The Process Behind Taking Pictures
Photography is not about pointing your camera at a
scene and releasing the shutter. It must be approached carefully and slowly.
You need to create an image of the scene you want to photograph in your
mind. Once you have an idea of how you want to record the scene on film,
select your view point and the lens you think will cover the area as well as
any other accessory that might be needed. Any camera will work fine. Format,
lenses, films, tripods are more important than camera brands, and most of
all, imagination. Below are a few pictures I have taken which shows how I
approached each scene to record them on film.
Right Image: 35mm SLR, Tokina 80-200mm f-2.8 lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen
tripod and pan/tilt head.
Spot meter (rocks) 1/4 sec at f-16. Manual exposure mode and manual focus.
I pulled over near a stream
somewhere in Utah and decided to go hiking. I grabbed my back pack and one camera, tripod,
24-50mm, 100mm macro, and 80-200mm lenses. I wanted to photograph the stream
and its surroundings. I found a good spot and attached my 80-200mm zoom lens
to examine the scene below. Zoom lenses are great for places where you
cannot move around freely. My main problem was deciding which objects to
include and which to remove. I wanted to include less rather than more. My
objective was to create a blurry water motion and didn't want anything else
to distract the final image. I lowered my tripod and pointed the camera
upward in vertical position. I zoomed in and out and carefully found the
best composition. I spot metered the rocks on manual mode. Stop the lens
down to f-16 which resulted in 1/4 sec shutter speed, enough for a nice
blurry effect. I used my cable release to take the shot.
I spotted this coyote along
the road in Joshua Tree National Park. I turned off the engine to reduce
vibration. I grabbed my camera and 300mm lens. I placed the lens on the rice
bag for support and over the window. Set the aperture to f-5.6 which gave me
enough depth-of-field and 1/250 sec shutter speed. I spot metered the
coyote's head and opened up 1/2 stop. If I had used the meter reading, the
coyote would have come out underexposed. I focused on his eyes and waited
for him to look into the camera. He finally acknowledged my existence and
gave me the look I wanted before he turned around and left. I started to
drive away and saw another coyote. Pulled over and photographed again. This
guy was more cooperative and gave me enough time to experiment with
different lenses. My lucky day. There must have been a coyote party near by.
Right Image: 35mm SLR, 300mm f-2.8 APO lens, Fuji Velvia 50, rice bag for
support.
Spot meter, 1/250 sec at f-5.6, +1/2 exposure compensation. Aperture
priority and manual focus.
Special Note: Please do not feed
coyotes and other wild animals in the wild. All national parks and wildlife
refuge prohibit visitors from feeding the animals. They can become dependent
to humans which will jeopardize their survival. Many animals are killed
along road sides. They run towards cars because they associate vehicles with
food.
Left Image: Pentax 67, 75mm f-4.5 lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen tripod and ball head. Incident meter,
1/30 sec at f-22.
Photographing in deserts is
difficult but very rewarding. Hot weather is the main problem. I prefer
winter and early spring for desert photography. Early morning and late
afternoon are the best times. Spring is the perfect time to photograph
desert plants and flowers. You can add color and life to your photographs
rather than just dry land. I used a Pentax 67 and 75mm lens to photograph
this desert landscape in Anza-Borrego state park in Southern California. Wide-angle lenses need
extra care when photographing a landscape. You can easily include
unnecessary objects in your pictures. I choose my point of focus carefully
to get the maximum depth-of-field. I used the hyper focal scale on my lens
to pick the best f-stop. Even then, it was difficult to get everything in
sharp focus. View cameras and tilt/shift lenses come in real handy in these
situations. I used an incident meter to calculate my exposure which was 1/30
sec at f-22. I waited for the breeze to stop, lock the mirror up and
released the shutter. I tried horizontal shots as well but did not like the
composition. Small flowers in the center of the image with too much space on
either side didn't look good.
One early morning in Redwood
National Park, just after a rainy night, I was hiking with my camera and
knew I was going to take some great shots. The overcast sky creates perfect
light for outdoor photography. It's like having a giant reflector. Colors
stand out and you don't have to deal with harsh light which can wash out all
colors.
Left Image: 35mm SLR, 100mm f-2.8 macro lens, Kodachrome 25, Bogen tripod and
pan/tilt head.
Spot meter, 1/4 sec at f-8. Manual exposure mode and manual focus.
