Shooting the 2019 Super Blood Wolf Moon and Eclipse

The past two years Kentucky has been fortunate to witness two amazing celestial events. The full total eclipse of the sun last year (2017), and more recently the total lunar eclipse of the moon. Throw in the M46 comet and several meteor showers and you have full year of wonderful celestial magic.

Shooting the lunar eclipse known as the Super Blood Wolf Moon turned out to be filled with drama and exciting opportunity. For over a week leading up to the event the skies in Kentucky were overcast, cold, rainy, and generally miserable. The day leading up to the eclipse we received a couple inches of snow and the day of the eclipse started promisingly, but deteriorated into a gray white sky filled with a cold wind. By that evening, the sky was still cloudy, but about an hour or so before the eclipse was supposed to start, the skies began to clear, slowly at first with scattered remnants obscuring the moon. Just before the eclipse started, the clouds parted and the sky shined crystal clear with the Orion constellation hanging majestically in the southern sky and the full moon brilliantly riding almost overhead.

Over the next couple of hours I stepped outside to take few photographs, then came back inside to warm up, repeating the process until the last 20 minutes or so before totality occurred. That last 20 minutes I bundled up and braved the cold night air to watch in awe as the moon grew blood red across its entire face snapping images every minute or so.

Capturing images required some trial and error. I started off shooting in aperture priority at f/8 with an ISO of 100 allowing my shutter speed to drag along depending on the brightness of the moon. I ended up having to over compensate the exposure to allow for a short enough exposure to keep the image sharp. Before long, I had to change my tactics and shifted my exposure to a manual mode. This allowed me to shoot at f/6.3 and adjust my shutter accordingly to obtain the results I wanted. I shifted the ISO upwards to 1600 and began shooting around 1/4th of second alternating up or down to get different results. I also adjusted my camera into the Vivid mode which would enhance the blood red color effect.

As the moon approached totality, I was beginning to grow numb from the cold and decided to call it  a night. Certainly, the night was filled with magical celestial moments few take time to observe. The night sky is filled with wondrous visions and with the technology found within today's digital camera's almost anyone can capture those wonders. The Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse proved a highlight of the new season of observation.

Looking For Quality Light - Shoot The Edges

Most of us already understand how light is the driving force behind all great photographs. It is the quality of light that separates good light from bad lighting situations. Without it, photographs tend to become xerox copies of the things we see. Improve the light and your images will be transformed into moody and powerful images of the world around us.

Quality and quantity are not always a good mix. In fact Quantity of light has little to do with its quality and in many cases only serves to hinder the creative process. Certain kinds of photography often do require a good quantity of light.

Photos of subjects like wildlife or fall colors often do better when the quantity of light increases enough to generate bold, dynamic colors and detail. However, to create moody light, or light that possesses a softer more reflective quality, lower light often is what is required. But Low light is not always conducive to quality and will sometimes create a muted and often unresponsive effect. To find elusive quality light a great place to look is along the edges of light.

Shooting the edges of light will in most cases solve a great deal of lighting problems anywhere from high contrast, to dim and unresponsive muted colors. But finding it requires we know where to look. So lets take a look at where to find quality edge light.

Actually edge light can be found almost anywhere at anytime of day, but in most cases it is best and most easily found in specific situations. The most obvious is during transitional moments of the day like from predawn to sunup or the twilight regions between light and dark transitions. Edge light during these moments can be some of the finest kinds of light you can shoot. I'm not specifically only referring to sunrise or sunset situation, which can be great times of course, but those moments where light changes from one style or type into another. An example would be just after a storm when the sun breaks through thick cloud cover. Or in drier regions, during times when a great deal of dust is in the air and the sun is filtering through it.



Edge light can be reflected light which takes on the color hue of whatever it is reflecting off of. This can generate interesting effects, but can also generate some unwanted conditions as well. Edge light can also be diffused light created as it passes through a translucent material or object like glass, or clouds, or water vapor like fog.

