Kase Magnetic Filters

May 18, 2023

Shortly before leaving for Spain in late March I received a package with the Kase Magnetic Revolution ND Kit on my doorstep! I had heard great things about these filters and I was so excited to bring these filters along on my trip. Although this trip was family (not photography) focused, I knew I would be capturing the sights and experiences of our trip and hopefully even get out for a couple sunrises or sunsets.

The Revolution Kit is perfect for me as it includes all of the filters that I use in my work. This kit includes a circular polarizer, 3 stop ND filer, 6 stop ND filter, 10 stop ND filter, and the ring for the filters to attach to the lens. All of these come in a compact filter case. An added bonus that I am really excited about is a magnetic front lens cap. This is a great addition because it means I can cover up and protect the filter when I’m taking a break or moving to a new spot. In the past, I have always had to remove the filter to put on a lens cap.

Another thing I love about these filters is that in addition to the written label on the filter ring to distinguish between the filters, they are also color coded, making it so much easier to grab the filter that I want to use. The 3 stop ND filter is Blue, 6 stop is yellow, the 10 stop is red, and the polarizer ring is silver. For someone whose eyesight is diminishing with age, it is extra helpful to have a way to differentiate the filters without having to try to read the fine print, especially in low light! When trying to grab the right filter as the light is quickly fading or changing, being able to easily identify the one I need means that I don’t miss the shot fumbling with gear.

Most importantly, in addition to being easy to use, their quality is fantastic. The color is neutral so they don’t add a color cast to my images. Also, with this magnetic set, there is a magnetic inlaid ring hidden inside the lens screw thread to improve and minimize vignetting.

I used the filters singularly and stacked during my trip to Spain and was so happy with the results.

30 seconds with the 10 stop neutral density filter in Malaga, Spain

.6 second exposure with the 6 stop Neutral Density filter and using intentional camera movement

Using the circular polarizer to reduce glare and enhance the colors on this gorgeous sunny day in Ronda, Spain

These filters are incredibly easy to stack when you want to use a polarizer and ND filter or to stack more than one ND filter to block more light like in this image below where I stacked the 10 stop and 3 stop neutral density filters to get a 3 minute exposure of these clouds.

After Spain, I traveled to South Carolina in mid April to host my Magic in Hilton Head ladies retreat. This filter kit was a dream to use while on the beaches of Hilton Head Island.

1/2 second exposure with the 6 stop ND filter

I cannot recommend this filter set enough. Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m happy to share any information I can.

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring .

Why It Is Ok (& Often Good) To Take A Break

October 31, 2022

As artists, we experience highs and lows, peaks of creativity and valleys where our inspiration is lacking. This is not surprising as nothing in life can run infinitely at full throttle. It is unrealistic to expect ourselves to feel inspired, creative and productive 365 days a year. And yet so often we can really beat ourselves up during these lows or ‘creative ruts’ as they are often called.

During the last couple years as we have endured a global pandemic and tumultuous times, I have heard many friends and students lament their lack of inspiration and motivation to to pick up their camera and create. This is completely understandable. Personally, I have gone through periods where my photography has been a meditation and positive focus during stressful days but other times, my energy felt depleted and I just didn’t have it in me to get out and shoot or engage in my photography business related activities. I’d have a mile long list of ideas that I’d end up shoving aside because grabbing my coffee and a book, in which to escape, felt more manageable. And sometimes, life was too busy regardless what I felt like doing.

Whether photography is a hobby or a business, we all have busy lives and priorities outside of our photography that place demands on us physically, mentally and emotionally. When those demands pile up and zap our energy, it can take a toll on our creativity. We can’t expect to feel inspired, motivated and creative when we are worn out. This is true whether we are in the midst of a pandemic or not!

In my case, I face the demands of mothering 4 pre teen and teenage children and taking care of the household chores that go along with them. Not to mention taxi driver! Photography as my career means I have many tasks on my plate that do not involve going out to shoot or edit my images. You may have similar demands or perhaps you have another career or take care of younger children or older parents. Health issues and home projects can require a lot of time and create significant stress. The list can go on and on as to things that can zap your physical and mental energy.

I would encourage you to give yourself a break when you aren’t feeling inspired. While it may feel disappointing and frustrating, try to give yourself grace and recognize that this is part of the creative process and trust that your inspiration will come back. Sometimes we need to tend to other parts of life and that really is ok. Giving yourself permission to leave the camera in the bag while you take care of other things can be the best thing you can do for yourself AND your photography. Quite often when I check off the other tasks on my to-do list that are weighing on me or I spend time engaging in some necessary self-care, I find myself feeling lighter and freer to get back to my photography.

Beyond the fact that it is sometimes necessary to give ourselves permission to tend to other aspects of life, breaks are good for us. Practice and consistency are useful and important to achieving excellence in most things in life. But taking breaks and giving ourselves rest time is also important. Liken this to a rest day in your workout routine, taking a weekend off work to spend with family, children running around at recess to give their brains a break during a school day. When we work hard at something, it is not only ok but also important to rest those muscles, whether intellectual, creative, or physical.

If photography is your business, then of course you can’t afford as long of a break, but a small break can leave you feeling more creative, motivated and productive. So if either the creating or business aspects have you feeling bogged down, consider the idea that a break could be the way to greater productivity rather than less.

The 2023 Capture Magic Ladies Retreats are open for registration! 1 spot is left for the Summer Magic in the Tetons Retreat and a couple spots left for the April Magic in Hilton Head Retreat! A waitlist is available for the sold out retreats!

4 Ways To Use Shutter Speed For Creative Seascapes

May 16, 2022

There is something truly magical about the ocean! The movement and sound of the waves crashing along the shore is mesmerizing. The ocean is one of my favorite subjects to photograph because getting creative with shutter speed can keep me experimenting for hours.

There are 4 ways I used shutter speed to create different effects with my seascapes!

1) Fast Shutter Speed - Sometimes the texture of the crashing or cresting waves grabs my eye and instead of softening the water, I want to emphasize the texture and power of the ocean by freezing the movement with a fast shutter speed.

1/2000s shutter speed to freeze the motion of the crashing wave. Photographed at 360mm with the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary Lens.

2. Slow Shutter - One of my favorite shutter speed choices with ocean waves is in the range of .4 seconds to 2 seconds. In this range, the movement of the water is softened somewhat but texture and shape is still evident. With these shutter speeds, the look of the water can change with just small changes in exposure length.

With these shutter speed ranges, a 6 stop ND filter is my go to choice and a tripod is necessary for keeping the camera stable.

1/4 second exposure capturing the movement and texture in the crashing waves

3) Much Longer Exposures - A third creative choice photographing the ocean is to use much longer exposures to smooth out the water completely and create a really soft and dreamy look. Here I am referring to shutter speeds generally of 10 seconds and longer. When we get even longer, with shutter speeds of 30 seconds and more for example, we also get the benefit of getting dreamy movement in the clouds too. When I photograph exposures from 10 to 30 seconds, a 10 stop filter is my go to ND filter. If working in bright daylight hours, more than 10 stops may need to be blocked to get 30 seconds or longer. In these situations, I will use a 15 stop filter or stack filters to extend the time. Be sure to make sure your tripod is stable for these longer exposures. If the water flows up over the legs, it can move just enough to blur the image.

15 second exposure for a dreamy and soft feel in the water

4) Intentional Camera Movement - the fourth way I love to shutter speed creatively is to combine a slower shutter speed with intentional camera movement. This movement creates an abstract and painterly feel to the ocean. My preferred shutter speed range for ICM is .5 seconds to 1 second because it allows me to control if I move fast or slow as well as how much I move the camera over this time period. I generally use a 6 stop ND filter to get my shutter speed in this range. If I am without a filter, it is possible to use intentional camera movement with somewhat faster shutter speeds with success and I don’t hesitate to do so. I simply prefer the .5s to 1 second range . Check out Seascape Panning for more information on using this technique.

1/4 second of intentional camera movement with the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary Lens at 220mm

Experimenting with all these different ways of photographing the water can keep me busy with the ocean for hours! Can’t wait to get back there again!

