It’s been a long time since I have read a book on photography that has left me so pleased, satisfied and eager to spread the word about it. Having just finished “Photographing Nature,” I find myself downright giddy, which is a reaction I definitely an emotion I have never felt in relation to a book covering photographic techniques. Written by the nature photographer Ralph A. Clevenger, “Photographing Nature” is brilliantly conceived and executed, proving deeply insightful on the most difficult topics of photography to cover — the basics. Clevenger’s voice, uniquely lucid and inspiring, stands out sharply in the din that is the increasing numbers of photographers attempting to share their knowledge.
The fact that “Photographing Nature” is (obviously) about photographing nature makes my enthusiastic response all the more meaningful. Birds, bears and brilliant landscapes simply are not my photographic cup of tea — at least in terms of what I chose to photograph. However, although Clevenger has focused on illuminating the fundamentals of nature photography, he does so with such success that “Photographing Nature” offers tremendous value to an extremely wide range of photographers dedicated to improving their craft — from newbies seeking Photography 101 resources unrelated to nature photography to pros needing a boost of inspiration.
The subtitle of “Photographing Nature” is “A photo workshop from Brooks Institute’s top nature photography instructor.” While “workshop” might be a good word to use for marketing it does not suggest the full scope of Clevenger’s book. Clevenger definitely has a way of inviting photographers to take action, learning through a handful of specific assignments he suggests. But ultimately this is a stellar book covering conceptual underpinnings and technical specifics related to any photographic specialities. Clevenger’s unwavering focus on nature adds value to “Photographing Nature,” but considering the universal appeal of this book it might have been more appropriate to title it “The Nature of How To Photograph.”
My primary motivation for even considering lifting the lid on this compact, 306-page beautifully-illustrated book is the fact that I interviewed Clevenger last November for the introduction I was writing for “Expressions 2010″ a yearly photographic showcase published by the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA).
Clevenger rated a “10″ as an interviewee. During our 45-minute conversation, I probed Clevenger (who served as one of the “Expressions” judges) regarding a question that is basically impossible to answer: what exactly makes a great nature image great? Clevenger, who has taught at Brooks fro more than two decades, was extremely thoughtful, thinking out loud, provided me with great perspectives in a manner that was down-to-earth, fully engaged and modest. Frankly, I really liked the guy. So when “Photographing Nature” (New Riders, 2010) popped up on a list from his publisher’s PR team, I request it.
To be clear, although I’m in no way a nature photographer I have deep respect for the specialty — especially since I tried, with very little success, to capture nature’s splendors during a two-month car camping trip to America’s National Parks in 2001. (Yes, that tiny smudge in the image is a bird.) Since I started writing regularly for NANPA my respect has deepened greatly. Still, when I split open “Photographing Nature” this morning at breakfast I admit that, more than anything, I saw it as a work obligation.
There’s no doubt that a wonderful experience is much more wonderful when it comes as a complete surprise. (Just thing about that jaw-dropping performance by Susan Boyle). However my appreciation for Clevenger’s book — which increased with every page — is about the book itself, not the surprise. Just as Boyle made me smile at her signing — incredibly bold and technically amazing yet somehow soft and approachable — so I smile as I continue to be amazed by Clevenger’s ability to discuss photography.
I probably making a big mistake by bringing Boyle since I’m basically tone deaf and a sucker for soft rock. However, while I might be musically illiterate, I know a few things about photography and, more important, I have read scores of photography books published since the advent of digital imaging. Very few have struck me as so eloquently crafted as “Photographing Nature.”
Of the new generation of photography books that I have appreciated the most, none have given me such a pure infusion of joy that Clevenger’s has. Not only do I admire his writing, but reading his words has inspired me to get out there and push myself photographically, readdressing some digital fundamentals that I have allowed to remain sloppy. Heck, Clevenger has me wanting to find a herpetarium where I can photograph. (”A zoo for reptiles and amphibians,” he explains.)
Yes, I realize I am gushing. This is because it is no small accomplishment that Clevenger, in “Photographing Nature,” has crafted a book that will appeal to a much wider audience than the name suggests. These include photography students, casual hobbyists and aspiring professionals of any speciality. Many pros will likely enjoy the book as well, whether to invigorate their own creative process or identify a great resource for helping others.
