Steven Bourelle Digital Arts

Visualization is one of the key elements in creating beautiful photographic images. Whenever I’m outside, I keep my eyes open for interesting things that I can possibly use in a photo. Often times when I see something, I won’t shoot it at that time. Instead, I’ll visualize in my mind what that scene will look like at a later time. Maybe I’ll visualize how it will look after a fresh snowfall when the branches are covered in snow, or maybe how it will look in fall when the leaves have changed colors.  Then I’ll try to remember the scene and go back to it when the conditions are right.

The image above is a perfect example of visualizing an image months ahead of time. This scene is about a mile away from where I live in Kenosha, WI. I noticed it my first summer living there. The tree in the middle caught my eye, and though all the leaves were green at the time, my first thought was, “Won’t that be awesome in the fall.”. In my mind I saw the scene in fall colors. When October rolled around and the trees began to change, I went back to the spot and created this image.

The next time you’re out shooting and you see an interesting scene, try to visualize what that scene may look like when conditions are different. When those conditions happen, go back to that spot and create the beautiful image that you visualized months ahead of time.

Technical Details:
Canon Digital Rebel XTI
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
ISO 100
f/5.6 @ 1/125 sec.
Tripod Mounted

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I love reflections in water. They’re all around us and the natural watercolor effect they create can make some of the most beautiful photographic images. I rarely go out to shoot reflections though, most of the time I just happen to see them while I’m shooting something else.

That’s the case with this image. We were at the International Crane Foundation photographing cranes. We went to the Whooping Crane exhibit to get some pictures of the Whooping Cranes, but the first thing I noticed were the cloud reflections in the pond. They were beautiful.  The cranes were hiding out in the grasses and reeds. So while my wife Lynne tried to get one of them to come out, I went over to the pond and began shooting the reflections.

I had my 70-300mm lens on at the time.  Shooting this at 70mm gave me the composition I was looking for. I didn’t want any of the shoreline in the image, I only wanted the reflections. The slight ripple on the water adds a nice texture to this image. It creates a softness to the clouds that has a very relaxing feeling to me. BTW, the Whooping Cranes never came out.

Photo Details:
Canon Digital Rebel XTI
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
ISO 200
f/8 @ 1/500 sec.
Hand held with Image Stabilization turned on.

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