"Wild Mare"

This photograph is from my "Wild Horses" Collection.

Every once in a while there is an image that surprises me when it reaches the highest level of engagement by folks like you during the week.  When this happens it causes me to examine the image more carefully to determine why.  What did I miss?

There are several possibilities, that after reviewing the image, might explain the wild (pun intended)  engagement that this one received.  Here are some thoughts, but let me know what you think.

1.  A universally loved subject.  There isn't much about horses that people don't like. For thousands of years, humans have been in love with this amazing beast.  So, it has that going for it.

2.  A universally loved location.  Although not everyone's favorite, the beach is a place that many frequent.  It is a place of serenity for many.  An escape from the daily grind.  I think this piece speaks to that.

3.  Technically, the lighting is near perfect here as we have the setting sun lighting this mare who is slowly walking across the beach.  As is often the case, the setting sun emphasizes the color layers between the beach and the surf.

OK, all this is fine, but what about the mare herself.  The mare is doing nothing incredibly special here.  She is moving very slowly and dipping her head as she walks.  She does seem to have a sad look, but horses often show this when it is hot like it was that day.  

Psychologically, I think the horse may have represented freedom to many.  It congers up images of a wild and free stallion running along the beaches of a deserted island.  It represents the freedom that we all want to enjoy.  Freedom from the woes life.

I think, in the end, it is one of those images that doesn't have any single point of interest, but there is enough spread throughout it, that it wins the hearts of the viewer, and that is what this is all about.  It isn't about creating images for you that might win prizes or show up on the front page of a magazine.  It is about telling a story that invokes imagination or some lost thoughts you had from long ago.  There is something to be said for imagination and beauty.  Maybe that is all there is to it.

You keep looking at your empty walls, and you wonder when you are going to actually do something about it.  We have all had that thought, but how do you proceed?  Maybe you put some filler art on a wall just to keep it from being stark.  Again, I have done that.

What you really need is something that describes you!  Something that tells others what you care about.  You love nature and you love animals, but how do you work that into your decor?  How can you find something to match all your decor?  That really is a tough question, and only you can answer that fully, but I have outlined several ideas that I use and experts recommend for your living space.

What Describes You the Most

First, I want you to think about what you love the most about the natural world, and what defines you as a lover of nature. This is the first step in realizing what will fit your needs.  I see this as the most important.  For me, it is being face to face with animals that really gets my creative juices flowing.  That is where I choose to live.  I want the impact, and I want people to see that impact in my living space and my art.  The image below, describes me the most as a image maker, and this seems effective in my living area.  The face to face engagement of this bear really fits my style. 

View Full Size Image:  https://matt-cuda.pixels.com/featured/portrait-of-a-black-bear-bw-matt-cuda.html

What Reinforces Your Living Areas Colors

Notice, I did not say what matches your colors.  Matching color for color is not the most important aspect to consider.  Does it compliment your living area?  Nate Burkus, a professional designer, has this to say, "I prefer mixing and matching in order to achieve a coherent result." (www.mydomaine.com, 2019).  For example, maybe you stick to similar wooden frames or modern frames to complement each other, your walls and your furniture. 

You can customize the image with a layered look and use web site tools to see how it would look.  Click the link below and play with the color matching.

View Full Size Image:https://matt-cuda.pixels.com/featured/bull-in-fog-matt-cuda.html?product=framed-print

View Full Size Image: https://matt-cuda.pixels.com/featured/morning-glow-matt-cuda.html?product=framed-print

Did you Forget the Bathroom and Kitchen?

I can't drive this point home enough.  The bathroom is the place where many visitors will need to retreat to at some point during their visit.  Personally, I like to see upbeat colors in both the bathroom and kitchen. For the nature lovers, I think bird photographs make a great compliment to these rooms.  Every room in your home should be decorated with artwork.  Each room can be themed and I think should. 

View Full Size Image: https://matt-cuda.pixels.com/featured/6-ruby-throated-hummingbird-matt-cuda.html?product=framed-print

Consider decorating with a metal print.  These prints have depth and are high gloss.  They are very popular right now and can really add to an existing room's presence, as well as be a great conversation starter.

Metal print of a cardinal on a plum branch

Lastly, when you can't figure out what single piece can make or break a room, consider a photo wall.  This is where you take several smaller pieces built around a theme to make a cohesive arrangement.  These can take a bit for thought, but what a way to express yourself with many images.

