Thursday, December 16, 2021

 PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE


Unless it's a paid assignment, I prefer to photograph people on-site. Those "environmental" images create more interest and intrigue, and are simply more engaging. 

Sometimes, my images are totally spontaneous and candid. At other times, they are purposefully planned. When I plan, or "orchestrate" them, I usually want my models to look natural, as opposed to that "say cheese" look. 

I don't like to talk about lenses when it comes to sharing tips on the subject. "What lens should I use" is not the right question. The right question is, "How do I want this to look?" Let your answer to that question determine what lens you should use. The same goes for "What f/stop should I use?" 


Okay, with this short introduction, let me share a few examples from my collection. 


To this day, this is one of my favorites from my entire collection. This is Michael. I saw Michael as I walked around Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder, Colorado. He was inside Starbucks, looking over some paperwork. 

I went inside, introduced myself, and asked him if he would mind if I took his picture. He graciously allowed me. I told him he could just keep doing what he was doing. I wanted a candid look.  I kept the shadows dark, to emphasize his face, reading glasses, and beard.



This is Vince, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Vince owns this classic beauty--a 1937 Chev.' It reminds me of those Chicago gangster cars we see in movies; those Al Capone era cars. 

I invited Vince for an early-morning shoot in front of this still-operational 1950s hamburger stand. He is quite a talented musician. Among the several instruments he plays is the trumpet. I asked him to leave the car lights on as he posed for me.  



Pearl St. Mall in downtown Boulder, Colorado has been a go-to place for me to find interesting people to photograph. I liked the dark areas surrounding this trumpet player. I liked his white sunglasses and red coat against the gold trumpet.



I get a lot of comments about this next one. Someone recently commented that it had the same feel to it as the painting, Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper.

I had to work fast to get this shot. Within a matter of short minutes, all of a sudden all the trains and people were gone, leaving this dainty figure all by herself. It's the type of image that begs a lot of questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? Where is she going? Isn't she afraid to be there all alone? 

                            


Ah, this is a fun one! There is even a country song about Luchenbach, Texas. I just couldn't resist. This is culture in the raw! Beer, overalls, cigarette, and sneakers. Life is good.



Here, I am back on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado. These guys were actually street performers. They were, as you can see, dressed in silver; even their faces and glasses. What I do when I encounter these situations is I get my composition, make sure my exposure is the way I want it, and then just patiently wait for something to happen. When that guy in the middle, with the red lips, noticed me, he looked straight at me. Click.




This is on 16th Street in Denver, Colorado. This guy's stage name was JAMBOT. He could do some amazing illusion tricks that seemingly defied gravity. He too was painted in silver.



This is Paul, a Plein Aire artist in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I thought it would be artistic to convert everything to black & white, except the colorful painting Paul was working on, as well as his creative make-shift palette of paper plates.   



These images represent just a small sliver of all my photos of people. I encourage you to grab your camera and head downtown, some community event, or art fair and see what or who you can find. 

By the way, it's not against the law to take pictures of people--people do it all the time. And, you can even sell your photographs, if the people you photograph are in a public place. 

Have fun!  

   

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

 FINDING FINE ART IN NATURE


As photographers, there is a strong tendency for us to walk around with our cameras, waiting for something to hit us between the eyes and say, "Here I am. Take your shot!" If it doesn't, we continue walking.

In my book, Right Brain Photography, I spend pages talking about how to find those gems I call fine art. 

If we only see with our eyes, we will leave behind some of the best images possible. We need to look with our eyes and see with our imagination. 

Fine art is not just pretty pictures of pretty things. It's finding artistic compositions with color,  shapes, patterns, mood, mystique, or feelings.

We can either create fine art in-camera, or fine the fine art that nature gives us; art that is already there for the taking.

Now, let me share some fine art I have either found or created from what I "saw." 

I was with a student during one of my 3-day Rocky Mountain National Park workshops in Colorado. I  pointed to a section of the lake with several rocks and tree branches at the bottom of the shallow lake. I could see the clouds reflected on the lake's surface, even through the fast-moving waves on a breezy morning. I told my student we were going to use a fast shutter speed in order to freeze the waves and capture the clouds in the water. The end result was a surreal depiction of simply rocks and tree branches at the bottom of a lake.



