Landscape and nature photographers often talk about being in wonder and awe of nature, and of being humbled by the beauty, power, and majestic qualities of the natural world.

The term “humility” comes from the Latin word “humilitas”, a noun related to the adjective “humilis”, which may be translated as “humble”, but also as “grounded”, “from the earth”, or “low”, since it derives in turns from humus (earth).

While we often think of humility as something that we do, humility or being humble can be thought of as something that we are. But what does that really mean?

Here are a few definitions I’ve learned from others that have helped me understand what it means to be humble, and how that relates to landscape and nature photography, whether shooting, teaching, sharing, learning, or any other aspect of life in general.

• Recognizing our limitations
• The willingness to learn
• Realizing how much there is to do, vs how much we’ve done.
• Letting go of conceit (or the constant habit of comparing ourselves to others)
• Learning to ask for help
• The willingness to be corrected
• The willingness to share our faults and our strengths.
• The willingness to appreciate others, or find something to appreciate in others.

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.” – Helen Keller

Are any of these familiar to you? Do you have any other suggestions for what being humble is? Does it matter when it comes to landscape photography? Please share your feedback…it helps us all.

One of the best features of Adobe Lightroom (all versions) is the ability to have multiple catalogs. A catalog is a database that tracks the location of your RAW files and information about them. This includes any Develop Module adjustments you’ve done to them, as well as keywords, ratings, and labels. The power of catalogs is the flexibility it gives you to organize your image library, or enhance your particular workflow. Each catalog can contain different pictures, and can reside on different computers or hard drives (but not on a network.)

One Catalog or Multiple Catalogs?

There are basically two schools of thought on using catalogs effectively, one master catalog, or several multiple catalogs. and there’s no right or wrong way. It really depends on your needs and preferences. Some popular approaches for using multiple catalogs include:

• Separate catalogs for professional and personal work.
• Separate catalogs for each major trip you take (vacation, workshops, etc)
• If you’re a commercial photographer, perhaps a separate catalog for each client (ie. Weddings. Portraits, etc)
• Separate catalogs for specific projects

Of course there is no reason why you can’t use one single catalog for all of your work. Adobe recommends using one catalog, and some advantages include:

• Simpler workflow since everything you shoot is kept in one catalog – helps avoid confusion. Multiple catalogs can become difficult to manage over time.
• You can take full advantage of Lightroom’s ability to sort and filter images, including using keywords, ratings and labels, collections, smart collections, and folders. You can search for anything in one place, and combine images from different shoots, clients, subject matter, and places without having to switch catalogs
• One new feature of Lighroom 5 is Smart Previews which means we can now make Develop adjustments on images without the RAW files being online (the can be on a disconnected hard drive or another computer all together.) This means that it’s really easy to copy your one master catalog (without the original RAW files) to your laptop, then rate, sort, keyword and make adjustments to any image. When you return, you can sync the catalog with your original files. Using one catalog makes this simple and efficient.
• Finally, with the speed of computers and hard drives improving, and Lightroom getting faster and more efficient, managing large catalogs (upwards of 100,000 images or more) does not cause performance issues like in the past. Lightroom has no upper limit on how many images any single catalog can contain, it will depend on the performance of your computer.

My Approach

My particular strategy is based on my professional and personal needs, and based on years of using Lightroom as my main photo application. They may not work for you and it’s not necessarily the right way, but I hope it gives you some ideas to improve your workflow.

• I keep a Master Catalog where I import most of my images, regardless of work or personal, subject, etc for the many reasons mentioned above for using a single catalog. Because I make full use of keywords, I can instantly find any image I’m looking for without having to switch catalogs.
  One specific example where this comes in handy is when I’m printing. Often I make a print where there is extra space available on the paper for another smaller print. Why throw away perfectly good paper right?
  So I’ll find an image I’d like to print in the space available, and use the Custom Package feature in the Print Module to create a layout that takes advantage of the unused space on the paper. Often this might be an image totally unrelated to the main image, like a family member or friend. Having a single catalog for all of my images makes this possible and handy (plus gets me points with the in-laws.)

