Sometime commercial photographer, Patrick
Heathcock, has some useful advice about photographing
flowers.
Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #1
What does one need to do to get
the perfect close-up of a wild flower? Set up a tripod,
clip on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera,
chip.. whatever? Maybe... but consider a few unexpected
impediments first. Finding the perfect clump of subjects
(mostly the easy part), stopping suddenly or rather screeching
to a halt (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking
and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my
least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and
dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never
seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun...It seems,
seemed a short distance across three fences to where
the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a
simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but...
Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod
in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? "Just pass them through the fence and follow",
you say! In theory perfect but as is often the case
when I'm out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera
clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended,
spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe
with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and
my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So,
how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the
second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without
a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping
of my precious digital genius first? Simple answer
- I don't, I try to get through regardless. Result?
The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives
neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden
from my person. And then the final indignity as at least one part of my favourite
jumper gets snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions: throw
the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many miles to the nearest?),
or simply leave it all in the SUV...barring the digital genius and one's
favourite 1:1 lens of course!
My final decision? Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and
hope that the ravages of the previous night haven't wrought havoc with traditionally
rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and
three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It's late in the season,
so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.
Selecting the perfect specimen is next. I need to decide what I'm trying to
say in the pic. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention
to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits
- a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the
ability to try everything because one can! I love it. It's a revelation, a
deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms without cost... or end
sometimes.
Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning
but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's
output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the
challenge!
Back to the world of yellow! Perfection... mmmm. Unable to settle on which
of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting
pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative
juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens
up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back
edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling
on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would
not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry
about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid
isolation.
A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or
thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve
with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half
a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing
the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace
your wall, a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare
it didn't quite happen because of trigger finger meanness! Digital genius
is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is
the basis of professionalism. Whatever it takes I say. Get the shot! The
satisfaction is immense.
More advice - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just
to make sure everything is working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty
splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale
thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Check that the
ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night's fun and that all the exposure
compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over
by two if weird and whacky is what you're after). Little things but in my twenty
years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things
if ignored!
So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's
back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the
gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back
to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're
off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!
But never forget the first things to do on your return? Download and backup!
Forget at your peril. DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn't get it the
first time.
Sometime commercial photographer
London, fulltime flower art photographer and web designer
living in the southern semisphere, soaking up the sun.
Visit www.aflowergallery.com to
view the yellow daisy and more!
