Photographic rockhound - photographing rock slabs

PSA Journal, July, 1990 by Ruth Akins Stennett

Photographic Rockhound

Are you looking for new subject matter to widen your photographic skills? Maybe something that has endless possibilities? If so, try the unlimited source of beauty found in rock slabs.

Here you will find pattern, color and texture that can be photographed in a variety of ways with results that sometimes come out looking as abstract as a modern painting.

You will need a macro lens with extension tubes and always a tripod. Some slabs will need back lighting, some only front lighting, while others might benefit from both back and front lighting. You can also photograph some slabs in a black photographic pan with just enough water to cover the slab. The water intensifies the colors found in the rock slabs. Some slabs to be photographed may be only the size of a small stamp while others may be as large as 4 to 5 inches or greater. For my slab photography I prefer to use natural light for my light source.

According to Freeman Patterson "there are no rules of composition, or should be none. The photographer who relies on rules is denying the existence of their imagination, defeating creative growth. The sensible procedure is to learn the elements and principles of visual design and to use them with as much good judgment and common sense as you can."

Now for those of you who aren't rock hounds, as well as photographers your source of material can be found at rock and gem shows where rock slabs are sold. Another source could be a rock shop in your home town.

For five years I have exhibited my rock photography at the Portland, Oregon Regional Gem and Mineral Show, I take my 11 x 14 framed pictures along with the rock slab I photographed. One year I was awarded a trophy based on originality and the display with the most public appeal.

My rock slide show, "Hidden Beauty" has been shown to both rock and camera clubs, to church groups and school kids. It was so rewarding when after showing it to a fourth grade class in Redding, California, a little girl came up to me after the show and said, "rocks are like people; it is what is inside that counts."

So instead of hunting for those worn tripod holes, here is a whole new field to explore. It is one you won't have to worry about depth of field, and a subject that won't move with each little breeze.

Try it--you might even become a photographic rockhound!

Ruth A. Stennett has been a member of PSA since 1965. She has received several stars in pictorial and nature and one in journalism. She has also been a judge on numerous occasions for PSA's International Salons.