Acolytes to the way of the photo are often in jaw-dropping awe of the pictures they see reproduced in photo mags, posters, calendars and what not. Disappointment, however, still stalks their own creative efforts. Sometimes the realization that the pros also take terrible shots can be an epiphany. What the neophyte fails to recognize is that those mediocre renderings are often part of a larger deductive process that the experienced photographer can use to move towards photos of consequence. This article examines the process a photographer follows to bring it all home and compares the results to the standard tourist output.

No Wabi; No Sabi…

Noboru Hirai Photo.

This shot of the Dai Butsu or Big Buddha in Kamakura, Japan pretty much has it all. The photo is badly framed and badly exposed and the horizon line is way off kilter. The garish colour of the background forest further detracts from the overall composition. Shadows across Buddha’s face, the shaky shakes and distracting foreground elements yield unforgivable karma, virtually guaranteeing that the folks back home will snooze through the next slide show. Though fairly typical photographic output of the uninitiated traveller, this is where most of us, pro and pupil alike, begin our journey too.

In Comes the Pro…

Nikon F 1/250 with Nikkor 135 mm at f8. Kodachrome 64.

No redemption here. The experienced photographer hasn’t done much better. The horizon line is more even, but not perfect. The background colour has improved but still looks like yesterday’s tofu surprise. The Distracting Elements have largely been eliminated but the Bad Shadows are still there. Whoever positioned the Dai Butsu here in 1252 AD obviously had never heard of photography.

Playing Lowball…

Nikon F 1/125 with Nikkor 28 mm at f11. Kodachrome 64.

A low angle and symmetrical composition go a long way towards overcoming some of the photographer’s challenges. The annoying forest and most foreground distractions have been eliminated. Even the shadows look less disconcerting from way down here. Yet, somehow, this photo just doesn’t get it. Perhaps a prayer and an offering are in order. Start chanting that mantra: “Move in. Move in. Move in….”

Zoom In…

Nikon F 1/250 with Nikkor 135 mm at f8. Kodachrome 64.

Persistence begins to pay off. The Old Hand’s trick of zooming in on detail works to a degree. Those nasty Bad Shadows are back, however, leaving Buddha in the dark again. Most other problems have been eliminated by this approach lending the photo a certain degree of impact. Content remains a little obvious, however, and framing could easily have been more thoughtful.

The Part is Greater Than the Whole…

Nikon F 1/250 with Nikkor 135 mm at f8. Kodachrome 64.

This time, zooming in works. Buddha’s essence is captured on film. A dynamic composition taking full advantage of the light of high noon results in a superior photograph. Deep shadows delineate the folds and creases of Buddha’s very soul. At once Buddha’s power and poise are integrated into one sublime shot. Contemplate that navel!

Moving On…

Nikon F 1/60 with Nikkor 28 mm at f11. Kodachrome 64.

Still, satisfaction eludes the master and he continues the quest, looking to heaven for inspiration. An interesting composition reveals itself as he moves around the statue. The placement of the sun, the detail on the face is thrilling. The detail along the side looks positively industrial, however.

Going Vertical…

Nikon F 1/125 with Nikkor 28 mm at f11.Kodachrome 64.

Flip the camera and stop down but problems persist. Buddha’s sexy leg has all but disappeared. We have taken the wrong path to enlightenment. Yet, something has revealed itself in the shadows…. Is this not the way, after all? Mystic darkness leads to light.

Nirvana…

Nikon F 1/125 with Nikkor 28 mm at f22. Kodachrome 64.

“Oohm!” Say it three times and dance a jig. By reducing the exposure setting a washed out sky becomes blue again and the sun becomes the jewel in Buddha’s crown. Ephemeral wisps float beyond even Buddha’s grasp. Facial detail has almost disappeared but a hint remains, offset by detail in the leg. Elimination of the visual noise from Buddha’s side and back results in a profoundly dynamic element — a glimpse of the void — in basic black.

