Posted by Terry Curtin on July 11, 2007 at 8:53 PM
I've recently discovered this community and have thoroughly enjoyed the high quality photography on these forums.
With this inspiration, I decided today to drive around my local area and "scout" out all the different locations that could be possible landscape oppurtunities. I took plenty of pictures in horrible mid-day light, with the sole purpose of deciding where to returns for later dates during more "magical" hours.
I live in Honolulu, HI... and while you would think there would be plenty of surf-n-turf scenes... I just didn't find the views that would give anyone goosebumps. My beach scenes all had pale-skinned tourists, my mountain scenes had telephone poles, my occasional abandoned beach had a bathroom in view, although it looked like a tropical hut. When it comes to the sea, particularly, I just can't find anything that resembles "unspoiled nature". And its not like I'm getting off this rock anytime soon...
What would you do? Do you find the inclusion of people, buildings, etc acceptable in your nature photography?
Mahalo!
-Terry
Posted by Kent Staubus on July 11, 2007 at 9:06 PM
LOL!!! A guy in Hawaii complaining he doesn't have any place to take nice photos. I'll be out there in a week or so myself, and I'll see what I can do. Here's what I suggest. Instead of trying to take photos that don't have a potty hut or whatever in them, just try to take photos that you like. Have you considered simply removing small bits & pieces you don't want in a scene with Photoshop? Instead of "surf-n-turf", have you considered taking photos of small areas (like 6 square feet) of blooming wildflowers and jungle plants? I call these "Micro Landscapes."
And hey, what's going on with all the helicopter crashes on Kuaii? My wife is telling me I can't rent one now.
Kent in SD
Posted by Terry Curtin on July 11, 2007 at 9:35 PM
Thanks for the micro landscape idea. My wife works at a tropical forest arboretum, so i've certainly been exposed to the type of scenes you're describing. There aren't really fields of wildflowers, like I remember in places like Antelope Valley in California... and if we have any, they're invasive species and my wife gets mad. Heh.
Jungle plants are nice, but a scene with nothing but green is hard to get right.... I'm not that good. =)
Perhaps my next scouting location will be on a forest hike... i've certainly enjoyed the views of narrow wandering hiking trails through dense vegetation.
By the way, we've talked about the helicopter troubles this year. Last time I went, a week after the crashes, I wasn't allowed to get in one either... and when we go again in a month or so, its still off the table. In reality, it was two crashes in 3 days, and so it made the news because, well, that's just strange. But if you go anywhere in Kauai with a large sky view, you'll notice 4- 5 helicopters in the usual clockwise loop around the island... they have SO many flights. The scenery is quite spectacular.
If she won't let you fly... you're just gonna have to convince her to kayak the Napali Coast to get the views you're missing. Now that's a PHOTO OP!
(look forward to your pictures)
Mahalo!
-Terry
Posted by Carol Hyman on July 12, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Hay, Terry, C'mon over to Flora and check out the work that some of us have been doing labeled "SOA." You'll find lots and lots of green.
I can appreciate how you feel. I live in southern Utah and it's desert and hot and dry. I look at some of the beautiful lush scenes and flowers on NPN and I say "This isn't working." But it is.
There's an old expression--something about making lemonade from lemons.
I'm discovering there are many beautiful things to shoot.
We spent the last two weeks of June in and around Honolulu, with side jaunts to the north shore and a few other stops, so I can probably add more than casual insights. We also travel lots for our shooting, as well as shooting professionally at home.
In broad terms, my shooting on Oahu turned into a game of "isolation," somewhat along the lines that Kent was suggesting, but like you I was looking for broader views. I wanted a clear shot of the Aloha Tower for example, but only managed that when I shot from a boat. I could have managed much the same shot from Sand Island, but with a much longer lens than I was carrying. We also had very good luck moving inland to lesser known places like Wimaya Falls (sorry for the spelling) on weekdays, especially in the mornings, when few folks were about. Other inland trails I can't name at the moment provided similar solitude and great photos.
