Digital journey to the USA
NAT Coalson, ARPS, was the guest lecturer at the meeting of Sileby Photographic Society held on Monday, January 27.
A professional photographer by trade, he presented superb digital images under the title “Mountains and Deserts of the Western USA” which were highly entertaining and accompanied by Nat’s informative commentary throughout.
Nat was born and bred in Denver, Colorado, but is now permanently resident in this country.
He had, therefore, had access to some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes for many years which cultivated his interest in scenic photography, and the skills acquired led to his professional work today.
His repertoire included images reflecting the stunning landscapes which covered quite a large area from Denver, the Rocky Mountains, and west towards Los Angeles.
These included many of the iconic and world famous National Parks such as Yellowstone, Arches, Monument Valley, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, White Sands and Death Valley.
The gorgeous landscapes captured on camera in all of their colourful glory, from the Aspen trees in autumn, dramatic skies, tumbling waterfalls and wild flowers to lakes and snow-capped mountains across the Rockies, were simply stunning.
Equally so, was the ‘architecture’ in Arches
National Park, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and Canyonlands, all of which had been carved out by nature’s miraculous programme of erosion over thousands of years.
The textures and contours revealed were remarkable and the structures created within the rock formations provided great material for Nat’s camera and subsequent digital images.
It was interesting to view images taken in the early morning light and the differences revealed when the same image captured later in the day as the light began to fade, and the sun about to disappear.
However, Nat indicated that there was no such thing as bad light and great pictures could be captured on camera at any time of the day.
Selecting the appropriate shutter speed, coupled with well thought out composition and an ideal focal point were equally important, and the images proved the point.
Tall, teddy bear, cacti and various other plant-life growing in abundance across the desert in Arizona, caught his eye, and whilst these apparently spiky and thorny species were anything but user-friendly, he was able to close in sufficiently to capture some great pictures.
The dried-out salt flats in Death Valley created unusual, albeit attractive, patterns on the surface, as did the patterns formed by rocks, broken off from the hills behind, being moved along by the wind. Fascinating.
Great reflection images were shown, and if the picture were to be inverted, it would have been almost impossible to notice, such was the quality of Nat’s work.
After the refreshment break, Nat took the opportunity to give a brief lecture on the whys and wherefores of monochrome photography which offered a different way of looking at something.
The original view before him would usually be in colour anyway, but he showed examples of how the conversion, in many instances, worked to great effect.
Certain pictures did not necessarily depend on colour to make it a success, and by taking a colour picture and converting it to monochrome using computer aids, creative judgement and range of tone, this could sometimes introduce a lot of drama and atmosphere to enhance the end result.
Nat was thanked by John Hoogerwerf for a really enjoyable evening, which had been full of explanations, interpretations and thoughts on composition etc. with good examples of creative images produced by using various techniques, knowledge which had been acquired over many years.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, February 10, when visiting lecturer, Bill Allsopp LRPS, LBPPA, will present digital images, “Birds, Blokes, Blooms and Britain”.
Visitors and prospective new members are always welcome to attend the society’s meeting which commence at 7.45pm for 8pm and are held at Sileby Community Centre.
Further information can be obtained from the society’s website, www.silebyps.org.uk