Texture Photography First Catches My Eye

I first noticed texture photography about 6 years ago when I joined BetterPhoto.com. I was new to photography back then, had very little Photoshop experience, and had no idea that what I was looking at was actually “texture photography.” All I knew was that I was seeing some wonderful images that caught my eye because they looked very much like fine art paintings. I had no idea how these images were created, but I knew that one day I would learn the process. That day has finally come.

Being “An Artist”

My grandfather was a wonderful artist. He could paint and draw magnificently. Somehow that particular gene skipped the next two generations. Neither my mother nor any of her five children were blessed with that same innate skill. We were all pretty bummed about that.

But I later learned there are other ways to be an artist.

Mine is through the lens — along with using Photoshop as my “brushes and canvas” to apply textures to my images.

Embracing My Inner Student

At this stage I am a texture student, learning as I go. Each day something new. Each mistake a lesson learned. Each attempt, a new possibility. Every moment, a chance for discovery.

Today is no exception. You never know what’s just around the next corner.

From Fading Flower to Fine Art

I spotted this Easter Lily this morning on my way into town to run an errand. I turned the corner onto another street and there it was in a neighbor’s front flower border. A quick U-turn had me driving back up the hill to get my camera and macro lens.

Upon closer inspection, I could see this Easter Lily was past its prime and fading fast. The white petals were just starting to wilt and featured a hint of brown. In my mind I had a vision of what this Easter Lily could become with the right texture, brushes, and opacity applied.

Fading Easter Lily

Backlit Crocus

I love to shoot small flowers at ground level. This crocus was a natural standout, as the angle of the sun produced wonderful backlighting to showcase the petal detail and tiny water droplets. I deliberately chose a texture color that would contrast with that of the flower. I also chose one with a pale center, as I wanted nothing to interfere with the sunlight through the petals.

Backlit Crocus

Solitary Siberian Squill

This is perhaps my favorite image of the week. This tiny Siberian Squill in the midday sun was a challenge to shoot due to its location. I knew the angle that I wanted — but it required a bit of yoga from me to capture it.

As you can see, the flower’s color and lines are beautiful, as is the delicate, curved shape of the petals. While I had used a shallow depth of field to produce the creamy background, I knew that I could change “pretty” into “beautiful” with the right colored texture and pattern. Again, a careful selection and application of the right Photoshop brushes and opacity helped me to bring my inner vision to life.

Solitary Siberian Squill

Texture Resources

There are many places where you can obtain textures, including creating your own (which I wrote about previously in another texture article of mine). Two resources I like to use are Joel Olives Textures and French Kiss Collections.

So there you have it. A bit of the story behind the images. If interested, they are all available as Fine Art Prints from Fine Art America.

~ Liz Mackney

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Flower Photography Cheat Sheet

Now that Spring is officially here, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about ways to improve your flower photography. My gardens are already beginning to sprout here in New England, and it won’t be long before flowers are blooming and vibrant colors are swaying in the gentle summer breeze.

Summer color loves diffused light

I’m often asked how it is that I get the flower shots that I do. What is it that I look for and what does my creative eye see? I’m happy to share that information with you and offer some helpful tips on how to improve your flower photography. First, however, let’s look at where you might be going wrong.

Common Mistakes

There are several mistakes that new photographers often make when shooting flowers:

• Shooting down on a flower from a standard viewing distance produces a typical “snapshot” image.
• Shooting at high noon in bright sun produces harsh lighting and washes out color.
• Not removing distractions, such as dead leaves or stray twigs.
• Always shooting from the same angle or perspective.
• Not thinking through the overall composition.
• Cropping too tightly in camera.
• Shooting too close with the lens you are using and thus being unable to focus.

Answer This Question…

12 Helpful Tips

If you want to be in control of the images you capture in the garden, but aren’t quite sure on how to do that, perhaps the following tips will be of some help.

