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November 21, 2008 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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Visiting your local state park is not only rewarding and satisfying to your mental, emotional, and physical well being, it provides you with a close-by, very familiar place to do some in depth photography. With all this available, let me encourage you to create your very own tabletop book for this local vista. All you need is a camera, some spare time, and a desire to stick with a long-term project. Over time, you'll be covering the trails to find the best views, learning to recognize the plants and animals and determining the best times to see each. You'll be studying sunrise and sunset points, and noting how they change with the seasons and clouds. Sound like a lot of work? It's not! To get the job done, you'll be hiking, checking out the sky, camping, and enjoying yourself.  Photo: Gene Kunz Step 1: Start by shooting lots of snapshots. This will give you a basis for what might be "picture worthy." After all, there are many beautiful scenes in any state park, but all of them are not picturesque Photo: Gene Kunz Step 2: When you find a good spot, ask yourself these questions: What is it that drew me to this place and how can I enhance it in my photo? To explore that second question, shoot from a variety of angles and heights using many different zoom settings. Change the time and type of day (overcast, foggy, bright and clear, etc.) as well as the time of year because each of these creates a different mood in you, and the whole idea of this project is to show the viewer all of those moods.
 Photo: Gene Kunz Step 3: Edit fiercely, but keep the throw-aways for a while so they can be reviewed after a few weeks. After all, you might find one or two you overlooked.
 Photo: Gene Kunz Step 4: Occasionally, spread out all the selected pictures for viewing. Without trying to look at each individually, take note as to which ones draw your eye. Those are the ones on which you should build your style Photo: Gene Kunz Step 5: Begin to organize your images into chapters for your tabletop book.
 Photo: Gene Kunz Step: 6 As a fun option, keep a diary of your visits so you might add text to your book. Always keep in mind, however, that this is your story of the park, not the park's story.  Photo: Gene Kunz Conclusion My Pere Marquette State Park in Illinois has wonderful trails that go up and down the river bluff. For this reason, one of the themes I use when I go there to shoot is "stairways." For me, it's a way of showing human presence in harmony with nature without showing people.
Gene Kunz  Photo: Gene Kunz
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