Chris Harris Workshop

I love Chris Harris's photography. I  wanted to do a workshop with him in the Cariboo, where he has created lasting iconic images of central BC. Chris has made the Chilcotin and the Cariboo regions, and their history, interesting to me. He showed me the beauty and importance of the regions where I had just seen bush and barren land. However, when I finally had the opportunity, Chris was no longer doing photojournalism but artistic images based on multiple exposure photography. Since that was where my photography had gone lately and because I love his eye for photography and art I went to that workshop! 

Here are some of the images I shot during Chris's workshop. He explores "Artistic Impression" through multiple exposure. Cameras vary with the multiple exposure selections but many have various choices, multiply, divide, subtract, overlay, light, dark. My preference is light mode and I also like to do one shot in focus and the others not. You can see lots of my floral images done that way. Chris's preference is dark exposure mode and I challenged myself to mainly use that mode as I'm so inspired by his work.

The first four images are shot down the road from his studio near 100 Mile House. The top image shows how a grey sky can be replaced and made dramatic having a long exposure on the grass using dark exposure mode. The next above was also using dark exposure mode of the same landscape on top of a metal fence. The two below are both of the same old wooden barn. They were shot using dark exposure mode to fill the interior and lighter wood tones with the grass beside the barn.

The next day we shot in Chris's beautiful wildflower garden. I struggle with using the dark exposure mode and most of my multiple exposure imagery is done on the light mode, like this image. I like creating a landscape from grasses and am going to do a project around this type of imagery.

Both these images are taken in the same spot with the same flowers and trees with the dark multiple exposure selection. The original gray backgrounds through the trees are smoke from the wildfire that was just south of here. I thought the flowers created an atmosphere that correlates with the extreme fire situation currently in BC.