May 20, 2011 | Landscape Photography
OK, so I was missing the light so I thought I would work on communicating the vastness of the vineyard so when I have the opportunity again and the light is working for me, I can talk about the vines. I am fascinated by the pattern of the vines wrapping along the land going over the rise and coming back up. I shot at various f/stops looking at this problem and seeing how just DOF would communicate what I wanted.
As it turned out, I like exactly what I thought I wouldn’t like as much and that’s a real narrow DOF. Both of these images were taken at f/2.8. You might notice that I’m shooting down just the side of one row, working at not including both sides. I think that’s why in part I like the narrow DOF. But as you’ll see in my favorite shot of the day, things do change.
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 20, 2011 | Landscape Photography
The photographic challenge, photograph a vineyard while walking around with a glass full of delicious red wine. That’s the challenge we put to our DLWS participants on our last day and I am very pleased to report that every single person passed with flying colors. Not a single drop of wine was split! And the photography? It was really fun. We were the guests of Sausal Winery being treated like royal guest by the owner, David himself. We started off in the tasting room tasting. We then went through the barrel room and then walked the vineyard ending in the 135yr old vines. It was killer!
I have to admit, I did not come back with any photos that I felt really did it justice. Why? I’ve thought about it for a day now and I think it is in part because I didn’t know the subject well enough. Don’t get me wrong, I know my wines and have no problem drinking them. No, I didn’t know the vineyard well enough. I never seem to reach the right spot at the right time for the right light. I felt like I was chasing the light the entire time and my photos look that way. You, the viewer of these images don’t know that since you were there and that is part of the saving grace of photography. But I know and that’s the reality of photography.
Photos captured by D3x, 24f1.4AFS / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
I simply refuse to not shoot just because the obvious great shot doesn’t walk up, smack me in the face and say, “Take me!’ This is not to be confused with “not feeling the love” of some location. This is when you know, know there is a photograph it’s just not glaring at you. When some cranky guy is screaming at you waving a wrench because he’s not slept off the party from the night before, it’s a distraction that hopefully convinces you there is a photo to be had. We had overcast skies which when there is color about, is perfect. You’ve just gotta pull that color out and often in post. This top photo that was done by doing a one image HDR. Real simple post processing with the actual capture real simple, when you have a 24f1.4AFS and shoot at f1.4. It tells the story by blurring out so much making you think there is more then there really is.
Then there is Molly that first, had to have a whole bunch of “stuff” removed from its bow to clean her up and then the colors popped using Nik Color Efex Pro’s Tonal Contrast. And that I think this is the challenge for most photographers, mastering not only the camera part of photography, the technology and techniques (let alone own the gear) but also the back end. If you didn’t know those post techniques most photographers would have walked by the photo opportunities. Again, are they the best clicks? No, not by any stretch but they are a practice in the art of communication and the more you do of that, when the really great opportunity presents itself, and it will, you are prepared with all the tools and techniques both at camera and computer to make it all happen. And isn’t that really what it’s all about?
Photos captured by D3x, 24f1.4AFS / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
Then, after a while, not giving up on the scene but rather just taking in the moment without the camera attached to your nose, a moment light breaks. What do you do? What I do is mentally scramble, looking for that one, single element that has the light playing upon it and then seeing if there is a photograph there. A lot of time, it’s so fleeting that making any kind of dash is a waste of time and experience. And then there are times when it is not. When clouds light up, often it will last long enough to make it worth your while to make a photographic commitment to the moment.
The top photo was a no-bainer, not so with the bottom one. You can’t really make it out, it’s just a white speak in the bottom left corner but that’s a boat heading out to see. Jake saw it and pointed it out to me. I was looking at the cloud’s reflection in the ocean but I didn’t see the boat coming into view. It’s so small but in a 11×14 it is very obvious. And just as quickly as the light came, the light left. Great shots, no. Do I love the challenge and the chase? Oh yeah!
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 17, 2011 | Landscape Photography
I mean really, you get up at o’dark thirty and drive for an hour, the least the sun can do is make an appearance. Right?! Of course, it doesn’t work that way and there is no complaint dept, there’s just moving forward which is what we did the best that we could. Since light is a critical element to color photography, the lack of light to me is a natural for B&W photography. That means looking for textures, patterns and details that black can make pop.
And while I’m pretty lucky and pretty good at pulling a rabbit out of the hat more often then not, there are simply times when, you really come back is not. By not, I mean images that won’t stand the test of time, ones you’re not going to print up 24×30 or really share with friends even. These two images, they are OK but they are not ones I would put out there as being a great representation of anything more then, a valid attempt to making the most of the opportunity at hand. And while they are photographic blas…I did learn a couple of things and food for thought for the next time presented with the same lack of greatness. So goes the photographic game.
Photos captured by D3x, 24-120VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
May 13, 2011 | Landscape Photography
This simply has bigtime drama and THAT’S what I look for in a landscape image that stirs me. It shares the same basics they all have, exposure in the God beams and a good foreground. Where this one in my mind excels is first, the God beams themselves have some character. Some start and stop, some go right, down the middle and left, some get lighter and darker. They are not all the same and there is no doubt they are real and not PS made (yes, not all God beams are made the same). OK, we have a excellent background, the sky with the God beams. Moving to the foreground, it has some character to itself. It’s not a single line, a single ridge but has intertwining lines taking the eye back to meet the God beams. Then, and this is the really important part I think, the light in the foreground just rocks! The filtered light highlights the ridge lines and the seasonal pond and has just enough shadow to give roundness to the hills. It was captured and finished exactly the same as the other sunrise shots from this morning. Here though, all the elements came together corner to corner to produce the drama that for me, says it all about the morning. I live for these types of clicks!
