This last week I was fortunate to” catch” the northern lights and make some awesome photographs. Actually if you want to photograph the aurora borealis it requires good planning, patience, and a significant amount of luck.
Aurora Borealis is named after the Roman Goddess of Dawn (Aurora) and the Greek term for northern wind (Boreas.) The aurora borealis is caused by the ionization of nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere, this ionization occurs as a result of solar flares or solar storms that pass through the earth’s atmosphere. The conditions for the aurora borealis are most prominent near the fall and spring equinoxes. Some researchers believe we are entering a period of increased activity for the aurora.
The aurora borealis is only visible at night typically from 10pm to 2am. Best displays are seen away from the lights of a town or city, and ideally when the moon is not out. For more information about the aurora go to the
Geophysical Institute, or the NOAAweb site. These web sites have lots of information about the northern lights in addition to forecast features which attempt to forecast when the displays are at their best. Keep in mind that any forecast is like trying to forecast weather–or more accurately even more challenging because scientists know less about the phenomenon than they do about weather conditions.
Camera Technique: Photographically speaking you will need a good camera with a semi-wide or wide angle lens, a sturdy tripod, and a cable release. Ideally your lens is f4 or faster. The intensity of the display will determine your exposure. In order to capture or “freeze” the shapes of the light-glow you will want to use as fast a shutter speed as possible. Set the ISO on your camera to 800 or faster, noise is an issue. Set the aperture of your lens at it’s most open setting; ie f4 or f2.8. Set your shutter speed to the “BULB” setting. Your exposures may range anywhere from 10 seconds up to several minutes depending upon the intensity of the display. Make a test exposure and check your histogram then adjust your exposure accordingly.
Focus–trying to focus at night is the tricky part. Here are some tips: get to your location early enough to focus on the horizon or other feature in the foreground, remember to turn the auto focus off once you have focused. Use a flash light to shine on a prominent object and focus on that object. If your camera is equipped with Live- View you can pick an object and zoom into that object. Finally you can shoot a test image and then preview it and zoom in to check your focus adjusting as necessary.
Vantage Point: where you go to photograph the northern lights will take a little planning. Optimally you need a clear view of the north horizon, and preferably one that is well away from city light shine. The less light shine the better the display will appear. A tree or some other prominent feature in the foreground helps to place the lights in a context with the landscape. Viewing over a lake or other open water will add reflections and interest to the image.
Post processing: shoot in camera RAW. You will have more lee-way to process the image and fine-tune the exposure and noise effects. If you are not familiar with how to post process your images consider taking a print-making workshop.
September 13, 2011 | Categories: Camera Technique, Photographic Vision, Places To Photograph | 1 Comment »
Clarity Of Vision
Most artists and photographers seek clarity of vision. How can we achieve greater clarity of vision? Photoshop, the image software editing program, offers us a nifty little slider in the Camera Raw processing mode-if we move that slider to the right and increase the value of the clarity setting perhaps we can create images with greater clarity? I wish it were that easy.
Photography offers us the challenge of understanding our inner vision, as well as understanding a complex technology that offers us hundreds of tools that can personalize and clarify our expression, or hopelessly muddle it. The difference between someone who takes pictures and someone who creates photographs is a subtle and sometimes fine-line. But if you study the medium for very long that difference quickly becomes apparent.
The “snap-shooter” is a slave to the medium. They are not aware of the expressive and manipulative tools offered by the medium, either contained within the camera or after image capture; through software programs like Photoshop, or conventional photo-finishing and printmaking techniques.
A photographer realizes the power of the 2-dimensional image. A photographer will create compelling images that engage the viewer. Great photographers will achieve this with images that are clean, crisp, and devoid of anything but those elements that support the intent of the vision conceived of by the photographer.
A “snap-shooter” will create a photograph and accept or reject it based upon the sketchiest of information-these days that can mean a simple glance at the back of a digital camera. If there are imperfections they are accepted at face value without regard to whether they can be corrected or even whether they should be corrected. For the “snap-shooter” the critical analysis of the final photograph is usually equal to the fleeting thought that they put into making the photograph. Without critical consideration of the original subject matter (either before or after the act of making the photograph) the resulting photographic image cannot communicate with any depth or clarity of vision.
