Taken in Fiordland National Park using the long lens

The mantra that smartphones are making younger generations insular and closed off from the world around them, though true, is now in the realms of cliche. We’ve all heard it and said it a billion times. It is imprinted on our neurons like text on the page. Which is why I feel slightly awkward about that other piece of tech, the camera, that preoccupies us when we should really be enjoying the outdoors.

I’m an avid photographer myself, I’m not having a dig. It’s just that when I’m walking around a beautiful place, tweaking settings and seeing it only through my viewfinder, I become slightly self-conscious.

But then, is the alternative of simply standing around in the outdoors with arms spread wide, soaking it up, any better? If you live with your partner on the road, or have been travelling a long while, is the idea that you should force a conversation or just hold hands, instead of taking pictures, equally dubious?

We’ve all heard the phrases ‘get among the elements’, ‘enjoy the here and now’, and ‘breathe the fresh air’. Doing these things is certainly beneficial; it’s relaxing to not be constantly stimulated and there is something refreshing, on a primal level, about being outside. Having a virtually endless period in which to relax outdoors and simply do nothing is something we may fantasise about, like having an endless supply of chocolate cake to eat. We want no foreboding of the end to spoil the moment, but then we never end up eating the whole thing.

As human beings, we grow restless quickly. By that I don’t mean we feel an urge to get back indoors and onto a device, but an urge to be doing something. It’s why we go for walks, rather than just standing in places, and why we drive to a new destination rather than staying in the present one.

We’ve all got our own inspirations for picking up a camera. To rehash another cliche, it enables you to ‘preserve the moment’ that would otherwise pass by and be gone forever. You can then share your experience with your loved ones who weren’t there at the time, maybe over a few drinks or cups of tea. Photography can even give your life, or moments of your life, a sense of meaning and direction (in the same way something like gardening or writing can); or it can provide a fulfilling challenge and an opportunity for betterment. Of course it’s important to watch out that you don’t overdo it and bother or hold up the people with you. I’m so fortunate to have a partner who is into photography and who in fact introduced me to it in the first place.

Our campfire in Parachilna Gorge with long shutter speed

GETTING TECHNICAL

Mastering how to use the settings of your camera to full advantage is one of the great joys of photography.

A favourite subject of mine that requires you to head off of auto and into manual is waterfalls. To get that smooth silky motion, you need a long shutter speed; you generally need the camera to be capturing for around half a second to three seconds so that the water motion creates the desired effect, which means you need the stability of a tripod. The results are generally best when the waterfall is in shade, so in the evening or early morning; alternatively when its overcast and there’s no harsh light. If part of the waterfall is in the sun, it’ll be hard to properly expose for the whole image, resulting in lost detail, particularly in the sky, either by under- or overexposure. Shutter priority mode may suffice but I generally find manual is best, as that way you can take full control of aperture and ISO to finesse your desired result.

Another fun challenge is the starry sky. Star shots turn out best when the moon is new or nearly new, when there’s no cloud cover and when you’re away from light pollution. Focus is the hardest part; you can’t use autofocus in the dark, so switch into manual and try to make any distant pinpricks of light in the viewfinder sharp, or otherwise simply take shots and adjust depending on results (this can be frustrating). Generally a good starting point is a shutter speed of 15 to 30 seconds, aperture of as wide as it goes (as close to f/1 as possible) and a high ISO around 3200 or above. There’s inevitably a lot of tweaking with settings until images show up how you want. You can take advantage of the long shutter speed to walk into the image and wave a point of light around, or have your partner do this; where you moved that point of light will show as a trail.

Alternatively to the settings, it’s fulfilling to learn how to take full advantage of your lenses (on most more expensive cameras you can, of course, substitute lenses; they’re not built-in). My personal favourite is the long lens; ours is 70-200mm. Using a long lens enables you to take pictures of animals from a distance without scaring the bejesus out of them. It also enables you to depict scale more accurately.

Obviously, closer objects appear larger than more distant ones. If there’s a huge 1800m peak in the distance, and you take a pic of your partner from two metres away, with the peak in the background, all sense of scale is lost. The big mountain looks small and unimposing. Whereas if you get your partner to walk into the distance, they’ll appear smaller, therefore doing the mountain greater justice (only when they’re standing on top of it, however, is full justice done).

This is more achievable with a long lens. The further you can zoom in, the more you can reduce the distorting effect of closeness and the more you can make the background elements of the image appear sizeable in relation to the foreground.

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Written: Fri 01 Nov 2019
Printed: November, 2019
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