bryan peterson learn to see creatively

There still isn't a camera that instinctively recognizes the “decisive moment." And, there stil isn't a camer that will sys tematically arrange your composition in a balanced and us

LEARNING

TOSSES CREATIVELY

REVISED EDITION

BRYAN PETERSON

Design, Color & Composition in Photography

BRYAN PETERSON

ened

‘An imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications

Acknowledgments

Tike o thank the thousids of photogphers

who purchased the previous edition of this book,

4s pel ny frie eit Robin Sine

scsi edo, Vicota Crven, extent edo, ese, Bob Fl

First published in 2003 by Amphoto Hooks

an imprin of Watson-GupallPubliations

a division of VNU Business Medi, Inc

770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003

sss watson com

Senior Bator: Vitoria Craven

Project Edloe Ai Pabzzo

Designer: Bob Fille, Graphitt Design,

Production Manager: Hector Campbell

Copyright © 2003 Bryan Peterson

of Congress Cataloging in-Publication Data

AI nghệ reserved No pas of this publication may be reproduced oF used in any fom

‘or by any means—gaphe, eleetonic, oF mechanical, including photocopying reconing

‘or information storage-and retrieval sstens—without the writen pemnission of the publisher

Printed inthe United Kingdom

33145 67 8/ 109 08 07 06 05 04

To my beautiful wife, Kathy, with whom Twill be in love forever

INTRODUCTION

wpanding Your Vi HOW DO WE SEE”

ements of Design WHAT MAKES A STRIKING IMAGE?

LINE SHAPE FORM

‘TEXTURE PATTERN COLOR Composition FILLING THE FRAME

‘THE GOLDEN SECTION AND THE RULE OF THIRDS

NO HORIZON

‘THE RIGHT THIRD DIAGONALS FRAME WITHIN A FRAME HORIZONTAL VS, VERTICAL PICTURE WITHIN A PICTURE WORKING YOUR SUBJECT BREAKING THE RULI

The Magic of Light AVAILABLE LIGHT THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT THE COLOR OF LIGHT OVERCAST AND RAINY DAYS

Digital Photograph) GENERAL PLUSES AND MINUSES OF DIGITAL HOW I USE PHOTO-IMAGING SOFTWARE

Career Considerations WHAT'S IMPORTANT WHY THE CONSTANT CHALLENGE?

CHOOSING A THEME

INDEX

» you see what I see? Do you hear what

Thea?” It's the Christmas season, and in

he background my ridio is waned to a

station playing that Christmas song The

timing couldn't be better as | sit down to

write the introduction to this completely revised edition,

of my hook Learning to See Creatively (Amphoto, 1988),

Do you see what I see? Maybe, maybe not Even if

you're standing right next to me and I see somethin,

that L want 0 share with you, you stil may

until all that remains is a glimpse My da

spotted a hot-air balloon up in the sky the other day It

wasn't until it was almost out of sight that | finally spor

ted it, but by then it was merely a dot in the vast sky It

\was frustrating for all of us, to be sure

What does this story have to do with picture taking?

i All

re blessed with sight can see, but why is it

It is analogous to picture taking and creative visi

of us whe

that someone right next to us can see something of inter

est, yet we Somehow miss it? If you 1¢ ever participated

phy workshop in the field or gone out

shooting with a friend from the local camera club, you,

are bewildered, lost, and confused, while within min:

tutes someone else is setting up a camera and tripod

shivering like enizy Not being able to see is probably

the greatest hurdle every p hotographer has to over

come However, even once you begin 10 see—really

see—you are faced with the next hurdle: composing all

that great stuff in a balanced and harmonious fashion

I know of no real rules that one must follow to learn

how t wee, but do know of many, many principles and

techniques that are designed to help you see The

this book is to not only teach you how to recognize a

picture-taking opportunity but also to challenge that

conservative way of seeing that often leads to dull, ordi

nary photographs, Throughout this book, many of the

two other compelling compositions that lie in wait next

to the one you're currently shooting There still isn't a

camera that instinctively recognizes the “decisive

moment." And, there stil isn't a camer that will sys

tematically arrange your composition in a balanced and

us fashion before you expose it digitally or on lenges that continue to be part ofthe