Photographers create their best work when their images reflect careful consideration and thoughtful decisions both before and after the act of making the photograph. Clarity is achieved when the photographer is thoughtful about all steps in the image making process:
Subject Selection
Subject Depiction Within The Photographic Composition
Subject Depiction Within Printmaking or Post Processing
September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
Sharpen Your Vision
The world is a curious place; Physicists who study the subatomic world know just how curious it can be. The atom is comprised of three basic sub-atomic particles; Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. Protons and Neutrons are large stationary particles that comprise the nucleus or center of an atom, orbiting at considerable distance from the nucleus is a cloud of tiny particles called Electrons. Most of the space occupied by an atom is empty, yet in the macro world objects comprised of atoms, as we know, are ‘solid as a rock.’
Electrons are very strange little entities; when observed they sometimes behave like particles sometimes like waves, they have even been observed to disappear and spontaneously reappear in an entirely different orbit. In 1997 some physicists at the University of Geneva took a pair of Protons and sent them in opposite directions, when they were 7 miles apart they started to mess with the path of one of the Protons, at precisely the same instant the opposing particle reacted in the opposite manner.* It seems that the closer humans observe the world the stranger the world becomes. I would not want to live in the sub-atomic world. I have spent over 50 years struggling to understand the rules of the larger world I don’t want to have relearn everything now.
Studying photography is similar to studying the sub-atomic world. What works at a minute level of pixels, airy discs, and lines of resolution, sometimes has nothing to do with what we perceive when we look at the photographic image as a whole. I have seen photographic images created with 4 or 5 megapixel point and shoot cameras, cropped and enlarged to 12×18 prints, that are more compelling apparently sharper than 8×10′s created from 21 megapixel state-of-the-art DSLRs. While I don’t mean to imply that the above referenced images were shot at the same settings simultaneously, I do mean to imply that many times the quality of the mechanism used to capture the photographic instant is superfluous when measured against the content of the image. There are times when photographers get hung-up on the minutia, when they should be looking at the whole image and asking themselves if they have created something that matters a hoot to anyone else.
Photography at its core is communication, communication of an idea, thought, or feeling that originated in the photographers mind or heart and is translated through the medium of photography to a viewer. Therefore the end result is only as refined as the original thought or feeling. Like most disciplines definition of a message comes with practice. Sitting around thinking about how you would like to make images that are clear and to the point does you little good unless you act on those thoughts.
It is a working process that requires both reflection and action. It is this combination that I love. The reflective nature of printmaking allows me to consider carefully the images I create. Which images are successful? Why does this image hold my attention while others don’t? What could I have done to make the image better? If I spend too much time reflecting on my images I can lose a connection with what I am trying to communicate in the first place. I also need to be in the field regularly to reinvigorate my vision.
(*–Source: “A Short History Of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson.)
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September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
Digital Salons
Last week I had a chance to spend a couple of days with Bill Kingsbury (Grafton North Dakota) and Tom Alves (Farmington Minnesota.) We were in Wabasha looking for eagles to photograph along the Mississippi River. Unfortunately for us unseasonably warm weather opened most of the river and the birds has dispersed making for difficult eagle photography. We spent our days driving the shores of the river looking for whatever subjects attracted our eye. The above houseboat was good for about an hour’s diversion. Bill showed me some great B&W’s he made there.
Tom Alves is an active member of the Minnesota Nature Photography Club. Our discussion turned to club competition and salon judging. This is always a controversial topic and indeed it was good for several hours of animated conversation. The Minnesota Nature Club adheres to the PSA rules for submitting image for salon judging. The rules are reprinted here:All digital images used in PSA Nature Division approved competitions or for competitions or for competitions governed by PSA Nature Division rules must be considered “Digital Realism”.“Makers may perform any enhancements and modifications that improve the presentation of the image that could have been done at the time the image was taken but that does not change the truth of the original nature story. Cropping and horizontal flipping (equivalent to reversing a slide) are acceptable modifications. Addition of elements, removal of elements other than by cropping, combining elements from separate images, rearranging elements or cloning elements are not acceptable.”
I would offer the following advice to the rules committee for the MN Nature Club or any photography club. Why not take the above rules one step further. State that the photographer must make any adjustments to the photograph in camera prior to making the image. All major brand DSLR’s have ”picture style” settings that control: color, contrast, sharpness, and saturation. The photographer can adjust these as they see fit to achieve the look and feel of the final image.
