Dreamtime 2012 Version

Dreamtime 2010 Version

Last week, for unknown reasons, I decided to dig out one of my older landscape photos “Dreamtime”. Perhaps I was feeling nostalgic. Maybe it was the wilderness calling out to me; it’s been a few months since I’ve been in a natural setting. Or it could have been the feeling that I had unfinished business with this particular image. It’s one of those photos which has always felt like a work in process. Even when I completely revised it a couple of  years ago, I had expected to revisit the image in the future when my post-capture became more advanced. In any case, I decided to dust off the file and see where I ended up.

This particular scene has special meaning for me. It reminds me of my roots as a photographer. I have lived in big cities all my life. When I visited Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain national park in 2005, it was my first wilderness experience. Situated on Australia’s tiny island state, Cradle Mountain is the country’s most photographed peak. Tasmania (in fact the whole of Australia for that matter) does not boast any lofty alpine areas, but what the mountains lack in height, they make up for in character. The experience of seeing this striking peak reflected in the tranquil waters of Dove Lake on a completely still morning had a profound effect on me. It gave me a new appreciation of what is truly important on this planet. The beauty of being alone, awestruck by my surroundings, away from the distractions of city life would be something I became drawn to from that moment.

Overland Track

Over the next few years I would often return to this mountain and explore the surrounding areas, including the country’s greatest walk, the Overland Track. I was inspired by past and current Tasmanian photographers, in particular Chris Bell, Rob Blakers and the great Peter Dombrovskis. To this day, I consider the latter to be my favorite landscape photographer. Here is an artist who makes his statement in a quiet powerful manner, far removed from the current trend of shouting and bombast.

While Mount Wellington was Peter’s greatest muse, Cradle Mountain would be mine. I have photographed it under the stars, during a blizzard and in all four seasons. “Dreamtime” represents it at the most beautiful I have seen and it was the last time I visited. After all these years I think I’m finally content with the image. Truly great shows of light are not all that common at Dove Lake and the photo now transports me back to that windless morning. Mist hovered over the mirror like surface of the lake like spirits broken from my view point by two lichen encrusted boulders. In the distance, the slopes were peppered yellow by the deciduous fagus in autumn. With sunrise, wispy clouds took on an intense pink hue. It remains my last memory of an old friend.

Technical considerations

Technically this was a very tough photo to shoot in a single frame. The tonal range was very wide and the irregular shapes of the mountain and reflections made grad work difficult. Current best practice would be to shoot this scene in three exposures for highlights, mid tones and shadows for blending by hand afterwards. However my approach is to photograph landscapes is a single frame if at all possible. I think the result shows that good results are still obtainable using grad filters and just one exposure.

I often receive emails about how achieve results like this without an obvious grad line passing through the mountain. The answer is that through experience and experimentation I have learned to use multiple filters simultaneously and manipulate their positions during the exposure to avoid those tell-tale lines left by the use of a single strong hard edged grad filter. One other consideration complicating this photo was the fact that I wanted to maintain the reflection darker than the mountain itself. In the case of a sharp reflection in still water, I think that this rule of physics is a good one to observe in photography. Where there is moving water and a blurred reflection, this may be impossible to achieve since flowing water tends to become more light with log exposures. Since the effect is surreal anyway, I don’t see the need to keep the reflections darker. In “Dreamtine”, I positioned a soft grad over the reflection but above the foreground rocks to prevent the former from being exposed too brightly.

Check out a large version of “Dreamtime” here. More in my next blog article on the current state of my digital workflow.

Cradle Mountain Sunset

Agata, Hasselblad Studios, London

After a studio shoot last week, it struck me how little influence and control I actually have over my subjects as a landscape and travel photographer. Making outdoor images relies on my ability to be an astute observer of my surroundings and to spatially manipulate what is around me into the confines of a two dimensional medium frame. These are essentially driven by what I see or sense as well as the conditions dealt to me and the photos are my reactions to them. So what we photograph in the real world is almost always reactive. Of course, creativity and vision play a part but the process is essentially the opposite of what happens in a studio. There, one starts with a blank canvas, a white box to be filled with ideas. Creativity comes first and one has virtually complete control over the environment in a studio. Most of the effort and time is expended in production and conversion of concept into reality.

