Focal Points Magazine Jan/Feb 2024

Focal Points The Magazine of the Sierra Club Camera Committee

Photographing Snakes: From Fear to Focus January/February 2024

SCCC Leadership

Chair Programs Treasurer Membership Editor Communications Meetup Instagram Outings Outings

Joe Doherty Susan Manley Ed Ogawa Joan Schipper Joe Doherty Velda Ruddock Ed Ogawa Joan Schipper Joan Schipper Alison Boyle

joedohertyphotography@gmail.com SSNManley@yahoo.com Ed5ogawa@angeles.sierraclub.org JoanSchipper@ix.netcom.com joedohertyphotography@gmail.com vruddock.sccc@gmail.com Ed5ogawa@angeles.sierraclub.org JoanSchipper@ix.netcom.com JoanSchipper@ix.netcom.com AlisoniBoyle@icloud.com

Focal Points Magazine is a publication of the Sierra Club Camera Committee, Angeles Chapter. The Camera Committee is an activity group within the Angeles Chapter, which we support through the medium of photography. Our membership is not just from Southern California but is increasingly international.

Our goal is to show the natural beauty of our world, as well as areas of conservation concerns and social justice. We do this through sharing and promoting our photography and by helping and inspiring our members through presentations, demonstration, discussion, and outings.

We have members across the United States and overseas. For information about membership and/or to contribute to the magazine, please contact the editors or the membership chair listed above. Membership dues are $15 per year, and checks (payable to SCCC) can be mailed to: SCCC-Joan Schipper, 6100 Cashio Street, Los Angeles, CA 90035, or Venmo @CashioStreet, and be sure to include your name and contact info so Joan can reach you.

The magazine is published every other month. A call for submissions will be made one-month in advance via email, although submissions and proposals are welcome at any time. Member photographs should be resized to 3300 pixels, at a high export quality. They should also be jpg, in the sRGB color space.

Cover articles and features should be between 1000-2500 words, with 4-10 accompanying photographs.

Reviews of shows, workshops, books, etc., should be between 500-1500 words.

Copyright: All photographs and writings in this magazine are owned by the photographers and writers who created them. They hold the copyrights and control all rights of reproduction and use. If you desire to license one, or to have a print made, contact the editor at joedohertyphotography@gmail.com, who will pass on your request, or see the author’s contact information in the Contributors section at the back of this issue. https://angeles.sierraclub.org/camera_committee https://www.instagram.com/sccameracommittee/

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Focal Points January/February 2024

Marisa Ishimatsu hollering her victory yell after she caught this green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo by Grace Mannell DEPARTMENTS

COVER STORY

2 From the Chair

4 Photographing Snakes: From Fear to Focus Snakes are the cilantro of the animal kingdom; you either love them or hate them.

3 Announcements 36 Member Photos

By Marisa Ishimatsu

62 Contributors

COLUMNS

65 Parting Shot

14 On Location: A Bug Eye View on Macro Photography

By Sandi Kirwin

22 Confluence: I Photograph Trash

By Peter Bennett

28 How-To: Output Sharpening

By Joe Doherty

32 Trip Report: Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

By John Nilsson Cover Photo: Many-horned adder (Bitis cornuta) from Namibia. © Marisa Ishimatsu 1

From the Chair

Since childhood I have been afraid of heights.

I had my first ride on a Ferris Wheel when I was about six years old. It was a small one, at a carnival in Santa Monica, and each time we passed the operator I begged him to stop the ride and let me off. Decades later, when Velda and I were dating, we went on the Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. She could tell that I was white-knuckling the whole time. She thought it was sweet.

But put a camera in my hands and that fear disappears. I still have my limits (no “free solo” for me), but while trying to get a photograph I have: • • • •

education to produce beautiful portraits of her subjects.

It would be incorrect to say that Peter Bennett loves his subject, but trash certainly fascinates him. It brings him “a certain horrific exhilaration” to view the detritus of our consumption. As always, he brings beauty to this most unbeautiful subject.

This issue also includes a How-To on Output Sharpening by yours truly, and a trip report

by John Nilsson on a black-and-white Death Valley workshop. And of course the magnificent contributions of our members.

hung out of a helicopter; climbed a billboard; leaned out of the Goodyear Blimp; and, yes, ridden a Ferris Wheel.

It’s not that a camera makes me more courageous (or more reckless). I think, instead, that being engaged with the subject via my camera makes me a better judge of the situation. I’m able to balance risks and rewards with greater clarity when I have a reason for being there. And that reason is to get the picture.

That theme runs through this issue. We take pictures of things that others don’t want to see, are afraid to see, or simply cannot see.

Marisa Ishimatsu photographs snakes. She fell in love with her subject before buying her first camera. It’s fair to say that she would not be chasing snakes all over the world if it wasn’t for photography, and her knowledge of them has been refined by her observations.

Sandi Kirwin has been fascinated with insects and bugs since childhood. She has developed an elaborate photography practice that incorporates gear, passion, and continuing Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

In the early 1980s Isuzu mounted a car to a billboard over the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. I was the only photographer who climbed up the billboard to get this vantage point.

Announcements

Rod Barbee February 8 at 7pm via Zoom Rod Barbee is a professional photographer, writer, and instructor. A gifted and enthusiastic field instructor, he likes nothing more than sharing his knowledge and ideas.

His first book, The Photographer’s Guide to the Oregon Coast, co-written with David Middleton, is available nationwide. His book, The Photographer’s Guide to Puget Sound and Northwest Washington was published in the spring of 2007. His latest book is Oregon Coast Memories (Countryman Press).

His talk on February 8th will include the Palouse in the State of Washington, and bubble-net feeding of humpback whales in Sitka, Alaska.

To register for the Zoom meeting go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpdmrqD4tHNY3bSZiO20uemMmjkdkRAj0

Tidepool Outing on February 6 WHO: Angeles Chapter Camera Committee Leader - Alison Boyle (alisoniboyle@icloud.com or (310)994-1019) Co-Leader - Joan Schipper (joanschipper@ix.netcom.com or (323)828-8334 WHAT: Join us for a day of photography of marine life found in tide pools. The tide will be very low, minus 0.9 feet, exposing the rocky shore and leaving pools of sea water where marine life may be found. Walking distance will be less than a mile. Supportive footwear recommended along with trek poles or walking stick for added stability. Bring your camera for macro, landscape or bird photography.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 6, 2024; 10:30 am - 4:00 pm WHERE: White Point Beach, San Pedro, CA HOW: Contact the leader by February 4 to sign up and for more details. A waiver must be signed to participate.

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Cover Story

Photographing Snakes: From Fear to Focus “Snakes are the cilantro of the animal kingdom; you either love them or hate them.”

By Marisa Ishimatsu, StonePine Studios

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

California red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis), Marin County, CA.

