An Interview With Nature Pro Photographer Alyce Bender: Sponsored by Tamron

Hey, what's up guys. David Johnson here with Outdoor Photography Guide I'm here with Alyce Bender, who's joining us from San Antonio, Texas today. And Elise, why don't you first welcome us to your life and kind of your background and experience in outdoor photography? Sure. Well, thank you all so much for having me. I am Alyce Bender of A Bender Photography, currently based out of San Antonio, Texas. And I have been into nature photography since I was very small. I started making it a part-time career, if you will, back in 2013. And then two years ago, 2019 I went full-time with it. So, and I do the whole gamut of nature photography everything from landscapes and wildlife to macros and creative. When you're deciding on like, a type of image that you want to create in a location, what goes into that decision-making when you see everything in front of you, and let's say, boots-on-the-ground moment happens? So for the most part, once I'd have boots on the ground, a lot of times what I do is I assess what I want to go for first. So, if it's an epic landscape, I know that my direction is going to be a landscape. If there's wildlife present, I tend to go for wildlife. I was at Monna Lake, and there was Osprey, and so I actually missed the sunset shot that I had originally planned, landscape-wise, 'cause I was photographing the Osprey. So for me, wildlife is number one. But then I really just start looking for what draws my attention and trying to hone in on what it is about the scene that caught my attention, that made me go, "Wow", and how I'm going to capture that as an image. Are there lens selections that go into that? Like, when you see something in front of you, you're like, 'Well maybe this would look good with excellence', or, 'Maybe to be creative, I want to try out this lens. So for me, my lens selection, I have five lenses in my bag pretty much at all times. They're all Tamrons. I have the Tamron 10-24, the Tamron 18-400, Tamron 100-400, Tamron 150-600 G2, the Tamron 90 millimeter MACRO. And those five lenses will get me pretty much any picture that I want. When I approach a scene; landscapes, I'm going to be looking at more of the 10-24, or that 18-400. With wildlife, it's going to be that 100-400, or the 150-600 G2. I love doing the, the wide angle, and really kind of getting into flowers or some detail in the foreground, and using an ultra wide for landscapes. Other times, you know, getting, getting in to the details of nature with a Telephoto lens is also something that I really love doing and have worked. My portfolio spans a whole lot, so I work with all of those lenses. It takes me a while, when I set boots on the ground to work estates. And I think that's very important, is taking the time to get all the shots that you want out of an area before moving on. The last thing you want to do is go home and be like, "Oh I wish I'd taken that shot". I've kind of taken the approach in outdoor photography over time, realizing kind of letting the the moment come to you after finding a composition. I've heard it discussed several times that there are two approaches to that: One, you can go hunting for the shot, and that kind of pertains to maybe iconic locations that you visit, that you've seen on social media or anything like that, but there's also moments where you wait patiently for the light to happen. Is there an approach that you like to take one over the other? I, if I had to choose one, I would say I'm more of a hunter. I, the likelihood of me waiting unless it's one of those things like I have a pre-visualized image in my head of, you know, a particular setup with a mountain and a ridge and sunrise or sunset, and then I'll wait for the light. Otherwise I let kind of nature dictate where I go and how long I stay. And a lot of times I'll circle back to spots, you know? I'll be in, I'll work a area for a day. You know, I'm not trying to cover Yosemite in a single day. You know, I pick one, one particular area. And so I'll kind of just rotate through and let, you know, hike up and down one particular trail or, you know, drive up and down one stretch of the road and let it tell me and present to me opportunities each time I'm passing through. Is there a specific question or topic that you get asked more often than not from people, not only beginners in outdoor photography, but even intermediate or advanced people that see your work, and then kind of ask, you know, how do I create something similar or how do I approach a scene kind of like you do? I would say if there was one aspect that I get asked the most about is how I go about pre-visualizing, especially when it comes to wildlife and getting kind of more of that fine art look. In which case for me, it goes back to that root of what is it about a scene that I want to capture? And for me, things like cranes dancing in the snow, I'm trying to capture that emotion that it evokes and the, the delicate nature of the scene, rather than, 'Oh, it's birds in snow'. And so I choose settings and