Edge light is some of my favorite light in which to shoot. It almost always improves the situation and creates a great deal of mood. Using it to its fullest extent can be tricky and requires a great deal of trial and error to get it right, but when you are struggling to find quality light, by adjusting your eye to look beyond the ordinary and look for those interesting lighting conditions created by edge light, you can start to overcome photographic setbacks and move forward into the realm of amazing light.

The Planning of a Photographic Adventure - What Goes Into It

Even though I have slowed down considerably as I plunge feet first into my late 60's, the adventurous boy who ran rough and tumble in his youth still stirs inside. He is lying somewhat dormant and restless, but waiting for an opportunity to rise up again. Luckily for me, I've learned to temper those youthful desires to stay reasonably within the physical capabilities of my more advanced age. Ever so often, those youthful desires surface rather abruptly and threaten to overwhelm my more practical and educated physical capabilities with adventurous ideas. When they do, well...I actually enjoy the thought of once again torturing...or rather challenging myself to jump headlong into a grand adventure.

In my youth I did a lot of headlong plunging without very much planning or thinking. The results were adventurous to say the least, but more often disastrous. But, I learned a great deal of how not to do certain kinds of things and I learned that a little bit of planning goes a very long way to if not prevent disastrous results, to at least temper the results toward a more successful undertaking.

Heading out to undertake a Photographic Adventure can seem like an exciting idea, but experience has taught me to real in expectations to at least take a pre-look at what I want to accomplish and then weed out the chaff to the point the actual adventure becomes practical. So, this is where I am currently, planning a photographic adventure more extensive than any I have ever attempted; a five day onsite solo adventure to photograph and video my favorite place; Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie. The idea is to create a video production about photographing and exploring this amazing landscape and will require attempting to capture the images in ways I've never tried before.

I would not ordinarily attempt such a thing except I am rather familiar with the location and because of that I feel confident I can plan around it accordingly. I'll be heading over that way the first week of May. A good time for it will be warm but the oppressive Oklahoma summer heat will not have arrived yet, plus the prairie will be green but not yet grown up to its full summer heights, and the Bison calves will have been born in March or April and will start to become lively and playful by that time.

Not only will I be shooting photographs, I will be shooting video footage. This requires some careful thought about what I really need for I will be carrying most of this gear with me so it needs to be practical, useful, and as easily carried as I can make it. I do have a rather large camera bag, but it is too small for all of my gear, so I have to pack only what I will use for that particular photo shoot. Sometimes I will be shooting relatively close to the road, other times I will have to hike in possibly up to a mile or so.

The video footage will be the most challenging. What I must avoid are static videos where there is no or very little movement involved. Might as well take pictures. So between now and then I will be practicing shooting video and adding movement to the action. To do this I will use a DIY Jib, a devise that allows you to swing and rise the camera from ground level to about seven feet high and keep the camera on an even plane. It also serves to smooth out the panning of wide area shots.

To capture enough video footage to make a video production requires a series of planned shots. To do this I will use a shot-list outlining the kinds of video footage I want to capture. Most of the footage will be relatively short clips 10 to 20 seconds in length that will be stitched together along with still photographs and audio to create the finished production. Many of the clips will simply be transitional footage that takes the viewer from one situation into another.

In addition to this I will be story boarding the program just so I will have a good idea of the kinds and number of video clips and still images I want to capture. (Several Dozens will be required). This story board is simply a guide and not so much a locked down this is what I must do script. Too many things can interfere with planned shooting, so I'll remain flexible and adjust as the conditions dictate. The story board will give me a good place to start and a basic photographic footage direction to take.

I know the kinds of photographs I want to capture, the problem will be the weather. Will it cooperate or cause havoc? From my experience, the weather rarely does exactly what you want it to do, you just have hope for the best and adapt to what nature gives you. I figure over the course of five days, I will at least have one or possibly two days of the kind of weather I want. The rest I'll just have to work in as best as I can.