I hope you can see where adding nature images to your home decor can make a difference.  So often, I visit nature and animals lover's homes and yet the decor does not show such an important aspect of their lives. Use the online tools that are available in the above links to visualize what it will look like in your home!  You can even use the cell phone tools to show the art on YOUR wall.  https://matt-cuda.pixels.com/featured/pine-forest-matt-cuda.html?product=framed-print

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?

BECOME A VIP BELOW AND GET 20% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER WITH MATT CUDA NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY.

"Roseate Spoonbills"

This photograph is from my "Avian Florida" Collection.

I have often explained that my photographic style is up close and personal.  That is because that is how I like to experience nature.  When I can't get close because the animal will not allow it, I use as long of a lens as possible.

There are times, however, where I want to see the subject in its environment or as a group.  I only do this, if I feel like it supports the story I am trying to convey.  In the image above, I am telling the story of how they fly in formation and how each bird has its own head turn and personality.  

So, how do I make such a quick decision while the birds are flying?  The answer is, I don't.  The shots are visualized before I actually bring the camera to my eye.  It is in essence what we call the photographer's eye.  It comes with experience, confidence and of course, creativity.

 

"Sands of Time"

This photograph is from my "Avant Garde" Collection.  ********** A man was asked, "what is art?"  He replied, "I don't know, but I know it when I see it."  That reply alone is exactly what art is.  Art is a subjective expression, where the artist expresses his emotion and creative concepts about a particular subject. Photography as art also follows the same subjective expression as seen in paintings and sculpture.  There is a concept called pre-visualization, where in a moments time, the artist sees the finished product as if he had just photographed it.  We can call this artistic vision.  The day the above photograph was made was unmercifully windy.  The wind was so bad, the sand pelted my face and legs, causing a stinging sensation.  On this day, my friend and I had set out to photograph the sunset and moon-rise on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  What I came away with was something totally different. Wind, as you know is a cause of sand erosion.  The beach looked as if someone had come through and sculpted ripples across the sand.  Taking my old Canon EOS-1 film camera, and a 22 mm lens, I bent down and took this photograph only a couple inches above the sand.  The result is a grainy, black and white desert.  In this case, I pre-visualized exactly the way I wanted it to look.  I wanted it to look like a 40 yard swatch of sand with deep crevices.  In reality it was a 12 inch patch of sand with tiny indents  The sand grains themselves are large, competing with the already somewhat grainy image.  I scanned the negative into a digital image and then finished it with a heavy, surreal look. This image will never be a big seller as it is my own interpretation of what I wanted the final image to be. Again, it is a subjective artistic representation.  So my question to you is, what is your art?

There is a fundamental misunderstanding with many of the newer photographers entering into the field of wildlife photography (even some pros).  The belief that an image is not sharp if the entire subject is not sharp is simply not true as a principle within the core community and those who would be considered by many to be the best of the best.

What is the most widely held rule and belief in wildlife photography is that the eye, and generally the immediate surrounding of the eye should be in focus.  So, that means that the ears could be out of focus on a bear, but if you have the eyes sharp then you are good.  Let me explain with several points why this is true.

The Eyes are the Portal to the Soul

When a human looks at another human, they lock on to the other individuals eyes first.  It is through that connection that we tend to relate initially to someone or maybe even an animal.  You want the viewer to lock onto the eyes of the bear, for example, and make a connection. So, that must be the first part of the subject to be in focus. 

In the above image, the eye and tail are in focus, but the wing is not. This is acceptably sharp.

Low Light Means Sacrificing Depth of Field

Depth of field, or the part of the image that is in focus, is often somewhat out of the hands of the photographer.  Yes, we can control it by using  a smaller aperture, but that might not be possible in a lower light situation.  In this case we might need to use F4, which will give us a shallow depth of field. This will make most of the head of our subject out of focus in close-up portraits.

De-cluttering a Background

Another scenario, which often plagues any portrait photographer is a cluttered background.  By selecting F4, for example, we can create a smooth and creamy background.  This makes many a photo look amazing and surreal. 

Notice that the eyes are sharp, but the beak and neck are out of focus.  The background also has a smooth appearance due to a more shallow depth of field.

Conclusion

Obviously, some of what I have talked about is subjective, but these are generally held principles in wildlife and portrait photography.  Would it look better if our bear had a sharp muzzle and eyes?  Perhaps it would, but that kind of depth of field might be impossible at close range.