I guess the best summary is to decide whether to include or exclude people and their fixtures. We found it possible to exclude both in some settings and not others. It's a scouting deal, and our success seemed to come in direct proportion to our scouting.
On the bigger issue of shooting close to home, as we do professionally- that's really tough. In my book, familiar scenery is the hardest to shoot. The surest way I have found to recharge my batteries for local shooting is to take along a visitor who is seeing it for the first time. They'll see lots to shoot that you miss, and drag your eye right along. Short of a handy visitor, I try very hard to mentally put myself in the shoes of a first time visitor and look at things anew. Don't know if that makes sense, but expressed another way, I'd have to call it a self-assignment to go out and shoot as though I had never seen that same old scene before.
Hank wrote: On the bigger issue of shooting close to home, as we do professionally- that's really tough. In my book, familiar scenery is the hardest to shoot. The surest way I have found to recharge my batteries for local shooting is to take along a visitor who is seeing it for the first time. They'll see lots to shoot that you miss, and drag your eye right along. Short of a handy visitor, I try very hard to mentally put myself in the shoes of a first time visitor and look at things anew. Don't know if that makes sense, but expressed another way, I'd have to call it a self-assignment to go out and shoot as though I had never seen that same old scene before.
Contrary to the sentiment expressed above, I find it much easier to make photographs at locations that are familiar to me. In my experience the more I know the place the better are my chances of producing work that I am satisfied with. I hope my photographs reflect exactly how I have always seen such places.
Wonderful insight Anil! It points out two very different (and equally valid) approaches to local shooting. I'm looking for new or "fresh" views of familiar locations, while you are relying on familiarity to "tease out" special insights that others might miss. In my book, both are very useful tools for enhancing a portfolio.
Posted by Basil Greber on July 12, 2007 at 9:57 AM
When you say you were "driving around", I assume that's in a car, right? In my experience, the places where great photographs are taken can't be reached by car (well, some can, but many, many can't). So how about biking or hiking to get away from "civilisation"? Because where there's a road, there'll be people, and all the stuff they like to plant into the landscape...
BG
Posted by Sharon Menke on July 12, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Aloha!!! I guess living on an island you get tired of the same locations to photograph. I go to Kaua'i quite a bit and I rent a 4X4 to go places where the tourists don't know about. It also helps to have friends that are island natives that still live there. You have a lot of plants and things that we don't have on the mainland, so I try to get everything that the camera card can hold. Like Kent said, you can always PS out what you don't like. As for the helicopters, those can take you places where you cannot get to on foot or vehicle. I would highly recommend it. I have been on several times and I like that better than flying in an airplane. I try to read the Kaua'i Garden Island News every morning and the articles about the helicopter crashses there. It doesn't bother me a bit. I also don't let people tell what I cannot do [spouse included] because I will go out and do it. The only thing I haven't done yet is the helicopters with the open doors.
Posted by David A Bliss on July 12, 2007 at 12:37 PM
Anil and Hank, I agree with both of you. While I love seeing new places, as a photographer, I enjoy going back to the same place many times. I can't tell you how many times I "found" a shot that didn't work on one trip, but I knew would be wonderful given the right light, or with the trees in fall colors, etc... Going back to the same place a number of times helps me get in touch with it, see what is there, and hopefully have shots present themselves. But, it is always good to get someone else's perspective on places as well.
My home turf is urban coastal southwest Florida. I have the same problem you're finding.
Go to the beaches before dawn - there usually aren't very many people there then, especially in the summer - winter is our tourist season. I like to be at my photo destination about 40 minutes before sunrise. This means low light photography and long exposure times. Even if somebody walks into the frame while the shutter is open, if they walk quickly and they don't stop, they are invisible to the sensor.
Try including the built environment in your photos. If you include local icons - lighthouses, famous hotels, fishing piers, etc.- the tourists will buy them.
With a wide angle lens, if the hand of man is not too close, you can make it recede into the distance on the photo so that it almost disappears or at least is not a prominent feature of the photo.
