Scenic Wild Newsletter
Issue 12 / November 2006
©2006, Guy Tal / Scenic Wild Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Greetings! As another great autumn season draws to an end I am at once exhausted and elated. Long hikes, longer drives, and lack of sleep have taken their toll, but the pleasures of immersing myself in the beauty of the season make it a worthwhile effort.

As is usually the case, this is my favorite time of year and I am pleased with both the wonderful new experiences and the resulting images.

Winter's first snows visited Utah's Wasatch mountains early this year and the combination of white powder and autumn foliage presented some unique and memorable opportunities. Many new images were posted to the Scenic Wild web site over the past couple of months and I hope you will enjoy viewing them as much as I have enjoyed making them.

And so, as I work to catch up after a busy season, I present you with this small selection of random thoughts.

Guy Tal



The Holidays are Coming!

Our prints make for great gifts. As a gift to readers of this newsletter, we will include an exclusive 5x7 Scenic Wild fine art greeting card printed on Moab Entrada paper with matching envelope with any order placed before December 1st. To take advantage of this offer, please include a note with your order (using the PayPal notes field or in a separate email) and ask for the free holiday card.

Note that our prints are made to order and may take some time to fulfill so place any gift orders early to ensure timely delivery.



Image of the Month - Tell Us What You Want

For a couple of months now I have posted a new Image of the Month pick on the Scenic Wild home page with the intent of offering a selection of my work at cost-effective prices to collectors or anyone else who seeks to own one of my prints. Starting this month, I would like to solicit your help in deciding which images to select as the next Image of the Month.

If you have a particular favorite you'd like to see featured, please use the link on our home page and let us know. Unless already previously featured, the images with the most votes will be featured in the months to come.



Alabama Hills Workshop

Michael Gordon and I would like to extend our thanks to the October workshop participants for a wonderful time in the foothills of California's majestic Sierra Nevada mountains. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!




Buck the Trend - Print Small

With the advent of digital printing, making prints of very substantial sizes became a reality for practically anyone with a camera. While there's no denying the impact and presence of a large print, one should also keep in mind that not all images work well at these sizes.

Rather than go for the largest possible size, you may want to consider the various factors that contribute to the successful presentation of a print:

  • Selection of wall space for your print can be crucial. Be sure the spot you have chosen can accommodate the print with sufficient "breathing room" so that it does not look cramped for space. The opposite is also true - too small a print in a large space will lose much of its impact.
  • Viewing distance is an important factor in determining the viewer's ability to take in the complete composition without having to move their head around. Make sure to consider print size along with the viewing distance afforded by a specific location (e.g. prints hanging in narrow corridors should be small and placed at eye level, as opposed to ones presented in a large hall where viewers can step back to review the image in its entirety). The rule of thumb is to stand where a typical viewer would and check whether the full frame is visible in one glance without moving your head.
  • Also important in this regard is the print's reliance on fine detail. Detailed images can break down when enlarged much beyond what the capture medium can accommodate. Combined with viewing distance, make sure to factor the available detail of a given format when deciding how far you can enlarge an image.
  • Don't discount the pleasure of handling a print and examining it up close. Larger prints are meant to be viewed upright, hanging from a wall. Smaller prints can be held, moved around to find favorable light, and studied at close proximity.
While huge prints are easy, affordable, and fashionable - don't just go with the flow. A small print studied at close range can provide a very different viewing experience than one prominently displayed on a wall, allowing for nuances of tone, color, and minute detail to come into play.

With smaller prints, even smaller capture formats can yield impressive detail and smooth tones. Lest I be accused of maligning smaller formats, many Large and Ultra-Large Format photographers also swear by the unique qualities of contact prints versus enlargements.

To that end, you will note that all our images are now also offered in smaller sizes (7-8" on the short side, depending on format). These prints are especially suited for display in smaller spaces, in albums, on desktops, or just about anywhere where space is at a premium and images are viewed up close.



The Principle of Moments

"Now red is urgent - green's a letter
And the score shows just another spin off
Orange jolts, and brown is old
Grey is weary - don't touch gold"

-- Robert Plant

As travelers through majestic beauty it is often our fortune to stumble upon serendipitous occurences that may never be seen again. I often return to visit favorite places I have photographed before, and with every visit the effects of Nature's cycles and patterns is evident. You can't step into the same river twice, and you can't photograph the same scene twice. Still, sometimes opportunities present themselves that are so rare and unique and so different from past experiences that one feels truly fortunate to have witnessed them.

On a recent trip I went to revisit the site of my Heart of Stone image. Although conditions were similar: same season, same time of day, and shortly after a good rain, the scene is now profoundly different and in the process of being covered in silt. It is not unlikely that the next few years will see it vanish below the surface, perhaps not to reappear for many more years to come.

   

I'm often asked for ways one can improve their photography and enrich their portfolio. Surprisingly there actually is an easy answer - spend more time outdoors. Go where your favorite subjects are. The more you explore, the better your chances are of finding yourself in the right place at the right time. Ansel Adams alluded to this truism when he said, "sometimes I do get to places just when God is ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Beyond some basic gear you need, the best return on your investment in terms of great images will come not from more cameras or lenses but rather from exploration and study. Next time you have a couple of hundred dollars to spend on your photography, consider a trip to a wild place instead of another piece of gear.

Remember, Galen Rowell used a cheap Nikon 75-150 zoom for his signature image of a rainbow over the Potala palace. Ansel Adams used a triple convertible lens (convenient but not as sharp as others) for his moonrise image in Hernandez, New Mexico, and surely any number of other landmark images were produced with the most basic of gear where the photographer's vision met with a rare and unique set of circumstances.