Using Leading Lines & Framing Techniques for Better Compositions (Composition Part II)

My previous blog on composition focused mainly on the rules of thirds. This is a topic that I will return to several times in my posts regarding improving photography. I like to use a baseball analogy when thinking of photography. To become proficient in composition areas like the rule of thirds must be thought of and practiced. After each time you put these elements into practice, you quickly find that they become second nature. It isn't uncommon however to get so comfortable that you may find yourself falling back into bad habits. It's very similar to how you can see an infielder fall back into fielding ground balls from the side, failing to cover the ball with their throwing hand, and many find themselves skipping a critical step, in the case of the infielder, making the motion to throw the runner out before fully catching the ball. In baseball, the remedy is to realize that you are going through the motions in auto-pilot, and that even the best players, will from time to time, have to take a step back, and concentrate on the fundamentals. The same holds true for photographers. As you progress as a photographer, you find yourself learning and becoming proficient in more advanced techniques, but it isn't uncommon to find yourself like an infielder attempting to make a play before catching the ball, thinking a step or two ahead, only to find yourself making fundamental mistakes. The remedy is quick and easy. The hardest part however, is taking a moment to evaluate a folder of two of recent captures and realizing that you may be rushing through the "easy" parts. This happens to everyone, regardless of how skilled they are. In this blog article, the rule of thirds will be featured throughout. Though I will be specifically discussing two other topics tonight, take a moment to look at the elements in the photos, and ask yourself why does this photo work. And like in my previous post, I'm going to throw in a mistake filled shot or so.

The first topic I'm going to talk about is the use of leading lines in composition, but before doing so, I'm going to very briefly discuss what are known as the elements of art, of which leading lines is a branch of one of the main elements that have been the foundation of art for thousands of years. The other elements, I will discuss more in depth in future lessons. There are seven widely accepted elements. 1. Form is the element that gives what in photography is a two dimensional media, a convincing sense of being a three dimensionality. 2. Shape, which can easily be confused with form, and while they can be 2d or 3d. Think of a pyramid, the shape of a pyramid is a basic triangle. All of the the elements of art work together, so if you take the triangle, and add a third line, with shading you in essence have both shape (the triangle), being expanded on to add form. 3. Color may seem the easiest element to grasp, and in some ways I would say it is, but their is more to it then just the simplistic red, yellow, green, etc. That I'll get into later. 4. Texture is another easy concept, yet like color has more elements to it. Texture refers to surface structure which is three dimensional, and in regard to art, especially two dimensional varieties of art, such as painting and photography make it not so easy as just thinking in terms of rough, smooth, etc. The illusion of texture can be easily shown in two dimensional art like photography, the key element is using light, yet another topic for another date. 5. Space is an element of art that refers to the area in and around the objects in an imagine. It can be positive such as the man in the photo/painting, or negative which would include things like the sky, an open field which basically leaves a field of air surrounding the subject, the air of course being negative space. 6. Value is an element of art that is most closely related to color, and specifically brightness and darkness. In a later lesson I'll discuss what is referred to high key and low key images. Like all the previous elements, this is important in traditional media art like painting, as well as photography. 7. Line is the seventh element and the one we are going to focus on this evening. Line is what makes the outlines of the other elements of art such as shape and form. Lines can be horizontal, diagonal, vertical, and an absolute endless possibility of lines that move in any way the human mind can think up. Line and specifically the direction of a particular line has been shown to have a psychological effect, that can influence our immediate reaction it, even if we aren't able to detect it right away. Color is another element of art that has been studied and shown to have similar effects. I will be discussing both, in a future blog, for two reasons. The first is, well simply put, it's fascinating which always works for me, but the second and more important reason is that being aware that elements of art such as color, line, form, etc, can illicit a mental response, you can become aware of this as a photographer, and utilize this phenomenon to see the potential for a possible capture that will garner a strong response.

Lines, can be solid, broken, and there is also what is called implied lines which can be really effective as use of a leading line. I'll discuss this in just a second, first let's define what a leading line in photography is, and why, especially in regard to landscape photography, it can be a very useful tool for making a difference in an ok capture and one that draws the viewers eyes through the image. The above photo was captured late Summer at Meramec Spring Park, A leading line, is a line in a photo or painting that invites your eye to follow it. Often this can lead to a subject in the background, but sometimes, like in the photo above, there is no distinct subject. Here I found the scene pleasing, and have used leading lines to do two things. The first, is to draw the viewers eyes from the foreground of the image all the way to the back edge of the photo. That second thing I've done here by using leading lines in my composition is, I've given this two dimensional image the illusion that there is tangable depth to it. In effect, it looks three dimensional. As a photographer always be on the lookout for opportunities such as this. In this case, I have actually framed the capture to include not one, but 4 leading lines (the split rail fence, sidewalk, and both sides of the spring branch), all of which lead to the back of the photo. Be on the lookout for these types of situations, but also be aware that you also need to carefully plan the photo. A haphazardly composed shot could have very easily failed. What I did here that causes this capture to work, is I chose one specific leading line to be the primary focus, in this case the split rail fence, and the other three leading lines act as a support to what I chose as my primary line. When shooting pictures be aware that leading lines are everywhere, and always take a moment to see if there might be a leading line you can use to strengthen your composition. I've had the privilege of shooting the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on a few occasions, and have watched many, many times where people have went out of their way to move because a dead bristle cone pine limb was in the way. In truth, in cases like that, a limb could act as a leading line, or as a framing device which could very easily make for a capture that sets it apart from the typical snapshot. Imagine the fence in the above photo ended middle way through the photo instead of going all the way to the background of the photo. This would be what is known as an implied line. Even though the line would be shortened, the effect would be the same. Our eyes, have a tendency to fill in the missing portion of the line, and the result is the same; the viewer's eyes continue on through the photo, now following a line that isn't there, but that our minds none-the-less fill in sub-consciously. Another thing to be conscious of in regard to use of leading lines, is that despite the fact they have the ability to lead a viewers eye through an entire photo, they can also very easily lead a viewers eyes right out of a photo as well. Below is an example of a poorly composed photo that does just that.

