An image captured with mid-tones in mind is, well, dull.

Participants in my photo tours/workshops seem to always be interested in HDR photography these days. And, you can count on the questions hovering around whether or not the results are real enough. The answers often create even more debate.

All this isn’t anything new. In fact, if you can believe Wikipedia, the earliest HDR images were created in the 1850s by photographer Gustave Le Gray who was trying to balance the brightness of the sky, using a short exposure, with the darker sea and a longer exposure.

Funny how some things don’t change. What Le Gray was trying to do, manage the extremes of light in his scenes back in the mid-19th century, is still one of the challenges we face today. Take our recent trip to Niagara Falls. The days we were at the falls were mainly filled with heavy, gray, cloud-filled skies.

As is always the case, processing an HDR image can result in a variety of "final" prints. With my older version of Photomatix this result was to intense for my taste.

Still there were moments when the clouds would let a little light sneak in. Light that contrasted with dark shadows. That’s where modern HDR digital technology comes in.

Again, in my not-so-humble opinion, it is these high contrast, yet gray situations where digital HDR technology and technique is most valuable. The challenge is capturing the images correctly, beginning with our best shot at an image “properly” exposed. By properly, I mean an image in which the mid-tones are captured effectively. Then we need to determine to what extent we need to bracket (I usually bracket in one stop increments) to accommodate the extent of the contrast, the extremes of the highlights and the shadows.

With my updated version of Photomatix I was able to produce an image more to my liking. Is it what I saw? Not really. However, because of HDR I was able to take home an image I liked.

Once we have the “master HDR images” imported into our HDR application of choice (mine is Photomatix) how we use that application is where the rubber meets the road. Keeping up with your application of choice can be important, too. I learned the veracity of that statement recently, after a friend tried using the version of Photomatix on my laptop. He was used to a more current version and wondered aloud why I hadn’t updated.

Back home after our shoot, I downloaded the update to Photomatix, so I now have V 4.1.3 and I’m just beginning to discover how powerful HDR is, in my efforts to bring home images that more accurately represent the scenes I framed in my camera. Digital photography has opened opportunities for serious photographers like never before. HDR capture is just one . . . but a very power one. Again, in my not-so-humble opinion.

You just can't overlook a rainbow

My friend Chuck invited me to join him on a weekend trip to Niagara Falls and we anxiously anticipated the opportunity to combine the falls, winter, ice and hopefully all that the sun might bring.

It's tough to turn your back on the falls, but there are images there, too.

Unfortunately, once again this year winter didn’t show, ice was nowhere to be seen, and in the rare moment or two that the sun made an appearance it didn’t really do what we had hoped. Still, we found a few moments, extracted a couple key elements, grabbed some special light and even found a couple images at nearby 30 mile point lighthouse on our way to the falls.

The reflection of the setting sun enhances even the Horseshoe Falls.

Ain’t photography just great?

The ice we were hoping for was very limited. Still, though across the river, it still managed to get into a few images.

What nature photographers take photos of buildings when Niagara Falls is within sight?

Who can resist taking a few snaps of a lighthouse?

A simple stick at the river's edge.

Everyone was hoping for snow – something largely missing from the winter of 2011-12, in upstate New York. Instead, we were confronted with bare trees, an icy leaf-strewn forest floor, ice covered trails, gray skies and when we approached the banks of the Ausable River the only snow we’d see during our visit dusted the ice chunks that we had hoped would glisten under blue skies. So much for anticipations.

So, what do you do when Mother Nature throws you a curve? Last week’s tour participants caught the fleeting blue sky, ferretted-out the transient patches of snow, honed-in on texture, welcomed contrast and garnered a collection of images different than they had anticipated but striking nonetheless.

We’ve been through three weekends in succession in which our photographer friends had to dig deep. Each weekend, each photographer proved up to the challenge.

As one participant said, “It’s amazing what we can find in our backyard.” He was speaking  about subject matter, however I think the same sentiment applies to the photographers themselves. Whether they showed up with new DSLRs or well worn compact cameras, they discovered that the camera was only a tool. Their compositions still had to be seen and constructed by themselves.

Or, an icy reflection.

Before each click of the shutter questions needed to be answered and decisions had to be made. What did I see that attracted my attention?  Which elements belong in my composition? And, sometimes the hardest question, what do I need to keep out of my frame? Repeatedly, participants evaluated lines, foreground, exposure considerations and much more to bring home their images.

