Newsletter No. 95: June, 2013
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS:
1. Agri-Culture: Our local food movement
2. The Ancient Forest: An Inland Rainforest like no other on the Planet
3. Photographing my State of Mind: It’s more powerful than the landscape
4. Why Use a Tripod? To make images you otherwise could not
5. The Story Behind the Image: Another bear story!
Hi everyone,
It’s been an exciting month.
I photographed in a rainforest like no other on the planet and I walked out unharmed with another great bear story! I love bear stories; especially when I’m still around to share them!
I also started photographing a new project based on the ever growing local food movement. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now, but this month I jumped in with both feet and I am loving it.
I hope you enjoy the stories and the photographs, and feel inspired to connect with nature.
Our goal at the Chris Harris Gallery is to share the creative process. Please share this Newsletter with friends. Thank you.
1. Agri-Culture: Our local food movement
For the past three years, I have had it in the back of my mind to do a book about the ranchers, farmers and small local independent entrepreneurs that are the backbone of our Cariboo Chilcotin region of British Columbia.
Most of my publications have portrayed the Cariboo Chilcotin landscape, but my most recent book was a cultural story about pilots and I must say how rewarding it was as a publisher to play a role in preserving a very colourful chapter in Canadian aviation history.
Now, I am not promising this will be another stand alone book! What I can say is that I have started shooting the topic and already it has me excited! Who knows where it will take me!

Horse Lake Community Farm Co-op
Notes on composition & technique: On this, my first agriculture shoot, I saw the barn with an open hay loft, and jumped at the opportunity. My challenge was low light in the loft, mid tones in the central garden area, and bright light in the distant sky. To solve this, I made an HDR image. I made 7 exposures covering 6 f-stops of light. All combined I was able to capture detail throughout the picture space, much like what I could see with my normal vision. The HDR was processed with HDR Efex Pro.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 16-35mm lens; on a tripod |
I started my project here at the farm co-op because I knew the farmers, and Rita and I have been buying fresh food from them for years.
The co-op was incorporated in 2006 with the goal of protecting the agricultural and ecological integrity of a vital lakeshore acreage. The Land Conservancy of BC, with its mandate to preserve farm and ranch land for its environmental, economic, and social benefits, was instrumental with the incorporation.
Spreading Manure
Notes on composition & technique: In an attempt to capture the real action, I ran right behind the spreader. I only did this for a few short seconds as I was being bombarded with mud and stones, and I feared for my new lens! Fortunately no damage was done and I think I caught the ‘feel’ of the action.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-11; 1/160 sec.; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
Planting lettuce
Notes on composition & technique: To get the whole garden and people in focus, I set my aperture at f-22. I then raised the ISO to 400 to get a shutter speed fast enough to render everyone sharp. Compositionally, I set myself at an angle to separate the three people, making an implied triangle.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-22; 1/60 sec.; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
Putting love into our food
Notes on composition & technique: For this human interest story, I switched to a wide angle lens and moved in very close to my centre of interest, Karen Greenwood. Once again, I set myself on an angle to create an implied triangle with the three farmers.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-11; 1/160 sec.; focal length 16mm; 16-35mm lens; handheld |
I can’t wait for my summer salads, and I’m hoping I get these very lettuce leaves which are so obviously planted with love and sincerity.
2. The Ancient Forest: An inland rainforest unique to the Planet
Western Redcedar
Notes on composition & technique: For this image, I decided to show only part of this old cedar, allowing our imagination to envision its size. My angle of view was chosen to emphasize the young brightly lit leaves against a darker and more complex forest.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 2 sec’s.; focal length 92mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
As part of an ongoing book project on Central British Columbia, I visited the ‘Ancient Forest’, a unique wet-temperate rainforest in the Robson Valley, 115 km east of Prince George on Highway 16.
Ancient Forest Trail Boardwalk
Notes on composition & technique: For this image I awaited for a moment that would express communication between these two people. When Nowell’s arm went up, I pressed the shutter.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-5.6; 1/160 sec.; focal length 73mm; 24-105mm lens; handheld |
It is here that a dedicated group of conservation minded volunteers have created the Ancient Forest Trail including a boardwalk which makes this incredible experience universally accessible. Above are volunteers Nowell Senior and Bonnie Watt. Nowell has spearheaded this project which has consumed over 8,000 volunteer hours. The official opening is slated for August 4th, 2013.
Boardwalk through the Cedars
Notes on composition & technique: This image was made at dawn in low diffuse light, an excellent time to photograph in the forest. Compositionally, I used the boardwalk as a lead-in-line to take us through a dense stand of cedars.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-22; 8 sec’s; focal length 58mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
The boardwalk provides everyone with an opportunity to view an antique forest stand within BC’s Inland Rainforest. When I was there, a 99 year old lady with a walker said her walk through the cedars was a “lifetime highlight”.