While not the worst case of wrecking a photo by a poor leading line, this photo missed the mark. My aim here had been to get the stone fence in the photo while still showing part of the lake. In this photo, you see the lake, but your eye wants to follow the rock fence which is running diagonally toward the right edge of the frame. In essence it is running the viewers eyes right out of the entire photo. It's very easy to accidentally do this. I immediately knew that I didn't like this and recomposed. In the photo below, you'll see that the eye no longer wants to run out of the frame.

Here I have omitted the lake, but the line following the rock fence no longer leads your eye out of the photo, but effectively leads you through the photo. This is a roughly c-shaped composition, which is yet another area of composition I'll discuss later. If you'll notice the lines of the fence and road disappear, yet again the line is implied where it ends, and our minds fill in the blanks and we can imagine the fence continuing beyond the bend. I had wanted to capture both the beautiful lake and fence the day I took this, but do to the fact this was a busy road, and with no shoulder I wasn't able to safely take the time to find a composition the utilized both the fence as a leading line and the beautiful lake beside it. Though not my finest work, the two above photos do show that even when things aren't working out like you planned, you can always improvise, and use a set back as a means of searching out a photo even if it wasn't the one you had originally planned.

Now we'll move to tonight's second compositional technique, the frame within a frame. The frame within a frame technique is another technique, that has the ability to move the viewers eyes, to the photographer's chosen subject. In the photo above, taken in October of 2008, I saw the boaters trolling slowly. It's very easy to focus on the subject immediately, but you can often find yourself rewarded by taking just a second to

 quickly scan for anything that could make the photo stronger. A photo of the boat itself, with the colorful trees in the background would actually make a decent photo, but by taking a second to notice how the two foreground trees left an opening, makes an otherwise decent photo, even stronger. When shooting outdoors, I make it a habit to look for tree limbs that in essence act as a natural frame for my subject. Besides trees however, frames can be found anywhere, and made out of anything. In the black in white photo of the swan which I took at the train tracks at the St. Louis zoo, I saw the swan swimming across the bridge. In this case, I took a second to frame my shoot, and waited for the swan to swim into the triangular opening. In many cases, it's after I've shot a location a few times that I start looking for a different point of view, or way to capture something that I've shot before. It's not uncommon to get an odd look or two which I did from several people taking photos of Alley Mill below as I kept backing up into the trees shown below. Another simple framing device, is the use of the limb in the cemetery photo, which also helps lead the views eyes back down toward the heavier mist over the grave stones.

 Now to put it all together. Both leading lines and using natural framing to compose a shot can be powerful and it isn't uncommon to find the chance to use both together. The very first photo taken from behind the spring at Meramec Spring Park, you can two horseshoe shaped leading lines that lead toward the background. The way the trees in the middle ground grow over curved in an almost arch shaped form, further focuses the eye to continue on down the stream. The photo below also uses framing and leading lines together, though this time more pronounced. This photo was captured near sunrise at Bull Shoals Dam in Arkansas. The pavilion acted as a giant window, while the dam leads your eye into the photo. And the mist adds a wonderful feel. That will be saved for a blog on how weather conditions can effect a photo.

So far we've covered the rule of thirds, leading lines, and using improvisational framing by being observant. These aren't difficult concepts, yet many people don't even take a moment to think about actually composing a shot. After several trips to the National Parks of the South West, and countless trips through Missouri's parks, I see more people that jump out of their cars at an over look, take one photo straight ahead, one to the right, and one to the left, and it's as though in a matter of seconds they feel they've gotten what they came for. You're missing something special if a couple shots at the edge of the Grand Canyon, a shot or two from the valley floor of Zion, a click out the car window of balanced rock or skyline arch counts as the been there done there experience. I don't know if that many other photographers do this, but I will often put the camera down for a bit, sit on a quiet rock and just take in the experience. As much as anyone, I'm always in search of the ever elusive perfect picture, but also know that if my eye is to the viewfinder none stop, that I too could be missing out on just the joy of experiencing something beautiful.Thanks for reading and happy shooting.
© Tommy Burgess

Capturing Better Photos Today!! (Composition Part One)

I decided to start my first post on capturing better photos with what is perhaps my favorite aspect of photography, and truthfully one of my favorite aspects of art in general, and that is the topic of composition. Many instructors write a loose definition of composition as how the photographer frames the subject matter in a photograph. I like to think of it very much like the way you would think of composition in writing. Like composing a story with words, composition in photography is the way one goes about lining up the elements in a photograph to tell a story. While photography like all arts is subjective, I'd argue that there is no set method for telling a story in the best possible manner 100% of the time, but when you look at the body of work from accomplished photographers, one thing comes out time and time again, their is something about the way they shoot that makes you want to look at the photo of photos.

