66 Nebraskaland • January-February 2020
MIXED BAG
My first Nebraskaland articles, published in the 1990s, were
tag team efforts. I wrote the text while staff photographers
Mike Forsberg or Jon Farrar provided the photos. This worked
well, but after a few years, I decided it was time to expand my
journalistic repertoire and take my own photos. So I bought
an old Nikon camera and few lenses from Forsberg, stocked
up on film and started snapping pictures.
My problem, I knew little about photography. So first, I
read a few nature photography books, but it was my next
move that was sheer genius. I began taking my photos to
Forsberg and Farrar for critique. Lucky for me, they were not
only excellent photographers, but also willing and patient
teachers.
During a typical session, one of them would examine a
few of my photos and kindly say something such as: "This
would be a nice photo, if only ... the light was better," or
"the background wasn't so cluttered,
the focus was sharper, or if you had
just done this with the composition."
Fortunately, I was a good listener
and my ego recovered quickly. Like
most beginners, I fancied many of my
photos as pretty good, but the more I
learned, the more my shortcomings
became apparent. Unfortunately, a
few of my early photos still hang on
the walls of friends and family.
Eventually, I weaned myself of the
enlightening critiques of Forsberg and
Farrar that jump-started my venture
into photography. Over the years, I
have continued to improve my skills,
mostly by studying the works of
other photographers, watching a few
videos (Nebraska native Joel Sartore's
Fundamentals of Photography is
really good, and can be purchased at
joelsartore.com), and taking heed of
the advice of Nebraskaland's photo
editors.
In some aspects, my photographic
talents are still fairly amateurish.
For example, I know little about
the technological capabilities of my
camera and I am shaky, at best, with
Photoshop. Technology was never
my cup of tea.
But overall, I have learned enough
to take decent photos. Photos that
help tell my Nebraskaland stories.
Gerry Steinauer is a botanist
with the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission and a regular contributor
to Nebraskaland.
THE VALUE OF PHOTO MENTORS
By Gerry Steinauer
PHOTOS
BY
GERRY
STEINAUER
A recent yucca image with more interestingblight and composition.
One of my earliest images of a yucca flower taken in the Sandhills of Cherry County.
