Natural small scenes, and wildlife photography while focusing on the details of a place has taken time to become my niche. The quaint and solemn landscape of Zion National Park has been my playground for years, and I’ve always made it a point to focus on the intimate nooks of such a grand place. Delicate ice, vibrant natural oils, and scenes of quiet wildlife have become my bread and butter subjects in a place where one might focus on everything but the ground beneath their feet. Taking a slower approach by appreciating and caring for the natural world first and foremost, and by anchoring my photography in mental health is central to a more meaningful photographic feeling in me. The solemn nature of Zion filled in the cracks of my mind as I suffered through suicidal ideation and depression when exploring the park for the first time. Including context alongside my images helps ground myself in what I’m doing, and provides more behind the scenes to the viewer. Where others tend to focus on grand vistas and sweeping landscapes, I find comfort in showing people the hidden and smaller sights that are more often than not in plain sight rather than off the beaten path. With home now being in Salt Lake City, Utah after five years in Rochester, New York, I do take many trips back home to Southern Utah and Zion to find a bit of solace in the place I love most. Focusing primarily on photography and writing rather obsessively, I have recently authored a book, ‘Heal.’ based entirely on celebrating Zion and the Southern Utah area.
This isn’t really a question but a comment. I love the leaf on the ice. It challenges me to slow down even more when I walk into a nature scene. Thanks.
I really love the abstract scenes, and the overall body of work! Can you give me some insight for what to look for in the field, I get the repeating patterns but what else do you look for. Just need some enlightenment for your process.
Thanks for doing this AMA. I enjoy your photography and was wondering how much you focus stack your intimate landscapes and if you have any insights into that process. I do some focus stacking now but sometimes find I take way too many shots but am unsure about how to figure the right number. The camera takes the stack, focusing automatically, but of course, I need to tell it the number and step increments.
I love to photograph ice. Unfortunately, we don’t get much in Western Oregon so when we do I want to be able to take advantage of what I find and get decent photos. What advice can you give for photographing ice?
Hi Andrew,
Been struggling with sign-in issues all day trying to get to you.
Now that I’m finally here not sure what to ask. I visited your website and finished reading your post about not missing Rochester, NY but then after being in Salt Lake for a while how you discovered that there things about Rochester that you do miss.
You mentioned your image of the mushroom. It caused me to remember some photos I took years ago at an Indiana State Park (I don’t remember what park) of a mushroom hunters hand holding some big Morrel mushrooms. The hunter had to tell me to tell me the species because other than eating them at a restaurant I have no idea about their species or which are okay to pick in the wild and which ones are not LOL. Anyway, hopefully after browsing your website I’ll have intelligent questions for you.
My morrel mushroom taken 2003/04. It’s not my fingers. I like the texture of the fingers along with the mushroom’s. This is similar to the mushroom image you have on your website, Andrew. Back then , 2003 I was really into what I called “close-up” photography as opposed to macro. I couldn’t afford true macro lenses but I did have some extension tubes I would use when I used my slr(film) camera. This particular shot was taken using a digital fixed lens Olympus Camedia C5050Z; 74.5mm, f/4.0, ISO 64, ss 1/500, exp mode Program AE, white balance Auto.
Andrew, how does it compare to yours?
Many thanks, Dennis! Really appreciate that. Hard to slow down when conditions are just right, I always find myself running around like a chicken with my head cut off when I run into scenes like these!
Thank you so much, Joseph! Really appreciate your words here. I am strictly a “whatever catches my eye” kind of photographer. I rely solely on dumb luck and my obsessive visiting of places like Zion to come away with images over the years. Often I can’t “see” complex scenes until I focus heavily on a smaller, simpler vignette within the scene. Then there’s that “aha” moment where everything makes sense for the larger frame. Color and subject outweigh light for me almost every time, though light can take the image to a new “award-winning” kinda level in the end. When all is said and done, luck, a nice close-focusing zoom telephoto, and pressing some buttons on the camera is what does it for me.
Howdy, Larry! Thanks for tuning in! I NEVER focus stack. I’m a creature of convenience to a fault. f/16, f/18, f/22 are my best friends, diffraction be damned! For me at least, a compelling image in the end is not about everything being in focus and pin sharp, but rather, what’s in focus and sharp enough. A single image that conveys what I want it to beats spending ridiculous amounts of time with a tons of shots in post trying to make everything perfect. My apologies on being the anti-focus stacker.
Thanks for the question, Chris! First off, look in the DITCHES/CREEKS and keep an eye out for the POOLS! Any run-off water that is stagnant or just barely trickling will create beautifully abstract ice, often found in washes/creeks (Zion) or in ditches/creeks (most everywhere else). Ice in ditches/washes/creeks will often be geometric shaped with great karsts of ice formations intersecting with itself. I wish I could show you images of what I mean, but my website has plenty of examples. As for pools, any water caught in a pool-like divot will create concentric lines that can often create a composition for you, for example my image of the golden oak leaf on the blue ice with concentric lines that is included in the AMA post. Temperatures for this ice have to be in the low 20s to high teens which might be difficult for Western Oregon, I’m not so sure. A visit to Zion in December-February will yield some results though!