Before going into the ways to use compositional elements to improve your captures I'm just going to touch quickly on a few topics on the camera body itself. First, I would like to explain that the feeling that great photos can only be taken with expensive professional cameras isn't correct. In a world where technology doubles every few years, even the most basic digital camera's of today are highly complex machines, and the truth is, very few people actually get the most out of their camera, assuming because it didn't cost much, it isn't capable of doing much more then pointing at an object and just snapping a picture. The area I want to discuss is a function found on nearly every camera, and most cell phone cameras as well. Most cameras today are fixed with a half shutter mechanism. In basic terms to utilize this function which is an automatic feature, when you line up a picture instead of roughly pushing down hard on the shutter release button, instead push evenly until you reach somewhere around the middle point of a full release. Many people find this frustrating and continue to push harder until the camera takes the picture. By using this function on you're camera, you are all ready on your way to better photos and here is why. The half shutter mechanism is used to LOCK onto the subject you wish to take a picture of. Even the most basic cameras are now equipped with very good light sensors, which in theory is what a camera takes a picture of. The camera is actually in the simplest form just making an imagine of reflected light, and not the actual image itself. The camera despite how far we've come in regard to technology still has a couple flaws, and one is that no matter how good your camera is, it doesn't know what it's taking a photo of. The half shutter in essence gives the camera a moment to lock onto the light source, and in doing so it is able to determine edge surfaces. so that is why by simply giving your camera a second or two to recognize where the edges of all the elements in a picture are, the result will be sharper images. And sharper images are always better images. Every camera is different, but the one thing they all have in common is that they will give you a visual clue such as a red light, others will give a audio clue such as a beep indicating that it's locked on to the scene, and some cameras offer both a visual and audio clue. If you are not aware of this feature, and as a owners manual loather myself, I can understand why some people don't read about this feature, you will assume the camera is just doing some kind of double clutch click thing. And if you continue to try to force the shutter release button down, the person always wins the battle, but what inevitable happens is, in a best case scenario, you get a photo with soft edge lines which are usually usable for home album purposes, but often you'll get photos that are extremely soft and aren't really usable. By being aware of this function and taking a moment to allow the camera to lock down, you will take better photos. That's the first simple method for taking better photos, and will be the last camera tech point of the night.

Returning to composition as a means for better photos we're going to discuss a few rules. Ok, don't click off the page, I don't much like rules either. We'll make a compromise and call them suggestions. The first suggestion I would like to address is the suggestion to to listen to mom. Ok this is just in one area, mom's usually know more then we realize. What I'm referring to here is, and dads, and grandparents are just as guilty of this, is that in general from an early age, we're conditioned to develop bad habits in regard to photography. I don't know how many times I've heard parents moving their kids around, because they were off center. I'm a quiet person in general, but many times when shooting at popular locations, there have been several times where I've wanted to offer a suggestion to these parents realizing they were actually going out of their way to take a photo that wasn't going to have much impact. In general centered photos are the most bland, yet it is something most of us have been taught from a young age is the key to a good photo. Psychologists have done experiments into why the human mind in general finds symmetrical centered photos. There is more to this then just a single centered subject, studies have also shown we react more to objects in odd numbers and for some reason we like items grouped in threes above all else. An example would be a building picture that had two pine trees on one side. If you had the same scene with two pines on one side of the building and a group of three pines on one side and none on the other, even if the scene was exactly the same minus the trees, if polled most people are going to prefer the one that seems unbalanced to the symmetrical one with the two trees on each side. In life symmetry is good, in photography, generally in photography nothing can kill the feel of a photo faster then a photo that is too balanced. Below is an example of a blah photo, where I have purposely focused the fisherman in such a way to illustrate this concept.

With the fisherman in the exact middle of the photo, you see a symmetrical photo. Now compare it to the one below and see if you don't find that the second photo keeps your attention longer. In the first photo you see the fisherman and water fall, but nothing about the photo draws your eye to want to more then briefly scan the image,

Now I've changed my point of view here. Here are a few reasons this photo makes for a better imagine then the first. Firstly, by moving in closer, I've reduced some distracting elements on the left side. I was going to call it clutter, but you can take captures of beautiful vistas, and have distracting elements that are beautiful in their own right, but often when you try to include to much in a photo even if it's a beautiful scene, you can easily distract the views. Secondly, you'll notice I've moved the fisherman slightly left of center. Now imagine him placed directly in the center and you can easily imagine the image being balanced, but losing impact. Now I'll ask you to look at all the photos I've featured here, except the one, I've deemed the bad one and see if you see a common bond between all of them. I've also added a photo of my son below that I've been having some painting fun with that illustrates the same concept.

Have you found a common bond between all the photos, but the designated "bad" one. Here we will go back to a set of rules, though because they can be and in many occasions should be overlooked, we'll continue to call them suggestions. Photo instructors refer to this as the rule of thirds, for the rest of is we'll call them the suggestion of thirds. The rule of thirds, is a simplified version of an ancient Greek concept known as the golden mean. Mathematicians in Greece's golden era devised a method for painting that was revised from the conquering Romans throughout history. The Golden Mean is a complex thing to describe and luckily we won't need to delve into it right now, because over time, it has been simplified into a concept that even the smallest of children can comprehend. So instead of getting out the scientific calculators, and slide rules, and much of the Golden Mean almost resembles origami, we'll omit any complex paper folding. Instead, imagine the simple tic-tack-toe diagram and mentally impose it over the pictures. Now imagine the four intersections that occur on each picture. So what we get is nine boxes with lines intersecting in the upper right and left corners, and the lower right corners. Now imagine drawing a circle where the lines intersect. What we have basically done in come up with 4 corners that whenever I'm working with someone new to photography I refer to as hot spots. Now we'll go through each of the photos. The first photo of the silhouetted cow is roughly in the left top hot spot. You don't have to be on the spot exactly, these are just guide lines. In the second photo of Elephant Rock State Park in the evening, the photo is meant to focus on the entire forrest, but by simply aiming and shooting you wind up with a photo that doesn't keep attention on the picture. To remedy this, I have chosen the boulder located in what would be the right lower inter section or our tic-tack-toe grid to ANCHOR the viewers eyes in the photo. What happens here is that the viewers, eye will focus on the rock in the hot spot and the continue to look deeper into the photo. In art terms whether painting, drawing, or photography, the goal is to "draw the viewer through the scene". Without an anchor point or defined subject even if it's a secondary part of the overall photo, what happens is the viewers eyes quickly scan the photo but with nothing to lock on to quickly lose interest in the photo. The photo of the boaters is very similar to that of elephant rocks. Since this is a composition lesson, this photo tells a story. In this case the fisherman are just part of the over-all scene, and despite being an important part, the photo is less about the men themselves as the hobby in which they are participating. By this I mean this isn't a portrait of Al and Fred, actually I have no idea their real names, but a story of two men out in a brisk misty morning pursuing a hobby. The sample photos, we've already covered so I'll move onto the photo of my son, which as you can see has been tweaked just a tad. A tad is a lot right??? In this photo you'll see that my son Robert's face isn't exactly on the upper right hand hot spot, but a little higher, none-the-less it is close enough to still be compelling. I've also included this because of the low view point. Choice of viewpoint in a photo is another compositional device that can greatly change the feel of a capture. That's why it's important to move around, bend down at times, climb up a hill to look down. I'll explore this more in a future article on composition, as well as some other concepts. For the purpose of this post, I've used all horizontal format photos. You'll often hear horizontal photos referred to as landscape configurations, and verticals as portrait mode shots. I prefer horizontal and vertical, because by moving the camera around you can often make a better landscape photo in what is loosely referred to as portrait mode and sometimes a portrait looks better in a horizontal format. So to begin to start taking better photos today get in the habit of metally superimposing the tick-tack-toe grid when you look through your view finder or lcd screen. Also the same rule applies when shooting vertical format. That is why I explain to newer photographers that whenever you approach a scene you automatically have 8 possible ways of framing a shot. Some you can see right away will not work, others will. In this digital age, you don't have to develop everything so take shots from all the angles, then compare them, and in no time you'll find yourself becoming more comfortable with the rule of thirds and before you know it all the things we learned while we were young about how things need to be dead center for a good photo will be easier to forget about. From time to time however, everyone needs to take a step back, because it's very easy to fall back into the snap shot days of old. There is so much more to discuss concerning composition and I'm looking forward to sharing, until then, with the simple concepts offered above, anyone wishing to immediately improve the photos they are taking can do so starting today. Until next time. Happy shooting.
© Tommy Burgess

