BUSINESS NEWS
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
JULY 2021 • 15
clearly see much better what you’re doing. The other
tool I use quite often is the zoom tool to check fore-
ground, background and check on your work. Every
single student who got one, says he or she got twice
as good.”
23. What is your necessary non-photography
equipment you always bring with you?
“Because I’m a hiker, in my bag there is always
one full set of clothes. Even if it goes from 80 degrees
to snowing, I even have winter gear in the summer.
Two headlamps in case one fails because I’m often
hiking at night. I could not live without my hiking
poles. There is always a stash of water and snacks
that I replenish every time I use it. Your bag should
always be ready even if you’re not going [anywhere].
You never want to be caught unprepared. Also of
course a fi rst aid kit.”
24. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
“Even if it’s not with me, the best thing a photog-
rapher can do to get better at their craft is to take an
actual out-in-the fi eld lesson with a professional pho-
tographer. That’s where most want-to-be photogra-
phers fail. They read stuff online, they buy a camera,
they go shooting, but they never learn actual techni-
cal techniques. One fi ve-hour class with me, I’ll get
you technically sound so that every photo you shoot
after that is professional grade. The sooner you can
get technically correct, your portfolio is better for it.
Rather than buying another lens, take a class fi rst.
You’d be better spent taking a class.”
RANDALL J. HODGES
A photo of the wreck of the Peter Iredale by Randall J. Hodges.
Continued from Page 14
which purposes?
“I shoot a Cannon 5 DSR and my number one
lens is the Cannon 24-105 Mark 2 lens. My second
favorite is my Canon 16-35 wide angle [lens]. My
third favorite is my 100 macro, and my fourth favor-
ite is my 100 to 400, which is my least-used lens.
Before deciding on a lens, you must explore the area
and fi nd some compositions, then you will know
which lens to use.”
14. For photographs of water with a feathery
aff ect, what settings do you use on your camera?
“Aperture Priority f/20 or f/22 with a low ISO.
This small aperture will create a long exposure
which creates the soft eff ect. Best on overcast days
for lower and balanced light.”
15. What type of photographs do you take
when using an ND fi lter?
“I do not use a lot of ND fi lters, but I do use grad-
uated split neutral density fi lters to balance light at
sunrise and sunset. Otherwise, during the days there
is always a circular polarizer on my camera.”
16. Do you alter your camera settings when
taking photos diff erent times of day and light such
as sunset, afternoon, sunny or rainy?
“Yes. Diff erent apertures, ISOs, shutter speeds,
white balances, and/or fi lters. Every light and scene
require its own adjustments.”
17. Do you have a favorite memory from one
of your classes in the fi eld?
“One of the great things about my classes is not
only do my students learn all the photography tech-
niques at the right place and time over and over
again, they build lifelong friendships. I had a cou-
ple of older students that met during class. During
day three or four at Thor’s Well on the Oregon Coast,
these couple of gals chose to stay up higher and shoot
the Spouting Horn instead. As I was coming up the
hill to check on them, they were sitting together look-
ing at each other’s cameras and photos. One said,
‘Look! I caught a photo of a heart in the mist!’ The
next thing you know, they’re hugging and got teary
eyed. They all still go out shooting today from three
years ago when they met.”
18. What is one mistake most amateur photog-
raphers make?
“The fi rst mistake young photographers make is
they do not shoot from a tripod. Compositionally,
they put way too much empty sky in their photo-
graphs, and they do not think about their foreground.
Often when I have new students, I say to them, ‘You
have too much sky, point your camera down.’”
19. Besides teaching your fi eld classes and
adventures, do you personally mentor aspiring
photographers one-on-one in your free time?
“I mentor all my students whenever they call and
ask questions. I don’t have the time to just mentor one
person on a more rigorous basis. At any given time,
I’m helping a couple dozen photographers, whether
it’s printing questions or after lessons questions. I’m
constantly always available to my students.”
20. What has been the most rewarding aspect
of being a photographer?
“The miles I get to hike and the sites I get to see.
It’s the whole reason I do it. I’ve always wanted to
get paid to hike.”
21. Was there a time when you didn’t have
access to a vital piece of equipment, and had to
use creative ways to supplement them?
“I would say no. The only time I don’t have a
piece of gear is because I broke it out in the fi eld.
Since I do this full time, I always have more than one
lens, camera body and everything. The worst thing
that can happen is I break something out in the wil-
derness. Knock on wood! That has not happened.
The items I’ve broken, I was still able to get back to
the car and get more stuff .”
22. What methods or tools do you regularly
use to see how your photo will turn out? For
example, the camera’s histogram or a light expo-
sure app.
“No, since I don’t do Photoshop, I don’t look
at the histogram ever. I actually ask my students to
turn it off because that is a Photoshop technique and
I want my students to use their eyeballs to determine
if they’re taking a good photo or not. However, there
is a device that you can use out in the fi eld that makes
you twice as good. It’s called a loop, which shades
and magnifi es the back of your camera. You can
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