse Falls last fall, it was gorgeous! I was soooo looking forward to photographing it with the winter runoff but sadly because of a tragedy, it was closed to the public. That meant finding something else to shoot and with a week of gorgeous, rolling hills and red barns, it was time for a change. I was told about a ghost town, Elberton, so decided to check it out.
We all conjure up different mental images of a ghost town. With my decades at Bodie, that’s what came to my mind. Elberton is nothing like Bodie and certainly not The Palouse Falls. So when I parked, disappointment instantly set in. And with disappointment comes, yep, no desire to take photographs. This is especially true when you aren’t as a friend of mine would say, “Not feeling the love.” SO what do I do in these situations?
There are a couple of things I do personally when this scenario happens. The first is to pull out a lens that is the least likely to be the natural for the location. In this case, I started with the 8-15Fish on the D850. With that, I went looking for a subject. The light on the hoop caught my attention (there were only 4 subjects to pick from so not really difficult). OK, that first click was passable so the funk started to fade. After some time walking, the light mellowed and looking back at the hoops, I got out the next unlikely lens, the 105 f1.4 so the background business would disappear somewhat and the hoop would pop. Then as the light faded, even more, I saw the last shot that I really like. I always surprise myself when I successfully work through a photographic funk. Next time when I’m in one, I’ll remind myself of the time with the ghost hoop.
Apr 27, 2018 | Landscape Photography
One of my favorites places on The Palouse is the Cordelia Church founded back in 1883 and is still in use. With the bald skies, there was no clouds to help bring drama to the “church on the knoll” so I turned to the D850 / 8-15Fish.
The first two photos are strictly to provide you a sense of the walk up the hill to the church. It’s the last two photos here that tell the story I wanted to present on this incredibly beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place. And the gorgeous 8-15Fish did a marvelous job in the telling.
Apr 26, 2018 | Landscape Photography
It really is pretty cut & dry! You want to say, “Red Barn” or “Red Barn on the Palouse?” There is no right or wrong statement but knowing it determines what lens you’re going to use and where you stand to take the photography.
The red barn assures your viewer can’t miss it in the frame. That makes the photographic work a snap because you then have the luxury of placement in the frame. I went with the D850 / 300PF to tell the story of place. And went with the D850 / 24-70VR to tell the story of romance. And since I took them both, one or just the other photograph wasn’t an option. I had to have them both.
Apr 25, 2018 | Landscape Photography
Truly enjoying the tranquility of shooting in The Palouse! I also love the HUGE challenge of looking at the landscape and optically pulling out the detail that added up makes, The Palouse! The patterns are everywhere but how to connect to them visually and then share them with you, well is a ton of fun (though you can get frustrated in the process.)
One thing that helps me is to put the camera on the tripod. Not my normal MO, slowly looking through the lens and then at the scene and then through the lens, the little details you want to include and exclude for me is easier when consistent. Locked down on the tripod with either the 70-2004 or 300PF they pop out. Keeping it simple is key to the lines of The Palouse.
Apr 25, 2018 | Landscape Photography
We’re up shootin spring on The Palouse. This corner of Washington is simply gorgeous! We were here last fall exploring the rolling hills and came back for spring greens and they simply don’t disappoint! Now “great” skies eluded us today which makes the landscape a little more challenging and with the killer skies last fall, a little disappointing. With that said, photography must go one even for no other reason than the love of photography. So heading out to the “Weber” Ranch (named for the road, not the actual ranch) was our first stop of the day.
Shooting with the D850 / 70-200f4 and Nikkor 62mm Polarizer, I walked up the road to take in the ranch, rolling hills and light. As you can see, the sky was, well, boring. But I hung in there and waited until a little bit of light kissed the left side of the hill. Ya, that didn’t help so after an hour, I packed it up, got back in the van and moved.
I wasn’t giving up as I was challenged by something I wanted but I wasn’t finding it. I parked again and was getting out when this truck pulled up and parked pointing right at the van and blocking it from moving. Getting out of the truck was the farm owner and the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. He told us about the land, crops and how his wife was the fifth generation on the land. I don’t know if it was his stories, knowing more history about the subject, the clearing of the mind or the change of light and direction, but the elements finally came together in the viewfinder and the photograph, it was 90 minutes well spent!