God's Gift; An Atypical Path to Photography

With this being my first article on tips for better photography, I feel it's probably prudent to give a little background on myself. This I hope will  give the reader some idea of my philosophies in regard to photography and art in general. For many photographers and artists, it's not uncommon for them to realize from a young age, that whatever discipline they have chosen, that whatever the choice, this is something they want to pursue. The route for me was not like this at all. For me, it was a life changing event that gradually lead me down this path. For purposes of this article, I'll keep it relatively short (Novella style lol), but a severe car accident in November 1999, followed by a lengthy stay in the ICU, lead to the decision to have part of my left leg amputated which set me on the course to where I finally arrived, though at the time I didn't know it.

With so much time on my hands, and butt you might say, I had to find some kind of hobbies to pass the time, and to be completely truthful, to also use as a coping mechanism with this major turning point in my life. Having learned some basic guitar, that was what I turned to first. In the process, I not only learned how to write music on the guitar, but taught myself with the help of instruction books how to play piano, and keys. Along the way I was able to record a couple albums, and even had a few songs that received some radio air play. Now granted the songs were usually played late at night in radio stations, most in other states, who were probably just using my songs for filler material, but it's still something I'm proud of. To this day, I still consider myself a musician, and take pride in not only having had a couple songs played on radio, but that between a music project done with my friend Tracy Perren, then later with a singer friend named Dan Isom, with  whom I worked with over the course of 5 years, I had over 100,000 tracked downloads. The actual number of downloads is impossible to know because not every website that offered our music kept track of the download count. Currently I still play, I just purchased a multi-track recorder and am enjoying the time spent with him showing him some of the ropes of studio set-ups, mixing, mastering, and layering harmonies. He is kind enough to let the old man play a bit now and again as well.

 This foray into music as a means of expression lead me to wonder if perhaps I could express myself in a visual sense. Once again, I didn't jump immediately into photographer, but opted to try my hand at painting. I found myself enjoying yet a new way of expressing myself. It was during this time that I quickly tired of trying to paint from imagination and purchased a little digital camera to take reference photos to paint later. The one thing I quickly learned however was that photography is an art in it's own right. I remember a vivid argument in an art appreciation class whether or not photography should be considered a fine art or not because it involves the use of a machine. At the time I believed it was, after using the small camera for reference photos, and quickly finding that by simply pointing and shooting at a scene and it rarely ever coming back looking correct, that I believed even more strongly that it most certainly is a fine art. It was either a skill that had to be mastered, or I must have bought a faulty camera. Wanting to explore more, I bought my first DSLR. Any doubts I had earlier that the 1st camera was faulty quickly disappeared whenever I had the same problems with the new expensive camera.

So without a clear path, and no plan what-so-ever, I had unwittingly started down the path of becoming a photographer. Friends and family who know me best, are very aware that I'm the type of person that if I come upon a metaphorical swimming pool, even if I don't know how to do more than dog paddle, I feel compelled to jump into the deepest end of the pool first. This is probably not the best method of learning something new and totally goes against the adage that one has to learn to crawl before they can walk, but I've been fortunate enough to push through. I do find that this method, though probably not the best route, can be a wonderful learning experience. The first thing you learn is that, wow, maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew. That's usually about the point where I re-evaluate things and then decide to take a more pragmatic approach, with what I hope is a better appreciation for what happens when you get in over your head too quickly.

In a nut shell, that is the process that lead me to becoming a photographer. Having graduated with an undergrad in Psychology, and a Master's in Counseling, I had the chance to discuss a couple times in  classrooms full or future counselors and psychologists(and trust me, those are rooms filled with very opinionated people), a philosophy on my own life that shocked quit a few people. There came a day when I had one of those abstract thoughts I'm sure everyone has. At least I hope they do LOL, that if given the chance to get my leg back, but by doing so, I'd have to give up music, art and photography, that the price would be too high and I wouldn't do it. After my accident I decided wholeheartedly that I was going to appreciate each and every day. Though I've found later it's impossible to maintain this. Some days are the exact opposite, yet having thought on it long and hard, I've reached the conclusion it isn't natural to not ever get down. What I believe however, is that it's important to have bad days like that once in awhile, because it gives you a chance to reset, re-evaluate and recharge your batteries so to speak. The important thing is to realize not every day is going to feel like the best day of you're life, accept it, and then put it behind you so you can start anew thankful your alive.

