Ossian's Tips: Silhouettes, Silhouettes, Silhouttes

Intro by Skip Cohen

It was 1957 when a song called "Silhouettes" was made famous by a doo-wop group, The Rays. Well, here's the 2016 version, but in stunning images by my good buddy Ossian Lindholm!  I share just about the same thought with you on each tip from Ossian:

Imagine spending a week or more with Ossian and think about what you'll learn. This is far more than raising the bar on your technical skills, it's about seeing the world through Ossian's eyes and even his heart. His passion for the environment and the animals is virtually unmatched. Put that together with his love for travel and the beauty of each new landscape or wildlife encounter and you've got an experience of a lifetime. 

Ossian has several great trips coming up. Just click on the link below for the latest information or better yet, if you've got a question, pick up the phone and call Lauren Hefferon, founder of Travel Vision Journeys and Ciclismo Classico, (617-640-4837) or, email her, [email protected]. 

Patagonia in March

Egret on tree and a Stork flying, Pantanal, Brazil : 1/500 f 5.0 ISO 1250 @300mm

by Ossian Lindholm

Last week's tip was all about portraiture in the wildlife world, but striking portraits don't always involve seeing the detail of the subject. I love taking advantage of early or late day natural light and capturing silhouettes of animals and the environment.
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During sunrise or just at the end of sunset you'll find some incredible image-capturing moments. It's just beyond what many call "sweet light", when the sky is red and with each photo there are some surprising and unexpected situations. You have to think differently in pure backlight situations like this. Your eyes and your mindset need to be alert to capture these special moments.
 
Maybe you started out with the intent of just photographing a tree. That's how the image started above. I had this incredible red backlight creating a stunning silhouette of a tree when an Egret stopped to perch on a branch. I quickly thought through how I wanted to compose the image, just as a stork flew into the frame. It was luck to get both birds in the shot, but experience to have it exposed the way I wanted when I clicked the shutter.
 
The most important ingredient for a photo like this is understanding how to meter. I metered on the background to get that nice strong reddish orange color. The next step was to be ready with the right focal length lens. Last on the list was the right shutter speed.
 
Here are two more examples showing similar type images, but again using the same technique, metering off the background and being focused on the concept of shooting silhouettes. And remember, nothing beats practice with every day subjects, before you take your skill set out into the wild. Even a tree in your yard at home will offer you a chance to practice thinking through the process and then executing a silhouette result.

King fisher and sunset , Pantanal, Brazil. 1/1600 f 5.6 ISO 280 @600mm

Guanaco. Patagonia, Argentina : 1/640 f 5.6 ISO 125 @600mm

Images copyright Ossian Lindholm. All rights reserved.