The day before Miss Aniela was scheduled to speak at a Microsoft-sponsored event at Pravda Studios in Seattle, my staff got wind of the event and arranged for me to interview her at my home.

Miss Aniela, born Natalie Dybisz, is an Internet phenomenon. She started creating digital self-portraits just three years ago, often cloning herself, to create surreal tableaux and striking melancholy portraits. She posted them on Flickr and became an overnight sensation. I’m impressed by her imagination, her craft, and her ability to seize the moment. In her photographs she can appear glamorous, challenging, and dreamy, but in person she comes across as very well-spoken and thoughtful as well as somewhat shy.

As talented as she is, I am certain she will continue to grow as she seizes masterly control of her tools. You can watch part one of the interview below. We are posting part two on the Microsoft Pro Photo site, http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/default.aspx.

You can see more of her work at www.missaniela.com

People are often surprised when they see me holding my graduated neutral density filter in my hand instead of putting it in a holder. The reason is simple: speed. When conditions are changing rapidly, or even when they aren’t, it’s a lot faster to hold the filter in front of the lens. If I change lenses, I don’t have to take the time to remove holder from one lens and place it on the other. I can reframe or switch from horizontal to vertical in an instant.

You need to watch out for reflections, though. The filter will reflect light if pulled away from the lens too far.

Allison McLean took Nevada Wier’s class last fall and sent us an account of the experience and what she learned.

Photographing on the Move, with Nevada Wier
The Art Wolfe Digital Photography Center, October 2008
by Allison McLean

INERTIA: PHOTO ENEMY #1
Thursday, October 2, 2008

I’ve just finished the first day of my first photography workshop. I’m tired and my brain is full, but I’m more excited about photography than ever, and can’t wait to see what the next three days have to hold.

The instructor, Nevada Wier, has been a travel photographer for decades, and has shot for magazines such as National Geographic, Smithsonian and Geo. She began by telling us a bit about her background – she’s self-taught in photography and learned early on to ask herself, “Why do I like that image?” She talked about how a successful photo needs any two of these four elements – Color, Light, Action, and Pattern/Composition (CLAP), then discussed several of her own shots in this context.

As I imagine is true of any pro, she has mastered all types of shots and their concomitant gear requirements, but her preference is to shoot handheld with a 20mm lens. She likes shooting this way for the “airy” look and the way a lot of context gets included, but also because “It’s hard”! As she spoke this morning, I was impressed by the various parameters she’s put on her shooting – they’re all there to keep her eye fresh and prevent her from giving in to inertia, or “Photo Enemy #1”. Here are the “personal disciplines” she mentioned:
• handheld whenever possible
• prefers 20mm lens
• crops only in camera
By shooting mostly handheld, she’s mobile and light, and because she uses a 20mm lens and crops in camera, she needs to move in very close to her subject – “so close I’m practically drooling on them.” She says, “Everything in the image matters”, and that’s why you can’t have extraneous junk in the shot but must MOVE to frame!

As we students were to discover, it’s one thing to hear about the difficulties in using these techniques and another thing entirely to actually try one’s hand at them! Our late afternoon assignment was to head to Pike Place Market and take wide-angle shots of people in their work environment. The first thing I realized was, Oh, yeah, I do have a wide-angle lens (a 24-85mm zoom) – I just never use it as a wide angle! After all, it’s much easier to get “close enough” and then just zoom, right? For shooting people, I normally keep my 70-200mm lens on and zoom away like the furtive little people-watcher I am. No such luck when you’re using the widest angle you’ve got: to make the composition look right, you’re going to have to introduce yourself to your subject and then get close and personal. Any discomfort I felt at the time is outweighed by the images I got, though, and the gift of suddenly having a fun new technique in my skill kit.

Quote of the day
“The point of this class is to utilize the whole frame.”
– Nevada Wier

While we do our best to provide high-quality educational programs at our Digital Photography Center and in the Field Seminars, we understand not everyone can attend. Betterphoto founder Jim Miotke has assembled a battery of online courses taught by exemplary photographers and digital artists such as Jim Zuckerman, Tony Sweet, William Neill, Canon Explorer of Light Lewis Kemper, and the newest Canon Explorer of Light, Jennifer Wu. They perform weekly individual student critiques of the coursework to keep you on track. Also, they run contests and other community features. If online learning appeals to you, Betterphoto is a good option.

This summer Betterphoto will hold a summit at our Digital Photography Center in Seattle July 11 followed by a shoot on the 12th. Contact Betterphoto at for more information on that event.