I like to joke that my deep thoughts are right up there with the gems from Jack Handy, though as one can plainly see, I can get into a little more depth then does he lol. Though on the surface the self-disclosure may seem an odd way to start an article on preparation for upcoming photography lessons. Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness here. One thing I've learned over the last several years of shooting, is that no two people ever shoot the same scene in exactly the same way. Moods and personality always come out in photography. Another oddity I've found is that photography can also be used as a counter balance to ones mood or mind set. On several occasions I've had people email me or comment on one of the contest sites I enter about how tranquil and peaceful a scene I photographed is. Sometimes these photos come during times when I'm feeling down, and I see a peaceful scene and think that's how I wish I was thinking and shoot it. On a plus note, don't be surprised if in doing so, you find your mood slowly start changing. I don't know how many times, when I've drug myself out on a day I'm not feeling well, and can hardly think of anything but my "Major" problem of the moment, only to find that as the day progresses, that the dark world I started off into, upon closer inspection is full of beauty and God's wonders. So to any aspiring photographers who may be reading this, perhaps above all I'd recommend photography as a therapeutic mechanism. As a photographer who spends countless hours looking for the perfect shot, the one that will have a good chance at an award, awards are secondary. What I've tried to included in this article, is where my photography comes from, everyone has events in their own loves that will influence what the shoot and how they shoot. Not every moment is drama packed, nor need they be, but I think the photographer who takes just a second to evaluate themselves, will only find themselves taking better and better captures. And should they unfortunately be going through rough times, a little stress relief can really improve a day.

 Now that we've covered the basis of my journey to becoming a photographer, it's now time for any new aspiring photographer to start their own journey, and for the photographer with some experience, I feel it's always a good idea to step back from time to time and review the basics and evaluate the changes that occur in all of our lives daily. Now perhaps the most important questions of all, what can you as the reader hope to gain from my upcoming articles on photography, and what makes me qualified to instruct anyone in this area? Regarding the first question, I plan to and have the ability to point out and fix the bad habits we are all taught from a young age. That is unless we happen to have had professional photographers as parents growing up. My hope is to approach this in as reader friendly a forum as possible. Too often in my opinion, instructors are so caught up in their own hype, they speak in technical jargon way over the heads of the majority of the readers they are claiming to help. The technical aspects do need to be addressed, but it doesn't need to be painful, nor written in a manner that unless you are a rocket scientist or surgeon you can't understand it. The first few articles will be quit easy, and for the new photographer, they will take your shots from the typical snap shot, to captures that have a wow factor. And that will happen by making a few simple adjustments that I promise will be easy concepts to comprehend. As the lessons progress, I will introduce more advanced techniques, and yes more technology, but will do so in such a way that can be grasped, and if need be can be rehashed and I am always free to answer any questions by email should a concept seem just out of reach.

Now  to conclude, what are my qualifications to teach basic photography principles. I have worked on weddings, portraits such as senior photos and family portraits, and sell prints through stock photography agencies. I also enter photo contests often and have had success in contests with thousands of talented amature and professional photographers alike from all over the globe. I still find it some what bizarre since I never had a plan to become a photographer, but I have the privilege to speak with, and learn from on a daily and weekly basis from published photographers from all over. My book shelves have several books and magazines that feature photographers I've come to know, and who have taken their own valuable time to critique my photos and accept me as one of their peers, which in turn has made me a better photographer. Besides contest wins, in early 2008 I was contacted by Armenian environmentalist Ovsanna Hovsepyan who was organizing a special global multi-media art exhibit in the main gallery of The Armenian Center for Contemporary Art which ran from March 28 through April 14, and was offered the chance to represent the United States by exhibiting 5 photos. I consider myself as someone who is a protector of the environment, though not quit so radical, none-the-less I considered it a great honor that a visit to one of my online galleries offered me the chance to be featured in an actual art museum. At this point, I was still finding my legs as a photographer, and for something like that to come out of the blue, well to say the least , it is one of the top highlights of my life, even if as I said, I have a few disagreements with the purpose of the exhibit. As far as the politics of all that goes, I'll write a future article that will be sure to spark an opinion or two. All I ask is at that point, every voice should be heard, but that we all debate in a fashion that shows we have the ability to argue topics civilly. All this being said, I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, in the country, in the state. I too am always learning, and should I be fortunate enough to live to 90 or above, I hope I'm still learning then as well. Being fortunate enough to have friends who are top notch photographers, I will at times direct you to other photographers galleries. At the very least you will see work done in ways different than myself. I've found inspiration as a wonderful learning tool as well. There are so many disciplines of photography, and some are out of my comfort zone. If I find that I have a positive following on here, I also plan on asking a few photographer friends if they wouldn't mind being added to this forums author list, and should they find a spare minute wouldn't mind explaining a few of their own tricks that they could probably illustrate better than myself. I am also an avid reader and have countless books on any photography topic you can think of. If I feel a certain book on a topic would be helpful for anyone wishing to learn more on a specific aspect, I will offer a short review, the title, author and suggestions on where you may find the book. Finally, for those who believe they need an expensive camera to take excellent photos, that is a myth. I've actually seen on more then one occasion where someone has dished out thousands of dollars on a camera and later found themselves in shock when their pictures didn't immediately improve. Modern equipment is nice, but the key to good photography lies in the hands, and creativity of the photographer. To illustrate this, a few years back, a famed National Geographic photographer toured the country with nothing but a cell phone camera with the object to get one compelling photo a day for a year. A cell phone in the hands of a talented photographer who knows the components of what makes good capture, produced a very interesting book, whereas a 5,000 high end camera and the same project in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are doing, would have produced a book full of blah shots. Photography is such a wonderful hobby, and dare I say it, a fantastic stress relieving device, that it is my sincere hope that anyone even remotely interested in improving they're photography skills, give it a try and come along for the ride. Until next time thanks for reading and happy shooting.
© Tommy Burgess

