Welcome to the Rich Herrmann Photography blog, offering insights into techniques, experiences and stories related to the art of nature photography in Iowa and beyond!
When in Doubt, Shoot it Out!
One weekend afternoon I was feeling like a moth to the flame as the fading sunset light gave everything a golden, glowing sparkle of goodness, and I was desperately on the lookout for something interesting to capture. It's in those moments of the "golden hour" that the senses are heightened because the light is so powerful and magnificent, almost everything looks good (of course that's not true, but the mind plays tricks on you at times!). As I drove down a gravel road west of Mount Vernon, Iowa, I passed by some railroad tracks and just happened to glance over at them as the car passed by. What I saw made me hit the brakes hard and pile out of the car!
The rails were lit-up like hot electric steel, almost glowing from the reflected sunlight. As I stood and pondered the scene, it occurred to me there was some extreme contrast here, with the sun fading to the west and the darkness all around. But I was determined that this had to be a photo in the making, so started shooting. I was very doubtful anything would turn out, but went for it anyway. The first few photos were terrible - the wrong shutter speed was used so everything was slightly blurred. I didn't want to use flash because that would ruin the overall mood and colors, so I increased the ISO settings to 400, which enabled a quicker shutter speed, and presto, things started to take shape.
Holding the camera as still as possible (no tripod due to sun fading so fast), I continued to adjust the aperture (thus affecting shutter speed), and the exposure compensation (to get the sunset exposed just right), until a decent photo appeared on the camera's display. In the film days, this would have been a total trial and error situation, where trusting the camera's sensor and film was paramount to getting the right color balance and exposure, and waiting a week to get the film back was the only option.
But in today's digital world, instant feedback is your best friend, so why not use it? Out of the 7 or 8 shots taken over a period of a few minutes that afternoon, this one seemed to portray the beauty of the scene most accurately. Although it may be a bit dark for some, I think the glowing tracks, darkness and awesome light of the sunset compliment each other for a pleasant nature photo. Very little post-processing was required since the exposure and colors were very close to what the end result was in my mind.
So when you're out and about and have some doubts about a photo or scene, the best thing you can do is shoot it out! Let it fly, and make adjustments on the run. Let your mind wonder and explore. There's a reason they call photography an art - nobody has the formula - but you do have the ability to capture some amazing things with your camera, so get to it!
The Art of Patience
Patience can be an important part of your strategy when capturing the world through a lens. I don't have a lot of patience, but have learned that even demonstrating a "bit-more-than-you-think-you-have" goes a long way in helping find that unique perspective or interesting photo.
One afternoon near Reinbeck, Iowa, I had my gear setup in a flower garden, with the sun to my back, carefully exploring the delicate flowers and insects in hopes of an interesting shot. I had taken a few photos of this beautiful yellow flower, but wasn't happy with the lighting (it was too dull), so forced myself to really study the flower, to look at it from different angles, and to be patient as the light hopefully changed for the
better.
While studying the flower through the viewfinder and experimenting with different focal lengths, two things happened almost
simultaneously...sunlight drenched the flower in its powerful rays AND a little grasshopper crawled up on top of the flower to see what was going on! It was a moment of "wow" for me as I clicked the shutter and hoped it was all captured. The result was surprising in that there must have been flowers or a reflection adjacent to the grasshopper that made it appear blue. However it happened, I was most appreciative, and think it adds a nice touch to the photo.
I've been in similar situations where my patience level was low, and can't help wondering how many opportunities were missed due to restlessness, impatience or "feeling hurried". But at least in this one instance, the reward for patience was a decent photo that brings a smile each time it's viewed!
Nasty Weather Photography
I've read several articles from famous photographers over the years about the importance of being "out there" when the weather turns bad. The reason? That's when light can be the most dramatic, mesmerizing, polarized or whatever words you want to describe "awesome light". However, there are drawbacks to being in that environment. First there is the stress it puts on your gear...batteries don't last as long in cold weather, cold temperatures make everything work in slow motion (including your fingers!), and extreme heat or moisture can put condensation on lenses or cause problems with camera electronics.
