Newsletter #116: March, 2015
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Contents:
1. How I Start Each Day: subscribe to my blog!
2. The Story Behind the Image: beyond realism
3. Interpreting What you See: expressing how you feel
4. Photographing for the Story
5. A Burnt Forest: a place to stop, explore, learn, and photograph
6. 2015 Seminars & Workshops: Registration
Hi everyone,
It’s March! That means our first red-winged blackbirds and robins have arrived; along with many more now. In fact, the ice on the lake in front of our home will be gone by tomorrow; so will the last frozen snowflake from our property.
When I enjoy my morning cup of coffee outside, I can’t help but think of the folk in the Maritime provinces which still seem to be bombarded with snow storms. Yikes!
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. How I Start Each Day: Start yours with a blog post!
Now that spring is here, I’ve started my daily blog posts once again. I think it must be a hibernation thing; no social media when hibernating!
So check it out on my website. Every day I post an image related to the book I am working on plus a quote for the day. You can subscribe if you’d like to be notified when it’s posted.
I’ll show you the image I started the year off with, just to get you started.
My very first visual of each day
Notes on composition & technique: The composition was just as I see it every morning! EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; 1/15 sec.; f-11; 70-200mm lens; tripod |
Every morning when I wake up, I role over and look out my window. I don’t even lift my head, and this is exactly what I see.
What’s the big deal you might ask?
Well, for me it’s an artistic inspirational start to my day. The base tree line is 1/3rd up from the bottom of the image and the vertical tree is 1/3rd in from the right hand side. It’s the ‘Rule of Thirds’ or the ‘Golden Ratio’ as it applies to the composition of visual images; in my case, photographs. Aligning subjects according to this rule creates more tension, interest, and energy than if you place the subject in the centre or elsewhere. There is a greater sense of balance, enabling the viewer to interact with all the compositional elements more naturally. The ‘rule of thirds’ is probably the first thing you would learn in art school.
So that is how I start every day! You might say, I take a mini photo workshop before breakfast. Plus, I get to see what the weather is, at the same time!
Visit my blog; subscribe if you wish. You will see many different perspectives of British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region.
2. The Story Behind the Image: Beyond realism
Last September, Roland and son Jesaja, took me on a photographic journey around Chilko Lake, situated in the heart of the Chilcotin Ark. It was our first evening campout and I was keen to get started on my project.
Having spent the night before at their home in the Nemiah Valley, I became aware that Jesaja was a very talented and artistic teenager. So while he was giving me the lay of the land at that first campsite, I noticed he had brought his camera with him. I sensed his eagerness to learn.
While having a look at his camera and having a chat, I asked him if he ever made multiple exposures. He said no, but the look in his expressive eyes told me he was keen to learn anything new. Let’s give it a try, I said.
Notes on composition & technique: I placed the tree in the left 1/3rd position because the extended branch on the right provided a sense of balance. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; 1/8 sec.; f-22; 24-105mm lens; tripod |
I made changes to my camera settings, and looked around from where we stood, looking for a suitable subject. Let’s try that fir tree.
Notes on composition & technique: 9 exposures while zooming. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 500; 1/50 sec.; f-7.1; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
I made several images, each comprised of 9 exposures, and each with a slightly different camera motion during the exposure. Then I showed Jesaja the results on the camera’s LCD screen.
‘Wow’, he exclaimed. He had never seen anything quite like these images before. From then on, Jesaja became an explorer of light with a bent on experimentation. Throughout the rest of the trip, I watched his creativity at work. Unknowingly, he had become an inspiration to me with my work. Thank you Jesaja!
3. Interpreting What you See: Expressing how you feel
Not being a good sailor, I knew that heading out to sea on the west coast in October was a leap of faith. Never being able to say ‘no’ to a photographic adventure, however, I loaded up with gravol, retrieved my anti-motion sickness wrist bands, and headed for Prince Rupert!
I found every day on the ocean to be different, but there is one thing that is a constant; one’s sense of acute awareness. Maybe it’s because I am more fearful of a turbulent sea, than I am of grizzlies in a rainforest, or lightning while paddling my canoe. Not only did I watch the size of waves, I heard the sounds of breeze on the sails, I detected the salty smells that those breezes brought in from afar, and I was always watching the horizon for any build-up of weather. I was always leery of the next storm.
One day after sailing through a small squall, I looked out over the water and felt most appreciative of the ocean’s calmness. I made this image in celebration.
Notes on composition & technique: Because the story was about the ocean, I gave little space to the sky. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; 1/250 sec.; f-8; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
Upon deeper reflection, I thought of how I could express that ‘calmness’ in a more suggestive manner. I reduced my ISO, reduced my shutter speed, reduced the size of my lenses aperture, and added horizontal movement to the same composition.
