Action Plan:

Completion date: January 2012 

(16 week course)

Action to be undertaken	Progress	Planned Completion date	Date Completed
Produce 2 statements of intent	Started but not complete	Early Oct 2011 – week 4
Produce plan of garden	Photos taken. Drawing and points of compass to be added then linked to photos.	Week 5-6	beg Nov
Discuss current wildlife of garden	Started	Week 5-6
Discuss how to attract wildlife consistently to the garden	Ref: RSPB Ref: Taylor & Young Ref: BBC Wildlife	Week 6
Blog 4/3rds system	struggling	Week 7
Blog ISO, aperture, shutter speed	80%	Week 5	COMPLETE
Research photographers: Nature Birds Mammals Invertebrates Trees / Plants	heather angel steve young richard muir	Week 7-8
Decide which images / styles may be suitable to develop my style		During / after research
BLOG:
composition
tonal range
focal point
field of view
depth of field
filters

Richard Muir

In 1986 Richard Muir published ‘Landscape and Nature Photography’, a book aimed at photographers of all levels with an interest in the countryside and wildlife. Prior to publishing this he had written several books on landscape history for the National Trust, illustrated with his own photographs, so may be considered to be sympathetic to the subject of landscape and nature photography. Obviously the medium used was film, and many of the photos were black and white. As a reference source this book covers a wide spectrum – equipment, locations of all types, subjects of all types, the darkroom, conservation and the law, weather and seasons and planning a trip. Although 25 years old this book still has much useful information, and many interesting photos.

 

Reference:

Landscape and Nature Photography. Richard Muir. 1986. George Philip, London.ISBN 0-540-01100-2

The first picture is a black and white image of foam at the bottom of a waterfall, and was printed in the book to show that close up photos can be as attractive and stimulating as panoramic views.

This image was taken with a 300mm telephoto lens. The scanned image does not evoke the same feeling of movement as seen in the original. I presume that a fast shutter speed was used since the bubbles seem to be most realistic – you want to blow them and be involved with the image, The texture of the water is most apparent. It is a comforting image – you do not know the depth of water or how accessible it is – but you could easily scoop it in your hands to feel and enjoy it.

However the arrangement of the bubbles is far from random. As can be seen below the Rule of Thirds has been used to good effect to guide your eyes to the top left hand intersection and then down and round to other bubbles. With the flexibility of today’s digital cameras this photo may have been printed in colour to give a totally different effect – I imagine that the colour spectrum would be visible in the bubbles, or a blue/green tinge seen in the water. However this black and white image works most effectively and is a reminder that this form should not be ignored.

The next image is a cluster of horse chestnuts.

Again scanning has reduced the brightness of the colours, but in the original the warmth of the colours is breathtaking. Texturally the range is huge – smooth, rough, spiky, fragile, soft, crispy – truly vibrant in both texture and colour.

The Rule of Thirds dominates once more with the top right hand area being dominated by one leaf which then draws you down to one very bright inside of the horse chestnut, while the slightly orange tint to the leaves draw you back up and around.

This is a very gentle image, full of warmth. You want to get involved, to pick up and touch each item.

The next two images are also autumnal, and possibly it is because it is the current season I do feel drawn to them.

Once more the scanning process has reduced the vividness of the original photo.  Richard himself explains this photo: “The woodland floor is the subject. A wide-angle lens has been stopped down to f/16 and the tripod mounted camera exploits its great depth of field. Yellow horse chestnut leaves are the main colour source.”

This is a photo of a commonly seen subject – woodland in autumn. However by changing the perspective so that the woodland floor is the subject the image is immediately refreshed. The large leaves at the front immediately draw you into the picture and from there to the central tree in the background, where the orange bracken standing next to the tree immediately catches your eye again and brings it back down. Whenever your eye strays to the back this vertical line immediately draws you back to the leaves. I find this a most stimulating photo.

The final image appears initially to be more traditional.

Richard explains this photo: “The woodland floor is omitted to concentrate attention on the juxtaposition of golden beech leaves and pale blue sky”. However you do not notice that there is no ‘floor’ – possibly because many of us wander through woodlands look upwards.

For me the light is the most dominant feature of the photo. The filtered sunlight extends the range of colours from the palest yellow through greens and browns to near black – but perfectly harmonious. The area of the photo which is the brightest and draws your eyes to it lies between two intersections of the Rule of Thirds, whilst the trunks to the right all guide you to this area. The trunk to the left provides a limiter on this side – your eye cannot wander away. The photo is crisp and bright and fresh – the place we all want to visit in autumn! A real gem.




