60 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016
include the background she frames the f lower to one side using
the rule of thirds. She always chooses the best specimen, and if
it’s a mass f lowering, Harrison steps back to compose a frame
from a wider view.In the field
When you arrive at a location, being able to slow down is key,
says Jill Harrison. “Contemplate the scene, choose what you
think is the best specimen and how you want the composition
to look. Then set up your camera and choose your aperture
according to how much depth of field you want.”
Remember the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of
field will be with a soft blurred background. If you don’t want to
use full manual settings, use aperture priority and the camera
will look after the rest.
“I’ll set white balance depending on daylight, cloud, or shade.
I set the ISO according to how much light there is, with ISO
100 my ideal. However, if I am hand-holding in low light I will
bump up the ISO. I half press the shutter button and read the
exposure compensation dial and then adjust to achieve optimum
exposure. If it is a very bright day or you want a darker look you
might want to dial it back.”
Remember to check your histogram for your exposure. “These
days I use Lightroom to process my images, so exposure, as long
as it is not over-exposed, is not such a problem, although getting
it right in camera is best,” explains Harrison.Dappled light and strong contrast between bright sunlight and
shade can be a problem believes Harrison. “If you are in shade,
use a ref lector to direct light into the shadow areas, or if you
are in direct sun use a diffuser to shade plants from the harsh
sunlight,” she adds. An overcast day will give you light which is
soft and diffused.A simple but sufficient kit
As he lays out his wildf lower photography kit, Bruce Cooper
explains that the most crucial item in his bag is a first-aid kit.
Wildf lower photography requires close contact with the ground,
and bull ants, ticks, leeches, spiders, mosquitoes, march f lies,
and other insects. Some are potentially dangerous while others
are an irritating distraction.
“The more kit you carry, the longer the set-up time,” says
Cooper. “This discourages experimentation, especially at the
end of a day when you’re tired.” He describes how with his wife
Jean they carried an aluminium ladder a couple of kilometres
into the bush to help photograph a tree orchid, letting them
mount a tripod some metres up a tree. “We won’t be doing that
again,” he laughs.
Cooper’s camera of choice is a Nikon D800E with a
36-megapixel sensor, which allows plenty of scope for cropping
photographs of small subjects while leaving significant resolution
in the cropped section. “I like the Nikkor 105mm macro
with extension tubes,” he adds. His bag also includes a NikonEXPERT ADVICE capturing wildflowers in the field
ABOVE
Spiny Wattle, from
the book Wildflower
Country by Stanley
and Kaisa Breeden
(2010, Fremantle
Press). Canon EOS
1Ds Mark II, 180mm
macro, f16, ISO
- Five-exposure
focus stack.