Latest Favorite
This is my latest favorite photo. I took it in March at the Triple D Game farm. I have a ton of Mt. Lion shots from Triple D, probably several hundred good ones and probably a dozen or more really good ones so it was unexpected that I would take more while I was there. This animal was also very reluctant to walk on the snow that day. A mountain lion not liking snow, who would’ve thought? So any time he was on snow he was in an awkward pose and the pictures didn’t look right. I saw this patch of old grass nearby and asked if we could try the animal there. He was much happier there but he wouldn’t leave the grassy area. So I photographed him peering out through the branches. this is a different kind of shot for me and one that I wouldn’t normally take but I have so many shot of mountain lions trying something different seemed like a good idea. Part of the reason I like it so much is probably because it is so different for me. The crop worked out well too. It is now framed and hanging in my office, ever ready to pounce.
Question 2
Another question I get asked a lot these days is “When I took your workshop years ago you said to open up your exposure (over expose) to make white actually look white but now you say that you under expose all your exposures. What gives?” I love these ‘years ago’ kinds of questions. When I taught a lot with John Shaw people used to come up to him all the time and confront him on why he was doing or using something different than from what he wrote about in his books which had come out years earlier. His stock response was always “and I drive a different car as well.” I still don’t know what that means. I guess his point was that things change. We adapt to different sets of circumstances. This is how we grow and become better at whatever we do. If you always did something the same way no matter the advances than you would be stuck in the mud of stubbornness. No one likes to be stuck in the mud of stubbornness, unless, of course, you are a member of congress. When we all shot film, lo those many years ago, we used cameras that were pretty sophisticated but not nearly as sophisticated as the ones we use now. Also, if you can remember back that far, what we did to film is what we got on film. There wasn’t much chance to tweak the exposure or tighten the composition like we now do on our computers. So with film we needed as much precision as possible. For any tricky exposures we often used the spot meter for precise metering. If we put the spot on something white we had to over expose the picture to make the white appear white on the film. We can do the exact same thing with digital exposure and get great results but most of us don’t. Instead we use matrix or evaluative metering, reading the entire frame because matrix/evaluative meters are very, very sophisticated now. But we still have to use our brains to get the proper exposure. By using our brains I mean we have to realize that with digital cameras we still want the whites to be whites but we are also aware that if the whites are too white than we will be in trouble. Blown out whites (whites that are too over exposed) in digital photography are not only detailless (not good) but also dataless (really not good). Without data our computers are helpless to make changes in the image. In other words, computers won’t have any effect on these blown out highlights no matter what we do. These areas will always be blown out, distracting, dreadful whites. To prevent getting blown out highlights when using matrix/evaluative metering I often fudge on the exposure and slightly underexpose the picture. I do this often when shooting landscapes because there are always hidden areas that I don’t recognize that can easily blow out. I also always do it when shooting in significant sunlight because the increased contrast will usually lead to some very bright whites and some blown out whites. How much do I underexpose? My default amount is -.7 stops (2/3 of a stop under). I use the exposure compensation setting on my camera to set this amount so every picture I take is slightly underexposed and looks dark on the LCD on the back of my camera. Even though I do this I still check the histogram after every shot. Sometimes I take all the exposure compensation off if the histogram is too far over to the left (dark) side of the graph. I rarely add more compensation though. If I find I need to shoot at -1 or even -1.3 stops than the light is too contrasty and I know I should stop shooting until the light improves. So if the light is low contrast it is fine to spot meter something white in your picture and make your meter read a stop or so over exposed just like we used to do with film. If the light is stronger though, my experience tells me that I if I do this I will get blown out highlights in my picture. To avoid this I set the camera to under expose a bit. The resulting picture will be darker than it should be when I first see it on the back of my camera but I know I can fix it later in the computer. It is important to realize that all of these are just guidelines, nothing is written in stone. There are no hard, fast rules for proper exposure because the light is always changing. By using the guidelines above you will have to do a minimum of fussing to adjust your exposure.
What’s Next?
I did an evening program a few weeks ago for a local camera club. Afterwards, a former student came up to me to say hello and ask me a question. He said that at the end of the workshop he was in he asked me what he should work on when he gets home. “What did I say?” I asked, a bit leery, wondering if I was paying attention back then (always iffy) and said something silly or if I had actually given him a good answer. Since he wasn’t rearing back with a clenched fist I felt pretty secure that at least I wasn’t going to be ducking a punch. “You said to photograph locally.” “And did you?” “I did and it has been great. I live in a little town in Connecticut. I used to not photograph while I was at home thinking that all the pictures were elsewhere…in the national parks out west or in the wildlife refuges in the south. That’s where everyone else went to take pictures so it must be where I should go. Nobody ever comes to Connecticut to photograph. But then you said to photograph locally and I started to think about it and I realized that nobody photographs in Connecticut…nobody photographs in Connecticut…nobody–photographs–in-Connecticut. Ding! I have the state to myself! It has been the best thing I have ever done photographically.” “Well, that’s great. I am glad it worked out so well for you.” Turning, I head for the door, anxious to start the long trip home. “Now what?” I stop and turn back to him. “Now what?” “Yeah. Now what should I do? What is the next step?” “The next step?” I turn again and look longingly at the exit. “Yeah. What comes after photographing locally?” Okay, I can wait five more minutes. I actually get this question a lot. What should I do now? I suppose that people think I should know what they are doing now so I can tell them what they should do next. I don’t but luckily, the answer is in two parts so chances are I have a pretty good shot of at least telling them something worthwhile. The first part of the answer is photograph locally. The second part? I told him to “photograph a story.” “A story?” “Yes, a story. Pick a theme and illustrate it. It can be anything…anything that you care about and are interested in. It is best to pick something that you are passionate about but for now just pick a theme, an area of concentration. Follow a stream from its start to where it empties into a river. Do the seasons of a pond, or a meadow, or a reserve or your garden. Tell the history of that old barn you drive by or the historic building downtown. Interview the oldest person in town and tell his or her story in pictures. Or go to the local hysterical society, I mean, historical society and take now-a-days pictures of back-then pictures from the same spot.” “A story, I’ve never thought about a story. I like that.” “It will be the best thing you will ever do creatively and your photography will be new and exciting and unique. Plus you will have something to share with people so you will be in demand and you will be the local expert in your theme. Think stories rather than single pictures.” “Stories, okay. Local stories. I can do that.” “You’re gonna be surprised how much fun it is.” “I’ll catch you next time and good luck with your new company.” “Thanks, and good luck with your stories.”