Images would be shot and saved as JPEGs. If the photographer wanted to adjust the image or have a copy for print making purposes they could simply set the camera to save a Raw+JPEG version.
This slight alteration in the rules draws a very clear and clean line. Camera Raw converters are becoming more and more sophisticated. Photoshop CS4 now offers a “localized adjustment brush” in the converter process. Under the current rules a photographer is left wondering how much alteration in the Raw converter is equal to an improvement that could have been done at the time the image was taken. By only accepting JPEG images with picture styles set prior to making the image there is no ambiguity. Accepting only in-camera images, I believe, gets closer to the tried and true standards of film days when Color Slide Film was; what you see is what you get.
I would further urge MN Nature, or any other club, to open a second category. This category could be called the “Digital Open Imaging Category.” The purpose of this category would be to allow photographers who enjoy post processing their images an avenue to work the image prior to judging. Again this judging format is not far from the film days when photographers enjoyed two salons: slide judging and print competitions. Print salon competitions usually allowed the photographer to alter their image through burning dodging and even in some clubs; composite printing. Images submitted to the “Digital Open Imaging Category” would be judged purely on the merits of the content seen on the screen.
These changes would clarify the acceptable rules by which all the photographers in the club compete. They would also accommodate a variety of shooting styles and aesthetics. This process fits nicely with the goals of the Club’s mission statement: continuing education in the art, science and technique of nature photography; evaluation of members’ photography; appreciation and enjoyment of the outdoors; and fellowship.
John Gregor
February, 2009
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September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
Environmental Portraiture
 A photographic portrait can say a lot about a person. A Landscape photograph can say a lot about a place. Put them together and you can tell a story about the person and their place in the world. The challenges of environmental portraits are that they require good photographic technique for landscape as well as portraiture. Your subject must appear comfortable in their surroundings, visually integrate with the elements of the landscape, and the landscape aspects of the image must also be compelling. This is no small feat. Timing is everything; light, subject posture, and expression have to merge to create an interesting photograph.Light;
Environmental portraits can be made in any environment indoors or out. Both situations require a good command of your photographic technique and knowledge of “fill flash.” Because all uses of your flash should be considered “fill flash,” anytime you use flash you should be thinking about how to integrate it with the ambient light that exists in the scene. I don’t have the space in this article to adequately cover use of flash I will put that off for another article at a later date. Just about any ambient light can be used for portraiture. Mid-day sun is harsh, if you have no choice but to shoot under these conditions consider back lighting your subject and fill in with your flash in TTL mode.
Place;
Your depiction of the environment in an Environmental Portrait is a critical component of a compelling image. Equal regard must be placed on the surroundings as well as the person. Emphasize the intriguing aspects of the landscape. For instance if the sky is dramatic make sure you include plenty of it in the photograph. Scout locations before your photo shoot. You may want to go so far as to photograph the landscape first and then look at the resulting image and consider where you would place a person within the image.
Placement;
Where you ask your subject to pose. Your subject should feel comfortable and safe in the environment where you are photographing them. Allow them to get settled in. Tell them about the image you envision, and ask if they have any ideas to add to the image making session. Good portraiture is collaboration between the photographer and subject.
Timing;
Have your subject move or go about their business as usual. Spend the first few minutes observing them. If you are having them walk through a landscape just watch them the first time through. You should be watching them to see at what moment all the elements of the image converge for greatest impact. You can then ask your subject to repeat the process for purposes of the actual photograph.
Experiment, take chances, and most important have fun!
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September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
Keep Your Eye On The Ball  If you want to win in baseball you have to keep your eye on the ball, in photography it is no different. In the case of photography “the ball” is your message, or what you want to say with your photography.
Recently I received a newsletter from a well known bird photographer. In the newsletter were several example photographs depicting a new software technique that retouched the photos to look like paintings. The resulting images reminded me of the black velvet paintings of Elvis Priestley that were popular in the 1970′s. My only hope is that the above software technique not last any longer than the black velvet painting fad.
Photography has a history of over 170 years, within its history there have been many movements or fads. One of the earliest photographic movements during the mid 1800′s that was popular with Photographic Societies (the fore-runner of Camera Clubs) was experimentation with the new medium. Artists and photographers discovered that by combining exposures of several different images into one print they could expand the subjects of their photographs. The resulting images were typically allegorical in subject matter and frequently shocking to the Victorian sensibilities of the times. This movement was intensely popular for a short time but quickly faded from popular acceptance.
