What's My Name?

It’s contest time again… with a twist this time. Click here for the entry form and all of the details.

I’m doing something a little different this month to wrap up the year. This image may be less ‘serious’ (whatever that means) than some of my other work but you can’t deny that it’s in keeping with the season! I hope it brings a little smile your face. As an added bonus, the winner of this month’s contest will receive their choice of any one of my limited edition prints.

The 3 amigos from left to right are Spike, Rocky & Midnight. I took this a couple years back at our house in Steamboat Springs, CO. We got tired of tossing out a dead tree after every Christmas so we decided to decorate this spruce in our yard instead. I think it worked out quite nicely!

"Water Colors" - a prefect title. Thanks, Jim

“Water Colors”

Jim Kerr of Steamboat Springs, CO is the winner of November’s Name This Image contest. I think Jim’s entry, “Water Colors”, is the perfect title for this photograph. Simple, elegant, artful…I love it! Congratualtions, Jim – you win a signed limited edition print of Water Colors.

Many thanks to everyone who particpated, there were so many great entries! Honorable mentions go out to:

“Rainboats” – Phil Regas

“Rowboat Reflections” – Susan Kienzle

“Dock of the Bay” – Haissel Neira

To those who didn’t win, don’t worry – you will have many more chances. I’ve decided to hold this contest monthly. Keep an eye on your Inbox or this website for the December contest announcement.

Cheers,

Ken

Not the Hotel California, but...

Palm trees, wine grapes, a perfect sunset in the making. The only thing missing is  Don Henley  singing, “welcome to the Hotel California…” in the background. Maybe it’s just me but whenever I look at this picture,  I think it epitomizes a certain stereotype of the California lifestyle. Or maybe it’s because I was standing in shorts I took this photograph with November just round the corner.  What do you think?

An enchanted portal?

Doesn’t this door just look like an enchanted portal to a magical realm? OK…maybe I just have an active imagination. Well, I discovered this passageway at Rancho Sisquoc winery in northern Santa Barbara county one late afternoon recently and it definitely drew me in. The cobalt blue door, the red and green vines, the warm dappled sunlight. It was obvious that the ingredients for an image were present, it was a matter of arranging the elements. I tried a few different compositions and this is the one that felt the most right. There’s a lot more photographs to be made on the grounds of  this picturesque winery. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but a gorgeous drive especially in the Winter and early Spring when the rolling hills on the way are vivid green. If you go, say hi to Becky and Alex in the tasting room and don’t miss their River Red blend. Delicious.

My Perfect Pumpkin Patch - Near Solvang, CA

I had to do it. After running across that field of squash & pumpkins  I posted last week,  I kept thinking how great a a bunch of real Halloween pumpkins would look bathed in that warm sunset light. Well, I finally found my perfect patch just outside of Solvang, CA thanks to Chelsey, the owner of Valley Grind, the best coffee shop in Santa Ynez and my sometimes unofficial office. A wide open field with nothing blocking the western sky but some low hills in the distance. I got there as the sun sank below the horizon. Soft orange sunset light illuminating orange pumpkins, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. There were plenty of keepers but this was my pick of the bunch. Maybe because it’s so close to the picture I had in my head. This is another example of the glowing quality of post sunset light I mentioned about in my last Photo Tip – imagine what this lighting would do for a portrait.

What's My Name?

O.K. it’s time for another Image Naming Contest. Help me come up with the perfect title for this image and if your entry is chosen, you a win signed limited edition print of this photograph. Contest details and entry form are on my Facebook Page (don’t forget to “Like” while you’re there:) ). The deadline for entries is Nov 15 and the winner will be announced by Dec 1. This is the fourth time I’ve done this contest and it’s always been a great success. Below are the images and winning titles from the previous contests for inspiration. I’m looking forward to seeing your entry. Good Luck!

Forever Together

Steamboat Blues

Aspen Cathedral

A pastel pink sunrise reflects in the waters of Cachuma Lake

Photographers have been shooting sunrises and sunsets since cameras were invented – we can’t help ourselves. This serene scene was my reward for rising early on a Saturday. Cachuma Lake in the heart of the Santa Ynez valley is one of my favorite photo locations in Santa Barbara county. Although I made this image at the east end of the lake near the inlet of the Santa Ynez River, I was actually facing West (technically slightly Northwest) as I clicked my shutter. This is no anomaly. Whenever I am out shooting at sunrise, I tend to focus my attention to the West. Likewise at sunset you will frequently find my camera pointing East. I do this because I usually want to see the details in the foreground of my photograph, not just a silhouette.

