Photo Tips
Photography is like playing the piano and photographers are like musicians. There are many people who can mechanically play the notes and reproduce the melody and tone of a piece of music, but there are only a few who can impart in their playing a sense of heart and emotion. You know it when you hear it...there is a difference...music played through the heart touches upon the soul of those who listen. There are many who can take a nice photo mechanically...they know all the elements and mechanics of how to use the camera and know all about composition, but their work seems to miss that one thing...that one piece of something that touches the viewer emotionally. There is more to taking a photograph than simply understanding the mechanics involved. To truly capture those moments of light in such a way that the image captures the imagination takes something that cannot be taught. It comes from the heart and the photographer who successfully taps into this realm from within is the one who creates those images that become special moments. Today's photography world is full of high dollar digital cameras that practically do it all...except add that one most important element. Personally, I prefer the warmth and character that film imparts to an image over the indifferent coolness digital pixels tend to create. Even so, if used within their respective capabilities, both formats work quite well. The few pointers that I make here can apply to both digital and film, but keep in mind most of all when you are practicing your art, look at the light from within and see its glow as it eminates from inside of you...I do believe your vision of nature will suddenly take on a fresh and dramatic dimension once you understand this most important component of photography. Tip number one: It's All About Tonal Values Why is that? You see, this average exposure is designed to create a neutral middle 18% gray value. For example...if you move in close and point your camera on a sunny day at a white barn door and allow the TTL meter do its thing, that white barn door will look a dull gray in the finished product. The same holds true with snow, or sand, or sky, or a red barn door, or a blue barn door. It doesn't matter what color. The TTL meter will set the tonal value of that color to its middle tone 18% gray value equivalent. Okay...so what does this have to do with taking pictures? For the average snap shot shooter...not much, because that is all they are after and a TTL metering system will work just fine for most situations. But, if you strive to create artistically pleasing and quality images, it means everything...it is the meat and potato's of exposure setting and understanding this concept will trasnform your photography. Most quality SLR cameras will have some kind of exposure compensation ability. My camera, a relatively low end Minolta Maxxum 50, uses a common compensation process by allowing for + or - exposure control above and below the metered setting. It works like this. When I view a landscape scene, I select Aperture Control on the camera and set the aperture...lets say to f/16 to provide for a good DOF(more about that later). I point the camera and allow the camera to make its shutter speed recommendation, lets say it says 1/60 sec. Here is where this kind of knowledge can transform your photography. I realize for the main part of the scene I want to capture it darker than a middle tone value. In this case I need to darken the image by taking away some light...so I set the compensation control to -1.0. This will effectively reduce the amount of light entering the camera by one full F/stop. The aperture stays the same at f/16, but the shutter speed will increase to 1/125 sec. If I wanted the image to be lighter, I would compensate by adding light...+1.0, but, be careful here. Most cameras will allow increments anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 stops all the way to 3 full stops + or -. By the way, this concept applies more to Slide or Transparancy film, and somewhat to digital,than negative film because prints made from negatives have their final exposure made by the technician doing the print processing. Negative print film has a lot more flexibilty in exposure and is more forgiving for the most part but, unless you are able to scan you own negatives and create you own prints, you lose a lot of exposure control with print film. There is a lot more to it than what little space I can provide here, so I recommend you do some research on f-stops and shutter speeds and film speeds and how all of those things work together and against each other. Then experiment with the exposure control. In summary...The idea is to think in terms of tonal values while you are taking a photo, and set your exposure to whatever tonal value you want the main subject of the image to be. It doesn't have to been middle tone, it can be lighter or darker...you are the master of the exposure and make the decision. Rarely does the TTL metering result in that perfect, dramatic exposure...sometimes it does...but not often. With any film, the simple process of bracketing will often give you the desired results. It works like this. Take one shot using the metered reading. Take the same shot at +1.0, and then take the same shot again at -1.0. That gives me three exposures and 3 chances of getting it right. Some situations may require as many as 6 compensations, but at least one of the images will be have the exposure you are looking for. Keith R. Bridgman