Ancient Cedars
Notes on composition & technique: There is a definite mood in an ancient forest which one can feel emotionally. To try and capture this ethereal feeling, I made a triple exposure by using the ‘multiple exposure mode’ on my camera. The first exposure was in focus, the second and third exposures were slightly out of focus.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-11; 1/2 sec; focal length 47mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
Beyond the boardwalk, the trail is an easy walk which takes 60-90 minutes. If you are in the vicinity, be sure to walk the trail. It’s an extraordinary experience.
3. Photographing my State of Mind: It’s more powerful than the landscape
Nestled in the heart of the Coast Mountains is a small glacial lake named Ape Lake. I brought Rita, her daughter Teresa, and Mike Duffy there to photograph the moraine landscape. This was the view from our camp.

Ape Lake
Notes on composition & technique: At first light with the moon still in the sky, I positioned myself so that the stream would lead our eyes into the picture space. I also made sure to use a perspective that separated the peak’s reflection from the shoreline. Merging them would have weakened the composition.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-11; 1/30 sec; focal length 17mm; 16-35mm lens; on a tripod |
Every day we wake up, we find ourselves living in a different mind-set. We might ask “who are we today”? This state of mind effects all that we do, how we see, and therefore how we photograph.
In this photograph, Mike and I set off on a pre-breakfast walk. I was so excited to be here in this open barren landscape, that my state of mind might be described as blissful, walking on air, or, on top of the world. When I made this image, I am sure I was photographing my state of mind rather than the landscape. I was photographing the deep connection between who I was at that moment, and the land I was walking on. This is a powerful photograph for me personally.
Mike Hikes Across the Moraine
Notes on composition & technique: The elements which I considered in this composition were the line (stream), the two shapes of land on either side, the area of sky, and the dash of red (Mike’s jacket). The stream brings us into the image from the lower left (a natural entry in Western cultures) to a place where we pick up the dash of red before moving on to the sky. I don’t often split an image with the horizon line, but the clouds were so beautiful, I felt the rectangle of sky warranted the space I gave it.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 1/5 sec; 14mm lens; on a tripod |
Lost in time, we forgot about breakfast. It was this beautiful rock that reminded us we had better get back to camp!
Moraine landscape
Notes on composition & technique: By using a rather wide angle lens, I tried to balance the large foreground boulder and stream running around it (just right of centre) with the highest peak and its reflection (just left of centre).
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 1/15 sec; focal length 24mm; 16-35mm lens; on a tripod |
After breakfast we all headed over toward the glacier. I’ll take you there in my next Newsletter.
4. Why Use a Tripod? To make images you otherwise could not
Shadows at Work!
Notes on composition & technique: : Here, the location and angle of the sun allowed me to place our shadows in the left corner. This allows viewers plenty of space to examine the dune and distant cliffs we were photographing.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 1/10 sec; focal length 28mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
At first light, Mike and I can be seen here in ‘shadow form’ photographing the textures of the Farwell dune in the Chilcotin. You will note that I am using a tripod and Mike is not! What does this mean?
Form and Texture
Notes on composition & technique: The emphasis here is on the rhythm, repetition of lines, and texture, rather than the sky. The sky, therefore, has been given a very small space.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 1/10 sec; focal length 47mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
By using a tripod, I am able to make this exposure at f-22 at 1/10 of a second. This aperture enables me to capture maximum depth of field; in focus from my toes to the horizon. At 1/10 of a second, however, I could not have held my camera steady enough to make this image sharp. This photograph was made possible by the use of a tripod.
Wind blown sand
Notes on composition & technique: I wanted to capture the evening light on the grass together with the wisps of blowing sand as they swept across the top of the dune. I used a rather wide angle lens and waited until a wisp of sand-filled wind reached the grass. With the slow shutter speed, I was hoping the grass would show more movement to capture the feelings I felt there.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 1/8 sec; focal length 28mm; 24-105mm lens; on a tripod |
In the last evening light, the wind picked up. You can see the sand blowing off the peak of the dune and wisps of sand sweeping across the dune toward me. With the foreground grass being equally important as the peak of the dune, I needed to shoot at f-22 for full depth of field. The resulting slow shutter speed of 1/8th sec. would make this image impossible to capture without a tripod.
News Update: Mike now has a tripod!!
5. The Story Behind the Image: Another bear story!
Bear Attacks my Camera Bag!
I was photographing in the forest when the light became magical. I put down my camera bag to concentrate on making my image. Normally I pick up my bag after each capture, but the light was so wonderful, I just kept shooting and wandering farther and farther into the forest and away from my pack.
Thirty minutes later, the warm light waned, and I set off to find my pack. As soon as I saw it, I recognized something was amiss! My pack had been moved and all my equipment was strewn across the forest floor.
Taking my bear spray from its holster, I silently explored the immediate area. My adrenalin was flowing, but I found no evidence of the bear, which after finding no food, I presume, had wandered off somewhere on its journey through the forest.
While being very aware of my surroundings, I made this image to show you the evidence, before wandering off myself to camp for the evening.
The good news is that no gear was damaged, just a few rips and teeth marks in my raingear and camera bag. The other good news is that I am able to tell you this story!!