Photographers are often outdoor enthusiasts, and there are a slew of shooters out there that have made successful livings out of their passion for the outdoors and what exists in the natural world. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to work in this area over the past several years, and I’m never more excited to shoot than when I get to explore some place new or revisit areas that have offered shooters great images in the past.

A great way for photographers to access this world is though hiking the literally thousands of trails created and maintained by various entities throughout the world. Here are just a few tips for photographers to consider when preparing for and going on day or overnight hikes:

1. The trail is there for a reason: sniff it out! Whether you know it or not, this is why you are at the trailhead anyways. Historically, areas set aside in part for your hiking pleasure (i.e. national and state parks, historical sites, conservation areas, etc.) exist because they mean something to us! Many trail hikes in these areas are even named in such a way to represent their historical significance. Consider this part of the experience! A photograph tells a story, and a story that accompanies the hike you are on can often inspire a variety of images. If you’re at a national or state park, pick up some literature at the HQ or access points, and you never know what you may find out that you didn’t read on the Internet before you got there!

2. Save your back (as much as possible). It’s hard enough as an outdoor enthusiast to not take all the cool camping and hiking gear you were so stoked to buy for a specific excursion, but it’s even harder to combine that with being a photographer, right? I’m as guilty as the next photographer that thinks he/she needs all the gear that one could possibly fit inside a camera backpack, but after several years of doing so, as well as hearing from other outdoor photographers, it doesn’t necessarily make for the most comfortable, and subsequently enjoyable, hike out there. Again, for some, it’s hard to pair down what you actually need for a hike, but consider this: justify every piece of gear you carry with you. Simple as that. Have a vision in mind, and work toward it to determine your gear needs. If you need three speedlights on a hike (which I often take for lighting plants; more on this later), then take them. But if you are not sure about taking that honking 400mm f/2.8, then it might not be the best thing to haul that extra 13lbs around.

3. Do your research, and plan your trip/shoot. This suggestion goes along with #1. It pays to go in to a situation and have been somewhat versed in what to expect. The Internet is a great resource for this type of information. At any time, you can access all of the state and national park services’ Web sites (here’s the link for the National Park Service). Also, take a look at your social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and find those organizations/individuals that are in “the know.” I frequently find interesting links to information about parks, hiking gear, and histories from folks like @thehikingcenter, @trailgirl, and @nature_org. There are literally tons of sources out there, and I would encourage starting with these folks to find others! Lastly, talk to your local experts. I’m a huge fan of the local outdoor shop, and some of the best tips, suggestions, places to find, etc., can be found through talking with those that live and breathe it everyday!

4. Consider taking a tripod. And extra cards. And a filter or two. And… Alright, why’s the gear tip so buried in this post. If you’ve read this far, then you probably know why, but gear is essential for photographers on a day or overnight hike. While you do want to minimize to literally save your back later, think about the images you looking to get. More than likely, a sturdy, light tripod would work to your advantage (obviously, carbon fiber sticks are the lightest). If you’re hiking anywhere near water, this piece of equipment is essential! Extra memory cards (or rolls of film for that matter) are light, and really, who doesn’t need more of these. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Take several! I’ll be the first to tell you that filters are not my thing, but they do come in handy when in the mountains and around water. Consider taking a neutral density or graduated filter along with you, just in case you see the need. There are other essentials, but many of them, you will have to determine for yourself. Keep in mind your chiropractic visits in the future while you decide…check out ultra-light bags as well, such as Andy Biggs’s (@andybiggs) Gura Gear Kiboko. It weighs under 4 lbs!

5. Don’t just think about “the shot.” Not that “the shot” isn’t worth taking, but like I said before, a trail has a story written all over it. You might be hiking a certain way through the mountains to get that awesome shot of the Tetons and the Snake River that Ansel Adams made so famous, but don’t forget about what you see along the way. It’s your turn to tell the story of the land, so don’t forget all the smaller things that work their way up to the grand finale!

6. Build endurance before you make the hike. Don’t go in to a hike, particularly if it involves elevation changes and/or climbing, without having prepared physically for the terrain. I see this affecting more photographers at workshops more than anything, and not anticipating a bit of a workout while hiking can change your attitude about the entire day, and it may keep you from getting where you want to be. Take it easy when you need to though, and be safe. Also, make sure you are carrying in enough water. Dehydration is a wicked, wicked thing to chance!

