珞珈山 27 June 2011
乌鸦大嘴兄委托我做这一期的“月末画廊”，我也很愿意与摄影沙龙的朋友们分享对摄影的热爱，只不过自己对摄影的理解十分局限，事实上除了对landscape photography了解稍多一点外，我对其它摄影类别可以说是一无所知。所以这期的“月末画廊”我只能以风光为主题了。在这里先向喜爱其它摄影类别的朋友抱歉，也希望在下一期的“月末画廊”中能给予补偿。
自然风光摄影一向是各摄影杂志和网站的一大主要内容，比如photo net, 1x, 以及专业摄影师较集中的NPN (Nature Photography Network)， 都是如此。从发表在这些地方的作品中，我们都能学到很好的技术并得到新鲜的灵感。 不过，如果从拍摄那些优秀作品的摄影师那里直接了解他们关于摄影的想法和经验， 我们往往能获得一些从作品和书本中所无法得到的有价值的东西。
在过去的两三年中，我有幸能与几个职业和半职业风光摄影师进行一些较为直接的学习和交流，从另一面了解到他们的一些优秀作品的拍摄过程和思考，收益不浅。在这期的“月末画廊”中，我试图向大家介绍三位我个人非常欣赏的风光摄影师。从他们的不同背景所衍生出的对摄影的共同的执着追求及表现出的不同风格，或许对我们有些启发。
这三位摄影师是： Marc Adamus， Floris van Breugel, 和 Leping Zha。也许这里的一些朋友对他们已经有所了解。
在我做这期“月末画廊”时，Marc， Floris 和 Leping都分别给我提供了不少他们关于摄影的背景和信息。Marc和 Floris 还专门寄给我他们的4张大尺寸代表作品， 其中Marc还为每张照片附上了详细的拍摄过程。
Marc Adamus (http://www.marcadamus.com/)
Marc Adamus的摄影风格对我近年来的实践有较大的影响。大约在两年多前，我刚涉及风光摄影不久，从photo net上最初看到他的摄影作品，就感觉到非常的与众不同。后来参加NPN论坛后，更多地了解到他的作品的拍摄过程。Marc的每一张作品几乎都表现出对光的近乎完美的运用。在寻找到理想的构图之后，为了最佳的光线和气候条件，他可以一次次地反复到那些偏远的地点去等待。Marc Adamus 在photo net, NPN 及1x摄影网站发表的作品深受大家的喜爱。他刚刚被1x评为“Photographer of the Month”。他的“War with the Sky” http://1x.com/photo/41462/portfolio/99579#!/photo/41462/portfolio/99579）
也成为1x的所有发表的作品中最popular的作品之一。
P1 A Moment Together
A Moment Together: While backpacking in Nevada's Ruby Mountains, I awoke at camp one morning and wandered down to the stream for water. Nearby, I noticed these Veratrum leaves and Mountain Bluebell flowers growing intertwined. Realizing that the subtle textures and shapes of the leaves combined with the rare addition of flowers might produce a good photo opportunity in soft light, I came back down and scouted around with my camera. After finding this arrangement, I simply waited on the light and snapped the image as it was beginning to emerge over the top of a high ridge across the valley. I used a Canon 1Ds III, 24-105 lens at 40mm and no filters. My post-production work in Photoshop was mainly limited to very careful dodge/burning of highlight and shadow areas to even the light and show off the best forms.
P2 Fireball
Fireball: We have all probably had times as photographers where we thought the show was over before it even started. Previsualization played a big role in the creation of this photograph. I had scouted around this barren playa earlier in the day, finding cracks and streaks of mud that had blown across it in high winds. Knowing this spot could make for an interesting foreground, I placed a rock there and returned hoping for a good show of sky above the horizon. I returned later and was packing things up getting ready to head back when the most crimson of reds I have ever seen in nature started appearing on the lenticular cloud formation above, nearly 20 minutes after I figured the sun had set! The show only lasted a minute at the most, and I recorded only 5 frames. I used a Canon 1Ds III, 14mm f/2.8 lens and no filters. My work in Photoshop was primarily some subtle dodge/burning and texture/contrast adjustments.