The Next Generation; The Rebound of the Bald Eagle (Part II)

I left off with the first part of the series primarily explaining how the effects of the pesticide DDT and the shooting of wild eagles had them on a path to extirpation in the lower 48 states. This second section of the series will focus on the rebound of this beautiful and majestic bird. I've decided to use several captures of immature eagles because they are such an intricate part of the rebound. I am also including the website of a photographer friend of mine who is a real master of photographing birds of prey. In his gallery you will find his documentation of a mating pair of bald eagles in Florida. He has captures of them making the nest, the first appearance of the babies, and even a sense of drama, when the nest containing the babies fell. Though scary, the story has a happy ending, and I would recommend looking at his gallery. On a funny note he decided to dub the parent eagles Edith and Archie, and the two babies of course in typical bunker fashion couldn't have been named anything other than Gloria and Meathead. He is currently documenting Archie and Edith as they are making a new nest for a new set of babies.

Stepping away from the issues that put the eagle in danger of disappearing from the lower 48 states in the middle to later decades of the 20th century, I'm now going to focus on some general information on this beautiful species. When one thinks of bald eagles, most of us think of the typical image that has become a national symbol of our wonderful nation. That means a stark white head and tail feathers. With the exception of the bird on the ground in the lower left hand corner which is an older juvenile who is beginning to show the white coming out in his head and tail feathers, young bald eagles can be easy to misidentify. I enjoy watching people, especially families with young children when the get their first opportunity to see eagles in the wild. I don't know how many times however, I've heard a father tell his son, daughter or wife to look at the beautiful golden eagles. When you are up close, even to young birds, it's easy to tell by the size that they are much larger then hawks. Missouri does indeed get a handful of golden eagles that make the trek from Western states, however these usually concentrate on the lock and dams on the Mississippi, as well as a handful that Winter over at the Lake of the Ozarks. Even though golden eagles are occasionally seen in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation usually has less than 20 confirmed sightings, with the vast majority of calls being misidentified juvenile bald eagles.

It is usually somewhere between years 4 and 5 of a Young eagles life that they mature into the stark white head and tail feathers. The above photo is of a Young eagle, and it is easy to see the absence of the white on it's head and tail. Another thing not so noticeable is that mature bald eagles have bright yellow beaks and legs. Though you cannot see the eagles legs because it's tucked up under it's body, you can clearly see that while some yellow appears on this eagles beak, it isn't a bright solid shade. I always think of juvenile eagles as somewhat similar to the ugly duckling story. As you can see in all the able photos, young eagles have a molted coloring between shades of brown, black, and white. I describe them as looking similar to a dog with mange. Despite the fact at this stage in an eagles life, in my opinion beautiful is a stretch, though they certainly do grow into a majestic beauty. Another reason I enjoy photographing juvenile eagles, is that in many ways, they remind me a lot of adolescent children. Teenagers if you will. From a behavioral stand point, it's frowned upon to speak of animal behavior in human terms, however after countless hours of observing them, I find it hard not to. Like confused teens, it's common to see young eagles moving around in clicks, and in some cases you might even say gangs. You'll see eagles, even mature ones getting into squabbles, especially if food is involved, but this behavior seems even more prominent in groups of juvenile bald eagles.

I'll conclude tonight's post with a few interesting facts about the bald eagle. The top photo of the juvenile eagle flying to the ground is a photo I have entered into a couple photo contests before. There was actually 13 eagles in the immediate area, but I chose to focus on the one coming in for the landing. The very first comment I received on that capture was how the eagles looked like a pack of vultures. Though the lady didn't know it, she had made an observation that truly hit the nail on the head. Many people think of bald eagles along the lines of the true hunting raptor species such as falcons, owls, and hawks. Bald eagles are in fact a species of vulture. Though they do hunt, something I've had the privilege of getting on camera and will show at a later date, they are opportunist with no qualms about scavenging meals. In truth bald eagles have adapted to focus on the easiest method of  finding food. For some, it's hard to imagine putting the eagle into the same category with birds such as the turkey vulture, but despite their majestic appearance, they are indeed a species with more in common with the every day vulture than with the birds who survive by hunting alone. Another interesting fact about bald eagles is that they mate for life. Many eagles migrate in the Winter months to warmer climates, especially in areas where water sources are likely to remain locked in ice for the majority of Winter. Some life long mates make this migration together, while others may migrate to completely different areas of the country, often in different states, only to meet back up with each, in Spring to begin the process of mating and ensuring future generations. Courtship between bald eagles is unique. They will fly several thousands of feet into the air, lock talons and begin a free fall tumble towards the ground. Occasionally this even results in death with the courting pair falling all the way to the ground below. I've had the opportunity to witness on several occasions, high altitude flying, and am always amazed at how a pair of bald eagles in flight often maneuver in ways similar to jet fighter planes in the way they seem to simultaneously bank sharp in one direction or another. The photo below is of two eagles making contact in flight. Do to the high altitude, I've had to crop the scene which has resulted in a low resolution image but for the purpose of this post will hopefully give the reader an idea of the ways these magnificent birds often make contact with one another.

As far as parenting and nest building goes, both the male and female partake in building the nest, which in and of itself is an amazing task. Bald eagles make the largest nests of any bird in the world. Each nest is built by countless trips bringing sticks back to the nests. Some of the lager nests weigh over two tons. Over 4,000 pounds of nest built stick by stick. In genereal the mother spends the most time incubating the nest and early care with the male hunting or scavenging food to bring back to the nest, though the female will signal to the make and it isn't uncommon for the female to hunt while the male watches over the yound chicks.
Both Parents stay with the chicks until they are ready to fly, usually around four months or so. And then a yearly cycle begins again. In the wild bald eagles usually live 30-35 years, though they can supass 50 in captivity. As mentioned earlier, to get a good example of the life of a mating pair of eagles and their chicks, a visit to Hal Bambrick's gallery is a real treat. The web address is: http://www.betterphoto.com/Premium/Default.aspx?id=213365&mp=V2

Since I spend so much time pursuing eagles, I will be doing more future articles. I have yet to touch on how through the efforts of the St. Louis Zoo, The Missouri Department of Conservation and Diskerson Park Zoo in Spingfield along with others have helped to establish a healthy and always growing year round population of resident eagles. For Missouri this is important because young eagles have a tendency to stay close to the areas in which they were born, so as more and more chicks are reared, Missouris resident eagle population will continue to grow. But that I'll leave for a future article. For now, Happy Holidays and New Year, and for my fellow photographers happy shooting.

