Apr 9, 2018 | Landscape Photography
The editor who published my first text/photo package gave me advice I use to this day. “Make every word count for ten!” I put this advice to work not only in my writing but in my photography. There are many ways to bring the viewer’s attention to the subject. Mystery is a powerful yet complicated technique that doesn’t always present itself to us. Those times it does like with deep shadows or clouds and fog, we need to recognize the opportunity and jump on it.
Here’s a couple of examples of one idea from a month ago in Yosemite. Yosemite Valley is a spectacular granite carving the towers above the valley floor. What’s one way we can say a mountain is really high? Have the tops of the mountains shrouded in clouds. At the same time, if we don’t actually show the mountain tops, hide them and just hint at their existence, does it trigger one’s imagination? That was my thought process when I grabbed the D850 / 70-200f4 and carefully optically isolated just pieces of the great granite wall and used its rugged beauty set against the soft clouds to tell its story. The vast majority of the subject is hidden but the story still comes through. So next time the opportunity arises ask yourself, “Can you hide the subject?”
Mar 21, 2018 | Landscape Photography
I love photographing blurred water as much as the next photographer. I love photographing bubbles because that’s the white in our photographs that blur during our long exposures. I’ve written about many different ways of blurring the water over the years except my one favorite way. The most common way we go about this is basically level with the flowing water and then look for the patterns of the bubbles that blur. Just a few times I’ve found water from a different vantage point providing me with my favorite way to photograph flowing water, from above!
The bridge over the Merced River in Yosemite afforded a great view that came with little risk but lots of challenge. The photo I wanted when I peered over the wall was directly below as a tad behind. There was no way I could set up the tripod in a conventional way. I was shooting with my favorite small travel tripod, the Oben CT-2491 which goes flat and being lightweight, easily to hold over the edge. What made the whole thing doable was the D850 fold-out monitor that I could touch to focus and fire using it’s “silent shutter”. This permitted a solid hand on the rig while creating no movement while firing. So with great ease, I was able to enjoy creating some new favorites from above the bubbles.
Mar 7, 2018 | Landscape Photography
Sunrise, sunset and sunrise again the last 24hours at the Grand Canyon. Simply the most gorgeous place to be with a Fisheye lense!
The only “trick” is to watch the horizon and make the decision how you want to tell the story. You can see how I made the call for these three images, each a little different, each accomplished by simply pointing the lens more up or down.
It’s just simply a gorgeous place and photography to bring back the memories just makes it sweeter!
Feb 23, 2018 | Landscape Photography
Yes, I talk about the tools all the time but the one tool I talk about the most seems to get the least amount of attention. That’s the tool between your ears that connect to the thump in your chest. The word photograph means write with light. So in the photographic process, you need to want to tell a story using light as your alphabet.
Yosemite Valley
captured by D850 / 70-200f4
It sometimes reminds me of that question, do you dream in b&W or color? Do you see the romance in a particular landscape in your viewfinder as a B&W or color? It’s important to see it there to see it here! There are subtle but to me important finishing difference between these two photos so when you look at them, they appear the same other than its flavor. And that brings me back to my original question. Your flavor is?
Feb 23, 2018 | Landscape Photography
I LIVE for these kinds of shots! When your subject can be the smallest element in the frame but the one that not only smacks you in the face WHILE telling the story, well they are just gold to me! This was all serendipitous, nothing planned other than my being crazy to stand in a snowstorm looking for opportunities. This delightful image just unfolded and when the person turned to look in the direction of the gorgeous oak outlined in snow, I knew it was a good day to be a photographer. That because I so love tiny!
Feb 22, 2018 | Landscape Photography
Glacier Point
captured by D850 / 70-200f4
Up in The Valley this week and fortunate enough to have snow come in. A real simple click of the moment snow meets granite. A peaceful collision.