Addendum:


This afternoon I walked around my own garden to try to discover an area where I might be able to emulate these pictures - not easy. The sun was low and wintry to give a suitable brightness. However although I could find spots to look through the trees towards the sky the missing ingredient was the boundary of the tree on the left - without that in the last image your eyes will automatically escape not to return.

Heather Angel

Heather Angel.

Heather Angel was born in 1941. She is a Fellow of the British institute of Professional Photography and of the Royal Photographic Society – being its president from 1984-86, when she founded their Nature Group. She is vice president of the Nature in Art Trust. She is renowned as a nature photographer, author and television presenter. For this reason I have researched her work.

One of Heather’s favourite photographic sites is Kew Gardens. It is from these that I have taken my examples, since the subject matter will be closer to my chosen subject – an English garden.

The image of the squirrel is placed centrally in the frame. The face and paws, which are the important features of the image, are perfectly in focus with the eye being bright and making contact with the viewer – ‘I am enjoying this!’. The fore and background are agreeably out of focus – a narrow depth of field is employed, providing no distraction but a pleasant colour against which to exhibit the range of browns and greys of the squirrel fur. The mid ground is still in focus, and it is debatable whether the large green leaf by the squirrel is a distraction. Personally I think not. The perspective appears to be on the same level as the squirrel – another reason why eye contact appears to occur.  This is the type of image I would like to attain.

There are two major intersection points for the Rule of Thirds. Initially in the top right hand side where the tail crosses the branch; the second being where the squirrel’s mouth touches the feeder. The grey-browns of the squirrel are perfectly complemented by the greens of the leaves in the background; the leaves are sufficiently out of focus to prove interesting yet not distract the eye. The straightness of the squirrel’s body is fascinating, giving an interesting (reverse J) shape to the squirrel. The effect is to show the mischievousness of the squirrel – ‘I know I shouldn’t be here!’.  Yet I find this image less satisfying. The eye seems slightly out of focus; the feeder and its hangers are a distraction; the shot seems snatched and contrived.

Blackbirds are common visitors to my garden and an image such as this should be attainable.  However I think the image is flawed. The architecture of the door in the background is sufficiently in focus to prove a distraction, with the top lintel of the door running along a Line of Thirds, and attracting the eye. Similarly the colours of the door frame and the masonry are a distraction. The green of the conifer hedge complements the blackbird perfectly, but the hedge line does not follow the Line of Thirds. I wonder if a landscape orientation might have worked better – although again the background is distracting.

The following three images are of robins:

This image does not follow the rule of thirds, nor is the bird central. Yet the image works. However the central point of the image is at the bottom of the red breast – which is itself a rectangle. The eye is drawn here, and thence to the eye of the robin. The area of white bark to the right of the robin is also a strong rectangle and again leads the eye to the centre of the photo, whilst a solitary line of green again feeds into this small area. The main colours to notice are the red and white of the feathers, black of the eye and beak, and white of the bark. The rest of the bird is lost. But the image is very pleasing and comforting. We all know this round robin, feathers fluffed against the frost on the ground – it is a shot to elicit our sympathy.

The next two shots are of a robin on fence, with the second image cropped to bring the bird closer.

In the first image we are made aware of the whole  context of the image where the garden dominates and the bird looks small, isolated and vulnerable. In the second image the bird dominates – we are intrigued by what it is holding in its beak – not even noticed in the first image.

Both images work – my personal preference being the latter image as I am interested in the bird rather than the garden.

The last three images are of flora:

Again these are images of the same topic – one close up and one to give an image of the surroundings. Both are very effective – delightful colours, beautifully complementing each other. However in this instance I prefer the more distant image.  In the second image the background does not distract and the eye floats effortlessly form flower to flower, ponders the leaves and dark background and is drawn back to the colours with the right hand flower lying on a Line of Thirds.

In the first, close up photo the distraction lies in the strong shadow which lies on the flower – it stops me seeing the centre of the flower clearly.

This final image I find delightful.  The autumn browns, greens and yellows are wonderfully complementary. The presence of the beetle and the dying leaves show that visible life on the tree is ceasing. Yet the yellow of the horse chestnut , just opening to show the healthy and shiny nut within shows that life will be continuing. The textures are very clear – the shiny nut, the prickly case, the dying and wrinkling leaves, the stems smooth and still alive. This shows the eye of a photographer open to and understanding her surroundings. This is certainly the type of image I wish to emulate



Reference: www.naturalvisions.co.uk
                  Wikipedia

Plan and Images of Garden – Church Farm.

Plan and Images of Garden – Church Farm.

The aim of the images below is to give some idea of the layout of my garden. My husband and I are not gardeners at all; our great love is to watch the many birds and animals that visit the garden – constantly changing, constantly fascinating.

Plan:

As can be seen the garden faces to the east all the way through to the west so that a variety of lighting should be available.

