January 23rd, 2009 Rob Sheppard
How nature and the environment are portrayed has changed over the years. When I edited Outdoor Photographer magazine, I saw great photography that showed off the dramatic, big scenes. But in recent years, such photos begin to look the same because so many photographers are doing them. They have much less impact on readers.
In addition, today’s economy and harsh environmental realities have made people look again at what nature means to them. Still, most people don’t like to be hit over the head with messages about doom and gloom. They still want to see the beauty of nature and find a connection to it because it is an antidote to our times. But the “same-old” big landscape photos don’t do this.
There is no question that when all photos start looking the same, no matter how “pretty” they are, viewers get bored and stop looking at nature photography.People then can lose touch with our natural world because they start to think that everything is okay based on the pretty pictures on that wall calender.
How do we create images that will get attention for our subjects? In large part, this is an attitude that one takes when photographing by deliberately looking for photos that are not the usual, common, and typical nature photography. But that should not be only “what not to do” — it is also about looking for the unexpected, the surprising, the image that takes the viewer to unexplored visual places. We explore this to a degree in a class I do at BetterPhoto.com on Impact in Photography.
But this idea goes far beyond that, I hope. I believe our natural world faces serious challenges and deserves more than just another “pretty picture” from us as photographers. I am not suggesting that pretty pictures are not important or that we should all become raving environmentalists. I just want people to appreciate and understand nature as more than a place where calendar photos come from. I want people to experience my photographs and the photographs of other photographers as a way of connecting again to our natural world.
Posted in Nature, Photoshop techniques, Uncategorized, Workshops and Classes, landscape photography, nature photography | 3 Comments »
January 15th, 2009 Rob Sheppard
When I was editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine, we would report on all sorts of outdoor products so readers had an idea of what was available. Now I don’t have to talk about “everything”, but only things that I have found useful and that might also be useful to my readers.
I have long had a problem with watch bands when outdoors. Leather ones would get wet, metal ones were too loose for field work and plastic ones just were cheap. I was at a local outdoor store last year and found the EK USA Watch Cat Bands. EK USA is a Utah-based outdoor company that offers specialty gear for the outdoors person. This band is a waterproof strap that wraps around your wrist with Velcro. It is quite comfortable, won’t fall off and getting wet is not a problem. There are also a lot of interesting designs that can go with your watch (even my TAZ watch — the Warner Bros. tasmanian devil cartoon character!).
I liked the band so much that I went back to find another, but the store didn’t have a good selection of designs, so I went online. Lots of stuff at EK USA (www.ekusa.com), so I found a couple of designs I liked. One was the wrong size, so when I contacted customer service, they learned about my work and offered to send some samples of other products to try.
They actually offer some neat stuff that is obviously designed by people who actually spend time outdoors. This is all little stuff that fits a pocket or your camera bag. One product that I found really interesting was the Lens Cleaning Kit. This is not for camera lenses, but for eyeglasses. Since I do wear glasses, I thought this was a great option for a camera bag. It includes a microcloth cleaning cloth, a miniature screwdriver for tightening screws and “Cat Crap” anti-fog lens cleaner. The lens cleaner (I know, the name is odd) works really well, especially in cold conditions that can make your lenses fog. There is also a Cat Crap lip balm (if nothing else, you can impress your friends by using Cat Crap on your lips) that does seem to work well in dry conditions common to winter.
I also like the Key Cats (there they go again with the cats) Key Retainer (a key chain). One of the problems I often face is having a little light for my work when shooting at dusk and into twilight. This key retainer includes one of the best little LED lights I have found because of its size, power and operation, plus it includes a small carabiner clip that makes this great to attach to a ring on a camera bag.
Finally, there is a fleece goggle case. Now I don’t really have much of a need for a goggle case, but it so happens that it is sized about right for a flash, a dedicated flash cord, plus a couple of small accessories, such as a Stofen light modifier or Lumiquest folding modifier. I’ve always had a problem keeping all of that together — this bag does well to hold them conveniently.
So I was pleased to learn more about EK USA and how their products can help an outdoor photographer.
Posted in Equipment thoughts | Comments Off
January 6th, 2009 Rob Sheppard
I enjoyed my visit to relatives in Maine just before Christmas. I have to share one thing I found that really helped in cold weather photography. We had gone over to Dick’s Sporting Goods in Brunswick looking for some gloves for my daughter. For some reason, the hunting section caught my eye.
Hunters and photographers actually have similar needs when it gets cold. Gear gets cold and saps the energy right out of your fingers. Yet, heavy gloves or mittens can be difficult to use. The last thing you want to do is take those warm coverings off when you need to change a shutter speed! Or a lens!
Some photographers like shooter’s mittens which have an opening that allows you to put your fingers out. I have never liked them, finding them uncomfortable, plus that opening lets in all the cold air.
I have a pair of Thinsulate-lined gloves from Walmart, of all places, that work quite well. They happen to have come from the hunting department, so they are camou, but they are soft and flexible, not too thick, have leather (or something like it) on the fingers (which is really important for gripping things in the cold), but they can’t be used when the temps drop below 20 degrees or so. I have had some heavier gloves that sort of work, but they are awkward.
Then I discovered the Hot Shot shooter’s or hand muff at Dick’s. If you watched any football when teams were playing outside in the cold, you might have seen quarterbacks with something like this around their waists. The Hot Shot muff sits around your waist and has openings at both sides for your hands. It has Thinsulate insulation, plus it is that handy camou color (well, it does look outdoors!).
I tried this in Maine when the temps hovered around 0 and it was fantastic! This is the piece of cold weather gear I have long been looking for. You can wear lighter gloves, then put your hands in this “muff” to keep them warm when you are not shooting (or just to warm them up). You can even take your hands out of the gloves and rub them together. I think you could even put in one of those chemical hand warmers.
This made a huge difference to me and really helped keep my hands warm and functional. I may have been a “tough Minnesotan” at one time, but cold hands never appealed to me, and even less so now that I am a “warm-weather Californian.” I have to tell you that this lightweight, easily carried little warming sleeve is now an important part of my cold weather photo gear. It is inexpensive enough (under $20, but I don’t remember the exact cost) that you could even pick one up if you forgot it on a trip.
Posted in Digital Photo Techniques, Digital camera techniques, Equipment thoughts, landscape photography, nature photography | 2 Comments »
