Photographing the Spring Bloom

One area I've struggled with over the years is to effectively photograph the annual Spring Bloom.  Seems I can manage other seasons more effectively...maybe it's because the Spring bloom only lasts a couple weeks and I just don't have time to get out enough.  Even so...there are a few things I've learned on how to enhance the potential to capture this wonderful transitional time of year.

One of the mistakes I believe many aspiring photographers make is when they attempt to capture the entire blooming tree without taking into account the environment in which it resides.  Spring blooms like anything else in photography lends itself well to the concept of Simplicity.  Our visual senses can often be overwhelmed by the magnificence of the beauty of let's say a large dogwood in bloom.  Our tendency is to want to capture the entire tree...when in reality what we need to do is focus in on the details of why that tree caught our attention.  Most of the time I rarely try to capture an entire blooming tree...what happens when we do that is we get caught with the old...can't see the forest for the trees...cliche.  The tree of itself may indeed be wonderful...but it's difficult to see why. One exception to that rule is when there is an opportunity to capture a series of trees where line, angle, form, and color all come into play.

One thing I try to keep in mind when I'm out photographing the Spring bloom is to always have something from the environment included in the image...or in other words to include something that gives the photograph a sense of place.  Because of that I will often neglect an otherwise gorgeous blooming tree simply because there is not anything near it or around it that I can include as an effective part of the background...or to place the tree in a location.  Almost anything will work, but there are a few things that work really well.

Let me give you an example.  One of the best backgrounds you can have with blooming dogwoods is an old fence row...split rail is best...but any kind of wooden or rustic looking fence row will add a tremendous amount of depth and personality to the image.  Old barns are also wonderful backdrops to include in your photographs.  Here in Kentucky we have an abundance of both...so I am lucky in that regard in that I do not have to look far and wide to find something that I like.

Having said that...it is good to keep in mind that the background is just that...something to add flavor to the overall composition...not to overwhelm it...that is unless that old barn really has a lot of character and then it becomes the main subject with the blooms becoming that added flash of color.  When I photograph the spring blooms I want the emphasis to be on the blooms...with the background adding a subtle sense of place and belonging to the blooms.

Another thing to keep in mind is the time of day.  The best time to capture the Spring Bloom is early on an overcast day.  Early, because the air is fresh and the blooms often will have some dew or moisture on them giving a more appealing appearance...overcast because that soft diffused light is best for capturing blooms and foliage of all types.  On bright sunny days you tend to have very harsh light with bright contrasts making the exposure difficult to get right.  When you encounter bright light...there are ways to use it to your advantage...I call it...Turn around and look the other way.

Blooms by nature are translucent and with a little back lighting and isolating the blooms against a dark background...you can get some wonderful images.  The key here is to isolate...use the light to your advantage...

Depending on the shot I am trying to capture, my choice of aperture is really critical.  In some instances I want to have as much of the scene in focus at the same time as I can...on other occasions I want to isolate a portion...so depth of field becomes a consideration.  For the first situation, I use a small aperture...something like f/16.  This will effectively keep the entire scene within the same focal plane.  On the second issue, I use a small to medium aperture...something like f/5.6 or lower if the exposure and lighting will allow for.  Also...the focal length of my lens is important as well...by zooming out to say something beyond 300 mm, I can more easily isolate and narrow the depth of field at the same time.

The Spring Bloom can be an exciting time for photographers...just being out and about during the transition from the cold winter to the warmer and sometimes stormy weather will often stimulate your creative senses.
Enjoy the moment...it does not last very long.

Keith

A Softer more Mysterious Side

 Before

After

Most of the time we photographers are obsessive about sharpness.  We like those images to be razor sharp...clear and bright...distinct and amazing.  Well...sometimes sharp isn't necessarily the best approach.  There is a post processing technique you can use that is very simple to do that will often turn an ordinary looking image into something extraordinary and can add an element of mystery to your photograph...It's called:  High Pass Softening.  Here are the steps I use in Photoshop Elements 6 to accomplish this.  The process may differ slightly depending on which version of Photoshop you may be using, but they should be pretty close to the same as this.

First of all open your photo in Elements.  Then create a Duplicate Background layer by clicking on the Layers drop down at the top and selecting Duplicate.

Next click on the Filter drop down and move your cursor down to Other then over and select High Pass.  When the High Pass window opens move the Slider to the right until the number reaches somewhere between 40 and 60.  Just how much you use depends on how much softening you want...experiment and see what works best for that particular image.  Then click OK.

