Younes Bounhar Photography

Burning Water

I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so my post is going to be a bit short. This image for me is another reminder of one of the most critical lessons I’ve learned over the past few years, as far as photography is concerned. When I headed out on this shoot, the sky was in one of those unique “modes” where you just know something special is going to happen. It was that magical sunset that I had been waiting for. So I took my gear out and headed to the river. I got there early enough to scope out the place and test a few compositions, set up my camera and wide-angle lens on the tripod and waited for that magical moment to arrive. As I was getting closer to sunset, I notice the reflections of the sun on a nearby rock, the play of water around it and thought that it would make some neat images. The only problem was that I was already set up and sunset was fast approaching, I didn’t want to jeopardize my chances of catching that decisive moment. That’s when mini-Yoda popped out on my left shoulder (yeah, I am left-handed, so that’s my cool shoulder, not the other one).

What he told me was pretty simple, but critical: take it while you can! When the right light shows up, pounce on it, no matter where you are and what your expectations were to start with, you simply have to seize the moment that you are offered. Being the good guy I am (sometimes), I listened. I put my Nikon 70-300VR on my camera and started shooting away. And wouldn’t you know it, that crazy sunset I was dreaming of…well, it never materialised. It just fizzled away. Now had I not listened to mini-Yoda, I would have nothing to show for it. I can’t count the number of times I held on to get the perfect shot only to come away empty handed. The lesson here is be ready to read, react and adapt to the conditions you are handed and make the best of them.

Posted on April 27th, 2010 in Images Photography Tips | 1 Comment »

End of season

This time of the year is likely the slowest as far as landscape photography goes (in our region at the very least). No more snow to smooth things out, no more ice for aesthetic relief, brown grass, leafless trees. Just about everything is poo brown. What that means is: 1) I shoot something else 2) I get to reflect on some of the things I’ve shot in the last few weeks. (I’ve decreed today “lazy sunday” – yes I write my posts days before they are published…sometimes- so no shooting is happening…you get my drift).

Just before everything turns “poo brown”, we get some of the most interesting shooting conditions around here. I really like the transition period where the river starts to thaw, but isn’t completely thawed out. This gives rise to some pretty cool subjects you can focus your attention on. A few weeks ago, I posted my “pots of gold” shots. A few years ago, I took this shot in similar conditions. Needless to say, that this transition from winter to spring gives rise to countless opportunities to photograph ice patterns (like here or here).

This year, I was particularly intrigued by some interesting patterns on the surface of the river that were likely caused by the lack of snow. These were a bit harder to capture than I anticipated because I simply couldn’t get enough altitude to capture a “top-down” view that really emphasized their repetitive nature. That said we enough perseverance I got some results that at least rendered the essence of what I was trying to achieve. I would love to hear what you think…

Posted on March 30th, 2010 in Photography Tips | 3 Comments »

Curves, curves and more curves

What else can I say? I am simple man, I like curves (and, no, there are no connotations of any kind tied to this statement, well, OK, may be just a little). Whenever out on a shoot there are several elements you can look for to enhance your compositions. For me, personally, the number one element of design I strive to capture is the curve. It’s beautiful, it’s sensual, it’s soft yet instills energy in your images.

This is a tip that is equally valid when you shoot wide angles as it is when you aim for more intimate compositions.  When I headed out to the Ottawa train station on Sunday, I had a fairly good idea of what the shot I wanted to get: a wide angle composition that nicely captured the structure of the stairs leading to the quay. It was simply a matter of framing the rails in such a way that the spiral leads your eyes down the staircase and into your composition.

Now still keeping with the wide-angle theme, there is nothing that says you have to keep your camera level or straight. There is nothing preventing you from following the natural flow directed by the curves you are shooting. Here, you have to use the distortion of the wide-angle lens to your advantage and accentuate the curve. There is no recipe, I just get there and experiment to my heart’s content. I probably shot close to 80 shots that day only to keep 7-8 at the end (which I would still consider a good day!). Here I would recommend that every now and then you stop, step back and chimp a bit, take a long look at your shots, see what you like, what you like less and see if there is more you would want to work on. It’s a lot easier to take more shots on the spot than have to come back later (specially if you only have one shot at it!).

Now if wide-angle distortion accentuates curves, telephoto compression can allow you to bring together elements in a more 2D composition where curves take on a different look. The photo above and the follow examples show you just that.

Posted on February 15th, 2010 in Images Photography Tips | 9 Comments »

Please bear with me

I just spent most of last week in Brussels for business. Now that I am back, I have barely had time to get anything done as work is in frenzy mode pretty much non-stop these days. So before I disappear again, I have a few things I’d like to share with you:

1- It is winter (in case you haven’t noticed), though a mild one I have to say, so I would like to remind you that I have a couple of posts to help with technical and inspirational issues for winter shooting. Check them out for a quick refresher on winter shooting: Click on the links to Part I and Part II.

2- I have had some pretty amazing experience with the Acratech folks dealing with their GP ballhead, I will be telling you all about it pretty soon, so please check back (I would say next Monday at the latest).

3- If you haven’t done so, please take a look at David DuChemin’s series of ebooks,  in a word: outstanding. Whether you are a noob or a seasoned vet, there is bits of info for all of you. The guy is an amazing photographer, teacher and writer, I highly recommend his stuff.

4- I am finalising details for an upcoming trip to Morocco to scout locations for a photo tour in the spring of 2011. Now I am not planning to give a full out workshop this year, but I have spotted some amazing locations. If anyone is interested in coming along for the ride, I am considering opening one or two spots for this year’s trip for a unique individualised experience. Please contact me if you are interested.

5- Last but not least, I will be shortly releasing some limited edition products featuring a few select images from my collection, stay tuned for some details coming very very soon in a theater (well, a computer) near you!

Posted on January 24th, 2010 in News Photography Tips | 2 Comments »

Blue Morning

Justin Van Leeuwen and I braved the cold on Saturday morning (close to 20 degrees below) to go make some pictures on the river. The conditions were ideal for hoarfrost and I had just missed an amazing hoarfrost show the day before, so nothing would have stopped me from going out that morning.

Well, the frost wasn’t nearly as impressive as the day before, but as they say, when handed lemons…The conditions were still pretty interesting and we got some interesting images out of it. In the first series of images I am posting today,  I was drawn to the blue highlights in the water and the contrast with the white snow and frost in the pre-dawn light.

Just a reminder for those of you interested, when shooting snow, don’t forget to overexpose your images by 1 to 1.5 stops to make sure the snow doesn’t turn dirty gray.

Posted on December 20th, 2009 in Images Photography Tips | 3 Comments »

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