The Importance of Having a Project

 

I love making images, but sometimes I have to ask myself why I’m making them. What’s my purpose in photographing? Will anybody ever see my photos?  Am I simply shooting to be shooting? When I start to question myself like this, it becomes hard for me to find the motivation to keep shooting.

To solve this problem, I try to create projects that have a purpose to them. This then gives me a reason to shoot, a goal to achieve, some guidelines to shape my photo explorations.

William Neill, in his recent Light on the Landscape, speaks about his practice of building collections—groups of photos around particular themes—that he’s added to over a period of years as he seeks out fresh subjects. His themes reflect subjects he finds personally interesting, such as “landscapes of the spirit.”

I try to do this as well, and I’m building collections of my best photos in a series of categories.  Among my thematic categories are fences, abstracts, macrophotography, intimate landscapes, and nostalgia.  Adobe Lightroom makes it easy to group and select collections for later use.  But having a set of themes and collections still begs the question of what to do with the photos once I’ve got them. It considers the “what” question, but not the “why.”

The answers to the question of why photograph will be individual. In my case, I’ve done several things. I’ve created calendars for friends and family that reflect some of the themes I’m working on, be it a particular vacation trip or, as I did last year, a photo essay on local fences set in scenic situations. I’ve written books on photography that use my photos, such as my Creative Composition for Landscape Photography or Shooting Iron Horses: Photographing Your Model Railroad. Currently I’m working towards building a set of note cards that incorporate some of the themes in my collection. My plan is to give them to friends and family and then, if it seems feasible, offer them for sale on Etsy and other sites.

But the ultimate importance of these activities lies not in the products, though they can be significant in their own right. Instead, it is the purpose and direction the project gives me that provides a definitive answer to the question of why I’m making the photos at all.  Then, once I’m satisfied that my images will have a landing place, I’m freed up to feed my soul with image making.  And that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

 

One of the images in my macrophotography collection, a stacked photo.  Nikon D850, Sigma 150mm macro lens, 1 sec., f/11.

A Damp Disk

I recently tried a different technique with my macro photography.  I turned a CD upside down and lit it from the right side with a softbox.  Then I spritzed it with tiny drops of water.  The result is shown below. I think it produced a very nice image.  I hope you agree.

Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 micro lens, 4 sec., f/36, ISO 100

The Only Good Stink Bug . . .

I've started making close-up photos using photo stacking.  Photo stacking is a process of taking multiple shots of the same image, each with the focus at a different depth into the image, then combining them in special software to extend the depth of field.  When making extreme close-ups, this is a valuable technique to get an entire image in sharp focus.  To make the image below, I used a mechanical device known as a Stackshot, which moves the camera in tiny increments of distance so an entire image is in sharp focus.  In this case, I made 10 photos and combined them in the Helicon Focus software before importing it back into Lightroom for editing.  This was my first attempt at focus stacking, but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome.  You can judge for yourself.

Dead stink bug.  Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens, 1 sec., f/16, ISO 100, 10 stacked images combined in Helicon Focus.

Focus stacking is not without its problems.  It's important to be sure the depth of field from each image you make overlaps the ones preceding and following it, otherwise you'll have bands of unsharpness scattered throughout the final photo.  I discovered this when trying to make a lengthwise photo of a different insect.  But there are solutions to these issues, as I am finding out through trial and error.  I plan to report on my progress in future postings.

Norm

Extreme Close-Ups

I recently purchased an extreme close-up lens, the Mitakon Zyonghi 20mm f/16 lens.  It was on sale at B+H Photo for $149, which was too much to resist.  It's a strange looking lens, as the photo indicates.

Mitakon Zyonghi 20mm macro lens

This lens is intended for extreme close-ups and magnifies from 4X to 4.5X.  To get these magnifications, you have to position the lens quite close to the subject being photographed.   As usual with extreme close-ups, focus is quite critical and it is absolutely necessary to have the camera perfectly still.  For this reason, mirror-up or Live View shooting are essential, using either the self-timer or a remote release.

The results can be quite interesting, though, as this photo of the details of peacock feather indicate.

Peacock feather detail. Mitakon Zyonghi 20mm f/16 lens, 15 sec., f/16, ISO 100

There aren't many ways to get this level of magnification other than using a specialized lens like this one.  So, if you're interested in a high degree of detail in your macro photos, you may want to consider this lens.

Norm

Close-Ups of Household Objects

One of the fun things about macro and close-up photography is there is never a lack of things to photograph around the house.  Unlike landscape photography, where you generally have to travel to a photogenic site that may be many miles or hours from home, there's plenty of material around the house to photograph. 

The photo below is a simple composition of some colored paper clips I had in my office.  No need to buy special props or go anywhere to make this photo!  I did spend some time arranging the paper clips in what I thought was a pleasing composition and I made a number of images before settling on this one.

Photographing household objects is a good way to spend the winter months, when it may be too cold and uninviting to photograph out-of-doors.

Nikon D810, Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 micro lens, 3 sec., f/32, ISO 100, tripod.

 What do you think?  What indoors photos can you make during these wintry months?  If you made such a photo, would you hang it in your house?  Where?

Macro and close-up photography are a lot of fun.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Norm

A Venture Into Macro Photography

Recently, I've gotten more deeply into macro photography.  Over the years, I've dabbled in it from time to time, but lately I've been bitten by the bug, so to speak.  I acquired a Nikkor 200mm f/4.0 micro lens (Nikon's name for macro lenses), an excellent lens that lets you shoot a respectable distance from your subject.  Not long ago, I made a field trip to a nearby vacant lot where there are a lot of thistles growing.  I made this shot into the sun so it would be backlit.  I think it shows up the structure of the thistle quite well.  What do you think?

Nikon D810, Nikkor 200mm f/4.0 micro lens, 1/640 sec., f/11, ISO 2000.

My Most Recent Book, on Landscape Photography

My recently published book, Creative Composition for Landscape Photography, is available in both paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. 

The cover of the paperback edition

• This book, which includes 170 photographs, introduce a wide variety of techniques that can easily be applied to your own photography, including:

• ·         The rule of thirds
• ·         Centered subjects
• ·         Positioning the horizon
• ·         Showing depth in two dimensions
• ·         Incorporating horizontal, curved and zigzag lines and circles
• ·         Using triangles in compositions
• ·         Showing perspective with receding lines
• ·         Using framing and overlapping to show depth
• ·         Using atmospheric layers to show distance
• ·         Showing distance by using relative scale
• ·         Focal length and focus point as compositional techniques
• ·         Using lighting and texture in compositions
• ·         Color priority and color contrast
• ·         Single dominant elements in compositions
• ·         Incorporating balance and weight
• ·         Symmetry and asymmetry in compositions
• ·         The rule of odds
• ·         Using repeating elements
• ·         Simplicity as a compositional technique
• ·         Using themes as organizing principles
• ·         Having creative fun in composition
• ·         Combining multiple compositional elements

Written especially for beginning and intermediate landscape photographers, it includes 170 color and B&W photos along with instructional captions to illustrate the concepts presented.