As with all landscape photography the best light generally occurs early or late, but I will be able to shoot all day long because many of the video clips will be close ups of the various fauna and plants found on the preserve. This will prevent me from becoming bored and complacent during the middle of the day waiting for those elusive great lighting moments that may or may not occur. I figure I will have plenty of shooting to keep me busy all day long and still have some grand opportunities to capture those amazing moments of light early and late in the day.

Time lapse photography can create amazing video moments provided you have the correct situation to shoot and that requires the movement of clouds. I plan on capturing ample time lapse footage both during the day and of the night sky if the conditions allow for it.

Some of the anticipated problems hopefully will not become show stoppers. The weather of course will be the biggest factor.  In fact it may be the main problem factor or it could be the main reason the results turn out fantastic. Only time will tell.

Planning a Photographic Adventure is a daunting challenge. What do I need, where do I stay, what if this or that happens, how do I do certain things, and can I do certain things all become valid questions that must be answered or dealt with when on location. Heading out on such an adventure without some kind of a plan can cause you to miss opportunities. Knowing the basics of what you want to accomplish provides you with a script of how to proceed, but being flexible and adapting to changing conditions is also important. Most importantly, having a personal vision of what you want to accomplish becomes the driving force behind the success or failure of the project. Preparation, Planning, Adaptation, and Execution are all important elements to employ when wanting to create a high quality production. The planning and preparation process can become part of the most enjoyable portion of the adventure, but a photographic adventure is exactly what it means...an adventure fraught with challenges and frustrations tempered by exciting revelations and success.

The Themed Shoot - Focusing on One Area

Too often I will find myself shooting random shots and most of the time with random results. I have discovered, the hard way, better results usually occur when I do two things; Shoot a Theme and Focus on One Area. 

Shooting a Theme simply means to have a purpose for your photo shoot. Things like flowing water, or big skies, Old Barns, or street photography are good themes to think about, but the concept is as diverse as the number of people using a camera. The only limitations comes from your own imagination. Focusing on One Area is a way to concentrate your efforts. By doing so, you begin to develop your photography seeing skills and will find more detail. It also helps you to refine the composition.

A themed shoot really does help you develop a critical eye. It causes your mind to concentrate on identifying objects that fit the theme and that will open your mind to seeing ordinary things in a new and exciting light. You begin to look at the world in a more focused manner and often a simple glimpse of something will trigger your photographer instincts to take a second look.


Landscape photography can be as broad and diverse as there are opportunities to shoot. The idea when focusing on one area and shooting a theme is to explore the diversity of your selected location and discover all of the various angles, atmospheres, and energies. When shooting a particular place try not to limit yourself to one lens angle. Instead explore the various looks you will achieve by using a wide angle or medium telephoto, and then focus in on specific eye catching points with a longer zoom lens. The different looks you achieve by employing this technique will often surprise you. What looks good with a zoom will often look great when that particular focused content is incorporated into a wide angle shot and then by moving in a bit closer you can eliminate some distracting elements that simply do not belong in the image.

If you have followed this blog very long at all, you will know the Tallgrass Prairie region is one of my favorite locations to shoot. It provides an almost never ending array of photo opportunities and is a great example of Focusing on One Area. When focusing on an area such as this, what it has to offer photographically starts to build on itself. You will identify specific locations seen in the middle of the day as potential early morning or late afternoon shooting opportunities. The next time around those same locations will possess a completely new look when seen under different lighting conditions. The beauty of focusing on one area is you build an opportunity list of subject matter and when the seasons change, the weather changes, or just because you can, you have a ready made place to start and from there, you can branch out and search for newer, fresher, locations.

I have also discovered how staying away from a favorite location for an extended amount of time will reinvigorate your ability to see it again with a more critical and creative eye. Places you may have bypassed before suddenly appear interesting. The landscape may have changed slightly, just enough to reveal what might have been hidden before as something possessing unique and challenging subject matter.

Shooting a themed approach brings you closer to your subject. It creates a more intimate and personal photographic moment and hopefully a more enjoyable and productive outing. Focusing on One Area while shooting a theme helps you to concentrate on what is truly important photographically. You begin to see the world with fresh eyes and identify details that may have otherwise been overlooked.

