ZOOS STILL HAVE CAGES

Zoos have come a long way during the last several years. However, some animals are still behind cages. They're now much larger cages, but still cages. And, unfortunately for photographers, cages have chain link fences, which can pose problems for us. Solution? Well, we can't tear down the fences, but through careful use of f/stops and focusing, we can make them virtually disappear.

Here is one example. I was photographing "Hank" at the Denver zoo, who, along with his other roommates, is behind this giant, enclosed chain link fence/cage. Hank was several yards from me, perched on a tree branch, and the fence was 3-5 feet from me. I was shooting at 300mm.

I used my tripod (yes, even at zoos), set my f/stop setting at f/6.3 (shutter speed was at 1/60). By doing so, not only did I convert the background to a backdrop, but I also eliminated the fence/cage. Can you see it? If you try really, really hard you might be able to notice--but it became part of the background--almost invisible. Try it. You'll amaze yourself. Have fun at your local zoo!



PREPARING FOR THAT "MUST" SHOT

Scenario: I had seen many photos on-line of this famous natural arch in Utah, in Canyonlands National Park, called Mesa Arch. I'm sure some of you have seen photos of it too. At early sunrise, the underside of the arch lights up in this awesome orange/red color, which is nothing other than light from the early sun light being reflected on the underside of the arch as it is reflected from the face of the cliff below.

Preparation: I went to the arch the day before my plan to "shoot" it. My purpose of scoping it out beforehand: to know exactly how to get to it and how much time it would take--I didn't want to miss that magical early sunrise timing; see what challenges I might have; pick my #1, #2, and #3 spots from which to shoot--I knew there would be other photographers there; get a feel for what f/stop I would need; check out focusing challenges; etc.

Exhibition: I got up at 4:15 that morning (it was a 1-hour drive); when I got there, very early, there were already six photographers there! Luckily, my #1 spot was still barely available. I had to sort of squeeze in between two other photographers, but right at where I had picked my #1 spot the day before. I put on a warming (81B) filter to warm up the colors even more so; I already knew from the day before which lens was going to work for me (my 17mm-50mm); I already knew my composition, so I got that set; I took my lens/camera off auto-focus and manually focused at a point I thought would give me the best depth of field (at f/32). I took a couple of test shots to get a preview of my depth of field, exposure, color, and composition. So, I had all the key variables in place. The only thing left was wait for the sun to do its thing with that famous arch, knowing that I was going to bracket my shots--always a must when shooting high contrast scenes.

Technical prep:  f/32; 17-50 lens; manual focus; camera sturdy on tripod; composition set; warming filter; bracketing.

                                  Final Result (very little fine-tuning afterward)

My Animoto Video

My Animoto Video

A LESSON ON EXPOSURE
(or how to not fight your exposure meter)

When I find lighting situations with high contrast, rather than worry about how I'm going to properly handle the wide range of "stops" within the scene, I take advantage of the wide range to give me more artistic images. I don't try to replicate life, but interpret it.

For this image, instead of using my matrix metering (which would have "flattened" out the lighting and color), I spot metered off the foreground flowers, then bracketed around that reading in order to get that "in your face" color with a subdued backgrond. If I were a painter, this is the effect, the feeling, I would want to convey. This image is on my website. Enjoy.

I call this "Out of The Shadows."

     

Slide Shows and Workshops

First, I am really looking forward to my upcoming intensive 3-Day photo workshops in Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park Colorado: July 5-7, "Right Brain Photography." August 9-11, "Finding Fine Art In Nature." To register, or for more detailed information on these workshops, visit www.rmna.org. These workshops are sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association. 

I have been busy lately taking my latest "traveling show" on the road. I have been getting a lot of interest and curiosity about my slide show called "Impressionism and Surrealism Through Photography." I majored in Art for three years and fell in love with those two art movements of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In my slide show, I share several images that represent how I translate those two art movements through my photography. I have two more free shows coming up. You can get more information through my website (www.elivega.net): March 29th at 7:00 at the Boulder, Colorado main library; April 5th at 7:00 at the Mamie Eisenhower library in Broomfield, Colorado.

I will also be showing my "Ten Years In Colorado" slide show on May 18th at Front Range Community College in Westminster, Colorado. It will be in the format of "The Best Hits of...." I will show several of my personal favorite images which I have created since I first arrived in Colorado almost ten years ago. See my website for more details.

                          Here is just one image which I will be showing in both slide shows.


Contact me with questions, comments, or to just drop me a line:
www.elivega.net          vegaphotoart@gmail.com          720-251-1775

How To Photograph The Not-So-Obvious

As I was walking around the historic Taos Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico, with camera and tripod in tow, I saw what most people saw: interesting, old, historic adobe residences, converted stores, traditional wooden ladders leaning against walls, etc. However, as a photo artist, I went beyond that. I was also looking for the art this interesting and intriguing place offered, both by the residents and through the unexpected juxtaposition of perspectives. To find what I found requires intuition, scanning, and extracting from the "big picture."

Most photo-worthy artistic subjects do not just jump out and hit us between the eyes to wake us up. Enjoy.

   

What I really liked about this scene was the

monopoly of earth-tones, with just a hint of blue

If you have any questions about these images, Taos Pueblo, blue doors, etc.

visit and contact me at www.elivega.net

How To Get Good Photographs at Zoos

When I photograph at zoos, I go into it with two overall goals: get some that look more like the animals are in a preserve and not a zoo; get some that are obviously in the zoo. In order to do that I carry a strong telephoto lenses (200mm-300mm), as well as relative wide angles (24-35mm).

Besides the decision on lenses, the number one skill you will need is patience--lots of it! If you are shooting with a DSLR, but are simply not patient, then all you're doing is taking snap shots with expensive equipment.

I like to take my tripod, yes, even when I'm shooting in broad daylight. Why? It allows me to get better compositions. I can use a lower ISO and still get sharp photos. The best way I have found is to put my camera on the tripod, but loosen all knobs to allow me to move the perspective slightly, pan if I need to as the animal is moving, and switch quickly between verticals and horizontals. Sometimes, because the action is happening so quickly, I'll go ahead a get a couple of shots without my tripod before I lose the shots. If the action is still going on, then I'll place my camera on my tripod and keep shooting.

For you left-brain photographers, I shoot at JPEG fine (large files), usually ISO 200 (unless I need to hand hold my camera in shaded areas--but never higher than 800); set on vivid color.

Here are just a few of the many images I got at the Denver, Colorado Zoo recently.

When shooting through glass, put your lens right up against the glass to eliminate reflections/glare.

Patience allowed me to capture him looking straight at me. 

A 200mm lens and patience was required to capture this hippo "posing" for me.

I spent at least 20 minutes photographing this hippo!

Patience. Patience. Patience. 

The action and movements were happening so quickly. I used my multiple-frames-per-second feature to 

make sure I got it just right. I liked this one for several reasons: You can see the dusting, the end of his trunk shows, there's a statue of a hippo in the background, and there are people walking around--an obvious zoo photo. And, yes, my camera on a tripod!

I hope I have given you some useful tips for you to go to your nearest zoo and have fun! Enjoy.