Newsletter No. 23: April 2007
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
1. What I See and How I Photograph
In response to continued requests for my photo seminars, I am now bringing them online as an ongoing feature in my Newsletter. They are designed to give you techniques and insights gained from my experience in the field in the hope that they inspire you in your own image making.
Part VIII: Creative Techniques Cont’d:
Number 8: Painting with light
Bluebunch Wheatgrass under Stormy Sky
© Chris Harris
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Focal length: 18mm;
ISO: 400 Shutter speed: 15 sec.
Aperture: 22; Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: -1
When photographing for the Grasslands book, I often drove out in the evening to catch the evening light and then camp where I wanted to shoot at dawn the next morning. On a stormy night in May last year, I arrived later than normal. Driving with my truck headlights on, I unexpectedly caught sight of some Bluebunch Wheatgrass, lit against the stormy sky. An image idea suddenly had my foot on the brakes! I got out, searched for the right arrangement of bunches for a composition that pleased me, and then angled my truck to illuminate them. Normally, I paint with light using a strong Maglite flashlight, but why not use my truck headlamps I thought to myself? Besides, by using digital capture, I could make an image and then check the exposure and composition on my camera’s LCD screen. I did just that and quickly found out I had to make some adjustments. To get the correct exposure on the grass, the sky was over-exposing and losing the storm effect. I put on a two-stop split neutral density filter to subtract two f-stops of light from just the area above the horizon. Once I had the exposure I wanted, I chose my lens and moved my tripod to fine-tune my composition, and then decided on camera height for perspective. The result is what you see – Bluebunch Wheatgrass under Stormy Sky.
2. The Grasslands Awareness Project

Horse Roundup
Taken with a Canon EOS-3 camera using Kodak ISO 100 Elite film
While looking through some of the images being selected for the upcoming grasslands book, I thought I would share this image of wild horses, stirring it up amidst the sage of the Lower Grasslands. When I visited my sister in Ireland this spring, and showed some of my grassland images to her friends, this was often the image that captivated their imagination the most.Several years ago I heard about this event that is carried out every spring by members of the Alkali Lake band. Intrigued, I went to the chief to get permission to photograph it, just as National Geographic had a couple of years before.
Each autumn, the band pushes close to 100 of their horses down onto the Lower Grasslands above the mid-Fraser River canyon where they spend the winter. Then after 5-6 months of running free, the horses are rounded up and driven back up to the reserve at Alkali Lake for the summer.
The horses in this image were being corralled into a smaller and smaller area (you can see one of the horsemen in the upper right) when sparked by one horse, they all began to run wild. It was a powerful sight as the dust and the sound of pounding hooves rose from the valley floor. I used a 200mm lens to make this image from the cliffs high above the grasslands below.
3. The South CaribooThis past year I was contracted to create imagery for www.SouthCaribooTourism.com. The imagery will be used to help promote the South Cariboo region that extends north-south between Lac La Hache and Clinton along Highway 97 and between the Fraser River in the west and the Cariboo Mountains in the east. As is typical, I’ve overlooked my own spectacular region in favour of what I imagined as more exotic further afield. So this year I would like to share with you my discoveries closer to home and encourage you all to visit us on your travels. 100 Mile House is the hub of the South Cariboo and the above web site is where to go for complete information.
Trail through Deciduous Forest
© Chris Harris
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Focal length: 36mm;
ISO: 100; Shutter speed: 1 sec.
Aperture: 11; Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Last September I headed out to photograph Deception Falls for the first time ever. Once again, I was surprised to discover another natural wonder in my own back yard.
With directions from the 100 Mile House Visitors Centre, I found the trail and headed off. It wasn’t long before I forgot all about the waterfalls, however, as I found myself in this beautiful deciduous forest. Fortunately the day was cloudy and the light diffuse, making it perfect conditions for image making within a forest setting. My first shot, as is usually the case when one starts to explore a subject, was documentary in style. I wanted to set the scene, while at the same time provide a sense of the feeling I was experiencing in this sea of autumn leaves and tree trunks. Next I left the trail and searched for a more expressive composition. Using the eye-capturing force of the two clumps of birch trees, I created a composition that would purposely lead your eye between them both, far into the forest beyond. Your eye then returns to the clump in the left foreground and your exploratory visual journey begins once more.
Birch Trees in Deciduous Forest
© Chris Harris
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Focal length: 18mm;
ISO: 100; Shutter speed: 2 sec.
Aperture: 22; Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
By analyzing how your eye moves through an image, you are better able to make visual design decisions in the field. The next time you make a photograph, think of how and where you would like your viewers eye to travel through your image. Usually you want their eye to travel slowly and stay within the picture space. If ones eye travels through the picture and out of the image altogether, you have lost them.
Deception Falls
© Chris Harris
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Focal length: 25mm;
ISO: 100; Shutter speed: .4 sec.
Aperture: 22; Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: -1
After making several images in the forest, I finally headed for the falls. Upon reaching the lookout, I was once again amazed at the beauty of the scene before me. After gingerly maneuvering over slippery moss, I found a small opening in the forest large enough to photograph Deception Falls in the distance. I sat there for quite awhile soaking up the view; it was a beauty.
For those of you who know me, however, know that this view would never satisfy me. Guess where I will take you next month!!
4. Upcoming Book Event at the Gallery with Harold Rhenisch
Last newsletter we posted a date for Harold Rhenisch to read Wolves of Evelyn again, after hearing it had been short-listed for the Hubert Evans non-fiction prize by BC Book Prizes. Then two things happened. First, scheduling conflicts appeared that made the May 1st date impossible. Then we received word that Harold had been awarded The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize for the second time in a row, making him the first person to ever win this prize back-to-back. As this is a prestigious award in Canadian literature, we now feel this is an occasion worthy of celebration. So, instead of just a reading, we decided a proper shindig was in order, an event to honour and congratulate Harold.
Please join us on May 6 at 7:00 p.m., here at the Gallery : 5577 Backvalley Rd., 105 Mile Ranch. This will be bistro-type seating in our gallery, so by necessity please RSVP by phone at 250-791-6631 or email as soon as possible to reserve a seat. Seating will be tables of four. Feel free to call for details or if you have other questions.
There will be feasting and wine, and conversation, and of course Harold will share his work with us. Books will be available for sale with book signing starting at 6:30 pm in the downstairs gallery. We are all looking forward to a wonderful evening.
5. Birds and Breakfast
Mountain Bluebird
© Chris Harris
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Focal length:700mm;
ISO: 400; Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec.
Aperture: 10; Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Again this year, Rita is joining up with friend, artist and expert birder, Tom Godin to offer a wonderful spring and summer treat.Rita will serve one of her legendary breakfasts in the kitchen and sun-room of our home, Aspen House, which overlooks Hall Lake Bird conservancy and our wonderful wild garden. Tom will join you and take you out for a bird walk in the wetlands, open fields and forest of our immediate vicinity.
This is available to groups of four, minimum, and the cost is $25.00 per person.
Call us at 250-791-6631 to reserve your delightful morning of Birds & Breakfast.
You should plan on meeting here at 8:00 a.m. in order to take advantage of the beautiful morning light and catch the early birds!
Birds and Breakfast can be any day of the week, based on availability, so pre-booking is essential.