Techniques | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

October 29, 2025October 29, 2025

The Art of Seeing

The Art of Seeing. The digital age has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities for the landscape photographer. From HDR (High Dynamic Range) and stitched panoramas to focus stacking and exposure blending a myriad of options exist. And filters have always been invaluable in controlling and shaping the light in camera just as much in the digital realm as in the days of film.

Yet with all of the tools available it’s easy to lose creative focus in an attempt to include a popular technique or push a filter to its limits. As with the constant temptation to buy the latest camera or software it’s important to remember that the gear or the technique isn’t what makes an image shine, but the vision. That’s the essence of creative photography and yet so often misplaced amid the vast array of today’s technical possibilities.

No matter what the future may bring our most important tool as outdoor photographers will always be our mind’s eye. The equipment in our bag or on our desktop is just a means of helping the viewer connect with what we felt emotionally when we preserved that moment in time.

June 19, 2025June 25, 2025

The Emotion of Motion

The Emotion of Motion. There’s something fascinating about visual movement that stirs our souls and creates a visceral response. I’m not referring to the exhilaration of skydiving or skiing down a mountain, but the more subtle visual connections we make while witnessing a dance performed on a stage, watching clouds race across a desert sky, or simply viewing a photograph of a silky waterfall frozen in time.

As photographers we have the privilege of stopping time or even slowing it down just long enough to give our viewers a glimpse of a world that can never be seen with our own eyes. We can illustrate a repetitive process over time such as a series of waves washing upon a shore, or create an abstract vision of color and form that has no resemblance to the natural world.

At these moments, there is a bond that occurs between subject and viewer that’s hard to put into words. Perhaps it’s our secret desire to slow the inevitable march of time or just a sense of voyeurism at seeing something beautiful that we know we shouldn’t be able to. I like to think of it as the emotion of motion.

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025

The World of Light & Shadow

The World of Light & Shadow. In the continuing search to develop our photographic vision it’s often said that trying a new or different approach yields the best results. While we employ many tried and true techniques in our craft that help to define our style, it’s the ongoing challenge to see the world anew that offers the greatest rewards in helping us grow creatively.

If you typically use wide-angle lenses switch to a telephoto and isolate elements from the bigger picture. When shooting under sunny skies is the norm try the soft diffused light of an overcast day to eliminate shadows and create rich, saturated colors. As I’ve mentioned before, filters can also be an indispensable tool in shaping and controlling light in the field, and are almost always preferable to post processing. One exception is the conversion to monochrome.

With today’s powerful controls in Lightroom and Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro, it’s now possible to make gorgeous black and white conversions from our color files that express all the subtleties and tonal range once only achievable with film and a darkroom. The challenge here is to seek out images that work well in monochrome. Typically high contrast scenes with defined edges and shadow detail are strong contenders, but there are no hard fast rules and experimentation is the key.

Although I don’t always shoot with black and white in mind, I’ve discovered many images in my files that express my emotional response to the scene much clearer than the color version. Most current digital cameras do have a black and white shooting mode, but it’s always preferable to shoot in RAW and then convert using the full tonal adjustments available in the programs I’ve mentioned. The added benefit is that you always have your original when color is the best option.

So spend some time reviewing your images with a new perspective in mind. You might just find some real gems that were waiting to be discovered in the world of light and shadow.