Nature’s Embrace

Photographing nature can provide a brief reprieve from life’s harsh realities. It reminds us of the beauty in all things delicate and fierce, and we do not have to travel far to find it. And indeed, we don’t need expensive camera gear to make good pictures.

The workshop consists of lectures, assignments in the field, and image review. During lectures, Xuan-Hui Ng discusses some of the common themes that recur in her images: simplicity, texture, accent, rhythm. She shares her techniques for photographing nature, including her use of natural light, shadows, reflections, rain, snow, and mist to simplify and add texture to the images. She also covers her use of varied shutter speeds to create a sense of rhythm in images. By sharing her experiences and mistakes, she draws attention to potential issues that might arise when using these techniques. During photography outings, she will demonstrate the use of some of these approaches firsthand. 

The challenge and some would say the fun, of nature photography is the unpredictability of the weather. Although mist, dramatic skies and light can enhance the aesthetics of images, we cannot order when the sun will shine or when mist will form. Through assignments, we explore different ways to push beyond our comfort zones, to look for beauty in the mundane, and photograph when the weather is not cooperating.

Xuan’s photographs are single-exposure images made in camera. Techniques such as multiple exposures, flash, and intentional camera movement are not covered in this workshop.