Peter Eastway writes an almost weekly newsletter from his Better Photography website (www.betterphotography.com). These are some of the more recent posts.
Another 'Bad Weather' Day of Wonder
The Tree [Not Tony's], Middlehurst Station
Phase One XF IQ150, Schneider Kreuznach LS 110mm f/2.8, 1/8 second @ f11, ISO 50, tripod mounted
When it snows heavily in Middlehurst, access around the station becomes limited. The roads are too soft for the 4WDs, the rivers flood and can't be driven on or crossed, and with low cloud you can't fly a helicopter or land a plane. However, legs remain operational and within a short walk of the Quarters there are many locations to photograph - such as this wonderful tree!
While the big snowfall remained a day away, the early storm saw a light dusting on the higher paddocks. As we wandered around the stock yards, the light was soft and delicate, aided by a drizzle of rain. But it was the pastel colours that caught my attention. And as with an earlier photo I posted of Middlehurst a week or so ago, I feel the trick in post-production for this type of subject is to keep the tonality (exposure) light and airy.
It's true that an auto levels or auto curves will set the lightest values on white and the darkest on black, giving you a full ranges of tones. However, while this is good technique generally speaking, it wasn't the solution I was looking for here. I wasn't really interested in either deep blacks or pure whites, rather a range of light tones and colours. And hence the importance of a good quality monitor, correctly calibrated so the tones can be carefully adjusted. (Mind you, then I post these photos onto the internet and social media and who knows what the resulting tonality looks like!)
Two other editing issues which may be of interest. When I ramped up the colour saturation to bring up the yellows and greens, it also increased the blues in the sky and clouds. An adjustment layer over the sky allowed these unwanted colours to be greatly desaturated, so the sky is practically grey.
And when it came to increasing the colour saturation, a gentle overall push was provided with the saturation slider first, but then to accentuate the colours that were important to me, I used the colour editor in Capture One (or the Point Colour in Lightroom/ACR) to bring up a limited range of greens and yellows. Sometimes this is a great way to give an image some punch without overpowering it with saturation.
A Little Touch of Negative Dehaze
Middlehurst in the Mist, New Zealand
Fujifilm X-H2, XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, f9 @ 1/40 second, ISO 125
Although I'm just back from Middlehurst, this particular image was taken last year and the location is actually next door on Muller's Station. However, on most of our trips to Middlehurst, we have at least one overcast and/or rainy day - which we love.
I'm sure many readers also enjoy walking around some of their favourite locations in the rain - if only they can convince themselves it will be worthwhile to step out of their dry accommodation into otherwise damp and wet surroundings. That's one of the advantages of leading a photography tour - we always say it's worthwhile going out, no matter what the weather looks like!
And it is! And we're not lying. In fact, it's one aspect of travel photography that I really relish, being out in the elements whether it's snow in Patagonia or powerful winds in the Atacama. Isn't that what the landscape is all about?
While the resulting rainy-day photos might not be high colour and full of contrast, you can explore many other approaches to image processing. Currently, my aim is to keep the tones and colour light and airy. Hopefully I'm on the right track with this image.
Interestingly, to get the 'light and airy' feeling, I struggled a little at first. It was one thing to lighten up the image, but the clouds remained a little leaden and dead. I needed them to have more sparkle and the solution was remarkably easy: negative dehaze. By the time I was working on this file, I had already moved out of Lightroom and into Photoshop, so I copied up my adjustments onto a new layer and used the Camera Raw filter to access the dehaze slider. Too much negative dehaze killed the image, but just a little seemed to work a treat. I then added a mask and painted out the orange grass in the foreground and the background mountains right up the top.
Finding Yves Tanguy in Shark Bay
South East Shore, Shark Bay, Western Australia
Phase One XF 150MP, Schneider Kreuznach LS 110mm lens, f4.5 @ 1/2000 second, ISO 50
What is inspiration? Some people suggest plagiarism is when you copy the work of one photographer, inspiration is when you copy 1000 photographers! We don't live in a visual vacuum and while the choice of images we see on social media is probably the result of an algorithm designed to give us more of what we already like, it's hard to walk out with a camera and not be influenced in some way by the images we have seen.
The trick, I think, is to make a point of enjoying and concentrating on photographs, photographers and artists whose work you like. This doesn't mean you walk out the door and copy what you have seen. Rather, on a subconscious level at least, you're aware of subjects, styles and approaches that resonate with you.
I'm in transit to Broome, having just finished a second workshop with Tony Hewitt in Shark Bay. Up in the air, there's no shortage of inspiration provided by the landscape below. It is an incredible landscape – or landscape and seascape. And while the wide vistas are impressive, for most of us it's the detail that makes the photograph. While we may see a huge island or a long beach, we concentrate on just a section, with an interesting shape or colour, and turn it into an abstract.