• Finally, I use separate Catalogs for very specific projects that I want to keep separate from my master catalog. Some examples include: workshop catalogs I use to teach from, book projects, and other photographers I make prints for. This approach works better for me when they’re not a part of my main catalog.
• I keep my Master Catalog together with my RAW files on a RAID drive which makes backing up my image archive very easy. Plus it also makes it relatively easy to access my archive on different computer, especially if I have a computer failure or system crash.

General Recommendations

My general recommendation is to keep one master catalog where you can organize, sort, and filter all of your images for maximum efficiency. Keep things simple and easy to manage. When you find a real need for a separate catalog, then go ahead and see how that affects your workflow. Otherwise, make use of the powerful filtering and sorting features in Lightroom.

In part II, I’ll cover working with multiple catalogs and also one of the most common question I get on workshops- “how do I merge catalogs.” This is especially useful when working with a laptop in the field. Stay tuned…

Any questions or feedback, or suggestions for future posts on Lightroom, let me know!

“Learning from the Masters” is a weekly series where share useful lessons we can learn from others, regardless of their medium. The important thing for me is how we can apply these lessons to photography, and to our lives as creative individuals.

How do you achieve success in the photography industry, or any challenging endeavor in life? This group of current photographers offer some great insights and hrad learned lessons that we can all benefit from. Enjoy.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/200 sec @f/5.6, ISO 800, 95mm
Beautiful patterns turn surreal with a slight breeze across the water. Here I tried to balance the 3 primary colors for visual balance and harmony. No plugins needed.

“It’s very important to know what to leave out, thereby emphasizing what remains” – Tony Bennett

I came across this quote by the great singer recently, and it stuck with me as I hiked along Negro Bill Canyon in Moab, Utah a few weeks ago. It’s an amazingly beautiful canyon with a flowing creek, lush vegetation, and varnished stained rock walls rising a hundred or more feet on either side of the trail. During early morning and evening hours, the walls reflect the sunlight down into the opposite side of the canyon creating beautiful soft warm light. Knowing where the light will be, and when, is key to finding great photo opportunities, which is why I visit as much as I can.

As I walked along the trail, I thought about the challenge of keeping it simple. With such a variety of subject matter to photograph—rocks, water, flowers, reflections, wildlife—and equally many distractions, how could I capture what I was seeing and feeling as simply as possible?

For me it starts with breaking things down visually into simple shapes, colors, lines, highlights and shadows. When you look carefully enough, they’re all there waiting to be discovered, and most importantly, either included or excluded from the composition. But it takes patience, and slowing down without having any place to get to, either physically or mentally. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, just being in a place and taking it all in, with all active senses. Our eyes are our strongest reference of course, but there are other cues; sounds, smells, touch. These can all be factors in how you react to and interpret nature, and you can use them to help you make compositional choices.

iPhone 5, Camera+
Yes my iPhone 5. I wanted to see what it was capable of, and I wasn’t disappointed. Of course I can’t make a big print, but it was a useful exercise in composition. See how the simple leading line from the top right leads into a spiraling pattern of circles? Do you see the contrast in visual rhythm between the top and bottom portions of the image?

Learning From Babies

I see and appreciate this every single day with my 5 month old infant daughter. Whether seeing, touching, tasting, or hearing, it’s all interesting to her. She constantly scans her environment, observing with a focused curiosity, as her brain tries to make sense of everything she’s seeing and experiencing for the first time. It truly is an amazing thing to watch, and I find myself trying to see the way she sees, with that same intense curiosity and an eagerness to discover. We can all learn from this simple practice, vital to her development, but so useful to us as photographers. Try and see things as if for the first time. Look beyond the labels, and instead focus on how it’s different from what you’ve seen before.

As I walked along the canyon, and thought about her, I was overwhelmed with the amount of visual information, and how much there was to photograph. And so many ways to fail, as well as learn from those failures.

“The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear.” — Vincent Van Gogh

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/40 sec @f/8.0, ISO 200, 200mm
Shapes, patterns, and circles. How many ways can they lead the eye and make for an interesting image vs one that seems random?