Tip #1 — The 360 Rule

Really evaluate your shooting perspective. Basically check out the flower from every angle, including above and below, as well as by circling its circumference. Light, shadow and background all change as you move around the flower, as do the intricate details of the flower itself.

The back of a flower often has interesting detail all its own

Tip # 2 — Composition

When you see a group of flowers, study them collectively as well as individually. How flowers are positioned and grow in relation to each other can often be the foundation of a nice composition.

A flower's position in the garden can influence composition

Tip #3 — Selective Focus

Decide what element you want as the primary point focus. With a tight group of flowers, you might want to draw the viewer’s eye to a specific flower. I chose to do just that with this image, by creating a shallow depth of field for the background, and soft focus for the surrounding outside flowers.

Keeping one flower in sharp focus draws the viewer's eye

Tip #4 — Depth of Field

Controlling the depth of field (that which remains in sharp focus) makes all the difference in the world to flower photography. Therefore it’s important to remember these four factors that affect depth of field:

1. Your f-stop number (The smaller the number, the less that is in focus; the larger the number, the more that is in focus.)
2. The focal length of your lens. (When you’re zoomed in, you’ll have less depth of field. When you’re zoomed out, you’ll have more depth of field.)
3. Your distance to the subject. (The closer you are to the subject, the less that is in focus; the farther away you are from the subject, the more that is in focus.)
4. The subject’s distance to the background. (The further away the subject is from the background, the less that is in focus; the closer the subject is to the background, the more that is in focus.)

A shallow depth of field showcases the flower and blurs the background

Tip #5  — Close-Up & Macro

Flowers feature very intricate details. What better way to showcase these details than with a close-up or macro shot. It’s important to note that while a macro lens can really up your shooting game, you don’t need a dedicated macro lens to get a close-up or macro image. You can always crop an image afterwards to create a close-up or macro perspective.

The details of small flowers are not always seen by the naked eye

Tip #6 — Welcome The Rain

Don’t be too disappointed when the rain comes to spoil a sunny day. On the contrary it may be exactly what you need for a special shot. Sometimes you don’t need a steady rain. I’ve found that a quick passing shower can really enhance things.

Sometimes a spring shower can be your creative friend

Tip #7 — Spot Focus

What to focus on when shooting flowers is only limited by your imagination. You can shoot an overall garden scene, a group of flowers, a single flower with a shallow depth of field, or you can really call attention to the finer details by spot focusing on a single point to draw the viewer’s eye. That was my thought for this image, as the colors of the flower were the perfect frame to showcase the texture of the stigma.

Spot focus can draw the eye to a specific detail

Tip #8 — Fill The Frame

Certain images deserve to fill the frame during composition. Such was the case when I saw this large sunflower. I loved everything about it — the color, the texture, the background, the curve of the petals. I chose a square crop to showcase this pristine, symmetrical flower. It proved to be a good call, as I later had this image made into a large ceramic tile. The dimensions were perfect.

Fill the frame with the most important elements

Tip #9 — Flower Stages

Flowers grow in stages. That makes for multiple photo opportunities. I like to continually check my gardens to see what stage a particular flower is at. Do you have any idea what this emerging bud later turned out to be? If you guessed sunflower, you’d be right!

Different stages offer multiple shooting opportunities

Tip #10 — Top Down Perspective

As previously mentioned, shooting down on a flower from a typical viewing distance can produce bland, boring images. However, getting close to the flower (either physically or by zooming in) can totally change the composition and make for an interesting photo. The striped, curved petals on this variegated crocus guide the viewer’s eye to the central point of focus.

Shoot top down to showcase pattern and detail

Tip #11 — Soft Focus

In the garden certain flowers by their very design are a perfect match for soft focus. The shallow depth of field in this image again helped to showcase the flower, but it was soft focus that complemented the natural softness of the delicate petals. Everything working together is what makes this image interesting.

Certain details are meant for soft focus

Tip #12 — Incorporate Garden Visitors

We are not the only ones who wait for the gardens to bloom. Some winged friends become the perfect accent to a colorful flower. Dragonflies are some of my favorite visitors to capture. I actually think they enjoy my company, for they follow me around the garden all summer long.