At school, one of my favourite artists was Yves Tanguy, a French surrealist painter. His abstracts were of organic shapes, reminding me of wet sand or melted wax dribbled and melted, presented as a landscape. The colours and tonality are wonderful and his work has stuck with me ever since.
From the plane, I saw these sand dunes, curved and lumped together in such a way that reminded me of Tanguy's paintings. Now, that's not completely true. I believe I first responded to the shapes of the sand dunes and then while processing the image, noted how similar they were to Tanguy's work. Does it matter how or why I responded? If I responded consciously or subconsciously? Not really, so what's the takeaway?
I think one of the reasons photographers develop a style or an approach is because of the inspiration they have taken from other artists and photographers. And from films, music and life generally. Inspiration is the life force of creativity. The challenge is to keep it as original as possible, accepting that there possibly isn't an original photo or thought left in our highly populated world, but at least it can be original and authentic for us.
Is A Story Necessary For A Good Photo?
Carrarang Colours and Patterns, Shark Bay
Phase One XF IQ150, 110mm Schneider lens, f4 @ 1/2000 second, ISO 80
As I write this, Shark Bay is outside our accommodation. Under a bright blue sky, it looks unbelievably boring from down here at sea level, but once you get up into the air, the transformation is simply remarkable! And despite having been here a dozen times before (Tony Hewitt must have been here 50 times), there's always something new to discover.
In one of our workshop sessions this week, Tony discussed the need for story-telling in a photograph. Often you'll hear a judge or commentator complimenting a photograph for its story-telling and some people extrapolate this to mean all photographs should tell a story. But as Tony suggested, sometimes a photograph isn't telling a story. Or if it does have a story (because we can attach a story to anything), that story is simply, 'Doesn't this subject look interesting'!
Photography is a language and you can use it to do different things. Story-telling is one of them. So is being decorative. We take a photograph of something simply because it looks good or interesting or unusual or surprising. As photographers we don't have to think deeply about what our subject means or says, it's quite okay to be recreational and just respond to what we see. Up above Shark Bay, I'm not thinking about the stories my photographs are going to tell. Sure, I could create a series of images that are designed to tell something deep and meaningful, but the honest truth is, I'm just enjoying the experience.
Perhaps the story is what a lucky fellow I am to be leading aerial photography workshops up at Shark Bay with Tony. It's not a bad way to earn a crust!
So the takeaway is that I think it's quite acceptable to take a purely pictorial approach to photography where the message is nothing more than 'look at what I found'. For example, the attached photo has personal appeal because the colours are so different to the vibrant blues, greens and yellows which we usually associate with Shark Bay aerials - the deep, rich, tertiary reds, greens and browns really sing to me, while the little corner of light in the bottom left creates a point of difference and some relief from the darker tones above.
Simplification and Accents
Driftwood, Mullimburra Point Beach, NSW
Fujifilm X-H2, Fujinon XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR, f11 @ 2 seconds, ISO 64
Whether judging competitions or helping photographers with their images at workshops, I'm often struck by how much better a photograph could be if only it were simplified.
When looking up Wikipedia to check the spelling of German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's name, I discovered that the phrase 'less is more' could be traced back well before Mr Rohe - back to Ancient Greece in fact! However, when I studied art, 'less is more' seemed to be 'more or less' fundamental to the modernism with which it is commonly associated. In terms of architecture, it said forget all the swirls and ornamentation of the Baroque era and use what is purely functional to create a cleaner aesthetic.
Okay, so I'm sure I have bastardised this concept and in any event, simplification isn't necessarily quite the same as 'less is more', but it is amazing how often people understand what I'm getting at when they hear it.
On our workshop last week, we were dodging rain squalls at Mullimburra Point. I confess to loving the experience of being out in the rain, but it takes a workshop environment to get me to do it. On the beach were a number of trees embedded in the sand and a couple of smaller branches sitting on top. After the other photographers had taken their shots (we were all being super careful about unwanted footprints in the sand), I gradually moved in on this branch. To begin, I included the horizon and the headlands in the frame, but the image was too busy. What did I want you to look at? The beach? The sky? The headlands? None of the above - it was the driftwood that looked like a character written onto the soft sand.
Gradually I moved my tripod closer and closer until I was more or less on top of the tree branch, but while the branch and sand were 'simple', it wasn't enough. So, yes, simplification is important, but that doesn't mean the photo has to be boring as well!
Every now and then, a wave would wash up the beach, getting close to the branch. The white water and its shape in the corner of the image created an 'accent', a point of difference. Of course, as soon as I wanted a wave in the frame, the ocean went quiet and I was probably waiting for around 20 minutes before an appropriate wave. But at least it wasn't raining!