Sophie's Sunrise

Out in the real world, you already have the raw components of what is going to be photographed. Visual inputs from our surroundings stimulates ideas and images rely completely on one’s ability to use light and compose. Since you are not starting from scratch, the degree of creativity that can be applied to outdoor shooting is limited in comparison to a studio. However it’s whether we can stamp something personal into our work that will either make it either stand out or be part of the cookie cutter crowd. Knowing that the amount of imagination I can put into outdoor photography is limited makes it even more important. Call it what you will but we’re all familiar with the buzzwords : pre-visualization, creativity, vision, style.

Monet

I often try to imagine that there are ten other photographers standing next to me on location and consider how my photo is going to differ from everyone else’s. When I visited this popular location in Cornwall, I had already seen many excellent interpretations. One thing they all failed to convey to me adequately was the scale of these rock stacks. With this simple idea in mind, I set about finding a perspective that displayed how impressively imposing they in fact are. I was fortunate that my visit coincided with some of the most pleasant conditions during my Cornwall trip.

In the Footsteps of Giants

Being confined to a studio helped me to appreciate another facet of outdoor shooting that we all take for granted – the element of surprise. Take away the unpredictability of an uncontrolled environment and you remove a great deal of excitement and the possibility of those spontaneous magical moments.

During a recent workshop in Paris, I witnessed one of the participants photographing a particularly photogenic door when when to her surprise a priest in his collar emerged and she was able to snap a decisive moment. Later the same day, I set up a composition in a lively neighborhood including a door and part of a fruit shop when just as unexpectedly a distinguished looking gentleman exited the building into some lovely soft light. I managed to catch a frame through the steady stream of local pedestrians.

The Distinguished Gentleman

Please check out these links to large versions of ”In the Footsteps of Giants” and “The Distinguished Gentleman” on my web galleries. As much as I enjoyed my time in the studio, it reminded me to celebrate the roles of individuality and the unexpected in my travels.

Hidden Paris

Know that favorite little hotel that you keep going back to? You feel comfortable with the neighborhood, probably have a cafe where you know the menu. It’s probably good value for money. The location can’t be beat and may be a stone’s throw from such sights as the Spanish Steps, Eiffel Tower or Sydney Harbour Bridge. Next time you hop online to make a booking at your usual hotel, don’t. Your experiences and photography will be that much richer.

Over the past week in Paris, I’ve stayed at three hotels, each in different arrondisements. The first location, in the tenth arrondisement, exposed me to a completely new neighborhood. I ended up using this area as a back-up for my workshop shoots and it turned out to be one of the most interesting. A wonderful aspect that really struck me was that it was the only place where we didn’t cross paths with any tourists at all. We ended up spending more time shooting in this ‘hidden Paris’ than anywhere else.

I also stayed in Montmartre for the first time. Home to Sacre-Coeur, the third most famous church in Paris after Notre-Dame and Saint Chapelle, I’ve found that this area has become the most crowded location in Paris. It’s a far cry from the charming village-like atmosphere depicted in the movie “Amelie”. It is difficult to experience the true heart of Montmartre  when one is about to be trampled underfoot by the hordes of day trippers. The delights of this location only become evident during nightfall and early in the morning when the town wakes up.

These were all experiences I never had on my first visits to Paris and it was my pleasure to be able to show something new to my workshop participants outside of the usual sights. I’ve uploaded a selection of new photos to the web gallery.

Maison Collignon

Seeing the Unseen by Alister Benn

One evening three years ago, after photographing a little-known national park in the Blue Mountains, I came upon an electrical storm. I followed it until I found a clear vantage point where I could attempt some images. Over the next hour I would observe this unusual phenomenon in the dark. The storm clouds themselves would be illuminated by the electrical activity from within a several times a minute. By trial and error during this time, I created my first images featuring stationary stars and entered the world of nocturnal photography. The results were surreal and otherworldly; I was hooked. I had stepped into the realms of “Available Night Light” of which Alister Benn is just about the most qualified guide that I know. So when he recently published an eBook about photography once the sun has dipped below that horizon, I was very interested in what he had to say.

