Some (N)Ice Winter Compositions

Saturday saw us in one of the local gorges looking for compositions in the snow again. In today's blog I go into a lot of detail concerning the thought processes and relevant settings behind each of the images and was pleasantly surprised just how much is going on - a lot of it is second nature. Hope you enjoy.

Beeches and Birches I || Olympus 18 mm, f/8, 1/60 s, ISO 800 

This was essentially an instinct shot - we were walking up the path above the gorge towards the Purschlinghaus - an excellent excursion on another occasion or at another time - and this scene manifested on our right just before a bridge. I made a note of it at the time because I thought it had potential and got this snapshot off. What caught my attention were the silver birch trunks, beech saplings and the stream behind - that you can't really see here. The tones were just so harmonious that they were screaming to be taken. Even though this was an instinct shot and the better composition had to be worked a little (see below), I'm quite happy with this as a stand alone image. Normally I try to stick to the camera's native ISO of 200, but I set it on auto today as it was quite overcast. One of the downsides to higher ISOs, particularly on smaller sensor cameras like mine, is that the image can become unappealingly noisy or grainy. I wasn't too concerned about this happening in the snow, however, as this would mask a lot of that problem.

There's a 2005 German folk song that goes something like this:

"Ob er aber über Oberammergau Oder aber über Unter-ammergau Oder aber überhaupt nicht kommt. Des ist net g'wiss"

- freely translated: "it's uncertain whether he'll come via Oberammergau or Unterammergau, or whether he'll come at all". It does loose something in translation though. What remains is the fact that Oberammergau and Unterammergau both have their own unique charm. Oberammergau, home to the world-famous Passion Play celebrating the end of the 17th century plague by retelling the story of the Passion of Christ, is quintessentially Bavarian but very touristic. It's less well known cousin, Unterammergau, is just 5 km down the road but still very much worth a visit, not least of which for a trip to the Schleifmühlklamm - the whetstone mill gorge. In other times the eponymous restaurant is also worth a visit, though for obvious reasons it's presently closed.

Smaller and less well known that, say, the Partnach or Höhlental gorges in nearby Garmisch, the Schleifmühlklamm is still very much worth a visit and has two or three waterfalls that are a photographer's delight. We'd recently equipped ourselves with ice spikes for our hiking boots and I was also keen to try out my newly acquired Vallarret photography gloves. They're regular winter gloves with removable tips for the index fingers and thumbs allowing camera operation in cold weather. Not cheap, but definitely effective.

Our new Grivel spikes || Olympus 

I want to spend a bit of time in today's post talking about photographic decisions and reasons for certain compositions. The above photo is a great place to start, even though it's pretty much a "B-roll" shot - it was a spontaneous candid and the camera was still in exposure bracketing mode. I knew wanted a slower shutter speed for this shot but also knew that I didn't have time to change to shutter priority mode, select a lower shutter speed, frame up and shoot, so it was literally a grab shot. I had three exposures, 2 EV apart. I could easily have chosen the first shot, though the movement wouldn't have been quite as pronounced. Instead I've gone for the slower, high exposure shot, giving motion blur as well as isolating the element that I want the viewer to be looking at - in this case the spikes. It helps that they're yellow and there are two pairs of them. Normally the eyes drift to light objects in a scene, but this is trumped by contrast. If the whole scene is bright, then the eyes drift to something else, in this case the bright spikes.

The sign at the bottom of the gorge stated explicitly no admittance due to the icy conditions, though the sign turned out to be a little superfluous in light of recent snowfalls. I would definitely not recommend hiking through the gorge in the winter without some sort of grip-enhancer however. There are places that would be impassable if it were icy.

The Stream || Olympus

As we were walking my eye was caught by this slash of stream showing through the snow. Because it had been very cold, ice had formed over parts of the water which had then become covered in snow. This short section of exposed stream caught my eye because it was discrete - closed at both ends - and isolated. The almost parallel lines of the banks, the fact that the whole section was open and not interrupted and the branches giving a bit of texture contrast meant that I couldn't pass this shot up. It's a hand-held HDR - otherwise the water would just have been a black gash or the snow a white gunk. It's got abstract quality, but the branches and leaves anchor it in reality.

Having been here a number of times over the years I knew which spots I wanted to visit in the gorge, but my eyes were open for new compositions as well. Winter changes the landscape as I've mentioned before. Things that work in the summer might not in the winter, messy scenes might suddenly work under a blanket of snow, some vantage points might not be accessible any more and, well, ICE!