Mt. Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado, at 14,443.' Yes, that's pretty high. I know,  I've hiked it! On another hike up the trail, I was looking for autumn colors. It was a little early in September, so I wasn't sure I would find them. But, to my surprise, I found this "painting" before me. It was already there, without a frame, just waiting for me. The composition was perfect, with the trail that went up to the aspens, then disappeared as it continued down the hill. The trail was surrounded by white vertical lines, late-summer greens, and a sprinkling of early autumn yellows. 



Another year, still in Colorado, I was also looking for fall colors, but, to my chagrin, this time I was too late. I noticed on my way to the Crested Butte area that there were few colorful leaves, if any, still hanging on the trees. But, I always carry with me my go-to mantra: What does this moment give me? So, as I continued searching for color, my moment came when I saw this grouping of naked aspens, exposing their white vertical beauty to me! Click.



Look with your eyes; see with your imagination. I went on a hike up the Indian Peaks Wilderness area in Colorado. It had rained the day before, so I, like the other hikers on the trail, found myself hopping over small, inconspicuous, puddles of water. On my way back down the long trail, I started doing what I teach my students to do--take the labels off. When I took the labels of the "puddles," I started seeing with my imagination. They weren't puddles anymore; they were nature's art, right there in front of me.

Several hikers noticed me with my camera and tripod, as I aimed my camera downward toward one of the puddles. "What do you see?" they asked. When I pointed out what I was photographing, one hiker said, "I would not have seen that...." 

My message to you? Don't just look for tangible objects around you; look for the art they give you. It's free!



I ran across this dry creek bed. I was astonished to see what I was not expecting to see-- several smoothed-out colorful rocks sprinkled along the creek bed for several yards. They were randomly placed by nature in patterns I would expect to see along the Pacific or Atlantic shoreline. 

As I stared at them, it occurred to me that nature needed some help in "organizing" these rocks in a more artistic fashion. I started picking up a variety of shapes and colors and putting them together to form a tight collection of "canvass" art.



Sometimes I take what nature gives me and add to it an extra artistic spin, as I did to this nice array of tulips in spring, in Garvan Woodland Gardens, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The scene itself looked good; very good, in fact. But I wanted to go from "good" to "wow." So, I decided to create my trademark double exposure technique to create this fine art rendition of what my eyes saw.



I saw a wall of trees with some autumn colors strewn about the scene. I was on my way down from West Mountain, also in Hot Springs. When I saw some yellows to my right, I stopped and pulled over to get a closer look. I saw the cool vertical lines of the huddled trees, and some yellows and greens in-between them. Emotionally, it was good. I could feel fall in the air. However, visually, it lacked that "pull" that makes me take my camera out and start shooting. My right brain kicked in. Since there were a lot of verticals in the scene, I decided to see what I could create from the scene if I moved my camera downward. I set my camera to where I got a 2-second exposure--that is very slow in photography. I then hand-held my camera and slowly moved it downward, trying my best to keep my verticals as straight as possible. The result was an impressionistic interpretation of what was just an okay scene. 



And, sometimes the whole scene before us can look like a  fine art painting, as this scene near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. My timing was intentional--I wanted that late afternoon lighting, a few minutes before sunset. I found it! When I stared in awe at this scene, I thought that if Claude Monet, the French Impressionist, had been with me that day, he would have painted this scene. It was absolutely jaw-dropping. I didn't have to do anything special to it; it was all there, just waiting for me. It is not surprising that titled this piece, "Impressionistic Valley."





So, challenge yourself to see from an artist's perspective. Look for, or create, images that would look like "art on canvas."

Feel free to contact me if you'd like a 1-2 hour ZOOM lesson on this topic. Have fun! 



Tuesday, October 19, 2021

 SHOOTING IN THE SNOW


Although my theme for my tip this month is "shooting in the snow," the principles I will cover also apply to photographing any white or very bright subject-- white houses, dogs, horses, or bright skies, brightly-lit subjects, and so on. Please keep this in mind as I talk about what to be mindful of when shooting in the snow.    

So, why do these tips apply to anything that is white or very bright? It has to do that that built-in light meter that is built into all cameras. And, those light meters work the same whether they are in a $750-dollar camera or a $5,000 camera. Bottom line: Whether you shoot something white/ bright or black/dark, it will try to give you a gray or mid-tone subject! In other words, if you're not careful, both white snow or a black cat will look "grayish." You're scratching your head, right? 

