I look at a lot of photos via social media and magazines everyday. One major problem with photographs I see over and over is the splotch of distraction that doesn’t go with the subject. For example if the subject is a beautiful, yellow flower that takes up 3/4 of the photograph, the splotch of distraction would be a crap brown, out of focus, god only knows what the hell it is taking up 1/4 of the photograph. My eyes don’t even look at the beautiful, yellow flower. They immediately go to the crap brown, splotch of distraction.
How does a photographer get rid of the crap brown splotch of distraction? Take two steps closer to the subject. If that doesn’t work, take two steps closer and so on. Super easy to solve, but unfortunately not accomplished often enough.
Let’s take a look at the photo below for an example.
This photograph is of the steps leading up to the Newport Bridge in Oregon. What really caught my eye about this scene is the amazing lines formed by the concrete structure. On either side of this scene is graffiti some enterprising, artistic youth was kind of enough to share in a hideous, neon pink color. If I would have included the graffiti the entire scene would have been ruined and not have showcased the amazing lines of this concrete architecture. Instead all the viewer would be able to focus on is the hideous, neon pink graffiti.
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So lets take this getting closer concept up one notch. One of the main reasons a photographer gets a crap brown, splotch of distraction in their photograph is because they plop their tripod down and then try to make the shot work. This is a major tripod usage foul! A better technique is to walk around until you have the scene where you want it, then plop the tripod down.
Let’s look at the photograph below for an example.
This photograph is a night shot of a pier in Cairns, Australia. What I am trying to capture is the line of the hand railing in conjunction with the line of lights. A bonus feature is the red clothing of the fisherman providing contrast. Funny thing is there was a massive sign right behind me clearly stating that there was no fishing off the pier past this point, but that didn’t phase Mr. Red Outfit. Fishing violations aside to make this shot work I had to line the hand railing and line of lights up just right. This took a bit of moving around to get it right. Once I got the shot where I wanted it, plop goes the tripod and let the long exposure fun begin!
Another way to avoid the crap brown, splotch of distraction is to take a look all around the viewfinder before snapping the pic. If there is a crap brown, splotch of distraction then make the adjustment before hitting the click button.
95% of the time getting closer to the subject would make a better photograph. However, 5% of the time getting too close can be the problem. Those 5% choppers of essential subject matter leave the viewer wanting more. There often times is a delicate balance of being too far away and being too close. This balance is a fun, challenging aspect of photography that has to be thought out for every photograph.
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Click and run photography, at least to me, is when you go out via any mode of transportation with a camera and photograph anything and everything you happen to come across. This is my favorite type of photography, because you never know what you will see to shoot.
Required Equipment For Click And Run Photography
I always keep a backpack stocked and ready to go with impromptu gear that hopefully will cover any shooting situation I get myself into at any time. I will generally store the backpack in my car for quick, anytime access.
Backpack
The backpack must be comfortable enough to hike several miles and have enough storage space for all your gear. I like lots of pockets on my backpack to help separate my gear. My backpack has rubberized shoulder straps that are stretchable to help ease the load of all my gear. I also require a waist strap on my backpack to help ease the burden during long hikes.
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Tripod
Normally on click and run photography trips I carry my camera attached to a carbon fiber tripod. With this setup I can quickly set up and shoot, then get moving to the next subject. On longer walks I will sling the tripod over my shoulder for an easier carry. Make darn sure your camera is securely fastened to your tripod, and your lens is locked if you are shooting a zoom lens or your trip will be over as soon as your camera hits the deck. (LINK to a great tripod article by TTS).
Neck Strap
There are times a tripod is cumbersome or just plain not allowed. For example in heavy crowds, museums, churches, or other places that tripods are not allowed I keep a rubberized, stretchable neck strap in my backpack. However, when ever possible, use a tripod. Your photos will be much better.
Lenses
Personally, I use the 28-300mm Nikon lens for click and run photography adventures. Most major manufacturers have a similar size lens. This lens gives me a wide variety of shooting options. (LINK to a great TTS article about the 28-300mm lens).
When weight is not going to be an issue, I will also carry the Nikon, 105mm macro lens. The 28-300mm lens with extender tubes will do a decent job of macro shots, but for crystal clear, macro shots the 105mm is incredible.