How it started The first rattlesnake I ever saw was on Mt. Diablo in Northern California. I was out hiking with my Girl Scout troop and, like all good scouts, I had learned what to do when encountering a rattlesnake: stay calm, back away slowly, and give it a wide berth. The snake was on the edge of a narrow portion of the trail and only started rattling after the troop leader walked right by it. I think it just sat there rattling, but I can’t be sure because I was outta there. I would have run away if my

troopmates hadn’t held me back (they did the whole stay calm thing) while we retraced our steps back the way we had come.

I never really had an affinity for snakes growing up. I was more into horses and other warm, fuzzy things. In seventh grade I took my first biology course and I found my calling, though I had no idea what discipline I wanted to pursue. It wasn’t until college that I found herpetology. “Herpetology” is the study of reptiles and amphibians. It comes from the Greek root “herp” which means “to 5

The species I had encountered that day was a northern pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus).

creep.” I met my friend Alex during my first week and together we dove headlong into the world of snakes, salamanders, frogs, and all other things that creep.

Once upon a time, before there was Facebook, there were forums and blogs. One forum for us “herpers” was the Field Herp Forum. I would spend hours on that site perusing people’s trip recaps and reading the discourse on the newest scientific papers. The posts that always caught my attention were the ones with the incredible photos, and, on a trip to Japan in 2010, I bought my first DSLR (a Canon Kissx3, called the Rebel T1i in the US). On the train from Tokyo to Osaka I read the manual cover to cover.

I have never taken a photography class. If you ask me to describe how a camera works, I couldn’t tell you. I am not a gear-head. I don’t Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

know what camera you should buy or the pros and cons of the different brands (I rely on my local camera shops and review websites to help me with gear purchases). Frankly, I only know how to use a small number of functions that are in my Nikon Z8; the menus in and of themselves are overwhelming.

I do, however, know how to make the images I want to make, and that’s enough for me.

The Beauty in Snakes Snakes are the cilantro of the animal kingdom; you either love them or hate them.

I’m guessing some people reading this article are in the latter camp (if you’re one of these people, excellent work making it this far!) and I hope you can still recognize how incredible snakes are.

A tube is the simplest of all body shapes, and yet the sheer diversity and adaptations that have arisen in snakes are incredible. Take diet for example. All snakes are predators (there are no herbivorous snakes), but their prey base varies drastically: • Iwasaki's snail-eater (Pareas iwasakii) has specially-adapted jaws for sucking snails out of their shells • The beaded sea snake (Aipysurus eydouxii), though in the same family as kraits and cobras, feeds only on fish eggs • The spider-tailed horned viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides) has a spiderlike appendage at the end of its tail to lure in birds • Some species of egg-eating snakes, like those in the genus Dasypeltis have special vertebrae to pierce the inner membranes of eggs

• The famous king cobra (Ohidiophagus hannah) and the kingsnakes of the Americas (Lampropeltis) are so named because they eat other snakes (making them the king of all snakes) There are mouse-eaters, antelope-eaters, frogand toad-eaters, fish-eaters, tortoise-eaters, bird-eaters, bat-eaters, crab- and crayfisheaters; if it’s alive, there’s probably a snake that eats it.

Similarly, snakes have evolved to live everywhere potential prey can be found, as long as the climate is warm enough to support their lives as homeothermic poikilotherms, that is, they like to stay in around the same temperature but derive their heat from their environment. Snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica and live from the tops of trees to coral reefs and everywhere in between.

California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) from Calaveras County, CA. 7

Peringuey's adders (Bitis peringueyi) from Southern Africa are perfectly adapted to life in the shifting sands of the oldest desert in the world. They bury into the sand both for protection and in ambush; note the eyes placed more on the top of the head and the reinforced nostrils to protect against the blowing sand.

snakes are secretive since, despite being predators, they’re usually pretty low on the food chain.

From a purely aesthetic perspective, snakes are incredibly beautiful with myriad colors and textures. Whether you’re photographing just the details of scales or photographing the full snake in its habitat, it’s hard to take a bad photo of these animals.

How to Photograph Snakes There are four steps to photographing snakes: 1. Find them.

The most difficult part of photographing snakes is finding them. For the most part, Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

The best way to find snakes is to pick up a field guide and work on increasing your knowledge of the local species. Learn their habits, habitats, and, of course, their identification. In snake hunting, knowledge and luck are equally important. If you’re in California this seems like a good place to plug a book coming out in May 2024 – California Snakes and How to Find Them, by Dr. Emily Taylor. This is a shameless plug, as one of my photos is on the cover and I have another 40-some photos in it.

2. Photograph in situ “In situ” is Latin for “in the place.” It means that you do not touch or alter the behavior of the animal for the photograph. Once you do find a snake, you can attempt to photograph it without touching it. Some species, like rattlesnakes, may just sit there as you move slowly around; they’re relying on their

We found this green tree python (Morelia viridis) in ambush position in Australia. It only moved once while I was photographing it – to track the movement of a moth in the beam of my light. We left it as we had found it.

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My photo of that anaconda, posed during a photo shoot the next day. I attempted to use a shirt placed over the snake’s head to get it to settle. I was incredibly unsuccessful and ended up having to change my planned shoot to accommodate for the snake’s near constant movement.

camouflage to hope that you don’t actually notice them. Other snakes, “on the crawl,” may also do this as freezing is a good first line of defense against predators. You may be able to move around the snake safely without it unfreezing. Moving slowly and smoothly around the snake will help to not startle it.

Keep an eye on the snake’s tongue flicks; it’s using its vomeronasal system to collect scent particles, transferring them to its Jacobson’s organ for analysis. A snake will tongue flick more or at a slower pace to collect as much data as possible if it senses there’s a potential predator (i.e. you) lurking around. When photographing an animal in situ, more frequent, faster, or much slower tongue flicks may indicate that the snake is getting uncomfortable and may be about to bolt.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

3. Catch it (IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE) If the snake won’t stop moving, you need to move it off of a road, or it is in some other danger, you may need to catch it. This may be more easily said than done – coachwhips and racers, for example, can move like greased lightning on warm days.

If you’ve done your prep work for Step 1 correctly, you should know what you’re photographing and be able to capture it in a manner that is safe for you and the snake.

There are a few rules to doing this but this article is too short to go into them all. I’ll just include two misconceptions that I’d like to clear up.

– Be safe around venomous snakes and don’t be the Crocodile Hunter. My rule of thumb (especially since I don’t want to lose my thumbs) is never touch a venomous snake with bare hands, and certainly never “pin” one (hold it tightly just behind the head). If you need to move a venomous snake, use tools like a stick to gently lift them up by the midbody. Keep all your wits about you and stay a full snake’s-length away from them.

species that required medical attention. I am very careful while photographing snakes, especially venomous species. Non-venomous species in hand will often bite the hand that’s holding them, but I would rather get a bite from a [maximum] six-foot anaconda than a rodent of any size (anything bigger than six feet has BIG teeth that may require stitches).

