What to shoot in June and July?

Wildflowers!

Some people are amazed to learn that I still enjoy getting out to photograph wildflowers.  Well, the greater truth is that I just enjoy getting out to photograph – anything. It fuels my soul, and as long as I can walk and hold a camera that’s where you’ll find me, out in the field working the subject, whatever it may be.

As spring gives way to summer, the mountains around Seattle, melt out to reveal wonderful meadows of wildflowers.  Mt Rainier is perhaps one of my favorite destinations for wildflowers and so many can be found just a short walk from the parking lot. For those familiar with the area I like to head to Paradise, drive past the main parking lots and down the hill maybe half a mile, parking where the road crosses Edith Creek. From there you hike up towards the mountain and the wildflowers will soon surround you with a rushing creek and smooth boulders to work with. Hiking maybe a mile will afford beautiful views of Mt. Rainier filling the foreground with flowers.

When you head out to photograph wildflowers one’s first instinct is to often isolate a perfect blossom at a 45 degree angle (any lower and your knees might get dirty!) and go home happy.  I call this the trophy shot, it looks just like the image on the packet at the wildflower seed store – we all have them,  myself included, so get that shot (I will) and then open your mind to more creative possibilities.

When I have lead workshops to Mt. Rainier in the past I’ll let the students know that we have “arrived” at our destination for the next hour and they will politely line up on the trail and begin to photograph the first flower they see, usually right from the very direction they had approached it.  After all, that’s why we’re here, no?  No. We’re here to stretch our creative imaginations, to see in new ways, and uncover new possibilities.  Consider how you approach the flower as you would any subject.  Over the years I have critiqued so many photos and the answer is all too often the same, get lower and get closer.

My approach is generally to first walk through the area and get familiar with the myriad of options, perspectives, background possibilities, subtle differences in lighting. I’ll look at the subject from all sides possible before choosing a location to begin. Remember, recolonizing, fragile, easily accessible meadows like those of Mt. Rainier don’t allow for venturing off established trails. So please be aware of your surroundings, trail markers and warning signs.

Initially, I will photograph the larger scene with a wide angle lens (16-35, always with a polarizer adding a 2 stop hard ND filter as needed) helping to establish a sense of location. This can be useful later when trying to remember where I was when the image was taken, perhaps a hold-over from shooting slides when it could be three months before I would see any results from the days’ efforts.  The wide angle lens allows me to include the surrounding plants, trees, terrain and mountains leaving the to flowers become a pattern of color in the lower foreground.  I’ll look for leading lines in the pattern, gentle curves, a way for the viewer to interact with the image as they move through the foreground, middle ground and background – an old, well established formula from view cameras that still works today.

As I move in closer, I continue shooting with the wide angle lens, allowing first, a group of flowers and then individual blossoms to dominate the frame. This gives me the ability to still tell the story of location and environment through the greater composition.  When people first purchase a wide angle lens they see it as an opportunity to get a greater view of the distant vista, to include the mountain and the surrounding hills – and are all too disappointed with the results.  It’s not until they begin to see the wide angle as a tool for getting in close to the subject, I’m talking within inches – not feet, do they begin to see the possibilities.

Once satisfied, I’ll switch to my 70-200 lens and look to limit the composition to just the flowers themselves.  Here I begin looking for those ubiquitous patterns in nature, patters of petals filling the frame, of alternating colors, lines and form, positive and negative space.  Ultimately zooming from the wide end up to 200 mm abstracting the subject as I bring the viewer to see the flower in a unique way.  I’ll then put on extension tubes which allow me to focus even closer. As you abstract the elements of the flower, digital photography now allows you to “rack focus” with a middle ground f-stop, say f11, shooting several images as you move the shallow depth of field marching towards the back of the composition, knowing later you will combine them into one image with a sharp focus throughout.

What about wind and movement?  Use it!  Sure you can purchase a “Plant Clamp” to hold the flower steady in a light breeze but why not use the movement to your advantage just as you would with flowing water in a stream. Try longer shutter speeds to abstract the flowers to a wash of color. Even introduce your own movement by intentionally panning with the camera up, down or sideways during the exposure.  You may be surprised by the results, perhaps pleased even.

Working the subject I will be changing my location, moving in closer, shooting from the side as well as directly overhead – ultimately I may even spread the legs of my tripod to where it is less than 12 inches off the ground and be lying on my side in the dirt – why?  Because it’s about unique perspectives. Flowers aren’t usually photographed from directly overhead nor do most people bother to look at them from the ‘flowers’ perspective.  Great images are generally not made at a comfortable standing height having just walked up to your subject.

Don’t wait for the sunny day to go out and look for wildflowers.  For images of the flowers themselves your best bet is an overcast day with even lighting.  While a sunny day is great for a picnic, and the flowers are beautiful to look at, the shadows caused by the direct sun put too much contrast in the image and where flowers are the only subject the results will be disappointing.  Overcast days, even rainy days are some of my favorite for flower photography, good thing I live in Seattle.