Additional lens equipment may include extender tubes for macro shots or range extenders for longer shots. I also carry a variable, neutral density filter mostly for water or monochrome shots, a selection of graduated filters, and a circular polarized filter.
Be sure to carry a small lens cleaning kit. You never know when you might need to clean your lens or filters.
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Camera
Any DSLR camera body will work for click and run photography trips. One thing to keep in mind is the security of the area you are going to shoot. When I am in a dicey area I will leave my Nikon D810 in the car or hotel and pull out my old D7000. That way if I get mugged, I will not lose an expensive camera body. Cameras are easy targets and easy to sell for thieves.
Flash
I always carry a Yongnuo manual flash. It is cheap and easy to use. There have been many times during click and run shoots that just a bit more light came in handy.
Additional Equipment
I always carry a small water bottle. I use it mainly to create water droplets on flowers, but a lot of potential subjects can be enhanced by a quick spray of water.
Mainly for flowers, but a stout folder filled with various colors of construction paper can be very useful. The folder not only keeps the construction paper safe, but can also provide a wind break for macro shoots. The construction paper can be used for a color specific background that matches the color of your subject.
Always carry a couple of plastic garbage bags in your backpack. These bags can be used to cover your camera gear during a rainstorm, carry interesting objects for a setup shot, or just in case you ate a gas station burrito an hour before the shoot. (LINKto a great TTS article about the importance of plastic bags).
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I always carry a pair of knee pads on all photo adventures. Especially in macro photography, a photographer always seems to be on their knees. It is nice to keep you slacks clean and knee pads will increase your comfort level for those hard to reach subjects. (LINKto a great TTS article about knee pads).
Be sure to carry a water bottle and snack in your backpack. You should always stay well hydrated and snack will perk you up and keep you in the field longer for more chances to capture great shots.
Sample Click And Run Shoot
This is just a sample of a click and run photo shoot. There are an unlimited amount of ways this type of shoot can go, but here is an example of my most common type of click and run photo shoot.
Backpack filled with all my gear is loaded in the car. I grab my camera already attached to my tripod, a travel mug of coffee and head out the door just before daybreak. Don’t forget to eat, because a grumbly belly will ruin a click and run photo shoot at just the wrong time.
I jump in the car and head down the road with my head on a swivel for anything cool to shoot as the sun breaks over the horizon. As I drive by a river, I notice there is a lot of fog that would make for some incredible, foggy sunrise, river photos. I strap on a variable, neutral density filter to slow the shutter speed and start clicking. As the fog burns off and the sun begins to climb over the horizon it is time to move on. But, before I start walking I take the neutral density filter off my lens and reset my camera back to neutral. (LINK to a great TTS article about setting your camera back to neutral).
As I am walking back to the car I notice a beautiful, purple flower. The morning light is still decent. Time for macro flower shots and quickly change to my 105 mm macro lens. I strap on my knee pads and mist the flower down with the small, spray bottle. I use a piece of yellow construction paper as the background. After shooting the beautiful flower in every possible angle it is time to head for the car.
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With my camera set up for macro shots, I am very limited to what I can shoot on the walk back to the car. I make sure to change the macro lens back to my more useful 28 -300 mm lens, set the camera to neutral, and stow my knee pads in my backpack.
On the walk back to the back to the car a gorgeous butterfly lands on a tree. Quickly, before the butterfly starts to fly again I start clicking like a madman. I leave my tripod attached to the camera, but release the camera to swivel freely. Ideally I would take the camera off the tripod, but time is a factor and start shooting with the camera still attached to the tripod. After my heart rate slows down, I tighten the necessary screws to secure the camera firmly on the tripod.
By now the sun is up and casting a nasty light. However I notice in a nearby field an old, rusty truck. The light is not ideal, but I figure the old truck may look better with a touch of photo shopping anyway, so capturing the image is the goal, not nailing the light.
Finally I make my way back to my car. In roughly three hours and two miles of walking I have managed to shoot a foggy, river scene, flower, butterfly, and old truck. All four subjects required a different setup and photography technique. Plus I still have the whole day ahead of me to find more interesting subjects.
Summary
Click and run photography can offer a variety of subjects to photograph, get you off the couch, and exploring new and exciting places. So get your gear organized and head out for an exciting click and run photography adventure.