hharmoni

film, These are

‘wonderful world of image making, challenges for which

the sole responsibilty of success or failure rests square-

ly on your shoulders,

When | wrote the previous edition of Learning fo See

Greatively, 1 had one goal in mind: to dlspel the myth

that the art of image making was for the chosen few

Based on the overwhelming and positive responses I've

heard at my many workshops and on-line course

well as contained in the many letters and e-mails I've

received, I feel | reached that goal This all-new, com-

pletely rewritten and reillustrated edition promises to

continue to dispel the myth In addition, ve added a

nents of Design” chapter,

section on color in the

and I discuss in depth not only color's va

‘element, but also its impact on our mind and emotions

And again through the use of comparison images, you'll

see the value of focusing your vision on line, shape,

form, texture, and pattern, and how these elements are

ng truly compelling photograph-

strong force in ©

ic compositions

arning to see creatively is also evr’ dependent on

what your camera and lens can and cannot see

Captains of ships need to become very familiar with

their maps as they navigate the world, making certain to

keep the ship pointed in the right direction In much the

same way, your lenses are maps that can lead you t0

new and enchanting lands With constant practice,

which comes by placing the camert and lens to your

eye, you'll begin to visually memorize the unique vision

of each and every lens—both the pluses and the minus-

¢s The more you do this, the less ikely you'll be to ever

see the world in the same way again, You'll learn just

an area a wide-angle lens can cover, oF how a

ingle subject out of an oth-

telephoto lens can select

enwise busy and hectic scene, It won't be to much

Jonger until youl find yourself knowing, without hest-

tation, what lens to use as you see one picture-taking

‘opportunity after another

‘Then, you can begin to take this newfound vision to

‘even greater heights, challenging yourself to vi

forest from a toad'’s point of view, or the

€ with others the robin's:nest viewpoint if you're afraid of heights” How will you share the busy sidewalk view if the idea of lying down on the sidewalk wg? You'll certainly hit a “fee?” now and

feel compelled to abandon ship

at times

‘This is perfectly normal and to be expected And, for, that reason, the exercises in this new edition are designed to help you get free of the reef and back on There are certainly times of bad weather, of lousy light, or a limited choice in subject matter, but these exercises will certainly dispel the myth that "there

There's a great deal of material in this book that

\ddresses the what, where, and why of successful image making This is a book about ideas—ideas from the river that flows through all of us It is my intention to help you find the knowledge of where to fish, the courage to cast your net, and the strength to pull in your catch and harvest those idleas This is not a book about metering for the right exposure, or setting the right /£wops and shutter speeds, That information can be found in my other book, Understanding Exposure (Amphoto, 1990)

Most of all, have fun with the enclosed material and don't become preoccupied with “doing it right”; if there's one thing my students and peers have taught me

i, its that there are no formulas oF recipes

in the pursuit of image making, Its all about observation and thought As Henry David Thoreau once said, “The

‘question is not what you look at but what you see.”

‘over the y

INTRODUCTION 11

Are, BS

we human eye sees in much the same way

50mm lens, and therefore, the 50mm

focal length lens is appropriately called a

normal lens Unlike the eyes of the Six

Million Dollar Man, the real human eye

he Marken lighthouse located on the Iselmeer

in North Hollond, is but one of literally thousands of subjects thot you can photo- greph from o mulifude of Viewpoints with o multitude

of diferent focal length lens

ss, Foclor in the change of seosons, ond the shit light and point of view throughout the day, and i's clear how easily on entire book could be written on justo single subject ‘After walking out some

distance otop the rocky jty I chose @ low viewpoint in a frame to emphasize

¢ shape, form, and texture 3 rocks (le) Holding

my comero and 20mm lens Ise the operture to /16 and adjusted the shutter speed lo 1/60 see Note how the 20mm lens, com bined with 0 low viewpoin creoes feeling of depth cond perspective tha's Further

‘emphasized by the curiin

or thrust of he rocks | then chonged lo the ther side of the jety and mode @ horizontal exposure (epposie) Note how aftr changing position | lost the sidalightng onthe rocks,

round the backyard, After elimb= fo

« tory parking garage, I discovered opening, Lit

` shooting clown to the street these lessons were

ọ after that one experience that 1 In my on-location w nd e gan climbing trees and shooting down on numerous photography courses, it continues to be apparent tha ature-filled lands idents are not familiar with the inherent visions