“Another thing,” Clevenger writes in the casual but highly precise style that makes his book so digestible. “I’ve read a lot of books and articles on photography written by lost of different photographers, and they all seem to say pretty much the same thing that I’ve been saying to myself, and my students, for decades: Making good photographs takes a basic menu; the ingredients are the same, but the presentations are unique. We are all saying the same thing. This is good.”
Clevenger says that it’s good that all photography learning resources are fundamentally “consistent with all the others” because they are all needed to help us learn through the critical process of repetition. He says that “hearing the same thing from different sources reinforces the idea that maybe we should actually try that technique and spend more time researching.”
Clevenger’s observation that, at their core, all photography learning resources are fundamentally seems both novel and obvious. I’ve never heard this stated, but I have to agree — up to a certain point. While repetition is needed for learning, and while there are many amazing photography educators, Clevenger is among the elite.
Still, I like Clevenger’s point he (like I) continues to digest gobs of resources, finding value in hearing the same thing in new ways. Why else would I continue to reread so many times such very basic lessons like the “rule of thirds” – since my high school photography teacher introduced it to me?
Actually, I’m getting too specific here. Certainly by the end of my first semester in college I no longer needed to hear the rule of thirds repeated. That one I got. The only reason I continue, 25 years later, to continue to read about the rule of thirds is because, as a journalist covering topics of photography, I’m essentially required to — not to understand the concept, but rather to assess how well a particular photographer does in explaining it to someone who is being exposed to it for the first time, or perhaps only the fifth time.
Today Clevenger rewarded me for all of my dedicated reading to things I thought I already knew. In “Photographing Nature” he threw me an elegant, satisfying curve ball in the form of what he calls a “3D rule of thirds.”
The concept of the “3D rule of thirds” is simple, but it is a delicious photographic learning ingredient nonetheless. To illustrate the standard versus the three-dimensional version of the rule, Clevenger presents two images. On top of one image Clevenger has overlaid the standard rule of third grid lines. (Seen that, been there, always helpful for beginners, not needed for me.) To illustrate the 3D version, on top of the next image Clevenger has warped the lines so that the vertical lines of the grid converge in the distance — kind of like railroad track from perspective drawing 101. (Never seen this, really cool, super helpful for beginners, really fun way for me to reconsider old concepts.)
The 3D rule of thirds may or might not be Clevenger’s conceptual invention, but he earns major kudos for sharing it. “This grid gives you a compositional tool that works with foregrounds, middle-grounds, and backgrounds,” Clevenger explains. “You need to be aware of all three of these in your scene, especially when shooting with wide lenses, to create that sense of depth we desperately need in our photographs.
This is almost the entirety of Clevenger’s insights on the “3D rule of thirds.” Great pertinent content, presented crispy, no fuss. William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White would be proud.
Because Clevenger writes so economically he is able to cover an incredible wealth of topics in “Photographing Nature.” With my level of experience was able to digest the book in a couple hours, but I’ve marked places to review more carefully. A beginner or intermediate photographer would need much more time to digest the book, and would certainly want to revisit it over time as they begin to put Clevenger’s lessons to practice. And this revisiting would be a pleasure. (Maybe this where the “workshop” in the subtitle comes into play.)
If tips about working with animals is not your thing, then maybe you’ll benefit from a pep talk on the value of using your flash more creatively. Clevenger covers fundamental strategies for doing so, and as with all his material, he illustrates his ideas excellently with his fantastic images, fully captioned in a manner that complements the main text.
All set on flash use? Don’t need help with exposure or focus modes? That’s fine. Moving at a brisk but comfortable pace Clevenger can help you with color theory, selecting the best lens, strategies for traveling on assignment and all manner of practical matters. For more advanced photographers, Clevenger’s greatest gift is that he helps us to challenge our own seeing — something we are well accustomed to but, as Clevenger points out, is a constant work in progress.
“Looking at things isn’t hard; we’re born looking,” Clevenger writes. “The problem is that looking doesn’t make good pictures. We have to get beyond looking and start seeing, and that’s something you have to learn. Like creativity, seeing is not innate. You have to practice seeing all the time, even when you don’t have a camera.”
Clevenger says, “I’m not a teacher. I’m a photographer who teaches. For me, this is an important distinction.” I agree that the distinction is important. The fact that Clevenger has been such a dedicated and successful professional nature photographer is exactly why “Photographing Nature” is so deeply informed. However, Clevenger is one hell of an educator. Like any good teacher, he keeps his lessons brief and rich, respecting his students enough to know that we must go out and learn on our own.
