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Learning Bonsai Photography An Art Being Elevated By Joe Noga

Paul Kellum
Jan 17, 2016
3 min read

There are not too many people in the bonsai world who have not seen Joe Nogas bonsai photography; even if you didn't know who took the picture, you can tell when Joe took it. His attention to detail is unmatched, so in the small niche of bonsai, we are lucky to have him.

I had the amazing opportunity of having Joe Noga give me a private lesson on how to use my camera. I know it was a far stretch from taking pictures of world class bonsai trees at a exhibition but it was anything but boring for me. It look a few days for all the concepts to sink in, but made me realize that we all snap phone images at the rate of a thousand per year. We take a quick look and say, “oh that looks decent”. Then we post it out on social media or send it to a friend; we have become numb to these images of poor lighting, no depth and bad color. I think it’s import to remember a time when a picture could grab our attention and what made it do that. I know that very few things floating around in the bonsai world have the qualities of a good picture and I don't want to continue to add to that. It looks like a lot of practice will be necessary. Here are a ew of my pictures from before my lessons excited to see the changes.

It was an eye opening experience to see what goes into a good picture and to then think of the countless hours that go into the bonsai picture Joe has taken. Many of us have been amazed by the range of color that his black background and near perfect lighting techniques yield. It’s a dedication that professional photography demands. To take a great pictures is one thing, but to edit that picture and prepare it for print is another. From color calibrating your computer monitor to perfect color match, so that your not working on making something worst than it is, on to calibrating your printer so that the image can leave the digital world in style. That does not account for the countless hours used to adjust small details in the picture.

I learned the relation of ISO, shutter speed and aperture and their relation to each other. It’s all easy to say but then I pick up the camera a few days later and find myself clueless. I mean it is an art form to its own and it takes the ability to see the details of lighting and color.

So by no means am I attempting to be a world class photographer, but being in bonsai has a lot to do with documenting work through the camera lens. Lets be honest, who doesn't want to take a great picture of a tree they are working on. How many times do we all snap a quick picture and post it only to add the comment “it looks better in person”. I want to have good photos to look back on and remind me of the past, but also to compare the changes in a tree. I guess the goal is clear: take a ton of picture until it starts to click.

I am very excited to improve my skills in photography because I am going with Boon in February to Japan for Kokufuten #90 and who doesn't want to take great photos while on a bonsai trip to Japan. I know we all live in the experiences and travels of others in some way. I hope I'm a good enough student to be able to transcend the world of snapping images and start taking pictures. I can’t express my gratitude enough for the time Joe gave me and what he brings to bonsai with his skill. I know Bill Valavanis has done a few great blogs on Joe and they are wonderful reads that are as true today as they where when written.

I have attached some of Joe Nogas’s Pictures from the 2015 Winter Silhouette Show. You can also see his work in the photos from The National Bonsai Exhibition and well as Bill Valavanis’s magazine series International Bonsai.I think its one thing to create a work of art but I learned quickly it’s an art form in itself to capture that work of art in the moment, with a picture.