Photographers are now working in an age that is not too different from the early years of photography in the mid 1800′s. New technology has expanded our subject matter and interpretation of the world. As practicing photographers our task is to select the tools that help us realize our vision and not be seduced by snake oil salesmen who hawk the latest software or gadget as the next answer to your photographic problems.
Nothing is more powerful than a clearly seen moment in time that depicts the human condition, or the natural world. No software can improve upon it. No photographic gadget can make it better. Light passing through a lens and recorded on a light sensitive medium is the basics of photography, anything that detracts from the basic methodology gets in the way of the message. JG
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September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
Composition; the basics:
The four dimensional world that exists in front of a camera lens is a very different reality than the resulting two-dimensional depiction in a photographic image. It is the transformation process that creates exciting opportunities for expression and personal interpretation of the world. As photographers we often discuss the limitations of the photographic process, it is the limitations of the process that create and allow for the creative expression in a photograph. Our ability to recognize and conform the “limitations” of the photographic process to a large extent determines our success in creating interesting and compelling images.
The Viewfinder:
The first and foremost lesson that most beginners need to learn is: EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THE VIEWFINDER AT THE MOMENT THE IMAGE IS MADE WILL BE RECORDED ON THE FILM, AND HENCE BE A PART OF THE FINAL IMAGE. As simple as this sounds it is a major obstacle faced by many beginning photographers. I cannot remember how many times I have heard during critique sessions “I didn’t see that when I took the picture.”
Every object that is included in the viewfinder must be visually dealt with as part of the overall composition. This can be a daunting task, as that little viewfinder can portray very complex and large parts of the world around us. Usually the photographer’s primary task is to simplify the composition of the image to only include those elements or objects that create the feeling or message that the photographer wants to convey in the final image.
On the other hand the final image must engage the viewer and give them something that they can look at for an extended time. Creating a visual tension between two or more competing visual elements or objects within the photograph usually does this. Lets look at some techniques to achieve this.
The rule of thirds:
Like most rules in art this rule is made to be broken, never the less it is a good idea to know the rule so we can break it when we see fit to do so. The rule of thirds divides the frame of the image into 9 equal parts. If we draw the proportional frame of a 35mm image it looks like this:
A 35mm image frame divided into thirds looks like this:
The rule of thirds states that visual lines created by horizon lines or other visual elements that bisect the frame should fall on or near the lines that divide the frame into thirds. Further, intersecting lines in the image or objects that are placed in the frame should be placed at the point where the third lines intersect within the frame.
The resulting image has a much more dynamic look or feel to it as opposed to an image made with lines that bisect in the middle of the frame like this:
Remember; this simple rule can always be broken, but in a general way should always be considered when composing an image.
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September 1, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
The following text is reproduced with permission of the publisher.
From Journal of a Prairie Year, by Paul Gruchow:
Originally Posted June 2010
There seems in late spring to be an openness, a frankness, a guilelessness that is missing at other times of the year. I do not suppose that there is more to this than an impression. Life is never innocent.
But there is in spring the openness of the landscape itself. The trees, although green, are not yet in full leaf. One can still see sky through the canopy of a tree. In the grasslands, the vegetation has begun to green, the earliest of the flowers are in bloom, the insects are about, the spiders are at their webs, the music of the birds is in the air. Everywhere there is the motion of life as it has not been evident for months. But the grasses are just sprouting, even the fastest growing of the forbs is yet a diminutive thing. The dense thicket of prairie growth has not yet been formed in late spring. One can still see through the shoots of things to the surprisingly bare prairie floor.
Young birds are in the shell or on the nest or they are fledgling. Despite the cleverness with which they have been domiciled, the persistent wanderer cannot help but stumble upon them. The same is true for the young of the mammals. It takes time and attention to catch a fox in action at any other time of the year, but in spring, even a modestly observant dilettante can find the occupied den of one and stake it out. There is too much youthfulness about life in the spring to keep it long hidden.
Journal of a Prairie Year is now in reprint through Milkweed Editions and is available at their online store.
August 27, 2011 | Categories: Photographic Vision | Leave A Comment »