Now on the right side of the page click the drop down list in the Layers Pallet...it will probably have Normal in the window...and then click on Overlay.

After clicking Overlay...press and hold the CNTL key and press I...for Inverse.  Your image should turn an indistinct blur.

From the Tools window on the left side of the screen select the Eraser tool and from the Brush drop down select a brush type that shows a soft edge.  Set the Opacity to about 60%...but you can use more or less if you want to...and set the brush tool size to something between 80 and 100 pixels...again you can use more or less.

Using the Eraser brush you can now paint over any portion of the image you want to sharpen or to return a portion of the softened image to a normal state...

Wah Lah!

Another Before

Another After

You now have an image that has been softened...but now has a mysterious look to it.

A Memorial Day Tribute: Okinawa Story - One from 'The Greatest Generation'

April 1st 1945 U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine forces invaded the Japanese Island of Okinawa.  The ensuing struggle became the bloodiest and most difficult battle of the Pacific war.  My dad was there. A few years ago, my brother gave me a call and asked if I would write something about my dad's war time experiences.  A good friend of his, who was the editor of the local newspaper, wanted to print the story as a surprise to my dad and in honor of all those from The Greatest Generation. The following is from that article.

The well known journalist Tom Brokaw once coined the phrase ‘The Greatest Generation’ referring to the young men and women of this country who were thrown into a world conflict in the 1940’s known as The Second World War.  For those who have been counted as such, few would ever acknowledge claim to that title.  For them, well…they simply were doing what they had to do.

One of the great privileges of my life is to have known someone from that generation. A few months prior to the start of the year 2000, I sat down with my dad, Kenneth L. Bridgman of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, with a microphone and tape recorder and for several hours recorded his memories and experiences of his military service during World War II.  Even though I grew up hearing stories about those years and times, my dad rarely ever spoke of the events that challenged his young adult life.  As he began to revisit those memories, they seemed as fresh and clear as if from more recent times and yet his words resonated with a nostalgic clarity born from having personally experienced the horrors of war and the satisfaction of having done ones duty during those traumatic and dangerous years.

Reflecting on what my dad experienced during the war years generates mixed emotions as many of America’s young men and women today are once again in harms way engaged in overseas fighting.  There is a kindred spirit of sorts that connects their generation with those from the Second World War.  It is a spirit worth sharing.

He was barely 19 years old when he shipped off to the South Pacific as a corporal in the U.S. Army attached to the 321^st Engineer Combat Battalion as part of the 96^th Infantry Division (The Deadeye Division).  He scored well at the gunnery range receiving at the time the second highest score ever recorded in the battalion, second only to the sergeant in charge of the outfit.  As a result he was given special training in defensive preparations and was assigned the responsibility of being in charge of all the unit’s machine gun operations.  That responsibility included not only maintaining the 30 caliber light machine guns but the heavier water cooled 50 caliber guns as well, plus making sure they were transported, operational, manned, and supplied.  He often found himself manning those emplacements as well.

His unit was actively involved in General Douglas MacArthur’s ‘Return to the Philippines’ as they landed on the shores of Leyte in 1944 to support the combat units reclaiming territory the Japanese had taken earlier in the war.  The 321^st Engineers were more than a support unit. They were actively engaged in combat rolls and many times went in ahead of the infantry to prepare the way.  

Sometimes they took out seawalls that blocked exits off a landing beach, other times repaired or built bridges, often under fire.  Their charge one day might be to support an offensive, or assemble Bailey Bridges across a ravine or river, or to remove or mark a mine field, and to even take out concrete bunkers.  Whatever their call, my dad’s unit was often upfront in the thick of deadly fire.

As tough as the Leyte campaign was, Okinawa proved to be the largest and most difficult battle of the Pacific theater.  The 96^th Infantry along with the U.S. Army 7^th and U.S. Marines 1^st and 6^th divisions invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945.  Being one of the home islands of Japan, it was defended with fanatical tenacity by one of Japans toughest and best lead military units…the Japanese 32^nd Army.  

The Japanese all through the Pacific proved themselves as tough fighters, and Okinawa proved just how tough, disciplined, and well trained they were.  Their underground fortifications positioned along a series of ridges and escarpments traversing a narrow pinch on the southern end of the island were specifically designed to inflict heavy casualties. What was encountered along this Shuri Line was the largest concentration of Japanese firepower that confronted the American forces anywhere in the Pacific theater.

