WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU IN A PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB ABOUT TAKING PHOTOS IN A DESERT.
Picture the scene- a real amateur digital photographer (first time using such a camera) in Monument valley desperate to take a "good" photograph. On a tour being driven through the Arizona Desert by an inscrutable Navajo. An Indian who looks like all those Navajo Indians in the John Wayne movies, except he is in jeans, shirt and Stetson hat, all in black with blue lapis lazuli beads An immobile face, unsmiling, seemingly always contemplating some distant horizon.
I was trying to remember all those compositional rules (picked up in books or in Club Meetings), like, frame the shot, look for lines, rule of thirds, colour combinations etc., etc. that is bad enough. Then add to this the additional time constraint of being on tour; not everyone enjoys looking for the perfect shot do they! I was always dashing from one spot to the next: kneeling down, climbing rocks, lying down looking for that special shot.
The inscrutable Native American, either he was amused or pitying, raises a finger, points, and in a deep meaningful voice instructs, "Good photo". There was a small cave; a scramble over rocks and lie down flat: there's the frame! Photographing in Monument Valley is a marvelous experience but everywhere is big:_ the sky, the formations, the distances all conspire to defeat you. It is not easy to capture the essence of the place! Here I am lying on my back thinking,"I've got something here!", looking out through the entrance of the cave.
Self satisfied, it was off to the Navajo to thank him. His response: "Any noise?" "No, why?" "Rattlers", he says with a slight smile. It turns out snakes find refuge from the strong sun in small caves.
So the moral of the tale for Photographers is two fold;
* wherever you are, always ask if there are any snakes about or carry a stone to throw into a cave and listen for a hiss or a rattle:
* avoid Navajos who may be bearing a grudge against the 7th Cavalry or John Wayne.
Now for the technically minded. I was using a Nikon D200 with an AF 28mm-200mm lens. ISO is100, f stop 7.1, focal length 34.0. The Histogram as I am sure everyone will be able to spot was skewed to the left. The Blue Channel was strongly to the right, the Green spread out and the Red concentrated in the middle. Not an ideal Histogram by any measure!
Is it a Good" photograph? Who knows; but I love looking at it, reminding me of a marvelous trip and the fun I had. After all, taking photographs is all about enjoyment and having fun. The Navajo when we got back to the jeep had one word, again with just the barest hint of a smile: "Joke". My thoughts at that point "Bring on John Wayne and the 7th Cavalry, now!"
Picture the scene- a real amateur digital photographer (first time using such a camera) in Monument valley desperate to take a "good" photograph. On a tour being driven through the Arizona Desert by an inscrutable Navajo. An Indian who looks like all those Navajo Indians in the John Wayne movies, except he is in jeans, shirt and Stetson hat, all in black with blue lapis lazuli beads An immobile face, unsmiling, seemingly always contemplating some distant horizon.
I was trying to remember all those compositional rules (picked up in books or in Club Meetings), like, frame the shot, look for lines, rule of thirds, colour combinations etc., etc. that is bad enough. Then add to this the additional time constraint of being on tour; not everyone enjoys looking for the perfect shot do they! I was always dashing from one spot to the next: kneeling down, climbing rocks, lying down looking for that special shot.
The inscrutable Native American, either he was amused or pitying, raises a finger, points, and in a deep meaningful voice instructs, "Good photo". There was a small cave; a scramble over rocks and lie down flat: there's the frame! Photographing in Monument Valley is a marvelous experience but everywhere is big:_ the sky, the formations, the distances all conspire to defeat you. It is not easy to capture the essence of the place! Here I am lying on my back thinking,"I've got something here!", looking out through the entrance of the cave.
Self satisfied, it was off to the Navajo to thank him. His response: "Any noise?" "No, why?" "Rattlers", he says with a slight smile. It turns out snakes find refuge from the strong sun in small caves.
So the moral of the tale for Photographers is two fold;
* wherever you are, always ask if there are any snakes about or carry a stone to throw into a cave and listen for a hiss or a rattle:
* avoid Navajos who may be bearing a grudge against the 7th Cavalry or John Wayne.
Now for the technically minded. I was using a Nikon D200 with an AF 28mm-200mm lens. ISO is100, f stop 7.1, focal length 34.0. The Histogram as I am sure everyone will be able to spot was skewed to the left. The Blue Channel was strongly to the right, the Green spread out and the Red concentrated in the middle. Not an ideal Histogram by any measure!
Is it a Good" photograph? Who knows; but I love looking at it, reminding me of a marvelous trip and the fun I had. After all, taking photographs is all about enjoyment and having fun. The Navajo when we got back to the jeep had one word, again with just the barest hint of a smile: "Joke". My thoughts at that point "Bring on John Wayne and the 7th Cavalry, now!"