Garden visitors love the flowers too

Practice Time

It’s early in the season, so you have plenty of time to practice these tips. You can even get a jump on things by picking up a potted plant such as tulips, positioning it in the garden, and experimenting. Best of all, you can then transplant the tulips as a colorful addition to your garden.

Bonus Tip! Keep practicing and don’t get discouraged. Every photo teaches you something. What better classroom to practice in than the garden on a nice, warm day. Sounds good to me!

Happy shooting!

~ Liz Mackney

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The Full Worm Moon bathes Motif #1 in moonlight

The Full Worm Moon Beckons

Yesterday’s moon was known as the “Full Worm Moon.” According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac: ”The Full Worm Moon was given its name by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. This is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins.”

Ahhh… Hello Spring!

The Moon… The Sun… The Tide…

People usually notice a full moon on the rise while driving home from work, or sometimes through a window in the evening while watching television. When you’re a photographer, however, a full moon is an event. It beckons us. It’s pull is magical. We plan for it.

The Moon Doesn’t Just Rise

What many people don’t realize, however, is that moonset is just as exciting as moonrise. The deal breaker for some people is simply the time of day that moonset occurs. That time varies from day-to-day.

This year’s Full Worm Moon had me out the door at 5:00 a.m. I wanted to make sure I had allowed for travel time, parking time, walking time and setup time. The moon has its own schedule. It waits for no one. Better to be too early than too late when photographing it.

Rockport Harbor and The Headlands

This year in Rockport, Massachusetts, the Full Worm Moon was scheduled to set at 6:21 a.m. A quick check of The Photographer’s Ephemeris program showed me that the moon would set over the town behind Rockport Harbor and appear directly between the harbor’s two wharfs when viewed nearby from The Headlands.

Two Shoots In One

Sunrise was scheduled for 6:33 a.m. Again, a quick check of The Photographer’s Ephemeris program showed me that the sun would rise behind Straitsmouth Lighthouse when viewing from the opposite side of The Headlands. All I would need to do was be fast on my feet and get to the other side in time to set up for my shot. As you can see, the hustle was well worth it. The colors were breathtaking.

The blue hour of sunrise provides a beautiful backdrop to Straightsmouth Lighthouse

Know The Tide

The tide is also an important thing to check when shooting along the coast. High tide versus low tide can greatly affect such things as shooting perspective and reflections. Getting down low in a tidal pool at low tide will garner a shot much different from one taken from the top of a rocky cliff. Which is better? That’s up to you! I say try them both. Step outside of your typical shooting zone and see what new perspectives you can personally witness and capture.

Preparation — An Important Thing To Remember

When checking the times for moonset or sunrise, remember the horizon and surrounding terrain. Setting times refer to when the sun or the moon is no longer visible on the horizon. Rising times refer to when the sun or moon first becomes visible on the horizon.

To shoot the last of the Full Worm Moon here in Rockport, I knew that I had to be ready long before the moon actually set. I needed to be in position before the moon disappeared behind the elevated tree line in the distance.

Moonset is perfectly aligned between the harbor's two wharfs

My iPhone Apps

While some of the reference programs I used for this shoot (such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris) are readily available on computer, I like to have them with me at all times. That’s where my iPhone comes in handy. Here are the links to the specific apps I used to plan this shoot.

• The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE)
• MoonPhase
• TideGraph

In Case You’re Wondering…

The next full moon is April 25th and it’s called the Full Pink Moon. If you’re in the Rockport area, moonset is 5:26 a.m., sunrise is 5:45 a.m., and low tide is 5:09 a.m.

And Don’t Forget…

Conversely, don’t forget to consider the times of a full moonrise and sunset. When both of these events occur close together, the shooting possibilities are again only limited by your imagination and perhaps the speed of your feet.

Warm weather is coming! No more cold weather excuses. Get out there and capture the celestial magic!