Frozen Falls || Olympus 14 mm, f/16, 1/4 s, ISO 200

This is the first easily accessible waterfall - you have to branch right off the path to get to this point. I tried a couple of angles for this shot; there was a snow covered stone standing proud of the water that disturbed me and so I tried a lower angle, but that made the pool at the bottom too thin, so I went for the original composition and stamped the stone out in post. There are a couple of things I really like about this composition; the snow focusses the attention on the main actors, whereas in the summer there is a lot more rock competing for the eye. Also, the rock that does remain provides a nice set of lines pointing to the action. The green of the water and the orange-brown of the rock complement each other nicely and obviously I've chosen a longer exposure to emphasise the motion of the water. The low aperture was partly in order to achieve the desired shutter speed, partly to increase the depth of field. I focused on the rock next to the waterfall. Although it wouldn't ruin the shot if the foreground snowbank wasn't pin sharp, I wanted all the rock and the forest beyond to be in focus. The waterfall was as good as 1/3 of the way into the scene as I could find, plus at 14 mm AND m43, depth of field wasn't going to be an issue here.

Compositionally I could have cropped down to just the waterfall, but I wanted to include some of the environment. There's even a bit of sky at the top of the image, normally a no-no when photographing waterfalls, but a bit more white doesn't disturb the flow. I also tried an HDR version of this shot, but in the end was happy with the dynamic range I was able to winkle out of this single exposure.

Snow Family || Olympus 21 mm, f/8, 1/60 s, ISO1000

My daughter got bored waiting for me to take the previous shot and so made herself a little snowman family.

The next waterfall is tricky, particularly in the winter because the narrow path opposite traverses a steep slope. Finding a good vantage point for the waterfall where I could set up the tripod stably was not easy. Fortunately I wasn't disturbed as I was taking these shots - had I been so I would have had to lift up the tripod out of the way and then set up the shot again.

Upper Falls I: HDR || Olympus 14 mm, f/5.6, 2 s, ISO 200

Upper Falls II || Olympus 14 mm, f/7.1, 2 s, ISO 200

This one's tricky. I ended up taking two images, one landscape, which I cropped to 1:1 and made an HDR image of (top), the other a single exposure in portrait format. Both have things I like about them. In the top image, for example, I really like the rock face and the way the viewer's attention is drawn to the water coming out of a cave almost. In the second shot I like the addition of the green fir trees, the inclusion of the bridge and the symmetry afforded by the waterfall and the gap above it. However, the second image isn't sharp. The snow was soft and I think I must have disturbed the tripod a little.

The climb out of the gorge takes you up a steep path up a series of steps and bridges like the one above. In icy conditions, this would be the impossible bit without spikes. There's a hand rail for assurance for the most exposed parts, but in the snow this was more of a knee rail. The path then comes out on the forest track that doubles as a sledging run in the winter, a trail that we've used a couple of times and is great fun.

Leaving the Gorge || Olympus 17 mm, f/10, 1/13 s, ISO 1600

I've deliberately left this - and many of the other images here - high key, with most of the tones in the light half of the spectrum rather than spread over the whole tonal range from dark as this best reflects the bright scenery in the snow. I love the pale browns and greens with the frosted edges.

Four Friends || Olympus 66 mm, f/10, 1/80 s, ISO 1600

Another instinct shot. I was focussing on the fairy-tale hut in the winter forest and these four sledge enthusiasts passed through, so I grabbed this shot without really checking the camera settings. Not a great deal to say about it. The original was wider, affording a glimpse of the surrounding hilltops, but during processing I thought it might be more intimate to compact it down. Ideally I'd have included a bit more space below the bottom sledge, but, like I say, it was a grab-shot.

Following the path upwards, it was just a question of keeping the eyes open for further images.

Repetitions || Olympus 100 mm, f/4, 1/200 s, ISO 640

What struck me here was the series of repetitive elements. Tessellation is a powerful structural part of images, whether perfect as with man-made structures or natural with imperfections such as here. I had to get in close to isolate this set of branches, hence the focal length of 100 mm - the longest I can go with my 12-100 mm Zuiko lens.

Family Fun || Olympus 13 mm, f/7.1, 1/60 s, ISO 400

The backdrop is what caught my eye here, the various trees in the snow going from the firs behind the people through the brown birches and firs at the top. The family group added a human touch to an otherwise cold scene, accentuated by the bright colours of their clothes.

And then we had to turn home. I was itching to have a second go at the birches and beeches scene as I was sure that there was a strong composition to be had if only I could find the right angle. I wanted to catch the orange of the beech leaves as well as the stream behind, but from most angles I could either have one or the other. Getting closer to the trees let me have more view of the stream, but the thing that had grabbed my attention, insisting that I had a second go at the scene, was the combination of the leaves and the stream. It was a question of getting it all aligned perfectly for a really strong image.

Beeches and Birches II || Olympus 34 mm, f/16, 1/25 s, ISO 1600

This was the third attempt at the scene after I noticed an intrusive stump that you'll see to the left of the very first image. Here I've put more of the stream in the scene - this was what had caught my eye through the leaves due to the similarity in colour. Another consideration here was whether or not to include the base of the trees - something that I'd done in the first shot but not here as I'd gone closer to the trees. Hence the low aperture again. I was focussing on the trees and didn't want to lose depth of field at the log weir at the back. 