Let me explain. The built-in light meter was designed correctly, based on the engineering intent--to try and lighten anything that is too dark or black, and to darken anything that is too white or light. The good news is that they do what they were engineered to do. The bad news is that what the engineers think I need, is not the same thing as what I want

Okay, let's think of black and white photography for a minute. Think of a black and white photo. The engineers designed those built-in meters to give us gray snow, not white snow. Don't believe me? Set your camera on auto exposure mode and go out and take a picture of white snow, or anything white. Make sure that you your subject (snow or white object) fills 80%-100% of your viewfinder. Your subject will not look white. It will look "grayish." Go see for yourself.

Here are a couple of low-resolution examples as proof. Shooting on Aperture-priority, I photographed these (white) aspens against (white) snow. This is what the built-in light meter gave me. See photo on the left.  "Grayish," right? Now, when I took the picture again, but increased my exposure by +1 2/3, I got white aspens against white snow--bingo! 

You don't have to understand exactly why it works that way. It's enough to know that it does. The important thing to know is that when you encounter this type of scenario, take the photo at, say, +2/3, +1, or + 1 2/3. Just experiment until you get what you want. How much you overexpose any given scenario needs depends on the situation, like overcast day v. bright sunny day; whether there are other colors in the scene besides white, etc. There is no set formula, thus the need to "bracket" your shots until you get what you........want. There is no such thing as the "correct" exposure.  There is only the right exposure, and we decide what's right for us.


                                


Now that I have explained why and how to compensate what the built-in light meter will try to do to us, let me share some additional examples of images created in-camera, in the snow.


In this scenario, an exposure of +1.5 stops gave me what I wanted. So, please don't ask yourself, "Should I over-expose it by +1, + 1 1/3, + 1.5, or a +2?" There are just too many variables, including how your own camera is calibrated, to try to come up with a technical formula. It is more productive, and more effective, to understand the concept, rather than look for a formula. How do you want your photo to look? I could have easily over-exposed this scene by a +2 stops instead of +1.5 stops, but I liked the way it looked. It "feels" cold. 



For this next image, I shot it at -0-. What I mean is that I didn't over-expose it at all from what the built-in light meter thought I needed. In this case, what it thought I needed and what I wanted were one and the same. Why was that? In addition to the white snow, if you look closely, there is also a lot of other colors that off-set the white snow. There is, first of all, the blue house that takes up a considerable amount of space on the screen; the viewfinder. There are also tan trees, a couple of evergreens, the retaining wall along the street, etc. 



Now, here is a different type of scenario. I chose a -1 stop exposure for this one! Snow? Yes.
However, if you were to cut out all of the non-white areas in this scenario and place them on one side of the scale, then cut out the snow areas and place them on the opposite side of the scale, there are more non-white areas than white areas. Therefore, I liked the look and feel of the photo taken at a -1 stop exposure. The question is, again, not, "What exposure should I give it?" but "Which exposure do I like best?" The latter question gives you the right exposure.



I'll leave you with one more examples, just so that you can see the broad range of possibilities when shooting anything in the snow. I got this shot at an exposure of +2.5 stops! So, as you can see, what we think the exposure should be is not the same as the exposure that looks just how we like it.

I hope that after this last example, you now understand that it's not about left brain technical answers, but right brain likes and dislikes. Hypothetically, yes, for any given scenario, if I want the snow to look white, I might have to go an extra 1/2 to +1 stops. However, if I like the look and feel of the scene, the image, at less than that, then that is, once again, the right exposure. 

This scene was shot at +2.5 stops over exposure. 


 


It is almost November. In many parts of the world, it's winter, and there is snow out there on any given day. Have fun experimenting, testing out, and getting that exposure of snow that feels right for you! Have fun.

If you would like a 1-on-1 ZOOM lesson on this topic, feel free to contact me




 







Sunday, September 19, 2021

 

SURREALISM 


Surrealism is for those who have no boundaries; who can easily get out of their comfort zone; who can see the beauty, and art, in the unfamiliar. Salvador Dalí, to me, is the godfather of surrealism. Most folks are familiar with his melting clock in the desert--The Persistence of Memory.

Surrealism can be confusing, perplexing, and uncomfortable. It's the juxtaposition of the unexpected; the coming together of concepts or ideas we might not even fathom. The old TV show, The Twilight Zone, had a lot of surrealism, as did the old Alfred Hitchcock shows. 

Think of something you don't think about. That's hard to do, right? If you don't think about it, how can you think about it? That sentence alone is an example surrealism. 

Surrealism makes us say, "What the.....?" "What am I looking at?" "How in the world.....?" 

With that introduction, I will now share some of my images that fall under the category of surrealism, as I explain what you're looking at and what attracted me to photograph it or to create it.