© Tommy Burgess

Welcome

Welcome

After getting my feet wet with my previous blog on exploring the wonderful state of Missouri, I have decided to start a blog with a broader focus. Like my previous blog, the photography presented here will all be captures taken by myself with the exception of the background. or on an occasion here and there where I feel a photograph taken from a fellow photographer would better be suited to the topic at hand. All photographs are copyrighted, by either myself or any fellow photographers kind enough to allow me permission to use their work. The first few posts listed below, are a re-hash of articles posted on the old explore Missouri site. Though I have chosen to broaden the scope of this blog, the reader will find that I still will post often on areas, and topics in regard to Missouri, though I will no longer restrict myself solely to just these areas. I will also focus from time to time on photo lessons with illustrations that I hope will be helpful to everyday photographers who wish to improve on the quality of the photos they take on vacation, at home, and maybe even inspire some to branch out and explore areas of photography they may have never thought about trying before. I had thought about exploring the option of doing a couple of blogs simultaneously, but realized I don't have the time to focus on too many projects at once. My hope is that although broadly focused, that I will be able to keep topics organized enough, to keep this blog from becoming yet another random thought, hard to follow type format. As I mentioned before the first couple blogs are going to be older ones, all of which are focused on the diverse state of Missouri. This blog is meant as a sounding board, though as a working photographer, I will feature a couple original captures per article. Should anyone be interested in obtaining a print, or wish to inquire about other areas of photography, feel free to email me. I work with a couple of different stock photography agencies who sell prints, and should they not have the particular one you may be interested in, I have full resolution copies. I enjoy sharing my experiences, and hope that I will be able to offer the reader information on Missouri, and other beautiful areas all across our great country in an enjoyable way. And as I've said before, never feel shy about approaching me on a topic. In many cases it could very well be worth a blog topic, and at the very least I'll do my best to answer any question the reader or may have. Should I not know much about the topic, I am fortunate enough to be friends with several published photographers, who would more than likely have the answer to any question. This new start to a blog happens to fall a few days before Christmas, so I'd like to end with a sincere wish that everyone has a fantastic Holiday, and the very best in 2011

© Tommy Burgess

Getting it Right; The Rebound of America's Bald Eagles (Part I)

 

It was the first week of December, 1995 and I was enjoying an unseasonably warm day fishing on Benton Creek; a small tributary of the Meramec River. Having caught and released several trout already , the morning seemed perfect. What I didn't know however is, it wasn't a perfect day, or rather to be more accurate, at that point I had yet to ever experience a perfect day while out fishing on a trout stream. That all changed when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blur of a large bird fly past me to perch in a tree across the small stream. At first I didn't quit believe what I was seeing. Not more than 60 feet away from where I was wading in the small stream, a large mature bald eagle sat majestically perched. I'd read in magazines like The Missouri Conservationist about how many people made trips to the lock and dams along the Mississippi River to watch Wintering eagles in the state, but I'd never had the opportunity to ever see one in the wild before this day. I watched the beautiful bird with about the same type of fascination had it been a unicorn that had wondered to the stream for a drink. I stopped fishing to stare in awe of this beautiful creature. I had no camera, but can still vividly remember that one particular bird as if I had saw it yesterday, instead of 15 years ago now. Though the eagle flew away after about 5 minutes, I did see it one last time later in the day, though not from nearly as close as I had the first time. The odd thing about that day was, it was probably one of my best fishing days ever, though I rarely even think about the fishing itself. I caught and released several large trout that day, but it was the eagle that I made sure to tell everyone about in the weeks and months to come. Well considering I'm speaking about this eagle now, I guess you could even say years to come.

At that point, I didn't know that this wouldn't be the only time I would ever see an eagle in the wild. In fact, I had three other opportunities that Winter while out fishing the catch and release season at Meramec Spring Park, though each of these times it was a lone eagle riding thermals at high elevations.

It's the first week of December 2010 now, 15 years later, and I've just sifted through several files of captures I've taken for the select few to use in tonight's post. I'm not sure the exact number of photos I've taken of eagles, but I took a rough count last year and had over 1,100. I wish I could say they were all gems, but quite the contrary, the majority of them are not very good at all. From a photography standpoint, most photographers agree that birding, whether it be, trying to freeze a humming birds wings in motion as they sip nectar from a flower or feeder, to a cardinal flirting around from brush pile to brush pile just staying out of range to let you get a clear shot, almost as if they are playing a game, to the larger birds of prey, photographing birds in general can be a challenge.

For tonight's post however, photography will not be spoken about much. At least not the technical aspects of photography anyway. In the future, I'll be featuring many more posts, on eagles because I spend so much time pursing them with my camera. I haven't really been seriously concentrating on eagle photography for all that long, five years to be exact, but it wasn't until Spring of last year that I began to delete more than an out of focus shot here and there. Even now, there are photos that I will never delete, even though the quality may be poor. The first eagle I ever captured on camera was taken inside Montauk State Park. I hadn't even noticed it perched in the dead tree along the high bluff that you drive by when entering the park from Licking or Salem. Finally having a camera with a decent zoom range, though anyone who shoots wildlife would pretty much agree you can never have enough zoom range, I was able to get some shots of this lone eagle. Then I watched in fascination as a crow, dove out of the sky and proceeded to slam right into the large eagle. The crow made several more passes, each time making contact with the eagle. I had never seen anything like this before, but have had the opportunity to see this type of interaction between the two species numerous times since. The photos from that day in hindsight are not the highest quality, but to me it was a special moment, and because of that, I'd never consider deleting them.