Beeches and Birches III || Olympus 35 mm, f/16, 1/30 s, ISO 1600

This was my final image though. Bottoms of trees included and a clear line of the stream leading through the image to the back. An added bonus is the holes in the snow showing the layers of snow nicely. The image has more space with the view through the trees, though perhaps with a bit too much negative space bottom left. What do you think?

I've surprised myself at how much thought goes into each photo in the field. Much of it has become second nature so I don't really think about it - it's almost instinct, but it's definitely interesting to go through the process and analyse what considerations were driving each individual shot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them and call back next time.

Out and About December

There is (or probably more accurately, was) a trope in exploration films of the last century that the natives would refuse to let themselves be photographed for fear of losing their essence, that the camera would magically capture their soul or 'essence' and leave them somehow diminished. As enlightened people we pooh-pooh such superstitious nonsense, especially the more scientifically minded of us (I have a PhD in biochemistry). But more recently I've come back to this question, from a slightly different perspective. Not that I'm advocating that capturing light reflected from a subject on a sensor in any way takes something away from the scene, but the idea of capturing the essence of something.

At The Castle Gate I || Olympus 61 mm f/6.3, 1/100 s, ISO 250 

It all boils down to the age-old question; what makes a good photo? Obviously there are n+1 answers to that question, where n = the number of photographers asked, and a lot will depend on the genre of photography in question. What makes a good portrait photo isn't the same as what makes a good product, macro, wildlife, abstract, street, sport or landscape photo. I'm not even sure that there's a single over-arching principle that captures what constitutes a good photo for a single one of these genres, but I think that the concept of capturing the essence of the subject comes close. 

The Setting Sun: Composite || Olympus 100 mm f/5.6, 1/320 s, ISO 200

The shot above is a three-shot composite. I hesitate to use the term HDR as it was more a case of exposure blending - manually combining the correct levels of exposure from the three otherwise identical photos instead of a computer (or camera) -generated HDR. Hand-held. The essence of the scene is the setting sun in the context of the ice-covered branches and wintery sky.

A portrait that tells you something about the subject's passions by capturing the person in their environment, a sports photo that conveys the tension of the game, a landscape photo that transports the viewer to the environment and scene in question will always be more compelling than a plain documentary shot. But how do you get such an image?

A Man and His Dog; Rule of Thirds || Olympus 100 mm f/7.1, 1/30 s, ISO 1600

This is where the standard rules of photography composition play a supporting role, but no more - which is all they should ever do (IMHO). The rule of thirds (above, horizontally and vertically), the use of leading lines to direct the viewer's gaze, focus point and depth of field, centred reflections are only ever aids to arriving at decent photos and never a guarantee. It's easy to take a photo that obeys all the rules, but taking a photo that captures the essence of the scene requires something more than following a list of step by step instructions. This is what separates the good from the great.

The Village Oak Tree || Olympus 31 mm f/5.6, 1/60 s, ISO 250

A great question that can help really capture a photo that tells a story is to ask yourself which aspect of the scene really caught your attention. Once that question has been answered, the next one is more technical; how can I take a photo of the scene that accentuates that aspect. Which focal length do I need to use to emphasise the aspect in question? What light do I need to light the scene? Exposure? Depth of field? Sometimes the response to all of these questions is instinctive and you just know as soon as you look at the scene what you need to do, but this instinct requires training. 

The American photographer Joshua Cripps sums up this process with the following analogy: "a good landscape photograph is like a caricature: it simplifies and exaggerates". I think that's a great concept to hold in mind as we as ourselves these questions. In the photo above I've done this partly in post-processing, emphasising the brightness of the snow on the branches. Trees with a low amount of snow on them like this are infinitely more interesting than without, or even with tons of snow on them. What would otherwise have essentially been a high contrast image without the snow - more or less black and light blue, gains an extra dimension.

Winter Evening Personified || Olympus 41 mm f/7.1, 1/80 s, ISO 1250

When looking through my photos from December so far, this was an concept that I had in mind. Which of these photos capture the essence of early winter, that transport the viewer to the scene at the time? Which of them leave the viewer feeling the cold on the end of their nose and tips of the ears? Or hearing the crunch of snow under their feet as they walk the local fields?

At The Castle Gate II || Olympus 23 mm f/7.1, 1/50 s, ISO 1600

My daughter gave me the idea for the shot above as she crouched close to the ground to catch the reflection of the gate in the frozen water. Never be too proud to steal a good idea, or to get your trousers grubby/wet for the cause!

Winter's Morning || Olympus 61 mm f/6.3, 1/100 s, ISO 250

Equally, it's always good to be able to go at the drop of the hat. This wintery sunrise shot was shot pretty much from the front doorstep

Landsberg Christmas Tree || Olympus 11 mm f/3.5, 1/13 s, ISO 250

I love shooting in the blue hour - the hour or so after (or before) the sun goes down. Whether in towns such as our local Landsberg (above) or out in nature catching the first stars whilst there's still enough light to illuminate the mountains. Any earlier for this scene and the Christmas lights would have been overwhelmed by the daylight, much later and there wouldn't have been enough light to see the buildings properly.