Now, Snatch the Pebble from My Hand, Grasshopper…

Well, that ought to keep the folks back home awake. Through a process of simple deduction and honest self-criticism the experienced photographer has distilled Buddha’s essence into two winning shots. Most pros would agree, two out of seven ain’t bad. The real trick, of course, is to resist the temptation to snap the shutter at all on mediocre images, holding back for that Zen moment.

Though the tourist and the professional started with fairly similar approaches, the photographer embarked on a journey, meditating on his subject, approaching it, studying it, searching it, circling it, understanding it until, when truth unfolded, he was there with open mind and open shutter to capture the giant bronze Buddha’s ancient mystery. And then, in a fleeting instant, all was gone; the teeming crowds of tourists had returned.

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

Your first assignment is quite simple. Sometimes it’s fun to do candid photography, that is walking around and photographing people without them knowing it. The camera changes the way people behave. If they are unaware of the camera you can capture their natural expressions.

Shooting from the Hip

The way to do that is have the camera hanging around your neck but don’t put it up to your eye. Instead just point the camera in the direction of the subject as you walk on by, hold the shutter release button halfway down for a second to allow the camera time to focus and get an exposure reading, then snap the picture.

Candid Camera

It’s a good technique for taking pictures in dangerous places like for example Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside or in Third World countries; anywhere where people might get angry if you are taking pictures of their poverty, depravity and so on. In addition to the natural expressions, the low angle and quirky framing will give freshness to the photos.

Technique

To do so, use your widest wide-angle and set your camera exposure mode to shutter priority. You’ll have to read the camera manual to figure out what that means. Also set photo quality to the highest setting possible. I usually shoot RAW but it requires some additional processing so stay with JPG for now. Oh boy, it’s getting technical already! Then just walk around your neighborhood and if you see interesting people try to take their picture without them knowing it. It works with animals or objects as well. Take lots of photos. It’s digital and free! That’s your first assignment.

Shooting From the Hip: Allows you to get in close without the subject being aware. This shot, of a site security guard in Osaka, was taken at a slow shutter speed as well to emphasize the bustle of a “ga-do-man” going nowhere fast. I exaggerated the motion blur by whipping the camera around to the right as I walked by, dragging the camera viewpoint across the front of the subject while snapping the picture.

Candid Camera: This joker wanted to be paid to for taking a picture of his burro painted up to look like a zebra. Guess who didn’t get paid for animal abuse. You can see he’s clearly choked by my refusal to pay. The stripes seem to be catching…. That was pure serendipity. This was taken in Tijuana, Mexico with good old fashioned Plus X Pan.

The proprietor of a dwaeji gukbap restaurant in Busan, South Korea stands on the threshold of his forlorn world, puffing regrets in tendrils of smoke. The dim interior, the empty chairs, the grimy windows and unruly wires contrast sharply with the searing brightness of the world outside.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

Photo Assignments <<->>#2 Silhouettes

Taking silhouettes can be hard with an automatic camera. You’ll want the background correctly exposed and the main subject matter to appear as black as possible. The computer on-board your camera has different ideas though. It wants to pretend that it’s looking at an average scene on a sunny day. So you’re going to have to trick the camera to get the kind of performance you need. In conventional photography both focus and exposure are based on the main subject. When taking a silhouette you’ll want to focus on the main subject but take your exposure reading off the background. In order to achieve this you’ll have to use some different features on your camera.

1. Set the metering mode to Spot

2. Set the Exposure Mode to “A” or Aperture Priority

3. Some lenses have a switch that allows you to toggle between automatic and manual. If yours does, switch it to manual. If not, don’t worry.

4. Set the focus to manual.

To take a photo in silhouette you’ll have to point the center of the camera viewfinder at the main subject and focus. As you are focusing manually you’ll probably do so by turning the outer ring on the barrel of the lens.