– For non-venomous snakes (be sure you 100% know the species!) you can pick them up midbody. Hold them firmly but not tightly. They should be able to move through your fingers with only a little difficulty.

Everyone has a different opinion on what a good pose is, but at all costs, you and the snake should both be safe. Many people use a structure like a hat or a saucer to encourage a snake to coil up nicely for photos. Snakes are often looking for a dark, enclosed place to hide, so the confined space under the structure may encourage them to settle down.

Once you have let the snake chill under the structure for a little while, lift it away slowly

One of the most common questions when I show my snake photos is, “Have you ever been bitten?” The answer is, yes, more times than I can count, but never by a venomous

4. Pose it

This photo of the rarest rattlesnake in the US (the New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi obscurus)) was taken with my little Canon Kissx3 and a Tamron 90mm. It remains one of my favorite photos in my portfolio.

and the 11

snake may be coiled nicely and, if you’re lucky, sit there for you. As long as everyone is safe, posing a snake is all down to personal opinion.

Tools of the trade What you shoot with is totally up to you!

Some of my favorite were with my very first camera – that little Canon Rebel T1i. When I first started shooting with it, I was macro-orbust and was using a Tamron 90mm macro.

As my photographic eye has changed, so has my camera and lens collection. I went from a Ti1 to a Canon 7D, to the Nikon D810, to the Nikon D850, and I’ve finally gone mirrorless with the Z8. I usually travel with about eight lenses, but my perennial favorite is the Venus Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro. I love the close focus capabilities and

it makes the best sun stars. I also have found (after shooting with the Tamron 90mm and a Nikkor 105mm) that my ideal macro is the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED. It’s tight enough to capture good portraits while being wide enough to take full body photos.

Photography as a tool of conservation So why should we care? Why photograph snakes in the first place? Well, snakes have a terrible rap. From the bible to Greek mythology to Harry Potter, snakes have been vilified. Humans have an innate fear of snakes. After all, it’s safer to avoid all snakes than to blindly pick one up and receive a bite from a venomous species.

That being said, snakes are part of the fascinating biodiversity on this planet just like the birds, bears, and charismatic megafauna.

West Coast garter snake (Thamnophis validus celaeno) from southern Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

As photographers, our medium tells a story.

As nature photographers, our photos tell a story about the world around us and help to show people what’s out there. By photographing snakes and showing them in a beautiful light – not one that is artificially frightening or sensationalized – we are showing these animals as they exist in our ecosystems. We are creating the search image for a snake just existing in its environment, and helping to educate and inform our audience about these incredible animals.

The first step to conservation is recognition and understanding. I went from running from my first rattlesnake to going all over the world just to look for them, thanks to one person opening the door and the amazing photos I saw on online. A little education, one passionate person, and some stunning photography can change perspectives and help to conserve these incredible animals.

Eastern coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) from Telfair County, GA.

Further reading California Snakes and Where to Find Them (Emily Taylor, Heyday Books, 2024) American Snakes (Sean Graham, John Hopkins University Press, 2018) Snakes: An Evolution and Mystery of Nature (Harry Greene, University of California Press, 1997)

Check out more of Marisa’s work on her website (stonepinestudios. com) and her Instagram account (@marisa.ishimatsu.photography).

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Bug eye view on macro photography Article and photographs © Sandi Kirwin Bugs, dogs, and flowers. Those are usually what are in front of my camera, which means, of course, my life is a blessed one. But right now, I want to focus on bugs, no pun intended. I’m often asked where my love of belly draggers, as my sister-in-law calls them, came from.

How it started As the youngest of five, and before I was old enough to go off to school with my siblings, I

was left at home to find new companions. It wasn’t long before I found those friends at the windows that looked out into the backyard.

I spent hours watching the flies, wishing I could understand what they were saying. I was convinced the loop-d-loops and zigzagging around my fly friends were doing were actually secret messages to me, written in cursive handwriting. Oh, the frustration of knowing they were trying to talk to me, and

Malachite butterfly After spending several minutes enjoying and photographing this stunning malachite butterfly at the South Coast Botanic Garden, I was distracted by the commotion of a young, happy and loud school group coming into the butterfly pavilion. Glancing over, I thought, time to move on. Looking back at the butterfly I was photographing, I saw her crawl under the leaves she was standing on.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Vespid wasp The vespid wasp lives in the cloud forest of Ecuador. Hanging out on the forest floor isn’t typical behavior, but gave me a great opportunity to admire her. She’s just too sexy for her ocelli.

not being able to decipher their messages because I hadn’t yet learned to read and write!

Many years later, for fun, I took a field botany class at the local junior college. The class was encouraged to take pictures of all the flora to help with identification. This was before we all had cell phone cameras. At the time, the camera was nothing more to me than a tool for identifying plant families and species. My first camera was a film SLR Canon Rebel which was usually set to auto and I had the photos printed at the drug store. I did well in the class, but my skill level with photography has been a long, slow grind.

One thing that changed my desire to develop

my skills as a photographer was when I became a volunteer photographer at the animal shelter near me. Good, clear images really do save lives and seeing the power a good photo can have motivated me to work on improving as a photographer and image editor.

Sometime during my years at the shelter, having never lost my love of dogs, bugs, and flowers, I heard of a photography workshop that specialized in insect photography.

Bugshot Macro Photography Workshops are held twice a year, one in the U.S. and the other internationally. I am grateful to say I have attended one of each.

All but one of the instructors held advanced 15

Crane flies Crane flies, on average, live only a few days, but they are of ecological importance because of their abundance as a food source for other animals such as birds, lizards, and mantids. Although crane flies resemble an oversized mosquitos, they don’t bite or sting so there is never a need to swat.

Dotted eucalyptus leaf beetle Unfortunately, these beautiful little beetles are a pest that have really invaded California over the last ten years. Until last year, I’ve never seen them in my yard. My neighbor has a beautiful row of tall and thin eucalyptus trees that the hawks enjoy. Now the dotted beetles do too.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

degrees in entomology and it seems like most of the participants did as well. Beside the fact that most of them speak and describe everything in Latin, which scrambled my brain, these experiences were a pivotal turning point for me.

Most of my previous education in photography had been from YouTube. I love YouTube, but learning in person with professionals cannot be underestimated. Most of the images I took during the two workshops are not great, but when I got home from the second workshop, some things started to click for me, both in terms of skill and in enjoyment.

I’ve heard it said about photography, and other creative endeavors, that as you learn more, your craft goes to s%*# for a while. It

was certainly like that for me. When I’m studying a new technique, as I focus on developing that new skill, it’s almost as if I forget everything else I learned, or it takes a backseat and my photos are crap again for a while. I learned to make room for the time it takes for me to calibrate all the information into some kind of working order.