Between the Villages || Olympus 61 mm f/6.3, 1/100 s, ISO 250

Another venerable tree, a solitary beech in the fields between us and the next village. Again, the snow on the branches make an otherwise relatively dull subject a lot more interesting. The ploughed field and resulting lines help to add interest and geometry to the shot. In retrospect I should have got a little closer to the tree to get more separation from the tree behind it, but it's not disastrous.

Across the Fields || Olympus 61 mm f/6.3, 1/100 s, ISO 250

I really like winter skies, especially towards the ends of the day. There's often a lot of pink in the clouds even when sunset isn't imminent. This photo was taken just an hour after midday looking south.

A Glimpse of Sun || Olympus 31 mm f/20, 1/15 s, ISO 200

This is a good example of a caricature image. The things that caught my eye were the sunlight twinkling through the tree tops and the snow lying on the downward sloping branches. I deliberately stopped the aperture down to f/20 to achieve the little sunbursts. Combining low aperture with fragments of sun - whether it's just breaking over the horizon, peaking from behind a mountain or behind trees like here lets you get these classical star shapes. Some lenses will give more, others, such as the Olympus Zuiko 12-100 mm here, less, but they still give that classic sunburst. This is another manual exposure blend, one for the sky and one for the forest. The pile of dead wood in the foreground emphasises the snowy branches by repeating the pattern of lines.

Into the Woods || Olympus 18 mm f/8, 1/60 s, ISO 800

Classic leading lines here heading into some local woodland. Exposure bracketed / HDR in order not to overwhelm the shadows and highlights in the final image. The curve of the track really strengthens the image, as do the snowy branches left and right and the upright trunks of the firs at the back. The fact that there's some light at the centre illuminating the trees also helps; the eyes are always naturally attracted to the light. 

Unearthly Glow HDR || Olympus 15 mm f/8, 1/10 s, ISO 320

I really like this last shot. Walking back towards the house through my favourite local woods the low afternoon sun and slight mist caught my eye through the trees. Taking care to hide the direct sun behind a tree I shot an exposure bracket (again, +/- 2 EV), combined as an HDR image in ON1 Photo Raw. The snow on the ground and the high branches (you had to look back didn't you?) really set it off.

So, that's my December photography so far. How's yours going? What weather have you got? Are you able to get out still?

Tutorial: Exposure Bracketing and Photo Blending

One of the limitations of the digital camera vis a vis the human eye is it's inferior ability to discriminate between dark and light; the average human eye can distinguish approximately 2^20 - or approximately a 1,000,000x difference between darkest and lightest points. My high-end Olympus camera can only discriminate a 7,332x difference - 140-fold less. You've probably noticed when you take photos in high contrast light conditions such as a sunset or any scene where you have very bright parts and strong shadows that you either have a well exposed sky with extremely dark land or a well exposed land with a very pale sky. This lower discrimination power is why. But there are ways for overcoming this. In the days of analogue cameras, photographers would place a sheet of glass in front of the lens that was half smoky, half clear and use the smoky half to reduce the light in the sky. These days, most photographers achieve the same effect by taking multiple photos at different exposures (exposure bracketing) and then assemble them to a single image using software (photo blending). 

This is the final edit of one of my photos of the delightful Dolomitenhütte in the Lienzer Dolomiten that featured in my recent post Osttirol Revisited -  Part II.

The Dolomitenhütte at Sunset || Olympus 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 s, ISO 200

Exposure Bracketing

Some cameras, such as my Olympus OMD E-M1 Mk II, allow you to automatically take multiple exposures with varying levels of exposure compensation. One click of the button and the camera will rapidly take a series of three photos, one at the default setting, one with ¼ of the light ("2 stops under") and one with 4x the light ("2 stops over"; a "stop" in photographic terms is always half or double the light/exposure). If your camera doesn't offer this facility, you can almost certainly use exposure compensation (usually a dial labelled E.V. with a scale running from -3 to +3 in ⅓ steps). This is a magical dial that every photographer should be familiar with and using all the time, especially if you're shooting through an electronic viewfinder. Normally you need to do this with a tripod in order to be able to overlay the images 100%.

Exposure compensation scale (orange)

Photo Stacking/Blending

Most modern photo editing software allows you to compile multiple photos as layers and choose what parts of each layer should be visible in the final image. One prerequisite for the process is that the images be essentially compositionally identical, otherwise matching them up can be a pain. Like I say, normally this is assured by using a tripod to fix the camera in place, composing the photo carefully and then manually setting the focus. Normally. Unfortunately I tend to get a bit sloppy with these types of photo and shoot by hand and using auto-focus. 

