There
are over 25,000 wild species of orchids on six continents around the globe, not
counting thousands more hybrids cultivated by horticulturalists. Orchids come
in a dizzying array of shapes, sizes, and in almost every color except true
black. They live in soil, atop rocks, or on trees, gleaning nutrients from the
moist air.
Orchids
are also masters of manipulation, using the full arsenal of their
anatomy—color, textures, and smells—to trick insects into spreading their
pollen. Their diversity—and adaptability—are what enthrall photographer
Christian Ziegler. "Every place I have been, there have been
orchids," he says, from the woods of southern Germany where he first
discovered them on nature hikes as a boy, to the rainforests of Panama where he
now lives.
Ziegler
spent two years traveling the globe on assignment for National Geographic and for his
book, Deceptive Beauties. He finds that the plants make fascinating
subjects, and he has tips for anyone who wants to photograph their seductive
flowers.
Do
your research.
More
than 90 percent of orchid species grow in the tropics, but that doesn’t mean
there aren't some near you. North America alone is home to more than 200
species. (One resource for finding orchids near you: Go
Orchids, a geographic database run by the North American Orchid Conservation
Center.)
If
a greenhouse or botanical garden is your best option, find out when the next
orchid show will be and whether there are rules about photography.
Pack
light but bring the essentials.
When
Ziegler goes into the field, he typically takes his digital SLR camera with a
macro lens (2.8/100mm), a wide-angle zoom lens (2.8/16-40mm), three off-camera
flashes, and a small tripod. "With the macro you can focus in on a small
flower and easily isolate the flower from the background," he says. The
shallow depth of field also blurs the background, so you get the colors of the
surrounding environment without distracting from the star of the show.
Show
them in their natural element.
The
landscape can be as much a part of the story as the orchid, Ziegler says. When
he wants to incorporate the setting, Ziegler uses a wider lens. "The image
turns into a landscape with the orchid as the focus, which works especially
well when the flower has a strong color to help it stand out from the forest
backdrop."
Play
to their strengths.
"Both
the shape and color of orchids are crucial. Everything depends on them,"
Ziegler says. "Sometimes I like the straightforward look of a simple
portrait—just the flower—especially when it is small and you need to drive
attention to it."
"I
always use flash to highlight the orchid flower. I keep the flash low so it's
hardly noticeable, but it helps to highlight the colors." He also uses a
soft box to diffuse the light source.
If
he is going for more of a portrait, he might photograph the plants against a
black background in a makeshift field studio. "I use a large piece of
black velvet and it's important to arrange it evenly. Then I set up three or
four flashes on brackets and put my camera on a tripod. All without disturbing
the plant." This enables us to focus on the beauty of the flower without
distraction.
Spend
time to see what other creatures might show up.
Orchids
are masters when it comes to attracting pollinators, even mimicking scents,
colors, and textures of female insects in hopes of attracting males—who will
unwittingly picking up tiny pollen packets in the process. Bees, butterflies,
wasps, and hummingbirds are all lured by the orchid and can help tell a more
complete story.
Get
creative with your camera to add something extra.
To
photograph this lilliputian orchid, Ziegler tried a different approach. "I
used three off-camera flashes combined with available light. Then I took a
longer exposure for the picture, around one-tenth of a second, and moved the
camera a little to create the washed-out effect around the edge of the
flower." The macro lens creates a blurry background, which focuses all the
attention on the flower.
Leave
them as you found them.
Like
any wildlife, wild orchids are part of a larger ecosystem and disrupting them
affects not only the plant, but also insects and creatures that rely on it. In
some cases, orchids are also protected by law. And, chances are if you are
enjoying the experience of finding and photographing an orchid, others will
too.
Trees
are willing subjects but don't be fooled—to create a compelling photograph, you
need to take time to get to know them.
Trees
are willing subjects—you don't have to worry about catching them in action or
getting them in the right mood. They won't get uncomfortable if you spend hours
studying them from every angle at all different times of the day. Does that
make them easy to photograph? "In my dreams!" laughs photographer Len
Jenshel.
Jenshel
and his partner Diane Cook have been photographing landscapes together for over
25 years, combining a fine art aesthetic with documentary storytelling. For
their most recent collaboration, "Wise Trees," they spent two years documenting trees
around the world and how they play a unique and important role in our human
history.
Here
are their tips on how to get the most out of the trees in your life.
Research,
research, research.
When
Cook and Jenshel started work on their "Wise Trees" project, the
question foremost in their minds was how to make a beautiful photo, but also
how best to convey the importance of each tree. "You want to tie into
seasonality, and cultural significance. You want to know about weather, when it
will be in bloom," Jenshel says.
