FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER – JEREMY CRAM

by Zack Schnepf

This month we welcome Jeremy Cram as our guest photographer.  Jeremy is a friend of mine, and a talented photographer.  He has some of the most impressive wildflower images from the Columbia River Gorge.  Jeremy and his wife Sharon run Club K-9, a doggy day care business in Portland.  Photography is Jeremy’s passion and it shows in his images.

Zack: You are doing some fantastic landscape work here in the Northwest.  What got you into landscape photography?

Jeremy: Thank you! I have always had a love of the outdoors, and doing anything, whether it was hiking, mountain biking, climbing, spelunking, scuba diving, whatever it was I always felt at home there. I was always amazed at the tiniest of details in the smallest things to the grandest of landscapes I found in nature. Capturing that beauty I saw and showing people how I saw it did not really come to be until I bought a nice camera setup for my business. My wife and I own a doggy day care in Portland Oregon. I originally bought the camera so I could photograph my clients’ dogs while they played. As time went on, I began taking more pictures while out on hikes throughout the Columbia Gorge, at the coast, and at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge in Washington and less of the dogs I had bought the camera originally for. The rest is history!

Zack: What areas do you enjoy photographing the most?

Jeremy: The Columbia River Gorge. The proximity of the gorge makes it easy to get out for short half day shoots to multi-day backpacking adventures. The variety of subjects in the gorge is really unlike any other place I’ve shot. Depending on the time of year down to even the time of day you can shoot anything from macros to the grandest landscapes there are. Wildflowers, waterfalls, ferns, blooming apple and pear orchards, barns, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, meadows, creeks, rivers, Crown Point…..The list really is endless.

Zack: You have kids and a thriving business in Portland.  How do you find time to photograph?

Jeremy: Being outside has just always been part of who I am. Building a business with my wife that still enabled us to do the things we want and spend time with our family has been very important to us. I think if you love doing something it is really not that hard to find a way to do it.

Zack: What is your biggest challenge in nature photography?

Jeremy: I think the biggest challenge for me now is to just produce the best work I can. I try to be as original as I can. Learn as much as I can. Improving my ability to see a scene, for what it is and what it has the potential to be through post processing.  Ultimately, I just want to grow as an artist, whatever that looks like.

Zack: You have some particularly stunning wildflower shots from the Gorge, do you have any tips to share with fellow photographers?

Jeremy: My first tip to other photographers would be to find a different subject than wildflowers in the Gorge. I’m totally kidding, but in a way there may be some wisdom in that. The flowers and backdrop of the gorge are so addicting that the pursuit of those beautiful non-stopping wind grabbing little bits of eye candy will drive you crazy. It is always a hit or miss venture when it comes to shooting flowers. They are either too early or late, a bad bloom year, too windy, flowers are too windblown, or in the wrong spot for the composition I had wanted or envisioned, BUT…..when you nail a series of shots to blend together to create that “in your face Gorge Bouquet” with the sky going off, suddenly you forget about all the work you put in. You just end up wanting more.

Seriously though, as far as the technical side, the list is long. But in short, be methodical with your approach to how you capture your flower images, especially if you are focus stacking. Always work with purpose when capturing the scene from the front to back or back to front, don’t focus on the front flowers, then to the middle ground and back again. That will become a nightmare during post processing. If the wind is blowing, resist the urge to widen your aperture too much or the blending of images while maintaining sharpness will become way too hard, if not impossible.  Same goes for increasing your ISO, keep it as low as you can and be patient. The wind will die down every so often, snap a shot then. In the meantime, enjoy where you are sitting, you are in a meadow of flowers after all. Oh, and don’t forget to swipe away the ticks that are inevitably crawling up your legs.

Zack: What is your favorite aspect of nature photography?

Jeremy: Just being out there, wherever that is, is the number one thing. I am at whatever spot most likely because I want to photograph it, but if I am truly experiencing a place I think it will show up in my final image. Second, would have to be the friendships I’ve gained. The friends I’ve gained since I began photography are some of the best friends I’ve ever had. I love the community of it.

 

Zack: What are your 3 personal favorite images?

Jeremy: Favorites are relative to what I’ve been shooting. For me the newer the image is the more I like it. The older image is the more I start to see the imperfections or mistakes I made. I think that is kind of typical for artists though. Right now my favorites are…

1) The One Tree

2) Golden Fall

3) Radiate

http://www.jeremycramphotography.com