The real art lies in blending the photos; defining which part of which photo is in the final image. Again, most modern programs offer the option of automated HDR image creation (HDR = high dynamic range, the art of compressing more levels of light into the final image than is possible with a single photo). Alternatively, the process can be done manually by opening multiple photos in layers. I prefer the latter process as it gives me a great deal more control over the final image. Here, the cleaner the edge defining the various layers the better, but invariably there are trees in the photo at the borders of the two layers and these are always a challenge to process. I've chosen a pretty straightforward image here that I manually masked for blending. I'll take you through the process as I do it in ON1 Photo Raw 2020, my photo editor of choice.

We'll start with the basic image, where you can see that the foreground is ok, if a bit dark, but the sky has no character whatsoever, a poor reflection of what we were seeing at the time. 

Native exposure - Olympus f/5.6, 1/15 s, ISO 200

The auto-bracketed shots are 2 stops under- and 2 stops over-exposed. In this example I didn't actually use the over-exposed image as it didn't fit the mood of the scene. As you can see from the under-exposed image, there's a lot more interesting stuff going on in the sky, but if you compare it to the final image, I've taken it even further. 

2 Stops Under Exposed - 1/60 s

2 Stops Over Exposed - 1/4 s

In the ON1 Photo Raw Browser module I select both images and then on the right click on the icon [Layers]. This generates a new image file in the Edit module where both images are simultaneously open. To start with you'll only see the top image, however, so don't be disconcerted. Any time you're working on the image from now on, you'll have to pay attention to which layer you're currently working on and you can click on them at the top of the right hand menu bar. The active layer has a turquoise highlight:

How the layers are displayed in ON1 Photo Raw, the blue circle indicates that the layer is selected (visible)

Masking

So how do you define which bit of which photo appears in the final image? Through an arcane process called masking. Masking defines which parts of a layer are visible (white in our case) and which parts of a layer are invisible (black). But the mask isn't limited to just black and just white, it can also be shades of grey, allowing nuances of layers.

So who tells the program which bits of each layer I want in the final image? Well, you do using masking brushes and gradients. You paint in (or out) the bits of the layers that you want. Clicking on the icon to the right of the layer thumbnail opens a panel giving you access to the masking tools. When you first open it, this panel will be completely white, indicating that all of this layer is visible.

Accessing the various Masking options

There are multiple ways to create a mask from the simple gradient tools, the brush as well as luminosity and colour range masks. Looking at the layer mask that I created for this image, I used the Masking Brush combined with the Perfect Brush option to get a hard edge on the hut itself, together with a slightly softer brush towards the bottom right corner:

Mask for the final image; the Native exposure image is on top, this black and white mask defines which parts of that image are visible over the darker underexposed layer

Ok, so apply that, and what do we get? Certainly a lot more appealing than either of the originals, but still a long way from the final image:

First Blend

So what else do we need to do to get from this to the final? There are a number of steps that I applied to each of the layers in order to really bring this image to life. In ON1 Photo Raw it generally doesn't matter what order you apply the steps in (there are exceptions, but they are too complex for this post. OK, I admit it. I don't know what they are, I just remember watching a YouTube video once where a bloke tried adding the effects in different orders and got different results. There. Happy now?). I don't generally adjust too much in the develop tab at the moment, concentrating almost exclusively on local adjustments

Background Layer (sky and left-hand foreground):

1. Cropped the image to give a more pleasing cut
2. Globally added the Effect Filter: Color Enhancer - Increase Color
3. Locally added a -1 EV Darken adjustment to the sky (gradient mask)
4. Removed the stray branch top left using the Retouch tool

Foreground Layer (cabin):

1. Locally added a +1 EV Lighten adjustment with +20 to the shadows and +30 Color Temperature to the area around the cabin lights

These I combined to form a New Stamped Layer (a new layer combining all of the visible parts of the image; right-click in one of the layers and choose this option).

Stamped Layer:

1. Globally added the Effect Filter: Vignette - Big Softy 50%
2. Globally added the Effect Filter: Color Enhancer - Warmer 50%
3. Locally added the Effect Filter: Tone Enhancer - Clarity on the cabin
4. Locally added the Effect Filter: Tone Enhancer - Tonal Contrast to the forest bottom left
5. Locally added a Vibrance adjustment to the sky
6. Other minor dodge and burn (local brightening and darkening) adjustments

And that was it. The first Color Enhancer added a touch of colour to the sky, amplified by the Darken adjustment. The Lighten adjustment with the colour warming added a pleasing glow to the lights in the cabin, even spilling over to the rocks outside. The Vignette focuses the viewer's vision on the central part of the image - I do this to almost all my images - it's part of my personal preset. The Clarity enhancer on the cabin brings out the texture of the wooden slats of the cabin and the Tonal Contrast enhancer brings a bit of definition to the dark forest bottom left - making it a bit less 'mushy'.

And that's it. A lot more editing that I'd normally employ, and certainly a lot more 'dodging and burning', but I think it's worth the effort. End-of-day photos are always a little more challenging due to the lighting conditions. If you have any thoughts or questions on the editing process, do leave them below.

