Photography Tips and Tricks for Japanese Maples | DIY Photos | Landscape and Garden w/ Joe and Bryan

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all righty all righty hello everybody it’s uh Joe work Mr Maple I’m the photographer today we are bringing you something a little different um we’re going to bring a photography video we’re going to talk about some of the things that I know from my experience and I’ve got my good friend uh homie here Brian rule the OG photographer for Mr Maple got a lot of good uh tips and tricks from him in the past uh and we’re going to bring them to you guys and try to really get a good idea of what we’re looking for and hopefully get the photography of Landscapes and Gardens you know to the next level for everybody yeah man I’m excited about top this topic I mean we we were thinking about doing this video I’m like man I’d love to jump in and just talk about photography it’s something I think we both share that passion about definitely um and it’s it’s a really cool way to express yourself artistically and especially when it comes to plants and Gardens you know it’s it’s it’s a really cool way to kind of catalog and uh showcase the beauty of your garden uh it’s one of those things I’ve been into for a long time so we’re excited to do a video about it yeah extremely excited um we’re going to do I think we’re going to start off with some basic questions about like how we got started and you know what we look for when we do photos and then we’ll throw some examples up here with like some photos and stuff um but yeah uh Brian I want to ask you some questions about how you uh you really got into Photography in the first place all right yeah man uh so you know photography is something that that I’ve always kind of dabbled in um but you know whenever whenever I got into gardening probably 15 years ago it kind of took it to the next level and uh you know I there’s some amazing photographers out there that was always kind of inspired me to get better at it I’ll shout out a couple of names that I’ve always enjoyed their photography like John Al and Talon buckolz those guys have always just had like top-of-the-line premium pictures of their trees and their garden landscape so it was just a it was just an amazing kind of transformation that I did into my garden when I planted my garden there in Oklahoma and uh it was a really cool way for me to spend time out in the garden and try to capture those moments of beauty you know definitely beauty is a fleeting thing so like you know sometimes it’s it’s only just a moment you know but if you can capture that then you get to hold that moment forever I love that about photography that’s one of the coolest things about landscape and like nature photography especially is that it’s capturing not only you know the moment in time but also just the seasonal changes yeah so like being able to capture fall color on these leaves and spring flushes and like all of these moments where these trees look different and really kind of catch your eye is really like it’s a amazing thing to experience and be able to like actually capture it like I said um my my personal like start is is actually similar uh I started back in middle school so I mean maybe like 11 or 12 years old and my mom always made fun of me growing up shout out my mom I know she’s probably watching this uh I took pictures of trees I started out I went into the woods behind my parents house I had a little camera I can’t it was tiny little like disposable and I just went and I took pictures of bark and like pine cones and leaves and I tried to get different angles and like trees that were falling over in stumps and really just had fun you know capturing the essence of Nature and just kind of exploring it and I love where I’ve made it today where my job is to take pictures of leaves for a living oh man I I remember when you started here at Mr Maple I was just blown away by your attention to detail um you know and and and just having Joe helping me with the photography side out here was like a huge bonus because there’s so much to capture especially on the farm when you’re talking about all the different cultivars that we have and the different uh ways that we’re trying to capture the beauty of these plants to Showcase to you guys so that when you see that picture you’re like man I got to have that you know what I mean like we’re trying to present the tree in its best characteristics in a way that really appeals to you know you guys as as collectors and customers and and just different ways that we can enhance our product through photography I think is a big step yeah it’s huge so here’s a question what keeps you interested in photography like going forward like what about it keeps bringing you back yeah I think uh especially with nature you know I think that’s kind of the theme of of of of our our main focus in photography that we do personally um I think it’s because nature is always changing you know what I mean so like no matter what time of the year it is seems like I’m always experiencing a different side of a plant or a landscape so just that constant renewal of uh just appearance and change it’s really always captivates my mind you know inspires me I’m like I I’ll go out outside of my garden at my house and I’ll see something I’m like man I love the way that shot looks you know so I’ll go get my camera and I’ll set up and get that