CONTENTS:
1. Back Yard Artist: I Just Stepped out the Door!
2. Flyover: Count Down to Lift Off – Part IV – Photographing the Privileged View of the Aviator
3. Raft Trip with a Difference: Birding, natural and cultural history & spectacular scenery
4. Pekaist Church: A church I have wanted to photograph for thirty years.
1. Back Yard Artist: I Just Stepped out the Door!
It’s been awhile since I’ve written the “Back Yard Artist” column, but a few weeks ago I was up early to drive to 100 Mile House; I never got further than a few hundred metres!
Notes on Composition: Knowing that our eye goes immediately to the brightest spot, I searched for another element to provide balance to the composition. By giving the willow bush a dominant size on the immediate right hand foreground, I created an image where one’s eye travels back and forth along the edge of the lake between the two major compositional elements. Without the bush, our eye would tend to stick in the upper left corner. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 100; f-22; 1/15 sec.; focal length: 28mm. On a tripod. |
Realizing that the sun would be shining through the aspens right in front of my house, I ran back along the road and entered the forest. The image below is one of several I made before the fog and magic light disappeared.
Aspen Forest at Sunrise
Notes on Composition: I was working quickly here, for the magic never lasts long. Within the chaos of the Aspen forest, I used the five main Aspen tree trunks as the primary elements of composition. Between them are 6 rectangular shapes. The repetition of these larger dark trunks and the lighter spaces between them, provide a sense of rhythm to the overall image. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 100; f-22; 1/25 sec.; focal length:105mm. On a tripod. |
I never did make it to 100 Mile House!
2. Flyover: Count Down to Lift Off – Part IV – Photographing the Privileged View of the Aviator
Continuing on from Newsletter #83, I’d like to share another flight-seeing adventure in the west Chilcotin. I’m calling it the ‘Motherstone’ flight which takes you over three of the most spectacular shield volcanoes in the country.
Mero Crater within the Itcha Volcano
Notes on Composition: It’s easy to critique an image back home, but in aerial photography, great compositions are made and missed in seconds. I might wish that the red crater be a little more to the left, but overall, I am very happy to have made this image as it is. Nikon D700; iso 400; f-8; 1/350 sec; focal length 28mm; Handheld |
As I have mentioned previously, while shooting for this aerial book, I periodically included the wing of the plane to give context to the book’s storyline.
Anahim Peak
Notes on Composition: I saw immense beauty in this cloud cover so I aimed as high as I could without cutting off the forest from the base of the mountain. I made several compositions with different focal lengths showing more, or less, sky than what you see here. Each image spoke differently about the mountain. Nikon D700; iso 800; f-8; 1/2000 sec; focal length 62mm; Handheld |
Shadow & Light in the Ilgachuz Volcano
Notes on Composition: Basically, there are two horizontal rectangular shapes of equal size, with the two volcanic peaks more-or-less in the centre of the top rectangular shape. The reason the two peaks are close to the centre, is that they are balanced by the mountain shoulders on either side. I under exposed to emphasize the tonal contrast, and I cropped a little off the top where the subject diluted the composition. I wanted the emphasis to be on the two volcanic knobs. Nikon D700; iso 400; f-9.5; 1/350 sec; focal length 92mm; Handheld |
The day was cloudy with shafts of light breaking through. It was a matter of watching where the light landed and taking advantage of the resulting gifts of beauty.
Mountain Goats in Light
Notes on Composition: Using the guiding compositional ‘rule of thirds’, I used the ridge line to divide shadow and light in the 1/3rd, 2/3rd’s proportion. The goats are in the upper 1/3rd of the area in light, as well as the entire picture space. Nikon D700; iso 400; f-9.5; 1/250 sec; focal length 230mm; Handheld |
“Rainbow Volcano, Abstract”
Notes on Composition: There are two triangular shapes separated by an old stream bed partially filled with snow. The dynamic of the rock rivers and the burst of deep red in the upper right, allowed me to give prominence to that triangular shape over the other. The direction of the lines within both triangular shapes is also important to this composition. Nikon D700; iso 800; f-11; 1/1500 sec; focal length 170mm; Handheld |
I am endlessly fascinated by the rivers of rock and the patterns they create on the mountainsides of these volcanoes. Each river contains the colours from the ridge above. Slowly, each pebble wends its way toward the ocean.
