“YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR”

A True Idiom in Photography

  

The scene was Rocky Mountain National Park, in the summer of 2012. I was In the middle of my 3-day “Finding Fine Art In Nature” photo workshop, sponsored by Rocky Mountain Nature Association.

During my workshops, we walk around a lot, talking and looking for “that shot.” I kept telling one of my students, I’ll call her Sue, “I hope we see some mushrooms.” They are hard to photograph because they grow small and don’t like crowds. Sue told me she would be on the lookout for them.

After several hours of instruction, we started walking around popular Bear Lake. All of a sudden, I saw a dark, wet area in the shadows among a grove of trees. I told Sue that it might be a likely spot for mushrooms. She walked ahead of me and yelled out, “Eli, I think I see one!” Sure enough, there were actually two little modest orange mushrooms just enjoying the coolness of the shade and nearby stream. I immediately told Sue that she should go first---she should try to photograph it first before I captured it.

I began telling Sue about the challenges she was up against. Composition, depth of field, and exposure were going to be the key elements to consider. I walked Sue through every step of the way, beginning with the most difficult part—composition. She was definitely the dedicated and committed student type—she had her tripod. I watched her spend several minutes adjusting her tripod legs, as well as her own, to get low enough to photograph the small colorful mushrooms.

I could tell she was really struggling to get down that low to find the right angle. It was extremely wet in the area, so I looked around and found a large piece of wood and took it to Sue for her to sit on. She did, and continued to twist and shout, as she committed her body to do the virtually impossible. After several minutes of watching her inch her body left, then right, then a little higher, then a little lower, I told her, “You look like a contortionist Sue.”  “I feel like one,” she jokingly responded.

When she got her shots, she asked me to look at them on her camera monitor. I complimented her on her images, and for doing what it took to get that one shot. She definitely paid for what she got.

I asked Sue to summarize that one particular lesson. She was quick with her answer, which I’ll paraphrase. “This made me realize how important it is to do whatever you have to do to get it right.” She thanked me for walking her through each required photographic step, and for being patient with her.

Sue learned that, in photography, you have to work to get what you want, but that you do get what you pay for. And she paid for it. I, on the other hand, learned that truly dedicated, committed students of photography understand that they have to go beyond just “point and shoot”. And that is what separates the “wilbes” from the “wannabes.”

Oh, and this is what I paid for that afternoon in that marsh-like spot with Sue.

 

    

Eli Vega's 2013 Calendar

Eli Vega's 2013 Calendar

WHAT IS YOUR SIGNATURE?

I was recently asked in one of the many classes I teach around the Boulder/Denver, Colorado area, "What would you say is your signature?" He, of course, meant what am I known for? What sets me apart? That is a very good question. My answer was, "I am an artist first; photographer second."

I stress this point in my classes and workshops, as well as when I make presentations to local camera clubs. I create my images in my head; in my imagination, way before I decide what my composition will be, what f/stop I'll choose, or my exposure. I start with my final image in mind, then work backwards to create it.

In this case, I saw this really neat original historic Conestoga-type wagon in front of the museum in Breckenridge, Colorado. Imagine this: there are tons of people walking around the public, pedestrian-friendly area in front of the museum. The wagon is partly covered by nearby aspen trees, but very visible from one side. The wagon itself is photo-worthy, but my artistic tendencies took over and I extracted only a small but artistic portion of it--one of the front wheels surrounded by late summer flowers over the Labor Day weekend.

I studied Impressionism during my art days in college. One of my "signatures" is my creation of impressionistic photo images. I use several techniques to accomplish this, including double exposures. Enjoy my Impressionistic wagon wheel.





 

COMPOSITION IS EVERYTHING

One of the three most important elements of a great image is composition.What should I include? What should I exclude? Should it be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal? How do all the elements best work together? What's my main subject? What about the background? What about my subject in relation to the background? And the list goes on.

When the composition is good, the viewer knows it. Most viewers don't say, "Wow, great composition!" It just feels right.

Sometimes, when I simply cannot get what I want, I try to get it as close as I can, knowing that I will end up cropping the image later--after all, we're stuck with a rectangle canvas called the viewfinder, and not everything fits perfectly within those four corners.

This scene was one of those difficult images to "get." The factors that contributed to the difficulty was the low light around the small stream, the size of the mushrooms (about 3/4" in diameter, if that!), and the location of the mushrooms. My tripod and I looked like contortionists before it was all over!

After several attempts at repositioning my tripod, I finally got something that worked for me. I wanted the small mushrooms toward the lower right-hand corner of the frame--the old stand-by Rule of Thirds, plus they were facing left. I also had to position myself in just the right place. I wanted to place the running water behind the mushrooms in order to separate them from the background. The light blues of the running water behind the orange of the mushrooms made for a good color combination--and, the color of the water really made the mushrooms "pop."

I was with a student at the time, during one of my 3-Day Rocky Mountain National Park workshops. It took both of us several minutes to find the right composition, best focus for our purposes, and exposure.   

The lesson here: If it's worth creating, it's worth the time (and physical abuse!).

Don't take pictures; create images.

  

    

Eli Vega--8 Days in Switzerland

Eli Vega--8 Days in Switzerland

Eli Vega: 10 Years In Colorado

Eli Vega: 10 Years In Colorado

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!