Next point the center of the viewfinder at the background and set the exposure. You might have to do some searching in your camera manual to figure out how to do this. Depending on the brightness of the sky, set the aperture to around f8. If the background is really bright, try between f11 and f22.

Finally, recompose while still holding the shutter release halfway down to maintain the exposure setting and, once you’re happy with the composition, take a picture. The background should be correctly exposed and the subject should be dark and in focus. That’s a silhouette.

You’ve also learned some valuable techniques for controlling all aspects of picture taking from exposure metering to focusing. You’re going to come back to this time and time again.

It’s easier to get silhouettes at dusk or dawn as there is a lot of natural silhouetting going on at that time anyway. It’s more difficult in the middle of the day, especially on a cloudy day, as the light is more evenly distributed between background and subject matter.

You can also get silhouettes by placing your subject in front of bright light sources like street lights, sign boards, car lights and so on.

Creating a silhouette is really just a specialized form of backlighting where the foreground subject matter becomes a kind of masque for the lighting behind it.

Practice the steps at home many times before going outside to take pictures. All these new terms can be confusing and easy to forget at first. Soon enough they will become natural and automatic as you think about each picture you take. Just remember, you are trying to focus on the main subject but measure the amount of light from the background.

A doltap at dawn: silhouette enhances the mystery and supernatural qualities of these shamanistic structures found everywhere in rural South Korea.

Another ‘doltap’ of sorts, this one in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. The image of the sun has been radically altered by forest fire smoke.

Pure silhouette renders a complex scene down into a simple graphic expression; all allusion to three dimensional space evaporates. With the exception of a little gradation in the sky, this scene of infrastructure running between Osaka and Kobe certainly qualifies.

A fishermen at dusk on the Japan Sea. A bit of atmosphere — dust and pollution from China — at the horizon and the texture on the water imparts a sense of depth behind the flattened foreground subject matter.

Backlit smog from San Diego, nine separate ridgelines, a long focal length and wide aperture all conspire to counteract the natural flattening effect of silhouettes, lending a strong sense of depth to this silhouette of a single wind turbine in Southern California.

This time Los Angeles smog, a longish focal length [300 mm] and a shallow depth of field [ƒ5.6) exaggerate depth while retaining a silhouetted quality of a power line as it marches up the steep shoulders of Mt. San Jacinto. Sunlight glinting off the high tension wires breaks the silhouette, lending a certain amount of drama to the entire scene.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#1 Shooting from the Hip <<->>#3 A Portrait of the Artist

Backlighting refers to any lighting which comes from behind the subject. Many people will tell you that you should always take photographs with the sun behind you so that it is illuminating the faces of your subjects. This is a naïve old wives’ tale. At its worst, your subjects will be squinting into the bright light and have ugly shadows of the photographer and tripod cast across them. At the very least, frontal lighting is generally quite boring.

Look at any collection of top-quality photos and you’ll see the ones which really make you say “wow” are lit in some way from behind. Watch for backlighting and rim lighting in movies as well. Directors love to use it, with reflected fill, to make their leading men and ladies stand out.

Your next assignment is quite simple. Head out into the community, the urban jungle, a local park, wherever and take photographs of subjects that interest you using backlighting. Especially try shooting some leaves as these render great with backlighting. Shoot them also with front lighting so you can see the difference.

Using backlighting has its challenges. Often it masks detail on the subject matter. In the case of people shots, it is sometimes necessary to add light directly to the subject to bring out some of the detail. The usual ways of doing that are overexposing, using fill flash or using reflected light and that usually requires having an assistant. It’s often necessary to reposition yourself so that the light comes from behind the subject. This is not always easy, or even possible.

With natural subjects backlighting lights up translucent materials like leaves, grass or flowers and gives bright edges to harder materials like wood or stone, highlighting textures with deep, dark shadows.

