Tanya Shuman Teaches Photography to High School on Futaleufu
Futaleufu, Chile
3/6/07
Photography students at the New River Academy were excited for their second period high school photography class based on the banks of the Futaleufu River. Professional photographer and kayaker, Tanya Shuman, had agreed to be a guest speaker in the midst of their spring kayak training and normal school classes. Tanya’s visit to the class was packed full of detailed photography techniques, learning to have an eye for photography composition, proposal presentations to companies, and an exhibition of her most recent work here in Chile. It was a day that I as the Photography teacher will utilize for years to come.
Shooting Young Guns Productions and Rio Baker
Tanya is currently shooting Young Gun Production paddlers Marlow Long, Rush Sturgess, and Patrick Camblin. It was two days ago that the group returned from a location shoot of the Rio Baker twenty hours south of our Patagonia base. YGP is making a segment in their next film, “State of the Art,” which will address the damming of this whitewater giant in southern Patagonia. Also Tanya is working with Patagonia and AW to bring more exposure to the damming of both the Baker River and the Futa River through her photography.
Tanya showed her Rio Baker “photo essay” to the students to exemplify the magnitude of this colossal volume river. Earlier Marlow informed me, “The Baker is like no other. Massive eddy lines, whirlpools, and boils come out of no where and can swallow your boat.” Tanya’s photo essay illustrated the vibrant culture, the majesty of the dark Patagonia mountains during changing weather conditions, phenomenal play boating features, the people, and a perspective of the river illustrating it’s grandness.
Photography Techniques
Tanya’s photo portfolio highlighted her unique talent to catch the angle or shot that no one else is capturing. Tanya taught how to utilize the “S-curve” in order to lead the eye and to make photos flow. Additionally, Tanya explained frame placement of the subject within the environment could create a frame within the framed photo. Other taught techniques were use of depth of field, use of texture, use of contrast with shapes, and the rule of thirds.
Photo Essay
Tanya described the importance of making a photo essay,
“By making a photo essay then you can tell more about your environment than most shots will tell. For example, that aerial blunt shot you guys have seen a thousand times already. Don’t just capture that, but find a new angle, hike up the banks, lay down on the rocks…”
Tanya further described how to tell the story,
“Try to tell the story of the culture by taking shots of the people in their colorful dress, take shots far away from the river to illustrate where you are, and attempt to frame within the shot.”
Tanya’s Chile Portfolio
Tanya connected her hard drive to the school’s computer and she scrolled past several recent Chilean shots. One remarkable element was her eye for the creative. A close-up of a fish eye within a stack of fish from a Puerto Montt market illustrated photographic themes of contrast within shapes. Additionally, her photos exemplified a strong cultural aspect, another project New River Academy students seek to produce for their own portfolios. Other creative aspects Tanya illustrated were: leading the eye with the S-curve, carry your camera with you always, placement of subject, original use of environment to frame subject within camera frame, use of colors, use of shapes, and more.
New River Academy Photography Projects
Each project listed below is graded based on a multitude of techniques that the students have learned and practiced throughout this semester. Many of the higher level techniques learned were reinforced by Tanya’s teachings.
The projects are designed to “tell a story of a thousand words.” Thus, offering passionate students the inspiration to progress within the art of Photography.
Chilean Culture
People
Landscapes
Whitewater Action
Texture
Creative
To see more of the New River Academy photography projects surf to www.kayakschool.org or www.huge-experiences.com.
Thank you Tanya
By David Hughes
Founder, director, and photography teacher New River Academy and Huge Experiences.
www.kayakschool.org and www.huge-experiences.com.
