As I had mentioned in the previous blog I was going to do a photo shoot specifically targeting Trillium's. A wonderful day presented itself to me and that was the opportunity that I'd been waiting for, so off with tripod and my Sigma 300mm combination telephoto macro lens in hand I began my trek into the Rouge Valley in search of the tri petalled pride of Ontario blooms. The previous week I had spotted a number of likely clusters by the sides of the trail upon reaching these areas I was not disappointed, on the contrary I was ecstatic at their abundance.
Trillium as I stated in another blog are very sensitive plants and if disturbed may not bloom the next season and for that matter may never bloom again. There's something very metaphorical about that, as children if we are left alone after receiving the proper attention there is a tendency to create our own lives and do so quite well in most cases, however if we are over protected or intimidated by some outside force there often times is a profound stunting of the creative process that is our lives. Wall flowers are created by the very walls they cling to.
Getting back to the shoot I chose to use my remote shutter control to avoid any shake due to the close proximity of the subjects. My camera does not have an anti shake feature, it demands the hands of a statue especially when using low shutter speeds and high magnification lenses. I was quite happy with the results the light was diffused by passing clouds at varying intervals and this was a great assistance to avoiding the burn out that sometimes occurs when photographing white flowers. After a while I felt the old familiar back pains from hunching over the tripod so I thought I'd take a stretch break.
Silence is something we never truly experience and while I was stretching my ears started to pick up on the incredible amount of birdsong that was issuing from the canopy above me. My curiosity was tweaked as I wondered what the birds looked like that made these beautiful sounds. Scanning with my eyes above me I began to pinpoint the various birds that were showing off their musicianship to whomever had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time. Then came somewhat of an epiphany I first of all thought to myself ..."Why aren't I trying to capture some of these warblers?" Continuing along this line of thought I came to the realization that I was for the best part of my time in photography either looking all around me or straight down at the ground. My creative glances had never for any significant amount of time ever concentrated on what was above me!
Once again a life lesson in the key of metaphor! My sights had never focused on the loftier side of life I'd never really thought of gaining that pinnacle where greatness is found. Perhaps this was to be a new perspective illustrated to me by that which I have always called my greatest teacher nature herself. I don't believe there is any such thing as something happening by accident in ones life this was no accident either. Certainly as an artist some of us have dreams of making our mark on the world but sadly some of us have bought into the old adage that says" artists' are always poor and never become known until they're dead. " That is not always the case there are always exceptions, why? No it's not just because of connections or good luck it's not even depending on how much talent you have. You know what it really depends on? WORK! WORK! WORK! If you don't believe me think about this, how many people do you know that are incredibly talented, more so than a lot of the so called present day masters yet they go unrecognized at least a handful right? To be recognized as anything there must be a consistent effort not just on the work itself but on the promotion of that work! One without the other is virtually useless take it from me I've messed up on promotion plenty of times but the main reason I didn't succeed in the past was due to the fact that I didn't persist at the promotion end of things I'd get lost in a painting and fall back into the old bad habits of the past with thoughts like. "If my work is strong enough it will be recognized in the end." Bunk! If nobody is seeing or talking about your work you don't exist in the public eye and if you don't catch the attention of the masses you're going to lose your well you get the idea.
Okay now that your heads are up in the sky tracking those freedom fliers, remember when you're done shooting or creating whatever, you have to start finding your promotional wings if you want to fly with the eagles. I'm still finding mine, but if I can be of some help or inspiration to anyone out there or vice verso that is trying to ascend to a higher level in life then let's do it.
I will be posting some of the shots I took on this shoot as well as the first shot of a bird telling me what I ought to have known already. It's not much of a shot but it's a start.
Till Next Time ....
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Trillium Time
I was out with my family walking through the Rouge Valley which is right by where I live in Scarborough. There were millions of these little flies that kept flying in your ears nose mouth and any other orifice they could find entry into. Once we got used to these little annoyances we stumbled upon one of my favourite photographic subjects which happens to be Ontario's official flower the Trillium. The clusters that we were looking at were all white however they do come in purple and pink I had the good look a few years ago of finding a purple specimen.
When photographing natural fauna such as the Trillium it must be kept in mind that these particular flowers are protected as are all other zoological species in the park, it is an offense to pick them. Trillium's take about thirteen years to flower and if disturbed may not flower the next year or for that matter ever again. The manner in which Trillium's are spread is very interesting their main distributor is the ant. Ants are extremely attracted to little sugar sacks that are attached to the seeds they haul the seeds into their ant hills along with their sugar sacks and leave the seeds thus the seed is planted and ready to start it's cycle of life, which lasts in total an average of twenty three years.