This early-morning shot, taken in the dead of winter in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, starts with the silhouette of a whole complex scene. The fog of a still morning lights up like neon as the backlighting passes through it, clearly delineating depth from the foreground to distant Mount Baker over the border in Washington State. Backlighting also flares up the lighthouse beacon and captures the silhouette of a cyclist passing beneath it. I waited specifically for that cyclist; it makes the shot. Thankfully I wasn’t the only madman out riding in the cold that morning.

As light passes through this rainforest fern, the leaves seem to glow from the inside and many are edged with a thin bright highlight of gold. Slightly out of focus, you’ll note rim lighting along the edge of the moss behind the fern as well. Positioning yourself so that the background remains dark enhances the impact of the shot by adding drama to it. Taken in Gwaii Haanas National Park.

Backlighting fires up the edges of the sharply-focused bush in the foreground, contrasting with and balancing against the out-of-focus silhouette of a tree in the background. The natural light at dusk in the California desert lends a sepia tone to the entire scene.

The light source in this picture is high and to the left, behind the eagle, providing a special kind of backlighting called “rim lighting”. Note the very thin outline around the body of the eagle and the edges of the pilings. The high source helps to add shape to the beak and head of the eagle as well. The very tip of the beak is thin enough for light to pass through, causing it to glow like the fern above. Enough light has been reflected from the surrounding water, land and sky to illuminate the front, particularly the eye, of the subject as well. The dark background of the trees only enhances this shot which was taken in Carmichael Passage off Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii.

A shadowy hillside provides perfect contrast for this backlit pampas grass in Hwabon, South Korea.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#3 A Portrait of the Artist <<->>#5 Motion Blur

You may have already figured out the secret of photography. The name is a hint. Photo + graph = “Writing with light.” Photography is not about capturing things, objects or people. That’s what snapshots are for. Photography is about capturing light, pure and simple. As Claude Monet pointed out late in the 19th century, the object is different, moment to moment. The same object at noon or at sunrise, with backlighting or front lighting is/are different objects. How very quantumly mechanical! Even our grammar is unable to cope.

Reflected light provides a new dynamic to your photos. Reflected light can, like backlighting, be used to enhance the object as in the picture of Lions Gate Bridge below. Or, as in the other three examples, reflected light can become the subject itself, at once transforming an object and being transformed by it, becoming something altogether different from the sum of its constituent parts.

In this assignment, take your camera someplace new and look for objects that reflect and distort existing natural and artificial light. Explore those reflections. Look for shiny surfaces like windows or ponds or puddles; cars or sunglasses or regular glasses filled with ice cubes. Reflect on reflections and create a new world of splashes and distortions. And most of all, enjoy.

The early morning sun reflecting off rails and rail cars becomes an abstract pattern of lines, parallelograms and ovoids in this scene of the train yard just north of Vancouver’s Gastown.

More conventional, the reflected light of a setting sun is used here to add a little panache to the silhouette of Lions Gate Bridge and, in turn, to the water in front of it.

An explosion of light sears commuter hell into memory in this image of a passenger train rumbling through an Osaka suburb.

The entire composition here is reflected light. Taken at Vancouver’s Coal Harbour.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#8 Top-Down <<->>#10 Three's a Crowd

If you’ve mastered the backlighting and silhouette assignments this one should be technically quite easy. The difficult part will be in finding a suitable subject matter under the right lighting conditions.

Rim lighting is a special kind of backlighting that lights up the outer edges of the subject. With harder objects the backlighting bounces off the edges of the subject. With thin objects or fuzzy objects the light actually passes through the edges, causing them to be brighter than the center of the object.

To use rim lighting effectively the sun should be behind the subject but usually is not included in the frame. Behind the subject the background should be dark so that the rim lighting effect has something to contrast against.

Leaves and tree trunks, rounded or curvy objects and hair and fur are all great subjects for rim lighting. If you can enlist a friend to pose for you, position her in the direct sun with the dark shadows of a forest or building in the background. Watch how the sun lights up her hair.

