Burwell School of Photography Blog

This past weekend we held our first ever Macro Photography class. We had a great group of students who were eager to learn and the weekend turned out to be fantastic!

Saturday was primarily spent in lecture with a couple of creativity exercises thrown in to help get everyone’s “stretchy minds” into gear. On Sunday we set up a number of macro creativity stations with a variety of objects at each for the students to photograph. Potential subjects included flowers, old watches, feathers, milk, and many other items. Students were given a set amount of time on each station and then rotated to the next station to make sure that everyone got an opportunity with all the items.

After every couple of stations we’d take a break so that a selection of each student’s images could be loaded onto a computer to be shared and discussed with the group. It was very satisfying to see how the overall level of creativity increased as the class went on.

Our next Macro Photography Class runs the weekend of October 20-21, 2012.

Here are a few of the images that our students produced during the class. I’m sure you’ll agree that their work is outstanding!

© Adrienne Jones | Student at BSOP

© Nikki Munro | Student at BSOP

© Heather Dymchuk | Student at BSOP

© Adrienne Jones | Student at BSOP

Snow Paul

The other day I was supposed to be working on writing a new course. I was having a hard time getting motivated and my mind was frequently wandering. Eventually I went outside to take the cat for a walk (our cat is eighteen years old and only has three legs and enjoys company while exploring the back yard) when I noticed that the temperature and snow conditions were about perfect for making a snowman.

It has literally been decades since I made my last snowman, but I dutifully set about the task. At a certain point, I decided to abandon the traditional snowman format and instead decided to fashion something of a self-portrait. I’m hardly a skilled snow sculptor but I was thrilled with the results I achieved. When my wife got home, her jaw dropped and she started laughing hysterically because it seems that I’d captured the essence of myself.

All of this could have been just a waste of time; a simple distraction from the work I was supposed to be doing. Instead, when I returned to my desk, I found the creative juices were flowing freely and where I was once staring endlessly at a blank screen, ideas were now pouring into my mind and I was working through the tasks at a great pace.

What’s become clear to me, is that regardless of your goal, one needs to make the time to unleash your “stretchy brain” in the pursuit of being both productive and creative. By spending some time ‘playing’, I unlocked some of the creative blocks of my brain.

The exact same sort of exercises will provide similar results for your photography. Look for ways to think outside the box. It is very easy to get stuck in a rut and end up doing the same things over and over again. Forcing yourself into some sort of creative exercise is an excellent way to break outside of the box. You don’t have to be naturally talented at what you choose to do and you don’t have to show your work to anyone. Sketch, doodle, rearrange your furniture, go for a walk and daydream , cook a nice meal, try some features on your camera you haven’t used before etc etc. Creativity of any sort makes your brain happy!

I was recently recognized by Younes Bouhnar on Google+ as having one of his favourite portfolios of 11 pictures shot in 2011.  For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a photography instructor at the Burwell School of Photography in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and a contributing editor and regular columnist with Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine.

I thought I’d take a moment to share those images with you and tell the story behind how they were made from a photography education point of view (you can click on the images to see a larger version of the image)….

Coyote coming over a ridge on a fall day - CA

This was a test image taken during my Fall Wildlife Photography Workshop held at the Triple “D” Game Farm in Kalispell, Montana.  While I don’t shoot purposely for myself during my workshops, I do take test shots to help the students with suggestions for exposure information.  We purposely set up on this ridge and had the trainers work with the Coyote to come over the top of the lens.  This wasn’t the exact shot I’d envisioned for my students, but it worked out well none the less.  Here are the technical specifications for the image:  1/1000th of a second at F5.6, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS @ 320mm, ISO 1600, hand held.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog pearing out of its burrow amongst the fall colour

My wife an I had the opportunity to borrow a Suzuki “Gator” ATV and run around an old abandoned game farm and golf course this past fall.  The fall colours were fantastic and I’d spotted this young prairie dog when I was there a couple of weeks previous who wasn’t too shy and so I managed to work my way up close to him; lying on my belly and shimmying closer and closer until I managed to get this wide-angle shot of him peering out of his burrow with the beautiful blue sky and fall colours in the background.  It is fantastic when the image you end up creating matches what you had in your head before you pressed the shutter button.  Here are the technical specifications for the image:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-70 2.8L @ 35mm, 1/2000th of a second at F4, ISO 400, hand held.  Aperture priority mode with -1/3 exposure compensation.

Perigrine Falcon standing in a grassy clearing - CA

This is a picture of a Peregrine Falcon who is owned by a falconer friend of mine.  You can’t see them because the tall grass hides them, but the bird does have jesses around its ankles to keep it tethered to its perch which is out of frame.  For this image, I wanted that intimate eye contact so again I was down on my stomach, shooting from a prone position and waiting until this lovely male Peregrine would give me its full attention.  Here are the technical specifications for the image:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS @ 400mm, 1/200th of a second at F7.1, ISO 400, hand held.

River rocks under the water found near Kalispell, Montana, USA

I was walking back to the car one sunny summer afternoon in Montana when I was about to step over a small creek that was running through the path I was on.  As I looked down, I was impressed at how the nearly direct overhead sun was acting as the running water refracted its rays and the shadows the water was creating.   I didn’t have my tripod with me, so I set up for a couple of hand held shots and I ended up really liking the abstract dynamic shot I ended up creating.  The technical specifications for this shot are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS @ 200mm, 1/400th of a second at F9.0, ISO 400, hand held.