These 2 shots show the view of the house from the road. Please note the heavy telephone cables which run along the roadside and can be seen on many shots.

The next photo shows the view across the front lawn towards the road. Note the telephone cables as well as the bird feeders on the left. (Red line on plan)

The blue line indicates the image below, across the front lawn towards the house. The garden feeders are out of shot at the top right.

The next image again looks to the road, along the front aspect of the house (red line).

The following image is across the front lawn looking to the south taken from the feeders (blue line).

The next photos look across the middle lawn, initially to the east (red line) then the south (blue line).

then the south (blue line).

The next photos look eastwards towards the patio and house. Bird feeders are hung on the pergola. Photos can be taken of this area from the house – either from the patio doors, or the bedroom above.

The final photos look at the back of the garden towards the oak tree (red line) and the compost area (blue line).

Review of Steve Young

Steve Young.

I first came across Steve Young’s work via ‘Photographing Garden Wildlife’, written with Marianne Taylor. This most enjoyable and informative book details the basic aspects of this subject:-

What lives in your garden

Welcoming the wildlife

Photographic kit

Camera settings

Composition

Image manipulation

When I purchased this book I was keen to take photos of the wonderful birds that visit my garden. However quickly the book opened up to me the enjoyment to be had from photographing the small creatures of the garden such as insects or spiders, or the textures of leaves or tree bark.

This picture from the book caught my eye for several reasons. Firstly nuthatches do visit my garden; they are shy, acrobatic and colourful, a delight to watch – just the image I’d love to capture. The colours are clear and accurate, the image in perfect focus. This is a very simple image, with the bird being quite central. The curved shape of the bird draws your eye down to the bird’s face and his eye (positioned at one of the intersections of the Rule of Thirds). The branch also crosses two of the Rule of Thirds intersection points – drawing you back in to the picture, and hence back to the bird. The eye is in perfect focus – giving the impression of staring at (just) you. The background is totally out of focus, so provides no distraction for the base image.

One of the great appeals of the book is that the camera and its settings are listed – in this case Nikon D2X, Sigma 300-800mm lens (at 800mm), ISO 800, 1/60^th sec at f/5.6. This information is most useful as are the notes in the text which explain that as the bird landed very briefly on the branch ISO 800 was used to enable a shutter speed of 1/60^th second to freeze the motion of the bird. The camera was hand held. With my camera and telephoto lens I hope to emulate such a shot.

The image below is also of a nuthatch taken by Steve Young (downloaded from www.birdsonfilm.com (his website).

This image is more dramatic. One major reason for this is that more of the colours of the bird are visible, but in particular the bird’s eye is crystal clear and most striking. You feel you could touch this bird it is so real. I suspect the ISO setting was lower for this photo giving increased clarity. The base of the body crosses a Rule of Thirds intersection point and pulls your eye up to the dominant head and eye of the image; in addition the tip of the beak also crosses an intersection point. The background is more visible, but the out of focus orange is at another Rule of Thirds intersection point and once more directs your eye back to the bird’s head.

This image of a honeysuckle is another that I would like to achieve. Again the image is quiet central, with the top right hand leaf cutting a Rule of Thirds intersection point. From here the eye is drawn to circle round the image of the flower itself. I personally like the fact that the flowerheads which have lost their petals are sufficiently in focus to allow them to be easily recognised, with the dropped petals on the earth in the background just recognisable. This photo thus tells the whole story of the honeysuckle from full flower to loss of petals and seed head.

This image of a garden spider is in perfect focus throughout and shows the beauty of our common spiders. The eyes are not visible – but the colouring of the body is subtle yet vivid, with the spots becoming central points of attention. The web is also in focus, with the top corners both leading to intersection points of the Rule of Thirds, and then on to the spider once more.

For this photo Steve used flash to light the spider. This is a technique I could experiment with, although at present I do not have a separate flash which might limit the results.

(Please note this image includes the central fold of a book.)

When I first saw this image I was amazed by it. I had never considered photographing bark.

The image shows very subtle and complementary colour changes, mainly of yellows and browns. The overwhelming impression is one of texture as the image is so sharp. You really feel that you can touch this tree. Since most people will have touched a tree trunk in their life it is a subject with which you can immediately empathise. You know the texture to expect. In doing so your own memories are revisited. The initial impression is quite chaotic, but in fact the light in the top left hand corner pulls you in to the photo to the darker areas from where the various intersection lines pull your eyes round the photo, not tiring of the image.

I have experimented with this type of image – so far with limited success. However with correct light and an informed choice of subject matter I hope to succeed.

In conclusion I find Steve’s work inspirational. The subject matter is approachable (compared to say photos of African wildlife), and Steve’s book is generous with its teaching.