At key moments Clevenger does present “Assignments to try.” These invite the reader to try a few specific learning challenges, without demanding they do so, nor interrupting the flow of the book. Non-nature photographers will see how easily most of these assignments can easily be adapted for other specialities.
Knowing that his readers will not have the same base knowledge as his Brooks students, throughout “Photographing Nature” Clevenger refers us to his excellent appendix, which points us to very specific learning resources.
Clevenger sets the tone of “Photographing Nature” in first chapter: “Play nice.” He discusses the ethics of photographing nature responsibly, which is is refreshing manner for a photography book to begin. He then goes on to share a story that, by way of analogy, offers the clearest insight of why nature photography as a undertaking (and why his book as a resource) has so much to offer photographers (like me) who often think nature photography lies strictly outside our realm. Clevenger explains that few of his students have any intention of pursing nature photography professionally, but that they are eager to try something new. This stretching ones bounds, Clevenger suggest, is critical to success.
The biggest challenge that many of Clevenger’s students face is their lack of familiarity with the outdoors, as well as their phobias of various animals. Clevenger’s strategy is to start his class with his “critter demo,” in which a one of his friend arrives with what sounds like the world’s most exotic petting zoo. “We spend a full day photographing pythons, frogs, tarantulas, and strange insects,” he shares. ” The animals become real for the students through holding them, feeling their skin or scales, watching them move, and being responsible for their safety.”
This is when I really started smiling. It was only on page 10, but I suddenly saw how the excuse of photography was making young photographers open their minds to completely foreign experiences. This is what photography is really about.
Next to this text we see one of Clevenger’s photographs of a female student holding out a tarantula spider in her cupped hands. She wears a lovely expression of bemused, soft contentment and pride. The caption notes: “This student started the day deathly afraid of spiders.”
I’ve managed to write the longest book review of my career and I have failed to even give a clear list of the topics Clevenger covers in “Photographing Nature.” Perhaps this is because simply listing contents (which you can search here) would distract from sharing the my wonder at the beautiful experience that Clevenger has created. Although I was hooked by the time I encountered the “critter demo,” Clevenger never once lost my interest as I continued to poor through his book. The “3D rule of thirds” was pretty damn cool, but so was Clevenger’s teasing information about how the number Phi relates to “the golden mean” and how this relates to image making.
Quickly introducing us to the Fibonacci series, Clevenger asks, “Have you ever wondered about all these elements of composition — the rule of thirds, fore instance — why do they work? Why do things look better in certain places in a photograph? It’s actually nature.” Next to the text is the image of a nautilus shell, on top of which is a graph that illustrates how the many spirals fit neatly into the ratios of the golden mean. I’m really not sure what this means, but Clevenger doesn’t get bogged down in the mathematics, simply explaining, “Nature doesn’t actually use the numbers of calculate the ratio; they just appear as a result of nature trying to do things in the most efficient manner. If nothing else, nature is very efficient.”
In a manner as efficient and elegant as the nature to which he is drawn, Ralph A. Clevenger, in “Photographing Nature,” opens our eyes to the wonderful possibilities of photographing nature. By doing so he has written a book that invites us to continue to evolve the nature of our own photography.
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The Disclaimer: If, as I hope, you have the opportunity to read “Photographing Nature,” you might notice that my name appears on page 10, right after the “critter demo” paragraph. Clevenger quotes a line from my introduction to “Expressions 2009″ (”Everyone who makes truly stunning nature images will tell you they do a lot of research.”), which I wrote a year before I called Clevenger.
I was startled (and sure, pleased) to see my name. Clevenger had not mentioned the inclusion of this quote to me when we talked in November (for the first time, after his book went to press).
It would be natural if you assume that my gushing appreciation for “Photographing Nature” was influenced by the 15 words of fame bestowed on me by Clevenger. However, this is simple not the case. As stated, I was already hooked before seeing my name. (Also, for the record, I have been quoted in hundreds of books, and it has been my steadfast policy to utterly pan those books — without even reading them.)
Fore those of you who are convinced that I am receiving kickbacks from Clevenger, I assure you that I am not. However, that doesn’t mean I’m against the idea. What do you say, Ralph? Ten percent of the cover price on all future sales?
September 26th, 2011 10:10 pm
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