Doing More With Less - Simplify Your Composition

Composition as it relates to photography is a complex concept filled with so many subjective solutions it becomes difficult to narrow down the subject to a simple yet effective way of applying it. One concept does stand alone in its effectiveness that works well for beginners and more advanced photographers alike. That concept is to do more using less or put another way, simplify.

I suppose one of the most damaging of errors most people make when creating a photograph is to try to capture everything in one image. This almost never works in a composition as it tends to create a great deal of clutter that distracts from the main subject of the image. In fact, it often obscures the main subject so much that the image loses its focal point and becomes uninteresting.

As a photographer my purpose is to create order out of all the visual chaos. Sounds easy but it is not always so. The trick is to learn how to visually focus in on what is truly important. You do this by asking yourself a very specific question; What am I seeing that is truly capturing my attention?

Where does your eye keep going? More often than not if you can answer that question, you will discover the best solution to your photograph. When looking for the answer, the idea then is to simplify everything down to its basic elements and compose your image based on what you discover. You will find that by using less in your image you will actually create more. Doing more with less is a great way to learn how to compose images.

Isolating the most important part of your composition is an effective way to do more with less. I will often use a long focal length lens, something like 200mm to 500mm, to help me find and isolate what is most important. The long lens will by it nature create a blurred background and this alone will enhance that sense of subject isolation. However you can also isolate in other ways. Sometimes I will use a wide angle lens and use a dark or bland or uncomplicated background to isolate my composition. The sky for instance works well for this.

When trying to isolate your subject always think in the context of what fits. Simplifying your composition does not always mean your image will lack for complex details. What it means is everything that shows up is there for a reason and does not interfere with the composition. Nothing appears out of place. This does take some practice to develop your artistic eye, but is something even beginning photographers can grasp.

Doing more with less is a great way to develop your seeing skills. It is a matter of answering the question of what is most important about what I am seeing, then focus in on the answer.

Wait On The Photograph

Great photo opportunities rarely just suddenly appear and even when they do, more often than not we're not ready. I've probably missed far more great photo opportunities than I ever captured and as a result I was educated a great deal about what it takes to capture the few amazing moments that do appear. I wait on them.

One of the most difficult things for a lot of photographers to comprehend is the concept of waiting for the photo. The waiting process is what defeats us. We don't like waiting, we want it now, and so we too often try to force the image. The results are usually predictable.

Over the years I could count on one hand the number of truly remarkable images I've managed to capture, but the number of mediocre images I have forced are countless. Waiting on the photograph requires us to look thru the fog of clutter that interferes with the image we are wanting to capture, to recognize the potential of what is there. It is the potential we are waiting on, not the immediate situation. Recognizing potential often means we must return again and again to the same location sometimes spaced out over months, but most certainly over the course of hours or days.

I once heard Sam Abell, a former National Geographic photographer, say about photography, "Compose and wait." What he meant by this was to see the image, but wait for the situation to develop. The situation includes waiting on the light, waiting on the action, and waiting for the right moment to release the shutter. Work the moment while you have the opportunity and build your image in layers from the back to the front. See past what is there now, and wait for the opportunity to present itself. Think in terms of Setting, Expression, and Gesture. Compose and wait on the photograph. Look for graphic details, look for angles, look for reflections, and eliminate convergences. Convergences are those places where separation of elements need to happen in order to add strength and focus to your composition.

Often it is those subtle separations that help to define the image. I've been guilty as I am sure others are as well, of trying to see the big picture without truly looking at the smaller elements within the composition. A splash of color, the angle of the eyes, the leaning against a wall vs having a small separation from the wall, the highlight that defines an important element, and the timing of the shot can make all the difference. Subtle changes, soft movements, a horizontal line, a vertical line, a curved line, random crossing lines. Sometimes these are what moves an image forward and separates it from the ordinary.

