Newsletter #114: January, 2015
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Contents:
1. A Solstice Party in the Cariboo
2. A Little Story about the Planetary Journey
3. One More Journey Home to the Grass
4. A Fly Fisherman in the Rainforest
5. Walking into an Ancient Volcano
6. A Rainy Day at the Shipyard
7. 2015 Seminars & Workshops: registration is now open
Hi everyone,
2015 has arrived and what a special year it’s going to be. I know, every year is special, however, this year is extra special for me, as I have begun the process of writing my last major book.
Over the past 30 years I have explored the diversity of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region of central British Columbia more than anyone, I have met so many wonderful people, and I have amassed the region’s largest personal bank of imagery. In this new book, I will share many of those images and the stories behind their capture.
At present, I am in the process of reviewing my imagery, reflecting back on my many adventures and experiences, and putting it all to ‘pen and paper’.
It’s an extensive process, but so many people have written to me in appreciation for sharing my images, my stories, and my thoughts from a photographic perspective. I appreciate their support, and I will continue to share through my Newsletters, and next, in my upcoming book.
Thank you all. Enjoy my 114th consecutive monthly Newsletter!!
Our goal at the Chris Harris Gallery is to share the creative process. Please share this Newsletter with friends. I appreciate your support for my work.
Chris
1. A Solstice Party in the Cariboo
Every winter solstice, a wonderful ranching friend of ours, Ann Armann, throws a party that only a rancher knows how to do. Friends from around the area arrive with homemade goodies of all kinds, from local grass fed meats, and casseroles, to salads and deserts. Add to that the various liquid refreshments, and you know we are in for a party!
The last party we attended at Ann’s ranch was a barn raising party where the dancing continued until the wee hours of the morning. As this was a winter party, we arrived to find two huge campfires burning, and a very large friend-scraped ice rink out on the lake. No zambonies required here!
As soon as I saw the rink, I returned to my truck to get my camera and tripod. Outdoor rinks have a special calling for me as I grew up in Eastern Canada where everyone had a backyard rink. That’s how I learned to skate and play hockey.
Notes on composition & technique: For this composition I waited until I had an implied triangle between the skater, person walking the dog, and the ice scraper; all in line with the circular bright area.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 800; 1/60 sec.; f-10; 24-105mm lens; tripod |
Notes on composition & technique: What is important here is my perspective (camera position) and sense of balance. Note where I have placed the near goal posts and the dark board to the right of the far goalie. After that it was waiting until the majority of players were clumped together near the centre. I made about 10 images, waiting to capture the players positioned where I wanted them.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 50; 3.2 sec.; f-22; 24-105mm lens; tripod |
Thank you Ann. It was another classic evening in the Cariboo.
2. A Small Story about the Planetary Journey
This past summer, Rita, Mike and I flew to Ape Lake and set up a photo base camp, nestled in the foothills of the Coast Mountains. This is one of my all-time favourite places to photograph in the world (I know, I say this about a lot of places!).
I have just been book-writing about some of my photographic experiences there; this is a small ‘snippet story’, one that provides a sense of why the area is so special to me.
Surrounding our camp is a vast moraine, and in the distance are two receding glaciers. Changes in the glacier are such that, in my lifetime it has gone from being a lake that was too small to land a float plane, to its present form. Now, the glacier in the image below is over 1km from the lake. The evidence of climate change surrounds us here.
Notes on composition & technique: I was aware of the four horizontal shapes and the implied diagonal line between the bend in the river, the hole in the ice and the large peaks in the upper left. The placement of compositional elements and overall sense of balance are always important.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
I can’t hike here without thinking of the grand planetary journey. Everywhere we hiked we saw a landscape that hadn’t seen sunlight in well over 50,000 years when the Wisconsin Glaciation was still advancing. That is a powerful thought to carry along with my camera gear. My entire emotional response to being there is to make imagery that describes that planetary journey.
Notes on composition & technique: Compositionally, the placement of the large central triangle of darker earth and the clump of grass is critical. My biggest challenge was obtaining a large depth of field and having a fast enough shutter speed to ensure the grass was sharp. I had to wait for quiet periods in the wind.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
Each of us couldn’t help but search out the evidence of new life; soils, plants, animals, insects, and bird life. We felt alive with curiosity.