Reading a camera’s operating manual is about as much fun as reading the legal mumbo jumbo we are forced to read when signing up or buying anything today. This type of reading is guaranteed to put a person to sleep in a matter of minutes. So far I have never read the legal mumbo jumbo and everything seems to be going well. Dudes in black suits could arrive at my doorstep any minute! However there is no way to get out of reading your camera’s manual.
Whenever a new camera is purchased I recommend sitting down, with the camera and manual and going through every button and function until you fully understand the purpose of the button or function. I recommend you do this before taking your first click, because the first time out with a new camera you are going to see Bigfoot and you will for sure screw up the shot unless you read the manual.
Let’s take the photo below for example on the importance of knowing your camera’s functions.
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This shot requires quite a bit of messing around with the camera’s functions to make it work. I shot this creek click (say that 10 times fast) in shutter priority mode, exposure composition +5, 5 second timer, and with a 25 second exposure. This is a tricky setup! Now add the fact as I was taking this photo I heard a ruckus behind me and saw three young raccoons running down the creek towards me. I had about 10 seconds to go from long exposure mode to raccoon shooting mode, (read your manual to find out more about raccoon mode) before the raccoons were on the bridge I was shooting from and not more than 15 feet away. Raccoon shooting mode is way different than long expose, creek click mode. The raccoons, and I thought this was quite rude, didn’t stay on the bridge for very long to pose. I did a great job getting the camera into raccoon shooting mode all except for removing the ND filter on my lens. That is why I am not proudly posting amazing raccoon photos!
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Now after you read your new camera’s incredibly dull manual. Get some time behind the lens. Then I recommend you buy another expanded version, tailored for your camera model, manual. I know you probably think I am torturing you. You already sat through several hours of boring manual and now I want you to read a long version of your camera’s manual. Yep, because I am twisted like that, but mainly because the manual your camera comes with sucks! There is in other way to put it! It sucks! The camera’s manual gives you the basics, but there is much more to learn about your camera. An expanded manual will not only tell you what the button or function does, but why you want to use it.
Even after owning my camera for over two years I still go back to the expanded add on manual from time to time to refresh myself on the functions and buttons I don’t use very much or may have forgotten about. Usually with the aid of an adult beverage!
Sometimes irony can be as cruel as a mean, stepmother’s heart! For the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about blogging on the topic of setting the camera back to neutral after every shoot. So what do I do? Of course make exactly this mistake even though the topic is forefront in my noggin. My last photo shoot was an early sunrise, calm lake reflection affair. The photo below is an example from this shoot.
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To achieve this shot I am using long exposure, mirror up, 5 second delay, manual focus, and a neutral density filter. I also had my exposure composition all jacked up because I like to push my histogram as far to the right as I can. So after a beautiful morning of shooting I head to the car fat, dumb, and happy and leave my camera set for a long exposure type of shoot.
Fast forward a few days and I am in a high school gym using my camera to film my daughter’s band concert. I will give myself an out, because we live in a society where nobody is at fault. I will use the excuse that the only time I use the filming option on my camera is for my daughter’s concerts a few times a year. Totally not my fault right? Wrong! I am supposed to be a pro and should be a master of my camera. So I proceed to start filming and after a few minutes I begin to wonder why the young man’s LCD screen I can see a couple of rows in front of me is not similar to my LCD screen. Now I am a bit slow, but even I can figure out that something ain’t adding up. After the first piece I look at the front of the camera and realize my ND filter is still on my camera and a light bulb goes off! Crap! I am still set up for the early morning, lake reflection shoot!
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After every shoot, before the ass slapping and high fivin begins due to taking amazing clicks, set the camera back to neutral. A neutral setting may be different for everyone. Don’t use the setup for the photo below as your neutral setting. This is a long exposure shot with settings all over the place.
My neutral setting is A (Aperture priority on a Nikon), S (Single shot on a Nikon), timer off, exposure compensation to neutral, white balance to cloudy, clear filter, auto focus on/vibration reduction off, auto focus points to the highest level, and ISO 200.
It has taken multiple cussing sessions over the years, but I have finally learned this very important lesson. I have set my camera to neutral for the last two photo shoots in a row! I am sure this issue will never rear it’s ugly head again! Ya right!
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