7. Think about your feet. Besides the water recommendation, this may be the most important thing you consider when getting ready for the hike! We can talk about jackets, breathable shirts, climbing pants, hats and sunglasses all day long, but in the end, you are going to be on your feet. Our doggies take a beating, so it pays in spades to dedicate a portion of any hiking gear budget to a nice pair of terrain-worthy boots/sandals and socks. I’m a fan of Keen sandals, because I like my toes to be guarded (although Chaco’s are great as well), and they make a nice boot as well. My favorite pair of socks at the moment is a pair of Smartwool hiking performance socks (@smartwooligans), and I was just turned on to Falke socks today through a tweet from @codevader.

8. Be considerate, and DON’T LITTER! The heading should say it all, but unfortunately, you will often come across someone else’s garbage. Don’t let the next person come along to yours. Clean up, pack out what you packed in. Remember, you’re not the only one (human or otherwise) on the trail. The trails stay enjoyable because of all the people that care about them, and it’s all of our jobs to make sure it stays that way!

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it’s a start! Leave any other tips in the comments below for future readers! The outdoor community is definitely unique in their connectedness, so it works to our advantage to pass on resources and information to others!

I could be writing today about a certain announcement that a certain computer manufacturing company made yesterday about a certain device that will relatively change your life. But I’m not. Actually, there are so many blogs and news articles out there about Apple’s new iPad, that it would be pointless to the “I-wish-it-had-this-and-that” discussion that for one, I couldn’t get in to for lack of knowledge about the different kinds of processors they could put in the darn thing! Seriously though, if you are wanting to read information about the iPad and determine for YOURSELF if you need it or not, just go to the manufacturer’s Web site (you know you’re going to do it anyways).

So, for today: In LIGHT (ha) of several e-mails and comments about such imagery, I want to share a few paintings. Light paintings, that is. This is a fairly worn out subject online as well, but each quality light painting you see is something special. Glowingly, these types of images provide a unique aesthetic quality to a subject that is yes, unnatural, but also surprisingly appropriate. Remember, the name of the game is storytelling, and painting affords a photographer the ability to tell that story in a new way. Aaaand, the fun thing about painting is that the act of doing such exists outside the realm of Photoshop (not that there’s anything wrong with Photoshop, but this technique definitely pre-dates digital technology).

I learned how to paint from Wyman Meinzer, a good friend and mentor, who through his career as a photographer has managed to document the State of Texas to an extent and with such quality that is evident of his passion for telling the state’s story through images. As a matter of fact, Wyman supplied the paint job for two of these images (top image, and the boulders above)!

Painting is actually a fairly simple process, but the technique can be problematic depending on what you are painting. I have included images of structures (generally what you see painted), and if you are just getting in to painting, I would suggest starting with something large, like this set of silos I shot in West Texas. All you need is a tripod and a source of light. In the case of all of the images above, the painting was created using a normal spotlight with an incandescent light bulb. Using a long shutter speed, upwards of several minutes for each of these (notice the “star trails”), the light is applied much like paint is applied to a wall (just make sure the light source doesn’t creep in to the frame). Think how light naturally appears, and experiment, that’s the advice I was given!

Painting is just as easily achieved with the use of flash technology as well, whether it be studio-grade strobes or speedlights. Light, and how it functions, is what’s important here. The two images above and below this paragraph were taken with the use of one or two speedlights, gelled for color effect. I like shooting this way because the ambient is much more controllable, allowing for that sky to really saturate! I still use a tripod in this case, as well as a cable release (use this all the time when painting).

It’s really nice to be able to envision what you want the painting to look like before you get on location, but as we all know as photographers, this doesn’t always work out, nor would you want to limit any serendipitous ideas to be acted on once you are in “shooting mode.” This particular one came out of looking at the faint light my car lights cast on this abandoned house as I pulled up to it. Those lights were powerful enough for the time I wanted to spend with the ambient, so one speedlight gelled amber did the job.

Until next time, experiment! Learn a new way to tell a story!