In my search for beauty, I would often look behind huge erratics and smaller boulders where new soils were gathering, and where new-generation plants were gaining a hold on life.
In the picture above, a small clump of grass has made home amidst architectural lines designed by wind and water.
3. One More Journey Home to the Grass
During a short interval between two mountain photo expeditions, smoke from several forest fires crept through the valleys of the Cariboo Chilcotin. With sunrises and sunsets saturated with warm colours, my mind turned to the grasslands. I imagined waking up to compositions of canyon shapes, imbued with glowing light.
I had work to do at home, but I couldn’t resist. I called Mike, and that afternoon, we headed off to Farwell Canyon and the grasslands. We packed for an over-night trip so I could photograph in both evening and early morning light.
A journey to the grass
Notes on composition & technique: Compositionally I wanted Mike walking into the grass, picture space, and along the trail going from right to left.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 250; 1/250 sec.; f-14; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
We headed out in the afternoon, climbing up to a spot where we could pitch our tents overlooking the cliffs, high above the Chilcotin River. I shared my evening photographs with you in Newsletter #111, so I’ll start here at 6 am in the morning.
Mike and I were up long before sunrise. I hiked along the cliff tops looking for a composition that would work according to where I knew the sun would climb over the horizon.
Sunrise at Farwell Canyon, 6:17am
Notes on composition & technique: This image was built around the inclusion of the semi-circular foreground shape.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; 1/20 sec.; f-22; 14mm lens; tripod |
Hoodoos above the Chilcotin River, 6:37am
Notes on composition & technique: Finding the best foreground shapes through which to shoot the grand ox-bow in the Chilcotin River was my challenge.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; 1/6 sec.; f-22; 16-35mm lens; tripod |
The smoke gave mood and warmth to the cliffs and the valley below. Mike and I often talk about how many times we have gone to Farwell Canyon and how extraordinarily different every experience is. The light, and the small grassland niches we explore are never the same. We always look forward to another trip to the grass.
Hiking back to the truck
Notes on composition & technique: I saw this potential composition from far away. I asked Mike to hike ahead and I waited for 20 minutes until he reached the spot where you see him in this picture. I had this composition set on my tripod. As soon as he reached the spot where I wanted him to be, click!
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; 1/200 sec.; f-10; 24-105mm lens; tripod. |
Twelve hours earlier we had hiked into the grasslands, now we were hiking out, feeling on top of the world.
It was another incredible night out in the Farwell Canyon grasslands, the place we often call home.
4. A Fly Fisherman in the Rainforest
Heading up the Mitchell River
Notes on composition & technique: As Doug drove the motor boat, I waited until I had the compositional elements that would give the image a sense of balance. In this image, the leaning tree on the left and the mass of mountain and forest on the right provided that balance.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; handheld |
Last September, friend Doug Mooring took me, along with two other friends, on a fishing expedition up the Mitchell River. The Mitchell River is a tributary of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers that originates in the glaciers of the North Cariboo Mounatins.
After travelling several kilometres up stream, we entered a coastal looking cedar forest. This is not, however, the Great Bear Rainforest, it is the Inland Temperate Rainforest. It’s west of the BC Rockies and it’s where weather systems from the Pacific Ocean collide with the Cariboo Mountains. This rainforest is the only place on earth where temperate rainforests are found so far inland from the sea.
Doug, fly fishing in the dense and beautiful Inland Temperate Rainforest
Notes on composition & technique: I couldn’t move my camera position, so I asked Doug to move to the place he is in. For contrast I had him in the brightest water. I had him face the tall forest on the left for balance and I used the bush on the lower right for balance and framing purposes.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; handheld |
While photographing here, I feel a very strong attraction to this environment. It’s a very lush, wet, dense, and remote wilderness area with a feeling that I am always trying to capture in imagery. It’s vast, but down at the bottom of the river valley, that feeling seems impossible to capture. My best attempt to date has been to make Doug look tiny compared to the towering Western Redcedar and Western Hemlock above him.
Interested in fishing the Mitchell? Visit Cariboo River Fishing and talk with Doug Mooring. It’s an amazing experience.
