Birds of Florida

I'm down in Florida preparing to lead an avian photography workshop. The workshop starts Sunday so I have been scouting and doing some of my own photography. It's no surprise that the photography has been prolific, like my previous trips. I've been able to ad several new species of birds to my portfolio. I could jump for joy!

Upcoming workshops

May 6, 6pm - May 11, 11am

Florida Avian Photography Workshop (Titusville and St. Augustine, FL)

July 21, 6:30 - 9:30am

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Field Session (Washington D.C.)

September 8, sunrise - sunset

Digital Nature Photography One-day Workshop (Chincoteague Island, VA)

October 20, sunrise - October 21, sunset

Great Falls Digital Worflow workshop (Great Falls, VA)

November 16, 1pm - November 18, 1pm

Chincoteague Island Workshop (VA)

Lava Field - Making of the image

I'm back to posting images after an extended break. During my time off I got married and enjoyed a honeymoon in Hawaii. It's a good thing I married a photographer as we both agreed that we "needed" to take our camera's on the honeymoon :) Experiencing the unique characteristics of the Hawaiian islands was very enjoyable. I will be posting several of my images from the trip in the coming weeks starting with one I made the second evening on the Big Island.

As you may know, Kilauea is an active volcano on the Big Island. On the western side of the island you can see almost nothing other than fields of dried lava. While driving around to find a good spot I realized making a wide angle photograph of this harsh landscape was going to be a challenge since I hadn't seen anything like this before. There was another challenge that I had not planned for - VOG. No, that is not misspelt. Vog is a form of air pollution that results from the mixing of sulfur dioxide and other gases emitted by a volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. What that meant was that not much sunlight was getting through to illuminate the landscape. In fact, we had to drive closer to the shore as there was barely any light inland.

The light was already fading even though it was 30 minutes before sunset. I finally decided to stop and venture out into the lava fields. Then there was the small matter of lava rock be treacherous to walk on. A fall on the rocks would definitely mean a visit to the hospital. Moving fast (and carefully) I looked for a interesting elements to include in the photograph. A glance behind me and I realized the sun was going to go behind a cloud bank. HURRY! While setting up I thought about how I was going to use the elements to balance the image. I fought my tripod as one of the legs would not move and I couldn't get low enough. A firm shove helped but didn't open the leg up as much as I would like. I continued regardless. Including the lone tree in my composition was essential to illustrate the starkness of the landscape. I lined the composition up so that some of the grasses would lead the eye towards the tree. The rock pile to the left of the tree helped with the balance of the image. And then the light started to fade. There was no more time to think about how to improve the composition. Click! Click! Click! And the light was gone.

As the sun went behind the cloud bank I decided to change lenses. Placing the tripod out of the way I started to move towards my backpack which was lying a few yards away. That's when it happened...a photographers worst fear...the falling tripod (with camera and lens attached). "Oh NO!" I screamed. SMASH! When I took my second step I moved the rocks around one of the tripod legs which caused the tripod to keel over. It didn't help that I never got all the tripod legs set at the same height. I looked at Angelique; clearly she shared my horror. We both stood there with our hands covering our mouths. It seemed like it was a few minutes before I decided to make the dreaded assessment of damages. The lens had gone front first into the lava rock. The polarizer was destroyed. Aeyayah! I feared the worst for the glass on the front of my lens while slowly taking the polarizer off. Hmmm! I wiped the "glass dust" off the front of the lens. Not a scratch. Examined the camera. Not a scratch. It was a honeymoon miracle! Only my polarizer was ruined. A couple of test shots and all looked fine.

We decided to call it a day and headed back to the car slowly and carefully. My camera and lens were fine and so was I.

2012 workshop schedule (JUST POSTED!)

April 14, 6:30 - 9:30am
Flowers & Close-ups Field Session
Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)

April 21, 12pm - April 22, 7pm
Macro Boot Camp
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (Vienna, VA)

May 6, 6pm - May 11, 11am
Florida Avian Photography Workshop (Titusville & St. Augustine, FL)

July 21, 6:30 - 9:30am
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Field Session (Washington D.C.)

September 8, sunrise - sunset
Digital Nature Photography One-day Workshop (Chincoteague Island, VA)

October 20, sunrise - October 21, sunset
Great Falls Digital Worflow workshop (Great Falls, VA)

November 16, 1pm - November 18, 1pm
Chincoteague Island Workshop (VA)

Lower Antelope Canyon

One of the hardest things to do in photography is to come away with an unusual photograph from locations that have been photographed to death. While the unusual photograph may be hard to find, with a little effort and creativity you can try and come away with something that is (at least) different.

Lower Antelope Canyon in Arizona is a classic example. We see so many images from there. The one thing I have found people consistently do, is oversaturate their images from this location. Don't get me wrong, that may be their interpretation and that is the way they choose to present their artwork. I respect that. The point I am making is this gives the wrong impression to people who have not visited the location. The colors are pretty amazing and depending on the angle of the sun and how bright it is, the reflected light in the canyon can be unbelievable.

Classic or different?

When we visit the same location several times it can be a challenge to see our subjects in a different way. I have photographed Dragonflies at Kenilworth several times. The above image is what I like to call a classic image. If you have seen photos from Kenilworth, it is quite likely that you have seen an image that looks similar. A photographer needs the technical know-how to create an image like this but it is not different.

Brookside Gardens Workshop Report

I just completed a workshop through VisArts. We spent some time photographing at Brookside Gardens. The Tulips were quite amazing! If you haven’t had a chance to visit Brookside while the Tulips are in bloom, you should.

The group was very enthusiastic and photographed non-stop for 3 hours. I demonstrated various techniques from optimal exposures to creating abstract images. The participants were fairly new to creating blurs and multiple exposures and seem to enjoy the process. Seeing their images in the critique session I was quite impressed how quickly they were able to pick up the technique and create some lovely images.

The blog image was made as the light started to get harsh. A diffuser was used to soften the light. Here are a few abstract/photo impressionistic images I made during the demonstrations and after the participants left. Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image.

February Featured Photo on NikhilBahl.com

Rhythm and Light (_NIK0207)

Walking along the beach on a lovely morning, I came across this unusual pattern in the sand. It seemed like there was potential, but the pattern by itself was not interesting enough to make a strong photo. I chose to include the seaweed and setup the composition to create diagonal movement. Even then, the photo did not feel complete; the water had to be included. As I decided how much space the water should occupy in the picture frame, the seaweed got swept away by the next wave. I quickly found more seaweed. Now I knew I had to act fast and time the release of the shutter perfectly. Serendipitously, the next wave stopped perfectly at the top of the frame to give me the pre-visualized photo.

Having only a little bit of water in the composition allows the photo to be about the pattern in the sand. The seaweed acts as a focal point and the foamy water is a supporting element that adds interest and enhances the movement created in the photograph. Let’s not forget, the early morning light helps bring out the texture in the sand and adds the warm hue.

None of these elements were strong enough to make a photo by themselves, but brought together in harmony they make an effective photograph.

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