Apr 15, 2010 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
And then I got sleepie. I don’t know why, it wasn’t like I tripped or fell or something, I just decided to look at the rocks like I was an ant. It was kinda fun!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp5193bw.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
The only real challenge was getting up and down. Na, nothing physical but rather the rocks are damn sharp! I used the pad from the strap of the sling bag to get up and down and not cut up my hand.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp5173bw.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
And to be real honest with ya, darn pleased with myself for this image. Not that’s it’s a killer photo but I like the illusion. The big ass looking rock on the right is about the size of a mellon! The thought just crossed my mind, “what if?” So I got down low and real close and well, there you go. Having fun while lying down on the job. What a perfect afternoon in the hills!
Photos captured by D3x, 16Fish on Lexar UDMA digital film
Apr 15, 2010 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
Well we left Laws with intentions of going up to Bristlecones but the road was closed past Sierra View. With just a wonderful group of adventurers, I took them to one of my favorite locations, Alabama Hills. This is a locale that is never the same hour to hour and as photographers, it’s always challenging us. This afternoon was no exception.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp5206bw.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Now let’s be real honest hear, this is rock photography. Yeah, they are really cool, amazingly colorful and can take on any shape your imagination wants to assign, but they are still rocks. The challenge is, how to make them more then just rocks. It was a real challenge this morning because as you can see, there wasn’t a cloud, even a wisp of one in the sky!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp5207bw.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I decided that since we had no shortage of blue sky that I would incorporate that as part of the design element in each photo. To do that, you guessed it, I knew I would be shooting to create B&W images. I enjoyed the challenge and at times, the rocks would win and other times, I won. Good to be pushed!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp5394bw.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I actually really like this last image. I’m not really sure what originally caught my attention but I know I just threw the lens up to this arrangement. It’s just rocks, just a design element, but for me, it works.
Here again, all of these images, from noise reduction to B&W finishing was all done with CS5 and NO pluggins.
Photos captured by D3x, 24/45 PC-E on Lexar UDMA digital film
Apr 5, 2010 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
Last week at the Art of Digital (PSW), Jay Maisel had an image that was kinda cool and his only comment to it was, “I was so happy I captured a snow flake.” Wow, that was just down right cool. Then the thought struck me, “Hey dork, you live where it snow A LOT! Where’s your photo of a falling snow flake?”
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5034.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Snow, it was snowing today and being stuck behind the desk, it wasn’t until near the end of the storm I remembered the challenge.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5041.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I grabbed the 24f1.4 AFS for this project. I thought its narrow DOF would help isolate the snow flake. There is actually one pretty darn sharp here but the problem is, even with the minimum DOF, you can’t see it. How did I shoot at f1.4 in sunlight? I dialed the ISO down to L1 so I had a shutter speed of 1/8000.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5053.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
And in this photo, I have a whole bunch of sharp snow flakes but you can’t see them. And there lies the biggest and now most obvious problem. The snow flakes are white and against the white sky, you can’t see them. Duh! So, while I failed the Maisel challenge I feel I came out ahead because in the next storm, I have two pieces of the puzzle required for success. Doesn’t mean I’ll win next time either with that information, but I’ll be closer. That’s how my photography tends to evolve and slow and easy wins the race.
Photos captured by D3s, 24f1.4AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 1, 2010 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
I’m about to be on the road for a month, literally, will only see the house 4 days in March. And yeah, I miss it when I’m not there. The Sierra is a special place, where the folks and the land welcome you like few other places on the planet. I’m leaving with about 12′ of snow in the front yard, not a great year but not a bad one either. As you might imagine, there are a number of basic household chores that have to be done prior to taking off and in snow country, there are a few extra.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6663.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
There are those little things like having kindling split and wood brought it and fire laid in the fireplace for when we get home. Nothing says being home in the winter like having the fire glowing in the fireplace.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6674.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
There’s the things unique to Mammoth like hauling the trash down to the collection center as there is no street trash collection because of the snow. I guess some time in the past some city snow plower hit a trash can on the street and sent it flying over the landscape. Must of been one helluva site!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6690.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
But no matter the chore, the camera goes with me. All these photos were taken within the city limits, literally from the streets themselves. These are the scenes I see just running these various house chores.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6708.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Do I go out of my way to get the photo while running my errands? What do you think? When I see the light, when I see the scene, the old F250 gets me any amount of snow to get the shot. In this case, I knew where these trees are and have been waiting for the right combination of light and cloud to make the shot. So up the hill I drove, up the snow I climbed to make the shot. And yeah, to me it was worth it. I love running errands!
Photos captured by D3s, 50f1.4 AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 23, 2010 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
I’m a weather watcher, I’m a weather chaser, I’m a weather shooter! Our home in the Sierra affords me plenty of opportunities to follow my heart and passion for weather. The mix of location, weather and a nack for reading it keeps me jumping at times. This last storm came in during the afternoon which can lead to dramatic light. I drove just shy of 100 miles, never being more than 15miles from my home literally chasing the light.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6314.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Here’s a Gallery of my 9 Favorites from the chase.
Photos captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 / 24PC-E on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 15, 2010 | B&W Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6100.swf, 465, 600 [/swf]
And then walking back to the truck, I saw this simple little wisp and I simply had to make the click. Great way to spend Valentine’s Day!
Photo captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