Like a lot of photographers out there, I’m addicted to big light! For most of the portrait work I do, the sun is just not big enough, relatively speaking. I like explaining this to students. The sun is a huge star, not the largest in the solar system, but no lightweight either. However, since it is over 90 million miles from Earth at any given time our orbit, it’s safe to say that the sun acts like a bare strobe combined with a small reflector, which doesn’t throw off the most flattering light in many cases.

Enter the softbox. Ah, yes, that wonderful enclosure of diffusion, that for many photographers starting out is the end-all-be-all of light modifiers. Most softboxes force light to pass through a number of diffuse materials that essentially take a good deal of the initial kick out of the light, and just like clouds do for sunlight, spread the light out. In essence, this creates a larger light source, characterized by softer shadows and more wrapping transitions in to those shadows. Of course, the softbox allows the photographer to more accurately “place” the light in a more focused direction than a shoot-through umbrella (not that there’s anything wrong with this modifier. My go to for a long time was a 50-inch shoot-through).

I mentioned in a post a while back that I would offer some how-to on the above author shot of Stayton Bonner, a colleague and one heckuva writer! This is another benefit of big light: just move that source in close and expose for it. The larger the light source, the more wrapping the light, and moving it in closer or further away dictates its size relative to your subject. This particular shot was made with a 48-inch rectangle softbox placed just outside the frame, camera right. Notice that nice wrap of light around Stayton’s face.

The same feel can be found in this particular photograph of a wedding couple I photographed recently. Big light is a quick, and often easy, source of illumination to go to, and in this case, it was such a source while still providing that quality look to the portrait. This was shot with an Elinchrom 39-inch Rotalux Octa softbox, a modifier that I’ve been shooting with more lately. Of course, that super modernistic, ultra trendy, silver chair they’re sitting on adds to the aesthetic as well!

If you’re looking to getting in to artificial lighting, or looking to diversify your lighting with natural light, look for those cases where a big light source can be used. I’ll post more on natural sources of big light later. However, if you are getting in to the game of strobe lighting, a softbox or large shoot-through umbrella should be something you consider having in your toolbox!

This post should really be titled “Jerod Foster’s opinionated list of what photography students need, besides a camera and MacBook Pro.” At the risk of being too forward, this is a small compilation of what I believe takes a photography student from someone that is just simply attending class to becoming an individual storyteller. I have taught photography now for a little over two years at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and over the course of those semesters, I’ve noticed certain characteristics in students that make them more successful in and outside the classroom. I like to think of this list as a work in progress, and by no means should you take this to be THE exhaustive list on being an “A” student (apply this as a metaphor if you are not in school). However, it’s a good head start in choosing photography as a career path.

*Disclaimer: I left out passion and vision for reason. Developmentally, these are what we as photographers strive for, and at the same time, we inherently use to communicate with our cameras. Without these, the following list would be truly difficult to adhere to, however, the following five items may spark or reinvigorate one’s own residing passion for the craft!

1. Willingness to learn

“Be open-minded” is a cliche phrase, but it’s true! Not one successful photographer has ever developed his/her style without experimentation and creative exercise. Many did not have the time or resources students have in an institutional classroom, however, they developed their style and craft as a result of eagerness and focus. If you are a student passionate about this line of work, take full advantage of where you are, ask all the questions you want answers to, pick your instructor’s brain about communicating with the tool we call a camera, and take notes (mentally or physically). All the while, adapt this knowledge to your style, your vision, and be ready to learn more. It does not end when you have a diploma or certificate in hand.

2. An eye for others

“Who is your favorite photographer.” I ask this question of all my students at some point in their first semester as a photo/visual communication majors. I’m often answered with steady stares, but no answers. This is not all that surprising if you think about it. For one thing, it’s not as if photographers’ bylines are printed in large, bold font next to their photographs in the standard magazine. And in today’s fast-paced media world, who really has time to search for the byline in the first place, right? I’ll tell you who: other photographers. Students have the best opportunity to become totally infatuated with their field of study, and really delve deep in to classic works such as those of Adams, Bresson, and Newman (my favorite portrait maker), to more contemporary images made by folks like McNally, Cowart, and Orwig. Just as important as studying work of “big names,” is the effort put in to studying, critiquing, and appreciating peers’ images, and local/regional photographers, as well as those photographers make “paradigm shifting” changes in the convergence of stills and video, such as LaForet. Take the time to visit a different photographer’s portfolio everyday. You never know what you will find or what will inspire you!

