mark.hearns.ca

Still life photography was naturally the first type of photography that I tried to shoot. I figured it would be easy since the subject was inanimate and easy to control, but the fact that I only picked around ten photos out of my collection to display with this entry demonstrates that I am not always happy with my results. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like the other photos as well, but as far as a “best of” series is concerned the still life photography genre doesn’t make up a large percentage of my work. I think that one of the primary reasons why I am not as happy with my still life is because my photographic skill was still in its infancy at that point. Lighting was one of the most difficult areas where I struggled since I only had access to natural light and refused to use the pop up flash. I understand light better now and have access to proper lighting equipment, but prior to this I usually tried to work alongside natural light, which caused depth of field problems while inside and uneven detail. Oh, and lets not forget the degrading quality of higher ISO settings. Suffice to say my favourite still life examples are either when I was doing long exposure photography or in a well lit area, such as outside.

One other issue I have with the still life photography I have taken is that some of it is just not very interesting. There are a handful of shots that I have even thought about just deleting since they were so uninteresting. I think that’s the biggest challenge for still life, since you have to put life into unliving subjects. Photographing wildlife or people will always result in interesting scenarios as long as you’re in the right place at the right time, but how often can a book or a basket of fruit or a flower honestly be interesting? I think that this is the reason why I haven’t really shot much still life after the first year or two with my camera. I think going forward that it’s important for me to revisit still life as a genre; my greater experience, skill and access to better equipment will enable me to be more creative with the photography.

I’ve so far covered cat, dog and even insect photography. This entry will be a collection of miscellaneous animal photography that I’ve taken. I actually haven’t taken as much animal photography as I’d like to take and this is something I hope to change for 2014. Most of these photos were shot at the Grindstone Marsh in Burlington, Ontario. It’s a nice place with a diverse set of fauna, but the animals are limited in size.

I have seen deer in the Royal Botanical Gardens and Grindstone Marsh, but it’ll be difficult for me to capture them on camera since I try to not use telephoto lenses when I shoot wildlife. I find that most people who go out to shoot wildlife tend to have the same type of lens, sit in the same spot and are therefore walking away with the same photos. I remember sitting in the snow for around an hour once. I wanted to take a photo of some Canadian Geese, but they didn’t like me getting too close to them. Patience, as always, won. The geese eventually became accustomed to me freezing in the snow beside them. I managed to take a shot of a goose about arm’s length away from me, with my macro lens of all things, and the sense of accomplishment no doubt felt greater than if I were sitting in a lawn chair with a telephoto lens. That’s how I like to shoot wildlife, but a deer is much more timid than a tempermental goose. We shall see if I will land a deer photo this year. I’ll hopefully succeed.