When photographing Trillium's there is always a tendency to burn out the white petals due to the high reflecting quality of their petals. Set your aperture on a fairly wide open setting and use a tripod along with a remote trigger if you have one to avoid shake, you can also try using a polarizing filter. Get as close as possible to the flower to capture it's subtleties.
You should find Trillium's in full bloom from the beginning of May until the end of May. Remember make every effort not to disturb the area around the flower. Have fun!
Till Next Time...
When photographing natural fauna such as the Trillium it must be kept in mind that these particular flowers are protected as are all other zoological species in the park, it is an offense to pick them. Trillium's take about thirteen years to flower and if disturbed may not flower the next year or for that matter ever again. The manner in which Trillium's are spread is very interesting their main distributor is the ant. Ants are extremely attracted to little sugar sacks that are attached to the seeds they haul the seeds into their ant hills along with their sugar sacks and leave the seeds thus the seed is planted and ready to start it's cycle of life, which lasts in total an average of twenty three years.
When photographing Trillium's there is always a tendency to burn out the white petals due to the high reflecting quality of their petals. Set your aperture on a fairly wide open setting and use a tripod along with a remote trigger if you have one to avoid shake, you can also try using a polarizing filter. Get as close as possible to the flower to capture it's subtleties.
You should find Trillium's in full bloom from the beginning of May until the end of May. Remember make every effort not to disturb the area around the flower. Have fun!
Till Next Time...
Friday, May 1, 2009
Photography Tips
Everyone has there own methodologies of how to take the best pictures so I thought I'd share a few of my own with you. A lot of people when they are taking pictures simply look at what they want to shoot and press the shutter button. Once in a blue moon shooting this way will give you good results most of the time they will look like amateur holiday pictures at best.
Most of the time in fact almost without exception there is a superior composition to be had just by swivelling your body three hundred sixty degrees and raising or lowering your position in regards to your subject. Try to keep in mind your thirds rule the horizon line should almost never be in the middle of your picture but there are exceptions to every rule, knowing when the exception is at hand comes with experience. Putting your main subject smack dab in the centre of your shot pretty well always makes for a boring shot.
I sometimes like to lay down when I'm taking a shot just to give a different perspective this works especially well when shooting animals. A shot taken at the animals natural walking height can give you more of an idea of what their world is like. As I mentioned above a centre of interest doesn't usually make for a good composition if it is literally in the centre of the shot.
Zooming in on one particular part of a scene will often times make for a much more satisfying shot than one that tries to get the whole subject in. Do not shoot directly into the sun unless you are wanting a silhouette effect even then it is not only bad for you eyes it is also bad for the cameras sensor and can if done for prolonged periods of time damage the chip.
Most people can't hold there camera steady below 1/60th of a second so a tripod especially in low light conditions is pretty well a necessity for the serious shooter, otherwise you are going to get blurring in your images due to camera shake. A tripod gives you a lot more scope for exposure thus increasing your creative use of light which is what photography is all about you are literally painting with light. Another handy little device to have is a remote control unit which enables you to shoot an object without touching the camera this is extremely valuable when you are shooting in macro (highly magnified close up). You can use your cameras time release but it's not as efficient. These are just a few little tips that I have found helpful I hope you do too.
Till Next Time....
Most of the time in fact almost without exception there is a superior composition to be had just by swivelling your body three hundred sixty degrees and raising or lowering your position in regards to your subject. Try to keep in mind your thirds rule the horizon line should almost never be in the middle of your picture but there are exceptions to every rule, knowing when the exception is at hand comes with experience. Putting your main subject smack dab in the centre of your shot pretty well always makes for a boring shot.
I sometimes like to lay down when I'm taking a shot just to give a different perspective this works especially well when shooting animals. A shot taken at the animals natural walking height can give you more of an idea of what their world is like. As I mentioned above a centre of interest doesn't usually make for a good composition if it is literally in the centre of the shot.
Zooming in on one particular part of a scene will often times make for a much more satisfying shot than one that tries to get the whole subject in. Do not shoot directly into the sun unless you are wanting a silhouette effect even then it is not only bad for you eyes it is also bad for the cameras sensor and can if done for prolonged periods of time damage the chip.
Most people can't hold there camera steady below 1/60th of a second so a tripod especially in low light conditions is pretty well a necessity for the serious shooter, otherwise you are going to get blurring in your images due to camera shake. A tripod gives you a lot more scope for exposure thus increasing your creative use of light which is what photography is all about you are literally painting with light. Another handy little device to have is a remote control unit which enables you to shoot an object without touching the camera this is extremely valuable when you are shooting in macro (highly magnified close up). You can use your cameras time release but it's not as efficient. These are just a few little tips that I have found helpful I hope you do too.
Till Next Time....
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