Technique Tuesday: Finding the Shot Within the Shot

Excerpt from The New Art of Photographing Nature

“A common mistake many photographers make is finding a subject they really like, but then failing to spend time refining the image. Often, there is a shot within a shot within a shot–but rarely does the observer see the photographer’s intent. What I have learned over the years is that if the subject is worthy of shooting, make it clear and unequivocal: this is the subject!

Here is a prime example. In this series of three photos, the first (above) was taken with a wide-angle and includes open sky, middle horizon, and the landscape of Yellowstone National Park, but it lacks a clear sense of what the subject is.

In the second shot I let go of the bright cumulus clouds, and started to zoom in. There is still a bit of clutter, including several cars, but I am on my way. This image may be fine as an editorial illustration in a guidebook, but it doesn’t convey what I was trying to get out of the landscape.

The last shot, however, creates a strong abstraction, combining the brilliant colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring with the weathered pines that died in the great fires of 1988.”

This is a classic landscape dilemma most photographers face, and a perfect example of making order out of chaos. If you don’t have the luxury of moving to a new vantage point from which to photograph, then you have to think of an alternate way to make the image say what you want.

In the second image, Art decided to shift to a vantage point that gave him a clearer view of the pool, the color of which dominates the otherwise monochromatic surroundings. In the final image, he has removed all distractions and emphasized the colorful spring, while still keeping a hint of the charred landscape, distilled to its most important elements. The result is a strong graphic combination of the pool in all its vibrancy, in the context of a landscape in eternal flux.