DEVELOPING IMAGES AT THE INTERSECTION OF GEOLOGY, EDUCATION, AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is a valuable tool for geoscience education, though underutilized. Photographing geologic subjects is common, in part due to the popularity of digital cameras; however many geologists conduct this work with little training in photography. This leads to many images of lesser quality, which in turn may make understanding the subject of the photo more challenging for the student viewer, or may not take full advantage of the opportunity to draw the student in to appreciate the subject. Students need to see multiple examples of geologic features in good quality photos to gain a fuller understanding of their nature and variability. Unfortunately most geologic textbooks do not contain color photos or multiple examples of the features discussed. This deficiency is an impairment to the education of our discipline. The use of compositional elements such as diagonals, thirds, power points, shallow depth of field, leading lines, negative space, and more, can lead to more visually striking images. It seems highly likely that images that make good use of light, color, and contrast, along with compositional elements that capture the imagination of the viewer, would be more useful and effective for the education of geologic subjects. The benefits of quality photos also seem likely to have a strong impact on student learning in the affective domain. Reaching students to value the geologic history found within the rock record, or to appreciate the natural materials ubiquitous in modern society, or to value the importance of a clean, healthy environment, requires inspiring and enlivening the mind. I suggest that the use of better quality photographs in geoscience education would inspire more students to value the natural world, leading to improved environmental understanding and action. I have worked over the past 5 years to develop photographic skills and apply these to the imaging of geologic subjects. My work emphasizes several techniques: 1) using a polarizing filter to cut out or emphasize highly polarized light in the natural environment; 2) post-processing of RAW image files to present subjects as they are experienced naturally; 3) using various compositional elements to draw the viewer to the subject. Many of these have been shared on my personal website and social media outlets, and are available for educational uses.