Photographing in my Backyard - The ACFL

Like many landscape and nature photographers, I love going to iconic locations like Death Valley and Yellowstone to photograph. Even though I travel a lot, time and money will always limit my trips to such places.  So if I only photograph on those trips, then I would spend more time NOT photographing than photographing.  And I love to photograph.  So waiting until the next trip can become quite frustrating.  The solution, of course, is to photograph at great locations AND closer to home in lesser-known places. If you have one of those iconic places in your backyard, then I'm envious.  But there are myriad places that can be just as rewarding if you just get out there and look.

Several years ago, I launched a project to photograph the Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL), a forested park in my home town of Anacortes, WA.  It includes almost 3000 acres of older, second-growth forest, with plenty of big trees, including some 6-7 feet in diameter.  By now, I've probably spent more time photographing in the ACFL than I have in all the great locations that I've visited over the last five years or so.  I've accomplished a lot in this ongoing project.  I've made thousands of photographs and become far more intimate with this forest than any other location.  

I've also learned a number of things.  First, there are great photographs to be made in your own backyard (well it's about a block from my backyard).  Because it's not an iconic place where many have gone before you, these photographs may require more time and work to create.  However, the reward more than justifies that time and effort.  There's a greater opportunity to make original, creative images in locations like the ACFL.  Second, the hardest place to photograph a tree is in a forest.  Because forests are often chaotic and complex, they are difficult places to photograph.  It's taken a while, but working in the ACFL has really honed my ability to see the photo opportunities in all that chaos and complexity, which has improved my photography practice.  Third, going back to the same location over and over results an intimacy with the place that leads to more and better photo opportunities - not less.  The forest changes with the seasons, weather and and light.  Each time I'm in the forest, it's different than the previous times - even on the same trail - and I see different things.  So there's an unlimited number of photos to be made. 

Fourth, forests are relatively dark and contrasty places, making photography a challenge.  Even on a relatively bright day, it can be a real problem to get an exposure that provides sufficient depth of field (aperture), freezes the motion of vegetation (shutter speed), and minimizes noise (ISO).  The lighting conditions can also fool cameras when using automatic exposure modes which adds to the problem.  I almost always use Manual exposure mode, a tripod and often focus stack files in the digital darkroom.  Managing the extreme contrast (very dark shadows and very bright highlights) requires choosing the right time and conditions for photography.  Diffuse overcast skies or low angled sunlight are best. But even on a bright sunny day, with way too much contrast, there are always photos to be made in the shadows or by using the play of shadow and highlight.  And finally, like Ansel Adams, I do a lot of dodging and burning in the darkroom (digital) to get the final images that I want.  Using the masking tools available in LightRoom and PhotoShop on forest images really pays off.  Even subtle adjustments can make an image much more dynamic and help simplify the visual clutter.

I'm now working with the Friends of the AFCL to create a book to support their mission and raise much needed funds.  The book will include several essays, my forest photos, and some wildlife and wild flower photos by other photographers.  Recently I've been going through the thousands of images that I've made in the forest to start the process of selecting photos for the book. This has resulted in a new set of favorites. I've posted a some of those below. 

If you'd like to see all my latest favs, then go to the ACFL portfolio on my website by clicking HERE.  I'd love to hear what you think!