The southern mountains of the United States are the oldest mountains on the planet, yet the scenery they provide changes as easily as the clouds sail over their ridge lines. This is a indeed a land filled with an astonishing variety of life, spectacular scenery and color, but it is often difficult to make good nature photographs here! The great natural beauty of these mountains is often presented in a dazzling display of constantly changing brightness with contrast extremes that exceed the latitude of any film, and its distances are so great that tall mountains are easily flattened and rendered insignificant in the photographic frame; great wildflowers whip about on the mountain winds like trapped spiders, and autumn leaves are sometimes found in such a variety of hues that photographs of them become nothing more than a messy jumble of random colors. My book provides suggestions and strategies for dealing with these and other problems of shooting in these and any mountains. Here you will find how tones or values of darkness and light can be arranged to provide harmonic balances; how colors can be combined, and sometimes limited, to produce effective and compelling pictures; and how to emphasize and enhance the mountain environment, and keep those mountains tall! You will also find techniques of composition that will help attract the eye of the viewer and bring their imagination into your picture, then lead them around as you wish them to see your work revealed, and keep them involved as an active participant in your art. I have taught these procedures in nature photography courses at my studio in Franklin, North Carolina, for the past several years. Many of my students have been artists in watercolor, oil or other mediums, and through working with them in the classroom and the field, and on into the exhibition gallery, a considerable amount of cross-fertilization has taken place. From that exciting interchange has come much of the mate!rial in Chapter Three, in which I discuss methods of discovering, exploring and interpreting the feelings that can be encountered in the world of nature, no matter what medium you are using. Then I present some of the methods I have found to be effective in pictorial storytelling. I use this book as a text in my classes, and it also serves as a field guide. In fact, I selected a book size that would easily slip into the pocket of a hiking shirt, as well as the hip pocket of jeans, and of course, into a vest pocket or camera bag. This manual is designed to help photographers of all skill levels make compelling photographs of the land and sky, and the wildflowers, butterflies and other objects found in the beautiful forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains.
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About the Author
John Womack is an authentic southerner, born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He developed a deep appreciation of nature during his early teen years in Vicksburg, roaming its hills and swamps, hiking along the great river and into the beautiful battlefield park. Then his family moved to Illinois and he spent the last half of his teen years living on a farm, learning other lessons about life there, often working the winter fields with horses. In 1956, he graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in liberal arts, and entered the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant. During the next twenty-one years he served as navigator, missile crew commander, operations officer and Financial Control Officer, finding time to spend three tours in Vietnam. After receiving his MBA, he taught business courses in local colleges. He retired from the Air Force in 1976, and moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where he continued to teach at a local community college. He wo!rked for the State of Florida as budget officer, auditor, audit supervisor and Supervisor of Accounting Services in the Comptroller's office. He is married to JoAnn Womack, and they are parents of five children and an increasing number of grandchildren.
John has been a resident of Franklin since 1994. As an adjunct professor, he has taught business classes at Southwestern Community College in Sylva, Cherokee and Franklin. Now he operates several businesses from his home, one of which is Mountain Pathways, the studio in which he does his writing. Here he has written hiking guides for some of the trails in the western North Carolina mountains, a photographic field manual, Methods and Procedures of Outdoor Photography; and a book about his military experiences in the missile field,Titan Tales . He is also owner and proprietor of Dancing Trails, a studio and gallery of photographic art in downtown Franklin, and he teaches nature photography for students of all ages and abilities. He founded Soliloquy Press to facilitate publishing his own books and note cards. Womack presents lectures, shows slides and leads classes, field trips and seminars throughout Northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Meanwhile, there are many other books lined up in his computer waiting to get out; books about nature, ecology, photography, Vietnam, management theory, and spiritual places and special beings.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mountain Photography for Everyone,
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This review is from: Methods & Procedures of Outdoor Photography (Paperback)
John Womack has managed to pack into this pocket-sized book everything you need to photograph the Blue Ridge or any other mountains. Even if you are using a disposable camera, you can use the suggestions on composition, color, lighting, texture, and more. For the more seasoned photographer, John shows you what to do when the Smoky Mountains are smoky! Black and white photos, plus some stunning color shots, illustrate techniques and possibilities.
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