Use a long lens to isolate areas between the urban areas. A lackluster sunrise can be made spectacular with a telephoto lens because you only see a postage stamp section of the sky. While the whole sky may be bland, the area near the sun, isolated, can be dramatic - with a headland or sailboat silhouetted against the horizon.
Try isolating driftwood or rocks or interesting trees or palms. Remember - the light is the most important thing.
Explore your area and you may find a few special places that you can return to time and again and give the illusion of an unspoiled landscape that changes with the light. Hank and Anil gave you good suggestions. My own experience is that I do my best work when I am alone. I arm myself with sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset time and azimuth and tide information. The same locale can be photographed quite differently under different conditions. The azimuth of the sun as it moves in the course of a year directs my shooting destination. When the sun rises bright in a clear blue sky, I shoot birds.
I invite you to visit my portfolio for examples of nature photos in a heavily developed coastal landscape.
Posted by Kent Staubus on July 13, 2007 at 12:20 PM
I also don't let people tell what I cannot do [spouse included] because I will go out and do it. The only thing I haven't done yet is the helicopters with the open doors
It's not so much my not wanting to do something because my wife told me not to. I mean, you should see me out in my tiny kayak on the Missouri River in February, dodging big chunks of ice in the below zero weather. She's not crazy about that either. Same for my perference for duck hunting on half frozen lakes in late season. The issue is I don't want to take my family on something that might be unusually dangerous. I would never even consider taking one of my kids out on the MO River in winter, for example. I also don't want to take them on a helicopter ride I don't know much about that has some red flags until I check into it very carefully. Things are different when you have kids to take into consideration. As for what I'm looking for, I am exactly looking for the ones with either a window or door removed. I take photos in my region from small planes that have an open window about four times a year. I stick with the same pilots each time because I know they are safe.
Kent in SD
Posted by Richard Wong on July 18, 2007 at 1:25 PM
Unspoiled nature? I can count the amount of times I have photographed unspoiled nature on one hand. I just deal with it and try to incorporate what I have to work with. 15 million people live within a 200 mile radius of me so I had to learn to be open-minded. I found that it actually improved my work once I started enjoying myself.
Discussion
13 repliesWith this inspiration, I decided today to drive around my local area and "scout" out all the different locations that could be possible landscape oppurtunities. I took plenty of pictures in horrible mid-day light, with the sole purpose of deciding where to returns for later dates during more "magical" hours.
I live in Honolulu, HI... and while you would think there would be plenty of surf-n-turf scenes... I just didn't find the views that would give anyone goosebumps. My beach scenes all had pale-skinned tourists, my mountain scenes had telephone poles, my occasional abandoned beach had a bathroom in view, although it looked like a tropical hut. When it comes to the sea, particularly, I just can't find anything that resembles "unspoiled nature". And its not like I'm getting off this rock anytime soon...
What would you do? Do you find the inclusion of people, buildings, etc acceptable in your nature photography?
Mahalo!
-Terry
And hey, what's going on with all the helicopter crashes on Kuaii? My wife is telling me I can't rent one now.
Kent in SD
Jungle plants are nice, but a scene with nothing but green is hard to get right.... I'm not that good. =)
Perhaps my next scouting location will be on a forest hike... i've certainly enjoyed the views of narrow wandering hiking trails through dense vegetation.
By the way, we've talked about the helicopter troubles this year. Last time I went, a week after the crashes, I wasn't allowed to get in one either... and when we go again in a month or so, its still off the table. In reality, it was two crashes in 3 days, and so it made the news because, well, that's just strange. But if you go anywhere in Kauai with a large sky view, you'll notice 4- 5 helicopters in the usual clockwise loop around the island... they have SO many flights. The scenery is quite spectacular.
If she won't let you fly... you're just gonna have to convince her to kayak the Napali Coast to get the views you're missing. Now that's a PHOTO OP!
(look forward to your pictures)
Mahalo!
-Terry
I can appreciate how you feel. I live in southern Utah and it's desert and hot and dry. I look at some of the beautiful lush scenes and flowers on NPN and I say "This isn't working." But it is.
There's an old expression--something about making lemonade from lemons.