For
the photograph of Isaac Newton's apple tree, they emailed back and forth with
experts to determine when the apples would be at their reddest before falling
off. They also use tools like Google Earth to find out what to expect from the
terrain and Photographer's Ephemeris to learn at what times of day a tree might
get sunlight. All before taking out the camera.
Followed
by patience, patience, patience.
"A
tree does not reveal its secrets in just two hours," Cook and Jenshel both
agree. "It takes walking around it at different times of day." For
their Wise Trees project, they spent about two days with each tree.
"Our
initial reaction to every tree is 'This is going to be a difficult one to
photograph' but it does, with time, reveal its secrets," Jenshel says.
Take
the famous cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., which at
their peak are a sight to behold. Only, there are a zillion other people there.
"We
got up at 3am to get there an hour before the sun came up," they recall.
"It was wall to wall photographers with tripods who had already claimed
their spot. How are we going to navigate this craziness?"
They
decided which spot they wanted, waited for the moment for it to open up, and
waited some more until the tree was lit in the way they wanted. "Then you
just ignore the people complaining behind you," Jenshel jokes.
Photographing
a tree is like taking a portrait.
"You
want to know as much as you can about your subject," Cook says, whether
the subject is a person or a tree.
And,
like portraits, the view can be full-length, head and shoulders, a
detail—anything that conveys the essence of that person.
When
faced with the challenge of photographing the Montezuma cypress in Oaxaca,
Mexico, there was no way, even with their wide angle lens, they were going to
be able to get the entire thing in the frame. Plus going with a wide angle lens
means distortion around the edges.
So
they instead focused on the most remarkable aspect of the tree—its 38-foot
diameter.
"Often
a piece of a tree is fine," they say. "It's the same thing as taking
a portrait—someone has captivating eyes, so let’s focus on that."
There
is no bad weather. Only bad clothing.
It
was pouring rain the day the pair headed out to photograph the Child-Giving
Ginkgo tree in Tokyo, Japan, but the weather yielded unexpected, and beautiful,
results—soft, muted light with the bright yellow leaves scattered on the
ground.
"If
it had been a bright sunny day, the image would have too much contrast,"
Cook says. And, Jenshel adds playfully, "A great advantage of our
collaboration is that one can hold the umbrellas and keep the camera dry while
the other one shoots."
Don't
be a slave to the "golden hour."
One
of the most-often repeated rules of thumb when it comes to photography is to
avoid shooting in the middle of the day when the sun is overhead and the
shadows are harsh. Rather, go out in early or late light – around sunrise or
sunset to get the most even, golden light.
But
this doesn't mean you can’t get great results at other times of the day. In
fact, it can be a welcome challenge.
Cook
and Jenshel were scouting out the best places to photograph the bristlecone
pine trees growing in California's Inyo National Forest when they came across
this scene. Normally, lingering smoke from a nearby forest fire might be a
nuisance, but in this case, the enshrouding haze muted the bright 2 p.m. sun
and created a more textured atmosphere.
"Every
single picture we take is about light interpreting and bringing out the best in
the tree," Cook says, no matter what the position of the sun.
Build
in time to accommodate the unexpected.
Fog
in the forest, an unbelievable rainbow, a flock of birds flying overhead, a
group of schoolchildren on a class trip—all of these unexpected elements can
add a layer to a photograph to tell a fuller story.
"You
want to do it all when you’re there – night, morning, afternoon, up, down, shot
up, shot down from the church steeple," Jenshel says. "Diane and I
will look at the trees on our laptop after the first day of shooting and then
make some adjustments. It’s a great luxury of shooting digitally – to see your
results at the end of the day and be able to fine tune your images the
following day."
Be
open-minded. Be patient. Do your homework. Do your research. Then go crazy
being creative when you get to the tree.
Climate
change makes it difficult to predict the weather, so we try to be
flexible," Cook says.
They
had spent two days waiting to photograph the Wedding Oak in San Saba, Texas.
"We had rain for two solid days, zero light, and one night at dusk we were
just about to pull away and we looked in the rear view mirror and saw our
taillights illuminating the tree," they recall. "We turned to each
other and said 'Ah! Taillights!"
Plus,
they add "There’s something funny to us about the idea of a car being part
of the picture– thinking of lovers in a car parked under the tree."
Lines of Instagram-crazed art lovers circled the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden this spring for the hottest ticket in Washington D.C. Toting cameras and phones, the record-breaking 160,000 visitors arrived for the mesmerizing polka dot paintings and trippy installation rooms of the much-hyped “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” exhibition.
National
Geographic Your Shot photo
community brought a just few of those fans of the Japanese artist, for a photo
walk before the museum opened to the crowds. For those who missed the event,
take a look at some of these top pointers for stellar travel photography in
museums. These five tips will help bring your museum photos to a new level, no
matter where you go.