~ Liz Mackney

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Snow Melt…

After a feisty February of back-to-back blizzards here on Cape Ann, I was thrilled to discover the snow melt of the last few days revealing the very first signs of spring!  Considering an enormous mound of snow remains piled at the top of my driveway, the emerging growth and subtly changing color of various plants made my heart sing. February was most definitely a lion — and another 10-inches of snow last Friday continued the trend —  but I am very hopeful the rest of March will be a lamb.

Walk the Gardens

With my beloved dog following closely behind, I took advantage of the warm temps today and strolled my gardens. The first thing to catch my eye was the green hue beginning to fill the leaves on my azalea bush.

Azalea leaves begin to turn color

Not too far away, bulbs were proudly emerging from the damp soil and up through the remaining bark mulch. The rays of the sun seemed to be urging them on.

Flower shoots begin to emerge from their bulbs.

In another border that gets full sun, the last bit of snow that had been covering the plants melted completely the other day. However, it was only today that I could see the color of my lavender plants shifting from winter gray to a delightful sage green.

Dormant lavender begins to awaken

Not too far away — and perhaps influenced by the warmth held by my stone walls — were signs of rebirth from my several blankets of phlox. They certainly didn’t look like they were going to return to slumber any time soon.

Phlox begins to come back to life

Even my stonecrop today looked antsy to get going. This particular bud seemed to be calling out to me — with his cronies in the background cheering him on. Their collective red has deepened a bit and seems a bit more vibrant.

Stonecrop bud reaches out towards the sun

Taking A Chance

I may be tempting Mother Nature, but I can’t help but say, “Bye-bye winter.”  I am so ready for Spring!

~ Liz Mackney

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When you live by the coast, you never know what the incoming tide may leave behind before it retreats back out to sea. A few weeks ago I was dumbfounded. I never imagined that the carcass of a huge finback whale would come to rest on my town’s shoreline.

Finback Whale Illustration by LG Design

It didn’t take long for me to become spellbound by this magnificent creature. Little did I know that we would soon form a very special relationship. Let me explain…

October 8th… First Spotted

The whale’s carcass had first been spotted in Boston Harbor on Oct. 8th. Nature had its own plans, however, and the carcass was pulled back out to sea. It then traveled — for almost two weeks — all the way to Rockport, Massachusetts, before becoming stuck on a rocky stretch of beach off Penzance Road. Needless to say, the finback became an instant attraction.

Finback whale comes ashore near Penzance Road

A nearby footpath provided viewing access for fascinated residents and visitors, but the whale’s beachfront location proved inaccessible to large machinery. Removing the carcass from that location was next to impossible, so Town Officials had little recourse other than to let nature take its course.

October 26th… My First Encounter

Once I learned of the whale’s exact location, I set off with camera in hand. When my eyes first caught a glimpse of the carcass, I was amazed. Finback whales are far from tiny. This whale’s carcass was reported to measure somewhere between 54-70 feet in length — a truly jaw-dropping site to see.

Determined to be a young, adult male, the finback’s decaying aroma was what I would politely describe as… “memorable.” I quickly learned to hold my breath when standing down wind. Still, nothing was going to deter me from studying the physical details of this fascinating creature.

A fin is still clearly visible

Even though the whale had been deceased for quite some time, my photographic eye could see much waiting to be captured with my lens. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, how many times does a finback whale practically land in your own backyard?

He Deserves A Name

After seeing this magnificent creature with my own eyes, I felt an instant connection. Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I felt he deserved a name. Naturally, I gave him one.

I saw his eye and a connection was born

Had I discovered him when he first appeared in Boston Harbor, perhaps I would have named him “Finnegan.” A good Irish name for a finback whale washing up in Bean Town.

However, it was here in Rockport that I discovered him resting on this rock-covered stretch of beach. Only one name could therefore do him justice — “Rocky.”