Not Camel Rock Again? Why Not!
Camel Rock, NSW South Coast
Fujifilm X-H2, 8-16mm, 2 seconds @ f16, ISO 64
I'm not complaining for one minute! After a month travelling through India and Bhutan, within a couple of days I was down the NSW South Coast with Len Metcalf running a 5 day photography workshop in Narooma. And what I love about this particular workshop is the location (lots of photo opps to choose from), the great food (can't beat the local cafe for breakfast and there are several excellent restaurants), the conference room in the Amooran Motel (great views, perfect for teaching and sharing), working with Len (hard to find two photographers who are more different in their approaches, yet in sync with their passion for teaching) - and most of all, a great group of students prepared to put up with my jokes and follow us out into some sketchy weather conditions to take some great photos.
For Len and me, the locations are always a re-visit, but as I've written in my blogs many times before, I really do enjoy revisiting locations, learning more about them, experiencing them more fully. With 10 visits to Antarctica, 8 to Bhutan and so on, I sometimes wonder if I should be going to new locations. On the other hand, India last month was a first and Uganda next month will also be new for me. So I'm hoping I have the balance more or less right because as much as I enjoy discovering new locations, I really enjoy revisiting locations as well.
Which brings me to Camel Rock. I must have shot this 20 times before! Normally I shoot this in the morning, waiting for the autumn sun to pick up the left side of the rocks. On this trip, we were balancing weather conditions and also a great restaurant in Bermagui, so we visited the Rock in the late afternoon. I think we might do this more often as the late afternoon light was wonderful - along with that cloud you see behind. A little while later, that cloud turned into a drenching squall as we all made a run for our cars!
In post-production, I've attempted to keep the contrast quite soft as I liked the way a couple of our students had interpretted their images. (Yes, it's true, photo workshop leaders get as much out of a session as the students do.) I've also warmed up the colour balance on the rocks a touch, using the new subject selection tool (found in both Lightroom and Capture One). Subject selection really is a great time saver, but I do find I need to be careful not to over-do the adjustments as the result can look 'stuck in place'. One approach I use is to make a subject selection, do 50% of the adjustment, then make a second subject selection for the other 50%, but this time I soften down the edges of the mask with a feathered brush so the subject sits more naturally into its background. Hopefully this makes sense and might be a useful approach for your own editing.
More Places at Shark Bay
Faure Island, Far Shore, Shark Bay
Phase One XF, 80mm lens, f5 @ 1/2000 second, ISO 50
While our Shark Bay - Inscription exhibition (by ND5) is now over 10 years old, Shark Bay itself remains an incredibly popular destination. I was reading a surfing magazine recently (The Surfers Journal, based in the USA), and one of the featured photographers included two Shark Bay aerials in his portfolio, 'frothing' over how amazing the location was! Not that there's much surf in Shark Bay, of course!
There are certainly some popular photography spots around Shark Bay that create amazing hero photographs, but to be honest, every time I fly over Shark Bay, I find something new or different. It has so much to do with the tides, the cloud cover and the angle of the light which is constantly changing relative to the camera as the plane circles around its subject.
The image above is a case in point. While I have photographed these little curves of sand, impeding the wave action and creating specular highlights, I hadn't also included the reflection of the sun itself. And while there's no way I can completely control the specular highlights, I have actually come to embrace the white highlights as being a part of the composition. Maybe I'd be shot down in a photo competition, but on the other hand, the only person I know how to make happy is me!
Two things. First, Tony Hewitt and I are considering opening up a second week at Shark Bay for our aerial workshop - something like 21-25 June, but as accommodation is tight at this time of the year, we might have to move the dates by a day or two. If you're interested, send me or Kim an email and we'll put you on the interested list. Our initial research for accommodation and aircraft hire are positive, so fingers crossed. Kim's email is [email protected].
The second thing is, what's it like flying around above Shark Bay? I'm glad you asked! I made a little video using my Fujifilm and DJI cameras last year and posted it onto YouTube. So far it's received a massive 234 hits, so maybe I can hit 250 by posting this newsletter and providing the link below!! I hope you enjoy it! Click the image to link to the movie on YouTube:
Taking Up Bird Photography!
Giant-petrel, Danco Harbour, Antarctica
Fujifilm X-H2, Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, 1/2000 second @ f8, ISO 640
I've just returned from 5 weeks down south with Aurora Expeditions and on the last voyage, which included the Falklands and South Sandwich Islands, I re-discovered an interest in bird photography. Okay, so I've always enjoyed photographing wildlife, but perhaps I'm better known for landscapes, so it's tongue-in-cheek when I state a new-found attraction to wildlife - and birds!