I'm discovering there are many beautiful things to shoot.
Go for it.
Carol
We spent the last two weeks of June in and around Honolulu, with side jaunts to the north shore and a few other stops, so I can probably add more than casual insights. We also travel lots for our shooting, as well as shooting professionally at home.
In broad terms, my shooting on Oahu turned into a game of "isolation," somewhat along the lines that Kent was suggesting, but like you I was looking for broader views. I wanted a clear shot of the Aloha Tower for example, but only managed that when I shot from a boat. I could have managed much the same shot from Sand Island, but with a much longer lens than I was carrying. We also had very good luck moving inland to lesser known places like Wimaya Falls (sorry for the spelling) on weekdays, especially in the mornings, when few folks were about. Other inland trails I can't name at the moment provided similar solitude and great photos.
I guess the best summary is to decide whether to include or exclude people and their fixtures. We found it possible to exclude both in some settings and not others. It's a scouting deal, and our success seemed to come in direct proportion to our scouting.
On the bigger issue of shooting close to home, as we do professionally- that's really tough. In my book, familiar scenery is the hardest to shoot. The surest way I have found to recharge my batteries for local shooting is to take along a visitor who is seeing it for the first time. They'll see lots to shoot that you miss, and drag your eye right along. Short of a handy visitor, I try very hard to mentally put myself in the shoes of a first time visitor and look at things anew. Don't know if that makes sense, but expressed another way, I'd have to call it a self-assignment to go out and shoot as though I had never seen that same old scene before.
Am I tickling any creative nerve endings?
Contrary to the sentiment expressed above, I find it much easier to make photographs at locations that are familiar to me. In my experience the more I know the place the better are my chances of producing work that I am satisfied with. I hope my photographs reflect exactly how I have always seen such places.
BG
My home turf is urban coastal southwest Florida. I have the same problem you're finding.
Go to the beaches before dawn - there usually aren't very many people there then, especially in the summer - winter is our tourist season. I like to be at my photo destination about 40 minutes before sunrise. This means low light photography and long exposure times. Even if somebody walks into the frame while the shutter is open, if they walk quickly and they don't stop, they are invisible to the sensor.
Try including the built environment in your photos. If you include local icons - lighthouses, famous hotels, fishing piers, etc.- the tourists will buy them.
With a wide angle lens, if the hand of man is not too close, you can make it recede into the distance on the photo so that it almost disappears or at least is not a prominent feature of the photo.
Use a long lens to isolate areas between the urban areas. A lackluster sunrise can be made spectacular with a telephoto lens because you only see a postage stamp section of the sky. While the whole sky may be bland, the area near the sun, isolated, can be dramatic - with a headland or sailboat silhouetted against the horizon.
Try isolating driftwood or rocks or interesting trees or palms. Remember - the light is the most important thing.
Explore your area and you may find a few special places that you can return to time and again and give the illusion of an unspoiled landscape that changes with the light. Hank and Anil gave you good suggestions. My own experience is that I do my best work when I am alone. I arm myself with sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset time and azimuth and tide information. The same locale can be photographed quite differently under different conditions. The azimuth of the sun as it moves in the course of a year directs my shooting destination. When the sun rises bright in a clear blue sky, I shoot birds.
I invite you to visit my portfolio for examples of nature photos in a heavily developed coastal landscape.
It's not so much my not wanting to do something because my wife told me not to. I mean, you should see me out in my tiny kayak on the Missouri River in February, dodging big chunks of ice in the below zero weather. She's not crazy about that either. Same for my perference for duck hunting on half frozen lakes in late season. The issue is I don't want to take my family on something that might be unusually dangerous. I would never even consider taking one of my kids out on the MO River in winter, for example. I also don't want to take them on a helicopter ride I don't know much about that has some red flags until I check into it very carefully. Things are different when you have kids to take into consideration. As for what I'm looking for, I am exactly looking for the ones with either a window or door removed. I take photos in my region from small planes that have an open window about four times a year. I stick with the same pilots each time because I know they are safe.
Kent in SD