Oct 7, 2014 | Landscape Photography
Mary Colter in 1932 designed the Indian Watchtower that’s at the east end of the Grand Canyon. It was constructed by the Santa Fe Railroad like many of our great historic buildings in our Nat’l Parks, to bring folks the the parks on their trains. Colter though was a very gifted architect who brought to her structures the lore of the landscape and incorporated it into their design. The Watchtower is a great example of this, perched on the edge of The Canyon with spectacular views. So, who do you tell it’s story?
It starts with the obvious, just the tower. The one important element we didn’t have to work with was an interesting background. Bald Skies don’t leave a lot to work with normally. But when you think B&W, you can use the gradient of the sky. So we started with basic symmetry of just the tower. Then in moving around to the next opportunity a new one appeared. The sun was now at the right spot to shine through the window. So shooting with the D750 and 20f1.8 AFS , physically moved laterally so just a smidge of sun creeped around the window to intensify the starburst. The 20f1.8 has a great starburst so it was fun to exploit it.
Then there is the overall shot of the Tower that I had in mind from the get go. It’s really a simple click that, with the time of day and the bald skies is a natural. Shooting with with the 20f1.8, placing the Tower on the right brings in the story of The Canyon. Now the question comes up about making the Tower straight. Well, there isn’t really anything in the Tower that is straight so I don’t worry about it. It’s just part of its character. And when it comes to finishing the B&W, well that’s a simple single click with the new OnOne Suite 9 B&W.
But then there is the last light of day and the desert glow. Moving to the west, you can show on other view of the Tower, that of being part of the landscape. Switching up to the 85f1.8AFS, the bald skies lend themselves beautifully to this simple click. Naaa, these aren’t the most amazing shots of the Watchtower. We didn’t have that “wow” moment to work with. So then you’ve gotta reach down into your experiences as a photographer. Working to make the uncommon out of the common brings up these possibilities to reach the goal to tell the visual story. If nothing else, it was a great way to spend a gorgeous afternoon.
Oct 6, 2014 | Landscape Photography
The Grand Canyon is without a doubt an soul warming, wonder of natural expressing the passage of time like no other. It is hard to understand let along grasp the scale of the place as one stands on the rim gazing down five thousand feet or looking across the ten mile chasm to the other side. Then there is the light. The light that tells the canyon’s story everyday of the year, over and over again today and the thousand and thousand of years before. No matter what, just standing on the rim trying to make sense of this wonder can consume your mind.
The two times of the day when this expression of time really makes itself apparent is dusk and dawn. When the sun first bring life to the landscape and bids it farewell. There is a moment when the light is mellow and warm. Be there clouds in the sky or like we experienced all week, a giant ocean of blue, this moment if you blink comes and goes in a heart beat. In photographic terms, the light is nearly flat but in canyon terms, it has a glow and life to it. You have to be looking for it, waiting for it and ready for it the moment it pops. And that’s the romantic heartbeat of The Canyon that brings me back over and over again. The passage of time in rock and light asking only to be noticed and enjoyed. It’s why it’s the Grand Canyon!
Oct 3, 2014 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
Again today, one of the folks with us, Tony, found a really cool subject. And again today, they shared it with the rest of us. And again today we started with their original concept and refined it to what you see here. The “refines” were no more than to not shoot at eyelevel and to finish the photo as a black and white. Shooting still with the D750 and 20f1.8AFS, I had the luxury of simply popping open the LCD monitor, turn on the LiveView and put the camera on the ground and shoot. I so love that feature! And by going low, we were able to bring in the moon that even though small, will look cool in a big print. That took care of changing the angle of view.
The going to black and white was easy and in fact, even better than before. That’s because I’m using the new OnOne Perfect Suite 9 B&W! All I can say about it, is, freakin WOW! Just look at the gradation of that sky, it’s just gorgeous. The best part if simply how simple it is to do with 9 and if you are not really comfortable with B&W, well Suite 9 takes care of that too! So even though we didn’t have clouds, we had a great day at the Canyon and a great day of shooting. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Oct 3, 2014 | Landscape Photography
Some might say that when shooting with a wide angle lens, my “infinity has no DoF” doesn’t really count because you’re shooting with a wide angle. Well, here are two more images shot with the 85f1.8 AFS @f/1.8 (another really spectacular lens) and as you can see, pretty darn sharp. Just a little more food for thought. mtc
Oct 3, 2014 | Landscape Photography
The Grand Canyon is simply, breath taking! But the photo Gods haven’t been really kind to us, bald skies. This limits our shooting hours in the morning to less than an hour. Not really an issue, plenty to shoot and it’s simply gorgeous. I shot the whole morning with just the D750 and 20f1.8AFS and I’m blown away by the 20f1.8. I love the pattern its aperture creates for starbursts. I love its light weight but most of all, I LOVE its quality! Man, it’s a sharp lens!!!
And I’m talking sharp at f/1.8. Both of these photos were taken at f/1.8. F/1.8 for a landscape photo? Ya, f/1.8 for a landscape photo because the subject is at infinity and infinity has no depth of field. Now that fact won’t sit well with most but that’s the way it is. You don’t need to crank the aperture down to f/16 or more to have a sharp landscape photo. Just look above. And you don’t have to own the 20f1.8 or take my word to this fact. Just go shoot a subject at infinity and look for yourself. mtc
Sep 30, 2014 | Landscape Photography
The weekend was full of good stuff from chores to photography. When out on the property working, I like having a camera with me because you just never know what’s going to appear. 99% of what I take doing this just goes on the refrig under a magnet, just a fun memory of fun times. And these images belong there are well but hell, everyone loves a rainbow. We always stop to watch the sun set in the Sierra as no two are ever the same and they all seem gorgeous. This was no different so the Nikon V3 happily clicked away. Then a few heartbeats later, the heavens gave us a little bit better show. And that’s why you always have a camera with you because those simple life moments that make you smiled should be captured. Any photo you take that makes you smile is a great one!
