Juergen Roth, Amazing Nature Photography

Never lose an opportunity to see anything that is beautiful.
It is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament.    Welcome
it in every fair face, every fair sky,  every fair flower.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Serene Cape Cod, “Beautiful Lake Nature Photo by Juergen Roth for Purchase.”In my previous red dinghy photograph I took advantage of the early morning light while now the idea was to capture it during the evening hours and explore different perspectives. It is such a beautiful photogenic setting and excitement was building up the closer I came to my final destination on Cape Cod. While finally crossing the Herring River overpass I sneaked a peak through my right eye and to my delight the boat was still anchored in the same location. What I did not expect and to my surprise it was painted blue which revealed a spontaneous outcry of “Awesome!” I pulled into the small parking lot, unloaded my photography gear and got to work from the overpass where I set up tripod and camera. The river current combined with the windy condition that evening made it hard to compose. The boat was constantly moving and I had to be extra patient with my composition attempts. I waited with the release of the shutter until the boat reached the point when it moved back into the opposite direction. This provided a stretched out chain from the blue boat to the buoy and the boat in an attractive position where it leads the viewer into the landscape. I often use a polarizing filter in my landscape photography and it darkened the river by eliminating unwanted bright sky reflection. The polarizer also saturated the green colors of the marsh land vegetation and the blue hues of the sky and boat. I chose a vertical or portrait composition for this landscape photograph to show the beauty and serenity of Cape Cod in large.

Cape Cod Solitude, “Beautiful and Breathtaking Nature Photo by Juergen Roth.”On our way back in the evening from a bicycling tour around Martha’s Vineyard and hoping to bump into the Obamas, I noticed the red boat in the Herring River at an overpass near Harwich, MA. I immediately decided to come back here the next morning knowing that nobody would move the boat if I just get there early enough to work the object. Next morning I fell out of bed trying not to wake everybody else up, jumped in the car and did the 35 minute drive over to the location. Not that I was going too fast that morning but luckily a fellow driver warned me with his headlights to slow down a little because of a police car checking the speed limit further down the road. All I needed now was to get pulled over in the wee hours and get a ticket. Finally arriving at the location I was relieved that the boat was still there. The sun was already up, partly painting the boat in the glory morning hour light. I often get carried away by certain scenes and start shooting following my instincts instead of analyzing the scene. First I captured the boat directly from the parking lot but then made my way towards the overpass where I kept shooting. I then crossed the bridge and moved closer to the boat incorporating the grass in the front into the composition. At that point I also decided to change my lens range to 300mm lens zooming in more and achieving a narrower, more intimate view of the dinghy. It was a very quiet and windless morning which made it a good day to capture water reflections.

Innocent Beauty, “Amazing Rose Photo by Juergen Roth.”
The spiral rose photograph was taken in the Minot Rose garden in response to a call for artists by the Brookline Arts Center in conjunction with the Friends of the Minot Rose Garden. I am often asked if I used a spray device for this photograph to create the rain drops and I always have to say no. If you look closely you will notice that the rain drops are different in size and not evenly distributed. I believe that this effect is difficult to mimic with a water sprayer. Instead I actually planned this photo shoot out because I knew exactly what I was hunting for and what I was going to submit to the jury. I waited for a night of rain to arrive before I went out to the rose garden that morning. I was very delighted when I arrived because everything fell into place for a perfect morning of flower photography. The overcast sky was still present and the roses were still covered in rain drops. Red, yellow, pink, purple, orange; roses of all colors were just waiting to be photographed. I immediately started shooting, moving from one motif to the next, and making my way around the garden a few times. Two or three hours later I figured that my job was done for the day; I was ready to go home. For some strange reason I decided to make a final round and that is when I discovered the spiral rose in one of the corners. I do not know how I could have missed it earlier. I set up my tripod for a final shot. Zoomed in on the rose, adjusted the camera setting for maximum depth of field and took a series of photographs.

Floral Abstract,”Flower Photo for Sale by Juergen Roth.”
This floral abstract macro photograph is part of a twelve lily flower photography collection. I often start out with a flower portrait highlighting its colors and character. I usually circle the flower to look for beautiful composition and to portray the floral in its best light; showing its full beauty. From the more distant less intimate view I slowly begin to explore my photo object through my camera. I first create abstracts from the petals and then concentrate more on the pistil, anthers and filaments. When focusing closer and finding my way deeper into the flower the true beauty in all its abstract forms and colors unfolds. I never know what to expect but it is truly amazing to find these natural wonders and photograph them. In this last photograph of my lily flower collection I laid the focus on the area where the stamen and pistil combine in the ovary, unleashing an intimate floral firework. I chose a 80mm lens setting and opened the aperture setting to f/3.5 leading to a 1/8 second shutter speed. The low light condition did not allow for a polarizing filter and a tripod provided the required stability for the low shutter speed. Exposure compensation was set to +1/3 step, slightly overexposing the image to enhance the creamy white of the lily petals and the vital green of its stamen and carpel.

Spring Colors,”Nature Photo for Purchase by Juergen Roth.”
Spring colors was created in 2005. I was a little burned out after a long winter when I decided to capture the beauty of Hall’s Pond throughout the year. For this project I went to the wildlife sanctuary at least once a week for a complete year to document the changes in my photographs. Wildlife sanctuary Hall’s Pond is such an amazing place and provides a diverse flora and fauna in the middle of the city. On this particular early Spring morning I made it out of bed and went to visit the pond; Great Blue Heron was in his usual spot, so was a Black Crowned Night Heron. A Cormorant was on the hunt for his breakfast and red winged blackbirds were singing along. I walked along the boardwalk enjoying the place all to myself. Morning light was braking through and started bringing out the colorful bushes and scrubs on the other side of the pond. As often the most difficult parts were to be patient and wait until the light was right and to find an open view across the pond. I tried from the boardwalk but had no luck. I then left the boardwalk and made my way a few yards along a tiny path to the edge of pond. I extended my tripod to eye level and equipped it with my 35 mm camera. 300 mm lens already installed, I zoomed fully in to 300 mm cropping out any disturbing backgrounds. The camera was set at smallest aperture setting to allow for great depth of field throughout the photograph. Camera angle and sunlight were at almost 90 degree for optimal polarization. I rotated the polarizing filter to the point of its greatest impact, bringing out the full glory of the colors and reducing any glare on the leaves. Using the automatic camera timer to minimize camera shaking I captured a handful of photographs and was very delighted once I got the final prints back from my local lab. “Spring Colors” was one of the first images that I sold and until now it remains one of my most favorite images … I in particular like the impressionistic feeling to it.

I want to thank the gifted nature photographer, Juergen Roth for stopping by today and sharing his unique nature photography.