The 96^th was a major contributor to the breaching of that line and name places such as Kakazu, Tombstone, Nisharu, and Hacksaw Ridges…Conical Hill and Charlie Hill…are forever engrained into the history and exploits of the battalion.  The 321^st Combat Engineers were there through it all.

Although during our recording session, my dad spoke of many experiences, there was one experience he spoke about in a more subdued manner.  His unit had stopped moving forward and setup for the evening.  As was his duty, he setup several machine gun emplacements around the perimeter as a defensive measure and assigned himself on point…the area most likely to encounter any kind of an attack during the night.  As it turned out, his commanding officer indicated that my dad needed to head back to the landing beach area and help unload supplies which was an all night, physically challenging thing in its own right.  Although he argued the point about needing to stay, the officer told him to head out and get someone else to take his post on the point.  That evening the Japanese attacked their position and the point location took heavy fire and the man he appointed to take his place was severely wounded and later died.  Many years after the fact, as he recalled the incident, I could still see in his eyes just how moved he was by what had happened.

One of the most revealing things I learned during our recording session was just how often the Good Lord protected my dad.  Indeed, my grandmother often told me when I was younger how she and my grandfather would every morning and every evening kneel next to their bed and pray for the safety of their son…their only child.  Those prayers were most certainly answered more than once.

There was one incident where it appeared his unit was going to stop moving for an extended time, so he gathered a bunch of timbers and old tin roofing material and built a make shift bunker of sorts…one that would protect him from just about anything except a direct hit.  Shortly before sundown, the sergeant came by and told all of them to gather their gear for they were moving out pronto.  During the night an intense artillery duel ensued with shells flying from both sides over their position. 

By morning, things had calmed down, and he needed to return to his make shift bunker to get some supplies he had left behind as they had moved out so quickly the day before.  When he found his bunker…it had taken a direct hit by a Japanese artillery round destroying everything in and around it.  Had his unit not moved out, he would have been in that bunker…and I would not be writing this article now.

His unit was manned by a bunch of tough characters many of them coming from construction and heavy equipment operations before the war.  During the blur of combat difficult moments and snap decisions are often made, sometimes with tragic results…sometimes with uncanny insight.  In all of the carnage…during all of the stress of combat…my dad’s humanity saved the life of a Japanese soldier.  His unit had captured a scared and confused young Japanese private not much older than he was.  Things had been rather chaotic and some of the guys in his unit wanted to shoot the guy and be done with it for they didn’t have time to deal with him.  My dad stepped in and argued against doing so, saying that the guy was no longer a threat to anyone…couldn’t they see that he was scared to death.  They just needed to hang onto him for a while until they could find an officer to take him back for interrogation.  Before too long an officer did drive by in a Jeep and he flagged him down…and turned over the Japanese soldier to him...saving the life of not just a foe…but another human being.

Notice the camera?
 It's an old Argus C3

With the anniversary of the Okinawa campaign on the horizon and in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, it somehow seems fitting to reflect on just how much the world has changed since those tumultuous times.  Those who were once a bitter enemy are now a trusted friend and our hearts and prayers go out to the Japanese people and nation.

The legacy of the greatest generation and my dad is less about the political environment of the world in the 1940’s, and more about the character of a nation as experienced through the lives of those who lived it.  They were ordinary men, thrown into an extraordinary situation…and changed the world for the better.  We are all part of that legacy and are forever indebted to that generation…Although my dad would never say it…I will say it for him…I am proud that he can be counted as one from ‘The Greatest Generation’.

(My dad passed away several years ago as he approached the age of 92. He remained in relatively good health for most of his life, always active and athletic up until the last few years, he always lived his life with courage and honor caring for my mother until her death a few years before his. The stories of his WWII exploits were first told to me by my grandmother as a very young boy growing up in Oklahoma. I've always treasured those stories and after we made the recordings, copies of them along with this same article were sent to the Oklahoma Historical Society Oral History Department and archived along with other war stories from that same generation. About a year and a half before my dad passed away, my brother unexpectedly passed away from complications sustained from exposure to Agent Orange received during his stint in Vietnam. My grandfather, having served during WWI as part of an artillery unit, sustained damaging injuries to his lungs from poison gas which gave him great distress as he grew older. I spent four years performing search and rescue operations off the Oregon Coast while serving in the United States Coast Guard during the tail end of the Vietnam War Era. It was an experience I would not trade for anything.)

Keith Bridgman