I'll start with something simple, like a vase in the desert. Well, it's not actually in the desert, but it looks like a desert. It's actually in the high plains of Colorado. 

What makes this image surreal is that the viewer sees it out of context-- a large clay pot in the middle of nowhere. Clay pots belong inside homes, or in front of a house, or in the backyard, but not in the desert. It is out of context, unless you took the picture and know why it's there. The ornate pot is actually part of the early stages of an RV campground owner's plans to revamp the campground. He had graded part of the hillside and placed the pot there temporarily until he decided where it was going to be as part of his master plan. In the meantime he had just left it there until whenever.  



Here, you see what appears to be a blue-tinted mountain scene with a lake running through it. But, wait. There is a window in the landscape. That window/landscape incongruency is what categorizes this image as surreal. We don't associate the word "window" with "landscape."

So, what is it, really? Someone painted a mural on the side of an abandoned building. The artist painted the mural around the window on the building's facade. 



You would think subjects like boots would not be interesting subjects to photograph, unless it's for a commercial shoot or opening gifts at Christmas. When we think of boots we don't think of silver-studded boots--and therein lies the surrealism. Are these boots made for walking? 



Similar to studded boots, how about a sequined telephone? Oh yeah, now that is surreal.
 


This doorway was part of what remained of an old decaying ice plant. The surrealism to me was obvious--what used to be the interior of the building had become part of the exterior of the building, with trees growing inside! 



It was a cold, cold winter in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I went into my favorite local coffee shop, Moca Molly's, which doesn't exist anymore. I went to the restroom before I ordered. I had my camera with me because I had done some shooting that morning. Before I "took care of business," I locked the door behind me, set up my tripod and photographed what I ended up titling, "It's A Jungle In There." Too bad that surreal mural doesn't exist anymore! 



Now, here's an interesting surreal scene. Look closely. Yes, We're Open--really? Welcome-- wow, what a welcome! Office Staff Parking--wow, you really treat your office staff that well, huh? 

Can you see it? Do you see the surreaism in this scene? The words "Open" and "Welcome" are incongruent with the less than well-kept office staff parking area.



This last example was inspired by Salvado Dalí's Christ of St. John of the Cross, and is part of my current photo art project, "Renditions of Famous Paintings." My book about this project will be released in 2022. Stay tuned for that informational, educational, and entertaining read.





So, go out there and look for those slices of life that most of us overlook, disregard, or just simply take for granted. Look for the unexpected; things that are totally out of context; the surreal.


Feel free to ask me any questions about the subject of surrealism or about my project and upcoming book. 

Eli Vega, Photo Artist
www.elivega.net  

 






 

  

 


  


Wednesday, August 11, 2021

 UN-LABELING TREES


We restrict, stifle, our creativity when we label the things we see around us. A tree is a good example.

The label "tree" doesn't sound very appealing in terms of something to photograph. However, when we peal the label(s) off, we begin to see what's left when it's no longer a tree.

If we photograph colors, shapes, designs, texture, lines, patterns, and even feelings, all of a sudden we see much more than a tree or trees. When we take that approach to photographing trees, or anything else for that matter, the trees themselves become secondary, thus resulting in more interesting images. If it isn't a tree, what's left to be?

This month I am sharing what I have done with trees when I don't see them as "trees." You'll see what's left to be.



This scene looked better in black and white. There's a feeling; a mood here. Is that a path? A trail? Where does it lead. Just those few thoughts take this image beyond "trees."




When it comes to photography, the eyes see too much, which leaves us waiting for something to hit us between the eyes and yell, "Here I am!" What we're not looking at is often more interesting than what we are looking at. 

My intuition told me there was something down there. I had to walk down this slope to really see what my intuition was trying to tell me.


 

The winter season exposed this tree's unique personality--all those extensions and branches reaching out in all directions. The mood led me to change my WB to florescent, which gave me the cool blue hues.



I was leading a winter workshop in Rocky Mountain National Park. All my students were walking around this tree, looking for something to hit them between the eyes. Only one  student stopped to see what what had caught my attention. I explained that this would be a good B&W image, especially if we under exposed it. I underexposed it by 2 stops, or 200% less than what my built-in light meter thought I needed for a "correct" exposure. The one student followed suit, saying that he was glad I had pointed it out.



I was shooting around the Maroon Bells area in Colorado in the fall. I found this reflection of aspens in the lake. We miss what we don't see. 