My gear The usual gear in my bag for macro photography includes my camera, a Sony A7riii, Sony 90mm macro lens, Godox Speedlight, wireless remote shutter release, AK Diffuser, I Footage monopod, high power handheld torch, extra batteries, bendable rubber ties (to gently and temporarily hold leaves and branches out of my way), and sometimes a mat or something to kneel, sit,

California mantis A regular visitor to my yard a few years ago was a Stagmomantis, California mantis. Every morning, I’d let the dog out to relieve herself and shortly after, the mantis would stand on top of “Mount Great Dane Poo” and have a feast of all the flies that would also come to enjoy the bountiful banquet. While that would make a hysterical picture, I opted to photograph this charmer on a dying rose.

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Western [spotted] orb weaver Fall is a favorite time of year for peeping, not just for leaves, but also for spider peeping. I brought this beauty inside to photograph then returned her to the backyard where she decorates the spaces from the roof eves to nearby trees. Many see them as scary based on their size but actually the spotted orb weavers are very docile.

or lay on.

camera out of my bag, I just walk and watch.

Generally, I try to pack as light as possible. I also have a few of the fully manual Laowa macro lenses. They are amazing lenses but a bit challenging to use. If you are interested in using the Laowa lenses, there is a great Youtube channel that will help, called Laowa – Venus Optics.

When I do get down to the business of photographing bugs, I first decide where I want to go looking. Then, I choose the best time of day, usually early morning, before they are moving too fast. I wear neutral colored clothes, tie my hair back (I’ve wrecked more than a few shots with windblown hair), pack the gear I’ll be taking along, and off I go.

My process My photography practice now has a meditative quality to it. I am reminded of my mom who never baited her hook when fishing. She said she didn’t want catching a fish to disturb her peaceful fishing experience.

Similarly, I sometimes don’t even take my Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Lately, if I’m not out photographing with a group or in my yard, I shoot in relatively protected areas like botanical gardens.

While I’m looking around the ground, bushes, trees, and everywhere else for bugs to

photograph, I’m also considering spots that have comfortable places to sit because I’ll likely be photographing for a while.

Slower and larger bugs are more in my wheelhouse. With the gear I currently use, and because I don’t utilize focus stacking or lenses greater than 2:1, the smaller insects, like ants, are just too frustrating, and realistically, you can only crop in so far. Most people believe any picture taken of something close up is macro photography. However, macro photography technically means 1:1. By the original definition, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater.

Maybe it’s a holdover from my childhood, and at the risk of sounding like a lunatic, I always ask my photographic subjects if I can

take their pictures. And I always thank them when I’m done. Perhaps it’s hubris, but I always assume they’re saying yes if they don’t immediately fly away.

I sit and observe for a bit. Is my subject in the sun? If so, will I create a shadow that will affect them when I lean in to take my picture?

Will my gear, or will I, bump the plant, or do something to disturb her resting spot?

After evaluating the global situation and making any adjustments, I start shooting. The Sony 90 macro has a super quick easy transition from auto to manual focus. I first acquire auto focus using back-button focus and focus peaking. That gets me in the ballpark quickly. Then I switch to manual focus and, ever so slightly, rock back and forth until I get the focus I want and fire off

Honey bee Saint Valentine is not only the patron saint of love she is also the patron saint of beekeepers. Enough said.

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several shots. Then repeat, repeat, repeat. All movements, however slight, are magnified in macro photography. That’s why rocking ever so slightly back and forth is effective, rather than trying to adjust the focus ring, which introduces too much movement.

it’s the best way to get more in focus, but more than that and sharpness starts to get compromised from diffraction.

The slice of focus can be so narrow, and the subject so small, that the hit rate can be pretty low. My keep rate is often less than 50%. When shooting, I tend to hold my breath a lot, but I’ve found my hands are ever so slightly steadier when I’m slowly exhaling as I shoot.

Always having to consider the depth of field (if you aren’t focus stacking), it’s important to line up what I want in focus in the same plane of view. For instance, if I’m photographing an insect from the front, I want to be straight on so both eyes are in focus. Even a slight angle can make buggie look like a cyclops. When shooting a profile it’s important to consider the same thing.

Where is the plane of focus hitting?

Of course, every situation is different, but a pretty reliable starting point for me is: 1/200 at f/16, ISO 200, flash 1/16 power. Rarely do I stop down more than f/16. You might think

Getting enough light is always an issue shooting macro photography. Depending on the working distance, blocking incoming light can be an issue. The light from a

Blue morpho butterfly Lifespan of the blue morpho butterfly is just under four months, only 3 weeks of that as the stunning and heavily collected blue appearing wings. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment I spent with her.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

speedlight may not reach the subject either.

Using a fast shutter speed to reduce blur from camera motions also reduces available light. A smaller aperture to get a better depth of field gives you less light also.

I have been using the AK diffuser for a couple of years now and I love the soft light. I no longer have to worry about getting distracting hot spots from shiny and curved shapes like beetles elytras (hard shell covering the wings).

Taking portraits of people has more similarities to photographing bugs than you might think. It’s a question of being sensitive to your subject, who and what they are. With people, I try and get an intimate perspective by being at eye level and focusing on the eyes.

It is the same with insects. Besides, bugs are people too.

Resources My bug and flower library is fairly comprehensive and was compiled to help me identify my subjects. Sadly, I don’t seem to have a good memory, because the same pages are worn from looking up the same critters over and over. My most dogeared books are: • Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (by Eric R. Eaton & Kenn Kaufman, Hillstar Editions L.C., 2007) • Field Guide to the Spiders of California and the Pacific Coast States (California Natural History Guides Series No. 108). (by R.J. Adams & Tim D. Manolis, Univ of California Press, 2014) • Field Guide to Beetles of California (California Natural History Guides Series No. 88) (by Arthur V. Evans & James N. Hogue, Univ of California Press, 2006) • National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders (by Lorus Milne and Margery Milne, Chanticleer Press, Inc., 1980)

I also use several online references. The following are especially useful: • Bug Finder at InsectIdentification.org (https://www.insectidentification.org/ bugfinder-start.php) • Bug Guide https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 Other favorite macrophotography resources, or just places for inspiration, include: • BugShot.net – Macro Photography Workshops. I can’t say enough good things about these wonderful bug folks.

• Don Komarechka at Don Komarechka Photography (https://www.donkom.ca/).

Don is a super geek when it comes to all things macro photography. If you’re interested in getting into the technical weeds, Don is the guy.

On YouTube a couple people standout in large part because they are so generous with their help and willing to respond to questions: • Stewart Wood (https://www.youtube.com/ channel/ UC1WO8hZv8OqLILMcXYY12iw) • Micael Widell Photography (https:// micaelwidell.com/ or https://www. youtube.com/c/MicaelWidell) • Allan Walls Photography (https://www. youtube.com/c/AllanWallsPhotography) On occasion, I send an email to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. Years ago I came across a beautiful black and white beetle, the Asian Longhorn Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis). Not only did they identify it for me, they asked me to bring it to the museum for their collection since it was a relatively new invasive species in California. My nerd cup runneth over that day.

