Episode 18: Creative Compositions in the Cloud Forests of Panama
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Cloud forests are a unique and rare habitat created by the combination of oceans, mountains, and unique weather patterns
These high mountain forests, dripping with moss and epiphytes, play home to an extraordinary diversity of species around the world with many considered to be endemic only to very isolated regions
While photographing endemic species of tyrant flycatchers in the cloud forests of Panama, Jared and Annalise suddenly found themselves in a once in a lifetime opportunity to photograph an ornate hawk eagle
Why we, as wildlife photographers, should resist the urge to create boring “bird on a stick” photographs
How creatively using foregrounds can breath life into your compositions to create story, mood, and emotion
Foregrounds are one of the most under-utilized tools wildlife photographers have as visual artists, yet they are also one of the most powerful
In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss their time photographing rare and endemic species in the cloud forests of Panama. Forget everything you think of about the tropics when it comes to exploring the forests that grow at 8,000 feet in the mountains. Dripping with moss and bromeliads, the high mountain peaks are like islands in the sky. Each mountain holds its own menagerie of endemic species. And thanks to the elevation, each and every one of those species must be cold adapted despite being so close to the equator.
Working from purpose built blinds to photograph species of birds that are rarely seen, let alone photographed, an ornate hawk eagle made an unexpected and dramatic cameo appearance in the forest nearby. Jared and Annalise discuss the challenges of suddenly finding themselves confronted with such an extraordinary opportunity in the deep forest.
One of those challenges was psychologically getting past the urge to create knee-jerk “documentary” photographs. Despite the rarity of a situation, composition and story are still of utmost importance - even more so than normal from the perspective of making a living with your photography. And in this episode, your hosts discuss how they worked to pull together creative compositions and move past the oh-so-boring “bird on a stick” composition, and instead create images that go beyond the trite and cliche to tell stories that sell to magazines.
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A Tale of Two Photos (really three)
Expanding upon the discussion of Episode 18, Jared details this thought process in creating his favorite photograph of the ornate hawk eagle - this time with visual examples.
By creatively working foregrounds into the composition, the opportunity was transformed from a simplistic “bird on a stick” photograph, into something magical.
Want to join us in the cloud forests of Panama?
This workshop focuses on the rare and endemic species of Panama’s cloud forests. Towering above the lowland rainforests, the mountains of western Panama are like islands in the sky. Every mountain, every peak, plays home to a menagerie of species that can be found nowhere else on Earth.
On this workshop, we will explore the extraordinary biological diversity of the high elevation cloud forests where we will work from purpose built blinds to capture images of resplendent quetzals as well as a host of birds rarely seen let alone photographed.
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