I found this awesome grove of aspens between Aspen, Colorado and the ghost town of 
Ashcroft. The repeating patterns of vertical whites really appealed to me. I could have converted this to a B&W, but I liked the contrast between nature's greens and colorless whites. 



This was an amazing find. I went out there to photograph an old church. I had photographed it before, but I was curious as to what it might look like under different lighting. Across the old church was a lake, with this great composition just waiting for me. 



I was leading another workshop in Rocky Mountain National Park. Now, for this kind of image, you really need to be looking at what you're not looking at. I know, that sentence sounds crazy, right. I stared out onto Sprague Lake and saw some reflections in it. I decided to do something I am known to do. I knew I was going to photograph the reflections, but show them upside down! That is what you are seeing. The bottom sliver is the real landscape; all that green area is a reflection of the trees above the landscape--the whole thing turned upside down, or right side up, depending on how you see it. 



I'll conclude this series with this extremely interesting, colorful, and surreal image. I saw this scene from the corner of my eye as I drove between Hot Springs, Arkansas and Benton, Arkansas, on Hwy 5. I just had to turn around and get a closer look. In many respects, trees look more interesting in winter--you see branches reaching for each other instead of a sea of green leaves. The floor of reds and yellows were a great addition to the trees.


So, next time you go out with your camera, look for shapes, forms, patterns, lines, colors, and, yes, mood. Let the trees, as we know them, be the backdrop to everything else. Have fun! 


All images on my blogs are available as fine art prints. 


Contact me for private 1-on1 ZOOM lessons. 

Eli

Thursday, July 22, 2021

 HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH FIREWORKS


For my tip this month, I am going to give you all the details up front, then show you several examples of fireworks. All of my samples came from one shoot, this past Fourth of July over Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado, 2021. 

Several years ago, I photographed their Fourth of July fireworks and was extremely impressed. I didn't know it until after the fact that they had commissioned the same company for 2021. They outdid themselves! I thought they did a great job before, but this year was the best I've seen--ever, and anywhere. I have photographed fireworks in Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and Branson, Missouri.

Okay, so now that I have shared my excitement, let me talk about the techniques I use to create my fireworks images. First, shake off the notion that you're going for perfection. No. This is more art than science. Some of the 'works will be outside your viewfinder's view; some will be a little too high; some a little too low; some to the left. That said, my first tip is shoot, shoot, and keep shooting. However, don't be amateurish and just throw spaghetti on the wall, hoping some of it will stick. I am going to show you how to be artistically calculated; not random. 

First, you need a tripod. Sorry, but you will need a good tripod. Not super expensive; just good-- not wobbly. It should extend four-five feet high, or higher, depending on your height. You need one that allows you to quickly adjust from vertical to horizontal, so you can vary your shots during the display. Most displays last from 15-20 minutes or so.  

CAMERA SETTINGS:
Cable Release.
I strongly recommend a good, reliable, quick, cable (or remote) release.
Lens. I recommend a zoom lens so you can be zooming in and out as needed. Obviously, if you are far away from the action, you'll need a stronger focal length. I like to be close to the action, like across the lake, where I was at Lake Estes. Throughout the evening, I used a range of 18mm to 40mm, with an APS sensor.
F/Stop. I like to shoot with a range of f/8-f/11. Why? As carefully as I manually focus where I think the 'works are going to explode, I'm never quite sure, so, that range of f/stop will assure me that everything will be nicely focused. For my Lake Estes shots, I kept mine at f/11 throughout the display. F/11 also keeps a lot of the fireworks from being overexposed. 
Shutter Speed. I always use the BULB setting--that becomes my "shutter speed," as I'll explain later. 
Exposure. Again, the BULB setting also serves as my "exposure."
Image Format. Believe it or not, I have always shot all my firework displays in JPEG  large).   I set my Picture Control to VIVID (your camera might have a different designation).   

TECHNIQUE. Now that I have shared the left brain stuff, now let me share what I do once I have all the left brain stuff taken care off. I first wait until the first display--that gives me a hint as to where they have their equipment aimed, knowing that some will be off a little from that point. That is why I use wide focal lengths. I'd rather get a little more space than I need, then  crop my images a little later, if I need to. I vary my focal lengths, positioning of my camera, and switching from horizontal to vertical during the evening. 