P3 Winter’s Fury
Winter's Fury: While attempting to summit an icy peak high in the Cascade range of Oregon in January I came across this huge Basaltic pinnacle getting blasted by blowing snow in the high winds. Amazed at the power of winter on display, I sat there, huddled in my parka for nearly 30 minutes, firing off shot after shot every time the wind picked up and the light changed. My shutter speeds were fast enough to catch the individual flakes of snow in the air, at between 1/250 and 1/500 of a second. I used a Canon 5D at ISO 400 with no filters to achieve this effect. Out of the hundreds of images I took, I enjoyed this rendition the most. When capturing subjects that are constantly in motion, taking a lot of shots can be the key to success. The most important thing here though, was the fact that my eye was always on photography, no matter the situation. My process in Photoshop was very simple and included a B&W conversion, cool toning and some dodge/burning.
P4 Paradise Forest
Paradise Forest: Backpacking far into the wilderness is one of my favorite things. The rainforest of the Olympics is a truly special place indeed. Nowhere on Earth have I ever enjoyed such wonderful solitude, energy and spirit of all things living. The rainforest is a very difficult place to photograph though, and although I've spent hundreds of days here I have only a small handful of photos. On this week, days on foot from the trails and roads we had left behind, in the seclusion of the most remarkable paradise of spring colors I have ever witnessed, I stood in this pool reflecting a soft light filtered through the canopy and photographed the scene before me. The image worked well because of the simplicity afforded by the symmetry of the reflections, helping me find an appealing aesthetic in the 2-dimensional medium with which I render my images. Otherwise, the details presented by the forest environment can be overwhelming. I used a Canon 5D II, 24-105 lens at 40mm, polarizing and ND filter to make a 10-second exposure of the scene which I then dodge/burned in Photoshop.
AWARDS/PUBLICATIONS
Select Awards:
* Grand Prize Overall, Banff Mountain Film Festival Photography
* Grand Prize Overall, International Conservation Photography International
* Image of the Year, Nature Photographers Magazine
Select Publications:
* Currently on the Cover of Outdoor Photographer Magazine
* National Geographic Adventure Magazine (inside)
* Cover of National Geographic Guide to the National Parks book
* Cover and inside numerous National Geographic calendars
* Featured artist in Reader's Digest Magazine
* Cover of Digital Photo Magazine
* Numerous photos published in Popular Photography Magazine
* Over 30 different calendar publications worldwide
* Sierra Club Magazine (inside)
* Photo Media Magazine (inside)
* Hundreds of other publication credits worldwide
Floris van Breugel (http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/)
Floris van Breugel 是我初涉摄影时最早接触的一个优秀摄影师。当时对他的那幅“Race with Stars”（http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/photo.php?id=36&gallery=deserts）极为感兴趣，也想尝试拍些星空，时常问他一些现在看来十分可笑的问题，但每次他都会耐心地为我解答。现在想想，对他并不容易。Floris也是向我介绍NPN网站，几个有用的摄影家博客网站，及几个主要的国际自然和野生动物摄影竞赛的第一个人。这让我在摄影实践的初期就能了解一些高水平的摄影师和他们的作品，十分有帮助。
Floris也可能是目前最有成就的非职业风光自然摄影师之一。从下面的 list大家可以看到，他已在一些重要的摄影竟赛中获得了好成绩。与很多风光摄影师不同的是，他的摄影爱好同时在landscape and wildlife，并且会把二者紧密地联系在一起，如下面的这张获奖照片P1。
我最近问过澳洲一个职业风光摄影师对Floris的看法，他认为Floris是个奇才，如果以后Floris取得极大的成就，他一点也不会惊讶。顺面说一下，Floris两三年前还是个PhD学生，也许现在已经毕业了吧，年龄可能还不到30岁。但他的成熟的摄影风格及待人处事的沉稳老练的确让人钦佩。
P1 Life among Giants
As Spring progresses to higher elevations, the Dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii) amid the giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks burst into bloom in late May. These giant white flowers complete the magical forest setting by creating such beautiful contrasts. On the afternoon that I took this photo I was particularly lucky to have two mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) enter the meadow as the afternoon light revealed the forest's depth.
P2 Plant Oils on Water
Natural iridescent plant oils from decaying leaves coat the surface of this little pool of water, resulting in a kaleidoscope of colors. The surface layer is very fragile and cracks with the slightest movement of water, in this case likely due to the motion of the cottonwood leaf floating in the colorful soup. I found this little scene in Utah's Escalante National Monument.
