California | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

December 1, 2021December 1, 2021

A Sense of Place

Compelling landscape images stand on their own and connect the viewer with a sense of place or time. They can be displayed alone or in a series to tell a story, but they all have one thing in common. They make a statement about a location that defines its uniqueness.

The use of color or form in a composition can provoke an emotional response. Leading lines draw the viewer into the frame, creating tension that guides your audience towards the important elements you’re presenting. Shutter speed can illustrate the passing of time to create mood. These are all-powerful creative tools that when applied thoughtfully can result in strong imagery.

Another technique is the silhouette, which uses a graphic approach to convey an idea. Any object or scene that is backlit and appears dark against a lighter background will work, but the key is to find a subject with highly defined edges. A diffused yet colorful background like a sunrise or sunset often works best as it compliments the scene and reinforces the message.

Try adding this technique to your visual toolkit to create powerful images that stand on their own and strengthen your visual storytelling.

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021

The Wilderness Act

Fifty-seven years ago on September 3rd, 1964 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law preserving over 9 million acres of wilderness – a place where people could experience nature with minimal impact on the environment and wildlife. Since then Congress has added more than 100 million acres of wilderness area creating a natural legacy for future generations, and a sanctuary to recharge our creative and spiritual batteries apart from today’s fast-paced urban world.

The legislation established the National Wilderness Preservation System, which recognizes wilderness as “an area where the Earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” Unlike the National Parks, there is no management plan for traffic flow, employee housing or curio shops because there is simply no need. It is truly wild – nature in all its unprocessed beauty.

In this sense the two compliment each other nicely. Where the National Parks serve to protect iconic landforms and historic sites that might otherwise be subject to erosion, vandalism or overuse, wilderness areas often lack the spectacular formations which draw the masses and are instantly recognizable, but provide instead a subtle beauty and remote quality that begs for exploration and contemplation.

Ansel Adams spent the better part of his life working to preserve wilderness through his photographs and tireless appeals to Congress, and his images continue to define the power that nature has in our lives. I feel fortunate to be able to share my own view of the natural world through photography, but more importantly I’m glad those who came before me had the foresight and courage to preserve these special places where we can find renewal and experience our planet in its original untouched form.

“In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.” – Charles A. Lindbergh

August 3, 2021August 19, 2022

The Trouble with Bad Light

How many times have you arrived at a scene, anxious and ready for the show to begin only to find that Mother Nature had other plans. The light is far from spectacular, and your perfect image just faded before your eyes (or sensor) ever had a chance to capture it. Typical? Yes, but there’s just one problem. There is no such thing as bad light!

The issue is more with perception than the reality before you. Sure it requires a change of plan, but photography in its simplest form is painting with light (any light) and in that context, it’s all good. Learning to work with a variety of light will expand your visual toolkit and result in more satisfying and dynamic landscape images.

Big puffy clouds will always add drama to a landscape. But what if the sky is a sea of blue with nothing to balance the frame except an intense sun in the wrong location? Use a small aperture with that wide-angle lens and create a dynamic sunstar. This is a great opportunity for visual storytelling. Include a silhouette of a person involved in an activity or a defining landform and you’ve just turned that bad light into a compelling image.

But now you say the sky is completely overcast with no direct light anywhere? This is the perfect time to point your lens to the finer details below the horizon or at your feet. In this case, the sky is simulating a giant studio softbox with broad even lighting and no shadows – perfect for macro shots and isolating elements of the scene with a telephoto. That drab looking light will actually enhance the colors of flowers and trees, and combined with a slow shutter speed it will turn water into silk.

So the next time you’re met with less than ideal conditions, think twice before packing it in. Taking a different approach to the weather and thinking outside the box could be the only difference between creating some powerful imagery or nothing at all.