Tim Ernst presents his ‘Arkansas Portfolio III’

 

A standing room only crowd experienced a Tim Ernst slide show on Tuesday (Dec. 6) at the main branch of the Fort Smith Public Library.

The slide show, presented by Ernst, was approximately 20 minutes in length and featured pictures from the new coffee table picture book “Arkansas Portfolio III.” The program was free to the public.

This book along with other books by the famous Arkansas-based nature photographer were available at a special program sale price during the Tuesday event. A large selection of picture books, guidebooks, the 2012 Arkansas scenic wall calendar, matted prints, screensavers and DVDs were also available before and after the program.

The visit was the third for Ernst to the Fort Smith area. He has photographed scenery for 36 years, and believes Arkansas is “one of the most scenic states.” All four seasons have been captured in his books.

When giving advice about which camera to choose, Ernst said “hold the camera and see how you fit with the camera or how well the camera fits with you.” He encouraged photographers to join a local photography group and to take pictures of “what interests you. Practice on things you enjoy to improve your photography.”

When it comes to lenses, Ernst said, “it depends on what your interests are and what kind of person you are.” There are times, he likes using a focal length lens, but other times he likes a telephoto lens. When trying to get that perfect shot, “zoom in, zoom out, change your angle, move forward, move back, and change your lenses,” he said.

Ernst became a photographer because he didn’t like school. He answered a local ad which teased that he could “make money doing photography.” He answered the ad and the rest is history. His favorite thing to photograph is the outdoors. He is not only accomplished in photography, but he also has published maps, written stories for Back Packer Magazine and designed hiking trails.

His “aha” moment came while at a waterfall and people from out-of-state were talking and he got a little closer to hear what they were saying. What he overheard was “this is where he (Tim Ernst) was standing when he took the picture.” They were trying to replicate his picture of Twin Falls in Richland Creek Wilderness.

He is always trying to improve his photography by taking continuing educational classes on photography and Photoshop classes. He tries to learn from those he thinks are greater than himself and learn from it.