I used my 100mm macro lens to photograph this Leopard Lilly. I set
up my tripod and pointed my camera parallel to my subject for maximum
sharpness. I knew I had to stop the lens down to f-8 or f-11 to create a
blurry background so the flowers would standout in the picture. I use manual
mode and manual focus for close up photography. I can quickly change focus
and exposure much easier than in auto. I metered the flower and opened up
1/2 stop to place it as light orange, otherwise final image would have
recorded as dark orange. Wind is always a major concern in close-up
photography. I had to wait 10 minutes to take this picture. Still not bad.
At times I had to wait over an hour!
Left Image:
35mm SLR, 300mm f-2.8 APO lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen tripod and
ball head.
Spot meter, 1/125 sec at f-2.8 on manual exposure and manual focus.
I was photographing some ducks
when I noticed this Great Egret sitting close by and getting ready to go
fishing. I quickly switched to spot metering and metered its white feathers
and opened up one stop which correctly exposed the bird and recorded the
vegetation in the background black which was receiving less light. I focused
on the Egret's eyes and shot wide open with my 300mm lens. If I had chosen
centerweighted or multipattern metering and one of auto exposure modes, the
bird would have been underexposed and the background would have shown.
Autofocus was not necessary since it was much easier to manually focus on
the bird's eye and recompose to take the picture.
Everybody loves Butterflies.
They are beautiful and make great subjects. I found this Admiral butterfly
resting under the sun. I don't chase butterflies around to photograph them.
If I see them flying close by, I stop and see if they are going to land.
When they do, I wait a few seconds to make sure they are not going to leave.
I approached this owl butterfly very slowly and cautiously. I knew any sudden
movement or very close approach would scare it away. I used my 100mm macro
lens which gave me good working distance. I carefully composed my shot and
set the aperture to f-11 to get proper depth-of-field and the fastest
shutter speed possible. I selected multi-segment metering and trusted my
camera's suggested reading. I focused on the butterfly and released the
shutter using my cable release.
Right Image:
35mm SLRi, 100mm f-2.8 macro lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen
tripod and pan/tilt head.
Multi-segment metering, 1/125 sec at f-11. Aperture priority and manual
focus.
Left Image: 35mm SLR, 300mm f-2.8 APO lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen tripod and
ball head.
Spot meter, 1/250 sec at f-5.6. Manual exposure mode and manual focus. Seals are very cooperative
animals to photograph. They don't move much so you have all the time you
need to photograph them. I sat a few feet away and used a long lens to fill
the frame without disturbing the seals. I set my camera to manual mode and
manual focus. I closed my 300mm lens down to f-5.6 which resulted in 1/250
sec shutter speed. This gave me good depth-of-field and fast enough shutter
speed. Now it was up to the seals to make their move. Kept my finger on the
shutter release and looked through the viewfinder until one of them looked
right at me. I shot several rolls. I wanted to capture all these guys on
film. They each have their own interesting personality.
Caution: Do not get too close to these animals
even if you feel it's possible. Keep a safe distance and allow these animals
to rest. They need their rest to search for food and escape from predators
in the ocean. Very close approach can cause stress on them and they cause
them to attack. They are cute but can be dangerous.
Sometimes your subjects come
to you. I was taking a break and having a snack when this coot came very
close to see what I was doing (or eating). It couldn't get easier than this.
I attached my 200mm lens and spread my tripod's legs almost flat to the
ground. I spot metered the grass behind the bird at f-2.8 wide open aperture
to throw the background out of focus. If I had metered the coot, final
result would have been overexposed. When photographing a black subject,
meter something middle tone which is in the same light and use that setting
to take the picture. Camera meters can be fooled by several stops since
black does not reflect much light. I focused on the eyes and waited for the
coot to look into the camera before I released the shutter. If I could get
all my subjects to cooperate like this, my photography would be much easier.
Right Image: 35mm SLR, 200mm f-2.8 APO lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen tripod and
ball head.
Spot meter (grass), shutter speed not recorded, f-2.8 on aperture priority
with AE-lock, manual focus.
Recommended reading: John Shaw's Focus on
Nature
Photographing nature is an attempt to order the chaos around us by emphasizing some aspects of the environment while ignoring others. There is a big difference between the procedures and the process of photography and this book attempts to help the reader recognize the difference. The photographer John Shaw presents many of his most spectacular images and, in addition to explanations of how to create such images, he also explores the reasons why he has photographed certain topics. John Shaw is the author of "The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques" and "John Shaw's Close-ups on Nature".