J also have a vivid mem he first time [looked that lie within their complement of lens aras Tn ith my SOmm lens, After sp: most of one concerned, the ony —and the quickest—way to expand hooting autumn leaves on the ground one's vision is by ye exercises large as back, [reached for my camera just to take a look the nex I decided to take a break: While lying After looking at q the res and blue sky overhead Wow! My one subjec

need for a break ende diately! Then, at some which always most revealing t0 my stu point, I even lean Leould render a background dents xe of voting film, this exercise uses

s and out-of simply by than thiny-six exposure

Exercise: Knowing What Your Lenses See

X FT pisscsnhy atoms you to ngục +

V vision.” How do you achieve the vision?

tree) of take your spouse, friend, or child

yard oF over to the local park From whatever distance

is necessary to do so, place your subject so that it falls

in the middle of the frame, allowing for a lot of "empty

space” above, below, and to both sides With the cam=

cera still at your eye, make your first exposure and then begin walking toward your subject: Every five paces, take another exposure, mindful of course to keep the subject in focus Keep walking closer until your lens

‘can no longer capture the subject in sharp focus, One thing is sure to result from this exercise Your first composition will record not only your main subject,

I of that otbur stuff that probably detracts from it, and your final composition should record 3 close-up of

‘your subject, which not only cuts out that other stuff but maybe cuts out some important stufl, to0,

Now, without changing the focal length, rep

as close 10 your subject as you can, incl making that

last shot while on your belly, turn over onto your back:

and take just one more shot while shooting straight up

While walking on your knees, you no doubt dis-

covered far more intimate portrait of the small child

ps recorded a far more intimate “portrait” of

the barn that had the added drama of depth and per-

or pet

spective since the golden wheat that surrounds it now

fills up the foreground of the image Perhaps also,

awhile on your belly, you discovered a wonderful and

fresh composition of the surrounding park framed

through the feet and lower legs of your friend or

spouse And, most of all, you le

same exercises at 50mm, 6omm, 70mm, 80mm, 90mm,

‘group of students wandering around uncertain about what lens to use Once you've integrated the vision of your lenses into your mind's eye, you can stand at the edge of a meadow or lake and sean the entire scene, picking out a host of compositions even before you place the camera and lens 10 your eye

It is my belief and strong conviction that any cre ative endeavor—including learning to see creatively — cannot begin as long as you are feeling anxious and Jost Understanding the unique vision of your lenses:

ly set up my tripod ond mounted the camera ond ø 80-200mm lens, My first compositional choice wos to set the focal length to 80mm

‘end compose this pleasing horizontal (opposite) To odd some odditional color to the scene, | ploced an FIW filer (nat 1 be confused withthe FLD) on the lens, (The FW, like the FID, imparts @ mogenta color, but the FW

is @ deeper shade of mogen- to.) With my operture se lo #11, liken adjusted the shutter speed for 0 1/15 sec exposure and fired off several frames ‘Another opportunity to shoot a vertical composition loy right before me After loosening the tripod collar, | spun the camera and lens to the vetical position, ond then zoomed out fo 180mm and framed a much tighter composition of jst the ight house and its reflection lef With the aperture set to 1/22, \ adjusted the shutter speed unil 1/4 sec, indicot

ed a correct exposure

(Opposie: 80-200nm len ol 80mm, 1/15 see ot #11 tet 80-200mm lens et 10mm, 1/4 se of 722}

rocks, and eighteen inches closer to

love the scope of material that wide-angle focal lengths

bring inside the frame All that “stuf” provides fertile

ground for selecting subjects to manipulate and empha

to even come close to coptur ing all of is boundless beou:

ty The Plain attracts mony 1 from all ports of the world, many of whom, not surprisingly, come equipped with their cameras, What is equally no! surprising is thot most of them stand ot the edge of the mony rows of lavender and frame composi tions that ore seldom inviting

