Newsletter No. 97: August, 2013
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS:
1. The Quintessential Workshop Image : Thirty years in the making.
2. Story Telling: The importance of perspective and sequence shooting.
3. Photographing with a Paint Brush: Intentional camera movement.
4. Blessings: Being open to Nature’s gifts.
5. Farwell Canyon One Day Later: The gift of light provides us with endless opportunities every moment of every day.
6. The Story Behind the Image: There is only ONE opportunity. Grab it.
Hi everyone,
It’s been a month filled with several shooting expeditions, and a three day workshop here at the Gallery. All in all, a very exciting month.
As the workshop, for over twenty members of the Langley Camera Club, was such a creative highlight, I thought I would dedicate this Newsletter to the experience.
Learning is always exciting, so whether you are taking a workshop or teaching a workshop, the experience is always positive and stimulating.
Our goal at the Chris Harris Gallery is to share the creative process. Please share this Newsletter with friends. Thank you.
1. The Quintessential Workshop Image : Thirty years in the making.
The image below might look like a snap shot to many, but believe me, it has been 30 years in the making.
In the mid-seventies, adventure tourism was a new concept. The idea of paying a person to guide you on a hike, a canoe or sea kayak trip, or to a unique place on the planet to make photographs, was a very hard sell.
As a partner in starting the very first adventure tour company in B.C., I started by using my photography to market our tours. I photographed every tour, with the idea of capturing the essence of the activity involved, in order to produce a slide-sound presentation. I have been making these presentations to sell tours, books and workshops ever since.
I will discuss the most important components to making successful marketing images in article #2 below.
Langley Camera Club workshop in action
Notes on composition & technique: The more elements there are (such as canoes or people), the more challenging it is to make a successful marketing image. For this image, I didn’t want bodies partially obstructed by others, or people doing unrelated activities that would take the viewers’ attention away from the purpose of the image. I wanted to capture the enthusiasm of photographers learning, searching, and photographing.
The key element of composition required to make this image is perspective (camera position & choice of lens). If you had been watching me, you would have noticed me moving around constantly, always attentive to the challenges mentioned above.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; 1/250 sec; f-13; 24-105mm lens at 32mm; handheld |
2. Story Telling: The importance of perspective and sequence shooting.
As I mentioned in the above article, I am always on the lookout for a sequence of images that tell a story, and that capture the essence of the activity involved.
The sequence plays an important role in telling the story, but equally significant is the part played by perspective. In photography, perspective refers to camera position and the focal length of the lens in use. Let’s look at the following four images.
The story begins in an abandoned homestead
Notes on composition & technique: This is the overall image that initiates the story. With three people in the foreground (two more through the door and window) I had to act quickly in order to capture the image before their stance or activity changed. Note that there is something important going on at each window and door frame.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-22; different shutter speeds (hdr), 24-105mm lens at 24mm; on a tripod |
The story evolves; image #2
Notes on composition & technique: While moving within the homestead, I noticed through a window, that Anne and Paul Lengyell were seeking shelter from a rain shower in the entrance of an old root cellar. Almost immediately I imagined a sequence of images with a story. Setting up my tripod, I made story image #2.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-10; different shutter speeds (hdr), 24-105mm lens at 24mm; on a tripod |
The story evolves; image #3
Notes on composition & technique: With the sequence now in my mind, I changed the focal length of my lens from 24 to 40 and made story image #3. The subject of my story is now perceived as being closer.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-10; different shutter speeds (hdr), 24-105mm lens at 40mm; on a tripod |
The story ends; image #4
Notes on composition & technique: For the final image in the story, I changed my camera position by moving outside and increased my focal length to 60mm. This is the final and most important image in the story sequence.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-10; 1/60 sec; 24-105mm lens at 60mm; handheld. |
In conclusion, one can see the significance of seeking a sequence of images to tell a story, and then using camera position and choice of lens (perspective) to tell that story.
3. Photographing with a Paint Brush: Intentional camera movement.
On day-2 of the workshop we drove through the grasslands toward Farwell Canyon, making stops along the way. This small lake, with its colourful algae blooms, was a wonderful place to put into practice some of the creative techniques I had discussed with the group in a seminar the night before. It was an opportunity to push our creative limits.
Field trip; an opportunity to be creative
Notes on composition & technique: Once again, in composing this image, perspective played an important role in the placement of the road, lake and photographers.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-11; 1/320 sec; 24-105mm lens at 32mm; handheld |
One of the things I do is imagine myself as a painter. Then, if I were to ask myself, how would I paint that lake, I would quickly realize that the possibilities are endless. So it is with photographers as well.
Beyond realism
Notes on composition & technique: By combining an appropriate shutter speed with intentional camera movement, I made what could be an abstract painting of the lake. Compositionally, I made several attempts at moving my lens until I got the proportions of blue, yellow, red and green that I preferred. By checking my LCD screen after each exposure, I was able to make quick adjustments until I got the effect I wanted.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-32; 1/25 sec; 70-200mm lens at 135mm; handheld |
If one were to walk into the Phillips Collection (America’s first museum of modern art) in Washington, D.C., and see the image below as a huge abstract painting by a famous artist, one would probably be very understanding, accepting, or even wowed.
However I feel that most photographers, knowing that this is a photograph, would have a tendency to discount the image entirely. There are millions of people taking millions of photographs daily, but most see the camera only as a way of documenting what they see before them in realistic terms. There is little understanding of photography as an art form with expressive powers, much like painting.