For the rest of this post, I'm going to focus on the conversation side of things and discuss how such a magnificent creature that was in real danger of facing extirpation in the lower 48 states were nothing to change just a short time ago, is now making a rebound. There were two main factors that contributed to the decline of the bald eagle in the lower 48 states. The use of the pesticide DDT was the factor that effected the bird population the most. Though many realize that DDT was a problem, not as many people know that it wasn't that the DDT was deadly poison to the the adult birds, the DDT caused the shells of breeding birds to be so fragile that the simple weight of an adult eagle would crack the shells. The second  reason for the decline, and one I will definitely be focusing more on in the future due to the fact that it is still a problem, is eagles being shot and killed. Every year in Missouri, eagles are found that have been shot and killed, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that for every eagle found senselessly killed, that their is no doubt others that were never discovered. My brother-in-law, a Missouri conservation agent in Pulaski County, has had to deal with the problem of eagles being senselessly killed first hand when, two eagles were killed in the county he works, a few years ago.

The bald eagle has been rebounding well, and I will discuss many of the reasons why in my next post. I will also focus on what has been done to help the bald eagle in Missouri itself. Though tonight I've only discussed Missouri's Winter visitors, Missouri has bald eagles born that remain in the state year round. I will discuss how various zoos and organizations came together to make a viable population of bald eagles in Missouri a reality. And as always I will discuss my personal feelings on the direction this beautiful bird has taken, as well as share some spots where you should have a good chance of seeing these majestic birds yourself should you wish to. For anyone with the Winter blah's, I've found Eagles can make the Winter months seem a little less dreary. For now I will leave the information for the Missouri Conservation Department's Operation Game Thief hot line should anyone ever have the unfortunate experience of witnessing the illegal killing of an eagle, or any other illegally taken animal for that manner. You can remain anonymous and you may also ask if any reward is offered. The number is. 1-800-392-1111Until next time. Enjoy Missouri!

© Tommy Burgess

Leaving the Ozarks

Leaving the Ozarks: A Morning at Bollinger Mill/Burfordville Covered Bridge

For today's post I've decided to leave the hills of Missouri's historic Ozarks and focus on another equally beautiful spot in the South Eastern section of the state. I spend a lot of time shooting Missouri's old mills and each has it's own unique charm and Bollinger Mill is no exception. I also really enjoy how that one can get in a car and find a location within a few hours of home, yet feel as though you have travelled back in time. I've only had the privilege of shooting this location twice, but on my first visit, I found my mind wondering thinking back to how this special place must have once bustled with activity. It was easy to imagine mule drawn wagons and to Model T Fords crossing the bridge, where at the mill beside it, the grains provided by local farmers were being processed into flour and other goods to be distributed to the country stores of Yesteryear. For those old enough to remember the tv series The Waltons (though that was way before my time (cough, cough) ), the scene when you first arrive is very reminiscent of that era in America.

The stream that supplied the mill with power is the Whitewater River. Spending most of my time shooting Missouri mills in the Ozarks, I've grown accustomed to the spring feed rocky streams that were the power source of so many Ozark Mills. This being said, one of the first noticeable differences I found at this historic site compared to many of Missouri's Ozark mills was how different this stream is from those I am more used to seeing. Some of this could be do to the fact that the rich flat land of South Eastern Missouri was deforested for farming, and nowhere in that state has water been diverted more for irrigation than in this area of the state.

From a photographers point of view, Bollinger Mill and Burfordville historic sites a photographer's gold mine. Nowhere else in the state is it possible to capture a grist mill and covered bridge together. The current mill was the third built on this site dating back over a 200+ year span. The construction of the first mill under direction of George Frederick Bollinger began in 1800. Of particular interest to me was the demise of the second mill built on this location. The mill was burnt in 1861 by Union troops, as a means to disrupt food supplies reaching the Confederate army. After the Civil War, the Bollinger family sold the mill site to Solomon R. Burford, who completed the current four story structure which still stands today by 1867. As a state historic site, Bollinger Mill is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and offer demonstrations for visitors on the workings of the mill providing the water flow is enough to power the machines.

The adjacent covered bridge which had begun construction in 1858 before the start of the Civil War, was completed in 1868, according to some sources, while other's say it was already completed sometime before or during the years of the Civil War. It remains a Missouri mystery, and I for one always appreciate a good mystery. Regardless of the exact date of completion, Burfordville covered bridge is the oldest surviving covered bridge in the state of Missouri.For anyone looking for a trip back into the past, a stop at the Bollinger Mill/Burfordville Covered Bridge Historic Sites is a worthwhile stop. The parking lot is on the Western side of the front of the mill, and makes a wonderful place to catch a sunrise capture or two of the sun rising over the mill and bridge.

Up until 1906, the road on which the bridge stands that connected the towns of Burfordville, Jackson, and Cape Girardeau was a toll road. When one thinks of covered bridges, states like Pennsylvania and Ohio  is usually the states that come to most peoples minds. It's estimated that between 1820-1900 Missouri had built somewhere around 30. In 1967, Missouri had five remaining covered bridges, when legislation was passed to protect them. One of the 5 unfortunately was destroyed by flood. The three other remaining covered bridges in Missouri are,  Sandy Creek Covered Bridge in Jefferson County, Locust Creek Covered Bridge in Linn County and Union Covered Bridge in Monroe County.

For directions to the site and further information on Bollinger Mill and Burfordville Covered Bridge, contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at 573-243-4591. You can also read more about the site at the DNR's website at the following address:

http://mostateparks.com/bollinger/burfordvillebridge.htm

© Tommy Burgess