The Neutral Density Filter I use to photograph long exposures are from Breakthrough Photography.**

** affiliate link

Wide Angle to Telephoto Case Study - Waimea Canyon

April 14, 2022

Recently I wrote an article for Click Magazine and Sigma about Why I love my Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary Lens for Landscape Photography. Shortly after writing this article, my family flew off to Kauai for spring break. When thinking of photographing the scenery of Kauai, I suspect a wide angle lens comes to mind for capturing the spectacular mountains and coasts of this garden island. And while a wider focal length was a great choice for many scenes, I frequently grabbed a longer focal length to tell the stories that caught my eye.

Carrying a range of focal lengths from 14mm to 600mm allowed me to photograph a variety of unique images that tell a more complete story of the beauty I saw than if I was limited to wider angle lenses.

Today I want to share a small collection of images from my last morning on the island. While my family slept in, I awoke at 4:30 a.m., grabbed my gear and necessary coffee and headed out on an hour and 20 minute drive from my hotel to the famed Kalalau Lookout, arriving shortly before sunrise. My first attempt visiting this view was met with rain and fog and I hoped the early morning would allow me to get a glimpse of the NaPali Coastline. We’ll save these images for another day.

After experiencing the beauty of the Kalalau Lookout, I headed back down the road to Waimea Canyon where the clouds were minimal and the sun was already shining brightly. I pulled into the empty parking lot and walked out to the platform where I enjoyed the view by myself for awhile.

Looking out over the canyon, I was wowed by the vastness and the way the sun streamed into all the pockets, highlighted the many layers and led my eye to the river below. This was not my first time visiting Waimea but the beauty still amazed me!

I took a moment to grab my widest angle lens, the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 to photograph the vast and grand beauty of the canyon.

Grand view of Waimea Canyon with the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lens

While I love the wide view the 14mm provided, with the many layers from foreground to sky, I could see so many smaller stories within the canyon. Additionally, with the sun as bright as it was, I did not want to include it in all of my images.

I grabbed my Sigma 24-105mm f/4 to get in a little closer. In this first one, shot at 82mm, I zoomed in on this area of the canyon where the light was streaming down and illuminating the ridge below.

And then I zoomed in more at 105mm to capture the way the light was streaming into the canyon below!

And then I moved on and grabbed the Sigma 150-600mm to get in a little closer and isolate some light and layers in the canyon.

310 mm to focus in on the layers of ridges from foreground to background

150mm focusing in on the light streaming into this pocket of the canyon

150mm giving a close up view of the river flowing through the canyon

440mm gets in close to the details of this ridge as the light hits the edges of the rock

Having a range of focal lengths in my bag with the Sigma 14mm, Sigma 24-105mm, and Sigma 150-600mm lenses allowed me to explore the canyon with my eyes and to isolate various peaks, ridges and light play that grabbed my attention. The longer focal lengths were the perfect tool to zoom in on the highlights, excluding other areas that might have distracted from the story I wanted to tell.

Next time you’re out, consider bringing a variety of lenses to photograph both the grand and intimate stories of the landscape!

Technical & Creative in Photography

March 25, 2022

It is pretty common to hear photographers chat about the technical vs creative aspects of photography. And sometimes you may hear someone say they are either a ‘technical photographer’ or more of a ‘creative photographer.’ Some say they are quite technical and don’t feel they are especially creative. Others feel they are creative but don’t concern themselves as much with the technical aspects.

I can understand where both sides are coming from and certainly can’t argue with anyone else’s personal approach. From my perspective, I see the technical and creative as forming a strong partnership in photography, as well as in many other arts or endeavors in life.

A little background…before I was a mom, (and a photographer) I was a freelance harpist. I spent several days a week performing for the afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel in Chicago and playing for weddings, cocktail hours and other events. It took a long time to develop my skills and a portfolio of music that allowed me to perform with confidence. I spent hours and hours on my technique and practicing each piece countless times before it was added to my repertoire.

When my twins were born 11 years ago and I had 4 kids age 5 and under, my time to play the harp at home and to gig outside the home became all but nonexistent. This was the point I finally took the step to start learning photography in a serious way.

Over the years, as photography took over my creative and professional life, I have played the harp on occasion but not regularly like I did when I was freelancing. At Christmas time this past year, I made time to sit down and play. In many ways, my fingers took to the strings like they always have but there are songs that I used to know well that are no longer ‘in my fingers’ at all. Other pieces I can play but not with the same expression and musicality that I once did.

So one night I lay in bed thinking about the parallels between playing the harp, or any other musical instrument, and photography and how the technical aspects are intertwined with the creative. The way that practice, understanding and mastery of technical skills creates a fluidity that makes way for creative expression.

I recall many hours practicing exercises on the harp simply to master finger positioning and agility. I learned music theory and counted out loud, with and without playing notes, and practiced individual lines and measures of pieces over and over again to the point my husband would request I play the full songs when he was around! These many hours of diligent practice and repetition are what allowed me to add expression into the songs that I learned. I could relax and feel the music as I played rather than focusing on the specific notes, rhythm and finger technique.

As an athlete, I see this in sports as well. Perhaps the parallel isn’t quite as obvious in sports as another artistic endeavor. But take basketball for example. One may watch basketball and simply see speed, strength, and technical skill of a player being able to nail that 3 point shot or gently put the ball up for a lay up after deftly moving past several defenders. But the ability to read the court takes creative strategy and quick thinking. The moves you see require repetitive practicing of ball handling skills to avoid looking at the ball, building up strength and agility in both the dominant and non-dominant hand, not to mention the soft touch on the lay up.

When it comes to photography, I also believe a solid mastery of the technicals opens us up to focus on our creative expression. If we are uncertain of what settings we should choose or where a button is on our camera menu, we can get bogged down in figuring this out while the light disappears in front of us. Sometimes a creative vision may not involve a lot of technical knowledge. But if the vision involves capturing the movement of water with a slow shutter speed and you have no idea how to use a neutral density filter, the process could be quite frustrating and unsuccessful. If you want details in the shadows of a high dynamic range scene but you fumble about trying to expose properly for both the shadows and highlights, you could find that the pieces just don’t come together when you get back to your computer.

Practicing and understanding the technical aspects may be more fun for some than others but I believe the time and effort rewards you with expanded creativity. If you are one who avoids the technicals, I would encourage you to reconsider putting the time in to learn them. When the technical becomes second nature, the mind is freed to focus on expression and vision. Being a ‘technical’ photographer does have to mean you aren’t also a ‘creative’ one. It just might open you up to increased creativity and flow.

4 Tips for Processing Black and White Landscapes

February 15, 2022

Post processing is an important part of creating compelling black and white landscape photography. Starting with a RAW image that has a wide range of tones and varied textures will give an image a good start but the editing process will bring polish to the image. Creating a black and white image is more than simply hitting a button in Lightroom to remove the color. There are several steps I take to ensure my black and white landscapes have a nice distinction between tones across the histogram.

1) To start, I ensure the image has a white and black point, stretching the tones to the edges of the histogram. The ensures a full range of luminosity values through the image. The one situation where I don’t do this is when I’m going for a lower contrast black and white.

2) The HSL panel in Lightroom or ACR is extremely helpful for working with individuals colors in the image to increase micro contrast in sections of the landscape. For example, darkening the blue channel will darken the tones in a blue sky. Raising the luminosity of yellow and orange will lighten up grasses or flowers of a foreground.

3) Dodging and burning is one of the most important tools in black and white photography. Gently brightening light midtones and burning slightly darker ones will create distinction in those shades of gray between black and white.This technique will enhance the light and shadow play in your images as well as bring out the details in nature’s textures. Dodging and burning can be done in any editing program you use.

Lightroom’s new masking options now offer additional power for selectively dodging and burning specific tones within an image. The Color Range and Luminance Range masks allow you create a panel of adjustments to specific tonal pixels within your image.