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Confluence

I Photograph Trash Article and photographs © Peter Bennett I photograph trash. It’s really not a difficult subject to photograph when you consider how much of it there is.

I don’t know if I would say that I specialize in photographing trash, but then again I have a rather extensive controlled vocabulary list of trash-related subjects and subtopics that I use to keyword my images. Everything from high-density polyethylene to dog poo bag.

I’ve been photographing trash since about 2008, but it wasn’t like one day I woke up with a great passion to start photographing garbage and refuse; it was more related to a turning point in my photographic career.

I had been a stock photographer for many years, focusing mostly on travel subjects.

There had become a real glut of travel images, and I had also reached a place in my career where I was looking to photograph subjects that I would find more meaningful, and that in some small way, might make the world a better place.

Like many others, I had great concerns about the effects of climate change and pollution, but other than being in touch with my outrage, I knew very little about it. If I wanted to photograph these subjects, I figured the best way to learn about them

Heal the Bay Beach Cleanup, Venice Beach. 2008.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

LA River Trash, Sepulveda Basin. 2014

would be to reach out to some local environmental organizations and see if I could be helpful in any way. I thought that perhaps I could photograph some of their activities and offer them the usage of the images in exchange for access.

Heal the Bay was very open to this offer, and on February 16, 2008, I was off to Venice Beach to shoot my first beach clean-up.

Although I had started my career as a photojournalist, more recently I had been taking pretty pictures for travel clients and stock, and I was a little unsure of how to approach this new subject matter. The first shot I took that day was of three students walking with their blue trash cleanup bags down the beach, casting long shadows behind them. I knew it was a captivating shot as I

was taking it, and I realized there was no reason I couldn’t apply my pretty picture talents to what lay ahead.

The next contact I made was with FoLAR (Friends of the LA River), to photograph another clean-up, but this time a river. It was through FoLAR and their events that I started to learn about the trash flow in our local ecosystem.

By their own admission, FoLAR’s LA River clean-ups only put a small dent into the removal of trash from the river. Their most important function is to educate people about how trash gets into the river and where it ends up.

The Los Angeles basin is an alluvial plain, meaning that rainfall flows down the 23

Garbage in Ballona Creek after a heavy rainstorm. 2018

mountains, across the land, and eventually into a river that flows into the sea. It’s a floodplain.

As development began to spread out across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley last century, much of the permeable land was concreted over. Streets, homes and other construction now covered most of the ground, and other than parks, empty lots, and the outlying areas, there were few places that would allow rain to enter the ground and percolate down into the aquifer as it historically had done.

So when it rained, all that water now poured down our streets and eventually emptied into the Los Angeles River and other tributaries, bringing with it loads of trash and toxins, all of which floated down to the sea and onto our beaches. And because there was now so

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

much water emptying into the river, it began flooding.

When the LA River, Ballona Creek, and other waterways were concreted over in the 1930s, and all those tributaries were turned into flood channels, we just ended up accelerating the process in which all that trash gets to the ocean.

What this means is the first big rainstorm of the season carries all the accumulated trash and toxins from the last year, on this journey to the sea, sometimes resulting in obscene accumulations of trash, plastic, styrofoam, and other nasty substances.

One of the worst cases of this was in October 2018. After a particularly heavy storm, I was riding my bike with my son along Ballona Creek near where I live when I looked down and literally saw a field of trash in the creek. I

was stunned and quickly rode home to get my camera to photograph it.

I have to confess to a certain horrific exhilaration I experience when looking out over a scene such as that. I feel like I’m witnessing firsthand the total disregard we have for the world we live in, and a sad testimony to our consumer-driven society.

Since I have been photographing trash, I now see it everywhere. We are literally overflowing with it; we cannot contain it or even put it in the places it is supposed to be, as bad as they are. It is literally exploding out onto our streets, our beaches, our rivers.

As Jerry Seinfeld once observed, “All things on Earth only exist in different stages of becoming garbage. Your home is a garbage processing center where you buy new things, bring them into your house and slowly

crapify them over time.” Well, we are crapifying the hell out of everywhere at this point.

Although rare, there have been some whimsical trash sightings. I was hanging out with Lewis MacAdams and Shelly Backlar of FoLAR one day when they called me over to see something floating in the river. It was an old-fashioned dolly that somehow ended up in the river along the Glendale Narrows. It was beautiful and sad, and I took great care to get the best shot of it I could. I have often wondered how some of the things I have seen in our waterways get there; that one still puzzles me.

One of my favorites was taken on a walk around my neighborhood in Culver City. I looked down and saw this banana peel splayed out on the sunny sidewalk. I

A vintage dolly floating in the Los Angeles River. 2014.

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Banana, the Later Years. 2017.

Water bottle, Santa Monica Beach. 2009

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

photographed it and immediately thought of Andy Warhol’s famous banana illustration.

I’ve since titled it: Banana, the later years.

Only one time have I set up a photo; I always have photographed things exactly as I saw them. Interestingly enough, it was for Sierra Magazine. I was contributing some photos for a story on plastic in the ocean, and they asked me if I had an image that would work for a double-page spread.

Starbucks cup, El Matador State Beach. 2013

I had an image in my head of a plastic bottle floating in the ocean at sunset, so I rented a wetsuit, the first time I had ever been in one, and went down to Santa Monica beach. I stuck my camera in a ziplock bag as best I could, and cut out a small hole for my lens to stick through. I waded out into the water and photographed my label-less water bottle floating in the thankfully calm water, as the sun set behind it.

In those early years, I photographed a lot of river and beach clean-ups and eventually graduated to tree-plantings, green construction, and a variety of water-related subjects and stories, something Los Angeles has in abundance. I have become what’s called a creek freak, and every time I pass by a waterway, I look down and check its construction, its status, and wonder what flows down it and where it flows to.

Mind you, I can look around and see the beauty and nature in the world, but I have to admit that when I see something interesting involving trash, I still can’t resist grabbing my camera or iPhone and taking a photo.

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How-To

Output Sharpening Article and photographs © Joe Doherty I have a bias for sharp photographs.

I want the subject in focus, with the appropriate depth of field. To do this I use a high-quality lens at an f-stop that maximizes resolution, a shutter speed or tripod that minimizes motion blur, and a low ISO (200 or below). Even though I often violate these rules (like with slow-speed panning or wide open shooting), my baseline is sharpness. I can always blur something in post-processing, I can’t make it sharper (AI excepted).

Using the right gear and technique to capture a sharp image is obviously important.

However, there are many steps between the raw file and the screen and/or printer. This article explains a bit about when and how to use software to sharpen your images so they match your vision.

Let’s begin with the raw file. It is inherently flat, and a bit fuzzy. This isn’t obvious to most photographers, because programs like Adobe Lightroom have default settings that increase

Figure 1. Downtown Los Angeles after a storm, photographed from Kenneth Hahn Park, 2023.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

the contrast and sharpen images after import.

