Newsletter No. 67: February 2011

Get an e-mail notification when a new newsletter appears on this site

CONTENTS

1. Upcoming Gallery Exhibits: Toronto & Williams Lake
2. Presentation at the Toronto Botanical Gardens: May 3, 7pm
3. Receiving the Gift of Inspiration
4. It’s All About Visual Design: Be you a Painter or Photographer
5. Perspective is important too: Look Up or Look Down?
6. Chilcotin Forest Fire: Part IV. A Visual Journey to Where?

1. Upcoming Gallery Exhibits

Williams Lake: Station House Gallery

Everyone in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region is invited to the Opening Reception at the Station House Gallery on March 3rd at 5-7:30 pm to view the Magma exhibit. The Magma exhibit is based on my latest book Motherstone: British Columbia’s Volcanic Plateau.

I will present an “Artist Talk” at 6pm. The exhibit Magma will carry viewers to a place of rare beauty and spiritual connection with a planet we have almost forgotten. Much of it is unaltered land; an experience so rare in our daily lives as to be unknown to most of us. Please join us.

The exhibit will run until April 2nd.

Toronto: White Wall North Gallery

Would You Like An Official Invitation?

On April 4 – 23, 2011, a new and exciting destination gallery will open its doors in Toronto. White Wall North will focus on the work of mid-career artists from coast to coast and I will be one of the featured artists, representing British Columbia.

Magma I

© Chris Harris

On April 25th, WWN will host my “Eastern Canada Premiere” with the launch of my book Motherstone: British Columbia’s Volcanic Plateau, and Magma print exhibit. The opening reception will be at 5pm – 9pm and I will be making a presentation at 7pm.

If you reside in the Toronto area and would like an official invitation to the opening reception/launch and presentation, please e-mail Rita, here at our office, and we will make sure you receive a special invitation. Rita and I would love to meet our Toronto area friends and Newsletter subscribers.

Even if you can’t be at the opening reception, I hope you will visit the WWN Gallery and take in the exhibit. The gallery is located at 6-1335 Lawrence Avenue East, Toronto, ON. (416) 445–5559.

2. Presentation at the Toronto Botanical Gardens

As part of my Toronto schedule, I will be making my Motherstone presentation to the Toronto Botanical Gardens on May 3, at 7pm.

For tickets to the Toronto Botanical Gardens event, please call (416) 397-1341 or go online to http://www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca/. The course code is PG11S53.

3. Receiving the Gift of Inspiration

In my last Newsletter I mentioned that January was to be a month of reflection and refocus. I had concluded that I would continue in the vein of my last three books; photographing and publishing with the intent of bringing the inherent Beauty of the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia to the world, to value bio-diversity, and to inspire re-connection and responsible stewardship of the land which is our home, through the art of photography. My belief is that these books will make a difference in how we appreciate life and live sustainably and, with your support, they will.

To that end, I attended several Freeman Patterson seminars and one Masters workshop, all about visual design, or what is often referred to in photographic circles as composition.

Feeling Inspired

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s Notes: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk.III. This image was made with settings of ISO 50; f-22; 1/5 sec; with a focal length set at 93mm. While walking through the grasslands on a cold October day, I used a slow shutter speed and moved my camera up through the grass toward the heavens. It was my way of keeping fun in my photography, and remaining inspired.

Freeman has been a friend of my family for some decades now, and it was a delight, not only to reconnect personally, but also to connect with his vast experience and knowledge. Freeman, Canada’s most decorated nature photographer, and who has contributed internationally to photography as an art form, has had an inspirational influence on my work since the 1970’s. As I launch into two new challenging book projects, and a never ending quest to expand my photographic vision, I left his seminars feeling invigorated and inspired.

4. It’s All About Visual Design: Be you a Painter or Photographer

Jane Painting in her Studio

© Chris Harris

Immediately after the last seminar on visual design, I headed off to Ireland to visit my sister Jane O’Malley. Jane is an acclaimed still life painter whose signature jugs, vases, and flowers have become internationally recognized. It is always an inspiration to be in her studio and to watch her work.

Paintings by © Jane O’Malley

Above are three of Jane’s paintings that I photographed with the purpose of talking about visual design. Nowhere are the elements of composition, namely line, shape, colour and texture, more apparent. If you examine how your eyes move through each painting, you will see that the rhythm and balance of the lines and coloured shapes guide you around the entire paintings space, yet you will always return to the main anchoring subject. At no time do your eyes want to leave the painting. This is due to the structural strength of the composition.