Now, you might ask, what about that BULB setting? I usually take with me an opaque piece of material-- a camera manual, folded copy paper, etc. The key point is to take something to use as an improvised "lens cap." It needs to cover the lens in-between each fireworks display. This fourth of July, I thought I had my usual material in my camera bag, but I didn't! What to do? I used my hand instead. Hey, whatever works! The purpose of a piece of material, or hand, is that it becomes my "shutter speed." 

Here is how I use my hand (or piece of paper) as my "shutter." For example, I have my hand carefully in front of my lens, so it won't receive any light. THEN:
1) I see a beautiful display go up in the sky. I take my hand away from the front of the lens and trigger my cable release at the same time. Right before the display dissipates, I cover the lens again with my hand, BUT I don't let go of the cable release--thus the shutter in the camera is still open. I then see another colorful explosion. I take my hand away again, then cover my lens again when that second display begins to dissipate. Then I take my finger off my cable release. I have, in essence, created a double exposure, combining two displays!
2) I repeat the above process, but this time I do it for three firework displays, just to be different. Now, I've created a triple exposure. I've combined three displays in the same image! 
3) I then repeat the above process, but just do it for one burst/display.

I go back and forth between steps 1-3 above during the course of the evening, getting one, two, or three firework bursts in my images. It's fun, exciting, and can even be jaw-dropping.

Software fine-tuning. Most folks today call it "post processing." Actually, this process I follow requires only a little fine-tuning. All I do is crop (if necessary), burn, or dodge--darken some areas or lighten some areas of the images.

As Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 

So, with that, I hope you enjoy seeing samples of my 2021 Lake Estes fireworks. Have fun!

















If you turn this one upside down, it looks like a heart!





So, next time you know of your scheduled local fireworks display, keep my notes handy and have fun with it! Your friends will ask, "How did you do that?" It will remain our little secret. 

Contact me for my 1-on-1 ZOOM lessons: vegaphotoart@gmail.com   www.elivega.net 


Eli
















 

         

 

     

 

 

  


Friday, May 28, 2021

 CHURCHES


Old churches and church structures have always fascinated me. Their architectural voices speak to me, which leads me to photograph their essence; their presence, more so than just a single building.

Let's start with a good example of essence. The sunlight entering the structure and painting the stone floor added so much to the character of Concepcíon Mission in San Antonio, Texas.




Also in Texas, east of San Antonio, are several old German "Painted Churches." They are extremely colorful and ornate, as this photo depicts. They didn't go easy on the minute details either.




This beautiful eight-story Buddhist stupa in northern Colorado also got my attention, especially all the offerings in this offering plate. There was a candle, an apple, a tennis ball, and what appears to be an inhaler even. I wish I could talk to everybody who placed an offering and ask them what their offering symbolized. 




San Francisco de Así church, Taos New Mexico. It is probably the most photographed structure in Taos, maybe in all of New Mexico. One article I read said it is the most photographed church in the world. Built in 1772, it was photographed by Ansel Adams and painted by Georgia O'Keeffe. This is my rendition, showcasing the adobe construction, rounded edges and corners, and mystery, It's not what we usually think of when we think of a church. A beautiful structure, inside and out. 




This beautiful Catholic church in Eureka Springs, Arkansas has a Hungarian influence.
The grounds, as well as the structure, has a lot to admire and absorb. I had to use a super- wide 10 mm focal length to get the whole thing in.




St. John's Catholic church is in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I did not expect to see a blue ceiling.
They allowed me to go up to the back balcony where the choir is on Sunday mornings. This view from up high brings out the geometric designs on the ceiling. Most photos, including my own, emphasize mostly the walls, stained glass windows and the alter. 




This beauty, also a Catholic church, is commonly referred to as Chapel on The Rock. It attracts folks with mobile phones, tablets, and digital cameras as they travel south of Estes Park, Colorado on the Peak--to-Peak highway. 




I'll leave you with this jaw-dropping piece of architecture--Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. No nails! The precision on this spiraling staircase is a work of perfection and wonder. It was completed in 1878. You can read more about its dimensions and history here




These beauties are everywhere. Every city has old churches that date anywhere between the 1700s and early 1900s--look for them. Most authorities will let you photograph them, especially is you promise to send them the photos you take. If I can, I like to ask permission, just to remain on the ethical side of things. 

So, get your wide angle lens and tripod and have fun. And remember, you can all the depth-of-field you need with 10mm-17mm lenses without shooting at f/16 or higher! I usually use f/8-f/9.5 with my 10 mm lens. 

And don't forget to wet your fingers with holy water before you start shooting. It could bring you luck. 😊