creative photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. wild ways...

24
Creative Photography © Paul Barclay

Upload: others

Post on 25-Sep-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Creative

Photography

© Paul Barclay

Page 2: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Spending time with

nature improves

wellbeing

Spending time outdoors,

amongst nature, makes

people feel better about

their lives.

Wild Ways Well gets people

suffering from, or at risk of,

poor mental health out into

the greenspaces of

Cumbernauld.

Whilst out amongst the

trees, parks and reserves

participants get a chance to

slow down and relax and

enjoy being in the company

of other like-minded people.

We’ll also spend time trying

out a variety of

environmental and

conservation related

activities designed to fit in

with the internationally

recognised Five Ways to

Wellbeing mental health

framework.

Wild Ways Well and the Five Ways to Wellbeing

Page 3: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Mental health

Photography is one of the most powerful and ubiquitous artforms on the planets. We are bombarded with photographs everyday, in shopfronts, magazines, newspapers, billboards, leaflets, flyers… and of course online where every news report, social media post or creative website about knitting is full of photographs. Usually of cats.

Good photographers talk of ‘being in the zone’ or being totally present in the moment when taking photographs. Forget about your troubles, even if only for a few moments, let go of your fears and concentrate on tuning in all of your senses, and combining them all to capture an image and an emotion in a fleeting moment.

Photography allows us to be creative and to share how we feel with others without necessarily having to speak. Expressing ourselves through art in this way has been shown to be beneficial for a number of mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

Most people will have access to some form of camera and with no costs attached to taking and sharing photos there really is no excuse not to just get out and get snapping!

While everyone will have their own styles and their own favourite ways of taking photographs there are lots of little hints and tips we can all follow that have been tried and tested by other photographers over the years. These won’t instantly turn our snaps into masterpieces but they might help us stand out from the crowd.

Getting our eye in and sharing our photos is a great way to get involved with nature and a great way to start a conversation about your favourite places or species. Taking a photograph does no harm to nature but the right photograph in the right place can do a lot of good. Generally photography has a light, low impact touch on the environment, but there are rules and even laws you should follow.

Remember to always be respectful of the places and lifeforms you are photographing. Don’t damage the landscape, don’t pick an orchid just to get it in a better light and don’t harass any animals which are trying to get about their lives—if you feel like your presence is disturbing an animal or changing it’s behaviour back away.

Above all have fun!

Page 4: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

The Rule of Thirds

One of the most basic photography techniques everyone can quickly and easily

learn to improve their images is the Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is a guideline which applies to the process of creating visual

images—whether these be photographs, paintings, films or even sometimes

buildings and sculptures.

The rule has been used by artists throughout history though it was first named by

John Thomas Smith, an English painter, in 1797.

To use the Rule of Thirds try dividing your photo frame into an imaginary grid (as

shown above), some cameras will even do this for you.

If you place the most important or striking parts of your image on the points

where these lines cross you may find the resulting photograph is more pleasing to

the eye than simply placing the subject dead in the centre of the frame.

Image ©Katrina Martin

Page 5: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Above—Following the Rule of Thirds

Below—ignoring the Rule of Thirds

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 6: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

What’s the point?

Many modern cameras will have a zoom (and if they don’t you can use the manual zoom—walk closer!).

When considering what zoom level to use think about the why you’re taking the photo. Are you trying to

show how the subject fits into the landscape? Or are you trying to get a detailed portrait?

If in doubt it’s often a good idea

to choose a strong focal point,

get in close to the subject and

try to fill the whole frame with

interest.

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 7: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

© Paul Barclay

Page 8: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Landscape or portrait?

There are two main ways to frame your photo, Landscape, where the long edge of

the photograph is on the horizontal and Portrait, where the long edge is on the

vertical.

Landscape photos like the one above are usually the most appropriate for viewing

on computer screens as they can be made to fill the whole screen.

Another interesting technique to bring photos to life is to use the ‘empty space’ in

your frame to give the subject room to ’breathe’. In the above photo it almost looks

like the bird has space to fly off to the right of the frame.