3. A good ear (for the classroom and for others)

I’ve heard countless times the significance of the eye in photography, and by all means, there would be no images without a strong vision! I’ve also heard successful lifelong photographers speak of having a good ear. If you were to sit down with an editorial photographer, an environmental portrait maker, or a photojournalist, listening to who they are photographing is just as important as the eye is in telling their story through images. I’d be willing to bet that even fashion photographers have a similar relationship with listening. Be able to communicate audibly with your subjects, not only visually, and your images take on a new life: their life meshed with your vision. Of course, listening in the classroom would be helpful as well.

4. A story

No matter what type of photography you study or pursue, in school or otherwise, you are communicating something. Whatever the format of the story, whether it is extremely tactile such as the victims of the devastating destruction in Haiti’s capitol, or abstract art, it is crucial to the message of the image, and the core of why we become photographers. Study other stories, learn to look for them, and listen and watch for their appearance. The human race has always been made up of storytellers. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at ancient art and writing, and then listen to your grandmother “spin those yarns.” You’ll notice the stories, and as photographers, it’s our job to learn how to further communicate their message in to visuals!

5. Influence

Where would we be without it? I once heard that creativity is half stolen. Whether this is true or not, I do believe that nothing begets nothing, and influence develops into much of those characteristics I’ve already outlined. Find a mentor, it doesn’t even necessarily have to be a photographer, that inspires you to pick your camera up every day. Find multiple mentors for that matter. You will always be influenced by something, no matter how much of a rogue photographer you might think you are. Here’s the catch: influence is not a bad thing. It’s something to take into account each time you make a new photograph, and then you massage that influence to fit your own style and voice as a visual storyteller.

It’s always good to have a brother that has gold, curly hair, like any surfer would want to have as he runs down a beach with board in hand… Anyways, Seth was subject to a quick test run for the new Elinchrom Ranger Quadra’s I procured yesterday. These little (and I mean little) lights can punch out some light! I’ll post a more thorough review later, after I’ve had more than a few shoots with them (just finished with a shoot where I used them with some bigger units, and they came in dang handy), but right now, they are looking like the ideal lighting setup for 80% of my work! If you’re in to portability, then this is it!

These are just a couple test/fun shots we played with yesterday. The top photograph was with a 39″ Elinchrom Rotalux Octa camera left with a shoot-thru umbrella back and camera right. The bottom photograph is the Rotalux Octa actually behind Seth, and the umbrella turned the other way around, camera left. Color in Lightroom 2 (Lightroom 3 beta is cool, but there are a couple export issues I want to conquer first before running a lot of photos through).

More to come!

It’s not like me to take photographs of a cemetery (maybe it’s just getting close to Halloween, no offense). I feel that cemeteries are shot quite enough (mostly in black in white for that matter), however, when a particular cemetery is old enough to sport some pretty interesting heritage, it’s always worth looking in to!

One of the locations that we took our past Junction Intersession photography students was to the Waresville Cemetery in Utopia, Texas (Uvalde County). The founder of the town that the cemetery is named after, Captain William Ware, was a Texas revolutionary, and shortly after he built his house in the area, he passed away. He became the first resident of the cemetery in 1853! That’s an old cemetery in Texas! The cemetery has since grown, but the original allocation of plots is still surrounded by a rock fence, indicative of rock fences of the area.

Like I said, it’s not necessarily my style to photograph cemeteries, but I do have some neat images from years past of this particular one, and this year, I decided to isolate head stones with lights. It’s not common you get a chance to do this, and it was almost like photographing figurative portraits, of course, of the head stones.

I especially like the newer head stones that include a photograph of those that have passed away. This tells so much about this particular person, and if you think, this is what will be viewed as ancient one of these days!

More to come!

