FLOWERS YOU MOW DOWN, BUTTERFLIES AND OTHER WILD THINGS

By Ginny Santora

Our March 14th lecture program was provided by Alan Leckner. Alan is an art director who heads his own graphics design firm. He is a lifelong photo enthusiast who began photographing wildlife in 1986 and has been published in NY Alive Magazine and the Detroit Sunday Press. He also has had exhibits at the Guild of Creative Art and Monmouth Festival of the Arts. You can visit Alan's Web site at http://www.lecknerdesign.com.

Alan's prime interest is in photographing birds. Therefore this particular show is unique in that it encompasses a wide variety of subjects. Alan also is fascinated by what is in his own backyard and actually growing on his lawn. Alan presented the flower part of the show in groups organized, for example, by the number of petals on the flowers (1 petal, 2 petals, 3 petals, etc., up to many, many petals)! Speedwells are blue flowers that are no bigger than your pinky nail. They grow in waste places and are so obscure that they are not even listed in Holcomb's Book of Wildflowers. Alan showed a shot that was taken at f/22, full frame, about 1-1/2 inches away, with a bellows. He gets right down on the ground, getting muddy and slimy when necessary, to get his shot. With few exceptions, all of Alan's flower pictures were taken with an off-camera flash as it gives the illusion of more natural side light. With its harsh light and shadows, on-camera flash destroys all the subtle beauty of the subject.

Alan previously used a Minolta Maxxum camera, but he has since switched to Canon. Unlike other lenses, which he perceives are harsher, he feels the Canon lenses at wide aperture settings produce an unbelievably soft background. Especially when using macro, Alan tries to get some sort of attractive background behind his subject. He brackets and experiments -- there is ample opportunity to do this when photographing flowers as they do not tend to move away as birds and animals do!

Alan's recommendation is to explore, explore, explore, and don't be satisfied. Alan showed some images of a jack-in-the-pulpit and skunk cabbage. Skunk cabbage is best photographed from mid-February through March. At that time they will have flowers and seed pods. Alan photographed some skunk cabbage without a flash but used a reflector in bright sunlight. He used the sunny 16 rule and bracketed around it. When he photographed goldenrod, he went back 3 times and the light was a little different each time. Alan then showed groups of flowers by color - whites, yellows, blues, pinks, oranges, and reds. Thistles are among his favorite flowers. Where you have thistles, you also have butterflies.

Next on the agenda were landscapes taken in the early morning in Lake George; wintertime and at dusk in southern Texas; shots from Assumpink; Loxahatchee, FL; Bombay Hook, DE; Sandy Hook and Brigantine, NJ; and the Delaware Water Gap. There were pictures of different types of berries and grasses. Alan also captured reptiles, such as an anole (chameleon), iguanas, snakes, and turtles as well as insects. We also saw shots of newborn field mice, an armadillo, prairie dog, ground and gray squirrels, a raccoon, rabbits, and many others!

Butterflies were also documented extensively. Alan hand-holds the camera for the butterfly pictures, foregoing the tripod. You can always get 2 different pictures of butterflies - wings closed and wings open, thereby capturing totally different views. When answering questions posed from the group, Alan responded that he does not refrigerate his film (required with Velvia). Therefore he uses Sensia, shooting approximately 156 rolls per year. Since he works in New York City, he brings his film to B&H in the morning and it is returned to him the next day or day after. In airports, he does not use lead bags but brings one carry-on and one bag. He puts everything else around his waist or in a collapsible bag. Fuji's website recommends bringing film on board with you. Even though hand inspections are not an option anymore, the x-rays at the booth are less intense than in checked baggage. Remember, however, that x-rays are cumulative. Since 9-11 mailing film is scary, too, but UPS does not use x-rays. Another alternative is to process the film at your vacation spot as x-rays do not hurt processed film.

Alan ended his presentation with an amusing insect section entitled, "Honey, I'm Home!" For those of you who were there, you will remember it well - for those not present, well, you will just have to use your imagination! As when doing any kind of Nature photography, it is always good to keep in mind that when you see it, explore it. You really can not go back again and get it the same way, as that light or the subject will be gone. Alan showed us many fine examples of the great shots he got by his perseverance and hard work. He provided a memorable and educational evening for all.