Workshop helps photographers capture their natural surroundings

Mike Moats is the Lady Gaga of macro nature photography.

"I look for subjects that are unique within their species," said Mike Moats, of Sterling Heights, Michigan. "Lady Gaga is a person with character. She brings shock and awe to the stage because she's so unusual.

"Nature has its own character. It's about creating images that set themselves apart from the ordinary and mundane images that most photographers capture. It's reflected in distinctive shape, remarkable lines, exceptional contrast, unusual patterns, unique textures or special lighting."

Moats, 57, an award-winning photographer and author who specializes in macro, will be the featured speaker at the Calumet Region Photo Club's annual clinic. Two other speakers will discuss landscape as well as camera phone photography.

Moats was a painting contractor around Detroit — with little interest in photography — during the 1990s business boom, but he changed careers after the terrorist attacks on September 11, the decline in the stock market and mass layoffs in the auto industry.

In 2001 he decided to buy a used 35 mm digital camera on eBay so he could "play around." In less than two years, he penned several articles and had 30 images published.

"I like to call myself an artist who creates beautiful artwork with photography," he said. At the clinic, Moats will talk about finding character in nature as well as composition, equipment, software and shooting techniques.

"Photography is just what we use to capture what's beautiful in nature," he said. "It's about being outdoors, and I'm lucky enough to use a camera to capture an image to share with people."

One of the benefits of doing close-ups of nature is the subject can be outside your back door. "It's fascinating, because there's an endless supply and it changes every month," Moats said.

"There's an excitement of trying to outdo yourself and knowing that maybe that day you're going to find something incredible."

The discipline also doesn't require the expense of traveling long distances. Most of his images are shot at three parks within 20 minutes of his home. Photographers can go outside for an hour and not schedule a week or two out of their schedules.

Equipment is important but is not a substitute for a good image. "You can have the best accessories that are available, but if you don't understand composition and subject matter, it doesn't do you any good," he said.

While Moats is fascinated by the small world, Jerry Hug, from the Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association, has found a whole new world of artistry, ease and accessibility with camera phones.

Gone are the days when a camera was a camera and a phone was a phone; smart phone cameras are among the fastest growing segments and winning market share away from point-and-shoots, he said.

"Mine will never replace my big digital camera, but it's like being a painter and having a sketchbook," he said. "It's an excellent way to record ideas, and we don't do enough of this.

"The quickness of the 'one button' camera gives me a chance to explore and develop my photographic vision. Our best pictures are in our mind because we didn't have a camera with us. The beauty is that most of us carry a cell phone and the best camera is the one you have with you."