Often Nature is enough
by Mark ~ November 27th, 2009. Filed under: composition, creativity, inspiration, nature photography, processing.
Fall Aspens in Denali
It is somewhat ironic that I am writing this post as a following to my last one that reviewed a Photoshop plugin, but I think there are some important points to be made . It seems every year we have new terms to add to the modern photography dictionary. It seems every year there is a new software upgrade or new tools available that want to convince us that our photography will be so much better for it. New printers, new pixels, new lenses, etc, etc. The newest widget isn’t new to photography doing digital. Film fads, newer, mo’ betta lenses, tripods, papers, etc., have been evolving for a long, long time.
With digital however, tools evolve much more rapidly, and certainly the internet contributes to the communication. I am just as guilty as the next person to be sucked into some of it, or at the very least, want to try it for myself. Photographers, after all, tend to love gear and we all want the best image quality we can obtain.
This post isn’t meant to be a rant against all of those things. Although I enjoy a little gear related reading or discussion just as much as the next guy, I am always reminding myself that it needs to be in moderation. There should be a purpose and intent behind using such things versus a blanket blind following. Some of these tools actually help us explore our creativity or some deep rooted desire to try to do more with our images, tell different stories. We are probably seeing more variations in photography now more than ever as a result of all of these tools.
However, we must not loose sight of appreciating what is directly in our viewfinders in front of us. Often, raw nature is enough to soak in, enjoy, and admire. The image here is a reminder to me of this very thing. In Alaska I was doing several exposures of some scenes to try some more HDR work. You know – that HDR fad that is soooo yesterday! For many of them, I found I liked one single exposure of the series over what I was able to do in a blended version. This is one such image. No HDR, no plugins used – only rather simple processing of the raw file. Nature did plenty to make this scene breathtaking. Sometimes I don’t need to be messing around with what took millions of years to perfect.
In contrast, I felt the work I did in Kodiak, and the work in the Shelikof Strait needed more story and mood interpretation from me. I never intended for these images to be straight color photographs from the moment of capture. I had some specific processing in mind. Again, purpose and intent are key. No one has a right to tell anyone how their images should look or what they should represent. No one needs any one specific tool. It is up to each of us to look at the tools are available, what we want to communicate, and decide if there is a fit or not. The moment of inspiration when we clicked that shutter spoke something to us. It is a moment we all need to reflect upon and decide what is the next path to take.
“To take photographs means to recognize-simultaneously and within a fraction of a second-both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one’s head, one’s eye and one’s heart on the same axis.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
November 27th, 2009 at
This landscape is mind-blowing! The way the vibrant yellows play off the colors is on another level. Alaska is so awesome.
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November 27th, 2009 at
A breathtaking photo, Mark. I can imagine that one must stand there in an awe, unable to absorb all the beauty.
Re. the post, I agree that it’s definitely good to follow the market and all the new stuff (either equipment or software) and even test it for yourself. You mentioned that with Kodiak and Shelikof photos you had the intention of postprocessing in your head in the moment you took them. I’m not so far, yet. I usually take photo because it (the scene, motif, subject) speaks to me as it is and I do postprocessing mainly to make the image look better, whatever it means
I think that sometimes we are so flooded with new tools and ads carrying a message “How could you live without THIS????” that we think in too much complex ways even in situations when the easiest solution would bring the best result.
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November 27th, 2009 at
Great points Mark.
I’m extremely driven always trying to beat my last attempt at creating an image in some form, so I have to really watch and not get caught up in too many different processes as I can only master a few.
I’ve really been trying to simplify my work habits the last two years and I hope to continue simplifying the processes I use.
Awesome photo as well.
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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November 27th, 2009 at
Hi, Mark -
This relates to topics to which I’ve been giving some thought recently, and I find myself nodding my head as i read your post. I’m a gear-head (occupational hazard as a professional geek-for-hire in my day job), and I feel no guilt over using technology to help me obtain the image I want. But the reason for my photography is ultimately to share the beauty I find in nature, and the type and degree of postprocessing I perform follows from that. Viewers might or might not care for the result – this is art, after all – but that’s my motivating force.
Thanks, as always, for the beautiful images & thoughtful post!
- Jack
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November 27th, 2009 at
That is beautiful Mark – clouds like that are a rare treat up here!
Ron
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November 27th, 2009 at
Richard – yeah – it certainly helps having blue and yellow as complimentary colors on the color wheel – courtesy Mother Nature.
Tomas – thank you. I won’t claim prevision on every image, but it helped a little with those. I agree the advertising towards photographers gets to be a little too much at times.
Hey Boyd, thanks for the comment and stopping by. Always appreciate your thoughts.
Jack – thanks a lot! I don’t think anyone should feel any guilt using whatever tools they want to.
Ron – thanks a lot. You guys cook up some pretty mean landscape stew up there.
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November 28th, 2009 at
Mark, a beautiful photo and one that I would certainly agree stands on its own merits.
I believe each photo is a story and we the photographers are the story tellers. Sometimes the story is clearly expressed by the RAW photo file straight from the camera and other times a little help is needed. The trick is finding the real or best story. I try to achieve this as efficiently as possible but my own limited knowledge and skill make the post-processing more complicated then it should be.
Good post.
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Mark Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at
Thanks Earl. Couldn’t agree more about the trick of finding the right path!
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November 28th, 2009 at
Hey Mark,
Like Ron said, those kinda clouds are up here are a rare treat indeed. Great stuff.
The trees look mostly like Balsam poplar to me, particularly in the foreground.
I’m with you on the fad thing. We live in a world where solutions are always framed in something that comes with a receipt – buy this, buy that, etc, and your world will be a better place. The rate at which that is growing is somewhat frightening to me.
Lovely photo.
Cheers
Carl
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Mark Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at
What?! My ID is wrong again? C’mon, there have to be some aspens out there?
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November 29th, 2009 at
Magestic. The colors are outstanding. The trees provide perspective on just how huge this landscape is.
I completely agree about technology.
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November 29th, 2009 at
[...] enough, this post began as an appreciative nod to an article at Graf Nature Photography, called Often Nature is enough. As usual I was side-tracked, but will return to that root-level [...]
December 1st, 2009 at
Beautiful image, Mark. Love to follow the layers from the field of flowers to the mountains to the sky. It all works together wonderfully.
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January 13th, 2010 at
[...] was an article at Graf Nature Photography, called Often Nature is Enough, that made me pause and think. It was the title that grabbed me and I [...]
January 18th, 2010 at
[...] More here: Graf Nature Photography | Notes from the woods » Often Nature is … [...]