In Photoshop, I love to use Tony Kuyper’s Luminosity Mask actions to isolate particular tones and luminosity values for dodging and burning. These masks offer so many options to control which luminosity values you are adjusting.

Keep in mind that strong black and white images don’t have histograms that all look the same. In some cases, tones are spread pretty evenly across the histogram like in the below image.

In some black and whites, there are more light tones where the histogram will lean towards the right like in this image with lots of fog amongst the trees.

And in others, the tones will be heavy toward the left side of the histogram with lots of dark tones such as in this night time image of Emerald Lake. The histogram has a full range of tones from left to right, with the lights being the bright white tones, but the predominantly dark scene is represented by the histogram showing heavily on the left.

4) My last and most important tip is to EXPERIMENT! Practice with lots of images and try various techniques. Try different things with the same image. Ask for feedback from friends you trust. And don’t be afraid to push your adjustments a little further in black and white than color and get creative!

Post processing is a personal and subjective process. There are many tools in the various software programs. The techniques I share are ones that work for me, but you may have others that work best for you. That said, I always like to try new things and learn from others, so perhaps my steps will add something new to your workflow!

Embrace and Enjoy the Journey

December 10, 2021

This little blog space has been quiet for some time now. I’ve more or less been silent here for the last year. The silence, though, is not because I haven’t been up to anything or had any thoughts to share. It is probably more because my mind has been overrun by so many thoughts that it has often felt impossible to wade through them, decide what might be worth sharing, and do so in a thoughtful and clear manner. I’d head out on a walk with the dog or with my camera and find myself in a clear and reflective space and come back home to find my brain once again overwhelmed by the noise, both literal and figurative.

That said, through the noise and haze that has felt disruptive in my mind during these months (almost years now) of the pandemic, I have also found a clarity in my vision for my photography and in the direction I want my teaching to go.

The first year of the pandemic, giving me more time at home and slower days, made me reflective on my photography and took me back to the roots of where I began. I spent more time quietly observing my local environment and I am grateful to photography for opening my eyes to beauty I am certain I would not have noticed before immersing myself in this art.

On a visit to my dad down in Hilton Head, I noticed a poem framed on a table in their hallway, one I remember reading as a child. It applies to life, but it felt very applicable to photography as well.

The Station by Robert J. Hastings

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true, and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering — waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

“When we reach the station, that will be it!” We cry.

“When I’m 18.”

“When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes-Benz!”

“When I put the last kid through college.”

“When I have paid off the mortgage!”

“When I get a promotion.”

“When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.”

It had been awhile since I had last read that poem, but it is such a good reminder to find joy in all the small things in our everyday. And reading it during the pandemic, when so many of our big moments were cancelled - graduations, weddings, travel, birthday celebrations - felt like serendipitous timing.

It occurred to me at the time and has stuck with me since, that this idea translates so well to landscape and nature photography as well. We can get caught up in what we want to learn, capture, accomplish, or to believe we need certain gear for our photography to improve. As landscape photographers we tend to share a wanderlust for travel to beautiful and awe inspiring places. We long for “epic” views and conditions that make our jaws drop to the floor. We have bucket lists of places we long to go, those lists lengthened as we scroll our instagram feeds. I have heard photographers walk away from a stunning view disappointed as they lament the lack of an ‘epic’ sunset even while I was awed by the beauty.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love to travel to jaw dropping places and watch Mother Nature knock me over me with her magic! Those moments when I am jumping up and down and audibly saying “wow” from one minute to the next are incredible. Some of my very favorite images have come from those moments. I would liken those moments in photography to being a “station” as Robert Hastings calls the milestones and big moments in life.

Not to discount those iconic views and epic skies, but there is beauty everywhere if our eyes are open to it. I won’t lie and say I don’t still want to explore all the places on my bucket list. I do! But spending more time at home in 2020 had me pausing to take in the simpler beauty of my local surroundings. Embracing those moments has taught me to see more creatively and increased my enjoyment of where I live. My eyes are opened up to new details of beauty all the time.

I pick up my camera to capture the things that move me, that make me pause, and that bring me joy. I often still find it easier to photograph when I travel because the busy-ness of day to day life at home can make it hard. But even if I don’t click the shutter, I see beautiful ‘frames’ of nature in my mind everyday, and I pause a few moments to enjoy them. And that’s a wonderful journey to be on.

Wherever you are in your photography, and wherever you live in this world, I hope you find joy in the beauty around you everyday, and find the time to capture some of it with your camera!

Chasing Magic Coffee Table Book

March 23, 2021

The last year has been a time when our world explorations were cancelled and ‘social distancing’ ruled our physical interactions and connections with others. Disappointing in so many ways, and yet sometimes great things come out of adversity.

It all began with an idea…

Two years ago, Amy Miller, a friend and alum of my workshop, The World Around You, came to me with an idea. She is not only a talented photographer but also a graphic designer with a growing interest in designing books. Amy was dreaming of a coffee table book that would celebrate the work of the female landscape and nature photographer. She envisioned us collaborating and launching the idea into our community of female nature photographers.

It felt like we must have been on the same wavelength because when she approached me, I had been lost in thought about ways to continue to nurture the photography and connection among the women in my community. I was looking for a way that we could celebrate each other’s art, share our knowledge and experiences, and foster connection. There is joy in the solo experience of photography but so much beauty in finding ways to collaborate and share with likeminded artists. Ideas of a collaborative website, blog, magazine, etc. were running through my head on a daily basis, but I hadn’t quite landed on anything yet.

Amy and I had a couple brainstorming sessions about the book and came up with some preliminary ideas and set the idea on the back burner to let our ideas ‘marinate’, if you will, and checked in with each other occasionally.

In the meantime, a friend introduced to me to a platform called ‘Mighty Networks’ and my vision of an online space for a female nature community was created in February 2020 with Women Capture Magic. The vision for this space was to be a place where female nature photographers could come together to share, learn, inspire and connect.

After the pandemic began in March 2020, the world felt heavy, exploration was no longer, and there was a yearning for social connection. Once again, Amy and I were on the same wavelength. Not even a week after I was thinking to myself that this would be a perfect time to launch the book project, I got a message from Amy saying we should revisit our brainstorming and move forward. This time, we finished our session with a very solid vision and we were on our way. The next step involved asking our talented friend, Megan Arndt, to join in the project. Megan was the perfect person to come into this idea in the formative stages, as we collectively narrowed and polished the vision for the themes of the book and how we wanted to approach collecting images, creating the book itself and eventually announcing it. It felt like the perfect time to bring together female artists from all over the world in a collaborative project that celebrates the way we see the world!

Women Capture Magic was the perfect place in which to launch the book. The community is filled with talented and inspiring female photographers who respectfully and kindly support and encourage one another. We could not have been more thrilled by the enthusiastic response from the community and blown away by the amazing images submitted for consideration.

The Chasing Magic coffee table book is collaboration of 136 female photographers with images falling into 10 themes: Vast, In Motion, Intimate, Signs of the Season, Let’s Adventure, Dramatic, Into the Woods, Wild, Seeking Serenity, and After Dark. Each chapter is introduced with the words of one of the artists included in that theme. Each image is showcased on its own page and a selection of images within each theme share a “Behind the Shot” story of the image.

8 x 10 Hardcover book. 180 pages containing the art of 136 photographers around the world!

Amy and Megan were a dream to work with and we learned a tremendous amount about the process of putting a project like this together. The layout was beautifully designed by Amy and the final book exceeds all our expectations!

I am so happy to share a few images of the book and its contents but have to tell you my product imagery does NOT do it justice!

The book is available for sale in the Blurb Bookstore and a quick search of ‘Chasing Magic’ will bring up all 3 available versions of the book: our feature Hardcover Coffee Table book, a Softcover book and a luxury version printed on Pearl Paper.

Chasing Magic Hardcover features an Imagewrap cover with a durable matte finish and premium 100# lustre paper inside. See more of the Classic Hardcover Version Here.

Chasing Magic Softcover features a flexible, glossy cover and premium 100# lustre paper on the inside.