Sadly, many so called "reviewers" in stock agencies, fail to understand the simple principles above.  If I could give you a dollar for every image that was rejected due to the entire head of a subject not being in focus, I could buy you a sweet photography rig!  Magazine editors seem to be much more savvy and well trained on this issue. 

I hope this short post has helped you understand why it is an accepted practice to not have the entire subject in focus and how artistic representation can really win the day with smooth backgrounds and attention on the eyes of a subject.

"Willet in Morning Sun"

This photograph is from my "Avian Florida" Collection.  ********** One phrase you might here me write or talk about is the idea of making the common look uncommon.  In photography, this concept is often seen playing in out in a variety of different ways.  Perhaps the subject is doing something amazing or unusual even though it is a common subject.  Maybe a bird is flying upside-down for a moment, for example.  We could list examples ad nauseum. In this case, I was on this west coast Florida beach in the early morning hours. My subject is a common everyday willet.  You can see willets on any east coast beach, at any time of the year.  In this case, the sun is coming in a low angle, giving the image a beautiful morning glow.  Not only that, but I am ignoring the "sun at your back" rule for photographing birds.  Instead, I am allowing full side lighting from the right.  Additionally, the rock in the foreground helps to balance the image and gives the user a point to bounce from bird to rock and back again. These principles together help to give this photo more of a unique look.  You don't have to always follow the rules.  Be creative when you are out there and look for ways to not follow the rules and still pull it off.  Look for ways to make the common look uncommon!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER MY 2020 PHOTO GIVEAWAY! DEADLINE IS JULY 30, 2020!   "Great Black-backed Gull"

This photograph is from my "Shorebirds" Collection.  ********** There are days which seemed to be cursed from the time you crawl out of bed until you get back home at the end of the day.  This is a story about one of those days. After getting my gear together, my son and I headed out the door and began our travels to Pea Island, a wildlife refuge along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was a hot, late July day.  The kind of day where all the alarms in your head are telling you it is time to stay home.  Not exactly great weather for a day of photographing birds. Well, the first woe of the day happened at the Dunkin Donuts drive through, where I spilled my coffee all over my legs and leather seats in the Jeep. This took about 5 minutes to clean up and we were back on our way to Pea Island.  We arrived at our destination in good order.  I wanted to go light, so I grabbed my Sony A7 III and my trusty Sigma 150-600 C.  I began to feel a bit better now and off we hiked over several dunes down to the shore.   Now, the second woe happened. Well, it appears that once again the government has roped off a large area for shorebird nesting.  I know, I know, it is for the good of the birds. I get all that, but darn, I just want to go somewhere and photograph birds without being molested by laws at every turn.  I am a responsible photographer and will not cause any harm to come to them.  I kind of wish the government had a certification process that photographers could go through to be able to use restricted areas responsibly.  Of course, my favorite shorebirds, the black skimmers are all all behind the "fence".  I'd say a good thirty birds! So, now I am determined to make lemonade from lemons.  I move down the beach and find a large group of terns. I bring up my 150-600 to my eye and I discovered there was condensation all over the front and rear elements.  The 1/2 hour drive was not enough time to get it acclimated to the ambient temp and high humidity.  At this point I have two options.  Sit along the beach and wait for the lens to fully acclimate, or head back to the car and get my 300 mm.   So, I decide to go back to the car. This is the third woe! I return about 20 minutes later with my Canon 300 F4 L and my full kit. I begin to shoot images of the terns as they fly in with fish for the youngsters.  Of course, the lens is not producing the results I need, because it is just do dang short! Now the frustration is mounting as I began to realize The light is slipping away.   About an hour has gone by now and I find that the 150-600 is ready to shoot and condensation free.  A bit of relief, but I find the birds are very skittish at this location, and even my belly crawl is making them a bit nervous.  So, portraits of individual birds is out.   At this point, I go down to my son and ask if he wants to walk down the beach with me.  So off we go toward the jetty.  Suddenly, I see a very large bird.  It appears to be a gull, but it is massive.  It is even larger than the herring gull!  It has a black back, but it is definitely a gull.  Indeed, it is a gull.  It is a great black-backed gull and it is a real treat for me. I began to slowly approach the gull, and I motion to Jacob to stay quiet.  I get to about 20 yards away and the gull takes flight.  I raise my Canon 7D II just in time to get a few frames of this massive bird as it flies by me.   What a treat it was to photograph and see such an amazing creature! It got worse again after this, but I'll share that story another time.  Some days... Some days...