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Cory Photography with Tom and Pat Cory |
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Newfoundland, 2007 |
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Newsletter, March 2009 |
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Cory Photography Newsletter 35 March 6, 2009
In this edition you will find:
Spring Wildflower Photography Connections PMA 2009
Hello!
Well, March certainly came in like a lion here. After enjoying 60 degree weather and the daffodils and the beginning of the flowering spring trees we woke up to snow on March 1. But if folk legends are true, then March should go out like a lamb so it's time to start thinking about photographing the beautiful spring wildflowers. It's a great time to buy a bunch of flowers and do a little photography to make sure your equipment is working and to practice those close-up skills. And when you're done photographing them, it's nice to have some fresh flowers around the house.
After the January day-long workshop at the TN Aquarium went so well, we have added another one to our schedule on September 26. We hope the folks who were on the waiting list for the last one will be able to join us this time.
I was reminded this morning that it's nice to keep a camera with you. I was walking with my walking/running buddy and we encountered a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I didn't have the camera on the walk but for once I did have it in the car so as soon as I got back to the car I went over to where we saw the birds and luckily they were still there.
They (whoever 'they' are) say that things come in threes and we've experienced that this past month. We had a press release in Outdoor Photographer, a segment on Episode 1 on a local PBS show Southern Accents, and an article about our Smokies workshops in the Learning Curve segment of Delta's Sky Magazine, both in the magazine and online. It's fun to have your work printed, online, on TV, and flying all over the world on airplanes all at the same time. We have a few spaces left in the Smokies workshop so if you'd like to know a bit more about that workshop, just click on the Sky Magazine link above and you'll get a participant's perspective.
Enjoy your spring photography!
Best, Tom and Pat
Spring Wildflower Photography
Spring is a special time of year for wildflower photography. If you enjoy photographing spring wildflowers, you may want to plan several photography outings. Many species of wildflowers have a very short blooming period so you will most likely find different subjects at their peak each time you go out.
A still day is best. As our friend Bill Lea says, "The wind is not our friend with flower photography". Photographs of subjects in soft diffused light are usually more pleasing than flowers in harsh or mixed light. Even a rainy day can be wonderful with flower photography; the raindrops give everything a fresh look. Just be sure to protect your equipment since many digital cameras don't like to get wet.
DSLR photographers have several ways to get close-up images: macro lenses which focus very close, close-up filters which fit the front of the lens, and extension tubes which fit between the camera body and the lens. Most point and shoot cameras have built in close-up capabilities. Look for a flower symbol on the camera body (or sometimes in a menu) which will set the camera to allow you to focus very close. On most of these cameras you need to set your zoom lens to the wide angle setting (backwards to what you would think to do) although some camera are now using the telephoto setting. Check your manual to see how your camera works or, OK if you aren't into manuals, just try it each way and see how you can get close. Another option is just to use a long telephoto lens which may fill the frame. Just be mindful of the limit of how close your telephoto lens will focus. If all else fails, get as close as you can and then crop in on the flower and enlarge just that part of the image. To round out your equipment, a miniature tripod or one that will go close to the ground can make a big difference in the quality of your images. If you don't have a tripod, put on some old clothes and try some 'wet belly' photography. Just be careful not to lie on top of flowers--the plants need these flowers to thrive. It's very sad to come upon a bed of flowers that is plastered to the ground from someone stepping or lying on them.
We follow the CDE approach with flower photography, Composing, determining Depth of Field, and then the Exposure.
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