Find the Softcover Version Here

Chasing Magic Luxury features an Imagewrap cover with a durable matte finish and high-end 140# pearl photo paper inside. View the Luxury Version Here.

Special Note: Blurb frequently offers coupon codes for discounts in their bookstore.You can sign up on Blurb so you don’t miss these announcements if you are interested in saving on your purchase. Who doesn’t love a good promo code?!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You.

The next run of The World Around You begins April 19th and is open for registration!

Night Photography Part 4: Star Trails

July 16, 2020

Creating star trails can be a fun and creative way to add interest and intrigue to your night sky images. They do take quite a bit of time and patience to create in the field as well as in post processing, so keep that in mind as you prepare for the task. Below are a few tips as you shoot star trail images.

1) Prepare the right Gear: A sturdy tripod is essential for shooting star trails as you will need your tripod to stay solidly in one place for extended periods of time. An intervalometer is also a recommended tool for star trails. If shooting 30 second exposures, you can use your in camera intervalometer but if you want to shoot longer than 30 second exposures, you’ll need to be in bulb mode and use an external intervalometer. A wide angle lens will be the best choice for capturing those vast night skies.

2) Find Dark Skies & Clear Nights - Dark and clear skies are needed for bright star trails against a dark night. Look for nights without moon interference and no clouds. I love using the Sun Surveyor app to find information for the moon phase, rise and set. Despite clear skies being ideal, I wouldn’t shy away from shooting if there are a few clouds about. This image below is one of my very favorite star trail images and there were clouds interspersed with the stars.

Star trails amongst the clouds at Vermilion Lakes in Banff National Park

3) Long Trails or Short trails? Choose the effect you are going for. If you want to get many long and continuous trails of stars, you will need to shoot for a long time, at least 30 minutes but ideally an hour or longer. For shorter trails where the star trails are broken and just little lines across the sky, you can shoot a single exposure in the 8-15 minute range. (Such as the Vermilion Lakes shot above)

4) Exposure Time - To decide on your exposure time, consider what effect you are going for. You could shoot one very long exposure, or you could shoot many 30 second exposures and stack them together in Photoshop to create the trails. There are a few benefits to the shorter exposures. First, you can more easily check your exposure with a test shot and adjust before you set the camera to shoot for minutes, or hours. Second, if random light comes in and messes up an exposure, it can be easier to fix than if you have had your exposure running for an hour’s time. And third, you also have static star shots in addition to the trails. This leaves you more options for using these various exposures in post processing from static star images, short trails, longer trails or even a time lapse.

Star trails captured over an hour of time in Wyoming. 30 second exposures stacked into one image.

5) Turn off in Camera Noise Reduction - While the in camera long exposure noise reduction can be helpful for avoiding hot spots, it must be off when shooting star trails because the exposures need to be continuous with the least amount of time between them as possible to avoid breaks in the trails.

6) Switch to Manual Focus - Make sure you have your camera in manual focus so that your camera is not trying to focus during the many star captures.

7) Scout Location during the Day - Use the daytime to find a great location with interesting foreground to add to your star trail image. Heading out with a plan will greatly increase your chances of success!

8) Be Creative! While there are techniques that will help you succeed in getting focused and well exposed star trail images, don’t be afraid to experiment and be creative.

For more tips on Astrophotography see Astrophotography Tips Part 1 and Part 2. Also check out Part 1 in the Night Photography Series: Preparation for more general tips.

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You. The next run of The World Around You begins August 17!

Notes from Quarantine

May 28, 2020

I have been absent from this space over the last few weeks. It felt as if the content I had planned for these past weeks just didn’t feel right under the circumstance and perhaps that isn’t the case, but things just feel so different right now. And as I set aside those topics, my landscape photography workshop, ‘The World Around You’ began and all my time was pulled into class and keeping my home running during this crazy time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my photography, and photography in general over the course of this Shelter at Home. Reflecting on its importance in my life and in the world overall. And mostly with regards to nature photography in particular as it doesn’t document the pandemic in the same way as people photography. In that way it feels less important and yet as we see the way the world has changed with empty streets, empty stores, and people spaced out with masks, the nature is a steady presence and in my mind, feels almost more beautiful than ever before.

On a walk the other day I found myself reflecting on the ways my photography has changed and not changed, during the last two months. If you look at my Instagram these days, you’ll find more small wildlife and intimate nature scenes sprinkled among the landscapes that have historically dominated my feed. And certainly this is a change. I do have some birds and macro in my (huge) Lightroom catalog that I scroll past as I go digging for landscapes to edit or grab an image as an example for my blog or in teaching. Many are even given 3 stars in my system to designate images worth editing but rarely have they been edited and shared. They get passed over for the landscapes and nightscapes that I love and spend time teaching to others. In my time at home, which is the majority of my days, I spend time editing the collection of images that I have captured during my travels and retreats. In fact, I will much more often spend time editing those images than exploring my local landscape.

In the past, I would often find myself noticing moments in nature outside my window or on a walk and framing them in my mind. Less often would I actually grab the camera and capture what I was seeing. And some of it was because the beauty felt ‘inferior’ to the grander beauty I had already sitting unedited on my external hard drives. Certainly there is truth to that and the response to my local images on social media is much less than my travels. But that is ok as I do not create images for the response of others. But today, and in the last several months, I AM picking up the camera and capturing what my eye is drawn to.

A truth I realized is that whether the simpler beauty that I see in my everyday surroundings is less impressive than the views of my dream travels or not, observing and capturing that beauty brings me joy and gratitude for our natural world. So often I find I am wishing myself out of the flat Midwest instead of appreciating what is right in front of me. And while I will be so grateful to explore the world again and turn my camera to the mountains and ocean, I hope to continue to finding joy in capturing what is out my front door.

My approach to my photography certainly has not changed. Whether I am out in the mountains or walking along the pond beyond my yard, camera in hand, it is the experience of being in nature that brings me the greatest reward. The creative process and the quiet moments center and calm me. It slows me down and brings me gratitude. The resulting images are a wonderful bonus.

And wherever I am, I go out and observe without expectations. Open mind and open heart to be moved by both the simple and extraordinary moments that Mother Nature offers me.

My “Beauty in My Backyard” project is still going strong with my Sigma 150-600. You can read about the evolution of this project on Sigma’s blog here. I have expanded the project to include some macro with my Nikon 105mm macro lens and my Velvet 56. And as we ease the restrictions, I’m getting out to some local spots around me.

I’d love to hear about how this pandemic has influenced your images or how you think about your photography. Comment below or send me a message. Connecting with others in this passion is my second favorite thing about photography. Second only to the enjoyment of the creative process.

Looking forward to getting back to some sense of normalcy and adding more tips & inspiration in this space in the coming weeks! Stay well!

6 MORE Tips for Capturing Reflections

May 1, 2020

In my last post, I shared 5 tips for capturing beautiful reflections in landscape imagery. Some of my very favorite landscape images are ones that include reflections. For that reason, I wanted to share some more tips with you this week!

1) Create Symmetry - In landscape photography, it is often recommended to avoid a centered horizon in creating a strong composition. However, when capturing reflections, a centered horizon can be a great choice for composing an image with beautiful symmetry. This is especially the case with a simple scene that isolates the subject and its reflection. When the top and bottom of the scene appear identically, the centered horizon yields a pleasing sense of balance in the frame.

A minimal scene of clouds and trees reflecting in Emerald Lake.

An example of a more complex scene with multiple elements that are mirrored in the waters of Emerald Lake.

2) Think Abstract - Sometimes a reflection can lend itself well to an abstract. Fill the frame with subjects with interesting textures, lines or repetitive shapes.

This image is a scene in Jasper National Park at sunrise. I was drawn to the textures and repetition of these trees and I used my telephoto lens to create an abstract of just the trees and their reflection.

This abstract captured the reflection of tree trunks in the pond beyond our home as the snow fell last month.

3) Avoid Distractions - As you frame your shot, be aware of distractions that might get in the way of your clear and compelling reflection. This can mean items in the water that distract the eye from the reflection such as algae, rocks or sticks. It is also important to check that your positioning captures the reflection without cutting it off. For example, make sure your trees or mountains are reflected fully without the shoreline cutting off the tops of them.