Adobe’s engineers make some assumptions about what a good photograph should look like, and they are not wrong. This is why the images look pretty good on your screen upon first review. Their judgment may not be the same as yours or mine, though.

I like to maximize sharpness at the import stage, so I have a preset that changes the Lightroom Detail sliders to the following: Amount 150, Radius 0.8, Detail 0, and Masking 33. I had settled on the radius and detail amounts years ago. At those settings there is no haloing or added noise from sharpening. I wasn’t so aggressive with the Amount slider until I saw a David Kingham webinar several years ago, and after trying it for a while I found that it suited me just fine as a starting point.

The Masking slider allows you to prevent sharpening in areas with little detail. For example, sharpening a blue sky will accentuate the noise in your image, so you want to mask that out. Hold down the Alt key in Windows (Opt in OS/Mac) and move the masking slider left and right to see what areas will and won’t be sharpened.

Figure 2a. Unsharpened Raw File

At this point you might be wondering, what does sharpening actually do? In a nutshell, it increases the contrast between pixels or groups of pixels. To demonstrate how that works I’ll be using this photograph of the Downtown Los Angeles Skyline from March 2023 (Figure 1). My camera and I were standing at Kenneth Hahn Park, more than seven miles away from downtown. It was a particularly crisp view, as the cold air and recent winds cleared most moisture and particulates from the air. I used a Nikon D850 with a Tamron 100-400mm lens at 350mm, f11 @ 1/40th second. It was on a tripod, of course.

As noted above, the raw file is inherently flat and fuzzy on import, before any processing (Figure 2a). When I apply only the Lightroom Detail settings mentioned above (150, 0.8, 0, 33) the edges become more distinct in those places where it’s possible to increase contrast, such as the white lettering “WELLS FARGO” and the brown building on which it is mounted (Figure 2b). It does this without increasing the overall contrast of the image.

Figure 2b. Sharpened Raw File 29

Printed Image

Unsharpened Image File

Unsharpened Print

Smart Sharpen Image File

Smart Sharpen Print

Topaz Sharpen

PS Smart Sharpen

Unsharpened

Image File

Topaz Sharpen Image File

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Figure 3

Topaz Sharpen Print

After I finish processing (which includes sharpening at import), I want to display the image online and in print. For this I turn to the tools for output sharpening. Why do we sharpen for output when we’ve already maximized sharpness at import? It’s because the processes of resizing and/or printing reduce sharpness.

In the process of reducing or enlarging an image, the pixel colors and brightness are averaged to create new pixels. This averaging reduces local contrast, and renders the images less sharp. Sharpening restores the relative contrast between these new pixels. Printing reduces sharpness by the process of spraying ink onto paper. No matter how fine the droplets are, they will bleed into each other and reduce resolution. As a consequence, when sharpening for print it’s necessary to oversharpen the image, so that the sprayed ink brings it back to your original idea.

When I export for the web I allow Lightroom to handle both the resizing and the sharpening in one action. In the Lightroom export dialogue I specify the dimension of the long side (1200 pixels for social media) and also the type and amount of sharpening I want done (sharpen for screen, standard amount). It’s been my experience that using these settings will yield images that are similar to the original file.

Lightroom will also sharpen for print (glossy or matte surface), but I prefer to have more control over the process, especially since both resizing and inkjet printing tend to occur at the same time. For example, I often print my images 12 x 18 inches, which is the size of the mat opening in my favorite frames. To accomplish this I use the “Photo/Edit In/Edit in Adobe Photoshop” menu option in Lightroom to open the file in Photoshop. I then use the crop tool to resize the image,

specifying the dimensions 12 inches by 18 inches at 300 ppi. It is at this point, when resizing is done, that I sharpen for print.

There are a lot of different ways to sharpen for print. I have at least six methods at my disposal, four in Photoshop (High Pass, Sharpen Edges, Unsharp Mask, and Smart Sharpen), and two plug-ins (Nik Output Sharpener and Topaz Sharpen). I’ve been using Nik for six years, and am familiar with it so that’s my default. For the purposes of this article, though, I’ll look at Smart Sharpen and Topaz Sharpen, which I think are more widely available.

I think the best way to illustrate what printing does to sharpness is to show it.

Figure 3 is an array of six photographs, small sections of the original image. The left column holds the original files, the right column shows prints made on glossy paper from the files on the left. The first row is the resized file in Photoshop before any sharpening is applied. The second row is the same file, but sharpened (over-sharpened to my taste) using Photoshop’s Smart Sharpen.

The third row is from Topaz Sharpen using the Standard Sharpen option.

If we compare the left and right columns of Figure 3 it’s obvious that printing degrades the sharpness of the image. The accompanying print in the right column is always softer than the original file on the left.

This is why I advise you to oversharpen the files you plan to print. It’s also worthwhile to compare the sharpened prints to the unsharpened file. The printed version of the Smart Sharpened file (Row 2, Col 2) is a little bit sharper than the unsharpened image file (Row 1, Col 1). If I wanted it to look sharper than the unsharpened file, I would have made the Smart Sharpen settings even higher.

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The photographs in the third row show the same degradation in quality from the file to the print, but it’s also important to point out how the Topaz sharpening algorithm degrades the photograph itself. In order to achieve a level of sharpness of the Wells Fargo name that is similar to Smart Sharpen, Topaz has erased a lot of detail from the architecture, redrawing windows and smoothing facades.

As a result the print looks substandard (to me). Does this mean Topaz Sharpen doesn’t have a place in my workflow? No, but I will not rely upon it for print sharpening.

It isn’t useful to report, “I used these settings to sharpen this print,” because settings will vary from one image to the next. The larger the image file the more you can sharpen it before artifacts start to appear (like haloing and “crunchiness”). Conversely a smaller image will withstand very little sharpening before it begins to look bad. Every image

needs some sharpening before you print it, though. How much depends on your taste.

As a rule of thumb, once it looks good, sharpen it a little more.

I think it’s important to learn how to sharpen in Photoshop because some images need only selective sharpening. I offer the image in Figure 4 as an example. The five bright aspens stand out from the surrounding grove due to their luminance, and by selectively sharpening them (using a sharpened layer and a layer mask) I make them more prominent.

This brings more depth to what is an inherently flat scene, and makes the main subjects sparkle in the final print.

What does this mean in practical terms? It means creating a separate file (.tif or .jpg) for each size print you make. If this is not practical, it is best to do no output sharpening at all, and trust your vendors to manage the final stages of printmaking.

Figure 4. Aspens in the Ruby Mountains. The brightest sections were selectively sharpened for printing.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Article and photographs © John Nilsson

In early December 2023 I attended a workshop in Death Valley hosted by my friend Michael Gordon (https://www. michael-gordon.com). I have gone on several such trips with Michael who specializes in desert photography and is a leading Death Valley photographer. Michael is extremely knowledgeable and leads many trips to the park each year. This workshop was focused on black and white photography – no color allowed!

