Wildflowers | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

June 1, 2012August 6, 2019

Intimate Landscapes

California Poppies (Eschscholtzia californica), Antelope Valley, California

Here in Southern California winter came in spurts this year and never really realized its full potential. As a result, the spring blooms were much lighter than usual in places like Antelope Valley and Anza-Borrego, but we can always rely on a few favorite annuals like the poppies and barrel cactus to make a showing even in the dry years. The trick is to shift our attention from the big picture to the small.

As a photographer, the change in weather patterns simply means we need to adjust our perspective. Instead of grand fields of endless flowers that fill our wide-angle frame with edge to edge color, there are still wonderful images to be made, but we need to move in and get personal with the flora. The grand panoramas have now been replaced with shallow depth of field and selective focus that explores the color and detail of our favorite spring-time subjects. This is the time to pull out the macro, extension tubes, or Lensbaby and get intimate!

In the higher elevations where spring will arrive a little later there is still time to put this into practice. Of course the alpine environments with their glorious peaks as a backdrop always tend to win over our visual sensitivities, but once you’ve preserved the big picture it’s time to turn your attention to the intimate landscapes.

May 4, 2012November 6, 2015

A Measure of Wealth

Back in my days at CBS Entertainment there was a saying in the studios that summed up the sentiment about some of the products being produced at the time – “It’s art if it sells!”. This was a tongue in cheek response to the fact that a lot of the shows were commercial fluff designed to sell advertising to the masses (no surprise there), but the underlying fact was that they did sell. And as a result, the desire to strive for quality lost its appeal and was supplanted by a false sense of accomplishment.

Fast forward to my current life as landscape photographer – I now wear all the hats from production to distribution, which is empowering, but does have its challenges. The Internet and the transition to digital has streamlined much of the day-to-day business and leveled the playing field though, and the ultimate reward is being at the forefront of the creative process. The art still must sell, but the satisfaction of creating something that preserves the beauty of the world and hopefully in turn helps inspire others to enjoy and protect it is priceless.

January 17, 2012

Hurry Up and Wait

Mount Shuksan from Picture Lake, North Cascades National Park, Washington

In the perennial search for sure-fire ways to create compelling landscape photography it’s easy to overlook one of the simplest elements in the equation. Sometimes you just have to wait.

You’ve done your location research, you are proficient in the features and functions of your equipment, and you’ve selected a lens and composition that accurately expresses your vision. Now all you need is the light. When it’s a sunrise or sunset you’re after, it’s easy to calculate the time you need to arrive at your location and programs like The Photographers Ephemeris (www.photoephemeris.com) are an excellent resource. But weather is the great unknown that even meteorologists can’t predict with 100 percent accuracy.

The image above was made at one of the most popular and well-known locations in the US, and when I arrived I was surrounded by the anticipated number of photographers. But the mountain had been covered in clouds most of the morning and showed little promise of making an appearance. It was a long wait, and everyone else decided it was more time than they were willing to invest.

This was the only image I made that day as the weather rapidly deteriorated, but when the clouds parted for that brief moment my patience and preparation was rewarded. It doesn’t always work out this way, but as the saying goes – “you’ll always miss 100 percent of the shots you never take”.