Notes on composition & technique: same as above. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; 1/20 sec.; f-22; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
Voila! The ocean looked just like I would always wish for it to be!
4. I Always Photograph for the Story
It’s always been that way for me.
When I was mountaineering, I photographed each expedition as a story, always to produce a slide show to share that story. For my guiding business, I photographed my tours as stories, to produce slide shows to market my trips. More recently, I have photographed everything I do for my book publications; always, to tell the story.
This past summer, on a horse-supported photo expedition, I took every opportunity to seek images that would tell the ‘horse-supported’ story.
As I hiked, I always carried at least one camera body around my neck, usually with a mid range 24-105mm lens. Paying attention to everyone around me, I constantly moved to locations that enabled me to capture a person in relation to the land, the light, or another person or animal.
Notes on composition & technique: the hill on the right played a critical role in where I placed the horse and hiker. For a sense of balance, the space between the hiker and the horse, and the horse and the hilltop are equal. The space between the left edge and the hiker and the hilltop and the right edge are also equal. The balancing of all those elements determines exactly when to press the shutter. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 320; 1/250 sec.; f-9; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
For the above image, I had seen the potential for a graphically strong image that perfectly related how a hiker with a day-pack was being supported by a horse and outfitter. To place them on the ridge line, I moved back down-slope to a lower elevation.
Notes on composition & technique: compositionally, note the two horizontal rectangular shapes and the lead-in diagonal line (hikers) from left to right. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; 1/125 sec.; f-8; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
Sometimes the story involved the land and vegetation. Wanting to express the difficult hiking conditions, I moved off the trail and into the bush, choosing a perspective that showed the willows being taller than the hikers.
Notes on composition & technique: the centre of interest was placed left of centre because Leslie is looking toward the right and requires space. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; 1/125 sec.; f-8; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
At other times, the story is about the human relationship. On this trip there was an important story happening behind the scenes. Daughter Leslie was taking over the guide outfitting business from her mom and dad who had operated Rainbow Mountain Outfitters for decades. I had watched Leslie help her parents since she was a very young teenager, and now Mom was assisting her as she takes over as the fourth generation of the family to carry on the trade. This was a special ‘happening’, so I was on the lookout for an opportunity to capture an image that would communicate that story. This hug was all about that transition, that story.
Once I am on my own, the focus quickly changes to my personal relationship with the land. As a landscape photographer, that is my ultimate passion. It’s the story I enjoy telling the most.
5. A Burnt Forest: a place to stop, explore, learn, and photograph
While driving out to Bella Coola over the last few years, I have passed many a burnt forest. They are considered ugly by most, but fortunately one day, I said to Mike who was with me, ‘let’s stop and take a walk in the ‘dead’ forest.’
Wow…they are drop dead beautiful! And if you want to experience the meaning of the word ‘rejuvenation’, just take a stroll in one of these forests, especially a month or two after the fire.
Notes on composition & technique: To capture foreground detail, I used my ‘story-telling’ lens with a large depth of field. I told Mike exactly where to stand! EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; 1/10 sec.; f-20; 14mm lens; tripod |
This first image was made the very next day after an extremely hot forest fire; the blue haze of smoke still lingers in the distance. The beauty of line, texture, and contrast, was beyond belief.
Notes on composition & technique: Once again, I use my ‘story-telling’ lens and gave the bottom rectangular shape prominence as that is where the rejuvenation story is. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; 1/12 sec.; f-22; 14mm lens; tripod |
When I returned two months later, I was able to add colour to the mix. The forest was now alive; grasses were sprouting up like magic, woodpeckers were banging away at tree trunks, and deer had returned.
When Mike and I revisited a burnt forest a year after the fire, it was hard to re-imagine the landscape we saw the day after the fire. It was now a garden of colour, beautifully set off by the contrasting tree trunks.
Notes on composition & technique: multiple exposure with slight camera movement. EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; 1/250 sec.; f-10; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
When we returned still later in the season, fireweed had taken over, changing the entire look and feel of the forest. What a transition.
In retrospect, I’m sure glad I stopped and entered that forest near Alexis Creek the day after it had burned. It sent me off on a whole new journey of exploration and learning. I never pass them by now; I stop, explore, learn and photograph at every opportunity I have of entering a burnt forest.
6. 2015 Seminars & Workshops: Registration
If you are interested in photography, becoming a more creative photographer, learning to see with photographic eyes, and experiencing the world around you differently, please review my seminar and workshop options, then choose one that is designed for you.
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 leap into the world of creative photography.
Descriptions of these seminars and workshop, and how to register, are posted on my website.
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.