- Dolomitenhütte at Sunset -

Osttirol Revisited - Part I

Back in July we decided that we needed a break; our May vacation plans had fallen flat and we'd been working solidly since our ski trip to Norway in February. After debating where to go, we finally decided that we'd return to Lienz in East Tyrol on the Austrian/Italian border. We'd camped there for 10 days in 2017 and felt that it warranted a second visit, particularly as the area is a very strong contender for us to settle down in in the future. Stuck between the main alpine chain and the Dolomites, this little corner of Austria is charming, a little off the beaten track and very competitively priced.

Old Lienz, the heart of East Tyrol or Osttirol || Olympus 12 mm, f/8, 1/100 s, ISO 200

The campsite was adamant that it wasn't necessary (or even possible) to make a reservation, but we were optimistic that there would be enough space for our six-person tent on the meadow next to the Tristacher See. We needn't have worried; when we arrived on the Thursday afternoon there couldn't have been more than about 20 tents and vans scattered at responsible distances over the large field. Although the campsite restaurant and bar were closed, there were plenty of places open in Lienz itself and the forecast was looking great for at least the next week.

The Region of East Tyrol

The week started off a little overcast as we revisited the hills above Sillian in the Pustertal. What did blow us away was the abundance of wild flowers, especially the alpine roses (actually a misnomer; they're azaleas). Being a little higher than the mountains than are our normal stomping ground in the northern Alps, everything was significantly further behind. They say that the temperature decreases by one degree Celsius per 100 m ascent and the extra 500+ m of elevation on the hills meant that everything was significantly behind Bavaria.

Alpine Roses above Sillian || Olympus 12 mm, f/8, 1/100 s, ISO 200

As well as revisiting some old haunts we used the week to look at some further corners of this remote region that we hadn't seen before, such as the Gailtal, which is pretty, but we were able to rule it off the list of places that we might consider for retirement - despite being very modestly priced, the corridor between Sillian and Kötschach-Mauthen is just too remote.

In the hills above Obertilliach || Olympus 15 mm, f/11, 1/100 s, ISO 200

At the Golzentipp || Olympus 7.5 mm,  f/16, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

The campsite is a couple of hundred meters above Lienz at a sheltered lake called the Tristacher See, great for a swim at the end of a hot day's hiking and free to campsite users. The walk round the lake only takes about 30 min. At the far end is a swanky hotel that didn't look like we would fit in, especially not in our outdoor camping gear.

Evening Mood at the Tristacher Lake || Olympus 20 mm, f/5.6, 1/8 s, ISO 200

The Defereggental is similarly stunning, but a tad too far from the madding crowd as well as being exceedingly steep sided - you'd hardly see the sun in the winter in this deeply cleft east-west running valley. One of the unique features of the area is that in many places, where there's no cable car it's possible to drive really high into the mountains before starting to hike. The Defereggental is one of those places and we were able to drive up to 2,000 m along a very rough logging track before abandoning the car at a small car park before heading into the mountains.

The Majestic Defereggental || Olympus 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

Our hike up the strangely-named Speikboden was rewarded with a view of the Groß Venediger, one of Austria's most prominent peaks, together with a field of the eponymous violet flowers and a couple of marmots scuttling across a late snow field. One delight on the way down was a patch of wayside wild lupins at a bend in the road. This was an opportunity to put my new manual 7.5 mm 7Artisans fish-eye lens to the test. Originally bought so that I could cram more sky into my astrophotography, I've taken to using it instead for floral shots like this. You can get within a few centimeters of the flowers, allowing them to take a significant part of the picture, whilst retaining depth of field to the background setting.

Speikboden and the Großer Venediger || Olympus 7.5 mm,  f/16, 1/640 s, ISO 200

Wayside Lupins || Olympus 29 mm, f/4, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

Just outside Lienz is a gorge - the Galitzenklamm - with a number of fixed climbing routes (via ferrata or Klettersteig). After tackling one of the easier routes, the kids decided they wanted to take a crack at "Adrenalin", one of the more challenging routes. Too challenging it turned out, and so Joshua did a solo  on the route next to the water, taking time to pose for a short long-exposure shot.

The Galitzenklamm Klettersteig || Olympus 28 mm, f/13, 1 s, ISO 64

Water in the Gorge || Olympus 86 mm, f/9, 1/5 s, ISO 64

The nice thing about the gorge is that you can spend the morning there and still take in the alpine zoo at Assling, a lovely little village in the Hochpustertal and one that's definitely on our radar for later. On top of the chamoix, ibex and marmots, there's a wonderful lynx enclosure that lets you look in from above without fences as well as some delightful snowy owls.

I was sleeping!  || Olympus 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 s, ISO 64

Note to self: When switching from long-exposure shots in the gorge to long focal length shots of animals, it can be helpful to set the ISO back to 200, duh!

Snowy Owl || Olympus 100 mm, f/4, 1/125 s, ISO 200

Still to come: sundowner at the picturesque Dolomitenhütte, a sunny day in Matrei and a close encounter with a kestrel.

