2024 Oregon's Wooden Shoe Tulip Fields: A Photographer's Guide

We are excited to announce the Shutterbug's16th annual visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farms! If you've never been to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest, specifically for photography purposes, we encourage you to read this blog post to prepare yourself. The following these recommendations will ensure you don't miss out on "that one shot".

Interested in attending this year's event and learn from experts? We will be hosting a series of Tulip Fields photo walks for $35/person with parking include. This year's photo walks will be limited to 2 hours per group, which will be lead by Shutterbug staff members with representatives from Canon, Nikon and Sony to answer all your questions. PLUS lots of new loaner gear to try out!

April 11th W/ Canon at 9:30 AM and also Nikon later that afternoon at 1PM. For you Sony fans Sony Day is the 17th at 9:30AM but all brands, types cameras and skill levels are welcome on any day!

#1 Always Dress You and Your Camera for the Weather

Chris and company Jumping for Tulips!

Here's what we recommend bringing in terms of clothing:

• Shoes you don't mind getting dirty

• An Extra Pair of Shoes to Drive Home In

• Extra Socks

• A Rain-Proof Jacket

• A Warm Layer

• A Hat

• An Extra Pair of Pants

The tulip fields can be quite muddy, so all of our staff know to not wear anything you are afraid of scrubbing mud stains off of.

In terms of camera gear, we recommend bringing a camera bag that is either waterproof or has a water resistant covering. All of our Promaster bags have a water-resistant cover. All of our WANDRD bags are built for weather resistance.

An OpTech Rain Sleeve in action!

If your camera/lenses are not weather sealed, be sure to bring a rain jacket for your camera. We have several options in-store and on our site including the Promaster Rain Jacket ($29.99), Peak Design Shells (starting at $44.99), or the Optech Rainsleeves (starting at $9.99). For lenses, we also recommend bringing your lens hoods to prevent any mud or water from landing on the glass of your lens.

Here is a general checklist of what we recommend bringing in your camera bag:

• Rain sleeve/cover for your camera

• Tripod

• Extra batteries

• An Extra Memory Card

• Flash

• Telephoto lens

• Macro Lens (or extension tubes)

• Normal prime to Wide angle Lens

• Lens hoods for all of your lenses

• Camera Bag with a rain cover

• Lens Ball (Scroll down to see why) UV Filter (just in case it's raining or a bit muddy out)

• Lens pen or a microfiber

• Rocket Air Blower

Despite being Oregonian, we may even suggest bringing an umbrella!

Tulip Fields in 2019 | She's shooting with a Sony FE 50mm Macro

#2 Bring the Right Lenses (or Extension Tubes)

At the Tulip fields, we recommend always bringing a macro lens or a telephoto lens along with a wide angle of your choice. Wide angle lenses are generally considered lenses that are below 50mm, telephoto lenses are generally 50mm and above. If you don't currently own anything beyond your kit lenses, there are plenty of options for macro lenses or telephoto lenses for you. Here at The Shutterbug, not only do we sell new gear, we offer lens rentals and additionally pre-owned gear!

In the case that you want to use the lenses you already own and want to adapt them, we recommend purchasing extension tubes. Promaster's Extension tubes are sold at our stores for Canon EOS/EOS R, Nikon FX/Z, and Sony FE mounts. Extension tubes range between $99-110, and include 2-3 lengths of tubes. If you are unfamiliar with extension tubes, here is a bit of a crash course video on what they are and how to use them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwgbYaB2jqI.

Macro lenses, telephoto lenses and extension tubes will allow you to capture delicate features of the tulip fields. Since the fields themselves tend to draw a crowd (which won't be the case this year), you are generally unable to take a photo of the environment without another photographer or visitor stepping into your shot.

Tulip Fields 2012 | Shot with a Nikon 40mm f/2.8 Macro by Employee Erica Pahua

Our Recommendation of Macro and Great landscape Lenses

Nikon Macro

AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G

AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Z MC 50mm f/2.8

Z MC 105 f 2.8 VR S

Nikon Zooms

Z 14-30 f/4 S

Z 17-28 f/2.8

AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR

AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm F2.8G ED

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR

AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

Canon Macro Lenses

RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM

RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM

EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM

EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM

Canon Telephoto Lenses

EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III

EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Sony Macro Lenses

E 30 mm F3.5 Macro

Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro

FE 90 mm F2.8 Macro G OSS

Sony Other Great Lenses

E 70–350 mm F4.5–6.3 G OSS

FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS

FE 100-400mm G Master

FE 70-200 mm F2.8 GMII OSS

FE 28-75 F2.8

#4 Don't Forget a Tripod!

Deep Depth of Field on a Low-Light Day Requires a Tripod

Shooting with a tripod is unfamiliar territory for some. We highly recommend not leaving your tripod at home, or else you may miss out on some wonderful photo opportunities. Shooting with a deep depth of field in a landscape with intermittent showers may cause you to reach for your ISO dial. Bring a tripod to avoid the unnecessary editing to reduce noise. You will thank yourself for it when you go home and find your images needing minimal editing (if any at all).

If you are already familiar with landscape photography, you will know that shooting between 100-200 ISO is a must! Shooting for a higher resolution image with greater dynamic range requires a little bit of time and patience. Tripods allow you to shoot with clarity, especially when you want to keep your ISO low.

Promaster's XCM-522 Tripod folds down to 15"

If portability is your issue with tripods, we highly recommend these specific tripods:

Promaster XCM-522 Tripod $149.99 | Minimum Height 15" (One year warranty!)

Promaster XCM-525 Tripod $179.99 | Minimum Height 15" (One year warranty!)

Peak Design Travel Tripod $599.99 | Minimum Height 15" (Purchase In-Store)

Not all tripods compact down to 15". We have bags for all tripod sizes.

If you find that your tripod won't fit in your bag, we recommend checking if your bag has a proper tripod storage space. In-store we have several options for those who want a bag that will carry a tripod comfortably.

Promaster's Jasper Sling Bags have straps to mount tripods below

#5 Lens Balls are Your New Best Friend!

Lens ball shot with the Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro | Tulip Fields 2019 | by Employee Erica Pahua

Lens balls are a seasonal product that we carry every spring and fall! They are so popular, we have to restock almost every two weeks!

If you are interested in lens ball photography, we have a complete blog post that covers lens ball photography alone. The link is here: https://www.theshutterbug.com/post/get-creative-with-lens-ball-photography .

If you are shooting with a macro lens, lens with extension tubes sets, or a zoom lens -- you will have success when shooting lens ball photography. Make sure to always manually focus your lens on your lens ball for the sharpest photos. Macro lenses are the best option when shooting with a lens ball as the minimum focusing distance will allow you to hold the ball with one hand and photograph with the other.

Our lens balls (which includes a stand) cost only $29.99, you may purchase them online here.

#6 Start Shooting from Different Angles!

Photographers have their own brand of yoga | Tulip Fields 2019

As a photographer, you find yourself in various poses just to get the 'right' shot. If you have only been shooting from a standing position, never crouched or bent over -- we highly recommend you start join your fellow photographers in changing how you view a scene.

Observe the following four photos, and see how the angling can drastically change how the image appears. Which one is your favorite? Feel free to comment below!

Camera is at the tulip level, shooting slightly downwards

Camera is at the water level, shooting straight across

Camera is at the water level, shooting upwards

Shooting from slightly above tulip-level, straight across

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Capture a photo you love? We can print it out for you -- anywhere from 4x6", to 42"x60".

Thank You for Shopping at Your Local Camera Store!