I hope this finds you wonderfully well!? It is amazing to think that this is issue number 34 of my newsletters. Thanks so much to everyone who has been part of my journey over the last few years. I started these newsletters 3 years ago now and some of you have been with me from the start. Thanks so much for all the encouragement!

In my last issue I gave some insight into an exciting conservation project regarding White-winged Flufftails. Since then my diary has been filled with some very fulfilling business coaching and photography mentorship programmes.

I have been meaning to get down to writing a newsletter as well as starting a youtube channel, but these unfortunately did not make the top of my “to do list” until now. Sometimes timing is everything, so I hope you enjoy the newsletter that follows. And if you want to keep up to date with when my first youtube video comes out please subscribe here: Richard Flack – YouTube

For this issue, I thought I would give you a practical look into my ever evolving photography process and then end off with a few more images from the last few months.

With Christmas around the corner, Eileen and I have also put together a gift voucher for my mentorship programme/s for any of your loved ones who may want to join me on a 6 or 9 session programme to improve and build confidence in their photography and have a ton of fun. More details on my programmes can be found at the end of the newsletter!

MY PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS

A lot of photographers I speak to often identify the bird or animal species they want to photograph and then set out to get the best image they can of it. This is definitely one way of being intentional and can definitely yield excellent results. You can find out where your subject occurs in abundance, go to that location and spend time observing its behaviour in order to come up with a plan to get the shot you want. I have definitely had some wonderful results by doing just this.

My study of our half-collared kingfishers came from this exact approach and I still do this when I have a specific target in mind. Recently I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking to photograph White-starred Robins in an Afromontane forest close to my home. By spending lots of time immersed in their world, I eventually stumbled upon their nest site and was able to spend some wonderful hours watching them find various grubs for their newly hatched young.

Over the years, however, my photography process has evolved somewhat. This has had a lot to do with my own vision of what success looks like. As many of you may know I hope to take images of birds in iconic African landscapes that allow you to feel the emotions that at times overwhelm me when seeing these spectacular creatures and the environments they live in. We are incredibly blessed in Africa and I am in awe of what is around us. With this goal in mind, I now spend more time looking for beautiful, interesting and/or unique environments before I consider the bird or birds I plan to photograph.

For me, the environment provides the canvas for my “painting” and hence, it is pointless looking to “paint” my subject if the environment does not lend itself to a beautiful piece of art. As I spend time in the field my eyes are constantly searching for places that could lead to my next project. When I find what could be a suitable location I then look to see if there are birds visiting it. If birds arrive on a regular basis, I may have just found my next challenge.

So what do I look for selecting a location? Here are a few practical considerations:

1. Complexity & the arrangement of elements – I enjoy finding environments that are complex and by this I mean have a number of different elements working in them. There are 7 elements in each of our photographs; space, depth, lines, colour, tone, texture and shapes. Knowing each of them and how they can work for or against you in your composition is critical when attempting to make order from chaotic scenes . With more elements, it becomes increasingly difficult to produce compositional arrangements that work and in this I find much of the fun and challenge. I look for areas within the landscape that could help me separate the subject from its surrounds and lend themselves to the story I hope to tell. Lines that lead the eye, natural repetition or patterns and elements that create framing are three key things that I constantly look for when faced with this complexity. I also pay special attention to the tonal values in the scene (i.e. tonal value is how light or dark a colour and is considered more important by artists than colour itself), as this ultimately determines the structure of my photograph. The final evaluation takes place behind my laptop where I look at the images I have taken at the location and do my best to objectively analyse whether they apply the principles of composition. It is the principles of composition (defined by 1000s of years of art) that determine whether your image is pleasing to your audience and although there is definitely 20 to 30% subjectivity/gut in the final decision, they are our best framework for objective analysis (albeit, not well taught in wildlife photography circles).
2. The role of depth ~ The more I learn about how artists produce depth in their paintings, the more I realise how much I appreciate it in my own images. The ability to produce the illusion of a three dimensional space is such an important part of moving your audiences eyes in, out and around them. Hence, I love looking to use layering, linear perspectives, atmosphere or other techniques to achieve this in my work. (Part 5 of my mentorship programme is called “The Wonder of Creativity” and looks at how we can set the table for creative success as well as the creative considerations we have at our disposal. One of these considerations is “depth” and the session looks at not only how we can achieve depth in our photographs but also how we can use it to be more creative.)
3. Mood and emotion – Although emotion can be derived through incredible action or intimate moments, the nature of the scene can play an important role too. I love looking for locations where dramatic weather patterns (e.g. storms rolling through the Drakensberg mountains) or regular climate conditions (e.g. mist produced from below freezing temperatures the night before) can provide a sense of place and mood that has the ability to transport the audience to where you are and give them a tangible sense of the wonder you are experiencing. These conditions also transform your scene into something unique and difficult to replicate as incoming weather conditions often influence the canvas in a unique way.
4. Is it interesting and unique enough? ~ When making a final decision around whether a location is worth focusing on, I ask myself whether it has something that is truly unique and/or is interesting enough to captivate my audience. When taking wide angle images, it isn’t enough to just have a beautiful scene. It cannot just be a little grebe or duck on a beautiful, tranquil pond. Don’t get me wrong, these are awesome, but for me to push my own boundaries there needs to be some kind of “x factor”; something that moves it beyond what is normal.
5. Time at the location – A big part of finding the right location is ensuring I can go back and spend time in it. The closer to home the better or if it is away from home the more alone, focused time the better. This is an important consideration as given the nature of these images you need time to be patient and persevere.
6. Frequency of birds arriving on the scene ~ When I find a scene that could work it is important that there is either a regular arrival of birds or consistent activity at the spot in question. Given the difficulty of the images I am trying to create, it is important to have some chance of getting everything to come together and hence, a high frequency of birds is usually critical.

