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 11, 2010 | Landscape Photography
The New Mexico Penitentiary, damn, what an amazing place! Joe has shot at this locale a ton, you can see his amazing images from here in both his great books. Well, we had it for a subject and backdrop for a great day of photography. The site of the worst prison riot in US history was an incredibly photographic rich locale. This photo of one of the cell blocks had bigtime dramatic light.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp1977.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
And the room that you enter when first going into the cell block? If you were an inmate, I wouldn’t think it was all that inviting. But if you are a chaser of light, you couldn’t have had a bigger welcome. In order to get the mood, minus exp comp was required, two stops minus. I just love the light and color but the place itself, creepy!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp1981.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Photos captured by D3x, 24PCE / 24f1.4AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Mar 10, 2010 | Landscape Photography
Ah, back to the comfort zone and a DLWS specialty, killer light. In this case, the pending storm made the light dance providing me two cool versions of the same scene. The contrasty light made for a snappy B&W. No-brainer!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp1753.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
The softer light made for the killer color image. Why do I think this? I like the snappy whites in my B&Ws and in this case, the church is pretty snappy taking the up through the frame. In the color, the subtle colors of the light, foreground, middleground and background blended so going to shades of gray wasn’t needed to bring out the drama. I guess that’s kinda my line in the sand, drama, between color or B&W.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_bmp1758.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Photos captured by D3x, 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 20, 2010 | Landscape Photography
“How do you see light?” This is a question I get a lot, a lot! It’s such an incredibly great question, it’s quite a compliment and it’s one I always struggle with answering. Why? Light is this very tangible, untangible element that truly makes or breaks a photograph. “Seeing” light doesn’t come in a day, a week or even year, but feeling light is something you do right now and that’s where you need to start!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6240-1.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
We’ve got a storm coming in, that can only mean one thing, dramatic light. But it’s not a given that just because the weather is coming, you’ll be in the right place at the right time for the light. But knowing the light should be there and will be there is you chase it, that’s the start of your feeling the light. That’s where this whole thing begins. So in the photograph above, you might be saying something like, “You’ve got to be kidding me, in that you “felt” the light?” “Feels more like moose manure!” (a cleaned up version of bullshit.)
But the light is in the photograph, I could more then feel it when I framed it up. I knew for example I would be going to black and white. Look very closely, very closely! You can see small, simple yet dramatic variances in the construction of the clouds, the play of light on the various densities of the clouds. The light on the ridgeline, that one if obvious making it easier. That’s where you start to transition the feel to the visual when it comes to light. It’s when you start to make that move that your images start to communicate the drama with mere exposure compensation. The first big step in communicating light.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6240.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
You’re probably looking at the “before and after’ and saying something like, “I would never have seen that final result!” You can and you will if you don’t, it really just takes time. The process is complicated by the fact you have to feel it and see it at the point of capture to get all the ingredients captured and preserved. Then, you have to take that and combine it with finishing in post, finishing to bring out that feel for the light. Because that’s how you grab the viewer’s eye, when they too can feel the light.
Photo captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