For all of you that feel that staring at your computer feels like you are staring at a wall of tools, and you don’t know what you need to fix the problem, here you go! This is my first free desktop wallpaper, and all you have to do is drag the image on to your computer or right click to save it. The dimensions are 1440X960, so it should fit a good deal of the 15″ laptops out there!

Often times, photographers get wound up in all of the gear that’s available to them (I’ll admin, I’m one of them, and if you say you’re not, you’re partly not telling the truth), that they forget exactly what they do. Sure, some lenses are made quite a bit better than others, such as the screwdrivers on the bottom shelf, but remember, what’s more important is what the different types of lenses do, not necessarily which one’s better!

More to come…

I was poking around on David duChemin’s blog, The PixelatedImage, and ran up on his post about the weather outside. This reminded me of our most recent weekend in Lubbock when tons of fog set in for a few days (quite unique in West Texas). For you photogs, this is not a time to set around much! When you are given fog, you, you…well, there’s no adage here to relate. Basically, the point it is: fog makes things look interesting, presents them in totally different light, and adds an almost captivating experience for the viewer.

My favorite fog image is the one above. I like to call this “Tractor Graveyard.” From the first time I saw this small field of dilapidating machines, I knew this place as a cemetery. However, it wasn’t until it was smothered in fog did it FEEL like a tractor graveyard!

More on fog and water later!

I have become a jewelry photographer here of late. From previous posts, you’d probably think I don’t photograph too much product work, however, this work is just as enjoyable, and honestly, when you have this much control over your subject, you tend to be fairly creative compared to some shoots with people…some.

I recently photographed senior rings for the Texas Tech Alumni Association. They told me I had a good bit of rein on how they look, just that they needed something fresh. Of course, you have to show how cool the rings are as well, and these are beautiful rings! What to do, what to do? Find a bit of black felt that you buy for a previous shoot, and create some big edgy light (big for the rings that is). It’s not every day you get to turn product photography into macro photography, letting the lack of depth of field you get when you throw on a macro lens or extension tubes play as much a great aesthetic component of the shot as it is in photographing flowers.

The idea behind the shots was to really highlight the individual parts that make up the attractiveness of the rings, and shooting with extension tubes allows you to jump right on top of the raised ridges and stones. Extension tubes are very handy pieces of equipment to throw in your camera bag, allowing you to switch a medium to telephoto lens to a macro-ready lens in no time. Plus, they are relatively inexpensive compared to a nice macro lens, and yet, as far as glass goes, you don’t sacrifice any quality because there is no glass inside the tubes. Extension tubes are not, however, to be confused with teleconverters, which allow you to multiply the focal length of a lens. Extension tubes allow you to focus closer, much closer, but not multiply focal length. Search B&H Photo or Adorama for extension tubes that might fit your rig.

The lighting for the shots was fairly simple. I didn’t need much space, so I just set everything up in the office on an antique card table (never seen a card table quite like it). You can see from the rugged setup shot that the light was pretty diffused from the two Westcott diffusers. The umbrella camera right serves as a bounce for the diffused light to throw some fill on the shadow side of the ring. This aspect was later assisted with adding a regular white piece of paper folded vertically in half, acting as a very small bookend, placed on the shadow/back side of the rings, just of a little more fill. This is the best part of shooting product like this. You have more control to get the light just right! You don’t always have this much time to experiment, but it is a nice opportunity to also learn from your lighting technique for future shoots when you don’t have as much time.

I have another post coming about photographing jewelry soon, one that combines creativity and systematic approach! More to come…

Excuse the grammar above…

I have stayed pretty busy here lately with several projects, but no matter how busy it gets, I do my best to find time (found usually early in the mornings when I wake up) to do a little reading on the blogosphere for information pertaining to, challenging, encouraging, and/or making fun of this industry we call photography!

I am a big fan of blogs, and I really appreciate those folks that can write with applicability and wit. The problem is, there is so many stinking blogs out there, which ones are the best for this, and which one is the best for that, and who do I go to learn this technique, and who is the expert on marketing my brand new photo calendar I decided to put together on MPIX, etc…? This issue is probably the upside to the problem itself. There are many great people (not all photographers) providing great, useful material in their blogs.