© Paul Barclay

Page 9: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Portraits like this can

get us in close and can

feel more intimate. © Paul Barclay

Page 10: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Keep it simple

Often the most successful photographs are the ones with the fewest elements

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 11: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

© Paul Barclay

Page 12: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Think about the whole frame when composing your photograph. It’s easy to get

distracted by your subject and forget about what else is going on, especially around

the frame edges. This is the time to look out for thumbs and fingers creeping into

the frame or unwanted elements like brightly coloured litter.

Frame edges clear

Frame edges cluttered

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 13: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Get in close. Particularly with smaller subjects, it is often a good idea to get in as

close as you can. Try getting down to their level and photographing them from a

different angle

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 14: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Look out for clusters and

repeating patterns, they can

be more effective than lone

elements © Paul Barclay

Page 15: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Change your angle. Try to look at

things in a new way. Get down

really low or climb up higher. The

world looks more interesting

when not viewed from a ‘normal’

human angle

© Paul Barclay

Page 16: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Look them in the eye. By

focussing on a subjects eyes you

can immediately establish an

emotional connection

© Paul Barclay

Page 17: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Break the rules! All photography rules are there to be broken, find your own way

and capture your own vision.

© Paul Barclay

© Paul Barclay

Page 18: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Wildlife Photography and the Law

While the vast majority of your photography will be perfectly innocent and legal there are

certain circumstances where you have to take account of the law.

Generally photography is permitted anywhere in the UK. The only exceptions to this are

places where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g. individuals’ private gar-

dens or inside their homes or places of work); within enclosed areas of land which issue

tickets for entry and which have prominent published signage prohibiting photographs

(usually on the back of your ticket); and specially prohibited sensitive areas such as some

military or critical infrastructure installations.

While you can legally photograph anywhere else it is often wise to think about whether you

should. If someone objects to you photographing them or to being on their land with your

camera it is wise to just stop. Also consider common sense issues like not photographing

children without consulting their parents, or taking photographs in areas that might be

dangerous or cause fear or alarm to the public.

There are also some restrictions to the types of photography you can do around wildlife.

While most of these restrictions are not aimed directly at photographers they will affect the

types of shot you can take.

There are various laws which protect wildlife, the most famous being the 1981 Wildlife and

Countryside Act. There are several others which deal with individual species or habitats but

all have similar provisions. Under these acts, in Scotland, it is a crime to recklessly injure, kill

or disturb many species. It is also a crime to recklessly destroy, damage or disturb their

homes or feeding grounds. Note the word ‘recklessly’ - you don’t have to know you are

committing an offence in order to be guilty of it.

Other animals and plants have even stronger protection—it is YOUR responsibility as a pho-

tographer to know this and to act accordingly. It is unwise and potentially illegal to ever

approach the nest site of a bird (particularly raptors), to trample over a badger sett or to

camp out with your camera beside an otter holt or kingfisher perch.

Many photography guides will advocate ‘gardening’ when taking photographs of plants—

i.e. removing distracting vegetation from around the subject or even picking the subject and

moving it to a ‘better’ spot. While some light gardening is usually ok—e.g. picking grass or

daisies or moving a few leaves or twigs—you should be very careful when doing this. Pick-

ing or disturbing some plants is illegal and it is YOUR responsibility to know which. A good

general rule is to never pick a plant or flower if it is the only one, or one of only a few, you

can see—but if in doubt leave it well alone and take your photo from a respectful distance

without causing any damage.

Another good rule of thumb is simply to ‘do no harm’. Don’t damage anything or disturb

any creature. If you become aware that your presence is disturbing the animal you are try-

ing to photograph then back away and try again another time.

Page 19: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

© Paul Barclay

Page 20: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Wild Ways Well

Photography fits well within the Five Ways to Wellbeing advocated by the major

Mental Health Charities and the NHS.

You can take nature photos, especially shots of macro subjects, birds, plants and

insects in your own back garden but to find new vistas, new species and new

inspirations you’ll have to Be Active. Not just walking and exploring your local area,

but bending over, getting down low, changing your eye level to match your subject.

There are always new photography techniques to learn and new camera angles to

try so you’ll Keep Learning, look online or down your local library and find the best

nature photographs you can and learn from them, what makes them so unique?