Tip number Two: Keep it Simple Take a look at some of the best images professionals take. You will most often notice one thing they have in common: A Simplicity of Purpose. Simplicity of purpose doesn't necessarily mean what is captured on film lacks for complex detail. An image of that pretty stream when taken fifty yards away can look cluttered and ordinary, but move in closer to where the current rolls over some rocks and focus the attention on that one aspect, and the image suddenly gains a singular purpose. Attempting to capture everything...all details...about a scene usually results in disappointment. Instead of trying to capture a field of flowers, the barn, the fence row, the blue sky full of clouds, and the old tractor in one image. Think about taking several images...one flower, the old barn door hanging half way off, the corner of the fence row with the barn in the background...the old tractor with a few wildflowers growing around it but take the image from ground level with a wide angle lens and include some of that blue sky. You get the idea...simplify your image...create a composition with one singular purpose...the barn...the tractor...a single flower. Remember you are capturing lines and textures accented with contrasts...bright areas and shadows. Keith R. Bridgman
Tip number Three: Leave Early and Stay Late Keith R. Bridgman
Tip number Four: Use a Tripod Why use a Tripod? When you begin to recognize the value of those marginal edge time lighting conditions, you will also notice that the exposure required falls outside the range you can manually hold the camera steady. Anytime the conditions require a shutter speed of less than 1/60th of a second...a Tripod is required. Very few people can hold a camera still enough to keep from slightly blurring the image with slower shutter speeds. Many times the lighting conditions require shutter speeds that are measured in several seconds. Space does not allow for going into an exposure basics lesson...but for virtually all of my photography, I use a Tripod...Tri it. Keith R. Bridgman
Tip number Five: Instinct...Being in the Right Place at the Right time The more one photographs nature, the more one begins to visualize nature from a photographers point of view. It is one thing to recognize the prettiness of a scene, and quite another to capture that one subtle moment that defines what the scene has to give. Sometimes it requires patience, sometimes hard work, most of the time it requires a willingness to experiment, to walk away from the road and cross a field, or climb a hill, or get your shoes dirty or wet to find that one angle, that one combination of light and space. Instinct tells you something is there...experience helps you find it...preparation allows you to capture it. Keith R. Bridgman
Tip number Six: Computers and Filters: To Use Them or Not I see very little difference in what he did and in using a computer and Photoshop to tweak an image digitally. The key is to not overdo it. When you look at one of Ansel Adams' photo's it looks natural, when in reality he placed a lot of exposure thought and processing detail into everyone towhere the end result represented an enhanced image that brought out the dynamics of the scene. Digitial manipulation of an image if not done with care can over cook an image to point it looks...well...not natural. A computer should never be used as a crutch to correct sloppy in the field composition and exposure control. But, using a computer to slightly tweak the white balance, brightness and contrast...and ever so slightly, the color saturation of an image when required is only using a tool I'm sure Ansel Adams would have loved. This also applies to filters. Polarizers darken a blue sky and remove haze and sheen from shiny surfaces and give colors a richer depth. Neutral density graduated filters help compensate when you have two kinds of lighting conditons competing against each other...like a bright sky and a shadowed foreground...which can cause part of the image to be over-exposed while the other part to be underexposed. The 81B filter, there are several types in the 81 series like 81A, B, C...., add a very slight warmth to the overall lighting. This is useful in shadowed areas where the light tends to be bluish and cool. My take on using filters and computers. Do it...just don't over do it. Keith R. Bridgman
What do I mean about 'Tonal Values'? Well to put it in simple terms, Tonal Values refers to how today's auto exposure cameras determine what exposure to use. You see, the camera doesn't really give a hoot what you are looking at, all it cares about is the amount of light that is being detected by it's through the lens (TTL) metering system. Most cameras use either an Aperture Priority, where you determine the f/stop to use, or Shutter Priority, where you determine the shutter speed. Some cameras sample the light in a few places, maybe two or three locations within the view, while others sample the light using say six or eight. Some are center weighted others are more dispersed in their sampling. Once the TTL metering system samples the light intensities, the internal computer will take an average of these and set your exposure, either the shutter speed, or aperture, accordingly. What usually results is a image that sort of looks like what you remember, but it isn't quite the same, usually it is lighter or darker, flatter or duller.
A dark red barn door will appear lighter red, and pale red will appear darker. You get the idea. The photo to the right is a good example. I wanted the snow to be white, but the dark road and bright sky would have overwhelmed the TTL meter and probably would have resulted in a grayish colored snow. I compensated one full stop higher than mid-tone (+1.0) above the metered reading.