There are lots of birds to photograph, but the challenge is to capture an image that is a little different to the 'standard' animal portrait, whatever that may be. It's a bit like visiting Sydney's Opera House and trying to find a new angle. It's probably impossible to find a truly original angle that no-one has discovered before, but it's certainly possible to shoot something that you haven't seen before.
So, when it comes to birds, I'm looking for two things. First, I take the safety shot. I make sure I have a good, competent photograph of my subject, so that if it is needed for a presentation or a photo book, for example, I have it. There is probably no need for me to work like this - call it habit.
The second shot is looking for something a little different. When we landed at Danco Harbour, I could see these Giant-petrels nestling into a snow bank up above. Their position slightly above head-height allowed me to shoot a 'ground level' angle while standing, where the camera is on the same level as the subject. This is a standard approach for portrait photography as well, setting yourself at your subject's level, rather than looking down from a standing position as we usually do. And working in Antarctica this year was challenging as it was not permitted to sit, kneel or lie on the ground while ashore to avoid the inadvertent spread of Avian flu.
What I liked was the snowy background, so it's minimalist. All I needed was a point of difference and when the sleeping giant-petrel opened his or her eye to check me out, that was the shot. And shooting with a cropped-sensor camera, the 600mm focal length is the equivalent of a 900mm on a full-frame sensor, so plenty of magnification from a safe distance.
Should You Pay To Take Photographs Of People When Travelling?
At Prayer, Khiva, Uzbekistan, in a tourist area jointly used for prayer.
Fujifilm X-T4 (IR), Fujinon XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR, f2.8 @ 1/3 second, ISO 1600.
There have been many wonderful debates about the ethics of paying people in foreign lands to take their portrait. Some photographers think it is quite okay, others think making a payment develops an expectation in the locals from photographers who follow. Somehow, I think people in our modern age, wherever they live in the world, are savvy enough to know there's a value in being photographed.
Some subjects will give you that value freely and without any expectations. Others will ask to be paid for their involvement. And still others simply don't want to be photographed – so they are easy to deal with!
When we look at the history of photography and the travel genre, the idea was to capture authenticity. Somehow, they argued, the act of paying a local to be in your photograph interfered with this authenticity, despite the fact many National Geographic photographers have been paying people to be in their photos for decades!
I'm not in agreement with the authenticity argument, or it being unethical. If someone saw me in the street and asked to take my photograph, I probably wouldn't charge to pose for a few seconds. On the other hand, if they wanted to spend half an hour with me, then it would be reasonable for them to offer to pay. Why is it any different for the people we photograph? And if we are travelling in a country that's not particularly wealthy and a subject asks for a couple of dollars, why wouldn't we pay? In fact, if this is the situation, surely as guests in their land we should keep some change ready to make a payment if required?
However, it's true that if you pay for a portrait, then your subject will be posing for you and you won't get a candid shot. There's no doubt you will end up with a different type of photograph, but is that a bad thing? In terms of authenticity, the question isn't one of commerce (whether you pay or not), it's whether the photograph is posed or unposed. That will make a difference to the type of portrait you make, but it needn't affect the authenticity of the photographs you're capturing.
Shooting Travel And Wildlife? What's The Best Lens?
Humpback Whale, Fournier Bay, Antarctica. A little less bokeh than with a super telephoto
Fujifilm X-H2, Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, f8 @ 1/2000, ISO 640
One of the pleasures of using a super-telephoto lens with a wide f2.0, f2.8 or f4 aperture is the super shallow depth-of-field and the bokeh (blurry bits) on the background. While the differential focus effect might not be very obvious when your subject is a fair distance away, the closer your subject, the stronger the distinction becomes.
If you're on an African wildlife safari, shooting from a vehicle, a lot of your subjects will be a long way off and so whether you're using a super-telephoto or one of the new long zooms (like a 100-500mm or 150-600mm), it will make very little difference to the end result. This assumes both lenses produce sufficiently sharp results and that there's enough light or you can push your ISO up to maintain a sufficiently fast shutter speed. It's only when an animal comes in nice and close to the vehicle that the differential focus effect becomes more evident.
Now, for a wildlife photographer, there's possibly no decision to be made: take the super telephoto lens. In fact, take two super-telephotos like a 300mm f2.8 and a 600mm f4! But for the general photographer combining both travel and wildlife, I'd suggest one of the new zooms is a better bet because it's lighter and it gives you a range of focal lengths.
While an African 4WD might be kitted out with tripod heads on the side of the vehicle, hand holding a super telephoto on the deck of a ship quickly tires you out. Younger readers with gym memberships can ignore this advice. For the rest of us, if we're shooting all day, every day for a couple of weeks, then a lighter camera outfit will make the travelling that much more enjoyable!
And the good news is that when your wildlife subjects come in close, the zoom lenses will still create a beautiful bokeh effect and you can zoom in a little longer to enhance it if you want to!
