Wonderful photo shoot in a woods - Jack Carlson Photography

Take a sunny-day stroll in a woods. With your camera.

The Documenting Nature class explored The Woods during the photo portion of Saturday’s class. In addition to providing advice, I used the camera I carry when I don’t want to carry a camera. The daylight and temperature could not have been better so we were able to shoot around f8 @ 125 with ISO 100-200.

Bridge side rails form frames.

Lighten your load and get to a wooded area as soon as weather and your schedule permit. One lens should do it.

I was stumped by how these holes were made.

My camera has a fixed 23mm APSC sensor (35mm equiv in full frame) so that should work for you, too. Look for small signs of spring or disruptions to the natural landscape. I’ve included a few shots from last Saturday. Remember to: See–Think–Act.

18mm, f8 @ 1/30, no filter

18mm, f8 @ 1/80 with 3-stop ND Grad

I received a 3-stop, soft-edge ND grad filter from the Camera Clubhouse cats. They decided to purchase from Breakthrough Photography since I mentioned that one of my students brought Breakthrough Filters to a recent class and, on inspection, the filters seemed to be very well made. An ND Grad filter starts dark and fades to clear so the placement of the dark portion is determined by both the bright part of the scene and the photographer. This filter made quite a difference in holding down the sun in the upper part of the image. Check out the “no-filter” image and ND Grad image. The difference will amaze you. Please note: I have no affiliation with Breakthrough Photography and chose them only based on student referral.

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