Nov 21, 20217 min read

Nature Photography by Melissa Tokariwski

Sony a7iii & Lensbaby Velvet 85 1/160 F4 ISO 500

THIS IS ME

Hey! I’m Melissa Tokariwski from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I am about 2.5 hours north of Grand Forks, ND USA. I am a mom of three (16, 18 & 22) with the hubs (51) and a black lab, Maddie, who is 12 and spunky as ever. Yes, I do really have lavender colored hair at 48 years old. Photography is an outlet and a passion for me. I am mostly self taught through lots of practice. I started photography 11 years ago. I saw a dad shooting some sports games and I thought to myself “pfft, I can do that” and so my journey started with the Nikon D5100. I started shooting ringette, hockey, basketball, and karate. I mean, let’s do all the indoor sports with poor lighting and a cheap camera, right? Hahaha. Actually, now I will shoot anything that comes in front of my camera from frost, bugs, milk and water drops colliding, flowers, babies, families, grads, sports, landscape, and astrophotography.

Sony A7iii & Lensbaby Velvet 85 2’ F8 ISO 1000

Several years ago my health became an issue. As I sat at home, regaining my energy, I did a lot of photography in the house. Being ill made me slow down and appreciate the details and little things in life. If I saw something I liked on Instagram I wanted to try it. I didn't take many courses other than Shultz Photo School, learning how to use my camera in Manual Mode. Practice and persistence became a mantra for me. I shoot every day. Every day I see something that catches my eye. Just look out a window, or even through a window. At some point I realized all the frost that collects on my sunroom windows. The best camera is the one you have on you. Cell phones and Macro attachments are really good and are usually in your pocket.

Iphone 11 Promax & Shiftcam Macro Lens

Iphone 11 ProMax

Here in Winnipeg we go from -40C to +40C in six months and then back to -40C. Crazy right? Our temps can be pretty extreme. I work with my conditions and try to maximize the outdoors. My Instagram name is Skahdee. Skadi is a Norse Goddess associated with Winter. With all the stuff I do in freezing temperatures, frost & snow, icicles, snowflakes and freezing flowers and bubbles, I thought it was a perfect fit.

Sony a7iii & Lensbaby Sol 45 1/2500 F3.5 ISO 250

Sony a7iii & Lensbaby Velvet 85 1/320 F8 ISO 800

SLOW DOWN AND LOOK

What does Nature mean to you? The physical world collectively: the plants, animals, flowers, landscapes, and the sky. Remember going out for walks, or maybe you have little ones now, where you're just wandering and watching the kids run around crazy. You're chasing them, calling them, reining them in and telling them to slow down. That is what YOU need to do in nature. Slow down, take a look, and appreciate the beauty. I notice things that most people don't because I slow down and train my eyes to look for the details while enjoying nature. I see that curl on the leaf, the tiny bug, a spider web, the shape of clouds, or the stars. I see a tiny water drop and upon closer inspection I see the refraction in it. Sit and be still, slow your breathing, and absorb the moment. Feel it emotionally AND physically if you can. Look. No, really look. Listen. Absorb. Look high. Look low. When you see something that captures your eye, look around for composition and light. What do you want in the frame? Can you move it without affecting what you see? How the snow falls and lands on a tree branch, on the leaves, on a bird's wing as the chickadee tweets away. Can you catch how the light hits the snow and the shadows? I enjoy Nature therapy and being out there. Being aware of your surroundings is a learned behaviour and a safety feature too. Take time to enjoy yourself and be in nature.

Sony a7riii & Lensbaby Burnside 35 Reverse Freelensed

Sony a7riii & Lensbaby Velvet 28 1/160 F4 ISO 500

PACK MY BAG

A water bottle, a tea if it's cold, a zoom lens and one of my Lensbabys. Sometimes I’ll take a 2nd camera so I don’t have to switch lenses all the time. I don’t leave the house without a Lensbaby. My favourite ones to take on walks are the Velvet 28 and the Burnside 35. Either can work with landscape, macro, and are great walk around lenses. The Burnside is my favourite lens to reverse freelens with. Now I am all set to get super close, to get wildlife further away, and everything in between. Normally, I set my exposure to auto. I don’t like fiddling with it while I'm inspecting and absorbing. In the woods the light changes so much, but I just want to look and shoot. What look am I going for? If it’s landscape, I shut down that aperture. If I want dreamy and bokeh, I go wide open. What’s most important is you find your comfort zone and your comfort aperture. Not everyone likes soft focus or purely tack sharp. You do you and don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Sony A7iii & Lensbaby Velvet 28 & Seahorse Omni Wand 1/2500 F4 ISO 320

