Newsletter No. 57: April 2010
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CONTENTS
- Photography Award: Off to San Francisco!
- Hiking in Heaven: Part III
- Great Bear Rainforest: The Eye of a Kermode Bear
- Join me on Facebook and my new blog. I’m on a New Adventure!
1. Photography Award: Off to San Francisco!The Northern Lights Award is presented to the top North American photojournalist to shoot a story on a Canadian destination.
In 2007 I received the award for an article published by British Columbia Magazine titled Fields of Gold; so, on a whim and feeling lucky, I submitted Itcha Ilgatchuz, which appeared in the Spring 2009 edition of British Columbia Magazine.
This article is a story about a horse pack trip with Roger and Wanda Williams of Six Mile Ranch Outfitters up to the Itcha Range with its fantastic volcanic landscape. Larry Pynn is the writer and we had a blast doing it. It was to my amazement that I won it the first time, and to my even further amazement to be awarded this prize a second time.
So Rita and I are taking advantage of the trip to San Francisco that comes with it to accept the award; to the classic Fairmont San Francisco with flowers in our hair, with ‘Thanks very much’ to Tourism Canada and especially Anita Willis of British Columbia Magazine.
I’ll let you know what happens in my next Newsletter.
2. Hiking in Heaven: Part IIIThis five-part series shows you the overall landscape where Rita, Mike and I hiked for one entire day. It was the last day we hiked together in the Itcha Mountains, and was one of my most memorable days ever as a nature photographer.
Overlooking Itcha Mountain
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. Using a tripod, I made this image at 1/100sec.; f-22 for maximum depth of focus; and with a focal length of 25mm. I had two choices here; step back and use a telephoto lens to bring the distant mountains closer and thereby emphasize them, or use a wide angle lens to emphasize the thoughts of Rita. I chose the latter. It was difficult to comprehend where on the Planet we were at times; the volcanic landscape was that compelling and beautiful. We were often either speechless, or repeating ourselves with such superlatives as amazing, incredible, or unbelievable.
To try and capture these feelings, I asked Rita to sit on this stone and just look out at the landscape. With her, the black lava boulder, and the coloured volcanic shapes in the distance, I created an implied triangle which provides strength and balance to the picture space. That combination allows Rita to look grounded and contemplative.
The awe and wonderment of the moment comes flooding back to me as I look at the image on the monitor.
Beautiful Lava
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. Using a tripod, I made this image at ISO 400; 1/160sec.; f-14; with a focal length of 200mm. To ensure no camera/lens shake with my 100-400mm lens, I used a higher ISO of 400. If you look at the view where Rita is gazing, you will see exactly where I made the above image. As a nature photographer I was emotionally overwhelmed with the creative opportunities that surrounded me that day. Above all else, I saw shapes of colour, texture and tonality. Quietly and deliberately, I searched for them.
3. The Great Bear Rainforest – The Eye of a Kermode Bear
Kermode on the Prowl
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-50D. ISO 800; f-8; 1/800sec.; focal length of 200mm. Capturing the bear sharp and in focus was my top priority so I used the highest ISO setting that I use with this camera. This enabled me to shoot this image at 1/800sec.; enough to freeze this bears movement. The element of luck plays a far greater role with wildlife photography than it does with landscape photography.
In this instance, the bear was entering a place of extremely high contrast. The best I could do was concentrate on the bear’s eyes and click the shutter at every instant those eyes entered sunlight. If the eye was not sharp or was in shadow, the image would have failed.
4. Remember, there are no excuses: Just Jump out of the Box!I have never forgotten the story as told by National Geographic photographer, Frans Lanting. He had been called into the Chief Editor’s office before being sent out on his very first assignment. Just as he was about to exit the door, the Editor said, “Frans, just remember, there are no excuses”.
Terrible Lighting. What to do?
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. Using a tripod, I made this image at ISO 100; shutter speed 0.8sec.; f-32; with a focal length of 93mm. Whenever I am in a situation where the lighting conditions are terrible, if not impossible, I pretend that I am on assignment for National Geographic, and I hear those words, “Just remember, there are no excuses”.
Forest photography in sunny conditions is usually a photographer’s worst nightmare. Those bright reflective ‘hot spots’ are total distractions. They reduce colour saturation and detract from any centre of interest. So what to do? Remember, there are no excuses!
Voilà! I Just Jumped out of the Box!
© Chris Harris
Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. Using a tripod, I made this image at ISO 100; shutter speed 0.8sec.; f-22; with a focal length of 53mm. As there was nothing I could do looking down, I decided to look up. With a background of solid blue (rather than light reflecting foliage), I came up with a new idea. First I found an opening in the forest I thought would work. Then, using a rather slow shutter speed, I rotated my camera.
This quote not only serves me well in photography, but in real life as well. When a problem seems insurmountable, just jump out of the box and approach it from a new angle. Voilà. Life is good!.
4. Join my Blog and Facebook Page: I’m on a New Adventure!Remember, you can follow the action on Facebook, and learn more about photography on our blog as Teresa and I learn from each other.
© Chris Harris