5. Walking into an Ancient Volcano
Last summer a group of keen photographers joined me to hike and photograph our way across the Rainbow Mountains volcanic landscape on a horse-supported adventure. That means we hike with day packs, and the horses carry all our personal gear plus the camp. Does it get better than that?
David leads a pack horse, we follow!
Notes on composition & technique: I noticed the powerful horizontal bands of contrast, so I positioned myself (I was hiking) to best capture Dave on the right moving into the picture space.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; handheld |
On the afternoon of day three, David led us into a valley that to me, spoke to the long history of this volcanic range.
The Rainbow volcano was created some 8 million years ago. Since that time, two major ice ages have come and gone. During the past 10,000 years, wind, snow and rain have added their final touches to what we were about to experience.
volcanic landscape I
Notes on composition & technique: Note the sense of balance between the main rock and the smaller ones on either side. I positioned my camera to place the top of the main rock within the sky space for contrast and added drama.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
The valley was so dramatic, we put down our packs and just hung out, exploring and photographing, trying to capture the essence of the land and its history. To me it seemed overwhelming, as I set about trying to capture it.
Eventually, the weather closed in and it began to rain. The clouds darkened, and the ominous feeling it provided in this volcanic landscape, was a dream come true.
The weather sent most of the party to set up camp, but Rita and I stayed back. I couldn’t leave. As challenging as it was to keep my lenses dry, the gift of light was too generous to leave.
volcanic landscape II
Notes on composition & technique: I was drawn to the triangular shape of earth leading up to the centre of interest. I lowered my camera to include the top of the rock within the sky space for additional drama.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
volcanic landscape III
Notes on composition & technique: Similar compositional decisions to the above two images. In this case I was drawn by the shape, texture and colour of the volcanic rocks.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
For information about these trips through the Rainbow Mountains, visit Rainbow Mountain Outfitters. This trip was led by Leslie Witt, daughter of David and Joyce Dorsey who first took me out to explore and photograph the Rainbow Mountains some 20 years ago. Leslie is the fourth generation to take up this family profession.
6. A Rainy Day at the Shearwater Shipyard
It was October 18, 2014, the central coast was experiencing gale force winds, and we were safely and happily tied up at the Shearwater harbour, stormbound.
Whenever there was a lull in the storm, and the rain stopped, Mike and I would head for the shipyard with our camera’s. There is always subjects to photograph in a shipyard, and for me, they were subjects very different from the old hay rakes and tractors I am used to in the Cariboo.
Shipyard art, I
Notes on composition & technique: Note the sense of symmetry.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
Shipyard art, II
Notes on composition & technique: I had difficulty maneuvering my tripod into position here, but I tried to give overall importance to the sense of balance between the main elements; the three background shapes, the pipe, and the red rock.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
Shipyard art, III
Notes on composition & technique: This image is about the vertical and horizontal rectangular shapes in contrast with the circular spool. After that it was all about perspective (placement of camera and choice of lens) and overall sense of balance.
EOS 5D Mark III; details not recorded on this borrowed camera body; tripod |
As the weather was grey, bleak, and rainy, The images that I share with you here are predominantly black and white. It seemed to suit the feeling of the coast that day.
I was travelling with captain Tom Ellison aboard the Oceanlight II, returning the ship to Vancouver after a season of wildlife viewing and photography tours. For information about photo tours on the central coast, you can contact Oceanlight II Adventures.
7. 2015 Seminars & Workshops: registration is now open
workshop in action
Here is a chance to ‘learn & leap’ into the world of creative photography.
Again this year, I will be offering a series of one-day seminars and three-day photo workshops based out of the Chris Harris Gallery. They are designed for all those interested in photography, from beginner to advanced intermediate.
In photography, we express ourselves by the arrangement or juxtaposition of compositional elements, the techniques our cameras allow us to use, and our interest in the subject matter we choose.
Through illustrated lectures, in the field experiences, and critique sessions, you will see the world around you differently; you will have become a more creative photographer.
Please review the seminar and workshop options, then choose one that is designed for you.
To Register your camera club or group of friends for a “Customized Seminar” at the Gallery, or to have Chris travel to your location to give this seminar, please contact the office directly by email or phone and Rita will arrange your event with you.
Descriptions of these seminars and workshop, and how to register, are posted on my website.
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