Common Loon transporting a pair of chicks on its back

This shot of a Common Loon with two chicks on its back was made during our Loon Photography Workshop last July.  My clients finished photographing for the morning and so my wife and I took the boat and went out.  My wife is a huge nature lover and loved seeing the loons up close and personal.  For me, the different expressions on the baby’s faces is what makes this shot work for me.  The technical specifications are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x Extender II @ 700mm, 1/1250th of a second at F5.6, ISO 800, Gitzo 3541 XLS tripod, Jobu-Design BWG-Pro Gimbal tripod head.

Alberta Prairie Panorama

I was chasing a thunder storm on the way home from a workshop and I was really enjoying the thunder head formations over the prairies.  I pulled over along Highway 22 and made this panorama image from 12 individual vertical shots that were hand held as I pivoted on a spot.  The shots were stitched together in Photoshop and I was pleased at how well it worked out.  The technical specifications are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS @ 100mm, 1/1000th of a second at F6.3, ISO 100, Manual exposure and white balance, hand held.

Baby Black Bear playing in a hollow tree stump - CA

This is another one of those test shots from a workshop, my Spring Wildlife Photography Workshop in this case, and it is a picture of a baby black bear named Casey from the Triple “D” Game Farm.  This cute little fellow has a ton of personality and I think it really comes across in this shot.  The technical specifications are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS, @250mm, 1/250th of a second at F6.3, ISO 1000, hand held.

Young girl reaching into her purse

This is actually a picture of my niece.  The photo was taken at our wedding barbecue.  She’s a great poser and when I saw an opportunity for a candid shot where she was lined up with a nice background, I got down on the ground to get to her eye level and called to her to look up.  She did and that smile is spectacular.  Here are the technical specifications for the image:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS @185mm, Canon 580EX Flash in high-speed sync mode, 1/1250th of a second at F6.3, ISO 400, hand held.

Snowflake Yanling - Stellar Dendrite Snowflake

This picture of a snowflake was one my favourite of 2011.  It is classified as a Stellar Dendrite snowflake and I named it Yanling.  I love the way that this temporary art form is created out of almost nothing (well water vapor) by nature.  I was honoured when the Canadian Press picked up the story on my snowflake photography this January and the story ended up running in many newspapers, radio stations and even a few TV news casts.  The technical specifications for this image are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 65mm MP-E 1-5x Macro lens, Kenko Extension tubes, 4 external flash units, 1/250th of a second at F4, ISO 100, copy stand.

Oil on water...the beginning

This shot was created in preparation for the Macro Photography Course we’re running in March of 2012.  It was created by putting just enough water in the bottom of a glass cooking pan to cover the bottom and then adding some cooking oil and swirling things up.  That cooking pan was then placed above some colourful cloth and was lit using a couple of LED lights.  I really loved the other worldly effect it achieved.  The technical specifications for this shot are:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 180mm F3.5L Macro, 0.4 Seconds at F5.6, ISO 100, Gitzo 3541 XLS tripod, Really Right Stuff BH55 ballhead.

Cougar jumping the red rocks in Utah - CA

This shot is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favourite shot of the year.  It was made near Zion National Park and Hurricane, Utah.  The cat doing the jump is an elder statesman of the Triple “D” Game Farm named Andy and on this particular day, he performed spectacularly.  The weather was a bit cool when we were there this past April and in fact we had to wait out a snow storm before we could begin this shoot.  When I surveyed the scene I could see that if I was lucky, there was a perfect spot that I could capture Andy as he jumped between the two rocks.  I positioned myself at the very back of the group (shooting over a lot of heads) and managed to time this shot perfectly as he jumped.  I wasn’t shooting a high frame-rate camera so it isn’t like I got 10 or 15 shots of this jump.  I got three.  And, in my opinion, this one is about perfect.  It looks fantastic printed on aluminium too!  Technical specifications for this shot:  Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS @210mm, 1/2000th of a second at F5.6, ISO 400, hand held.

I hope that you enjoyed my top 11 shots of 2011 and would welcome any and all comments or questions that you might have about them.

Snow covered boulders near Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

While a lot of photographers find that winter is an excellent time to hibernate, there are really no good excuses for staying indoors and avoiding winter.  But, you do need to take steps to protect your equipment.  Here’s a few ideas to keep things safe.

One of the biggest problems for cameras in cold weather is condensation.  Condensation occurs when you bring a camera from the dry cold temperatures outdoors to the warm and relatively moist conditions in your vehicle or home. When that warm moist air reaches the sensor on your cold camera, condensation occurs which can leave your sensor covered in spots or even damage the electronics.  The solution to this issue is to remove your memory card and battery(s) from your camera and then transfer your gear into a Ziploc type of bag and seal it in there with the cold air while you are still outside.  Now when you bring the camera gear into a warm area, the moisture can’t get to the camera to condense  on the camera’s sensor.  Once everything warms up to room temperature you can remove it from the baggy.

XL Ziploc Bags

Another issue for winter photography is battery life.  Cold is the mortal enemy of battery life and unfortunately there just isn’t a lot a person can do about that.  But, what you can do is keep a spare battery or two in an inside jacket pocket next to your body.  The warmth of your body will keep the batteries toasty warm and when the battery in your camera succumbs to the cold, all you need to do is swap it for a warm battery.  The cold battery will slowly warm and you’ll probably find it has renewed energy when called upon.

Another bit of winter annoyance comes from having your breath condensate and freeze on your camera’s viewfinder while you’re trying to focus.  The solution for this frustration  may just be the cheapest photography accessory you will ever own. Are you ready for this brilliant invention?  Okay, here it is:

You can use a bendy straw as a type of snorkel to direct your warm moist breath away from your camera’s viewfinder so that you can continue to make those great winter shots. This  tip also provides endless entertainment for anyone who happens to be watching you.  Try it, it works!

Bendy Straw

Fight back against the winter doldrums and get out there and make some great photographs! Hopefully these tips will make your winter photography sessions more tolerable!