These flight-seeing flights are not expensive, especially for a party of three or four people. At last report, there are two airlines at Nimpo Lake which you can contact for information. Tweedsmuir Air and Lake District Air.
3. Raft Trip with a Difference: Birding, natural and cultural history & spectacular scenery
I make images to express the natural beauty of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast – the part of BC I call home. Making images encourages me to explore the natural world, respond to it emotionally, and then share it with my community, locally and globally.
Last week I had the pleasure of joining a Kumsheen birding and natural history outing along the beautiful Thompson River between Ashcroft and Lytton.
Notes on Composition: There are variables on a moving raft trip which present challenges to a photographer. For example, the raft may be in the wrong place or pointing in the wrong direction to create a composition with a specific message. Fortunately, I was in a raft with my very own guide, enabling me to position myself for the best composition possible. In this case, I wanted the raft at a slight angle, to see the clients in the raft. I also wanted the raft in the lower left to balance the composition with the dominating landscape on the right. Note how your eyes move through this image. They start by following the river and raft toward the left only to have it drawn up into the mountainous landscape. That was the goal of the image. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 500; f-9; 1/800 sec.; focal length:47mm. Handheld. |
For me, rafting is not so much about the high adrenalin and white water as much as it is about the landscape that we pass through. For that reason I kept the raft relatively small compared to the grandeur of the landscape.
Learning with Field Naturalist Jim Ginns
Notes on Composition: As you can see in the technical information below, I forgot to change my iso from shooting on the raft, which required faster shutter speeds. I could have reduced it to 100 or 200 for less noise and higher quality. What I did do, was use a large 5.6 aperture for a shallow depth of field. This throws the background slightly out of focus to keep the emphasis on the people; the center of interest. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 800; f-5.6; 1/800 sec.; focal length: 58mm. Handheld. |
Learning about the vegetation in this desert-like environment was equally as interesting as counting over forty species of birds we saw and identified.
Notes on Composition: One of the most important aspects in bird photography is getting a background that does not compete with the bird for your attention.. By using a long lens and a shallow depth of focus, you can throw the background out of focus, thus reducing its importance. A glint in the birds eye is also extremely important. EOS 1D Mk II; iso 1250; f-8; 1/2000 sec.; focal length: 640mm. Handheld. |
I made this image prior to the trip, however, it was one of the over forty different species of birds that were identified.
In my next Newsletter, I’ll show you another aspect to this naturalist raft trip along the Thompson River.
4. Pekaist Church: A church I have wanted to photograph for thirty years.
Notes on Composition: The elements that attracted me to this composition were the two clumps of bright green deciduous trees on either side of the church, the brown scree slope which was a beautiful backdrop to the church, and the side lighting on the church itself. I used the sage bushes as the base, the two green deciduous trees as a frame for the church, the scree slope as a non competitive background to the church, and the darker trees and rock to contain the image on the top. I under exposed to emphasis the side-lighting. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 200; f-22; 1/80 sec.; focal length: 98mm. On a tripod. |
After the smallpox epidemic, Pekaist Church and a population of five people, were all that was left in a small First Nations village, fifty one kilometres above Lytton on the south side of Thompson River.
Notes on Composition: After everyone had paid their respect to this tiny little church, I quietly set up my tripod, and with a wide angle 14mm lens, I tried to capture the essence of this sacred place. Because of its extreme tonal range (bright window and deep shadowed areas), I made three exposures; one for the brightest area, one for the darkest areas, and one for the mid-tones. In this image, by utilizing the best exposure for each tonal value, we see the details within the church, much as we saw it with our naked eyes once they had adjusted from being out in the bright sunlight. EOS 5D Mk III; iso 200; f-22; focal length: 14mm. On a tripod. |
For over thirty years, while driving north from Vancouver to the Cariboo, I have looked at this tiny church across the Thompson River, wishing I could get to it and make a photograph. This raft trip provided the perfect opportunity. We landed on the south side of the river and spent an hour exploring the cultural history of this old abandoned village.