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Jul
31
Shot of the Month – July 2023
This month a fun blast of color from the tulip fields of Skagit County in Washington State. In this image I found a Savannah Sparrow guarding this fuchsia-colored field of tulips.
I shot this photo in portrait orientation as those long tulip stems were best highlighted and celebrated with a vertical composition. I also really enjoyed the different “zones” of this shot:
Zone 1: While the stems are in sharp focus (you can see the t-i-n-y hairs on the stems!) the background fades away into a pleasing out-of- focus green and your gaze can go on forever…
Zone 2: In this zone we have a dramatic shift in color and at this distance all of the flowers are in sharp focus. Likewise, our lovely Savannah Sparrow is nicely crisp as he poses for his portrait.
Zone 3: In zone 3 another dramatic shift in focus as the tulips vanish into a deep blur but the bold fuchsia hue still demands attention. The Savanah Sparrow really pops against that blurry background.
Another view from the Fuchsia Field:
Check out this post for more on my adventures photographing Savannah Sparrows among the tulip fields.
Until next month….m
Nikon D500, Nikon 600mm w/ 1.4x TC (1275mm effective), f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 2500, +1.0 EV
Jun
30
Shot of the Month – June 2019
This month a photo of a tulip that demonstrates the power of isolating your subject to help create a compelling image. In this shot there is no doubt about what this photo is about — our eyes can’t help but be drawn to that lone red tulip in the center of the frame. In this image I used several techniques to isolate the subject:
Choice of depth of field
In this shot I used a very shallow depth of field (aperture of f/5.6) to ensure that almost all of the other flowers in this field were out of focus. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the part of the image that is in focus. For comparison look at the same image taken with a very wide depth of field (aperture of f/22). In this version 
the field of flowers is more in focus and, at least for me, more distracting. I find that my eye jumps around more from one part of the photo to the next and weakens the visual impact. Click on the image to see it larger. Here is a primer on understanding depth of field.
Point of View (POV)
To get this image I shot while crouched on my knees to get a low angle — this allowed me to shoot up and through the red flowers in the foreground and create depth in the image. This POV also allowed the red tulip to appear higher into the field of purple in the background and helped create more separation and space between the subject (red) and the foreground (red). Don’t be afraid to move around and explore the scene to make sure you are including the elements you want in the shot, and perhaps even more importantly, explore how your POV can help remove elements that weaken your image. Try higher. Then lower. Move to the right. To the left….shake it all about….
Contrasting Color
I was immediately drawn to this scene by how the red tulip popped visually against that purple background. The lovely green stem of the subject also adds more contrast and leads the eye to the subject.
Centered Subject
Landscape orientation is not as compelling for this shot
While it is often not recommended to center your subject it can sometimes be a useful technique under the right circumstances (See my post here on this topic). I usually try multiple compositions with the subject to the left, right and centered to help find what works best for the scene. I also often shoot in both landscape and portrait orientation to see which leads to a stronger composition. Given the vertical nature of the flowers portrait orientation worked best.
Wow, so much to consider to just get a pretty picture of a flower! These are in fact just a few of the ways that one can isolate the subject of an image. What are the others? Hmmn, that sounds like fodder for a future post….I just need to get outside and get the shot….stay tuned.
Until next month…m
Apr
30
Shot of the Month – April 2018
Savannah in Red
With my third spring in Washington State approaching I finally had some time to explore a tulip festival that is held each year about an hour north of Seattle. Given that the “subject” of this photo shoot was going to be expansive fields of colorful tulips I packed up my wide angle lenses and a tripod and off I went, leaving my long lenses behind. Time to do some landscape photography.
On our first visit we drove from site to site to explore the different fields to try different compositions and identify the photographic possibilities. At one site I spotted a bird sitting on flower as you can see below. My heart suddenly raced with excitement. With my largest lens only going out to 200 mm my options were limited but I sensed the massive potential for something special — I would have to come back with the right gear and try for the shot that I could see in my mind’s eye.
Inspiration for what could be…(yes, if you look closely, there is a bird in there)…
So, a few weeks later I returned, this time with my 600 mm lens and a monopod. I started the morning with more traditional landscape gear as I awaited the sunrise. I explored the scene at 24 mm until the sun was too high for that shot to work and it was time to bring out the long lens. For the next 4-5 hours I slowly walked among the rows of tulips looking for my quarry — a Savannah Sparrow (SS). The SS sparrow likes open terrain and typically feeds on the ground so the tulips fields were a perfect setting for him. After a few trips to the fields I began to understand the patterns — the birds would become more active by “mid” morning; by around 9:30 am the birds would begin to perch on the tulips and sing, proclaiming their territory. After a bit of time I could identify the circuit a bird would make as he traveled along the perimeter of his part of the field. I could even begin to identify his preferred tulips to sit upon. Of course, this would vary, but he often like to find the tallest tulip in an area to maximize the effect of his song.