Luck sometimes comes into play but more often than not the observant photographer can manufacture his own luck by thinking through the equation of what is required to create a given photograph.

The Photographic Puzzle's 3 Distinct Parts - Sculpting with Light

Light is the chisel, what you are photographing is the marble, composition is the artistic interpretation. The three distinct parts of the photographic puzzle. When blended together create what is known as Fine Art Photography.


What is important about visualizing photography from the perspective of these three elements is they can be applied to any photograph taken by any photographer. Sculpting with light can change the outcome of your final photograph by using light to enhance the characteristics of your subject.

Using Light as the Chisel: Light moves in a straight line, yet it can be bounced, diffused, softened, strengthened, dimmed, and brightened. All of these characteristics can be used to the photographers advantage. Because light moves in a straight line it inherently will create shadows and shadows are good for photographers for they bring definition to your subject, especially people.

When it is bounced off a ceiling or a reflector surface, light will automatically spread out and soften those shadows. The source of light does make a difference. If it is natural, it's characteristics are as varied as the weather conditions. Clouds diffuse it, shade darkens it, used from behind it can highlight and from the front it can be harsh. It is therefore up to the photographer to determine how best to employ natural light.

Your Subject as the Marble: What you photograph is just as important as the chisel you decide to employ against it. Your subject determines what kind of chisel you will use. People can be used against a variety of light. Athletic bodies require shadows for definition, beautiful models need softer light to help define their unique look. Animals are difficult to light because they tend to move around, where nature is often finicky and uncooperative.

Compositional Interpretation: How you want your image to look requires you understand composition. A weak composition is like weak writing. The best written stories are the ones that stay on subject and use strong verbs and descriptive prose. Strong writing helps the reader to visualize the story and carries the story forward with each line. Weak writing bogs it down and the reader loses interest very quickly. The same applies to Compositional Interpretation.

Weak composition in a photograph becomes an ordinary image and the viewer never really connects with the story. Strong compositional elements carry the story forward and the viewer is drawn into the image. Composition relies on the other two parts for without them, the image looks flat and dysfunctional.

The Final Image: When all three of the Photographic Puzzle parts are used to sculpt an image, the photograph comes alive. The viewer instinctively recognizes how this happens without even knowing why...it just works. It is up to the photographer to recognize how to employ these ideas toward what he is photographing. When he/she does, your photographic images become much more than pictures, they become a visual book that is captured and told in a single moment of time.

First Snow of the Year - Birds Outside My Window

Had a few visitors yesterday during the first snow of the season...Kind of fun to video and watch them enjoy the meal we provided.

Project Planning

One of the most satisfying rewards of being a photographer is completing a well planned and executed project. It's not as easy as it sounds and requires a measure of perseverance and determination to pull it off. Just starting a photographic project of any kind can be a daunting undertaking, yet it is one of the best ways to move your photographic skills forward.

Back in the 1940's Ansel Adams, arguably one of America's greatest photographers, was commissioned to photograph the National Parks of North America. Certainly it was an enormous undertaking, but one he was up to. It took him several years to complete the project and was interrupted by WWII, but eventually he was able to follow through with the project and in the process produced some of his most amazing works. As a model to follow on how to accomplish a project, his would be the cornerstone example to follow. For most of us, projects tend to follow a less difficult path. Even so, every photographer can benefit by becoming involved in a personal photographic project.

I've started, floated through, and in some cases completed many projects. Most of them were short term examples focusing more on an event, or time of year, or just a whim of an idea I wanted to try just because I could. One of my more extensive projects was to spend the better part of a year photographing Shanty Hollow Lake here in Kentucky. It is a wonderful conveniently close location where as a photographer one can discover a myriad of opportunities, from waterfalls, wild flowers, dramatic sunrises and sunsets, to large amphitheater rock and cliff formations, along with all the seasonal changes.