All set to
have a photo adventure through a local museum? Before grabbing every camera and
lens that you own, think about how much of that gear you actually want to
carry. Try packing only one lens, maybe two, including something small like a
35mm or 24-70mm. No need for that bulky 300mm on this trip. Be sure to check
for any photography restrictions of the museum before getting started. Most
museums have a no flash policy when photographing artwork. You don’t want to be
asked to leave because you wanted to brighten up the art with a camera flash.
Sometimes
the buildings that house the artwork can be interesting works of art
themselves. Before stepping inside the museum, study the design of the
building. Find an interesting perspective and try to capture the personality of
the structure. This might involve getting low on the ground or photographing
from across the street. Try to work the entire location until you make an
photograph you are happy with.
WATCH THE
LIGHT
Art
exhibitions always have that perfect setting with some beautiful light. Whether
large windows with natural light flowing through, or just the overhead lighting
provided by the museum itself, pay attention. Watch how the light falls onto
the artwork, then compose some nice exposures.
DON’T
PHOTOGRAPH THE ART
Sure,
everyone goes to museums for inspiration or to be wowed by amazing artwork.
Don’t just photograph the paintings or sculptures. Find something interesting
going on in the room and add it to the frame, you can google search for an
image of the Mona Lisa, create something that is all your own.
Photographing fireworks can be challenging but it's not impossible. Here we share tips and tricks for taking the guesswork out of shooting this nighttime event, and getting inspired to capture your own unique perspective.
TURN OFF YOUR FLASH AND SET YOUR CAMERA TO MANUAL MODE.
This allows you to control the exposure and aperture yourself. A good starting place for your settings is ISO 100, f/11, at 1/2 second. If the photos are looking too dim, vary the shutter speed while keeping the aperture the same.
ARRIVE EARLY TO SCOUT OUT YOUR LOCATION AND CHOOSE YOUR VANTAGE POINT.
Before the show begins, think about the foreground and background elements of the scene and how you might want to incorporate them. Manually set the focus for your scene before it gets dark. Focus on an area of sky where the fireworks will be, or on an object the same distance away. Once the fireworks start, you’ll be ready to start shooting.
THE LONG EXPOSURES REQUIRED FOR FIREWORK PHOTOGRAPHY MEAN SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS.
Keep your camera motionless by using a sturdy tripod and a shutter release cord. When shooting a scene that includes not just the sky but also other elements like a cityscape, keeping the horizon line straight is particularly important. Make sure your camera is level on the tripod.
TRY VARYING YOUR SHOTS.
The focal length you need depends on your distance from the burst and what you’re trying to capture. If you want a tight shot that shows detail, you will want to use a zoom lens that goes to at least 200mm. Keep in mind that changing focal length will require refocusing in most zoom lenses. Check for this attribute before the show begins, while it is still light.
A GREAT WAY TO CAPTURE ACTION AT THE PEAK OF THE BURST IS TO SHOOT IN BULB MODE.
This allows you to create timed exposures based on changing conditions. You will want to use a type of remote shutter release to avoid touching the camera. Hit the shutter as the firework is launching and hold it down until the burst has faded, typically a few seconds.
CHOOSE A VANTAGE POINT UPWIND FROM THE BLOWING SMOKE.
This makes for more comfortable shooting conditions, and from the right vantage point, the reflective quality of the smoke can add an element of interest to the shot.
TELL THE FULL STORY OF THE EVENT BY CAPTURING WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING AROUND YOU.
When people are the main subject of your shot, expose for the faces, rather than the light source, to avoid fooling the light meter.
fireworks are more than a mainstay of Fourth of July. They’re a way to illuminate ordinary or abandoned spaces.
For three years, Jasik has been using color smoke and fireworks to create dreamlike images that are at once haunting and electric.
“I think my initial complete ignorance of these materials kind of allowed me to do things that I normally wouldn’t have done, just because I was really excited to play with these materials,” he says.
That doesn’t mean that he’s reckless. Jasik says he always carries a fire extinguisher with him and has never been singed or injured.
To capture these images, Jasik uses either a remote trigger or an intervalometer, which takes several photos a set time apart. That way, he can set off the fireworks, then run for cover while the camera captures the image.
“When I was in Albania last summer, I used the intervalometer a lot because I had to go very far away from the camera,” he says. At one point, he visited a “huge industrial building that was probably 100 feet long, 100 feet high, and I set off a very large firework inside to create this huge light sculpture.
“I didn’t actually see any of the fireworks—I was entirely just running for safety.”
Needless to say, don’t try this at home.