I imagine that from the road that people were perplexed as to what that guy (me) was doing out in the fields with such a massive lens – “What in the hell is that guy shooting,” I assumed that many a visitor muttered to themselves. Some were even brave enough to ask. My reply was simply, “Just the birds.”
Each bird stayed in its territory so a given SS would only provide me the opportunity for one color of shot. The fellow above provided me with my “red” shot. To get the “purple” shot I would have to move to another section of the field and find a new bird, and learn his unique patrolling pattern. And from there I just looked for opportunities to mix and match as many colors as possible. Birds stopping along the edge of two adjacent, but different colored fields, provided opportunities for multi-colored scenes.
Savannah in Purple
Savannah in Red, Purple and a bit of Green
As I seem to have a knack for doing, I yet again managed to transform a typical landscape outing into a wildlife focused affair. In this case a tulip landscape morphed into a fanciful, magical perhaps, technocolor birdscape. So much fun…
Until next month…..m
Nikon D500, Nikon 600mm, 1.4x TC, (effective 1275mm), 1/1000s, f/5.6, +0.333 EV, ISO 400
Oct
31
Shot of the Month – October 2017
If you love color, check your calendar and your compass as it is likely that Mother Nature is putting on a glorious show somewhere near you. In the northeast of the US, the best time is in the autumn with the fall foliage. Here in Washington state there is a lovely explosion of color in the meadows near Mount Rainier each summer. How good is the display? Well, Bob Gibbons, in his book, “Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World” lists Mt. Rainier as the #1 location to visit!
The best time to see the show? Well, Mother Nature is an artist and is not fond of strict schedules and the like. She creates as the mood suits her. This mountain park is divided into three zones by altitude. Dense forests cover the low to mid-elevations of the park from 2,000 to 4,500 feet. The cool, shady conditions found here suit wildflower species that won’t be found higher up. These flowers tend to bloom earlier in the summer. Next, we have the subalpine zone from 4,500 to 6,500 feet. The subalpine zone often has the most impressive wildflower displays because the growing season is so short here. Snow can linger in the subalpine meadows into June and even July — so the flowers need to burst out as quickly as they can before the snows return. Climbing higher is the alpine zone from 6,500 feet to the summit of the mountain. There are a few hearty flowers in this zone but it is not where you want to be for the most color. (source)
The “peak” bloom for subalpine wildflowers is very dependent on weather and precipitation patterns. Typically, most flowers will be blooming by mid-July and by early August the fields can be bursting with color. But some years the peak happens in late June. Also, climate change is starting to impact the timing and seems to be shifting the bloom to earlier in the summer. So far I have found the 1st or 2nd week of August to be the most colorful.
What will you see? Mt. Rainier has hundreds of species of wildflowers — a cornucopia of blues, purples, oranges, reds,
whites, greens, pinks, and on and on. In this quiet, peaceful sunrise image above we look over a long sloping meadow dominated by sub-alpine lupines (purple) that leads to snow-covered Mt. Rainier off in the distance. There are also dashes of red (Scarlet Paintbrush) and pink (Pink Mountain Heather). Come on a different day, at a different time of day, on a different trail and you can see a completely different color palette. Here to the right is a rambunctious burst of afternoon color dominated by yellows (Broadleaf Arnica and Bracted Lousewort)) and reds (Scarlet Paint Brush) amongst others.
The canvas changes by the hour.
If you do dig your hiking boots out of the closet to take in a mountainside color exhibition do take great care. Mountain wildflowers are exceptionally fragile. Each step you take off the trail can crush 20 plants. Even if a plant survives the weight of your footstep its growth can be stunted for years!! Stay off the artwork!!
A few resources:
Here is a good article on planning a trip to Mt. Rainier to see wildflowers.
A nice collection of hikes on Mt. Rainier to see wildflowers.
A handy wildflower guide of Mt. Rainier.
Until next month….m
Nikon D4S, Nikkor 17-35mm (@17mm), f/16, 1/10 sec, ISO 200, EV -0.666
Jun
24
I took a break from shooting frogs the other day to get this Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.
