Lower Calf Creek Falls, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
Shooting water in all its endless variety is one of the creative pleasures of nature photography. From drops of dew reflecting a crisp autumn morning to the power of cascading falls frozen in time, the camera allows many unique perspectives of our most abundant resource that are seldom seen in a passing glance.
A polarizing filter is a favorite tool for photographing water as it slows exposure and increases contrast, both of which serve to enhance the emotional response to a scene. While some may say this is altering reality, it’s good to remember that art is more about personal expression than documentation.
“Most creative photographs are departures from reality and it seems to take a higher order of craft to make this departure than to simulate reality.” ~Ansel Adams
This image of Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was made on an overcast day with a long exposure of 20 seconds. The cloudy sky diffused the harsh mid-day light and saturated the colors of the moss covered rock, while the slow shutter speed gave the falls a silky look.
Fall color along the Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California
In landscape photography we often previsualize a scene in our mind’s eye prior to arriving at a location in order to achieve the final image. Then, working backwards with our equipment selection and knowledge of the scene, we assess the conditions and create that vision.
At the center of this process, our brain is constantly switching back and forth between two ways of perceiving and processing the reality around us — one verbal and analytic, the other visual and perceptual. While the left brain is logical, rationally using words to describe concepts and able to manipulate abstract ideas, numbers and the concept of time, the right brain, in contrast, takes on a holistic approach, sensing relationships and patterns, and tends to be intuitive, emotional, and irrational with no sense of time – much like a child.
When we photograph it is our left brain that confirms the proper exposure, balances the histogram, levels the horizon, and insists that the rule of thirds be followed at all times. From a creative standpoint, this is where we want the right brain to take over and make a subjective leap of faith. By recognising how our brain functions, we have the ability to tap into our creative side and develop new ways of seeing.
Betty Edward’s treatise “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” takes a thoughtful look into the fascinating way that our brain works in tandem to balance our creative and cognitive traits. Based on this premise, that the left and right hemispheres of the brain process information in very different ways, she suggests that we can subjectively stimulate our creative responses to the world around us by suppressing the dominant and calculating left side and focusing on the right. Though the book references artists and drawing in particular, it is equally relevant to any of the visual arts.
So the next time you feel the need to expand your visual horizons, resist the temptation to buy another lens or Lightroom filter (as your left brain would likely suggest), and pick up this book instead. The development of your creative perception is an invaluable tool that will serve you well the rest of your life, and the only requirement is time and practice.
Lake Tahoe is a land of superlatives. Straddling the border of California and Nevada at over 6,000 feet, it’s the deepest alpine lake in North America and second only to Crater Lake in overall depth. It also has the largest volume of any lake in the United States behind the Great Lakes. By day, the crystal clear waters of this mountain oasis entice with a cerulean hue that sparkles like a jewel amid the surrounding peaks. But dusk and dawn have a special quality all their own for photography or just soaking up the magic hour experience.
Bonsai Rock shown here has become an icon of the lake, and the partially submerged boulders surrounding it make this a wonderful destination at sunset. Located on the northern Nevada side not far from Sand Harbor State Park, it’s a bit tricky to find but well worth the short hike down from the road (providing you find parking along the narrow highway, and have a headlamp for the return). The wind really sets the mood here for photography as it can be strong or non-existent, but a long shutter softens the scene when the lake is restless and adds to the timeless feeling of this beautiful location.