Probably the most important thing I have learned by doing that project was how to plan my time afield. Even though the lake was close by, I was not always able to simply take off and start shooting. Sometimes I only had an hour or two, or maybe a morning or an evening in which to shoot. Many times the weather did not co-operate, and sometimes I had to scurry about grabbing my gear to rush over there to catch what I hoped was to be some great lighting. It did not always work out.

Most of the time I had an idea of what I wanted to accomplish on any given trip over there. I knew I wanted to capture some short video clips and so I planned around how I was going to accomplish that by myself. On other occasions I wanted some specific still shots from the lake before or just after sunrise while I sat inside my canoe. Shots like that one required that I get up several hours before sunrise, drive over, offload the canoe and camera gear, paddle all the way to the upper end of the lake to be on site well ahead of when the sun was to rise. It turned out to be a great project and produced some of the best photographs I've ever taken.

Some projects involved shooting a specific portrait or capturing a specific image, the kind of shot where you are wanting to capture a single image using unique and interesting lighting setups. Even though the project may only be for a single shoot, the planning of how to do the shoot took several days of diagramming and making experimental shots to see if the concept was even possible. Even so, once on location I had to work quickly to catch the background light at just the right moment and then setup all the lights, testing the exposures, then making the shot.

I even have one project that has been ongoing for several years. It's an almost never ending project often disrupted by distance and available time, yet a project that is special in many ways. That project is to photograph Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. I started the project a good number of years ago and often get frustrated by the lack of time I have to get over there. Years have slipped by between shooting opportunities, and even when I do get over there the weather often interferes with my desired shooting opportunities. Even so, it is a project I will continue to pursue as time allows and has evolved over time. My current plans are to shoot a series of videos in the area to combine them with still images and create a documentary style program.

Much is still to do, still to prepare for, but it is a project that will challenge my ability as a photographer and thrust me into another world, the fascinating realm of videography.  Preparing for such an adventure will require more than just taking pictures. It will require physical conditioning, becoming more adept at shooting video, learning about editing and blending of photographic styles and techniques, writing and story telling, and yes capturing images that stir the imagination.

Projects will do that for you, force you to challenge yourself, to improve your technique, and encourage you to try new things. It will force you to accept failure as a learning event, and then propel you forward with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm for the art of photography.

Projects are a great way to employ your photographic skills. There are few if any better ways to lift yourself to a new level of accomplishment.

A Look at Fall in Kentucky

Every year plays out a different yet familiar dialog where the summer seems to linger and hang on well past the time most of us are ready to let go of it. September rolls around and we begin to see hints of what is to come. The evenings begin a progressive change from sultry to a welcoming coolness, wayward breezes search for the tops of trees, and the aroma of fall begins to prevail. Some of those trees develop a promising change of color, very subtle at first but as each day progresses, more and more yellow, a splash of red, a touch of orange infiltrates the landscape. The autumn harvest is in full swing as farmers tend to their fields stirring dust into the cleaner air as the combines do their work. Then October is upon us before we know it, yet the grasp of summer lingers seemingly never to let go until one day, near the end of the month, virtually over night the landscape explodes into a senses engulfing kaleidoscope of color. Fall in Kentucky has arrived and with it begins the photographers delight.

I actually enjoy all four seasons and especially those transitional times between seasons, but perhaps fall is my favorite, for with it comes probably the most dramatic change of the year where the prevailing green of summer explodes into the reds, oranges, and yellows of cooler weather. These color contrasts become a haven for photographers and capturing them becomes an obsession. Photographers become almost neurotic because they know the season is short and within a few days most of the color will be gone. So, we photograph in haste, searching here and far for that special moment of season defining light.

We develop a sixth sense where at a glance we spy unique blend of sky, color, and light across a field or hovering over a small back road stream. We travel the back roads with shifting eyes catching for an instant that one shot...then drive too far only to turn around to find it again.

We look closely into the trees and discover single leaves that speak to us about their last days of glory filled with a final vibrant message of color.

We zoom in close and isolate those moments, and then the next moment we turn around and recognize the contrasts of color against a cobalt blue sky.