Death Valley was still suffering from a recent visit by a devasting storm system and many of the roads were still closed. Generally, the park was off limits and unreachable to any traffic north of Stovepipe Wells, so we were relegated to the more familiar and more

Trip Report

Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

visited areas on the south side of the park.

Michael’s location knowledge proved valuable here and he kept us all busy snapping away for five days even though we did not have a lot of territory to choose from.

I found the B&W focus of the trip to be very valuable and I learned a great deal about how to create artful finished photos ready for the printer. There is a subtle technique required to yield exciting B&W results and my love of grey scale photography was enhanced. In reviewing the results of this trip I’ve selected a few shots of Mesquite Dunes which has turned out to be my favorite subject in the park. All photos were taken with a Leica M10 Monochrome.

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Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Member Photos Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Beverly Houwing For me, photographing “what other people avoid“ is something I do on most of my African safaris.

a massive “party” in a rhino midden. I’m standing on a heap of rhino dung getting closeups of the beetles.

My first photo is a selfie I took with a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach perched on my hat. They are remarkable creatures and totally harmless. Almost everyone I know asks “how could you even get near something like that?” and my reply is “because they’re amazing!”

Our luckiest moment was driving back to the lodge, and seeing a 9 foot python crossing the road. We immediately stopped the vehicle, and all jumped out for this fabulous photo op!

On my trip last month in the Kalahari, I got to see more wonderful creepy crawlies…

After a lot of rain, the millipedes were out in huge numbers and some are enormous - up to 5 inches long!

We also found dozens of dung beetles, having

Another thing people avoid is being outside during a massive thunderstorm. But at sunset this storm moving through was so beautiful that we had to stick around and watch. We stayed a bit too long since the wind shifted and not too long after I took this photo the storm was right on top of us and we got soaked driving for 45 minutes back to the lodge. But it was worth it!

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Beverly Houwing Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Rebecca Wilks What other people are afraid of…

Given sufficient motivation (the prospect of an exciting subject), I’m willing to brave some things. So far, no harm no foul.

Last spring I made a series of (admittedly not award-worthy but fun) images of great horned owlets. Since the drone would frighten the parents, the only way I could figure to accomplish this was to climb on a high-pitched metal roof in my approach shoes with sticky rubber soles and sit at the apex with a long lens.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

What photographer goes to Scotland in June? Sunrise was before 4:00 AM and we’d been out late the night before eating the best seafood ever at a friend’s house. Maybe not so scary for you, unless you’ve seen me when sleep deprived.

My friends and I dropped into our kayaks this foggy Texas morning in the pitch-dark. I’m not so familiar with bayous and all I could think of, as I paddled with a headlamp through 4-foot visibility, were alligators and snakes.

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Rebecca Wilks

I really wanted to shoot these rose fields with the drone. Unfortunately, this part of Waddell Arizona is in the airspace of Luke Air Force Base. While it’s theoretically possible to get permission, Luke is notorious for ignoring folks like me. So, I put my camera on an 18-foot pole and stood on a highway offramp dodging cars to shoot this series.

This is Jordan Stream in Acadia National Park (Maine) in February. It was cold. -17F. Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

John Fisanotti A number of Camera Committee members participated in a photo workshop, last year, at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. In this issue, I’m sharing my results from the workshop.

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John Fisanotti Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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John Fisanotti Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Larry Miller I love photographing unusual patterns in nature. Here are four recent examples.

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Larry Miller Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Charlie Hyman While my first love is landscape photography, I'm really drawn to interesting images, no matter what the subject may be. In keeping with this month's theme, most of the pictures in this series are of subjects that I feel might be overlooked by others. I really enjoy finding pictures in unlikely places.

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Charlie Hyman Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Charlie Hyman Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Joe Doherty Having grown up in Los Angeles, many of my oldest friends think I’m crazy for camping in freezing weather to make photographs.They will never see what I have seen, though, except through my lens.

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Joe Doherty Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Velda Ruddock I always thought elephant seals were unattractive, to say the least. Why would anyone want to photograph them? But we were in a workshop at Drakes Beach in Point Reyes and the wildlife was…elephant seals. Bulls vocalizing loudly, cows with babies so new that there still was white stuff on them, chases on the beach and in the water. And my heart melted.

Moms were so affectionate to their babies and the babies were so needy. The adolescent bulls were smarting from their first skirmishes and looking worried and a little frightened. The big alpha bull was joyful in the water, serenading to the lone cormorant and to the rest of us. And even the younger seals were telling jokes.

All images taken with the Nikon D750 and a Tamron 100-400.

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Velda Ruddock Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

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Contributors

Peter Bennett Born and raised in New York City, Peter picked up his first camera and took his first darkroom class at the age of twelve.

Peter spent many years working as a travel photographer, and in 2000 started his own photo agency, Ambient Images. In 2015 he formed Citizen of the Planet, LLC, devoted exclusively to the distribution of his stories and photographs that focus on a variety of environmental subjects.

Peter’s editorial work has appeared in many publications including the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Sunset Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, and New York Magazine. His prints hang in the California State Capitol, California Science Center’s permanent Ecosystem exhibit, and many other museums, private institutions, and collectors’ homes.

He has also worked with a numerous local environmental organizations over the years including FoLAR (Friends of the LA River), The Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Heal the Bay, 5 Gyres Institute, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Communities for a Better Environment, and the LA Conservation Corps.

Joe Doherty Joe grew up in Los Angeles and developed his first roll of film in 1972. He has been a visual communicator ever since.

He spent his teens and twenties working in photography, most of it behind a camera as a freelance editorial shooter.

Joe switched careers when his son was born, earning a PhD in Political Science from UCLA. This led to an opportunity to run a research center at UCLA Law. After retiring from UCLA in 2016, Joe did some consulting, but now he and his wife, Velda Ruddock, spend much of their time in the field, across the West, capturing the landscape. www.joedohertyphotography.com

John Fisanotti John was a photography major in his first three years of college. He has used 35mm, 2-1/4 medium format and 4x5 view cameras. He worked briefly in a commercial photo laboratory.

In 1980, John pivoted from photography and

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

began his 32-year career in public service. He worked for Redevelopment Agencies at four different Southern California cities.

After retiring from public service in 2012, John continued his photographic interests. He concentrates on outdoors, landscape, travel and astronomical images. Since 2018, he expanded his repertoire to include architectural and real estate photography.

John lives in La Crescenta and can be contacted at either: jfisanotti@sbcglobal.net or fisanottifotos@gmail.com http://www.johnfisanottiphotography.com http://www.architecturalphotosbyfisanotti.com

Beverly Houwing Beverly loves traveling and photography, which has taken her to 80 countries and every continent.

Most often she visits Africa as she loves spending time in remote wilderness locations where there is lots of wildlife and unique landscapes.

Her images have been featured in numerous Africa Geographic articles, as well as in Smithsonian and the Annenberg Space for Photography exhibits. Her photographs have also been used for promoting conservation by many non-profit organizations, including National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Conservation Association, Crane Trust, National Audubon Society and Department of the Interior.