shot just so that I can remember the beauty of that moment and just how the Sun was setting or whatever it might be you know so it just a constant change of nature I think is what keep me interested so it’s so cool um what about you man what what’s your you know what drives you every day to to get out there it really it’s it’s about taking a moment like you said to notice the details it really comes down to looking at what’s around you looking at like what’s literally within a hands reach of you and just admiring it and photography not only allowed me to like be more perceptive of things like that but also to capture it and hold on to it and look back on it be like oh that’s a memory that I can look back and think like I remember when I took that shot I remember I remember when I saw that tree or that leaf in that spot and I was like wow that stands out to me I really want to capture that um and I’m always striving for like to improve and try to get like the better angles you know all that kind of stuff so it’s kind of like a self motivator um along with like this job and things like that yeah well that’s I mean I I can definitely relate to that I think that’s that’s uh what’s great about photography it is it is a way of creating memories for that that lasts forever you know everything now is such a you know disposable thing right everything just kind of comes and goes and Fades away but a but a picture a perfect picture lives on forever definitely so uh from here I think we can get in some tips and some ideas that’ll help uh people when they want to go out in their own Landscapes and their own Gardens and really capture them and be able to show them with friends and family especially if they can’t seem to make it you know come visit you um and number one thing that I uh think about when I go out and I shoot besides being like detail oriented and really focusing on like the subject you know picking that thing that you want to show show off picking that idea or scene that just really like captures your eye and you want to share it with people around you uh that’s like the number one thing once you have that decided and in mind then you get into more of the nitty-gritty like okay how do I go about getting the best shot what do I need to think about beyond that um number one for me is lighting I don’t know if you agree with that but absolutely making sure that your subject your Leaf your tree your garden in general has good lighting that exposes all of those beautiful colors those textures all of those things that really make a photo and a garden pop out to you and the viewer um something things that I keep in mind when I go out and I shoot is the position of the sun yeah we are lucky in the sense that we work a lot in the green houses right and so with the white poly it kind of diffuses the sunlight and kind of bounces the light around and it allows to kind of get multiple angles and don’t have to worry about it as so much cuz everything’s kind of lit really nicely um but a lot of people don’t have that luxury yeah so they have to you know they’re out in their garden and kind of looking up not looking directly at the sun please don’t do that um you know looking kind of where the sun’s coming from understanding the angle as it’s like coming down and hitting the landscape and kind of positioning yourself so where you can get just all of those beautiful things aligned perfectly with that sunlight um can really be a good start in like getting your photos absolutely I totally agree with the lighting aspect of it I think with with photography there’s a lot of kind of improv to it and I think a lot of it is timing and uh there’s been many times where I’ve grabbed my camera and I’ve went outside and started shooting around I’m like man you know it’s just not the right time you know so I think sometimes as a photographer it’s okay to be like you know this is just not the right time the lighting is just not right here I can’t capture what I’m trying to showcase on this particular tree or this landscape area um because the lighting’s just not that you know in that perfect position now obviously you know sometimes you have to work within what you what you’re given um and that that goes into kind of a deeper side of you know just learning the equipment that you’re using and kind adjusts but I do think that you can use uh youring as as a tool to find just that perfect lighting out in your garden and Landscape now you mentioned our equipment obviously most people like we all have our phones yeah um and camera phones nowadays are excellent like quality the automat like automatic lighting settings and everything it really can compete almost with you know dslrs and like larger normal cameras um and so all these tips and all these ideas can be fully implemented if you use your phone um photography is not only limited to having a big camera you do not have to be yeah you know like state-ofthe-art full expensive camera to be able to take good photos um so don’t ever feel like a you know hesitant to start phone is fine um one other thing oh uh composition composition that’s a huge one too so some things I when I first started I had to learn this this was something I really had to understand besides lighting was understanding you know you got your subject you’ve got your main focus of your photo but understanding how to properly position that and put that in a spot that’s appealing