Ever notice how your photo's sometimes look flat, dull and cluttered...not like the vibrant and alive image you remember seeing. Well, usually it is not the camera's fault. You see, the eye can see things in a tremendously wide range of tones and contrasts and can filter out clutter and allow us to view subjects 3 dimentially for its own uniqueness even when surrounded by other things. The camera doesn't have that capability. It just records the light in one dimention. Often what appears to the naked eye as a pretty location, turns out on film to look cluttered or..well...just not the same.
What it does mean is that all of the elements in the composition work together to create a focused and deliberate theme. The image on the right contains a lot complex detail with the contrasts and shadows and tree limbs...it also demonstrates the concept of simplicity and singular purpose.
Light has two values...Quantity and Quality. They both work together. Without one, you can't have the other. Quantity doesn't necessarily mean bright sunny days. It can just as well mean soft and subtle overcast days. Quality is the key to using the Quantity of light that is available to you at any given moment. Bright sunny days at mid-day most of the time creates bland and uninteresting light. But a bright sunny day inside a wooded area can create some 
wonderful beams of light penetrating to the forest floor...although a bit contrasty and in its own right a tough exposure problem. Overcast skies can create some of the best soft, evenly distributed light for certain conditions such as fall colors or areas with normally high contrast, but the best time to use the available light is early and late in the day when the low angle warms the light and creates long shadows. The last 10 minutes before sunrise and the first hour after sunrise will give the photographer some of the best lighting of the day. The same holds true for the evening during the last hour of daylight and the next 15 minutes after sundown. It is during this 'Edge' of light when the sun is transitioning from one realm into another is when you may discover that an ordinary subject now becomes emboldened with strong, soft, backlit, highlighted, or fading light. Wake up early some morning or linger after sundown and drive around the country side waiting for the light to change...you may be surprised what you will discover.
Most of the images displayed on this site were taken using a Tripod. You can spend a lot of money on a high quality, rock steady model, or you can spend a few dollars on a simple portable rig. The rock solid models will provide overall better results, but they are less portable. Even the low end lightweight rigs used in conjunction with a mechanical release or self-timer make a big difference. I use a $20.00 tripod that has a quick camera release mechanism. It is small, light, very portable, extends from about 12 inches to around five feet high and is sturdy enough to do what I need it to do. I have backpacked with it, toted in on canoe trips, hiking trips, and to picnics.
Luck plays a huge roll in a photographers ability to capture that one special moment of light. But, luck also requires one to be prepared for when the opportunity presents itself, you can take advantage of it. This includes having a good working knowledge of photographic techiques, and being able to recognize when something just might happen...instinct. One of my award winning images was taken as a result of luck, and instinct. For several days the countryside had been covered with snow and ice, and the sky had remained overcast. One evening I could sense that the sky was beginning to break up, so I grabbed my camera and walked across the stubble field behind my house. As I stood on the edge of the field, the sun popped below the clouds and this knarlly old tree which was covered with ice, lit up. I had to hurry before the clouds closed up again, and I snapped a few quick shots, but while doing so recognized that the lighting conditions required some careful exposure compensation.
Just snapping a few metered shots would have been a waist of good film and a wonderful opportunity. The result was an award winning image. I was in the right place at the right time equipped with technical knowledge, and inspired by instinct.
I know some photographers who refuse to use any kind of filters to artificially enhance their photos. They are also not inclined to use the modern day darkroom...the computer...to help them tweak their images. Let's think about this for a minute. Ansel Adams, arguably one of the greatest American landscape photographers of all time, is known for his meticulous use of compositon and exposure control. One thing few people realize is that he was also a master in the darkroom and possessed a masterfull knowledge of processing techniques and procedures. He didn't have the luxury of using computers back then to tweak an image into life, but by using subtle darkroom techniques, he turned his images into works of art.
I use three filters, a Polarizer, a graduated Nuetral Density Filter, and an 81B warming filter. With these, I can avoid many of the hazards that so often ruin an image. It takes a subtle approach and understanding of under what circumstances they should be used. Space doesn't allow for an indepth explanation, but certain lighting conditions can be compensated for by using these filters. 