Final Blog

Reflecting on this semester of Digital Nature Photography, I recognize just how much I have grown as a photographer.  I came into this class knowing next to nothing about digital photography, and I finishing this class with so much valuable knowledge when it comes to planning the shot to taking the photograph to editing to producing the final piece of art.

When I began this class, I had no idea what all went into making a good photograph.  I had never heard of an aperture value or ISO or exposure compensation or had any concept of even how to operate a digital camera.  My growing confidence in all of these technical aspects of digital photography make me excited to pursue photography outside of the classroom.

Beyond knowing the rules and technical aspects of photography, I think the past few weeks have taught me even more about the philosophical and artistic sides that are so crucial to the field of photography.  Coming into this class, I really saw photography as primarily a way to capture a scene that only exists briefly in nature and make that scene last forever, allowing people to experience a scene that they otherwise would never have the opportunity of doing.  I saw photography more as a journalistic tool rather than a true art where creativity had its limits.  If this semester has taught me anything, it is that photography can be so much more than this.  A photographer has the power and the ability to influence not only what a viewer sees of the natural world but how they see the natural world and how the viewer experiences the scene.  A photographer has unlimited ways to accomplish what they wish to accomplish with a scene, whether it is through the manipulation of color, the use of black and white, the choice of the point of view, the use of light, and the choice of camera settings, just to name a few.  All of these considerations allow a photographer to be creative and make a photograph that is uniquely theirs and a photograph that accomplishes a specific experience in its viewers.  These elements and their unlimited possibilities are what really excite me about continuing photography.

Even without a camera in hand, I still find myself changed in the way that I see the natural world because of this class.  Photography forces one to see nature in a completely different way.  It forces one to really pay attention to their surroundings.  I find myself being so much more aware of the nature that I encounter on a day-to-day basis, appreciating the light, the color, or the shape of, say, a mountain, in a way that I was pretty much blind to previously. 

Together, all of these things demonstrate how this class has allowed me to grow as a photographer and, even more simply, as a person that enjoys nature. 

Final Photographs

Camera: Nikon V1
Lens: 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30 mm

30 mm  |  ISO 320  |  f / 7.1  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

30 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 18  |  1/1250 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

35 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/1600 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

42 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 32  |  1/6 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon V1
Lens: 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110 mm

36.1 mm  |  ISO 560  |  f / 13  |  1/30 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 150-600 mm

440 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 8.0  |  1/160 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

45 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 13  |  1/100 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

105 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 29  |  1/8 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

18 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 10  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

18 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 16  |  1/640 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

30 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 13  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

26 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 13  |  1/250 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 150-600 mm

600 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 6.3  |  1/2000 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

105 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

35 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 10  |  1/1000 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

24 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/1250 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50
Lens: 18-105 mm
18 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 16  |  1/800 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

58 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 32  |  1/5 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

105 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 7.1  |  1/15 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

52 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 8.0  |  1/3200 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 150-600 mm

500 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 8.0  |  1/80 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

28 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 13  |  1/4 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

25 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/1250 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon D50

Lens: 18-105 mm

52 mm  |  ISO 200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/2500 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon V1

Lens: 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110 mm

110 mm  |  ISO 3200  |  f / 5.6  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Camera: Nikon V1

Lens: 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110 mm

49.3 mm  |  ISO 320  |  f / 7.1  |  1/320 sec  |  no flash

Using the Landscape in Wildlife Photography

While in last week’s blog post I focused on the differences between landscape and wildlife photography, this week I came across another Outdoor Photographer in which photographer Marc Muench discusses how he works to bring these two aspects of nature photography together to communicate his own personal perspective of the natural world.   Though including some foreground and background elements in a wildlife shot is important to provide some context, these elements are not typically the main focus in such shots.  In fact, these elements are usually blurred to focus all attention on the main attraction: the animal.  However, as Muench argues, an animal’s surroundings can reveal a lot about the animal and are important to that animal’s story.  Often, limiting a subject to its immediate surroundings (foreground and background) limits the story that can be told by the photograph.

Muench’s view of how animals should be portrayed in their environment stems from his love of the wide open spaces.  It is in these wide open spaces that these animals are able to live relatively wild and free.  For Muench, placing animals in the context of these wide open spaces and the natural landscape helps to communicate their wildness and their natural experience.  In photographing both the broader landscape and the animal in a single shot, the animal is placed at the proper scale.  Doing this is the only way to truly communicate the wild nature of the animal and the enormity of nature itself. 

Photographing wild animals at this proper scale is much different than how we normally think of photographing wildlife.  Typically, the animal subject fills a major portion of the composition.  However, as Muench explains, “the scale of the wild world is usually 20 parts landscape to one part animal.”  This is how he personally feels his wild subjects should be photographed.  This is especially true for Muench in Africa where he has focused much of his photography work.  Though there are various game reserves in Africa, there is also a lot of wilderness that remains relatively untouched by human influence.  This is where Muench finds his photographic philosophy particularly relevant.

 

Muench’s approach toward nature photography is pretty compelling to me.  As someone who loves animals but is partial to landscape photography, I am drawn to this kind of photography and would be interested in incorporating some of Muench’s ideas into my own photography.  I think that there is a certain challenge to photographing animals in this way.  It requires one to consider both the rules of landscape photography and wildlife photography at the same time.  As I blogged about last week, the story is important when photographing wildlife and judging from Muench’s photographs, I like the story that the landscape, when combined with the animal subject, can tell.