Hopefully these experiences nurture each photographer’s creativity, confidence, and expectation. Take a look at their images in the student galleries.

Rosalie and John had the same idea. Rosalie's is above.

Yesterday was another one of those winter days that made us wonder if we were still living in Central New York. A year ago it was a typical “snow, snow everywhere.” This year, for the second Baltimore Woods Winter Photo Workshop in as many weeks, we once again were faced with a snowless day to capture winter (which to us means snow) images. I doubt there are many tougher situation to face than a gray day, with various shades of brown as your primary subjects. As you’ll see below, real photographers know to emphasize lines, textures and contrast.

I wasn’t surprised by the efforts of all the photographers (both weeks) or the variety of images that came out of the weekend. Even though we know to expect it, the many different approaches to the same subject matter always proves interesting.   Yesterday was no exceptions.

Without the snow that is the norm for Central New York this time of year, participants has

This is John's.

to exercise their eyes a little more, along with their creativity. They had to see lines, textures and contrast that they might have otherwise overlooked because old the more obvious snow.
The gray skies were typically eliminated from their compositions, yet the variety of browns could not be avoided. Whether shooting with asophisticated Nikon or Canon DSLR or a modest compact camera, participants spent a lot of time thinking about depth of field, often opting to open up their aperture to assure soft, uncluttered background. I think some were amazed at what they could accomplish, even with the less  sophisticated camera.

You have to give credit to photographers who let attitude reign supreme. That was the case today, January 28, 2012. A winter photography photo workshop was scheduled and no one could recall the last time a January 28th was marked by no snow and steadily warming temperatures. As the day approached, rain, wind and temperatures too warm for snow, didn’t bode well for the anticipated winter shoot.

Even so, all but one photographer scheduled to participate, showed up at the anticipated hour. You could see concern written all over their faces as each arrived and scanned gray skies, brown withered fields, bare leafless trees. The dominent colors – browns and shades of brown. Bright, glistening snow was nowhere to be seen.

That said, within ten feet of her car, one workshop participant’s eye caught a glimpse of her first photograph. Others gravitated to a line-up of antique farm equipment, all but buried in nearby weeds. Still, others were drawn to a rustic log cabin. Within minutes each participant was grappling with the most common challenge confronting nature photographers everywhere – seeing their photographs before they clicked their shutter releases. The gallery below is a sampling of their results.

More student images from today’s shoot will be posted in a “Student Gallery” on www.TomDwyerPhoto.com, soon.

It’s been a strange winter in Central New York state. We’ve had so little snow, it’s embarrassing to mention it. This could definitely hurt our reputation as North America’s snowiest major city. That said, I set out this morning because I was more concerned about the lack of snow and its impact on a winter photography workshop.

Still, you know, it is winter … just not the kind of winter we’re used to. So, what can we photograph in a snow-less landscape, mid-winter? The coursing steams and various riffles they create are obvious, so I didn’t go there. I wanted to see what Baltimore Woods would offer us on a cloudy, likely rainy (according to the forecast), cold day. I only had about an hour and a half, so I only explored a tiny fraction of the upper areas at Baltimore Woods, the areas near the office and main parking lot, where we’ll begin our day tomorrow.

Old farm tools, the “Woods’” log cabin, pine needles that were supposed to be buried in snow, some beech leaves that are still hanging on and even a pile of moss covered stumps, all caught my attention. If it wasn’t for some pressing business back in the office, I think I’d still be in “the woods.”

It goes to show you, if you’re looking, you can find winter pictures, even without the winter snow.

The rules would tell us to capture this tranquil scene from a position to the left or right of this point of view. Give it a leading line, a strong horizontal. This symmetrical composition may violate several rules, still it grabs our interest and draws our attention into the image.

While all that may be interesting, it’s really not the subject of this discourse. Rather, my subject is more about how we view a scene as part of our photographic endeavors. What do we look for? How do we “construct” our images? How do we “see” the image we ultimately want a viewer to appreciate, before we click the shutter? What’s our vision for the elements we’ll present within the image frame, or won’t include for that matter?

These questions, and probably more, will be the subject of several upcoming posts through which I hope to explore the subject of photographic vision from several perspectives and share images that illustrate each. We’ll look at such vision related subjects as composition, contrast, the impact of light, using lines and texture, and ultimately, telling a story.

I didn’t mention the subject of “rules” because I’m going to touch on it briefly here and then put that subject behind us for the duration of the discussion.