use things like a shallow depth of field to kind of blur backgrounds and really bring in that softness to both the feelings that I wanted more to capture in that final image. It can be really difficult to pre-visualize something, especially with subjects as unpredictable as wildlife can be. You know, I spent time in Africa last year, I've been out in the elk rut and Rocky Mountain National Park comes to mind, Smokey Mountains are reintroducing elk, and I've been out photographing those two, and seeing those like, enter a scene, you can easily zoom in and capture them, but pre-visualizing and kind of comparing and including multiple subjects within landscape photography and wildlife photography, combining those into one image can be super difficult to do especially when you're anticipating them doing something, and they kind of meander off and do something else. Is there kind of a tactic that you like to use to limit your expectation, and just go with the flow of what is happening? I, really-- At the base of it, it goes back to allowing the scene to tell me what I'm going to create, and having that open-mindedness that as much as I have a shot list in my head of, you know pre-visualized shots that I would love to get, there are some images on there that are still probably years to go. They've been on there for years because the animals haven't necessarily cooperated. So I would say going in with an open mind and photographing what, what they allow you basically to photograph, what behaviors, and then being able to tell a story on the go. Basically, tell the story of what's happening in front of your lens, not the story that you had pre-written. Yeah, it can be really difficult to do that especially like, I've often found when I'm going into a location like that, and I have pre-visualized something, it can be so hard to go against the expectation, and kind of drop all plans. Do you typically find that coming true when you go into like a national park setting? Not just like wildlife photography is something in and of itself, but also landscape photography with changing weather patterns. And I mean, you and I both know how weather apps can get things so wrong so many times. [Alyce Laughing] Yes, yes, absolutely. I mean, I spent a week in the Tetons, and I think we had one day that we actually had some clouds. And we were all hoping, you know I was hoping for those grand, you know, with clouds over the mountains for Oxbow Bend at sunrise, or you know, and those iconic shots, if you will. And so it really does take practice and and being patient with yourself to learn how to move on and kind of set those expectations aside. You know, blue bird skies and the Tetons and fall. And it can be very harsh light in those openings. And you just have to, you know the colors and the lakes are just not contrasting, and you're trying to find something to work on, and so that's what's led me to work a lot with my creative nature photography using things like intentional camera movements, because then I can continue to shoot throughout the day, and kind of work on finding new compositions and finding new shots. Even if the light isn't great for wildlife or your traditional landscapes, I still am able to find things to shoot. And so I kind of, I'm able to go home with more images at the end of the trip and not just be like, "Oh, well this trip was a lodge just because we didn't see blue bird skies all the time". So I think by finding those other areas of nature photography and kind of using those to fill in is really quite helpful in keeping that kind of disappointment that might be felt from not getting those those shots that were on your shot list at bay. So looking at creative work or looking at macro work because those can be done throughout the day regardless of the weather. Did that take you a long time to realize when you were getting started? Yes. It took me years to realize And intentional camera movement. I know we've talked about it before on Outdoor Photography Guides' website of using that creativity. What are some tips like, for people who want to get started with it? And just to give some background, it's intentionally using movement with your arms or on a tripod of creating blurred lines or shapes within the landscape using longer shutter speeds than you typically would with like a landscape photo. Right. What are some tips on getting started with that? What do you need to look for compositionally when you are shooting something like ICM? So, some of the basics. I like starting out with something that has strong foundation. And when I say a strong foundation, I'm talking about your, you have very strong things like lines or texture. So stands of Aspen, stands of bamboo, you know, things that, you know, trees and forests have those strong foundations because the trunks, those shapes. And so if you start out with a scene like that. And then the one, probably the number one tip I have for anybody who's looking to get into intentional camera movement is practice the speed at which you move your camera. Many people are hesitant to