These considerations tend to provide canvases that tell stories about the birds and their surrounds and with these stories come the emotions I hope to convey.

Giant’s Castle in the Central Drakensberg is an excellent example of a location that works for my “iconic African birdscapes”. You have incredible scenery, natural layering, ever changing weather patterns and an abundance of protagonists for your photographic stories. At the beginning of the year I spent a day in the Giant’s Castle vulture hide to prepare for a show with Ray Hennessy; a professional American bird photographer. Ray an I met around 3 years ago and after our last podcast on all things to do with art and creativity in photography; 129: Richard Flacks — Ray Hennessy Wildlife, we decided to do a couple of video shows together.

We wanted to share what we look for in locations and what we do in these locations to produce unique images. Our diaries have been tough to coordinate but I am hoping we will find a time to finalise things in the coming weeks/months. Here are two images that give a sense of what this location enables and why it makes for pleasing canvases.

A PRACTICAL CASE STUDY ~ photographing birds in the mist

To illustrate this practically, let me take you behind the scenes into one of my recent projects (which is still ongoing).

As I was walking out my front gate one cold, winter morning I stumbled across an amazing canvas (see below).

There were no birds there at first but the way the light lit up the mist captivated my attention. I saw how the mist could provide both mood and depth, as well as potentially frame my subject. It could also simplify some of the complexity in the busy scene. I saw how the light could emphasize the outline of my subjects and provide further emotion to the story. I saw how the leading line of the jetty could direct the eyes of my audience. I saw how birds could fly or enter the scene and achieve a pleasing composition. It had much of what I look for and was only a few metres from my front door! Two big ticks, especially the latter; given how difficult it was going to be to get a subject to come into the scene at the right place.

The next part of the equation was to identify who could be the main protagonist/s. What birds were visiting the location, how often and for how long? Fortunately for me there was a family of Grebes with two youngsters in the small dam itself. There were also a pair of African black ducks and a green-backed heron that seemed to be visiting on certain mornings and my neighbourhood cormorant also made an appearance from time to time.

Hooray! Three big ticks. I now had what I felt was a scene that was worth spending time in.

The tricky part, however, was that not every morning had mist. It had to go below freezing during the night for this to happen and we were experiencing a warmer than normal winter. Added to this, it had to be a clear morning with mist for the light display to take place. The light display happened at exactly 07h45 in the morning. Adding to the “needle in a haystack” chances of success, the birds had to arrive at this specific time and then arrange themselves in a couple of key locations in order for the composition to work. Although there was a lot that had to come together, it was this in and of itself that made the scene interesting and indeed, possibly unique. I also liked how the scene captured so much of what the Natal Midlands is about; fishing in dams, cold, misty winter mornings and thick forest surrounds. Four big ticks!

The final part of the decision making process was trying to objectively analyse the images taken and deciding whether it was indeed a location worth waiting at. To help me with this, I sent a few pictures to my good friend; William, and asked his opinion. He too, felt it was worth the time and effort! 5 big ticks!

Now, like many of the things in my life, I had to be patient and persevere. I would check the weather to see if tomorrow was a possible day for the impossible. If so, I would wake up early and get down to my hiding spot on the side of the dam around 7am. (Or if it was my morning to drop Joshua I would rush back to get to the dam just in time for the light to work its magic).

I honestly don’t know how many mornings I have sat in this same spot since the inception of the project, but it has been a lot. And I still don’t have exactly what I am looking for.! I love some of the images but just feel there is another one coming. It reminds me of a famous quote by Ansel Adams “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” And I am still waiting for that sometime.

I will keep you posted on how the project plays out, but trust that this little window into my world has given you some of your own ideas and fueled your tank to find your own special scenes and moments. Below are two of my favourite images from the time to date.

A few more images from the last couple of months

LATEST NEWS

“Richard Flack arrived in my life when I felt stale about my photography. How quickly things changed! His authenticity and absolute genuineness were a revelation from the get-go of his Mentorship Programme. He accelerated my learning and opened my mind to so many things to the point of me now feeling adequately prepared to take my art to much better outcomes. He achieved this by first kindling and then firing up my enthusiasm for my love of photography to capture shots of many things in nature, including my passion for birds-in-flight and other action images. He guided me to see beyond the immediate action, however, to include the environment and many other elements to tell a more complete story. This has been extremely beneficial to me. What has been fascinating has been the combination of all the above into an artistic expression that, when done properly, is a thing of beauty. I learnt techniques and things that I did not know existed. I have also learnt what sets certain images apart in a structured manner, rather than a ‘happy accident’. I have found this to be wonderfully inspirational. Richard is a great communicator who can get to the core of matters, but all the while in a gentle and beautiful manner. While I found the time spent together quite intense, it was always very meaningful and fulfilling. Heartfelt thanks, Richard.”
Brian W (Johannesburg)

I hope you enjoyed my latest newsletter and that it has added even more fuel to your passion. I have a full end to the year with a short conservation documentary, trips to Zimbabwe and Naude’s Nek and hopefully some youtube videos 😊.

I look forward to sharing more in the months to come.

Yours in bird photography,