Looking west at sunset: A fiery sky but no detail in the foreground

And while it is true that the most dramatic part of the sky is often near the rising/setting sun, the sky in the opposite direction can be even more complex and subtle in its color palette, if a bit less intense. It is also true that techniques such as using split neutral density filters or combining multiple exposures in Photoshop can produce an image with foreground detail looking right into the rising/setting sun. There are many examples of these techniques accomplished with stunning effect. Other times, it can appear a bit forced or unnatural. Another advantage of ‘looking the other way’ is the gorgeous warm glowing quality of light that illuminates your foreground when you are facing away from the brightest part of the sky (i.e. the direction of the rising/setting sun). I’m really not trying to say one method or direction is better than another. As we know, every sunrise and sunset is unique. The important thing, as always is to really see the scene and then decide how to make your photograph. But you can’t see if you don’t even look. So next time you’re out  for a sunrise or sunset photoshoot, resist the urge to automatically point your camera in the direction of the sun. Take time to look the other way…really, it’s o.k.

Warm sunset light makes the land "glow"

Squash Harvest in the Santa Ynez Valley

Since we are in the middle of harvest season, I thought I would share this recent image. This field of squash and pumpkins caught my eye as I was leaving Bridlewood winery in the Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara. I had been taking photos of their vineyards…o.k. I was doing a little wine tasting too, great Syrahs by the way. The very last rays of sunlight were raking across the field  and the warm light made the yellow and red gourds glow with an almost electric intensity. I pulled over and jumped out in time to make a handful of photographs. Just another example of the minor miracles that occur around us everyday.

This moose wandered out of the woods for a sip from the swimming pool

Did you catch the  YouTube video making the rounds this week of a moose that decided to take a dip in someone’s backyard swimming pool? It reminded me of my own moose & swimming pool encounter. I was finishing up an architectural photoshoot of a luxury home in Steamboat Springs, CO a couple years ago. I had picked out a nice spot for an exterior dusk shot and was waiting for the light to get just right. I looked down for a few moments to adjust some camera settings and when I looked back up there was this big bull moose drinking from the swimming pool. After getting over the initial shock of seeing what I was seeing, I started clicking off frames. The noise of the shutter attracted his attention and he lifted his head and looked right at me. A moose may nothing more than an overgrown deer but up close they are plenty intimidating. Thankfully he decided I was harmless and continued about his business.

According to the homeowner, moose are pretty regular visitors. He thinks they are attracted to the saltwater in the pool. Spotting a moose anywhere in Colorado isn’t all that uncommon these days, but at one time moose were hunted to virtual extinction throughout the state. Today’s thriving population is a result of a reintroduction program begun in the late 1970′s. Welcome back, boys.

What, you don't recognize Lake Aloha? Desolation Wilderness, Lake Tahoe National Forest

It’s pretty much an automatic reflex with most photographers to press the shutter button halfway to activate the autofocus as soon as they put their eye to the viewfinder. And why not, what’s the value of looking at a blurry image? Well, there’s a lot of value I think. In fact, I would say that at this point I do the majority of my composing looking at an out of focus image. As counterintuitive as it might seem this practice really helps me ‘see’ compositions much more clearly. When you look at a blurry image all you can really make out are the major shapes and tones in the frame, which are exactly the elements you want to work with when composing a picture.This technique confounds your left brain’s pesky tendency to suck you into the details and lose sight of the big picture.

In my next post I’ll be writing in depth about the workings of our left and right brain hemispheres. Suffice it to say for now that our left-brain is in love with details, instantly naming and categorizing everything it ‘sees’. Unfortunately, this gets in the way of actually seeing the things we are looking at. You need to be in right brain mode when composing images and looking at a fuzzy scene helps you make that switch. That’s because an out of focus image makes no sense to the left brain – it can’t deal with it. It can’t name its components, there’s nothing to categorize. I like to imagine that the left brain looks at the blurry picture, throws up its hands and walks away.

So next time you are composing a shot, keep your finger off that shutter button. You may even have to manually throw the image more out of focus. Then look at the amorphous shapes and tones in your frame and start making adjustments– there are no rules for this, you just have to try things until it starts to feel right. I know that’s really vague but all I can say is that a good composition feels pleasing visually and balanced while a poor composition does not. Using a tripod is a huge help when you are working this way because it allows you to make small adjustments, then evaluate, then adjust until it ‘works’.

This method is really a corollary to my previous photo tip about looking at small images when shooting or editing to get a better sense of the overall composition, what I call the ‘shape’ of the picture. It’s  just another way of tricking the left brain into stepping aside and letting the right brain do its thing.

I’d love to know what you think about this photo tip. If you found it helpful, you can subscribe to future tips & posts about the Art of Seeing on my homepage.

Good shooting,

-Ken