About Ken Henke

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed and is, thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety.” -Ansel Adams

Living in Washington state provides me an excellent launching point for a variety of photographic opportunities for nature imagery. I don’t limit my photography to just this region or just certain subjects as I find inspiring scenes or subjects from local areas to locations throughout the country.

The motivation to capture images in the best possible situation, dictates planning beyond a normal outdoor trip. I consciously consider all the variables that will allow me to capture images in a way that convey a unique, but realistic, interpretation of that moment in time. Photographing nature is primarily about capturing the best light. The best opportunities for prime lighting conditions are often at sunrise/sunset or in inclement weather. No doubt the quest for capturing the perfect image has lead to some rather uncomfortable, but memorable, situations.

As good as digital camera technology is today, images viewed, even out of the best cameras, often don’t replicate a scene as experienced through the eyes of the photographer. Our complex senses take into account a wide range stimulus to provide the basis for our interpretation of a scene. Light, shape, texture, tonality, and color all contribute to what stimulates our emotion from viewing an image. Although the photographer can relate those stimuli back to time the image was taken, recreating those details is paramount to recreating the experience for others. To provide the best viewing experience, I spend the time necessary post processing each image. The digital darkroom of today has a variety of software tools available to fine tune an image to better represent the actual experience and emotion felt at the time.

Almost everyone can appreciate some aspect of our natural world. I find it easy to be passionate advocate for protecting the blessings that have been provided to us. To that end, I support intelligent and planned management of our resources.

See ya down the trail.
Ken Henke