An interview with
Nicole W. Garden Tripod Office Temp
Tuesday, 21 January 14
FLOWERS Tuesday, 21 January 14
not gonna make it
Muted
Untitled
Tuesday, 21 January 14
dying
Who are you. Who is the real person behind the heap of paper work in the corner of our virtual office.
Who am I‌.. My name is Nicole, and I have been 28 years old for many many years now. I just love being 28. Don't you ever deny Im 28, or tell me you don't believe me. Because you are as old as you believe. I was born and raised in the Netherlands, and I will probably stay here until the end. Although Id like to move to a nice warm country like Greece, my husband made it clear thats not going to happen. We will see about that once we reach that age where we don't have to work anymore.
A little over a year ago I bought my first Nikon SLR camera, and started to take photography more serious. Im addicted ever since and I feel naked without my camera. After watching me for a few months my husband decided to try photography as well, and he also got hooked. So now we go out as often as life allows us, to all kinds of places. Nature, macro, urbex, boats, cities, pets‌. I haven't specialized in anything yet,, I just try everything and always try to learn from others. And thats why I like RB. Seeing other peoples work gives me inspiration and ideas. Looking back at my first photos, I realize I have grown, and Im still growing. RB is a great way to measure that, because where I used to think I could never be half as good as the average artist on RB, I know have over 600 single features and a lot of works with 500+ views and people buy my stuff! Im still amazed at that :-)
FOX Tuesday, 21 January 14
On the move
I know Im beautiful
Tuesday, 21 January 14
ugh
It is clear to see within your images you have an understanding of birds, along with patience to achieve a perfectly balanced image What is the make and style of camera you use and are you taking RAW or JPG images of your subject. Also do you find that you are using a similar camera setting for most of your shots.
make and style of camera: I use a Nikon D7000, and although Im still getting to know all the ins and outs on the camera, I hardly ever use the auto setting anymore. The birds require a very high shutter-speed of course, and for the boats and urbex photos I use bracketing with a higher aperture, as I like them most in HDR.
Bird photography, or any other animal take patience but also a lot of effort. You have to go places, and find the spots where they are at. I cant count the hours I have spend in the woods, waiting for that deer to come out and play in the open field, before it would get too dark. And the amount of bird- and hedgehog food I use to get them in my garden is immense lol. I always shoot JPG, RAW is something I still need to figure out :-)
BIRDS Tuesday, 21 January 14
Im depressed...
finch II
little willow tit
Tuesday, 21 January 14
Master of balance
In past issues of the garden tripod, you explained how you made a little hide to photograph birds and small animals within your garden. Are you now able to create this hide when out photographing in a wider environment. You display a strong theme of the colour green in a lot of your nature images , are these natural or textures added in post Image production
Oh yes the “hide” in my garden….thats fun. I just feed the birds and hedgehogs, and managed to attract many of them, especially the birds. I hide in my living-room, behind the closed curtains and after a while the birds don't seem to mind that big lens sticking out. But it can still take hours before you manage a few good shots. Last year I made a large birdbath next to the feeding spot. The birds love that, and drink after eating, or take a bath. I also used branches to make it look very natural, and allows me to take natural pictures of birds on a branch.
I also use a hide in the woods. Thats a spot where the birds know they get fed, and gives me the opportunity to photograph typical wood birds that wont come in my garden. But sometimes a camouflage net in front of the open car window gives you fabulous opportunities too. You just have to be creative. The green in my nature pics is natural. The right aperture setting will give you the blurry background. But I like to pick spots with a green background, like a hedge or trees, on purpose. After all, nobody likes a bird with an ugly building on the background right?
GREEN Tuesday, 21 January 14
Male dragonfly
The great spotted
Looking UP
Is that a nut???
squirrel
Blue tit, punk version
Insect
Tuesday, 21 January 14
The collection of Butterflies you have shown display vibrancy along with understanding of their natural environment. Are your butterflies enticed to pose with a sugar solution or are they natural On average how many butterflies escape your camera before you get the perfect shot.
Oh the butterfly photos are a total cheat. We don't see many different butterflies in this country, its just too cold and wet, but we do have many butterfly farms around, and I visit them regularly. One of our more famous Zoo`s has a very large butterfly garden. Its an indoor place with a tropical environment, built specifically for tropical butterflies. Its really the only opportunity I have, but even though there are many many butterflies in that garden, it still requires patience to capture them, especially because I use my macro lens, and I don't like to capture butterflies on a food-source. I have to wait until they decide to sit still on a flower, and stay there for a few seconds. I usually spend a whole day at a butterfly farm, and get home with maybe 30 pictures.
For those who would like to try, I have a good piece of advise‌ try going there on a school-day :-)
BUTTERFLIES Tuesday, 21 January 14
Lay my wings to rest
Amazing Brown Butterfly
Untitled
owl butterfly
Tuesday, 21 January 14
Oh blue
Your Boat collection of images are very dynamic and show some interesting angles of boat parts that could go unseen by a non nautical person. How long have you been photographing boats & do you have a boat of your own. Do you have a favorite time of day for photographing boats.
I first started to photograph boats on a citytrip in Friesland. I had to delete most of those pictures, because I obviously had no clue of what I was doing. So after looking at those pictures for a while, I learned what I did wrong and I decided to go back to Friesland and try again. I would just drive around until I found a harbor, and then looked for a specific kind of boat, usually sailboats. At first I had real trouble trying to find a good angle, trying to actually show something. I kept producing snapshots LOL. But after a while I started to get the hang of it, and got a better
understanding of what should be in the picture, and what should be left out. Ever since, I love photographing boats, although I don't have any knowledge of them, and I don't own a boat myself. I just shoot what I like. Boats are best photographed when its sunny, early in the morning or even midday. But for dramatic work you best wait until good storm clouds appear and use them as your background. Problem is, we don't have that many storms :-)
BOATS Tuesday, 21 January 14
Boat in renovation, do NOT enter Part IV
boat
Gear
Things you find on a boat
Big boat, Little boat
Tuesday, 21 January 14
anchor
In your URBEX images you often depict an image of a single chair. Personally I find these images the most poignant as they portray a feeling of desolation, in a way only something that has been in direct contact with a person can. Yet they are still retaining an air of impersonality. What first drew you to URBEX photography. When you are setting up your composition are you selecting or seeking out the abandoned chair or is this a subconscious action.
When I first saw Urbex pictures on the internet I immediately knew thats what I wanted to do. I love the “old feel”, decay, rust, withered stuff. Im drawn to it. I just never knew before that places like that existed. But once I discovered that, I didn't hold back. Sure, it can be dangerous, many accidents have happened in abandoned buildings. People falling through the unstable floors, staircases collapsing, beams falling down….so Im very careful, and always carry a first aid kit with me, and make sure I never go in alone and someone knows where I am. Chairs are fabulous, like you said. They tell me someone has lived there, sat on that chair long time ago. It makes you wonder what happened, where did they go, why did they abandon the place, and why did they leave that one chair….
Chairs are found in almost every abandoned building. I don't know why, often its the only thing thats left. So naturally, you use them in your setup. I like the pictures with a window and a chair because its so peaceful. But I try to not move anything, not touch anything on an urbex site. I can move a chair a few inches to get a better composition, but the whole point of urbex is to capture the atmosphere the way you find it. And sometimes I find a great composition, because other urbexers before me didnt obey that rule. Also, I don't like to touch anything in a building that has been abandoned for like over 10 years. Its gross!
URBEX Tuesday, 21 January 14
Red in the middle
empty
crooked
Untitled
Tuesday, 21 January 14
The best spot
Sitting by the window
Tuesday, 21 January 14