A clossic exomple of this is

und This wonderful illusion

of depth and perspective can serve as the “hook” that

ful emotional responses from viewers, whose se

the image above, whieh | shot holding my 17-35mm lens set 0 20mm As $0 many have done before me,

| stood at eye level, ond framed some rows of laven:

der and 6 tree with the sur rounding hls for off in the I's onice pholo- greph, butit does litle te

dien

invoke the viewer's sense of patticipation By simply g Ying down low and shooting from the heneybee's poin!

view (lef), | woken the viewer's sense of smell ond touch Additionally, this imoge hos o cleaner and more grophic composition

atk of a tree framing a

nes at the edge of a lake, of lower meadow at the base of

Note the deliberate inclusion

of the lone cloud on the hoi zon ond how it helps to import on even greater sense

of distance from front fo back To get this, | hod my camera and 17-35mm lens sen a tripod, the focal length sgoin at 20mm, and my operture set to 4/16 | then preset the focus vio the di fonce seting end simply adjusted the shutter speed unil 1/125 sec indicated

© correct exposure

smell, touch, and sometimes even taste are awakened

Oftentimes, all that’s required of you is to place yoursell

change

in that wiklflower meadow and be will

Your point of view In addition to your willingness 10 get down low in a

meadow to create emotion-filled, storytelling composi:

the literally thousands of other lang

tions don't

scapes All it takes is a litle imagination and one very

simple question: What does the world look like when

Viewed through the “eyes” of Iresh strawberries on the

Vine, or a child's crushed glasses at the local play

ground, or a lost pacifier at the local shopping, mall, or

the dead! owl along the interstate, or a Mat tire in the

Nevada dese, or a rake gathering autumn-colored

leaves, or a starfish clinging to the rocks at low tide? I's,

time to yea those worn-out dungarees—you're going to,

begin spending a lot of time on your knees and/or belly

hat does the world chose an aperture of 1/16,

look lke through the preset my depth of field via

eyes of one of the the distance selling, adjusted

local tomeats on the small my shutier speed until 1/60

Nlian island of Burone near sec indicoted o correct

Venice? In order to cnswer exposure, and proceeded to

this question, I chose to meet shoot several frames

the cat at its eye level, and Although | speck no Halian,

thot could only mean one I'm quile sure that « conver:

thing: lying on my belly Do! sation was toking place

‘ever feel intimidated ol the behind me about the man

prospect of dropping to my with the camera lying down

Knees or stomach to get the in fon! of cot shol? Absolutely Ido, but Focing your fears headon

conly when |hove an “audi will definitely improve your

fenco”—lke the two elderly rato of success tenfold if not

couples on their fron! porch: more On those few oco-

es fifeen feel behind me sions when | didn't foce my

‘while moking this shot They fears ond take the shot, my

hhad certainly noticed the _obilty fo “see” was, for the

stranger with the comera _remainder of the day, cloud

gear, and |, in turn, felt some ed by a sense of oss about

overwhelming shyness, not faking that really great

‘As | often do al times like shot of So, are you

this, simply ask mysel, “Am ready forthe ultimate chal

| going to put « potently lenge of facing your fears

compelling image on [lm, or _ heodon# Gel on your belly,

‘am I going to just walk away and show the world how

because a few people ‘Manhattan looks from the

‘oppear to be watching my _sidewalk’s point of view—

every move?” Obviously,| preferably at noon! Fear of

made the decision to face ‘looking “foolish” to those:

iy fears os | most often do, around you should never be

cond with ø pair of steady a reason for not creating ø

elbows, Lhondheld my cam- compcling imoge

10 and Nikkor ]7-35mm Se ae

wideongle lens, ung ø [17-35mmlensol1Zmm,

focal length of 17mm |then 1/60 sec.øl/16]