Storm in the Blue Mountains

I viewed the ebook (95 page 67Mb PDF) on my newly arrived iPad. On the retina display, it was a real pleasure to read. As might be expected from the large file, everything is beautifully presented. The numerous photographs which help to illustrate the text are particularly cohesive – a collection of seascapes from Spain and the mightiest mountains of Asia. Once again these looked absolutely stunning on the iPad’s high resolution display.

Following a foreword by Guy Tal, the book is organized into eight chapters that takes you through low-light photography in a logical and well-structured manner. Everything from the preparatory stages through to post-capture processing is covered, making it suitable for those new to photography. Alister strikes a  good balance between theory, technical know-how, science, anecdotes and philosophy making it very readable.

So what’s in it for the experienced photographer? If you follow my work, you’ll know that I’m no stranger to night photography myself. It was reassuring to see how we shared many similarities in technique and philosophy, many of which were developed through experience, trial and error. However, it’s one thing to know roughly how to go through the motions, it’s another to be able to explain in text how to hit the ground running and demonstrate how everything fits together – Alister does this brilliantly. There were of course many ideas that were also new to me. The book is a comprehensive guide covering numerous approaches to low light photography as well as clearly giving an opinion on which is best under different circumstances. In addition to numerous useful tips, it gives the advanced photographer a terrific framework to organize one’s approach.

As it stands, “Seeing the Unseen” is a superb manual detailing the up-to-date best practice in the art of night photography. Throughout the text, Alister Benn’s strong passion for the subject comes through. It makes you want to head out and do some night shooting right now.

Further details about Alister’s book and purchase information can be found here.

Moonlight and Monoliths

Cornwall Workshop

My Paris workshop, announced last week is now full, however I’m pleased to present “Seascapes and Fishing Villages of Cornwall” which kicks off at the end of April next month. We will be based near the charming idyllic town of St Ives in a gorgeous hotel. Subjects will include quaint fishing villages and my favourite, seascapes ranging from boulder coastlines, towering cliffs to pristine white sand beaches.

Further details and registration on the workshop section of my website here.

Join me on a small group tour of the City of Light. Over the past three years, I have pounded the streets of Paris and unveiled it’s many faces. There are the famous landmarks of course which immediately seduces the newcomer. And then there are the lesser known secret spots, frequented mainly by the locals. Finally, there are the people who make the city what it is.

More information on the MHT website workshop section.

I finally have some dates for workshops. I only locked in this next trip recently so the first two are pretty short notice. Over the next couple of days, I’ll make individual posts about each. These are all small group workshops with a maximum of 4-5 people each.

Paris – Street and Travel Photography – 9-12 April 2012

Cornwall – Seascapes and Fishing Villages – 29 April – 3 May 2012

Venice Carnevale – 8-13 February 2013

Here is a seascape from one of the Cornwall locations. Check out the larger version here.

Dinosaur Eggs

Resurrecting the Tesselated Pavement

In recent months the latest professional and prosumer models from Canon and Nikon have been announced. For the first time I did not await this news with any anticipation. The announcements themselves barely raised an eyebrow. The last month has been busier than usual with many print orders. When I look at the latest ones hot off the printer, I’m extremely pleased with the results. One is a 30 inch limited edition of 10 “Paris is most beautiful in the rain”. I’ve had a few suggest to me the crazy idea that I should clone out the specks of backlit rain. Seeing it on a print of this size, I’ll bet they would put an order in for the straitjacket themselves. Another is a 24 inch print on metallic paper of an intense sunrise over the Tesselated Pavement in Tasmania. This one isn’t even on the website and had to be retrieved from the archives and reworked from the RAW file. The final result left me wondering why the heck it’s not part of my portfolio on the website. Finally there’s a series of prints from my latest trip to Venice. My favourite is “Pensive Farfalla”, a contemplative vision of my muse among the serene canals of Castello, seemingly (but not geographically) far away from the madness of San Marco. As pleasant as image viewing is on the web, there’s no substitute for seeing them in print. So why am I not excited about all this new gear? I’m happy with what my tools of the trade do for me now. I don’t see how this version of latest and greatest equipment is going to significantly improve my photography or prints. What excites me is taking photos not gear. I suspect most people would get a lot more out of taking a workshop or expanding their portfolio by going on a trip.

