Capturing "Tiny Landscapes"
Recently I came across an interesting interview with Mike Moats, a photographer who is considered to be one of the best in macro photography. In his interview he talked about capturing "tiny landscapes" and I was intrigued. I thought I would share some of his tips that I think are great for Camera Walking.
Mike encourages people to find different things to shoot other than flowers and bugs.
I have always enjoyed taking close up photos, as many of you know from my many photos of flowers lately. I do love my Lensbaby Velvet 56 mm lens, but he got me thinking about the other possibilities for close up shots that I could take with my Lensbaby, such as looking for shapes, lines, and texture in nature.
You can also find unusual "tiny landscapes" along your walk, such as this rock sculpture I recently came across. Someone had taken special time to set this up and I liked it.
Another take away for me from his interview was his question: "Are you creating art or documenting a scene?"
Although the above photo is nice, I would consider it more "documentary" because of the background clutter. The photo below is the same flower cropped tighter and edited with a touch of Topaz Impressions. I think is is more interesting.
Using post processing software, such as Nik Software or TopazLabs, can help you achieve the artistic image you want. I start in Lightroom then go to Nik Color Efex Pro or to Topaz Impressions. Part of the fun for me is playing with software to create the vision I saw when I took the photo. As my friend and great photographer Rick Sammon says, "photography is 50% capturing the shot and 50% processing it."
Mike also stressed that knowing your environment and the changing lifecycles of nature is key. Once you have scoped out spots to capture intimate shots, go back and see what changes you will find as the nature runs its course.
Finding a good subject matter is more important than taking the photo, according to Mike. Good advice to keep in mind while you are out Camera Walking. If you haven't practiced taking "tiny landscapes" make it a goal on one of your next walks and see what you can capture. As always, we love to hear from you, so post on our Facebook page, or send us an email.