20 EXPANDING YOUR VISION

peling

created withthe lens “tho ing small end

distont"—when present vith those dromotic storm

ther thon fling the

ff

\ Jeangle lens did

make the landscape small ‘ond distort, but thonks tc

eping visio

fill up the fram

gh ond po

of e fost approaching hail include o bit

m, | field of blooming tli

21/8]

but ho that | didn't use ot held the comero dư)

m lens, 1/60 sec et/8

he “full-frame” fish-eye lens, one of the

The full-frame fish-eye lens incorporates tn

extremely wide angle of view—upward of 180

legrees—and it can also focus extremely close

f the coos of Mel bourne, Avs, Found ysl harnessed tothe open door of hel oper wih my legs an et toning on he skids, hovering Shout 100 feet above his ol Toner | wos on assignment

fr one he walls ages sroloum producers, on

fh theme thà poricvlor campaign wos fo convey the company's worldwide pres nce A vide open oceon iow ek ond my i eye lens al combined fot ompostion ha succeshly

convayed this ideo—"cover ing the globe.” With my camera and Nikkor fllrome ‘4mm Fh-eye, el the sapeưe lo 1/8 and adjusted the shuter speed to 1/500, sec, To avoid recording the hrelicoptr’s blades overhead, | osked the pilot to “pitch” the helicoper so that i was conglng way from the

‘ocean, ond | then stood oul con the skid and leaned over in the opposite diecton while shooting doven,

[14mm lens, 1/500 see: at f/8)

n 1993, | was invited by

the Chinese government to

come to Beijing and spend

ton days photogrephing the

city end its people in on

effort 10 help them win their

bid for hosting the 2000

Summer Olympics Although

their bid was not suecessfl

hod 0 great deal of photo:

grophic success | wos living

«© photographers dream os |

wos provided with o chouf

feurdriven Mercedes Benz

‘ond two Chinese assistants,

both flvent in English ond

both having tremendous influence over the Chinese

people | photographed ‘On one such occasion, |

siopped to moke © photo-

greph of o group of people

‘ascending the stairway in

the tunnel between The

Forbidden City end

Tiannamen Square [oppo-

site) While composing this image, two litle “gils* in

the frome—in brightly col

cored dresses—cought my

eye, ond | told one of my

cssstonts thot | would love

to get @ shot of them beth in

the square The words hod

borely lef my lips when, os

climbed the stairs o few min

uies later, they were there

oling lor me, along with

their porents Kneeling from

six Feet away ond zooming my 35-70mm lens lo

70mm, | wos able to fill he

frame withthe two children Alte firing off several

frames, | asked (os | olways

do} for 0 model release | also learned—os | had sus

piclons—thol the child on

the left was, in fot, 0 boy

He loved his twin silers

dress so much that, follow

ing much insistence, is

mother purchased one for

him, 08 well Nov thofs

what | call 6 mother’s lovel

hooting environmental

Su is but done withthe steel zooms

My definition of an environ

‘mental portraits on imoge

in which both the subject

and © portion ofthe sur

rounding environment ore

included ond defined In

particule, | favor the 35mm

and 50mm focal lengths

They ore the ideal choices

for geting in close without

causing facial distortion, and

they both do 0 good job of

rendering just enough of the

surrounding environment

(On an assignment for

Kodak, | had the opportunity

to shoot a number of city

kids playing soccer in on

alleyway While composing

the portait of one boy,

conother young boy was busy

28 EXPANDING YOUR VISION

leoping repeoledly os sever

al other boys kept kicking soccer balls his way With

my camera ond Nikkor 35-70mm lens on a tipod, | was assured of recording @ composition in which the bulk ofthe frame wos filed with @ portait while the boy leaping in the background made @ whimsical addition, Ifyou take your hand and cover up the leaping boy, this image immediately

‘oppears fat ond ho-hum i's fair to soy that without the

‘edded environment, this pic ture would not succeed

[25-70mm lens ot 35mm, 1/250 sec, of f/11, Kedok: Mex 800 (which oceouns for the higher shut speed with this opertr]]

uring @ lunch breok D->z- ‘0 steel mill in southern Ukroine, | asked one of the cleaning ladies if she would pose forthe camera She Unlike most ofthe other mill

‘employees, hod no trouble at all smiling, and pethops thot

‘was part of my motivation in

‘osking fo toke her picture While holding my cam

10, i! seemed natural to place her in the middle of on otherwise desolate factory landscape Alone among her

depressing surrou ail manages ơ snile-—1BWE the human spiril Before thanking her ond geting @ signed leo eee

« point fo walk closer to her changing the focol length ever so slightly and ploci Tre dfeeie Lân composition And without foil, she continued to smile