How can you do something similar? In order to get great wildlife photos you’ll also

have to learn about the behaviour of the animals or plants you want to

photograph. What are their daily habits, where are you likely to find them, and

when?

To be a great photographer you have to Take Notice, it’s often the little tiny things

that make the difference between a decent snapshot and a brilliant piece of art.

Look all around the frame, check the background and foreground, note the light

levels and the areas of shade, match colours—or even go black and white and learn

to balance all the shades of grey.

By getting out and taking photos you’ll get a chance to Connect. Truly great

photographs always inspire a sense of connection between the photographer, the

subject and the people who later view it. Catching an animal in the eye always

helps but there are other ways too. You can also connect with the vast numbers of

other photographers out there, perhaps by joining your local camera club, or an

online group or by sharing your photos.

You can Give by sharing your photos with others, allowing them to see what you

have seen. Perhaps some people will never have experienced the species or

behaviour you photograph. You can contribute to science by making wildlife

records with your photos, you can contribute to conservation by highlighting

threatened species or places. Many conservation organisations would also love

your help as a volunteer photographer.

Page 21: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Photo Challenges

Try these challenges as a group or an individual

Photograph

Something happy

Time

Something alive

Something that has never lived

Something blue

The sky—but without pointing

the camera up

A home

A shadow

Heat

Cold

Something soft

Something old

Something from below

A faceless portrait

The past

The future

Movement

The wind

Something stripy

Something that shouldn’t be

there

The same subject from close up

and far away

Mark out a particular place and

take a photograph in exactly the

same spot every day for a year

Play with light. Try taking similar

photographs under different

lighting conditions.

Something with no colour

Something unexpected

A small part of a large object

The weather

An ant’s eye view

The most important thing in your

local area

Darkness

A single leaf

A whole tree

A star

Five different flowers in one area

Something smooth

Something textured

Something you made

Page 22: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Links

Wild Ways Well

cumbernauldlivinglandscape.org.uk/project/wild-ways-well

The Conservation Volunteers

www.tcv.org.uk/scotland

The Scottish Wildlife Trust

scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk

The Five Ways to Wellbeing

www.gov.uk/government/publications/five-ways-to-mental-

wellbeing

SamH

www.samh.org.uk

Our Natural Health Service

www.nature.scot/professional-advice/contributing-healthier-

scotland/our-natural-health-service

NHS Mental Health

www.healthscotland.scot/health-topics/mental-health-and-wellbeing

The Samaritans

www.samaritans.org call 116 123 email [email protected]

Photographers and mental health

fragmentary.org

Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival

www.mhfestival.com

Page 23: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

There are so many possible inspirations for natural photography that it would be

impossible to list more than a few. Use these as a starting point to explore what

others have done and to inspire your own creativity.

Katrina Martin

www.katrinamartinphotography.co.uk

Andy Goldsworthy

www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk

Pete Cairns

www.petercairnsphotography.com

Colin Prior

colinprior.co.uk

Laurie Campbell

www.lauriecampbell.com

Nature photography

www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy.html

www.instagram.com/explore/tags/nature/?hl=en

www.flickr.com/photos/tags/nature

iso.500px.com/tag/nature-photography

Wildlife photo ID help

iSpot www.ispotnature.org

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Camera Club

ckps.org.uk

The Law

www.nature.scot/professional-advice/safeguarding-protected-areas-and-species/

protected-species/legal-framework/wildlife-and-countryside-act-1981

Page 24: Creative Photography€¦ · amongst nature, makes people feel better about their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into the

Wild Ways Well is a partnership between The Conservation Volunteers and The

Scottish Wildlife Trust and was developed through the Cumbernauld Living

Landscape.

It’s all about getting people outdoors, interacting with natural green spaces and

spending time discovering the nature and wildlife that is all around us.

As people spend more of their school, work and leisure time indoors they are

becoming increasingly disconnected from nature and caught up with all the stresses

of everyday life.

Every year 1 in 4 people in Scotland will suffer a mental health problem.

There is more and more evidence that regular contact with the outdoors, nature

and greenspaces is vital for our physical and mental health.

cumbernauldlivinglandscape.org.uk/project/wild-ways-well

For information contact [email protected]

Project supporters