Limiting Your Field of View

Ok, so I’ve talked about the concepts, the ideas, and the approach. But how do you actually put this into practice? One approach is to limit your field of view.

A long zoom lens, like the 70–200mm, is so useful in these types of exercises because we can isolate and “extract” small parts of the landscape. That’s a great term that I first heard Ansel Adams use because he preferred it to “abstract.” In his view. we can only create “abstracts” from our imagination, and since we’re really just isolating part of what already exists, then it is really just extracted from reality. Whether you agree or not, I think it helps to think of it this way when your’re actually out in the field looking for compelling compositions.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/400 sec @f/4.0, ISO 400, 145mm
Colors again, but this time I tried to play with the warm and cool nature of light, and the dark patch at the top right makes for a nice pattern of 3 colors.

Looking at nature through a limited frame allows you to see more, not less. Colors become more intense because they are allowed to “breath” and complement or contrast neighboring colors. Lines and shapes take on a greater importance because they interact with the edges of the frame more directly. And certainly, we can create mystery and interest, and raise questions about what each of us thinks is important and how we wish to express that to others. For me, it’s all in the details, and that’s where nature shows us her true brilliance. Photographing that is pure joy for me, and that’s what I try to bring across in the images.

• Look for how shapes relate to other shapes. Do they create depth when one is in front of the other? Do they create lines that lead the viewer to what you found most interesting?
• Lines are strong visual elements, but they don’t always have to be obvious. Can you find implied lines that create strong diagonals?
• Maybe a simple pattern can be interesting enough on it’s own to make a statement about the subject, instead of just being an image of the subject.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/200 sec @f/8.0, ISO 800, 200mm
Lines and texture, and a single color made that much more interesting with variety and subtle hue changes. Looks much better in a large print

Panasonic GH2, 1/30 sec @f/8.0, ISO 160, 280mm
I love to photograph reflective surfaces, and create depth using reflections and shadows. Painting uses this to great effect, and I’ve learned much from the masters such as Church, JMW Turner, and Sanford Gifford.

Learning From Printing

Making large prints of these photographs is both fun and illuminating for me. The prints really make the images come to life in a way that only a print can. And I also learn more about how these types of images, and my technique capturing them, translates to paper. As I’ve said before, printing your own work is one of the best ways to improve both your photography and your technical skills. If there are any flaws, you’ll see them. Whether or not they detract from the overall success of the image is up to you, but that’s much better than not knowing they exist. Looking at your work outside the confines of a computer monitor or other electronic display is richly rewarding and humbling at the same time.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/125 sec @f/8.0, ISO 800, 200mm
Two colors, but so many hues and shapes to work with. Again, a very small section of this creek, but enough variety to fill a memory card.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/25 sec @f/8.0, ISO 200, 75mm
More lines and shapes, plus a single color that helps create both simplicity and emotional content. Tonal variety is key to this image, from highlights to shadows.

I truly hope this was helpful in expanding your opportunities out in the field when photographing nature. These ideas can be applied anywhere, not just in canyons or other pristine locations. I’ve used them in my own backyard. Have any questions, feedback, or comments? I’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.

The June 2013 Free Desktop Wallpaper is now available for download. The snow capped La Sal Mountains are a prominent landmark around Moab UT and offer a beautiful contrast to the red rocks and dry heat of the desert southwest.

As always, come closer to nature in southern Utah.

1920 x 1200

1920 x 1080

1680 x 1050

1280 x 800

Instructions:

First determine your screen size. Your Current Resolution Is:

Then click on the link for the correct size. When the image opens in a new browser window, right click on the image and select “Set as Wallpaper” (on a Mac, select “Use Image as Desktop Picture”).

The recent Spring in Arches workshop was fun, educational, and a joy to be a part of. I had a great group of students to work with, all passionate about photography and nature, which is so important when working in a group setting. I always come away with a tremendous sense of gratitude for getting to do what I love. I tell students at the beginning of every workshop, “I feel that having all of you on the workshop is a privilege, and I take our time together very seriously. I’m not happy unless every one of you is happy.”