Alpine Heaven

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s notes: Canon EOS-1Ds-MKIII. This image was made with settings of ISO 200; f-22; 1/30 sec; with a focal length set at 24mm. To capture the full depth of focus I made this image at f-22 and by focusing 1/3 the way up the image. To emphasis the detail and texture in this landscape, I shot it as a High Dynamic Range image comprised of three exposures.

Visual design or composition is equally important to a landscape photographer, but the elements of line, shape and texture are often far more subtle than how you see them in Jane’s paintings. This is where the art of seeing becomes the most important aspect in the art of photography.

Examine how your eyes move through the above photograph. The line of the stream guides you to the oval shape of the lake and the mountain beyond. The clouds keep you from leaving the top of the image. The stream and lake also create three triangular shapes, two on the left and one larger one on the right. The boulder within the left foreground triangle, the clump of trees within the centre right triangle, and the mountain shape itself, provide stability and structure. The texture and detail of the vegetation add dramatically to the entire composition.

While Jane has full control over the arrangement of compositional elements, the photographer must first recognize them, before attending to their juxtaposition. The art of actually seeing them is often the greatest challenge.

5. Perspective is important too: Look Up or Look Down?

Looking Up

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s notes: Canon EOS-1Ds-MKIII. This image was made with settings of ISO 200; f-22; 1/40 sec; with a focal length set at 17mm. Normally I would use ISO 100 for minimum digital noise, but because I had a person in the image I raised it to ISO 200 to acquire a faster shutter speed. A small aperture of f-22 was used for max. depth of focus. I wanted the grass, Mike, and the distant hills in focus.

Perspective is another important component of composition.

On a recent snowshoe trip to the grasslands, the day was cloudy and the light flat. But, almost without notice, a dramatic circle of light in the clouds appeared. Noticing that Mike was headed for that light, I quickly looked around me and saw that the yellow grass was the only other subject matter I had to work with. I moved to the grass as quickly as I could snowshoe, set up my tripod and selected my settings as described above.

Looking Down

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s notes: Canon EOS-1Ds-MKIII. For the same reasons as above, this image was made with settings of ISO 200; f-22; 1/40 sec; with a focal length set at 17mm.

Composition is used to communicate, so when we make compositions, we should be aware of what we are trying to say. In the above two images I used perspective to communicate about two entirely different messages. One spoke to the grass and the other to the sky. Mike added a human dimension.

Once you become proficient with the technical part of picture making, you will find the visual and artistic side of photography to be the most exciting and rewarding.

6. Chilcotin Forest Fire: Part IV. A Visual Journey to Where?

The Road to Where?

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s notes: Canon EOS-1Ds-MKIII. This image was made with settings of ISO 100; f-20; 1/10 sec; with a focal length set at 14mm. Made on a tripod, my most important variable was depth of focus, not shutter speed. Thus the aperture setting of f-20.

I have taken you to this burnt forest in several Newsletters now, but it was one of the most amazing days of photography in my life, so here we are again!

Mike and I first entered the forest along this road. As I looked from side to side I was overwhelmed by the emotional response I was experiencing. The lingering smells of smoke and the sight of charcoaled trees evoked a sense of death. Yet inside, I sensed an excitement of photographic possibilities. But where to begin?

Patterned Ground

© Chris Harris

Photographer’s notes: Canon EOS-1Ds-MKIII. This image was made with settings of ISO 100; f-20; 1/12 sec; with a focal length set at 14mm. Made on a tripod, my most important variable was depth of focus, not shutter speed. Thus the aperture setting of f-20.

At some point I just struck off into the forest and eventually I was drawn to this small area of patterned ground. To capture it, I knew instinctively to use my widest angle lens; a 14mm lens. Using a tripod and aiming this lens within inches of my feet, I searched for a composition that spoke to me. My challenge was to find some order amidst the complete disorder of the forest. This is where moving one’s tripod mere inches to the left or right, forward or backward, can make all the difference. I made several images of this patterned ground, but this is the one I prefer the most.

I still get goose bumps when I look at these images.

Get notified when a new newsletter appears on this site