This scene at Oxbow Bend requires that you watch your position so that the full top of Mt. Moran is reflected in the Snake River below.

In this scene in Grand Teton National Park, I carefully set myself up so that the reflection of the Grand Teton would not be impacted by the rocks in the foreground.

4) Frame your reflection - Look for framing elements to add more depth to your reflection images. However, be aware of tip #3 and don’t cut off the important parts of your reflection. Use the framing elements to add depth but avoid distracting the eye away from the reflection that is your main focal point.

In this image, I wanted to frame Mt. Moran and its reflection in the water below. I was very careful to position myself to comfortably frame the subject and while not cutting off the reflection with the foreground foliage.

5) Ripples are Ok! Generally we look for the clearest reflections and the stillest water. Reflections feel like a mirror when the water is the stillest. But don’t shy away when there are some ripples in the water. They can add some interest to your image and make it unique.

It can be hard to get a clear reflection in the very large Jackson Lake so I was excited to see it on this crisp autumn morning. As you can see, there are ripples in the water but capturing this with a faster shutter speed allowed the ripples to cre… — It can be hard to get a clear reflection in the very large Jackson Lake so I was excited to see it on this crisp autumn morning. As you can see, there are ripples in the water but capturing this with a faster shutter speed allowed the ripples to create an interesting texture while still getting a great reflection.

6) Have patience! Sometimes you may visit a spot that often gets reflections but when you arrive the water is full of waves. In some situations, you may be out of luck, but sometimes if you stay long enough, the reflection will appear during breaks in the wind.

On this stormy and windy afternoon, there was just a short window in which I was able to capture the reflection of the mountains in the water.

Hope these tips will help you next time you are out searching for reflections.

5 Tips for Capturing Beautiful Reflections

April 15, 2020

One of the most compelling elements you can include in landscape imagery is a strong reflection. Reflections add interest, often create symmetry and help to add depth in a simple scene. Reflections are a great way to capture a more intriguing image when the skies are uncooperative, such as full overcast or completely clear.

Calm waters in Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park as the sun sets and moon rises.

You can find reflections in any water source that is still such as a pond, lake, calm area of a river, a puddle, or even the wet sand along the shore. Reflections of mountains, trees, city buildings and skies are all compelling subjects to find reflections of in your scenery.

Some tips for finding and capturing the best reflections and most compelling images:

1) Find Calm Water ~Calm water is a necessity for the clearest reflections. Smaller and shallower bodies of water will often be easiest to find calm water though even larger and deeper lakes can be calm enough for clear reflections if you catch them at the right times. Early morning or later evening will often be the best times for finding calm water. Check your weather forecast and choose days and times with low wind.

Pretty calm waters at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. The 10 second exposure smoothed the water a bit.

2) Consider the light ~ The best reflections will be captured when the light is behind you and a bit to the right or left. With that in mind, be aware of how the sun can cast a shadow of your body into the scene. Unless you are going for a shadow self portrait, then go right ahead 😊

Calm waters in the Snake River with the sunrise light behind me.

Calm morning waters at Lake Marmo at Morton Arboretum with the sun behind me.

3) Find the best perspective ~ Sometimes the the reflection is obvious in the scene but other times the best reflection can take a little exploring angle and perspective. Get low and see if you can get more reflection than at eye level. It’s also important to consider how you are composing the scene to avoid chopping your main subject AND its reflection in an awkward way. Be sure to leave comfortable space above the subject and below its reflection.

The reflection of the sky and clouds in the wet sand and very shallow waters at Cannon Beach in Oregon is enhanced by my low perspective very close to the sand. Getting low also helps to add depth in the image.

4) Consider using a Graduated Neutral Density filter - The reflection is often much darker than the subject above. A graduated neutral density filter can reduce the exposure of the top of the frame to neutralize the dynamic range so you can better expose the shadowed reflection. This is especially the true in a situation where the sun is setting behind your subject and not illuminating the reflection such as in the Teton images above.

5) Experiment with long exposures ~ If the water is a bit rippled and the reflection is lacking, shooting a long exposure will smooth the water and sometimes bring out a hint of reflection as well.

This sunset at Oxbow Bend had an incredibly beautiful reflection for evening. The water was nice and calm. This is a situation where a GND could help to decrease exposure on the sky a few stops and allow the foreground to be exposed brighter without… — This sunset at Oxbow Bend had an incredibly beautiful reflection for evening. The water was nice and calm. This is a situation where a GND could help to decrease exposure on the sky a few stops and allow the foreground to be exposed brighter without overexposing the sky.

In this scene, the water was extremely choppy from the wind in the late afternoon on a blustery November day. The 30 second exposure brought out some reflection of the mountain in Bow Lake.

I hope these tips help you capture stunning reflections in your local scenery and in your travels. If you’re looking to purchase filters for creative effects including long exposures, my go to filters are from Breakthrough Photography *. They are great quality and do not add a color cast.

*Affiliate Link

4 Tips for Capturing Mother's Nature's Atmosphere Part 2

March 25, 2020

A couple weeks ago I posted an article encouraging you to get out and capture Mother Nature’s Atmosphere in the fog, snow, rain and frigid temperatures. I believe that dramatic and inclement weather can create incredible opportunities for some of the most unique and compelling nature images. These moments happen amongst stormy skies and when the weather clears just enough to let light through. I also believe that even in what appears to be a dreary day, there is beauty to be found if we open our minds and think creatively to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

So today I have 4 tips for capturing Mother Nature’s Atmosphere:

1) Let go of Expectations -

Head out with an open mind and without expectation for what you will capture. As a general rule, I try to do this whenever I go out to shoot but I think it is especially important when the weather is behaving unpredictably. Sometimes we can have a particular kind of beauty or image in our heads and that can blind us from seeing a different kind of beauty right in front of us.

The image below is captured at the iconic Oxbow Bend on a winter’s morning in 2016. Beyond these trees is typically where you would see Mt. Moran but on this morning, you would not know the Tetons were there. Instead of driving past, I captured the beauty of the mist and snow among the trees. While I hoped for a different view that morning, I made the most of what WAS in front of me and I really love the winter magic in this image.

2) Consider Different Focal Lengths & Perspectives - As landscape photographers, we are often drawn to the grand view and wide angle scenery. Sometimes the beauty will be in the expansive scene. But often we can find it in smaller segments of the landscape.

An overcast evening with low lying clouds at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park created a beautiful atmosphere surrounding the Emerald Lake Lodge & its iconic restaurant view. Across the lake I was drawn to the way the low clouds mixed in the tr… — An overcast evening with low lying clouds at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park created a beautiful atmosphere surrounding the Emerald Lake Lodge & its iconic restaurant view. Across the lake I was drawn to the way the low clouds mixed in the trees and reflected in the still waters of Emerald Lake. While I captured the wider view and loved it, I also used my telephoto lens to capture a smaller and more detailed scene. This is one of my favorite recently edited images.

One of the days of the September 2019 Magic in the Tetons retreat was extremely overcast and rainy. While we enjoyed a little extra sleep and a nice breakfast in town together, we also were determined to find some beauty in the day. The sky above wa… — One of the days of the September 2019 Magic in the Tetons retreat was extremely overcast and rainy. While we enjoyed a little extra sleep and a nice breakfast in town together, we also were determined to find some beauty in the day. The sky above was pretty dreary but the low clouds were beautiful as they floated through the evergreen trees. I grabbed my Sigma 150-600 to capture the atmosphere on the side of the mountainside. As much as I love my Teton views, this is one of my favorite images from the retreat. And I love how it shows the beauty we found even in some of the dreariest conditions.

3) Be Patient - Sometimes Mother Nature’s dramatic weather is spectacular in an obvious way, such as when a storm is brewing and the ominous clouds are passing over the mountains or ocean in the distance and you can comfortably capture the incredible drama. Other times, she brings consistent rain or overcast clouds. There are days the cloud cover or rain simply does not let up, but holding patience for a partial clearing, or even a single moment of light, can lead to incredible images. In those brief periods of light between the dreary skies, or waiting out the downpours, we can find amazing beauty. Sometimes even a lackluster sunset can become colorful a short while after the sun goes below the horizon.

