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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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!

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

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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.

Choosing a Neutral Density Filter

Neutral Density filters block light from the camera sensor.  There are many Neutral Density (ND) filters of varying strength which block anywhere from 2 stops to 15 stops of light. In landscape photography, we use ND filters to reduce the light coming into our camera sensor so that we can slow down the shutter speed for creative effect. The ND filters that I always carry in my bag are a 3 stop, 6 stop, and 10 stop filter from Maven Filters. The one that I need at any given time depends on the light of the scene, the subject I am photographing and the creative effect I am envisioning in my frame. 

1 second exposure in Oahu using a 6 stop Neutral Density Filter

6 Stop Filter 

A 6 stop filter is perfect for a number of situations where you want to reduce your shutter speed in the .4 second to 5 second range.  I use my 6 stop filter when I want to create abstract photos of water or trees by using a panning technique. The 6 stop filter is perfect for photographing waves and water when I don’t want to freeze the motion but I want to keep some shape, texture and detail in the water. This is a technique I love to use at the ocean, lakes or rivers. It is also perfect for smoothing the water of waterfalls to create a soft flow. The longer exposures of 5-10 seconds will create a very smooth effect while less than 5 seconds leaves a little more texture in the water.  In very low light, the 6 stop can allow an exposure of 10 seconds or more, but in brighter light, the 10 stop will be needed. 

.4 second exposure with a 6 stop Neutral Density Filter

1 second exposure capturing the movement of the waves of Lake Michigan using the 6 stop Neutral Density filter

1 second exposure panning the autumn color in Grand Teton National Park using a 6 stop Neutral Density Filter

Shutter Painting at Crystal Cove State Park using a 6 stop Neutral Density Filter

1.6 second exposure with a 6 stop Neutral Density Filter

The 10 stop is my go to filter for exposures 15 seconds and longer. In daylight, the 10 stop is needed for these creative long exposures of water or clouds. Imagine those super smooth waters and wispy clouds. Those are when I pull out my 10 stop filter. 

2 minute exposure during sunset with a 10 stop Neutral Density Filter

3 minute exposure during very early sunrise with a 10 stop Neutral Density Filter

30 second exposure at Oxbow Bend with a 10 stop Neutral Density Filter

Stacking a 3 stop and 10 stop filter is the filter combo I need for creating dynamic wispy clouds during the daylight. This filter will allow me to shoot 3-6 minutes of clouds and capture creative clouds even with slow moving clouds. 

4 minute exposure with 13 stops of light blocked

Neutral Density filters are an incredible tool for adding creativity to your landscape, seascape and nature photography. I highly recommend Maven Filters* for their great quality. Have more questions about choosing a filter, feel free to reach out and ask me! I’m always happy to help.

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Kristen Ryan is a landscape and fine art photographer residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images can be purchased in the Fine Art Store. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop twice a year.

*Affiliate Link

Photographing Water With Creative Exposures

When first learning to shoot in manual mode, we learn that aperture, ISO and shutter speed create the exposure triangle. If we change one of these settings, we then have to alter another one to achieve proper exposure. In the beginning, when I was learning the exposure triangle, I was shooting more portraits of my kids and loving the beautiful blur that came from wide open apertures. In creating this blur and bokeh, my shutter speed was typically fast to counterbalance the wide apertures in the exposure triangle.

Over time and especially as I fell in love with landscape photography, I learned to consider shutter speed as not only a part of the exposure triangle and important in freezing the motion of my fast moving toddlers, but as a creative choice. In fact, creative shutter speed use is one of my favorite techniques when shooting moving water within a landscape.

There are 3 main choices when it comes to using shutter speed to capture water: 1) A fast shutter speed used to freeze the motion of the water and maintain texture. 2) A slower shutter speed in the range of say .4 seconds - 3 seconds which will smooth the water a bit but maintain some texture and shape and 3) a very slow shutter speed of at least 5 seconds or longer that will smooth the water completely and create a dreamy quality. Each of these exposure times creates a different texture of the water and mood in the overall image.

Chicago Skyline on a windy and wavy day. Captured with a 1/320 shutter speed.

1) Fast Shutter Speed - The image above was captured on a very windy day in Chicago and the waves were crashing hard along the pavement below the steps outside Adler Planetarium. The fast shutter speed freezes the motion of the waves and shows the texture of the water. This exposure choice allows the viewer to see the rough water and feel the mood of the scene captured.

1 second exposure of the rough waves on a windy day in Chicago!

2) Slow shutter speed in the .4 second to 3 second range. This choice of exposure does not freeze the motion of the water and creates a smoother effect than a fast shutter speed. The blur of the movement still maintains some texture in the water and shape in the waves. This choice also maintains a bit of the actual mood of the windy and wavy scene but also adds a creative effect. A shutter speed in this range will typically require the use of a Neutral Density filter unless shot in very low light. This image was captured using a 6 stop Neutral Density filter.

60 second exposure after the sun dipped below the horizon

3) Long Exposure 5 seconds or more. These exposure times will smooth out the movement of the water and the longer exposures (15 seconds+) will create a dreamy and serene feel in the image. This moment felt very serene standing on the shores of Lake Michigan watching the beautiful sunset colors light up the sky. While the image does not show the rough waters that existed, it does represent my mood as I captured the scene. Sometimes creative exposures capture how we feel even if the scene appeared a bit different in reality.

Longer exposures in the range of 5 seconds to minutes require the use of a Neutral Density filter except when shooting in the dark. This 60 second exposure also used a 6 stop Neutral Density filter. Quite often, exposures of this length will need a 10 stop ND filter.

If you are looking for filters, I highly recommend Maven Filters. *

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Kristen Ryan is a landscape and fine art photographer residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images can be purchased in the Fine Art Store. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop twice a year.

*Affiliate Link