Visions and Nature Photowalk in Clermont Ferrand
Posted on October 3, 2011
Word Wide Photowalk
Clermont Ferrand, France
By Kristel Schneider
Saturday, October 1st, Clermont Ferrand was part of the largest global Social Event for Photographers: the 4th edition of Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photo Walk.
I was happy to organize this local walk and be the leader of a small but enthusiastic photo group. We had a great day and were lucky to enjoy some very nice weather!
From today on the group members can upload a photo of their choice and take part in the Local and World Wide photo contest. I will pick the Local winner, the best image from the Clermont Ferrand walk which will then take part in the WWPW photo contest. Scott Kelby and his team will choose the grand winner.
See for more images my Facebook page .
Publication in French Nature Magazine: Nat’Image
Posted on September 25, 2011
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Publication in French
Nature Magazine: Nat’Image
Nat’image, the nature edition of the popular French photo magazine Chasseur d’Image, published an issue with a series about female nature photographers. I am one of the 19 female nature photographers. An article about how I started photography and why I choose for nature photography is published in nr. 10 the October/November 2011 issue.
The ‘old box’
Posted on July 30, 2011
In the past everybody had these old shoe boxes with loads of paper images or even original negatives in them. Always fun to sit on the old attic floor and look through the entire stack of old photos. Nowadays you have a hard- disk (s) full of RAW images, less romantic but also fun to look at. Sometimes you find an image that, back then, you were not totally sure about. And now, after not seeing it for years, you think ‘hey this is not a bad image !’.
As for the image I published below, I remember the day when I took it. Then I had loved the different textures and the nice colour pallet. But back home I had been disappointed with the result and it never landed in my ‘to publish box’ till a couple of days ago.
Sometimes it is good to take some distance from your work and let time pass before you actually work on them and decide if this is a keeper or is ready for the trash bin.
Orchids photography
Posted on July 4, 2011
Orchid Photography
by Kristel Schneider
‘ Orchids are a far more challenging subject to capture than many people may think they are’
I have been photographing wild orchids for a couple of years now, since I have lived in France (November 2007) and every year I love it when the Orchid season starts off. There are so many different species that it keeps amazing me how beautiful these flowers are, with their great details and colours.
Although Orchids do not run or fly away like insects and birds, they are a far more challenging subject to capture than many people may think. Orchids grow in very exposed situations such as hill tops or in open grassy places and on roadsides.
Therefore I think there are two important things to bear in mind before you take an image of an Orchid: subject movement and image background.
Early mornings and late afternoons provide us normally with nice light and that is often the time when wind shows up. I know that some other photographers use perspex box shelters to avoid ‘the wind movement problem’, but personally I (sometimes) like to add some movement in my images. Like I did in the image above.
I just wait for the little times when the wind hold its breath a little bit so that the flower is in focus and then shoot the image.
The background of the image is very important for your composition. And this is the second tricky part with Orchids because of what I mentioned above, they grow in ‘busy’ surroundings. Unless you are planning to take an Orchid in its natural habitat, you need to isolate the subject from its background. This helps your eye to focus on the main subject.
I always look what kind of other flowers or grass grow behind the Orchid so that I can capture a nice colour contrast, like I did with the Common Spotted Orchid with the moth on top. I used a wide aperture to keep the main subject in focus and create a nice soft background with yellow defocussed flowers. Always use a tripod to prevent camera shake and a sharper end result.
Look for more flower photography in my flora gallery
Interested in a Macro photography workshop click here for more information
Stag Beetles series
Posted on June 21, 2011
Stag Beetles Series
by Kristel Schneider
Stag Beetles (Lucanidae) are robust insects with black or reddish brown colouration.
The smaller ones even have a bluish sheen. The males have greatly enlarged, toothed mandibles; females are often smaller. The antennae are elbowed or bent in the middle.
More info about this wonderful insect click here.
For my Beetle photo shoot I wanted to get some soft focus images and some general detailed ones. The insects were wandering around on and in the tree trunk, the males didn’t really fight but where just getting in the defense ‘position’ what was nice for a background. The morning light provided me with some nice soft (background) light.
I tried some different angles and depth of fields and worked with my Canon 5DMark II and Canon 40D with different lenses (300mm + extension tube and the 150 macro lens).
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Visions and Nature 