Beverly is an Adobe Certified Instructor, so when she’s not out on a photography adventure she conducts training on their software programs and does freelance graphic design and production work.

Charlie Hyman Charlie was born in South Africa and emigrated to the U.S. at age 14. He lives in the Portland, Oregon area, and travels frequently to destinations in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and California with his wife, Karen, in their camper.

They have also made trips to Vietnam, Malaysia, Mongolia, Scotland, Hawaii, and the Caribbean.

Photography has been in Charlie’s DNA since age 7, when he experimented with a box camera and his dad’s twin-lens reflex. He got his first SLR, a Nikkormat, while in college, and used it extensively for the next twenty years shooting mostly transparencies and B&W. He learned

darkroom skills and was the lead photographer for his college yearbook. Charlie’s photography got a boost in 2008 when he got his first DSLR. Since then he has taken several workshops from well-known landscape photographers that influenced his approach to photography.

Although his primary interest is landscapes, he enjoys urban, astro, animal, travel, and abstract photography. Charlie taught photography at the high school level for four years and has had several successful shows in the Portland area. He has sold many of his prints, the largest of which was a mural that measured 8x21 feet.

Marisa Ishimatsu Marisa Ishimatsu, the artist behind StonePine Studios, is a biologist with a specialty in reptiles and amphibians.Nearly three decades since her first rattlesnake encounter, she travels all over the world to look for snakes and explore all ecosystems.

Marisa’s goal is to help reduce “nature blindness” and encourage everyone to observe and appreciate the natural world that persists around us. Her background in biology shows through her photographs- she finds inspiration in native flora and fauna as they have persisted on the landscape for thousands of years. She believes that wildlife photography and outreach are powerful tools in conservation. She has given talks on this topic at universities, nature centers, and large tech companies and she spends many of her weekends vending at local markets where she can talk to the public about what's in their own backyards.

You can find more information on Marisa's work at stonepinestudios.com or on Instagram at @marisa. ishimatsu.photography. You can contact her at stonepinestudios@gmail.com

that pales in comparison to the time a woman came to adopt based on an image she saw online. Papa was being overlooked at the shelter due to his age, but he struck a handsome pose for me. A week later, he was adopted by a woman who drove over two hours through rainy LA traffic, all because she saw a friend for life in Papa’s portrait.

Some days I swear my camera has saved my life, but I’m so thankful thinking it has saved the lives of others, as well.

Larry Miller Larry used his first SLR camera in 1985 to document hikes in the local mountains. In fact, his first Sierra Club Camera Committee outing was a wildflower photo shoot in the Santa Monica Mountains led by Steve Cohen in 1991. Since then the SCCC has introduced him to many other scenic destinations, including the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the Gorman Hills, and Saddleback Butte State Park.

Larry’s own photography trips gradually expanded in scope over the years to include most of the western National Parks and National Monuments, with the Colorado Plateau becoming a personal favorite.

Photography took a backseat to Miller’s career during the 32+ years that he worked as a radar systems engineer at Hughes Aircraft/Raytheon Company. Since retiring in 2013, he has been able to devote more time to developing his photographic skills. Experiencing and sharing the beauty of nature continues to be Larry’s primary motivation. lemiller49@gmail.com

John Nilsson

Sandi Kirwin Species identification in a field botany class was the impetus for picking up a camera in earnest, and the camera remained a useful tool for a long time.

Somewhere along the way I started caring less about identification markers and more about expressing the awe I felt about my subjects. Mostly it's bugs, blooms, and dogs that are in front of my camera.

The lion’s share of my photography is centered around animal rescue, capturing that special something that draws the attention of a potential adopter. Over the years, I’ve been in a few group art shows, which is a great feeling and an honor. But

John has a fond memory of his father dragging him to the Denver Museum of Natural History on a winter Sunday afternoon. His father had just purchased a Bosely 35mm camera and he had decided he desperately wanted to photograph one of the dioramas of several Seal Lions in a beautiful blue half-light of the Arctic winter. The photo required a tricky long exposure and the transparency his father showed him several weeks later was spectacular and mysterious to John’s young eyes. Although the demands of Medical School made this photo one of the first and last John’s Dad shot, at five years old the son was hooked.

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The arrival of the digital age brought photography back to John as a conscious endeavor - first as a pastime enjoyed with friends who were also afflicted, and then as a practitioner of real estate and architectural photography during his 40 years as a real estate broker.

Since retiring and moving to Los Angeles, John continued his hobby as a nature and landscape photographer through active membership in the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Camera Committee, as well as his vocation as a real estate photographer through his company Oz Images LA. The camera is now a tool for adventure! www.OzImagesLA.com

Velda Ruddock Creativity has always been important to Velda.

She received her first Brownie camera for her twelfth birthday and can’t remember a time she’s been without a camera close at hand.

Velda studied social sciences and art, and later earned a Masters degree in Information and Library Science degree from San Jose State University. All of her jobs allowed her to be creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative. For the last 22 years of her research career she was Director of Intelligence for a global advertising and marketing agency. TBWA\Chiat\Day helped clients such as Apple, Nissan, Pepsi, Gatorade, Energizer, and many more, and she was considered a leader in her field.

During their time off, she and her husband, Joe Doherty, would travel, photographing family, events and locations. However, in 2011 they traveled to the Eastern Sierra for the fall colors, and although they didn’t realize it at the time, when the sun came up over Lake Sabrina, it was the start of them changing their careers.

By 2016 Velda and Joe had both left their “day jobs,” and started traveling and shooting nature – big and small – extensively. Their four-wheeldrive popup camper allows them to go to areas a regular car can’t go and they were – and are – always looking for their next adventure. www.veldaruddock.com VeldaRuddockPhotography@gmail.com

Focal Points Magazine January/February 2024

Rebecca Wilks Photography has always been some kind of magic for Rebecca, from the alchemy of the darkroom in her teens… to the revelation of her first digital camera (a Sony Mavica, whose maximum file size was about 70KB)… to the new possibilities that come from her “tall tripod” (drone.)

Many years later, the camera still leads Rebecca to unique viewpoints and a meditative way to interact with nature, people, color, and emotion.

The magic remains.

The natural world is Rebecca’s favorite subject, but she loves to experiment and to do cultural and portrait photography when she travels.

Rebecca volunteers with Through Each Other’s Eyes, a nonprofit which creates cultural exchanges through photography, and enjoys working with other favorite nonprofits, including her local Meals on Wheels program and Cooperative for Education, supporting literacy in Guatemala.

Rebecca’s work has been published in Arizona Highways Magazine, calendars, and books, as well as Budget Travel, Cowboys and Indians, Rotarian Magazines, and even Popular Woodworking.

She’s an MD, retired from the practice of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Acupuncture. She lives in the mountains of central Arizona with my husband and Gypsy, the Wonder Dog.

The Parting Shot © Joe Doherty

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