We listen, we hear, we see, we sense what is happening around us. We are always concerned about the what if's. What if I had been hear earlier, or what if I was at that other location, or what if rains tonight and knocks down all the leaves before I can capture everything I aspire to capture.

Fall creates a neurosis in photographers like no other time of year. And yes, it is perhaps, or maybe certainly is my favorite time of year. I am a photographer and I live for such moments.

Adding Pop to Flat Lighting

Window lighting can be some of the best natural light a photographer can use. It offers such a wide range of effects I am amazed more people don't use it. I will from time to time use window light, but sometimes window light can fall flat. Under certain conditions it just falls off so much there simply is not enough light available to effectively light the situation. It may need a little extra pop to push it into the realm of beautiful light.

One way to do this is to use an off camera speed light and a bed sheet. Combining these two things you can take the natural softness of window light and add a level of photographic refinement. Let's look at one image and see how this was done.

On the day this first image was taken, it was a dark and overcast day...rather dreary outside. The family shoot we did was all done inside, mostly using natural window light in a room surrounded by windows on all sides. There was just enough volume of light in that room so we could shoot, but I also added a bounced flash or two along the way to help out. The photo above was taken in another room that had a single large window. As dark as it was outside, the room was even more so with very little outside light filtering through the window. Now, I could have used a higher ISO or slowed the shutter down to use the available lighting, but by doing so the background in the room would also have been brighter. I really did not want that...I wanted the room to remain subdued, but the mother and child be lit.

What I did was actually rather basic. I took an ordinary white bed sheet and taped it to the outside of the window, fully covering the window. I then placed a single speed light on a stand and stood it about 2 maybe 3 feet from the window. The speed light was zoomed out to a wide area focused lighting and powered to at least 1/2 power and could have been at full power, I'm not sure exactly, but it was set to a higher output setting.

I then simply set my exposure for the background lighting insuring it would be subdued and fired the flash remotely at the camera from inside the room. What happened was this. There was still some light filtering in from the window, but the speed light shot against the bed sheet created a large diffused source of light, giving what was already there just enough pop to light my subjects without altering the look of the darkened room.

Adding a little pop to your natural lighting can enhance the image. The trick is to not overwhelm your image with too much light. Using speed lights requires a bit of imagination and a soft touch. The light provided by them should be used to enhance what is already there and your image should never look like you used an old fashioned flash cube.

Story Telling Inside a Photograph

I walked somewhat sleepy-eyed along the gravel road, a road whose path wound its way toward an old country home tucked inside a gaggle of trees. It was late fall and the once dormant chill excited by a stiff wind engulfed the air surrounding me. The first light of the day was held in muted bondage by low hanging overcast that dipped close to the ground floating along pushed by the invisible hand of an approaching winter. The morning looked and felt gray. In the field to my left the rustic looking remnant of corn stubble stood as a testament to a successful harvest. On either side of the road an old fence row stood lined up like historic monuments to a time from the past.

About half way down the road a beam of the first light of the morning broke beneath the clouds and cast a cheerful glow across the home, the trees, and the tops of the the corn stubble setting the grass alight within the realm of the prevailing grayness. I positioned my tripod and camera composing the scene through the view finder, and released the shutter. A moment later the beam of light retreated back into the clouds and I was again alone standing on a country gravel road.

Photography is as much about telling a visual story as it is about capturing a moment in time. To capture a story one must first not only see what is there, but be able to feel the emotion of what surrounds you. It is the emotion of the moment that tells the photographer when to release the shutter and when you finally do, you instinctively know something unique and even amazing happened.

The visual story of a photograph may possibly be the most difficult element for a photographer to capture for it does not always willingly reveal itself. It is something you must seek out and to allow what is there to speak to your senses. Sometimes, it just happens. Most times it takes work and a willingness to turn off your other senses and allow your heart to grab hold of the story. Everyone must discover within themselves the necessary elements of how the world reveals such stories to them. It is not something that can be taught, only reminded. It is a personal reward well received, well worth sharing.