really kind of shake up the camera if you will, or, or really move it fast up and down or side to side, but you need to really play with it, because when you see those kind of creamy dreamy images they're having to move the camera relatively fast. And it does take a while to get a feel for how fast you need to move it so that you do get the softer lines and practice to get straight lines when shooting things like forests and Bamboo. So, those would be probably my top tips, is is look for those strong foundations in nature's details, and then practice that movement. Shoot a lot. I find, you know, blurring composition into different sub-genres of outdoor photography is is kind of what I do when I approach a scene. And I'm shooting in East Tennessee a lot where you have a lot of waterfalls, you know older mountain scenes that don't have jagged peaks or anything like that. But getting down into valleys and finding different shapes; Triangles are very prevalent, and like rock formations along the edge, compositionally speaking for you, I mean, you're, you travel a lot more than I do and and go out and see these places. So, when you're taking a composition for one place in that idea, do you find you can apply the same tricks when you go to let's compare what you just talked about and Tetons versus the Smokey Mountains? So I think the basis when I'm talking about, like, structure and that's why I say it as, as foundation of an image. Because yes, you have mountains in the Rockies and Tetons, you also have mountains of the Smoky Mountains, but your forest and finding that structure? You know, it can be bamboo in Japan, it can be reeds out in the prairies, it can be your Deciduous trees in winter out in the Smokeys. But it's that structure, that foundation within the landscape that really kind of can be spread across the board,and you can find it regardless of where you go. And so I think by understanding those and then basic composition rules, such as rule of thirds, and using depth of field for various feelings and how much detail you want to capture and share within an image, I think those are important across the board regardless of the setting that you were working with it. What about lens selection there? I want to kind of tackle the same topics with lens selection. And we talked about it a little while ago choosing specific lenses and the ones that you have in your bag. When I'm dealing with a scene in front of me in outdoor photography, you know, I may use two lenses at once on two different cameras just to see what's looking best to me or what the conditions are looking like. Compositionally though, how do you go about framing up something with a-- let's compare and contrast the two classic lenses for outdoor photography: That wide angle lens look, and then your 70-200, or, you know 70-300 or whatever you're using as your Telephoto. So I kind of cheat. [David And Alyce Laughing] Tamron, Tamron's made it really easy to cheat in this way because they have the 18-400 for crop sensors, and because I carry that, that's my scouting lens. And so I will go out with that lens, and be able to work either Telephoto or wide angle. And then I know kind of where I'm hitting with my propositions for a particular area. And if I need to go wider, I have the 10-24 that I can put on if I need to go longer, or if I want a bit more detail or a bit more reach, I can go with my longer Telephotos so far as like, the 150-600 G2. So that's where like my bag, because I do travel so much, I've really been able to nitpick which lenses I use and allow them to do more for work for me without having to carry a ton of gear. So. Now I am also sticking with kind of like, the lens selection. Something that I've talked with a lot of photographers about in the past, is kind of like this progression through your lenses when you're getting started. And my background in this is, you know, when I started, I figured everything was shot with wide angle, and you had to approach everything with, with the wide shot. It wasn't until much later that I figured out that I liked the 70-200 look a lot better and kind of cropping in and simplifying the compositions and the subject within the frame. What has your progression and what would you tell people about using multiple different kinds of lenses to take different compositions and show different stories within the locations that you're visiting? So I kind of had the reverse, I started out with a 70-300 as the first lens I purchased after a kit lens. And so I had been used to finding details, shooting wildlife, again, wildlife's my primary love. So that's what I, I, you know, I automatically went to, and then I branched out from there. So that's why I had gotten the Telephoto lense as my first lens. And then, you know, I was seeing all these great wide angle lens shots, but I didn't really have an eye for it until I had a friend lend me their 10-24. And that's when I started seeing kind of both ends of the spectrum. And I still do to this day, I have actually a very hard time seeing kind of the middle spectrum. And I know