Feb 14, 2011 | Landscape Photography
Had a few folks email asking what I meant when I said “steam” makes the shot and I crank a whole bunch to get the shot. Here’s a simple series of just five images taken with the D3x at 1.8FPS over a span of perhaps 10sec. You’ll see that the images changes slightly with each click. The last image is my favorite. Why? It’s the ratio of lights and darks, information and lack there of that makes it a favorite. There is no recipe for that which is why I shoot the burst (if you call shooting at 1.8FPS shooting a burst). The small nuisances of steam here and steam not there happen too fast at least for my eye to see it, squeeze the shutter off and capture it. I see the general pattern forming which is what starts the firing sequence and I see it ending which stops the firing. But I can’t see “the” image fast enough to make the photo with one click. It’s all in the steam.
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 11, 2011 | Landscape Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP08051.swf,595, 484 [/swf]
Holy Crap, what a bloody amazing day! We started out with a much warmer day at -7 which always concerns me but we headed out just the same. We headed up the Madison River and 30min before sunrise I spotted five wolfs across the river. I yelled out pretty damn fast, “Wolves, Wolved, 10 o’clock across the river!” in time for everyone to see five members of the Canyon Pack before the disappeared back into the forest. Wow, what a start to the day!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP09991.swf,595, 484 [/swf]
We headed up to the Madison headwaters and there spent a couple of great hours with the Bison herd. We had a ton of great opportunities but it was the entertainment this Black-billed Magpie brought that was a great highlight. The magpie was just doing its basic biology but when you see it go into the ear of a Bison, up its nose or up it ass, or, peek on one’s back until it actually put the Bison to sleep, you ain’t seen nothin! It was the greatest show on earth.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP10991.swf,595, 484 [/swf]
And then there was just those simple moments when Bison are doing nothing other then looking like the master of the plains like they are. We have a great group here who are into photographing Yellowstone and Bison. I know because this was just the start of our Bison day.
Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 10, 2011 | Landscape Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp03731.swf,404, 600 [/swf]
We headed out to Artist Point at the Grand Canyon. The combination of steam and the height of cone basically made the falls disappear from this vantage point. No problem, there is always lots to photograph from here. I took out the big lens knowing this and had some fun. First, I photographed an old friend. I don’t know how many times I’ve photographed this tree on the point but made a note to myself to this time go home and pull them all up. I’m curious how much my photographic impression is of this tree and its change over the decades.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP04151.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
Then while I was looking at the cliff face, I started to see a face here and there. I like this one, look like Luke just before getting zapped by the snow monster. Yeah, I have a vivid imagination.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP03891.swf,404, 600 [/swf]
But no sooner then I find Luke, I find the snow monster. It makes me smile and any photograph that does that, is a keeper!
Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 10, 2011 | Landscape Photography
It was -38 when we headed out today, I knew it was going to be a great day. And it was! Once again, after the day and dinner with the gang it’s late and I’m cramming to get it all done so I’ve picked a couple of my favorites of the day to tell the story.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp03341.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
We were at Gibbon Meadow before the sun hit. It was just glancing off the immense ground fog bank created by the super cold temps. I love this meadow, spent hundreds of hours here and this morning was just another special one. Here’s the key to the photograph. How do you want to express your feeling from standing out in -38 air as the hoar frost floats by and bites your nose? You could underexpose and bring out the coming light. You could expose with zero comp and just let mother nature do the work for you or you could dial in +1/2 exp comp and bring out the lightness of the morning. All are correct, all would work and all could tell the world how you felt at experiencing this moment. Personally, I went with zero, I let mother nature do the work. What a great start to the day!
Photo captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 9, 2011 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP91541.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
After making an A Stop, we turned south down the road taking us up the Firehole River. The day had warmed up to -10 by this point which isn’t great but still made for some great drama with light and steam. We came around the corner to see this gorgeous view. There was NO WAY we were going to pass up this magnificent offering to the B&W gods!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp92171.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
As I mentioned yesterday, the trick to making steam images I think is to click, click, click. In the case of both of these images, a total of 75 were taken to come up with these two I really like. What is it about them I like? The main subject, the couple of black, predominant trees amongst the rest. Those blacks set the stage for the rest of the shades of gray and white. Then there is the stair step pattern to those shades that is highlighted by the rising steam. The last key to the puzzle is knowing the power of Silver Efex Pro 2 and its Structure slider. It can pull out detail, subtle detail that makes the B&W really zing! What a great second stop to the day!
Photos captured by 24-70AFS / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 8, 2011 | Landscape Photography
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP89761.swf, 595, 482 [/swf]
One of my personal challenges I’ve set for myself these next two weeks shooting in Yellowstone is the ultimate “steam” shot. With the cold temps, the steam from the geyser, steam vents, mud pots freeze on the branches of the trees. This in combination with the steam creating the “icing” is what I want the ultimate photo of. The elements needed then are the steam, the trees, light and luck. Why luck? The steam is never the same, never! The pattern is in constant flux with the wind. So you have to find the first three ingredients and make the last. How do you make the luck? With the first three in the viewfinder, you hit the hammer and let the motordrive create some luck for you. BTW…this is not a B&W image. Stick around, we’ll see how I do.
Photo captured by D3x, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
