Author Archives: Lorelle VanFossen
Networking – Casting Your Net-work
“How are you?” “Fine. You?” “Fine.” End of conversation. Oh, yeah, there’s the babble about the weather and the latest sports scores, but the conversation often dies right after the last “fine”. Networking is about talking. Talking about what you are doing. Without talking about what you’re doing, no one knows what you’re doing. How […]
Managing Your Photographic Images
Monday, Time Magazine calls you for a photograph of an American Alligator with his eyes poking out from the water. They have to have it by Wednesday. You hang up the phone and stand in your once-a-bedroom-now-an-office and think, “Now, where did I put that?” When a client calls, can you find what they need? […]
People Add Pizazz
While most of our images are of nature, people can be an enhancement to nature photographs. They provide a sense of scale and perspective. They draw USA, the audience, into the photograph. We tend to see the image from their point of view and not necessarily from our perspective outside the photograph. Putting people in […]
Horizontal vs Vertical
Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two ways to take a photograph: horizontal or vertical. The most popular cameras use a 35mm format which creates a rectangular image. You can hold the camera in the traditional manner for a horizontal image, or turn it on its side for a vertical. […]
Looking for Landscapes – Scenic and Landscape Photography
Of landscapes, as of people, one becomes more tolerant after one’s twentieth year…We learn to look at them, not in the flat but in depth, as things to be burrowed into. It is not merely a question of lines and colours but of smells, sounds and tastes as well…C.S. Lewis: Images of His World Landscapes […]
Underwater Without Getting Wet – Aquatic and Aquarium Photography
Photography in open air can be easy. Point and shoot. Add one of the other basic elements – water – and the rules change. A lot. Aquariums offer excellent opportunities to get up close and personal with your local (or not so local) squid, octopus and shark. For photographers, this represents a challenge. Between the […]
Wet Belly Photography – Down and Dirty with Flowers
Slip. Slosh. Lay right down in the muck. If you’re not getting dirty, you aren’t having fun. This is wet belly photography. It is getting down and dirty and up close with flowers. We enjoy the vast variety of tulips that pop their heads out in the spring of Washington State during the Skagit Valley […]
Closeup Photography Technical Notes
The following is technical information you may need to know to expand your knowledge of closeup and macro photography. While this information isn’t critical to the success of your closeup nature photography images, it helps to know as much as possible about the techniques and mathematics that go into the why and the where for […]
Gallery of Closeup Images
With the tree blossoms as an out-of-focus background, they seem to echo the three blossoms in focus in the upper corner. Focusing on the tree blossoms and using the green field beyond as a neutral, relaxing background, this photograph puts all the interest on the blossoms. Using the out-of-focus flowers in the foreground, the distractions […]
Creative Closeups
The magic of the closeup world is not just the technical expertise it takes to create dramatic macro photography, but also the artistry used to capture the magic. Depth Of Field Creativity Depth of field is the amount the image is in focus from back to front. It is controlled by the aperture of the […]
Closeup Photography – Working with Subjects
The challenges facing a photographer working on closeups are numerous. Most specifically they include light, moving subjects, difficult positions and angles, camera shake, depth of field issues, and working distances. Lighting As a macro subject is typically close to the ground and often in forests or generally low light situations, the photographer has to deal […]
Closeup Photography Lighting
Regardless of your photographic interest, light is essential. Photography literally means painting or writing with light. With closeup photography, we are often working so close and under such dimly lit situations, the challenge is not only in getting our subject in focus with the appropriate depth of field but also being able to see what […]
Closeup Photography – Ways to Get Close
Whether with traditional lenses or macro lenses, there are a variety of accessories to add to your lenses which will increase the working distance and/or increase magnification. We’ve put together a sample of pictures to show you what is possible with the variety of lenses and lens accessories available. This is to help you see […]
Exposure Elements and Closeup Equipment
Understanding all the technical aspects of closeup photograph does mean going back to basic photography skills such as exposure and depth of field. While the extensive topics involved in both of these are beyond the scope of this book, here is a quick review and information on how these relate to closeup photography. Shutter Speed […]
Closeups in Nature Photography Introduction
Closeup nature photography, or macro photography, presents the photographer with a wide range of challenges, from how to get close to how to capture a reluctant subject. For serious closeup photographers, the process involves not only an understanding of the technical and mathematical concepts but a deeper understanding of the natural science behind their subjects. […]