Next time you watch a movie notice how frequently directors use backlighting and rim lighting to bathe their leading men and ladies in a golden aura.

Let’s look at a few examples:

The intense winter sun is high and to the right and out of the frame in this photo of fluffy cattails. Light passes through the thick outer edge of fluff and is redirected towards the camera lens. The background is fairly bright also but contrasts enough to give a rim lighting effect.

The seedhead on a single stalk of wild grass is rimmed with gold, assisted by low morning sunlight behind it. Note the out-of-focus background helps to delineate the central subject. 

Springtime is takenoko time in Japan. The gloom of a bamboo forest provides an ideal background while a thin shaft of light illuminates this bamboo sprout, highlighting the curves and rough texture at the edges.

The sun is hidden low and to the right of the clouds, its light only able to penetrate and pass through the very edges. Note the direction of the light, pointing up and away from the camera. As the light passes through the edges of the clouds some of it is redirected towards the camera, giving a dramatic rim lighting effect. The drama is enhanced by the dark centre of the clouds through which light can barely pass.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#11 Serendipity <<->>#13 Weather Effects

Most of us plan our outings, photographic or otherwise, around bright sunny days. Nothing beats a beachside barbecue under the bright blue skies of summer. Yet such an idyllic scenario is far from ideal for taking photographs of consequence. The naked sun of high noon presents considerable challenge for most subject matter. The high angle of the sun and its sheer power tends to leave people looking ghoulish, with deep dark shadows in the sockets of their eyes or under their noses and behind their glasses. Moreover, subjects may be caught squinting, wincing even, under the undiluted glare of the summer sun. For this reason, wedding photographers inevitably hope for overcast conditions when faced with an outdoor shoot. Light cloud cover helps to disperse the rays of the sun, spreading the light more evenly over the subjects, reducing values between brightest highlights and darkest shadows to something which the camera sensor can handle.

Landscape photography too rarely stands up well under the harsh light of midday. As with people shots, the high angle of the sun inevitably renders unpleasant, high contrast shadows. Furthermore, since most people are typically out and about when the weather is at its best, most photos taken at that time tend to seem simply ordinary if not banal.

The wow factor derives from stunningly unusual, one-of-a-kind scenes and these are best found under the less than ordinary conditions of sunrise or sunset or during more freakish climate and weather conditions. Even on cloudy days at dusk or dawn, the sun often peeks through a tiny window between the horizon and the layer of cloud, frequently with stupendous effects. Shadows too are dramatically elongated when the sun is positioned at a low angle. The color of light takes on pleasantly reddish hues as the sun refracts through the thicker segment of atmosphere despoiled by industrial haze.

Your next assignment is to start hunting the edges of the day. Take your camera out when the weather is not at its best. Be careful, rain can ruin your photographic equipment. You must keep your camera dry at all times. Yet the conditions immediately after a storm are often ideal. More distant clouds and rain can often provide a dramatic backdrop to whatever subject you choose to shoot. Explore puddles on the road and the reflections within them. Wet surfaces often sparkle with light and can be a continuous source of inspiration. Backlit fog has a transforming power and, of course, you may even be lucky and capture the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Remember: staying snug in bed at the break of dawn; staying home when the weather is at its worst virtually guarantees that you missed the shot. The photo action is happening out there; you have to be out there to get it.

Look closely at the propeller. A cold, calm morning was essential in order to capture these contrails in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.

The conditions for this shot happen rarely, perhaps never again. Motionless air allowed a light mist to accumulate at the ocean surface, the cold of midwinter had the jogger huffing and puffing with the weak sun at dawn lighting it all up, imparting a rich and dramatic glow to the entire scene. This shot, taken in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, could not have been recorded in another season or at another time.

A lull in a gale had us crawling out of our cramped little tent in Gwaii Haanas National Park to stretch and catch a glimpse of dramatic skies. This scene can only be captured under the worst of all possible conditions.