Feedback on the First Workshops

"Apparently, if you try to cram two years of learning into 4-6 hour 1-2-1 workshop, the participants can find it a bit too much. Who knew?"

The Old Gypsum Mill || Olympus f/5.6, 1/125 s, ISO 1250 

I’ve now run my first two workshops for volunteer guinea-pigs recruited from among my local friends on the understanding that they would give me in-depth feedback on the sessions in lieu of payment. We had two great afternoons, one hiking in the local mountains in less than perfect weather and one shooting flowers in a friend’s back garden. We had several “aha” moments as they learned things about their cameras that they didn’t know before and both have got some great shots out of the sessions. But what did I learn?

Over the last 18 months I’ve invested a lot of time in my photographic education. I’ve read books, I’ve watched a ton of videos and online courses on photography and post-processing and I’ve endeavoured to put a lot of it into practice in the field. I think that most people would agree with me when I say that I’ve come a long way photographically in that time. I’ve almost completely changed my approach to photographing and my philosophy of photography. A lot of things are now obvious that would have been a complete mystery to me even two years ago. I was an idiot to think that I could convey the significant parts of that learning in a single session, but that’s what I set out to do. Twice. In my defence, the second session was probably much better structured than the first. But I need to trim it down much further, or at least give the students more time to take each aspect of the teaching on board before progressing to the next.

Let’s take a look at the two sessions and try to assess what works and what doesn’t and look at how to build this into planning future workshops.

In the Pöllat River || Olympus f/11, 2 s, ISO 200

Session 1: In The Pöllat Gorge

The first session was held at one of my favourite local spots – the Pöllat gorge below the fabulous Neuschwanstein castle near Füssen. My student, a friend from the Munich choir that I sing with, had previously been a teacher – a huge plus for me, as this was someone who had first-hand experience of teaching methods and knew what he was talking about when it came to feedback. We’d had a chance to chat a little about photography on the way down in the car and I’d already sounded him out concerning what he wanted to learn.

The fun part about this session was that Andrew had a relatively clear idea of the images he wanted to get, but wasn’t always clear on how to achieve those images technically. This was definitely something I could help with.

Parking the car at the Tegelberg car park (much cheaper than parking in Hohenschwangau at the bottom of the castle), we trekked along the base of the mountain, the clouds lingering in the trees above us. Excellent opportunity for composition questions 1 and 2: (1) What catches your attention, and (2) what aspect of the subject do you want to emphasise or caricature? (thanks Joshua Cripps!)

Moody, Misty Forest || Olympus f/5, 1/200 s, ISO 500

Arriving at the bottom of the Pöllat gorge, I was dismayed to see that the gorgeous wooden mill race had been very badly damaged in the recent storms. I sincerely hope that they repair it using the original wood, since this has always been a complete eye-catcher and really strong element for photos here. As it was, the heavy flow was just gushing out of the broken end of the trellis into a mess of tree branches. Such a shame.

After we'd walked around the bottom of the gorge for a bit, scouting compositions, we went a few meters downstream where it was a little quieter so that we could chat about how to emphasise the water movement, leading into a discussion of long exposures and tripods. I'd established in advance that Andrew would be using the Nikon 18-55 mm kit lens and managed to source a cheap step-up ring of the right diameter so that he could use my filter system to create a series of shots with different exposures.

Shooting in the Pöllat || Huawei P30 Pro

Having had a good long session at the bottom of the gorge, we walked up through the shady forest, looking for other compositions. There are some nice shots to be had of the falls as well as some nice intimate forest landscapes - what my father calls my signature shots. The moss was particularly appealing 

Moss Micro Landscape || Olympus f/4, 1/8 s, ISO 200

At this point, I forgot a bit that I was supposed to be leading a workshop and got side-tracked by taking my own images - wrong of me I know, but too easy to do in the circumstances. In future, I'm really going to have to put my own shots in the background, unless they're to make a teaching point.

Carrying on up to the path between Neuschwanstein and the Marienbrücke, we were rewarded by a moody view over Hohenschwangau with the sun breaking through the clouds. An impossible shot for Andrew's camera, but no match for modern exposure bracketing. Once again, I was putting my own photos first. But come on, who would have said no to this:

God-Rays over Hohenschwangau || Olympus Exposure Bracketing

After waiting a while in vain to see whether the weather would provide us with anything better, we headed on up to the Marienbrücke, the bridge overlooking Neuschwanstein, to see whether the light would allow us to catch any useful shots. Andrew took quite a few from the bridge and we toyed with the concept of including some foreground in a shot in order to establish a bit of 3-dimensionality to the scene.

It was quite late by the time we got back to the car and we were both starving, so we looked for a suitable hostelry. Waiting for food, I had a chance to go through my workshop cheat-sheets with him. In my mind I had planned to shoot and then go over the theory in the hope that he would be more receptive to the concepts - a teaching style that we often use at work. In reality, it would have been helpful to look at them beforehand and then try to put some of it into practice in the field.