P3 Tidal Secrets
A particularly rich tide pool full of sea anemones I found along the coast of Washington's Olympic National Park during a very low tide.
P4 Christmas in Yellowstone
A skier (my father) glides past an erupting geyser in the Old Faithful geyser basin in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. The cold temperatures in the winter cause the geysers to release more steam than usual, making for a dramatic and magical sight.
Awards
2010 - BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, highly commended (wild places)
2010 - Nature's Best, highly commended (plant life)
2010 - Center for Fine Art Photography, 'Motion Exhibition'
2009 - BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, runner-up (animals in their anvironment)
2009 - BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, highly commended, (wild places)
2009 - BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, highly commended, (in praise of plants)
2009 - Editor's Pick, 5 times, Nature Photographer's Network (now a moderator)
Publicationsublications
2011 - Terra Magazine (feature article)
2010 - Geo International Magazine
2010 - Natur Foto Magazine (feature article)
2010 - Geo Magazine
2010 - Living Bird Magazine (feature article)
2009/2010 - Digital Photo Magazine UK
Leping Zha (http://www.lepingzha.com/)
我知道Leping这个人远远早于知道他的摄影，不仅是因为我们毕业于同一大学，更因为我，我妻子和Leping的弟弟曾同在一个系学习，而且我妻子与其弟是同班同学。涉足风光摄影之后，Leping的黄山摄影作品自然是最先由好友介绍给我的。因该说，我现在的黄山情怀源自于Leping的作品。
在我有了几次黄山摄影经历之后，我很快体会到，作为一名长期生活在海外的非职业摄影者，要拍摄出黄山的真正的神韵和内涵来，如果没有发自出内心的热爱和投入，是无法做到的，而Leping做到了。的确如我想象的那样，据Leping告诉我，在没有相机的少年时期，他就9上黄山，对黄山的情节那时就萌发在心中。到后来，黄山摄影已成为他生活中的一个重要部分。通常，他一次就在山上住20－30天，这期间祈望着遇上1，2天的拍摄佳境。
近年来，Leping逐渐将更多的精力用于拍摄一些人文社会题材，但他那些优美的黄山摄影作品依然是我学习的典范。他的黄山情节也依然不变，正如他写给我的email中所言：“I have changed my mentality quite a bit now even I am still one of the die heart 黄山情结er.”
P1 After Storm
P2 Out of Fog
P3 Phoenix Pine
P4 Sunrise Spetacle
Experience and Achievements
Leping Zha has learned from masters including David and Mark Muench, Charles Cramer, Bill Atkinson, John Shaw, Richard Garret, Charles P. Farmer, Richard Lohmann, Yuntian Yu, and John and Barbra Gerlaches. Combining well balanced composition, quality lights, and strong use of color with ultimate attentions to fine technical details, Leping's work has earned numerous regional, national, and international awards. This includes the 2000 Cemex International Photography Awards and the Grant Prize of Earth Day 2000 Photo Competition "The Ultimate Image of Earth", displayed in local and national galleries and museums including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C. His images have been selected for book and national photographic magazine covers, and appeared in numerous books, calendars, and magazines, including Nature's Best, the Chinese Popular Photography, and Nature Photographer, to which he has been a field contributor since 2001. In August 2001, he was awarded the "Artist of Year" title in San Mateo County, California. He received two Founder's Awards, one for the best color print and one for the best slide, in PhotoClave in November 2001, and "Best of Show", Gold and Silver print award in San Mateo County Fair 2001 and 2002. His on line portfolios was voted number one at photo.net in 2002, after their uploading to the prominent internet website. Recently, four of his color prints were selected for the Advertising Photographers of America (APA) 2003 photo exhibition of top 100 prints in San Francisco and appered in the Photo District News (PDN), the prestigious New York City professional magazine. Leping Zha has also contributed series of images to The AVA Guide to Travel Photography with Kaith Wilson, the founder of the British Outdoor Photography magazine authoring, as well as to An Immortal Heritage, a grand collective book of works from the best 140 Chinese landscape photographers, both published in late 2004. Recently, Leping Zha's infrared black and white portfolios has appeared in the Camera Arts magazine, and received the Black and White magazine's Excellence Award (August 2008 issue).
谢谢观看。
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