INCLUDE WATER IN YOUR IMAGES

Water always adds more interest to our images and gives us more to include to improve our compositions. Water can also add mystique and mystery to our photos. It can be something as simple as droplets or can include the ocean, lakes, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, or cascades and brooks. 

As I share some examples from my experiences, I will explain what caught my eye, why I photographed it the way I did, and other thoughts and feelings that went into the creation of my images.

Let's begin with something that is not common in photography, and that is to photograph the reflection a the scene, knowing that I am going to display it "upside down" in the final photo. I really look for that type of scene, where doing so will work better than the actual scene I see with my eyes.

I'm sure all of you are thinking, "So, what's so great about this shot?" This might sound strange, but when it comes to photography the eyes see too much, and what they see can overwhelm us. We need to extract from what the eyes see. We do that by scanning the scene, which I spend a lot of sentences in my book, Right Brain Photography. 

After I scanned, my eyes went, not to the scene above, but to the reflections. The more I looked at it, the more I could see a surreal image of trees with early spring colors.I could also "see" an image ala Impressionism. In addition, if I froze the movement in the water with a fast shutter speed, I could add surrealism to the image. And I knew at the time I created the shot that I was going to display it "upside down." See the image after the one below to see the final result for my "Dream Transition."  

Okay, now I'll move on to something more traditional. I have photographed Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado many times early in the morning. Every time I've shown up before most people wake up, I hoped to see that magical alpen glow, which is one of those moments in time we as photographers love to freeze for posterity. Of all my early visits to Sprague Lake, only once did I see what my imagination saw.

We saw this scene during one of my many field workshops in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sometimes, nature makes it difficult for us to get what we want. Believe it or not, this scene is at an RV campground in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Most folks who park their RVs during their stay don't see this exact viewpoint because it's at a bit precarious spot. I had to hike down to it in uneven and uncertain terrain, hop over large damp boulders in the creek, then stand on them carefully as I got my shot. The level at which I had to get this perspective was too high to kneel down on the boulders and to low for me to easily look through my viewfinder---I'm sure some of you have found yourselves in this dilemma, right? Thank goodness for tilting back camera screens! 

I share this experience because if we want to be good photographers, we have to do more than understand the technical know-how side and the creative aesthetics side of photography. We have to do what it takes to make the common uncommon; the mundane insane. It's not enough to ask ourselves what f/stop, shutter speed and exposure we want or need. Speaking of exposure, I love shooting under overcast skies--it keeps me from having to think or "do HDR," as this image illustrates. 

For this waterfall shot, Ouzel Falls in Colorado, I got in close to the water flowing at the bottom of the falls, not the waterfall itself. I did that to better interpret the feeling I had when I was there--tranquil and peaceful. It wasn't a subject I was trying to photograph; it was a feeling.

When it comes to waterfalls or any moving/gyrating water motion, we need to ask ourselves what "look" we're going for. The answer to that question will determine what shutter speed we will need to achieve that. In this case, my shutter speed was 1/6 of a second! 

Speaking of waterfalls,if you haven't seen this waterfall, I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list! Multnomah Falls in Oregon. You'll need a wide angle lens for this. Vertical, for me, works best for most waterfalls, unless the surrounding terrain improves my composition.

Another body of water I highly recommend adding to your must-see list is Maroon Lake, which reflects the most photographed peaks in Colorado--Maroon Bells. Notice my composition. Even those small rocks sprinkled on the bottom of the image were intentionally introduced to add what I call "containment," which is one of 7 principles of composition I focus on. If you would like a 1-on-1 ZOOM lesson on composition, please e-mail me and I'll give you more information and tips.  

Bridge reflections always make for great subjects. This is Beaver Bridge near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, built in 1949 and still in use. Cars need to take turns crossing over the 1-lane bridge. This was taken early in the morning, with a thick fog hovering around the landscape. 

I found this beautiful scene in Luzern, Switzerland. I was attracted to the twilight hour reflections on the River Reuss. 

Water doesn't have to be photographed in the spring, summer, or fall. Winter is also fair game!

The state of Wyoming has some of the most dramatic scenes with water--waterfalls, lakes, ponds, hot pools, geysers, etc. Here are a few of my favorites from my birth state. 

Lower Yellowstone Falls from Artist's Point

One of the many natural thermal pools in the park--Midway Geiser Basin. I like to create abstracts by cropping a scene in-camera; in the field; at the time of shooting.  

I'll leave you with one of Yellowstone Park's most iconic sights to behold--Old Faithful. Taking advantage of the camera's continuous shooting mode is a must for these scenarios---just shoot, shoot, shoot, within a split second. In this case, this one image looks like a make believe nuclear explosion, with mushroom cloud and all. 

I hope this photo journey and examples have inspired you to go out and look for water to include in your images. I know, some of these examples were from far-away places, but, for most of us, we can find beautiful scenes within a day's drive, which might include going into neighboring states. Go to the internet and research "waterfalls in.....," state parks in....," "Wildlife preserves in...." Wherever that takes you, have fun!! 

Eli

www.elivega.net