that's, that's, you know that's my own personal vision. You know, I either see the ultra wide or I see the more Telephoto lens areas. That's the field and focal distances. So for me, getting back into that you know, 55-range, anywhere from 35 to 80 is kind of not an area that I normally play with a whole lot. So, I'm on either end of the spectrum with my shooting until I get into the macro. So. In terms of macro, what brought you over into that sub-genre? So I had dabbled in it with flowers and insects in the past, but really my, my passion really came out a lot with the macro when COVID hit last year and I want to say, because we went into lockdown. And at that time I was in Monterey, California which had some of the earliest lockdowns that lasted the longest. We were very limited into where I was allowed to go and shoot. And so it had to be basically walking distance and something I could take with me on an afternoon walk with my dogs. So I really got into macro and I went out and I spent over a month where every day I was going out to find something to photograph at a macro level during that time. And so I've really grown to love macro. Now I do Macromark each year. So that's something I'm in the middle of right now during that, while we're, while we're recording. That's so funny. It's, it's like when you're, when you're in something like the pandemic, it's just really funny how a lot of photographers gravitate to the same thing. 'Cause my story is I'd never done macro too much, and then when it hit, you know I got a macro lens, picked it up tried it out and realized there were so many places close by to my home that, that I'd never really photographed before. Cause I couldn't see it through that lens, and through that idea. Right. When, when you're picking locations, let's take this past year and the pandemic and what we've been through. Picking locations around your home, what's your process of going about doing that? So I really started trying to find more local parks, more local green spaces. And you know, it made it pretty easy last year when I was in Monterey, California because there is quite a, there-- You know, we have the coastline right there with the Monterey Bay. And so there was wildlife, there was macro there was landscapes all within a couple of miles of my front door. So that-- being in a location like that made it quite easy. And I understand that's not the majority of people's experience. So, but the big thing for me is finding those local spaces, those local green spaces and really exploring all that they have to offer. Whether at a macro level, or creative photography like intentional camera movement. And you know, if you have a local park and it's really busy with people, maybe trying to stretch from the outdoor and that crossing over into that people in the outdoors and using some of that, that street photography type in a park setting and crossing that boundary there and bringing both nature and urban together. So that's how I would approach it. Yeah. That's a really great tip. I tell people all the time like, there's something to photograph around your house wherever you look, grab a, grab a map or get on Google maps and draw like, a two-to-three hour drive radius around your home and try to find every state park or green space close by and explore every part of it. And apps like AllTrails does a great job of getting you out into different trails and locations like that. I would also recommend people look at Topo maps and figure out how to read maps, and look at different elevations that they can get from topographic maps. And that could just be me being really nerdy about maps, but I found it helps with, with photography too. Yeah. I mean, and if, if you're having issues teaching yourself how to do things like reading maps, trail maps, topo maps, because that's-- I have a background in, in wilderness and you know, guiding in the outdoors. And so for me, to be able to read a map is very important, especially for outdoors is smart, because you might be going off trail in open areas and need to understand what they're getting into. And so I highly suggest visiting REI provides many times free, or very, very small reduced-cost classes on how to read maps on, you know, local trails and REIs are scattered across the U.S., and a lot of times they have a lot of local knowledge there in the store, so go in and talk to people in the stores if the stores are open where you're located, or hop online and reach out to them. So that's another place that you can get a lot of outdoor information, maybe not photography-specific, but it's those types of skills that you need for being safe outdoors. And will help you find more locations, as well. Yeah. Great tips for sure. Well, she's Alyce Bender. Alyce, thank you for sharing, sharing your story, so many tips about outdoor photography, how people can improve with compositions, lens, selection, subject matter. We fully recovered the full gambit today. So thank you so much. Thank you so very much, I hope you have a great day. You, too. [Light Upbeat Outro Music]