But the trade-offs are worth it in my opinion. Being in a bad weather situation can be rewarding because it gives you a unique perspective on a scene or subject that otherwise looks tame or mundane. As an example, after a winter storm in 2010, when ice, snow and hoarfrost covered the entire area around Mount Vernon and Lisbon, I knew there was a special moment waiting to happen somewhere. The fog and clouds were keeping the sun from peeking through that morning, but any shimmer of light seemed to be magnified by the bright white ice that covered everything. There was something special about the light that was difficult to describe that morning.
After walking around for a couple of hours looking for photo opportunities, I decided to drive to another area, stopping on a gravel road near the Abbe Creek school. There I experienced a scene unfolding that was both beautiful and inspiring. The wind was blowing just a little, it was probably 5 or 10 degrees outside, and my fingers were going numb from setting up the camera controls on the tripod while waiting to see what was going to happen. Finally, streaks of sunlight broke through the grayness and revealed this classic Iowa landscape. In person, it was one of the most beautiful landscapes I had witnessed.
As I drove home wet and cold from the ice and snow, there was a certain satisfaction that I was able to share a rare occurrence in nature with others, and it was totally worth it! The shot was captured using exposure bracketing to include the wide dynamic range of light, and later processed to bring out the subtle changes in light near the creek and in the trees. Nasty weather photography can be the most rewarding time to express yourself and find those unique photos that set you apart from other photographers.
Cedar River HDR
One cold winter afternoon last year, I was exploring the trails leading to the river at the Ennis Nature Preserve west of Mount Vernon, and noticed the sky was starting to clear. It had been overcast most of the day, and I was mentally prepared for no sunset with a long walk back to the car. But as the sun was setting, I stood on the bank of the Cedar River and watched geese fly by looking for their nightly resting spots, and noticed some wonderful color developing in the sky.
I decided to try High Dynamic Range (HDR), a technique that blends three differently exposed photos into one, so that the entire visual range is captured. Setting up on a tripod, I composed the photo so that the most intense part of the sky was in view as well as the beautiful reflections of the clouds and sun. Three exposures later, the foundation was laid for this unique and colorful version of the river.
In post-processing, I tried to bring out the intense colors and hues that seemed to be floating around that evening. Even though the HDR process may have tinted the snow a little blue, this photo to me represents a close likeness of what it was like to be there enjoying a quiet winter evening in Iowa! Magic!
How Foggy Valley Was Created
After chasing the sun along the Cedar River south of Hwy 30 between Cedar Rapids and Mount Vernon, I was driving home and noticed this break in the trees with the valley and fog creeping in ever so slowly. It was getting dark, so I had to work quickly. I walked out into the field just enough to get a sense of what was going on and where a good perspective might be.
After setting up the tripod and getting a few test shots, I started to really focus on the fog and different colors of the sunset. I was really hoping for the sunset light to brush the fog, but alas, the sun was going to sleep, so the fog was just FOG!
I decided this might be a good HDR shot, so bracketed 3 shots (-2 EV, 0, +2 EV). The sky was so bright compared to the lower valley, it would have been very difficult to get the exposure right without the help of HDR or some post-processing. However, there are photographers out there that could probably pull it off - but I'm not one of them yet!
During processing, I didn't like the way the HDR process over-saturated the sky and gave the foreground an artificial look. So using Photoshop CS5, I decided to load all three images up and use layer masking to bring out the best part of each exposure. The sky is mostly from the underexposed photo, while the foreground is from the normally exposed photo, and the fog has touches of the overexposed photo to bring out the whiteness.
It was fun processing and playing with the possibilities since the original images were good enough to manipulate. Sometimes sunset shots become too this or that and aren't useful for much of anything, but in this case I got lucky!
Hope you enjoy this photo of an open field and gentle valley in Eastern Iowa. It was fun being there!