One element of my photography that I truly enjoy is capturing the cultures or people of Africa in their natural habitat. In doing so, I usually make use of large off-camera lights to capture the mood of the shot. This setup involves both direct or feathered light from the flash and modifier as well as balancing daylight with the flash.
Read MoreRecently, I was privileged to accompany Rick and Susan Sammon on a wonderful photo workshop in Iceland. At the end of the trip all of the workshop participants were invited to pick six of their favorite shots from the trip and do a little show & tell. Rick and Susan feel that this group slide show is one of the most educational aspects of all their workshops.
Read MoreHey Rick! What's your f-stop?" That's the question I get asked most on my photo workshops. I reply, with a smile, "My friend. What is your creative vision, what is your goal?" Those are the important question for photographers to ask themselves.
In this blog series I will share with you my goal and camera settings for some of my favorite recent photographs, which will be featured in my next (#37) book, Evolution of an Image (September 2016 publication).
Here goes.
Location: Telluride, Colorado
Goal: Capture the beauty of what are known as the “Dancing Aspens.”
Thought process: I had never seen or heard of “Dancing Aspens” – trees on a hillside of Telluride that looks as though they are in motion. I knew I had to go wide, but I was not sure whether a horizontal or vertical shot was the way to go, so I tried both formats, from many different angles. I also knew the high contrast range required HDR photography, so I set my Canon 5D Mark III to the HDR mode.
Tech Info
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm
Camera settings:
• One-shot autofocus – for a sharp shot;
• Built-in HDR – to capture the dynamic range of the scene;
• ISO 640 – due to the relatively low light in early morning, f/8 – the aperture of three-bracketed sequence, 1/125th second – middle shutter speed of bracketed sequence.
For more tips, tricks and techniques, see my current best-selling book, Creative Visualization for Photographers. Also check out my KelbyOne on-line classes.
Explore the light,
Rick
Traveling to remote parts of the world to capture dramatic wildlife images is not within the reach of many photographers. However, that does not mean getting high impact images of wildlife is also out of reach. Most photographers live within easy driving distance of a Zoo or animal park. By using solid photography techniques in the field and post processing it is possible to get dramatic wildlife shots. Below is my list of tips and examples of how to get the shot at the Zoo.
Read MoreI'm just back from Iceland, where I was leading a photo workshop and working on some new images for my forthcoming (and 37th) book, Evolution of an Image.
I'm currently processing those images and will share them with you shortly, but for now, I'd like to share my favorite story from the trip – an inspirational story, no less.
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