A winter fog bank with deep shadows behind it provides a perfect foil for the Bowen Island ferry as it putts, glinting with highlights, into Snug Cove.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#12 Rim Lighting <<->>#14 The Big Event

Successfully photographing people is one of the most difficult assignments a photographer can undertake and this assignment is all about photographing people. Like the great portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh, your task this time is to capture the essence of a single person in a single shot. This could be through a formal shoot of a person you know well or it could be a candid portrait of a stranger. Your choice. I’ve chosen two of each as examples….

Something to keep in mind: Every portrait is a self-portrait. The choices you make will always reveal more about you than they do about the subject matter.

Julie, when I knew her, presented herself as worldly, a little street-hardened even. In the making of this shot she let her guard down for a moment and I was able to capture a warmer, softer side.

Refined and urban chic, Atsuko, like many of her countrymen, was up against the wall, trapped in a web of duty to family, to work, to country and probably to duty itself.

Masks can hide but they also reveal. This shot was taken at the annual Illuminaire Festival in Vancouver’s East Side. Look closely at the eye. For once, even the annoying “red eye” problem works to advantage.

I’m not sure why but this shot always connects up in my mind with Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”. It would be pretty easy to argue that this is a terrible shot. The lighting is a horror show, while motion blur and a soft focus further weaken it. As a photo, it may not be much. As a street portrait it rocks.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#2 Silhouettes <<->>#4 Backlighting

In this assignment you’ll take a bird’s eye view of your everyday landscape. Look for bridges, overpasses, balconies and other perches from which to shoot the world. Shooting from above can add a new and refreshing dimension to scenes that might seem dull and every day from the vantage of street level. Notice how the shape of everything changes when seen from above.

Black and white and wet over, taken from my apartment window, this top-down shot of a pedestrian with umbrella demonstrates one way to shoot in the rain and stay dry too.

Peering down on a parking area in Kyoto cramped with scooters adds a fresh angle to an otherwise trite subject.

An extreme angle adds drama to an already tense situation as Vancouver police shakedown a young man in the West End. Eventually the men, three altogether, were released and drove off.

Pedestrian activities as seen from an overpass in the Osaka. Distortions from the use of an ultra wide angle also lend interest to the scene.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#7 The Height of the Action <<->>#9 Reflected Light

Stand on any corner, and a decent shot is liable to come along sooner or later. Serendipitous photo ops are all around us, we only need to open our eyes and pay attention to the world we live in. One other ingredient required: bring your camera along. For this assignment, hit the streets with fresh eyes and look for new and unusual things. Photograph them from new and unusual angles.

I call this one Calvin Inclined. I had a point-and-shoot camera in the bottom of my packsack but really wasn’t in the mood for taking pictures when I saw this scene just around the corner from my apartment. I almost walked by but forced myself to pause, drag out the camera and snap Calvin. I’m glad I did.

These two on a train in Osaka were just simply too good to pass up. Shooting from the hip — lap actually — I got a number of contrasts: Young versus old, male versus female, new technology versus old, probable airhead versus probably not. The elderly gentleman is reading a treatise on China-Japan relations. For me, the empty space next to the gentleman really makes the shot work. Here’s two strangers scrunched together inhabiting completely diametric solitudes.

This one I also took in Japan. Here we have a carp with a hinomaru [Japanese flag] emblazoned on its forehead. How perfect is that? After I noticed that I had less than a couple seconds to get the shot.

Another Japanese shot, this one also happened fast. As soon as I saw the scene unfolding I knew I had the wrong lens on. I quickly switched to my fisheye, composed and shot. The girls on bicycles, ignoring the direction signs, were now at the far end of the tunnel, their silhouettes shrunken by the exaggerated perspective of the ultra wide-angle optics.

All photographs were taken by Brian Grover. To browse more images visit my photo gallery here: Brian Grover Photography.

#10 Three's a Crowd <<->>#12 Rim Lighting