Update on prints

Due to the effect of the rise in the Aussie dollar over the past year, I will be re-pricing all my prints. Please contact me via the www.magichourtravelscapes.com website for quotes. Prints of 24 inches and larger from the black and white Paris collection are limited editions of ten.

Photography Comes From Within

Most newcomers (and many old-hands too) ask the wrong questions. How often do you see someone post a great photo and the first questions that are asked are along the lines of did you use a two stop or three stop filter? Or what gear did you use? What post-capture processing did you use? It would make photography so much easier to think that a particular piece of equipment or some closely guarded technique that gets handed down between photographers in a special club are the key to unlocking the secrets of photography.

Yes, choosing the right filter, lens and processing technique is important. However unless you are standing right next to the person taking the photograph, I fail to see how any of this information is relevant. The process and thinking behind the image is what really makes it and the questions about these aspects are rarely asked. Analyze photos you admire and try to work out why they work. In your own photography visualize the result you are after and think through every step of the way how it can be achieved.

Working the Light

Venice was a photographic boot camp involving everything from split second decisions within the photographers’ scrum at San Marco to thinking through prepared set-up shoots. It forces you to draw upon all your skills and experiences as a photographer to produce a portfolio that is uniquely yours.

With one day completely washed out and no masks willing to brave the inclement weather, I had only two days of shooting left. One of those days was dedicated to photographing my friend Anne-Sophie (Farfalla) at numerous locations around Venice from sunrise to sunset. To shoot throughout the day, it was important to become a keen observer of light and harness it in all its forms.

Farfalla at San Marco

In this first example, I positioned Sophie under the soft subtle pink glow of a Venetian lamp, knowing that it would enhance the colours of her costume. This contrasted nicely with the deep blue hour sky behind. The ambient lighting was enough capture to sharp images with my portrait lens wide open, a much preferable option to the use of flash.

Farfalla at Salute

When we reached Salute late in the morning, the lighting situation was one I faced constantly as a landscape photographer – a foreground deep in shadow against a comparative bright sky. A soft edged neutral density filter balanced these out nicely.

Light and Shadow

The interface between light and shadow is often an interesting and rewarding zone to work with. This one combines mainly late afternoon front lighting against a shadowed background which called for a dramatic pose from Anne-Sophie to complement the conditions. Captured the same day, is another image of another mask. I deliberately under-exposed this image so as to not blow out the highlights. I had already visualized a dark moody portrait so I was quite happy to let the shadows go very dark. In addition, the subject was positioned so that her eyes had catchlights.

Dark Shadows

While the next photo was technically captured in the shade there was enough light bouncing around reflected from the walls that areas of soft glow could be discerned if one is paying attention.

Aglow with Reflected Light

In some pretty harsh midday lighting, I used a building behind me as a large reflector to cast some soft light on Anne-Sophie.

Reflected Light

To finish off this section on working the light, here is a dramatic example of backlighting. Decisions about exposure are most critical in these cases. I’ve allowed a shaft of light to pass through the headdress for dramatic effect.

Backlighting

Composition Trumps Light

As important as light is, what really transforms a photo from mere documentation to art is composition. After chasing the light for the first few years of my journey, I have come to the firm conclusion that composition is what matters most. Anyone can point their cameras towards ‘good’ light but how one constructs a photo is what makes it personal.

I don’t think anyone could have found the white sky conditions overly inspiring but everything fell in perfect place within the frame for a single moment : the front fin of the gondola under the Bridge of Sighs, the hair’s breadth of space between the two gondolas and of course the splash of colour provided off to the side by the two masks.

Composition Triumphs Over Light

Farfalla and the Crowds

I know I was completely exhausted at the end of the day so I can only imagine how tired she was, in her costume performing all her poses with a flourish from sunrise to sunset. Needless to say, I have tons of photos and I may have to give Farfalla her own gallery on my website! In the meantime, check out a small selection of images up on the web gallery, including this one of Farfalla at Piazza San Marco. It was one of the first photographs I made and it seems to capture the operatic setting and theatre of Carnevale di Venezia. Do have a look at the large version on the website too.

Farfalla at Piazza San Marco