0s | fired off severol more

frames (opposite)

[Both photos: 35-70mm lens, 1/60 see ot 11]

loon cad graph

lc and filled with color i

the summor of 1997, follow

ing the constuction of our

prior experlances elimbi oir, treos, and loddon

‘and thon shooting looking

‘Atop 0 twelvofoo! sop

‘dar (he ødge of the poo tasked my subject to tako

assistant to float the ball

ino position A few seconds

lator, with minimal dist

water, | gor th

composition while handhold'

ing my camera and Nikkor

45-7Omm lens so the

70min focal length With my

‘operture sot to 1/11, i

ply adjusted the shutter speed unl 1/125 sc ind

cated 0 correct exposure,

45-70mm lens of 70m

1/128 swe ø1/Il]

uld have composed

cy m

indian paint brush shores the ground with sther flowers ond trees

35mm camera/le combination that would

allow i, The solution for recording exacting shorp- ness from such a close fore ground through to infinity is

a 4x5 view camero,

hotos: 35-70mm lans

0° th sty 908, an es ro

Germany, | was heading out

the door to do my woekly gro

ery shopping when I remind

‘ed myself to bring my camera

‘ond Nikkor 35-70mm lens |

don't know about your ovwn

experiences, but I’m in the

habit of always toking at least

‘my comera ond 35-70mm

lons with me wherever | go—

‘even on those days when I'm

tally not looking to take pic

tures, This has enabled me to snog 0 fow prizewinners now

‘and then, and this picture is,

‘one of them I was later feo tured in @ national advertising

campaign promoting a new

video game by Nintendo and

‘in Communication Ars

Photography Annual 1993 Throughout the doy that |

made this image, southern

Bavaria hod been experienc

ing thunderstorms As | wos

Feturning home from the gro-

cory store, ö rather large win dow of light opened up tothe west At about the same time,

| was passing a rural land

scape with lots of greon pos tures and one lone cow | Quickly pulled over, knowing that the cows of Bavaria are naturally curious and this one would, in all likelihood,

‘approach me os | stood in front ofthe fence that sur rounded the field My hunch was correct, and as the cow

0 closer, the light just kept gotting better and better With

«a focal length of 35mm, | patiently waited for he cow to fill he frome and wasted no time in fring off just two frames! | wos out of film! | hod foiled to check the film

‘counter on my camera before leaving the house Hod | done

so ol that timo, | would have

pt in @ fresh cll [85-70me fons, 1/125 soe

consumed by the question “What if 7 What

if you focus close on your toaster and, as the blue smoke rị

from inside, invite your

‘wife—with the baby in her arms—to nun toward i What if you focus on a passport lying

‘on the sidewalk and include «businessman getting into a taxi in the background? What if You focus on a bottle of sleeping pills with a woman asleep in her bed in the background? What if you focus close on a broken window- pane with a yolemn-looking litte boy, glove and bat in hand, in the background? What if you focus on part of the hand and thumb of a hitchhiker on a busy interstate? What if you focus close on a used syringe in an alleyway? What if you focused close ?

innate, Pre

wished h

hed tige

was t00 Ia

and sailors were able

pirate ships, And it wouldn

wention of binoculars, bef

football or soccer game and

eh n the saber world around w

up on the knoll before it Stand ng thự Along came the telescope you can observe migratin eer clear of approac and presence without

‘ibe much longer, with the to them You can get int ore hher babies with

don't guarantee the best pos sible photographic composi

tions Make sure you use the

fight lens for the subject The

Jimage made with the wide- With my Nikkor 300mm lens cand camera mounted on

tripod, | was able to “cul to the chase" and frame the mighty ond proud steeple

‘agains! the backdrop of the German Alps, | chose an

‘angle lens (lef is not as sve cessful as the one made with the telephoto (righ) That fone focuses your atletion immediately on the steeple

