Cross Promotion & Photographing Spring Flowers

Clint Thomsen, a freelance reporter for a small independent paper in Tooele, Utah, recently sought my permission to excerpt from my blog about the life cycle of a leaf which I wrote in 2007.

He also asked my expertise on photographing flowers for his June article in the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. Here's a link to the article which he later posted on his blog.

How it happened:

The internet. Need I say more? He Googled "life cycle of a leaf" and found me. My blog entry is apparently what comes up in the top five responses with these search parameters. Who knew? The weird thing is he's the second person to contact me about that blog post. The last one was an educator in England who wanted to use my low res images and my full post as part of a science curriculum he was teaching for his students. I think the world is a small, small place. And it's pretty cool!

FYI - here are all the tips I gave him:

Five Tips for Photographing Flowers (really any time of year!) from Photography by Jacquelynn Buck

1) Chase the Light. The best times of day for photographing flowers are the most inconvenient but the most wonderful. Sunrise, which definitely comes early. Sunset, which comes late. Trust me, going out during those times of day will make a world of difference.

2) Try a New Angle. We’re often tempted to take pictures of flowers (or anything) head on. Sometimes just finding a new angle can work wonders. Take the photo looking straight down the flower. Get low and take the photo from the stem looking up towards the sky. Maybe try silhouetting the flower against a setting sun, or a blue sky. Try something new. You’ll be amazed!

3) Go Macro. Most point and shoot cameras have a macro setting (usually a picture of a flower indicate the setting). If you change your camera to that setting it gives you the ability to get close to the flower. Of course expensive cameras also have special Macro lenses you can use the same effect. But the point is, get close. Get really close. And see what you see.

4) Crop. Consider taking a photo of just a part of the flower – not the whole thing. Focus on the stem. Or the leaf. Or part of a petal. Go for it. Try and be abstract.

5) Go Back. Again. Just because you’ve been to a place before doesn’t mean you have taken photos there are to take at that place. The difference a day can make is astounding. The sky change. The light can change. The photo will change. Try going back to a place more than once in a week at different times of day and see if you can get some totally different images.