I recommend finding blogs that indeed provide some sort of utility to you, whether it be through learning technique, reading industry news, discussing the philosophy of the art and/or business of photography, or the many other aspects of your profession or hobby that might attract you to the blogs. To throw some out there, I’ve provided five blogs that I could not start my day without reading (or at least seeing what the post title is, ha):

1. Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider: www.scottkelby.com I ran into a guy the other day that is a fairly frequent hobbyist shooter who stays up-to-date with specific technologies, i.e. the Internet, and I was taken aback that he did not know who Scott Kelby was. Alas, I had to show him! Kelby is a super-mega resource for professionals and hobbyists alike. His blog, Photoshop Insider, covers an array of information pertaining to the industry, from product reviews, news, technique, etc., and the best thing about his blog is that you can expect at least one post a day, and if you see more than one a day, just know that it is a fairly uncommon event and he won’t keep hammering you with more posts than you can keep up with in one day! My favorite aspect of his blog is the Guest Blog Wednesday, a weekly installment in which he invites others from across the industry to compose a post from their perspective for Kelby’s readers.

Note that Kelby is not only a great blogger, but a great educator, hosting Kelby Training Online (check this out if you want instruction on just about anything photography and graphics), and he is the president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.

2. A Photo Editor: www.aphotoeditor.com Rob Haggart used to be the Director of Photography for Men’s Journal and Outside Magazine. Haggart now is the creator of one of the go-to blogs for inside perspective on the editorial/photojournalism/magazine/news industry. His blog brings a healthy dose of reporting on creativity, art, and business inside a significant communication tool that many take for granted. And he’s not afraid to say it either! Whether he is offering links to photography grants or providing information on Annie Leibovitz’s financial issues relating to the well-being of her image archive, A Photo Editor is a straight-to-the-point blog with positive and REAL intentions that many blogs lack due to public relations. Period.

3. Chase Jarvis: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/ If you are a photographer and you go to Chase Jarvis’s blog and you come away from it feeling like you didn’t get anything out of the experience, then you didn’t read a single word on his blog. Like Kelby, Jarvis covers everything, and in detail! Jarvis is a master of social media, creating viral content, and coming up with useful information for his blog at just the right time. He melds the art of photography with other artistic endeavors, such as his Songs for Eating and Drinking series, and he is forever eager to place personal work on the blog as well, something he stresses to be just as important as professional work. In my opinion, the video section of his blog is a huge component to the blog’s accessibility to photographers.

4. Joe McNally: www.joemcnally.com/blog Joe McNally is Superman with portraits that call for lighting, in whatever shape or form it comes in, whether it be artificial or ambient, small or big flash, and if you check his blog out, you’ll see what I’m saying. Joe is an inspiration to many photographers using artificial lighting, and his blog does not let you down in this regard. He knows that’s his specialty, and he is willing to share! He is an excellent writer to boot, placing you in his shoes while documenting his shoots (yes, still a hard working photog). He is among many Nikonians that share their experiences through their blogs, and he does a heckuva job telling the story. Again, if you want to know how to really make something work with lights, or see a dissection of a huge shoot, point your browser McNally’s way.

5. A Picture’s Worth: http://blog.photoshelter.com/corp/ I’m a Photoshelter user (but, I’m not being paid to put their blog on my list). I’m trying to become a bigger player in the Photoshelter user category. Basically, I’m learning my way around it, and the folks there do a great job in educating shooters like me on how to get the most out of it. Another thing they do exceptionally well, like A Photo Editor, is present great content for the business/industry side of photography. Their blog exudes their passion of helping photographers, from students to professionals, to get the most out of their worlds! The blog is rather random, in a newsy style, but in the short time that I have been reading it, I have learned a great deal about how I approach my photography, from shooting, being creative, to marketing and staying active in social media. The blog is usable AND useful, something you might not get everywhere.

This is just a short list of blogs that I tend to keep up with, but I definitely check these daily. There are many other great blogs, as I have mentioned before. Others that I keep track of include David Hobby’s Strobist, Photofocus, Rob Galbraith DPI and PixelatedImage. I’m always checking links from all of these blogs to others, and I look for a blog from any photographer that I come across, in person or on the Web. This is one of the greatest ways we share information in this industry!

What are some of your favorite PhotoBLOGS?