to the eye you know I don’t know if uh rule of thirds is a huge one for people uh it’s imagining a grid and we’ll try to throw some photos or something up here to give an example um imagining like a grid of your screen or your camera divided into thirds right so there’s you know lines going segmenting each section kind of like a Tic Tac Toe grid um and putting a subject in those lines and intersections kind of appeals to the eye and kind of makes it feel more like there’s some depth to the scene and kind of allows their eye to travel you know you’ve got this spot but like look at the background right um it’s a good starting point uh my professors in college always told me they were like once you understand the rules you can break them right you’re not you’re not limited to the rules you’re not limited to there are guidelines to kind of give you a good start and then once you understand them you can have as much fun as you want um but that’s I absolutely love that concept because I think you know like you said composition and framing of your subject whatever it is you’re trying to capture is really crucial and you know when I first started uh working in photography here at the farm you know I I I had to kind of adapt to a new structure in the greenhouse format CU that’s where most of the plants were so it wasn’t out in a landscape or something like that so I had to learn how to kind of uh I would even pick up a plant and move it kind of around to find just the proper spot for it to sit so I’d have the right background and just kind of trying to figure out how to frame that particular picture so that I could showcase all the characteristics that you want to see in the picture but also provide an interesting background to kind of play off the contrast and texture def yeah 100% um something I love about your photography that I try to emulate in some ways when you know I’m contributing is your ability to capture contrast yeah you I know you’re amazing at it in your landscape you know that kind of thing off top of your head and I’m new to Japanese maple have only worked for Mr Maple for about a year now almost almost a year exactly um so I’m still learning all these gardening and like all these things like that and I’m loving the the ride doing it um but what when you go out and you’re like Landscaping what is your like what are your ideal contrast with your photography like what are you looking for what are you really thinking about um when you’re like sitting there getting your shot trying to get that shot yeah I mean there’s there’s so much that goes into it and that’s a great question because I think every every landscape kind of has different things that you’re trying to play off of um and I think the the biggest thing for me is is to create space within the picture but also a focus you know what I’m saying so it’s like you’re you’re trying to provide two different things which is you’re creating this this world within the shot um but you’re also focusing in on something very small and I try to I that’s kind of the way I see it whenever I’m thinking about photography is to create this this big space but then have that Focus item in the middle just kind of playing off of everything around it so I love that concept of like diving in almost creating this world of like you know this photo this picture of like if you could just you know see every detail and just kind of be there it’s like the ultimate epitome of like a photo if it can take you somewhere else well I tell you what man so since you came to Mr Maple I’ve been impressed with your photography skill I mean this guy does so much for the farm here I mean you know he got into you know like the lighting effects and things like that that I think is just really valuable in just that development of continuing to get better in photography uh he he brings so much to the table and uh you know we got into the merchandising you know with the merchandise like he took that on and just really really you know kind of created this Dynamic way to capture all of these different images with our merchandise and then that translated so well into the trees and uh I I knew whenever I was leaving Mr mapel I was like I know I’m leaving this in good hands cuz Joe’s got an eye for it and it really does take some time like you said to learn the plants because when when you’re out in your garden and landscape and you’re trying to take that picture it’s important to understand the characteristics of the plant and what it is that you’re trying to capture um but then also like you said once you kind of know the rules then you can kind of break it because if your plant does something that’s out of the ordinary you want to capture that moment you know it’s don’t be afraid to just kind of learn the basics and then just break outside of that box and and just explore how you can create and design with your photography yeah I mean as any art form photography is always up to interpretation you know some people love some things some people hate it um but yeah Brian I think uh we’ve come down to a good spot yeah I do too thank you guys we uh if you guys like this kind of content if you want to see more you know me and Brian always love talking about this kind of stuff leave a comment down below uh make sure to leave a like subscribe we’d love to be able to do more for y’all um yeah take care yeah take care God bless and have a great day [Music]