Sony a7iii & Tamron 70-180 1/500 F/5.6 ISO 125

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

I take every opportunity I can get to be outside in nature, flower gardens, in parks, and on trails. I’ll drop my son at hockey and hit the nearby park knowing I have just over an hour. Sometimes I make it through an entire trail and sometimes I don't and have to turn back. At the half hour mark my alarm goes off as a warning. One time, I was looking for the owls and cardinals with no luck. I came across the locals and they said the beaver is out. I find its dam and I wait...and I wait… Meanwhile I have found the wild orchids, I’ve heard and seen the tiny minnows jumping, and heard the birds singing. Why? Because I slowed down and wasn't worried about finishing the trail. While I’m walking back to my car a lone duck catches my attention. Then I hear something, I turn, and that same duck also has the attention of a red fox. We look at each other, then we both look at the duck. I look back at the fox. It continues to slowly creep closer to me. I’m elated and in wonder that it is so close to me. The fox is 20 feet away. Both of us respect each other's space. I’m sharing this moment with this beautiful animal. He was so close he wouldn’t even fit in the frame of my camera. 45 seconds later, kids nearby scream “A FOX” and run after it. The fox disappears but I am elated to have such an encounter. I did find that beaver on my 4th attempt at the park.

Sony a6500 & Tamron 70-180 1/500 F2.8 ISO 3200

Sony a65001/250 F 2.8 ISO 3200

THE SKY IS AN AMAZING PLACE

The sky is huge and holds many opportunities. Sunrise. Sunset. Stars. Star Trails. The moon. Meteor showers. Eclipses. And my favourite, the Aurora Borealis. Have you experienced the sky dancing and changing colors? The sky pulsating and changing shapes? It is the most incredible experience and takes my breath away. Every. Single. Time. This last show we had, a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) Cannibal G3 storm, on Nov 3 and 4th, 2021 was the most amazing show I have ever experienced. Basically the sun burped a flare. The flare started to travel to Earth. The sun burped a second flare. The sun burped a third flare. This third flare moved faster than the other two and “ate” them both picking up power as it came towards Earth. Add in some radio blackouts and all the data lined up for an amazing night. The show lasted all night long. I usually shoot Aurora with two cameras. One with a Tamron lens and one with a Lensbaby. I shoot 10-15 second exposures at F2.8 and I start my ISO around 1000. Checking it periodically for hotspots and overexposure. It all depends on how bright those lights are. No aurora is ever guaranteed to dance. Keep your hopes high and your expectations low. Any kind of dance is amazing.

Sony a7r111 and Tamron 17-28 10’ F2.8 ISO 800

Sony A7ii & Lensbaby Velvet 28 10” F2.8 ISO 1000

BRING NATURE HOME

Lastly, when you can’t get out to nature, bring it to you. I have to be creative with light sources during our long dark winters and bring nature inside with purchased bouquets. My captures inside are usually done on top of my stove using my hood fan light. I have changed all my lightbulbs to bright white LEDs and it works amazingly well. I also purchased some grow lights and will start to grow things inside in September/October for a change of pace. It also brightens up my “work from home” area. I’m surrounded by nature all day and those coffee breaks may now contain a quick photo shoot.

It doesn’t matter where you are, you can always bring it inside. I mean, I hatched 200 Praying Mantis eggs and had them in my house. You do what you gotta do to get the shot. Spray bottles and eye droppers mimic rain. Freeze some flowers or take your flowers in the snow. Spray them with water and put it out to freeze. Be creative and go beyond the normal.

Sony A7iii & Lensbaby Velvet 28 1/160 F2.8 ISO 800

Sony a7111 & Velvet 85 1/160 F8 ISO 3200

Don’t be afraid to try something new. If you fail, no one will know. You usually only post your successes unless you’re looking for help and feedback. You can’t grow as a photographer if you don’t try.

Get out there and explore.