‘and the mountain range

operture of 1/32 to assure that | got © maximum depth

of field in the image (tot: 35-70mm len øl 39m, 1/125 sec 01 /16, Right 300mm lens, 1/30 see, ot 32)

is the storytelling lens, then the telephoto is the excla- has become the standard for demanding professionals, mation point at the end of the sentence, rendering details as well as the norm for most every amateur Ƒ 1

grandeur o the landscape behind the subject, my fiend Bruce It does show the

‘weather overhead, but if my aim had been only 0 show cose Bruce ogoins! o wide

‘open sky | wouldn't hove <b mountain todo it |

ld jst os easily hove token him to the local pork and lain on my stomech near his fee, shooting Upward with @ supecswide angle lens ogains! 0 backlit shy, wasn’ unt | changed

my focal length fo the 300mm range, thot | got the effect | was Seeking of Bruce clone on the mounaintop cgcinst rolling hils An oper tute of /32 assured moxi imum depth of field

Top: 80-400mm lons of 80mm Botom: 80-400 300mm, 1/60 sec ot f/32]

0 io muted tones

of color and/or shopes When | saw this elderly mon in smell v Alsace region of Fronct was on immediate no broin

er On flowers surrounded him on

llage in the

wing boxes of both sides "What « great background!" | exclaimed to myself and to the two stu dents who were with me ot the time, His warm and

{© simple ond pleasing envi come close to capturing the warmth of his smile of the texture of his face So, |

‘asked him to stand no less than ten feet in front of the

flowering window boxes Then, with my camera and 80-200mm mounted on my tripod, | set the focal leng

to 200mm end the oper

10 /5.6 This combination of distonce between subject

‘ond backgrou large lens opening ossured sharp image ofthe subject

‘gains! @ harmonious wash

of blury background fone cond color

‘three-month wait

5 Flowers w 's colo! agains! nd tones of reds, tube simply allows

nd purples (also due background fl to focus even reduces the ness (the depth of field) even

further This is vital since in

‘most gardens, meadows, cond field grow quite close tc

‘agains! « small area of sion tubes with-a doubler, or

‘green, which inthis case what is also called a

a1, when placed zen the lens and t

about infinity?

his lone pigeon caught pod, I was quick to set up, tion fo the long focal length

‘my attention os | ‘ond from a distance of about my subsequent! aperture

‘opproached « fountain twenty feet and focal length choice of f/8 also helped in

in the early morning while to 400mm, | was able fo rendering the background os wolking the streets of the bird out of a back- muted tones and shapes

Rothenburg, Germany As | ground that wos comprised already hod my camera ond._ ofo large holelwollwilh 80-400mm lens ona mono- numerous windows, In addi 1/60 see ø1//8] [80-400mm lens ot 4

BL cove isthe thve-year

M ‘old son of my friend

FVD Arnold He hos one of

those Faces the! makes you

‘un forthe camera With ony

children, you absolutly must

compose the shot ol their eye level if you won! to convey

cr sense of innocence, |

esked Manvel 10 get on his belly abou! twenty fee in

fron of o large evergreen

hedge, followed suit, meet

ing him ot his eye level, ond

‘was able to record the back

aground hedge as a washed:

‘ut fone of green, which served os 0 nice backdrop

[800mm tons, 1/500 sec 1/4)

I so “French” 10.90 tothe

buy your baguette is not uncommon to see the café,

biiro, and restaurant owners carrying armloads of boguetes out ofthe boketig

‘ond onto the streets os ha

head back to their own —

places of business On one such motning, my wife wos song of by eme Boguettes for an upcoming gether with fends

hot

de

meet near the bakery cher she made her purchase and ent lo gather up my gear With my Nikkor 80-400mm lens and comera mounted on

«@ tripod, | was able to com press the space in the back {ground and narrow the depth

of field considerably with the focal length set to 400mm,

hosing @ viewpoint fom above and then shooting down can offen reveal some new exciting compos tions of tired and worn-out subjects Most of, @ high viewpoint is combined wih a wide-angle or “normal” les Rorely is it used with o ole: photo, unless you'e realy high up, such os on the rooftop of ø skyscraper orn

« helicopter But since | was moods, | sho his picture of iny fiend Fabrice while look ing down fom my second floor window opposil)

‘Again, solely due tothe tele photo's inherent compression

of space, the normally 6 2° Fabrice wos reduced in ize Holding my camera, | chose

to focus on the sungiosses on top of his heod

{80-200mm lens at 160mm, 1/125 sec ot/8]