Link to Marc Muench's article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/on-location/featured-stories/wildlife-runs-free/

Share 2 & Critique (4)

For my Share 2 and Critique this week, I have shared a couple photographs from the photography trip to Yellowstone National Park.  The first photograph was taken at Grand Prismatic Spring while the second is of a few members of a gang of elk that we spotted early morning on the side of the highway, and I was able to get a close up as the elk were crossing the river.

Photographing Wildlife Biographies

Though I think it is pretty obvious that I have a particular interest in the landscape side of nature photography, I think there is something about animals in the wild that draws any and all nature photographers.  Melissa Groo is a photographer who has focused her photography work on capturing images of animals in the wild.  She reflects on the whole of her wildlife photography experience in the Outdoor Photographer article “Wildlife Biographer.”  In her article, Groo gives some thoughtful insight about wildlife photography that I think is helpful for a beginner photographer like me to remember.  She says that photographing wildlife is not just about capturing an image of an animal subject but also telling a story with that image; it is not just a photograph but a biography.

Whereas I think landscape photography is about the setting and making the viewer feel apart of the scene, wildlife photography centers on telling the stories of the animal world.  Groo points out that so often photographers forget this important aspect when photographing animals.  Getting a photograph of an animal or animals is not enough.  What makes a wildlife photograph stand out from the rest is its ability to communicate a story to the viewer. 

Groo suggests several tips for getting a compelling, biographical shot.  Using blinds is a good way to get good shots.  Walking into an environment, finding one’s subject, and taking the shot will not usually work if one really wants to get a shot that tells a story.  Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible and waiting for the animals to forget the photographer’s presence is key.  When animals are not aware of a photographer or forget that the photographer is there (achieved by waiting patiently), they are much more likely to act as they naturally would outside the presence of humans.  This gives the photographer a view into their natural lives and behaviors not otherwise seen.  This often involves a lot of patience and sometimes means walking away frustrated and empty-handed but with persistence, the reward is worth it.

As Groo explains, a story is often told by animals’ small gestures.  A lift of the paw, the show of the  whites of a subject’s eyes, the tilt of the head, or the lift of the tail are all gestures that can make a photograph.  Groo says that such gestures reveal a subject’s state of mind, and in effect, tell that animal’s story.  Knowing one’s subject and its patterns and behaviors are extremely helpful in knowing when such gestures are imminent, when a story is about to be told, allowing one to capture and create extra-ordinary shots.

Link to Melissa Groo's article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/wildlife-techniques/wildlife-biographer/

Photographing Vultures

For this week's blog, I came across a video on National Geographic's website about photographer Charlie Hamilton James who has recently been working to photograph vultures, particularly in Africa.  Vultures may seem like an odd and maybe disgusting animal to photograph, but James has a broader goal in this photography mission.  Besides finding vultures extremely fascinating, he also wants to shed light on the real threats surrounding this animal population.

As James explains, vultures are the fastest declining bird population on Earth right now, facing extinction in as near as five to ten years.  The greatest threat to vultures currently is in Africa where vultures are harvested by poisoning for their brains and other parts because of their perceived power in witch doctoring.  While we often think of the likes of lions and hyenas as the top-of-the-food-chain meat eaters, James says that vultures actually consume more meat than all of these mammals combined.  Without vultures, James points out that the whole African ecosystem would be drastically changed.

To tell the whole story of these vultures, James not only gets incredible images of these birds in the wild, whether they be feasting on the carcass of a wildebeest or staring down a hungry dog for the leftovers; he also uses his images to tell the other side of the story, photographing the harvesting and sale of these birds' brains and other parts.  In the end, James hopes to bring awareness of this crisis to the world in the hopes that these gross but also fascinating creatures will remain.

Link to National Geographic video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbLE1-nOlSs
Link to Charlie Hamilton James' website:
 http://charliehamiltonjames.com/vultures/lrmgvfgpig0l2a6h8z9mw1z6snltr9

Point of View

As most people know and I am beginning to understand, photography is not just as simple as framing up your shot and snapping the picture.  There are so many different techniques that a photographer can and does employ to make a compelling shot that captivates viewers.  From the colors in the scene to the use of focus and blurring to the size of the subject versus the other elements in the scene, these and many more considerations can be made to make the most interesting shot possible.  Photographer Russ Burden, in his article “POV: Point of View Photography,” discusses just one more element/technique that can work to make a powerful photograph.

Burden says that the point of view from which the photograph is made can influence the viewer a lot about how they feel about or relate to the scene.  Making “point of view” shots can draw a viewer in, making him/her feel apart of the scene and the action.  They feel like they are looking at the scene through their own eyes and not through the lens of a camera.

Taking photographs of a scene from the standing position often results in a photograph that doesn’t give viewers a sense that they are actually there for themselves and viewing the scene through their own eyes.  There is more of a disconnect between the viewer and the scene.  To give this sensation and perspective, Burden explains several different methods.  Using wide angle or super wide angle lenses gives a large depth of field and a wide field of view, giving a view like one might see if there for themselves.  Burden also says that being low to the ground also allows viewers to see the scene from a perspective they are not used to and makes the viewer feel more present in the scene.  In nature photography particularly, photographing a subject from below normal line of sight makes the subject more impressive and significant.  It gives the viewer a feeling of insignificance, a feeling that otherwise is only felt when one is experiencing that nature scene first hand.  Photographing from this point of view works to inspire a greater sense of awe in viewers and forces viewers to see a subject like they have never seen it before.  This different perspective is what draws people in to a photograph and holds their attention.  Lastly, Burden also suggests that photographing subjects from a shorter distance will again make the subject seem more significant and awesome.  Getting the camera up close to the subject makes the viewer feel more apart of the scene.

Link to Russ Burden's article: https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/photo-tip-of-the-week/pov-point-view-photography/