While in Turks & Caicos, my husband and I rode our bikes 3 miles to the edge of South Caicos for sunrise one morning. While we were there, we got caught in a downpour and we ran off to an abandoned building for shelter. Instead of leaving, we wa… — While in Turks & Caicos, my husband and I rode our bikes 3 miles to the edge of South Caicos for sunrise one morning. While we were there, we got caught in a downpour and we ran off to an abandoned building for shelter. Instead of leaving, we waited out the rain as I was hopeful that the clearing of the clouds would create some beautiful light. Not only did we get a bit of clearing, but we also got a beautiful rainbow, and actually a hint of a double rainbow too!

On this evening of the Magic in the Tetons retreat, we arrived a little before sunset to rather cloudy skies. I found the intense blue clouds and yellow fall foliage to be a stunning contrast. Sunset itself was quite lackluster but we held on for aw… — On this evening of the Magic in the Tetons retreat, we arrived a little before sunset to rather cloudy skies. I found the intense blue clouds and yellow fall foliage to be a stunning contrast. Sunset itself was quite lackluster but we held on for awhile just waiting well past when the sun went below the horizon. Our patience paid off as about 20 minutes after ‘sunset’, this incredible pink appeared in the sky, enhanced by the long exposures we were shooting.

4) Get Out There!

Even when the forecast is questionable, get out there anyway! Yes, sometimes you may get skunked but quite often you’ll find unexpected beauty or the weather will break at just the perfect moment. There have been so many times I have gone out in rain, freezing rain, or overcast clouds wondering if the shoot would be a bust and come home with images I love. In some cases Mother Nature surprised me by bringing a well timed clearing or beautiful colors in the clouds. Other times I found beauty in unexpected ways.

On this day in Banff National Park, the clouds covered the mountains and the sky was dreary and overcast, but a brief window of light came along at the perfect time over Bow Lake. In the drive from Lake Louise to Bow Lake, the clouds left little hop… — On this day in Banff National Park, the clouds covered the mountains and the sky was dreary and overcast, but a brief window of light came along at the perfect time over Bow Lake. In the drive from Lake Louise to Bow Lake, the clouds left little hope of finding this beauty, but there it was. Worth the effort!

As my friends and I drove 20 minutes from Dana Point, CA to Crystal Cove, the rain came down on us. We knew our efforts may be in vain, but we were only there for one more night and we wanted to make an effort. This was also an outing to see this pl… — As my friends and I drove 20 minutes from Dana Point, CA to Crystal Cove, the rain came down on us. We knew our efforts may be in vain, but we were only there for one more night and we wanted to make an effort. This was also an outing to see this place that was so special to my friend, Brynn Schmidt. As we parked, the rain was beginning to let up and we could see the makings of incredible light. We practically sprinted to the beach and could barely set up our tripods fast enough. I don’t think we even spoke to each other for 30 minutes and we raced to capture the beauty in front of us. When we left our hotel earlier that afternoon, this sunset would never have been what we predicted. Go out anyway! It won’t pay off every time, but sometimes it will.

Lose your expectations, open your mind, practice patience and perseverance! Capture the beauty of Mother Nature’s atmosphere!

While at the moment, many places are off limit to us as we ‘social distance’ and ‘shelter in place’, I look forward to when I am able to travel again, both locally and across the world. In the meantime, I am traveling virtually through my image catalog and finding many images yet to be edited. I’m storing away my ideas and inspiration for the day I can travel again and hope you do too! In the meantime, reach out to me if you' have any topics you’d like to read about as we shelter in our homes. Stay healthy!

My online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You, is now open for registration! Sign up at Click Photo School.

6 Ideas for Creativity while Quarantined

March 18, 2020

Today’s blog post was meant to be some tips for getting the shot while embracing Mother Nature’s atmosphere as a follow up to last week’s post. But with the dramatic changes that have happened in the world since last week due to Covid-19, I’m postponing those tips to next week.

All of a sudden we find our schools and businesses closed and we’re all holed up in our houses. For some that may mean a lot of solitary time if you live alone or perhaps now your time will be more limited with the kids home and trying to juggle the new homeschool situation with your work & daily tasks. Regardless, it is a little daunting to feel the world shift on a dime. It is so unsettling and uncertain. Being home with the kids is not something I find difficult but the threat of loss & illness involved here strikes at the core of my anxiety.

If you live in the middle of nature or close to areas you can escape for a nature fix and still maintain your ‘social distance’, you are certainly fortunate. Right now, the Chicago suburbs are still pretty brown and blah. Travel was my avenue for photographic inspiration and that’s pretty much gone at the moment. That may be the same for many of you.

With the threat of serious illness for yourself or someone you care about, nature photography can seem insignificant in some ways, right? And maybe life right now does not leave extra time for this creative outlet. There are certainly other priorities unless photography is providing for your family. But if it’s not, it is still important to take care of our hearts, minds and bodies. Photography fills me up and in many ways it is a meditation for my whole body. We need our passions to channel our minds away from spiraling to negative places and to help us focus in on the beauty that still exists in this world. Photography helps us remind us of the beautiful moments & documents the way we see the world. This is important even at a time like this, and perhaps especially at a time like this..

As a couple of trips I looked forward to this month got cancelled, I am grateful for my recent travels and have been thinking of the ways I can fill up my need to photograph, create, learn, grow, and share with my friends who share this passion. If I’m honest, I know my ideas far exceed the time I will have even if this quarantine goes on far longer than currently set (& it seems it will) While these ideas aren’t all that different from my cooped up in winter ideas shared in early January, I feel they warrant reinforcing. Sometimes repetition is helpful and motivating. I know it helps me to have ideas of things I want to try or accomplish in these trying times.

1 ) Keep your camera out on the counter in an ‘easy to grab’ spot! - If you also have young kids, perhaps you want to keep your camera close for grabbing those family moments. But another idea is to keep your camera and telephoto lens close at hand to try some bird/wildlife photography in your yard. Our kitchen window overlooks a pond (surrounded by the neighborhood homes) and I have noticed that the birds are starting to fly around and land on the trees close to our house. After I missed a red cardinal the other day while I went to grab my camera, I decided to keep my camera with my Sigma 150-600 lens in the corner of the counter to grab quickly!

One of my nature captures with my Sigma 150-600mm lens

2) Work on a Printing Project - I recommend this often and honestly should do it more myself. Why not work on a series of images to print and hang on your wall or create a photo book. Bring all that beauty you have worked so hard on into your home during this challenging time.

3) Create a video/slideshow of your images and/or video clips from past vacations -This is something I want to do more of and so rarely can find the time to do it. Maybe this will be the time to get to this project! If you make one, share it with me and inspire me please :)

4) Explore a new indoor genre - Try some macro or still life photography. Explore video in additional to still photos.

5) Find an online class that interests you - That time you thought you didn’t have, perhaps you have it now. Even with landscape, there is so much you can learn and try in your local area to nail techniques for when those travel opportunities come again. If you don’t want spend money on a new class, pull out some old class materials and reread them. Surely you’ll find some tips that you missed the first time around.

6) Fine Tune your Post Processing - Post processing options are endless and building your creativity in editing can be just what you need to take your images to the next level. There are so many classes and free tutorials out there to learn about the many tools of Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar, etc. Experiment and play, ask your friends or a mentor for their feedback. Dig into that backlog of travel images that you likely wouldn’t get to if you could still be out shooting! Lose yourself in the beauty on your screen.

First and foremost, take care of yourself & your family. The camera will always be there and if you need to put it down for awhile, there is nothing wrong with that!

My online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You, is now open for registration! Sign up at Click Photo School. This will likely be the only run of 2020 as my fall is filled with retreats.

