Nature's Beauty Near Home

Photographers do not always have the chance to go to exotic locations and visit scenic wonders. But that does not mean we have to miss out on great images, there for the capture out our front (or back) door!.


We had traveled to Dallas to spend Christmas with my wife's family. On Christmas eve, it started to snow, as you see above.

The day prior to this, although late December, there were still some gorgeous fall colors on some trees and on the ground. So, to satisfy my photographic wishes to bring home some attractive images, I went out in the back yard with my camera and looked for some appealing detail subjects. I shot some backlit, colorful leaves glowing against a blue sky.


Photo Tip: Backlighting at a slight side angle usually enhances the color saturation and texture of leaves, and makes them appear to glow. Shooting with a large aperture (a low F-stop number on an SLR (or "Portrait" mode on a point-and-shoot) will blur the background and make the edges of the leaves seem sharper. Zooming in lets you get a closer view. The wide aperture means a faster shutter speed, and less chance of shake at a long zoom.


The snow started to fall in the afternoon of Christmas eve, and I captured a dripping bare twig with a suggestion of red fall colors in the background. Again, I used a large aperture to blur the background and set off the twigs so as give the image more depth and dimension.



As the temperature dropped and snow continued to fall, water on twigs froze, and snowflakes settled on the ice. The day was closing in and the light was fading, so a large aperture was needed.



It continued to snow overnight on Christmas eve, and the next morning I was outside early to make the most of the low angle of the sun, and the fresh snow before it began to melt.

Photo Tip: For this street shot, I used a small aperture and wide angle, to have the roadside snow as well as the trees in sharp focus (aka "depth of field"). I got down low for a more interesting angle, and to emphasize the snow. Since this was a difficult exposure, I did a bracket shoot, and later chose the best image from the range of five exposures.



As I studied the scene, I snapped off a range of subjects. But what really interested and appealed to me was the simplicity of the backlighting and long shadow from a single leaf, and how by getting close to it, I was able to capture the glistening snow texture.


Photo Tip: For this type of contrasty subject, especially with snow, I did a five-shot bracket at F14 (to ensure sharpness from front to back) with one EV difference between. And to cut down on glare from the snow (especially since I wanted to highlight the snow as well as the details of the darker leaf, I used a circular polarizing filter. In general, when photographing a subject like this one in snow, you need to open the exposure up around one F-stop, or one unit of EV+.

For working on images like these, I use a non-destructive editing program such Apple's Aperture, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (I use both, since they each have different strengths). In this case, I used Aperture because I like the way I can organize and compare images. One feature of Aperture is the "Shadows and Highlights" adjustment, that seems to work well for images with snow.

Click on any image for a larger version, then try clicking on that larger image for a full size view. You are welcome to download and use as a screen saver for personal use, but please do not use or publish with permission.

Hope you enjoy this post of my snowy image, and the photo tips.

Joys of Seeing Light

Can joy be found in learning to photographing nature? I think it can.

Sometimes a camera and an intent to capture a wonderful scene or subject is simply a reason to go to a special place. My father used to love fishing. Even if he did not catch anything, he loved to be out in the river country, or on an ocean beach. Mostly he caught something though, he was very good at it.

My love of photography has taken me places I otherwise may not have gone, and led me to study nature and lighting in a way I otherwise just have looked at.

It is a way of connecting with what you see. And striving for the perfect representation of your experience is a way of studying the subject and the lighting. It is that very study and attention that is the inner place I seek. For me it is quite intense, and I often lose my sense of self in the joy of the moment.


Seeing the beauty of nature is rather like listening to beautiful music. A scene or subject can be pleasing to the eye for most people, as can music. But for some, like music, scenic beauty and lighting can take a secondary place in one's awareness.

The ability to see nuances of lighting is learned, as is the ability to listen to and understand a piece of music. One has to give over to the experience, and give it full attention. Although I do enjoy music, my appreciation of the complexities of music is very limited. Yet friends who are musicians derive so much more from it because they can get inside it, and it gets inside them.

One experience with photography that set a challenge in my mind for years to come, was when I was on a business trip with a close friend. We took a day out of the work schedule to drive through some stunning scenic areas. As the sun was rising, it backlit the dew on pastoral grasses, creating a myriad of sparkling diamonds.

Moved by the delicate beauty of the scene, I commented to my friend how much joy I got from lighting like this. He responded with, "You make it sound like you have some unique ability to see such things. Everyone sees the world the same!" I think at some level, he saw merit in my work, but had little patience for the time needed to capture it.

I knew his seemingly judgmental comment was not accurate. After all, throughout the centuries, artists have sought to learn how to see and portray light. So I worked even harder to see, feel and understand lighting, and use that in my images as part of what I sought to portray.

Sometimes when I am taking photographs, I will explain to myself what it is I am drawn to in the scene and what I am seeking to portray. As if I am telling someone else. That helps me capture the experience and think about the lighting and what goes into the shot. And this conversation continues when I am editing and perfecting the image digitally.

And this process has rewards beyond a finished print or image on a screen. I am always looking and studying light, seeking the beauty of nature and the nature of beauty.