In the days of the Brownie camera, we were told to always shoot with the sun over our shoulder. Today, many suggest the use of color as a mainstay. Black and white as well as back-lighting may be considered breaking the rules.

When I say rules, I’m thinking about rules like “Always have the sun at your back,” “the Rule of Thirds,” “it’s preferred to under-expose a digital image,” “always employ leading lines,” “never put the horizon in the middle of your image,” or “Avoid symmetrical compositions” and there are many more so-called rules like these. To a certain extent, these are all rules that are good to know, especially for those just learning the art of photography. But, as the saying says, rules are made to be broken.

We can all find examples within our own images where we applied one or more of these rules, and it helped with our final communication of the scene before us. That said, we can also look at many images that could have been stronger if we had ignored one or more of them.

I prefer to think of rules, in photography, somewhat like the white lines that mark the sides of our roads. It’s certainly recommended that we stay between the lines but there are times when doing so might kill you. Knowing the “rules of the road” will typically help us reach our destination safely, but knowing when to ignore them, and cross the line, might prove to be very beneficial at times.

When we learn to drive, we pay “front of mind” attention to the lines on the road at first, but eventually, this attention becomes more automatic and we don’t often even think about it.  The same is true with most of the “rules of photography,” probably more so than on the highway. As David duChemin says in his book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, “The Rule of Thirds is a principle that can either be a compositional aid to achieving our vision or a rigid constraint that can rob our images of life and spontaneity.  Rules seldom encourage the question ‘why?’ Principles can’t live without the Why.”

I think the same thing can be said about most “rules of photography” that we pretty much accept out of hand, as least when we’re first introduced to them. “Never put your subject dead center” for example. Yet, how often do we see images that are perfectly symmetrical or deliberately “bulls-eyed” and grab our attention because they are?

Always position your subject based on the "Rule of Thirds." That's the rule. Following that rule would prevent the capturing of this bouquet of wildflowers. There's no center of attention, no focal point. Yet, its colors and textures are warm and inviting.

The “Rule of Thirds” may be the most ever-present of these rules. That tic-tac-toe grid we place over our images as we compose or critique compositions is well known to most of us. And, placing key elements in our images so that the lines intersect those elements or so that the elements are positioned where the lines themselves intersect, has to be considered a foundational principle of image design and composition. I’d bet that any experienced photographer looking back over his/her portfolio of images images will find that most of them pretty much adhere to the rule, even though we often didn’t even think about the rule when capturing these images.

At some point, if we seriously approach our photography, we were no longer satisfied to just be snap-shooters. We began making a conscious effort to apply “the rule.” Yet, as we grew as photographers, much like our experience learning to drive a car, following the rules soon became second nature.

In our photography we eventually discover there are times when we want to disregard the rules. Sometimes that because the rule doesn’t work for a specific image. Other times we discover that by ignoring the constrains of this rule or that, we are freed-up to create something special.

We learn the rules. We practice them. Eventually, we learn how to constructively break them. To my way of thinking, that’s a sign of growth as a photographer . . .  knowing when the rule is a hindrance to the story we’re trying to tell with our image.

Next: telling a story.

Looking into Vermont from atop Whiteface Mountain

I just returned from my dry run in preparation for the Winter in the Adirondacks tour/workshop scheduled for February 9-12. I can’t say I’m not tired as all get-out, but my adrenalin is pumped up. What a magnificent area. I knew that before we got on the road, about 7 am on Wednesday. Still, as we crossed the blue line and the miles between us and the High Peaks Region became fewer and fewer, my enthusiasm grew. I’m like a kid with a new gizmo to play with, each time I get into the Adirondacks. I literally find myself taking deeper breaths as the pine trees begin to tower over the roadways. If I start out a little wimpy because of the early hour, by the time the Adirondack communities begin to pass by (Old Forge, Inlet, Racquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake…. and finally Lake Placid, Keene and then Keene Valley I’m energized. Nothing can keep me from searching out my first shooting venue as my eyes anxiously scan the skies in search of sunset color.

Heavy overcast one day, light snow flurries another, and colorless cloudless skies on the last evening conspired to skunk our sunset

Picture this beaver pond after a fresh snowfall...let's hope.

The frozen Ausable River offers lighting challenges and opportunities

and sunrise hopes during this dry. That said, once again the area offered us more than enough opportunity to enjoy mountain and winter photography.  Our first morning welcomed us with -12 degrees that ever so slowly climbed to single positive single digits by day’s end. The crispness of the cold mountain air, it seemed, worked to stiffen our resolve as we confirmed our shooting venues for next month. I always want to see what’s changed since my last visit and the change of season from autumn to winter can dramatically affect our shooting opportunities. Autumn leaves are gone. Hopefully, they’ll be replaced by snow ladened trees.