Embracing Mother Nature's Atmosphere

March 11, 2020

Mother Nature is not always cooperative in providing beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and days with blue skies and white puffy clouds. Sometimes she sends us stormy and inclement conditions like rain, snow, and fog. While all of these things can provide challenging circumstances, they often create the most atmospheric and unique landscape imagery. So instead of hiding inside, grab the camera and embrace the atmosphere.

Three atmospheric conditions to capture:

1) Fog & Low clouds

Fog can be challenging as it creates low visibility, difficulty driving and may obscure the beautiful views you find in the mountains or along the coast, for example. On the positive side, fog can create a sense of mystery, enhance atmosphere and provide a soft, dreamy mood. In obscuring some details, fog enhances the beauty of other details and creates a stunning contrast to finer and rougher textures, such as the hard rock of mountain tops or the needles of pine trees. Fog may isolate foreground objects like trees, flowers or animals from the background, simplifying the scene.

Pond & Tree in the fog Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

2) Snow & Frigid Temperatures

My guess is most won’t need a lot of encouragement to get out there on those beautiful winter days when big puffy snowflakes are falling. There is something truly magical about falling snow. Even in heavily falling snow, the views can be beautiful. The snow often comes with a drab white sky, but the foreground is enhanced by the atmosphere created with fresh snowflakes.

Many people shy away from the extremely frigid temperatures you that sometimes come after a beautiful snowfall. I encourage you to prepare for the cold with many layers and grab those hand and toe warmers because the icy temperatures often lead to unique ice formations and extra sparkly snow.

Frosty Vermilion Lakes Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

3) Rain

A hard drenching downpour is not going to provide you with the most enjoyable shooting conditions nor create the most pleasing images. However, rain in many situations can create opportunities for stunning imagery. Storms coming in or clearing up can create extremely dramatic skies.

In many places where you can see miles in every direction, the distant rain is stunning to capture.

Rain comes down in the distance among the golden sunrise light off the coast of Turks & Caicos.

Even light rain as it splatters on the water of a lake or on puddles can create a beautiful story not typically captured.

And if you’re lucky, rain that is short lived may even reward you with a rainbow in the end!

After watching the rain come in, my husband and I ran for cover. As it lightened, I looked back and knew we’d see a rainbow! So worth getting a little wet!

In most situations, beauty can still be found when Mother Nature throws us some precipitation and inclement weather mixed with just a small breakthrough of the sun can create the most astounding images! Do you have a dramatic weather image you love? I’ve love to see them!

One Way to Handle a Photography Rut

January 29, 2020

In my last post, I offered 7 Tips for Finding Inspiration. Winter is often one of those times that inspiration feels lacking or photographers say they are feeling in a rut. What do you do when nothing you try is inspiring your creativity or motivating you to click the shutter? Sometimes I think the best thing to do when inspiration is lacking is actually to simply put the camera down. Not only put the camera down, but do it without the guilt. While it can sometimes be effective to “push through” and keep trying, sometimes taking a break is the best remedy for lack of inspiration. I don’t think we should feel like we need to be taking pictures if our hearts are not in it. Especially because when you think about it, we only have a limited about of time to spend editing our images and a limited about of wall space in our homes. Quality over quantity my friends.

Putting energy into other valuable activities can actually be just what we need for our inspiration to organically come back. Here are a few ways we can make the most of our time away from the camera:

Some simple beauty on a foggy winter’s day in the midwest

1 - Tackle that To-Do List - Sometimes the crazy activities of life, the mountain of chores piling up, or literally the clutter around your house can zap all our creative energy. Rather than fight through the negative energy to try to find your inspiration, spend time wading through the tasks that are weighing down on your mind and life. Once you’ve tackled some of those tasks, you may find a weight lifted and inspiration flowing.

2 - Spend Quality time with friends & family - Plan some adventures with your family, or set aside time for a cup of coffee or lunch with a friend. Curl up with a special person to watch a movie. Enjoy time with the important people in your life without the camera.

3 - Enjoy another creative hobby or activity you love - It’s no secret that photography can take a lot of our time. I know when I became so involved with photography, some of my other hobbies and activities got put aside. Rather than fight the camera, go back to some of those activities that have been neglected. So sit down at the piano, bake some cookies, knit that blanket, etc.

4 - Engage in Self Care - Sometimes we lose inspiration because we are feeling stress in our lives. Rather than beat ourselves up about lacking photographic inspiration, take that energy and do something that makes you feel good. Go for a run or hike, get a massage, curl up with a book or get some extra sleep. Fill yourself up!

5 - Process old images - If you want to keep working on your photography but aren’t feeling inspired to shoot, work on your processing and spend time digging into your backlog (if you have one like me!) This is a great time to learn new creative processing tools too. Maybe add a printing project in with the processing. As mentioned in another posts, this is a great way to find inspiration again!

So instead of feeling pressure to create or guilt because you aren’t creating, put your energy into something more productive and rejuvenating. The inspiration will come back!

Trees in the Clouds Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

7 Tips for Finding Inspiration

January 17, 2020

As we begin a new year and new decade, what are you doing to find inspiration? Sometimes it can be hard to stay inspired in our craft day after day. Some people thrive on having a very focused project. Others like to shoot as inspiration comes to them. This can also vary with our stage of life or stage of photography too. I used to thrive on having a project and a “due date” in my first few years of learning. Now I prefer to shoot when I feel the inspiration and try not to feel pressure to create on any kind of timeline.

Whether you are feeling motivated or looking for inspiration, here are 7 tips for finding inspiration in the new year!

1) Go for an early morning walk. Morning walks have been somewhat thrust on me by my walk-loving golden retriever. However, I find that the routine of our 2 mile walk after the kids are off to school is more than just a good active and mind clearing way to start the day. Much of the year, our walk occurs within a couple hours after sunrise and as we walk, I am always noticing the way the light shines through the neighborhood. There is nothing unusually beautiful about our neighborhood, but just noticing the way it lights up the dew drops on the grasses or filters through the trees leaves my mind feeling inspired as I frame images in my mind. On a couple of occasions, I even grabbed my camera when we got home and went in search of the same beauty slightly closer to home. I wonder what you’d find in your neighborhood in the morning light.

The bokeh I envisioned among the grasses day after day while walking the dog in the morning light!

2) Take a field trip to a local park, arboretum, forest preserve, or city! Make an effort to plan a day or even a couple hours visiting a local area of beauty. Maybe you bring your camera or maybe you just leave it at home and spend the time observing with your mind. Sometimes when you go without your camera, your eyes will see even more opportunities to come back to at a later date. Occasionally, when we have our cameras, we can get stuck on the first opportunity we see and miss the other beauty we might have explored. Go alone for quiet thoughtfulness or grab a friend and make it a social outing! Do you have a place you haven’t visited lately?

One of my favorite local spots to visit when I need a creative fix!

3) Listen to inspiring music. The best photographs make us feel emotion. The best music does the same thing. For me, listening to certain music brings specific types visions to my mind and others take me back to past memories or stages of my life. Instrumental music will often bring visions of nature for me; such as waterfalls or rustling trees, etc. Listening to music that makes me FEEL something deep inside inspires me to want to capture images that also make me FEEL emotion. What kind of music inspires you?

4. Get out at night, sunrise or sunset! Getting outside to witness nature during sunrise or sunset when the light is dynamic and colors are golden is sure to help revive your inspiration. The quiet of sunrise always revives and calms my mind as well. Getting out to shoot at night, when everything looks different is a great way to find inspiration. Night is more unexpected and we can create some interesting images that have a stronger impact that the same scene might during the day. Our cameras often capture colors and scenes at night that we miss with the naked eye. Where is a place that you have never explored with your camera at night?

Chicago has a magic that comes alive at night!

5. Explore a different genre. Maybe the landscape is drab and dreary in the winter and is leaving you uninspired. Look for some details that are enhanced by beautiful light or atmospheric fog. Grab some flowers and experiment with macro photography inside or try food photography. Try some self portraits and experiment with light and composition. Sometimes just picking up the camera can yield inspiration. Is there a genre that intrigues you in which you might explore some more?

