Jim Larson Photography

The title about says it all.

For the last several years we have compiled a photo calendar of our dog Alle. We needed a good October shot, so we scooped her up and took her over to the local grocery store. What a poser.

I like the surrounding props, but I should have done something with the bright sunshine. Having the subject face the sun is not a good idea, and you can see why by looking at her squinting eyes.  People do the same thing.

There are a number of ways to combat this. The easiest thing would be to put the sun over her shoulder instead of in her face. Another good way is to use something to defuse the light. This could be as simple as a large thin white sheet held up by a couple of assistants. You will still get good light through it, but the harsh shadows and squinting eyes will be gone.

Olympus E-10, lens at 23mm, 1/320 at f8, ISO 80

I love to take abstract pictures. It is fun to have people scratch their heads wondering what it is I was shooting. The bark on this Aspen tree is a bit easier to comprehend, but abstract nonetheless.

Next time you are out with your camera. Try zooming a bit closer than normal and see what you come up with.

Canon 10D, Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS at 75mm, 1/180 at f8, ISO 400

What great fun this young boy is having, enjoying the long days of summer, trying to stay cool with his friends.

My wife and I were walking through the town of Sandpoint, Idaho and spotted a whole bunch of kids taking turns on the rope swing over the river. There was a constant stream of bodies hitting the water, all with larger than life smiles on their faces. It was quite warm that day, so I’m sure the water felt great.

When you are photographing action like this, take many shots. Timing is everything for the best action, so increase your odds of a “keeper” by shooting from many different angles with varying positions of the subject as well.

Canon 10D, Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS at 80mm, 1/250 at f8, ISO 400

Mornings can be so peaceful.  There is calmness everywhere.  Everything is asleep, getting the last bit of rest before starting a new day.  Well, except photographers. 

When the sun is near the horizon, either morning or evening the light can do amazing things.  The sky in this particular image is painted with pastel colors, something you just will not see midday.  The location of this photograph is in Port Townsend, Washington.

Get up early and discover a new world.

Canon 20D, Canon 24-105 f4 L IS at 47mm, 1/20 at f5.6, ISO 100

Here is another photograph that I took on the same day as the bicycle horn shown in yesterday’s entry. I’ve taken many shots like this over the years with this one portraying “mast confusion” the best. The sailboats are actually lined up in straight rows all in their own slips. Shooting down the rows makes for some nice “everything is in order” shots, but take those same boats and shoot them diagonally across the rows, and you get things looking like the order is confused.

When you are out taking pictures, try  shooting different angles of the same subject. You will be surprised to see how many different photographs are in one subject.

Canon 20D, Canon 24-105 f4 L IS at 105mm, 1/320 at f8, ISO 100

I like to see how the environment changes things. This particular images shows the signs of the salt air on this bicycle horn. Earlier this year we were traveling through Port Townsend, Washington and saw this bicycle that obviously has been around a while.

I took three shots of this bike, changing the lens aperture between each shot. I picked this one due to the blurry background. The others drew attention to the asphalt behind the bicycle. With the hand grip being blurry as well, it helps to keep the attention to the bell of the horn.

Keep on shooting!

Canon 20D, Canon 24-105 f4 L IS at 93mm, 1/30 at f5.6, ISO 100

On one of our sailing vacations in northern Idaho we decided to eat at a restaurant that was on the water. We docked our boat, added our name to the waiting list for a table, then kicked back to enjoy the scenery.

We soon noticed family of ducks hanging around. The babies were very cute. I picked up the camera, sat down on the edge of the dock and proceed to take some pictures. I took probably a dozen or so and called it good.

When I later viewed the images, I fell in love with this particular shot. Normally I would not put the subject in the center of the frame like this, but the water around the duckling was almost as interesting as the duckling itself. The circular pattern in the water kind of cradles this small creature.

Keep your camera handy for those unexpected shots.

Canon 10D, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS at 200mm, 1/250 at f8, ISO 400

A very good friend of ours was kind enough to pose for a portrait with her guitar. I like how she has her arms around the guitar giving the viewer a sense of her love for the instrument.

In any portrait, it is very important to have very sharp focus on the eyes. The eyes in the portrait are where your eyes go when looking at the photograph. Keep the background simple and somewhat blurred to keep he focus where you want it to be.

Lighting was very simple in the setup. There is a window to the right and I had my assistant hold a white reflector to the left of the guitarist to fill in some of the intense shadows. I also used an on camera flash at a very low setting, not to fill the shadows, but to add a catch light to the eyes.

Canon 10D, Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS at 80mm, 1/10 at f8, ISO 400

The mind can play funny tricks on you, or maybe you can play funny tricks on your mind. This image was taken in the Sawtooth mountains in central Idaho. My wife and I were on short hike up Fishhook creek when I spotted this scene.

You are probably asking how I shot through grass like this to capture the mountain scene. Well, if you study it closer, especially if you are standing on your head, it will become obvious.

This is actually an inverted reflection of the mountains in a pond. There was not a breath of wind this day, making the water like glass.

Olympus D-490-Z, lens at 15.7mm, 1/250 at f4.4, ISO 100

Today I would like to introduce you to my photography mentor, Al Larson. Not only is he my mentor, but he is my Dad.

Ever since I can remember, Dad was taking pictures. He has a great love of nature. I would see him quite often laying on his belly photographing wildflowers. I think it was his love of photography that caused me to love it as well.

I remember Dad building a very nice black and white darkroom when I was in junior high school. No wonder I got good grades in my photography classes. If any of you ever have a chance to get into a black and white darkroom and do some of your own printing, it is well worth the experience. It’s simply magic.

He is now famous for his love of the Mountain Bluebird, Idaho’s state bird. There are many spectacular photos of these little creatures and maybe you’ll get to see some of them on his new blog which can be seen at:

Al Larson’s Blog

He is just getting a good start on this blog, so check back every once in a while to see some great nature shots.

The portrait that I took of Dad was on an afternoon sailing trip near Boise. The winds were great and we both took many photographs. Imagine that.

Canon 20D, Canon 24-105 f4 L IS at 45mm, 1/500 at f7.1, ISO 100