The weather was perfect all five days, and we photographed in great locations in Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and other unique spots in the Moab area. We visited iconic landscapes, lesser known arches in remote locations, lush green canyons, and hiked many miles of amazing trails. I also scouted new locations for future workshops, so any returning students will always have something new to experience. Those who think the southwest has nothing new to offer are naively mistaken, the creative possibilities are endless.

Part of our “scouting” also involved finding good food, another reason I love Moab. Some of my favorites include EklectiCafe, Red Rock Cafe, Jailhouse Cafe, Paradox Pizza, Moonflower Market (for organic goods), and the ever popular Moab Brewery. I don’t drink, but I knew where to find the students after our sunset shoots!

I especially want to thank Spencer Loosli from Gura Gear who attended the workshop as well, and was kind enough to bring along some free give-aways for the students. Their new line of EtCetera cases are awesome, especially when managing all of your accessories on a workshop.

Finally, because I arrived a few days earlier, I did manage to make some of my own images, and I’ll share some of those in the coming days and weeks.

Share your thoughts, feedback, and questions below – I always enjoy interacting. Thanks for reading.

It’s been an extremely busy 2 weeks for me, but I’m finally back from Moab Utah leading the Spring in Arches  5-day photo workshop, plus also spending a bit of my own time shooting and hiking in the area. I’ll have a post tomorrow with more info plus a bunch of behind the scenes photos I think you’ll enjoy.

If you’re in the NY area and have time, I’ll be presenting a seminar tomorrow at B&H Photo in NYC titled “Intro to Digital Fine Art Printing” where I’ll cover the basics of printing and what you need to know if want to start printing your own work. It’s sponsored by Canson Infinity, so we’ll have very generous sample packs for every attendee with some of Canson’s most popular papers, including my favorite, Platine Fibre Rag.

If you can make it, hope to see you there!

I’m in Moab, Utah getting ready to teach the Spring in Arches workshop which starts on Sunday. However, not wanting to forget all of you who couldn’t make the workshop , I did manage to record another Lightroom video tutorial before I left.

Also, because much of my work is printed, I added a section at the end where I show you the final print on Canson Platine Fibre Rag paper, which is my current favorite. There’s something about the physical nature of a print that makes an image come to life for me, and this image definitely looks better on paper. I think it’s the subtle detail that doesn’t really come across on a monitor.

As always, thanks for the support, and please leave your feedback and comments below. Enjoy the video.

I'm really proud and excited to be teaching a photography workshop at the the renowned Omega Institute in Rhinebeck NY this summer. It's a 5 day course where students learn the art and craft of photography, and also get a chance to show their work as part of the Omega Arts Week program.

Omega has a beautiful campus and the workshop includes lodging and amazing food. If you're curious or interested, contact me for more info, or check out the Omega website for more details.

Recently they asked me to answer a few questions about art, and I answered them with the first thoughts that came into my head. It was a fun exercise, and I thought I'd share the answers with you here.

What does art or creativity mean to you?

Freedom to express my innermost feelings, desires, and love for life. Also the opportunity to share that in a way that inspires others to a greater awareness of beauty, nature, and the precious gift of every noment in our short lives.

How important is art in our lives?

To me it is the most important aspect of being human. The realization that we are all creative and have the ability to express ourselves is what makes us unique individuals.

How do you celebrate art in your own life?

I try to absorb as much art as I can from countless others who have traveled the creative journey in their lives. I find I get inspired and motivated to give more, share more, and help others do the same.

Do you have any favorite quotes about art or creativity you would like to share?

“My future starts when I wake up every morning…everyday I find something creative to do with my life.” – Miles Davis

What is the connection between art and metamorphosis?

Art allows you to challenge preconcieved ideas, discover new ways of thinking about what matters to you, and from that approach self made limits with more confidence. This is how we grow, adapt, change, and ultimately reach towards a higher potential that seems to stay out of reach. And we should want it to stay out of reach – it means we need to keep reinventing ourselves to get closer. That is metamorphisis.

Thanks for reading! Care to share what art mean to you? Leave your first reactions in the comments below!

Canon 1DS Mk III, 1/60 sec @f/11, ISO 100, 28mm