The High Peaks countryside has much to offer the photographer.

Fast flowing rivers and streams are iced over. I wanted to confirm accessibility.

Mountain trails can be difficult to traverse when snow and ice covered. Ee confirmed that our newly purchased “Microspikes” (purchased at EMS) would give us sure footing. They exceed our hopes in every way. Easy to put on our boots and allowing us to walk on slick or ragged ice with ease. They have to be added to our list of recommended accessories for winter photography. I know we “won’t leave home without them.” I wasn’t certain how my desire to add winter Olympic sites to the tour would work out, so our first day was devoted to exploring what the sites had to offer. The ski jumping venue as well as the

Olympic venues pose throughout the day.

Whiteface Mountain ski center will, by themselves make a great addition to our winter photo experience. We explored the Wilmington Flume and an off-road, yet within easy reach, stretch of the Ausable River. Both remain major venues for February. The waterfalls coming off Giant Mountain, the cliffs at Chapel Pond, the views of Whiteface Mountain from John Brown’s Farm or perhaps Little Cherry Patch Pond, the trail to the Marcy Dam site (it was washed out by Hurricane Irene last fall) and the former dam site itself, and sunrise on Heart Lake will all keep us busy.  Actually, we’ll be doing very well if we can cover more than half of these opportunities in our three days in the High Peaks. If you’re planning on joining us, your heart should be pounding by now. This is going to be a whale of a shoot.

First, layer-up. In other words wear several layers of clothing. I normally suggest the following: 

Ploypro, fleece and wool - a warm combo

Pants: Long underwear is great these days – add a layer that is not cotton (some pants are lined) – bring or wear a rain pant, especially if it’s windy.

Shirts:Long underwear again – a flannel or fleece shirt – sweatshirt or sweater – a warm winter coat (with hood is great) and again bring or wear a rain jacket.

60% of you body heat escapes through your head...so keep it warm.

Hat: I like the stocking cap style without a bill or brim (it gets in the way when I’m trying to look through my camera)  If you have a good on you jacket plan on using both.

Gloves:Or, mittens…”Glomits” (combination glove-mitten) are great and allow you access to your finger for manipulating your camera – hand warmers (normally a set runs about a buck at any hardware store and often a local convenience store). An extra set of gloves tucked away under you coat will be nice and warm if your hands should get too cold.

Eat well before your outing. Having enough fuel will help your body generate heat. Then carry a couple food bars/energy bars with you, to replenish the fuel level.

And, bring some water. Hydration is critical to your warmth.

Don’t forget your camera gear. It, too, needs some cold weather attention.

Don't forget to protect your camera

Fully charge your camera and flash batteries.

Carry an extra set or two (or three). Carry them in an inner pocket that’s close to your body to keep they warm.

Clean your lenses before leaving. You don’t want to clean them in the cold and run the risk of scratching one.

Carry a dry bag or large zip-lock style bag that is large enough to hold your camera and lens and still seal. You’ll want to put both into the bag when returning to a warm spot (building or vehicle). The purpose is to keep condensation from forming inside your equipment.

Being prepared for the elements is always important for outdoor/nature photography…but never more so than in winter.

Now let’s get packed-up and get out!

All the images of nature, flow from the hand of Our Creator.

Each morning since Christmas, as I’ve taken my morning walk, this idea has popped into my head. I’m reading that as an indication that it’s a thought I ought to do something about.

I don’t really know where this thought is going to take me or how many other photographers (if any) will decide to take part. Exactly what these tours will entail, we’ll have to wait and see. What I envision however, are tours (single or multiple day tours) that take time recognize the hand of Our Creator in all the subjects we try to capture … and, take time to seek His guidance and thank Him for all His creation.

I’d like to take the first step on the “photographic journey in faith” sometime in March 2012. Likely it will be to a location in Upstate New York. There won’t be any fee for this tour and it will be open to photographers of all faiths. We’ll settle on a date and itinerary for the tour as we discover how many people may be joining us.

I’ll share more ideas (yours and mine) as they develop, as we select a date and locale and as we get closer to actually taking the tour.

Anyone interested in joining us, please add your comments, suggestions, etc. below. Please include contact information (at least your e-mail address) so we can connect as details firm up.

Thanks.

Tom