Beyond the beyond
Notes on composition & technique: This image was made by using an appropriate shutter speed combined with intentional camera movement. After you have made a few well composed documentary images, try creating imagery in a way you have never tried before. You will be amazed at what you might discover.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-32; 1/25 sec; 70-200mm lens at 200mm; handheld |
If you feel you need assistance or encouragement in becoming more creative with your photography, take a workshop with a creative photographer whose work you respect. I did, and it made all the difference.
4. Blessings: Being open to nature’s gifts.
During this 3-day workshop, several totally unexpected natural events occurred before our very eyes as we were photographing. The big question is, how many people saw them, recognized them, and photographed them?
Here are four images to show a few of them.
A deluge
Notes on composition & technique: During the first afternoon, a deluge forced us under the Gallery roof. It was an amazing opportunity. There were endless possibilities for creative shooting here.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-8; 1/125 sec; 70-200mm lens at 120mm; on a tripod |
Cloud above Farwell Canyon
Notes on composition & technique: Some of us were discussing the possibility of shooting a panorama of the Chilcotin River when this spectacular cloud appeared. Like most clouds, it changed shape quickly and the drama was lost.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-22; 1/125 sec; 16-35mm lens at 16mm; on a tripod |
Approaching storm
Notes on composition & technique: Where there is tonal and colour contrast, there are great opportunities for image making. These approaching storm clouds represented one of those opportunities.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 200; f-22; different shutter speeds (hdr), 24-105mm lens at 24mm; on a tripod |
A wind gust
Notes on composition & technique: As the approaching storm hit, gusts of wind created dust clouds amidst the hoodoos above the Chilcotin River.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-10; 1/320 sec; 70-200mm lens at 200mm; on a tripod |
Always be ready and prepared for the unexpected!
5. Farwell Canyon One Day Later: The gift of light provides us with endless opportunities every moment of every day.
The day after the workshop, Rita and I took my niece Karen and her young son Chris out for a Cariboo adventure before they returned to their home in the Bahamas. Just about anywhere in the Cariboo is different from the Bahamas, but we decided to head out to Farwell Canyon for a picnic supper and a night out under the stars. Naturally I brought my camera, and young Chris who kept track of my time exposures, became my number one photo assistant!
Even though it was only a day after photographing here with the Langley Camera Club, it was as if I had entered a completely different world. Allow me to share with you the gifts of light I experienced and photographed there within a seven hour period.
Moon set; 10:10 pm
Notes on composition & technique: As the moon set below the horizon, I set my camera on ‘bulb’ and made this 140 second exposure. Note the sense of balance between the bright area of setting sun in the lower right and the silhouetted tree, wispy clouds and setting moon on the left.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-5.6; 140 secs; 16-35mm lens at 17mm; on a tripod |
Logging trucks under star light; 11:27pm
Notes on composition & technique: I was amazed to see logging trucks heading out to pick up their first load of the day, before midnight. To give context to an otherwise black foreground, I painted the ‘big sage’ with my Maglite flashlight which I always carry with me during night photography.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-5.6; 17 mins; 16-35mm lens at 17mm; on a tripod |
Sunrise over the Chilcotin River; 5:37am
Notes on composition & technique: Up before dawn, I was witness to a spectacular sunrise.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; different shutter speeds (hdr); 16-35mm lens at 16mm; on a tripod |
Grass Canyon lands panorama; 5:39am
Notes on composition & technique: The sunrise provided me with the most beautiful light I have ever experienced over the grasslands.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; 4 secs; 16-35mm lens; panorama; on a tripod |
Grasslands at daybreak; 5:44am
Notes on composition & technique: Once the warm light had left the canyon lands, I quickly moved into the grasslands to capture cooler light and a beautiful cloud formation.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 100; f-22; different shutter speeds (hdr); 16-35mm lens at 16mm; on a tripod |
6. The Story Behind the Image: There is only ONE opportunity. Grab it.
I am sharing this story because it is another example of an image thirty years in the making. In articles 1 and 2 above, I talked about capturing the essence of an activity and how important perspective was in that process.
It had been a long day. We had hiked for nine hours, often on difficult terrain as you can see below, and had covered a considerable elevation range. However, when warm light burst through an opening in the evening sky, lighting up the terrain and hikers against an ominous sky, I knew fully how blessed I was to be there at that very moment.
Regarding composition, my most important consideration was perspective. I left the trail and danced over the boulders, seeking the right angle to capture the two hikers and the cairn between them.
But that is not all. The foreground boulders which describe the difficulty of the terrain was a very important aspect of this story. I sought a sense of balance which I got from the two large boulders in the lower left and right. These two boulders and the cairn above create an implied triangle, the sides of which the two hikers are ascending and descending.
Another aspect that I am very aware of, is the stance of each hiker and the positioning of their legs. Pressing the shutter at the precise moment is critical.
I’m not saying that I consciously thought of, and evaluated, all those aspects of the composition before clicking the shutter. But that is where the thirty years comes in. I knew exactly what I was seeking in this image and I have many more images to prove that point.
This was a memorable few minutes in my life, and I feel honoured and grateful to have had the photographic experience and the opportunity to make this image.
Hiking back to camp in magical evening light
Notes on composition & technique: I discussed the composition above, however, technically my main consideration was having enough depth of field and a fast enough shutter speed so that the terrain and hikers were sharp and in focus. I did this with the following settings.
EOS 5D Mark III; iso 400; f-8; 1/320 sec; 24-105mm lens at 105mm; handheld |