October 28th… The Day Before Hurricane Sandy’s Arrival

This year’s Hurricane Sandy will be remembered for a long time. As the storm barreled its way up the coast and was forecasted to converge with another weather system and form a Super Storm, I knew Rocky’s future was questionable. As I saw it, the waves would either throw his carcass further up onto the nearby resident’s property, or the storm’s force would carry him away never to be seen by me again.

Early waves from Hurricane Sandy pack a punch

On this day, Oct. 28th, several photographer friends were visiting me. As part of my tour of the area, I took them over to see Rocky. We were not alone. There were many visitors simultaneously saying both “hello” and “farewell” as time was limited and the hurricane was quickly approaching.

What condition would Rocky be in after the storm? Only time would tell.

October 30th… Sandy’s Aftermath. What Happened?

By now everyone knows the devastation Hurricane Sandy brought to the East Coast. I feared for Rocky’s condition. The ocean’s power was certainly formidable during the storm. As soon as Sandy had passed, I grabbed my camera and headed off to learn Rocky’s fate.

As I walked down the footpath to the beach, I kept my fingers crossed that he was still intact. However, when I reached the end of the path, I heard myself gasp. He was… gone. Hurricane Sandy had taken him with her.

Rocky disappears after Hurricane Sandy

October 31st… A Solitary Hour

The next morning I went into town to the Red Skiff — my favorite breakfast joint. While chatting with the staff, I mentioned Rocky’s disappearance. That’s when the miracle happened — I was told he was still in Rockport!

It had been reported that he had washed up on Cape Hedge Beach near South Street. Needless to say, I grabbed my camera equipment and headed off to find him.

Our Special Time Together

When I found him, I was startled to see that he was all alone. No residents. No visitors. No crowds. No one — except for me. I think that’s the way it was meant to be. I spent the next hour with him, up close and personal. Hurricane Sandy had definitely battered him up quite a bit, but this was now my third time photographing him and he was decidedly familiar to me.

Rocky comes to rest on Cape Hedge Beach

Although decomposition had continued since I had last seen him, it was not at all disgusting in any way. I didn’t even notice a smell this time. Instead I felt incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to be alone with him. It allowed me to really study him in-depth and to photograph a great deal of intricate detail. Such a fascinating creature packed into… 50 tons!

Remains further battered by Hurricane Sandy

It was through the newspaper that I discovered Rocky’s impending fate. His relocation to Cape Hedge Beach meant that heavy equipment would now have access to him.

Incredible flesh detail still remains

As reported in the Gloucester Daily Times, Tom French, a scientist from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries planned to extract the whale’s bones for a museum exhibit at the Seacoast Science Center of Rye, New Hampshire.

Physical details abound long after the finback's death

The 6-hour extraction process was to take place the next day, Nov. 1st, beginning at 8:00 a.m. I knew I had to be there. I couldn’t abandon Rocky now.

November 1st… Farewell

I arrived at Cape Hedge Beach first thing in the morning. From a distance I could see a front loader and group of people already at work. Rocky’s dismantling had begun.

The dismantling team at work

I approached cautiously, as I didn’t want to interfere with their process in any way. I began taking photos from a reasonable distance before gradually moving closer. After shooting for a bit, I was approached by Jim Chase, VP of the Seacoast Science Center. He had noticed me photographing the dismantling process and asked if I would be willing to share my photos with them. Without hesitation I told him I would be happy to do so. Rocky deserved no less from me.

Removal of the jawbone proves labor intensive

I reviewed all of my photos from my multiple days of shooting and selected 88 shots that I thought best represented Rocky and the work of the diligent volunteers. Those photos have been shared with the Seacoast Science Center as promised.

Blubber is very thick and removal requires a true team effort

Front loader gives size perspective to the finback's jawbone

Rocky’s New Life…

Whether the bones will be in good enough shape to reconstruct the skeleton is yet to be seen. Regardless, that which has been salvaged will be on display in one form or another next year at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire.

Both jawbones successfully removed

All I know is that one way or another, I will see my pal Rocky again!

~ Liz Mackney

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