While
scouting the bank of a tiny stream in New Hampshire
making my way among the rocks and tangled tree
roots, a particular root - all gnarled and scarred
- caught my eye.
I made the short trek back to the car and got my gear. I set up my tripod and 200mm macro lens so I was shooting straight down on the root so as to maximize the depth of field. I positioned the tripod height so the edges of the root were just outside the edge of my viewfinder, as there was nothing there to add to the image, plus I wanted the scarred area to fill the frame.
I fiddled some, then fired of a few frames. When I rotated my camera slightly to create a gentle diagonal to add a little energy to my composition I ended up with dark triangles of nothingness at opposite corners, so I had a static vertical image I wasn’t quite happy with. I almost quit and packed up, but then I thought maybe I should ask for some help. A friend came over and looked through the viewfinder. He tried some tweaks but was temporarily stumped about what to do about those black corners. After a little thought, he began searching for dead leaves whose shade of tan would complement the colors in the root and poked them into the corners.
I like to bounce in light with a gold reflector when light is available, but it was overcast. So, I grabbed my sync cord and flash, wrapped with an amber-colored gel, and popped some light at a low angle across the root. Since I was shooting slides, I could only hope I’d recorded what I was aiming to. A couple days later I found out I had! At the time, I’d felt great about the effort I’d invested crafting the image, but seeing the final creation was exhilarating! I felt that rare, for me, sense of artistic accomplishment and connection with my subject; that this time I’d truly captured the essence of that which had attracted my eye. I am proud, and honored, to share this snippet of Nature with you.
Equipment: Nikon F100, Nikon 200mm macro, Fuji Velvia 100, Manfrotto 3443/Manfrotto 410 head, f22, 1/15, supplemental lighting Nikon SB-24, fill flash set at -1.7, off camera @ a low angle.
I made the short trek back to the car and got my gear. I set up my tripod and 200mm macro lens so I was shooting straight down on the root so as to maximize the depth of field. I positioned the tripod height so the edges of the root were just outside the edge of my viewfinder, as there was nothing there to add to the image, plus I wanted the scarred area to fill the frame.
I fiddled some, then fired of a few frames. When I rotated my camera slightly to create a gentle diagonal to add a little energy to my composition I ended up with dark triangles of nothingness at opposite corners, so I had a static vertical image I wasn’t quite happy with. I almost quit and packed up, but then I thought maybe I should ask for some help. A friend came over and looked through the viewfinder. He tried some tweaks but was temporarily stumped about what to do about those black corners. After a little thought, he began searching for dead leaves whose shade of tan would complement the colors in the root and poked them into the corners.
I like to bounce in light with a gold reflector when light is available, but it was overcast. So, I grabbed my sync cord and flash, wrapped with an amber-colored gel, and popped some light at a low angle across the root. Since I was shooting slides, I could only hope I’d recorded what I was aiming to. A couple days later I found out I had! At the time, I’d felt great about the effort I’d invested crafting the image, but seeing the final creation was exhilarating! I felt that rare, for me, sense of artistic accomplishment and connection with my subject; that this time I’d truly captured the essence of that which had attracted my eye. I am proud, and honored, to share this snippet of Nature with you.
Equipment: Nikon F100, Nikon 200mm macro, Fuji Velvia 100, Manfrotto 3443/Manfrotto 410 head, f22, 1/15, supplemental lighting Nikon SB-24, fill flash set at -1.7, off camera @ a low angle.
Bruce
Hogle