Macro flowers Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

6. Learn or practice a new technique. Get those Neutral Density filters and tackle long exposures or try some panning on the water or trees. Spend some time learning new creative post processing techniques while you are uninspired to shoot. Post processing is one of my favorite things to do on the dreary winter days. In fact, sometimes I’m thankful for those dreary days because otherwise I might never get my editing done! What technique has been on your to-do list to master?

Merge of a long exposure for the clouds and quick shutter to freeze the foliage!

7. Plan a trip and/or Explore a new place. If nothing else works to inspire my creativity, traveling or exploring a new place always does. Certainly it is most desirable to travel somewhere exotic or extraordinarily beautiful but even less extraordinary places that are new to you can awake your mind to the beauty of the world. Even a day or weekend away in a new place can inspire creativity. And if you come back home to feel uninspired again, at least you have some images to experiment with in post processing!

Milky Way over the Barn Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

Capturing Winter's Beauty Part 3

December 24, 2019

Have you been out capturing winter’s beauty yet this year? The last couple weeks I shared some tips on preparing your gear and some settings to think about when capturing snowy landscapes. This week I’m offering 5 more tips to consider for capturing winter’s beauty in a variety of creative ways.

Mount Moran peeks out of the clouds on a cold winter’s morning at sunrise.

Embrace Simplicity - Winter images do not need to be complex. You don’t need an expansive scene to capture winter’s beauty. Simple scenes can be just as compelling. A single subject amongst the snowy landscape or falling snow can tell a beautiful story to a viewer.

A lone tree stands among the snowy landscape in Grand Teton National Park

2. Emphasize Atmosphere - Embrace the atmosphere of the falling snow or steam rising from water on a winter’s day. This may be done by capturing the wider scene or by using a longer lens to isolate a smaller subject amongst the snow or simply the softness of light and fog mixing over a pond or river. Include winter’s details like hoarfrost or ice detail in the frame to help tell the story. Get close to these details to add depth and story.

Frosty formations cover the ice of Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

The snow comes down along the Snake River. Jackson Hole, Wyoming

3. Abstract - Winter tones can create stunning abstract images. In contrast to the greens of spring and summer, and the golden autumn tones, winter tones of blue, brown and white have a calming and peaceful quality. Slow down the shutter speed and experiment with panning or zoom blur.

4. Focus on Details - Winter temperatures and precipitation bring beautiful ice formations, hoarfrost and snowflakes. When the sun is out, these are often combined with beautiful sparkles. Focus on these details in a wider scene or use macro lens or telephoto to isolate them.

5. Add a Pop of Color - The winter landscape can be monotone with lots of white, blue, and brown. Adding in a pop of color from the landscape, such as sunset colors in the sky, a red barn, yellow sign, or a person with colorful clothing can be just the thing to grab a viewer’s attention and add impact to the scene.

Sunset glow adds a pop of color to the cool snowy mountain scene of the Tetons.

Hope these tips help give you creative ideas for capturing the winter beauty near you and in your travels!

6 Tips for Capturing Winter's Beauty Part 2

December 17, 2019

Last week I shared some tips for preparing your camera gear and clothing to survive the cold while shooting in the winter landscape. If you don’t prepare well enough, the shooting adventures are likely to be cut short due to cold and discomfort!

Now that you are well equipped to manage the cold and snow, I have some tips for photographing the winter beauty! There is the most magical feeling that comes with fresh fallen snow or beautiful hoar frost covering the trees and grasses. Winter landscapes are some of my most favorite scenes to photograph.

Falling snow in Grand Teton National Park

1 - Exposure - As always, I recommend watching your histogram to make sure not to blow out the highlights of the scene to keep texture and detail in the snow. I always look to expose snowy scenes a little bit brighter than my camera tells me to. Exposing at zero, your camera will make the snow look more gray instead of white. I always look to expose snow about +1 to +1 2/3 stops. You can do this manually or by using exposure compensation if you shoot in aperture mode. One easy way to ensure a great exposure is to bracket three exposures at 0, +1, and -1. Again, keep an eye on your histogram to expose to the right without letting it climb the right wall.

2- White Balance - While snow is white, it won’t always appear pure white in a photograph or in real life. Snow reflects the colors and light of a scene. In very low light, the shadows will be quite cool and the snow will have a bluish hue to it. However, in warm sunrise, sunset or golden hour light, the snow may reflect golden, orange, or pink tones. You may want to choose a white balance that enhances these colors or you may want to choose a white balance that neutralizes them somewhat. You’ll likely want to choose a white balance that is representative of the scene and helps to enhance the mood and atmosphere of that moment you clicked the shutter. Unless you are shooting a warm sunrise or sunset, a cooler white balance will typically bring out the cool mood of a winter scene. Using live view when adjusting your white balance can help you see whether you are capturing accurate colors and achieving the mood you envision.

3 - Take Advantage of Falling Snow - Even better than fresh fallen snow is snow that is FALLING!! There is something incredibly magical about a landscape captured with snowflakes falling all around. So grab all your protective gear to keep your camera weather proofed and head out to capture the atmosphere.

4- Get Out When the Snow is Fresh - Whenever possible, head out to capture a fresh fallen snow as early as possible. The earlier you get out, the fluffier the new snow and the less car tracks or footprints will have been made in the snow. Additionally, when you consider your composition, avoid walking around aimlessly as you may end up wanting a composition that includes all the tracks YOU just made!

5 - Avoid Condensation & Moisture in Your Gear - Whenever you can, try to avoid changing your lens out in the cold and wet weather. This will minimize any moisture or condensation getting inside the camera. If you have more than one camera body, you could consider choosing a wide angle lens for one body and a telephoto lens for the second. Additionally, while I have never had trouble with my camera having condensation coming in from the cold, placing it in a sealed ziplock bag as it comes to warmer temperatures is recommended.

6 - Pack a Towel - It’s a great idea to keep a towel in your camera bag in case any of your gear does get wet. Choose something soft like a microfiber towel to dry off your gear.

Hope these are helpful tips to add to your winter shooting! Part 3 coming next week! Do you have a favorite winter shooting tip? Tell me in the comments.

Happy Shooting!

Exploring Vertical Panning

November 20, 2019

Vertical panning is a fun way to add a little creativity to your nature photography. It’s really pretty simple and fun because no two images will turn out exactly the same. Similar perhaps but not exactly the same. Just like horizontal panning, it can create a beautiful painterly effect.

Aspen Panning Kristen Ryan Photography-001.jpg

You can achieve this technique with a tripod or handheld. A tripod is often used to help you keep straight as you pan up, though it can work handheld as well.

First, you’ll want to set your settings in order to lower your shutter speed. In bright light, you’ll need to max out your aperture and your ISO. So ISO 100 and f/22 for example. If you have a Neutral Density filter you may not have to completely max out those settings however. Generally I am looking to get the shutter speed in the range of 1/30s to 1-2 seconds in exposure length. The panning effect changes depending on both the shutter speed and how fast you move the camera, the latter most significant. If you use an ND filter, I find it easiest with the 6 stop because this strength filter is great for getting the shutter speed down to about a 1 second or slightly faster. With the 6 stop, I am still able to focus with the filter on, so this makes things move quicker. With a 10 stop, focus and composition is challenging since you can’t see the scene through the filter.

Once I have my settings, I set the frame by choosing my focal length and where the bottom of the frame will be. I focus on the scene and then as I press the shutter I move the camera up. The faster the shutter, say 1/30, the quicker you need to move the camera to get the blur effect. The important thing is to try to stay steady and move the camera up straight. If handheld, keep your elbows close to your body to steady yourself. Faster movement will create more blur while slower will leave a little more detail in the scene.

Aspen Autumn Blur Kristen Ryan Photography.jpg

You can use a longer lens and focus in on the grass or trees, or you can use a wider focal length and get more of the scene.

Get out there and have some creative fun!

Visit Seascape Panning for trips on seascape and horizontal panning. To shop for a 6 stop ND filter to help you out with your vertical and horizontal panning, visit Breakthrough Photography Filters.*