Absolutely love it, George! I myself am what I call a “close-up” photographer versus a true macro photographer. I’m a creature of convenience, so macro photography is a bit too “fiddly” for my love of just zooming in with a close-focusing telephoto zoom that can get the job done. The wrinkles of the hand with the wrinkles of the mushroom are just WONDERFUL together. Love the juxtaposition of that. Got any more images George? Would love to see more of your work!
Hi Andrew, thank you for your openness with your mental illness battle. I think it is something that many of us face, including me. I use my photography as therapy, and it can calm me down when I get behind a camera. So, kudos to you for finding your way. My question is, when you’re having troubles within yourself, how do you motivate yourself to grab your camera and go out shooting, and find something you want to shoot? I’ve had panic attacks so bad, that all I could do was get out into my backyard, and no further, to shoot. I was fortunate that at that time, we had some spring flowers blooming which helped distract me. I mostly just wonder how do you motivate yourself, when you just don’t feel “into” it? Your photographs are amazing, and you have quite the talent. I also enjoy shooting a scene both wide, and then get the macro or long lens, and go in for some details. Best wishes to you…keep doing what you do so well!! Thank you!
Thanks Andrew you’re too kind. I will look to see what else I might have. Most of my close-up stuff is probably film or slides that I digitized or had digitized. Oh by the way, I was really joking when I asked how it compared to yours. I may be getting older but I’m not stupider, yet
Hello Judi! Thank you so much for taking the time with my words as well as the photos. Means the absolute world to me when someone like yourself takes a moment to appreciate the context behind the image. Funny that you ask this about motivation as today during the AMA, I was running around Zion in the morning looking for photos. The thing that kept knocking around my head the entire time was, “I don’t deserve to enjoy this”. For the first time since the beginning of my mental health struggles, I’ve found myself back at square one. For many years I could find motivation as it was a distraction from dwelling on the dark areas of my mind, but today everything came crashing back. So honestly, I don’t know how to answer that. For the first time in a long time, I failed today to enjoy my time out and come away with photos. Scary what’s comes back to haunt us. (my apologies if I’m being too forward with this, but I find talking about it candidly helps)
I so understand! I’ve suffered with depression/anxiety and the other for a long time. While I take medication, some days are tough. I think you are very brave to say what you said. So many suffer, and hide, what we go thru, when in reality, it needs to be said more. People need to be aware of mental health and how it can affect anyone. I hope you have a better day tomorrow, and if you ever need to reach out, please do. You can email me thru this site I believe….and a personal email is jhastings@cebridge.net. Just remember…you most certainly do deserve to be right where you are, doing what you do so well. I believe, that God gives us all different talents, and some are meant to help us, and help others, including our photographs. Some can make one look at our earth with new eyes, in wonder and in turn, they will find solace in nature as well. I find myself back at square one often, yet I think we can move forward looking for the “next shot” that just makes our hearts trip a bit in happiness. You are not being too forward, and I find it refreshing to talk to someone openly, who deals with this as I do. Do take care…and reach out anytime. I think we have to stick together, b/c we understand. I’m older, and I’ve dealt with this since my mid 20’s. Try to go back and look thru some of your own amazing images of where you are at, maybe they will refresh you to go out tomorrow with new determination!
Andrew,
Thank you for your reply. Yes, I would love to visit Zion in winter. I’ve had two trips planned in the past and both fell through Your advice for finding ice in my area is exactly how I go about it. I guess I’m looking for any more technical advice you could give that might help me get better results from photographing the ice that I do find. Do you use things such as focus stacking, filters, reflectors, etc? What lenses do you use most often?
Chris
Nothing really technical for me at all! I’m definitely a lover of convenience and comfort. I take a single photo of subjects anywhere from f/14-f/22 and make sure my lens is as parallel as possible with the subject on the ground. Light will always be natural, but I hardly ever consider the light when photographing ice. Having a telephoto zoom with a good minimum focus (less than 5 feet, preferably closer to 3 feet) is paramount for me. The Canon 100-400 f4-5.6 IS II was my best friend back in the day, but really any 100-400 will do the job nowadays. I use Sigma’s 60-600 now, and I couldn’t be happier with it.
Thanks for tuning in everyone! Loved the questions y’all gave, and I hope you got something out of it as well. Thank you for the love and support, best wishes on your photographic journeys.
Your advice for finding ice in my area is exactly how I go about it. I guess I’m looking for any more technical advice you could give that might help me get better results from photographing the ice that I do find. Do you use things such as focus stacking, filters, reflectors, etc? What lenses do you use most often?