Session 2: A Munich Garden

For the second session I visited my friend in her garden in Munich. Because one of her primary photographic interests was flowers and because they have a beautiful flower garden, this really worked out nicely. The weather was definitely playing ball this time as well, which really helped. It had rained just before I got there, but we had a great 4 h in the garden in lovely late afternoon light, shooting anything and everything in sight.

This time we were able to sit down before we started and look at some of the concepts that help me focus on what makes a good photo. I was delighted that my friend was able to make the intuitive jumps from the things I was pointing out (more here) to compositional consequences. Once we'd got some of the basics out of the way, we were able to knuckle down to the two issues that she had highlighted approaching the workshop; exposure and focus.

Reach for the Sky || Olympus f/8, 1/250 s, ISO 200

After explaining the various ways in which cameras measure exposure and the shortcomings of assuming that everything is 50% grey, we looked around for potential examples. She has a beautiful honeysuckle growing up the side of the garage. Against the sky, most cameras will underexpose the subject to avoid an overly-bright image, leaving the subject quite dull. Exposure compensation to the rescue (once we'd found out how to in the manual).

Essence of Hydrangea || Olympus f/8, 1/40 s, ISO 200

Looking back, we should have spent a little while at least concentrating on exposure, but I was so excited with the progress that I was all for moving swiftly on to the next issue; focus. Once we figured out how to give her back the control over what the camera was focusing on we even got a chance to look at the concept of depth of field before switching over to her macro lens and fiddling about with focus magnification in a foreign camera system.

Old Wooden Chair || Olympus f/8

All in all we had a great afternoon/evening working through various technical and compositional aspects before I was gently told to stop - I'd passed on enough information and time was required to process and practice.

Lessons Learned

What Went Well

Let's start with what went well:

• The second workshop was much better structured than the first, working through the teaching materials and having a chance to put it all into practice.
• Knowing both locations well before the shoots was essential. Even then there were surprises, like the demolished mill race at the Pöllat gorge.
• Both locations were good and had some 'gimme' images where you couldn't really go wrong, whether Schloss Neuschwanstein or my friends gorgeous garden.
• Having a few toys to hand to play with worked well, such as the ND filters for the gorge and my tiny fish-eye lens as a demonstration of how aperture works.
• Getting the students to fill out a self-assessment form (below) well in advance of the workshop so that I could prepare a session to fit their individual needs worked really well.
• The handouts I had prepared turned out to be really good teaching aids.
• After the first workshop we sat down and went through a handful of the best images, looking at technique and possible tips. The offer is still out on the second workshop, but, life!

Challenges

• One of the time-consuming aspects of both workshops was becoming familiar with other peoples’ cameras. After 18 months with my Olympus I can operate it pretty much blindfolded. Previously I’d been using a Panasonic bridge camera and so had at least a working knowledge of the menu structure. My students had Nikon and Cannon cameras respectively and finding functions in the various menus took time. If students aren’t familiar with their cameras, it’s essential that they bring the manual with them. It was also challenging switching between a mirrorless camera with all of the associated ease of use and the more flighty DSLRs.
• The weather and, more importantly, the light during the first workshop was extremely challenging. But that’s life sometimes.
• It’s important to establish ahead of time which lenses your students are bringing to the workshop. I’m used to the flexibility of being able to choose between ultra-wide angle, long telephoto and everything in between. Students aren’t always going to be able to bring that variety to the workshop and the location needs to be planned accordingly.

What Didn’t Go So Well

• Looking back, although the first workshop was fun, setting out without covering at least the basic theory was a mistake. I was all gung-ho for the location and thought I could explain as we went. I couldn’t.
• After the first few shots, I also assumed that the student was doing ok and didn’t need as much help or feedback. In future I’ll have to be more proactive in checking in with them.

Looking Forward

Looking forward, I think I will have to offer either one or the other; either a photo safari or a photography workshop. It’s much easier to concentrate on teaching skills in a calmer environment with few distractions, where we can sit down, talk about the principles and then put them into action.

On the other hand, once someone has mastered the basics, it will still be fun to head out to the hills to look at how to put those skills into practice.

Fairy-Tale Neuschwanstein || Olympus f/4.5, 1/8 s, ISO 800

My Questionnaires

I've created two questionnaires, one to give me a feel for the student's needs, one for them to give me feedback on the workshop so that I can continue to improve as an instructor. I'll reproduce them here for anyone wanting to use and adapt. I've created these using Google docs, and the answers flow directly into a table. I'm a huge fan of Google docs as they allow me to access the information on the go using a variety of platforms.

Student Assessment Form

I ask a lot about my students because I really want to understand their needs and offer a tailor-made session. It also helps them to assess where they are and think a bit about the issues involved. I also ask them either in advance of - or during the session how they would define a "good" photo. Although a straightforward question, it really helps focus on the issues.

Student Feedback Form

Feeback is critical to the process of becoming a better instructor - which is a huge part of the process for me. Here's my Student Feedback Form