Sep 23, 2014 | Landscape Photography
This past weekend in the Eastern Sierra, the calendar turned a page and fall descended upon the region. There is now that chill in the air in the morning that lingers once the sun rises making one seek its light and warmth. Critters seem to take an extra minute to sleep in, rising only once they can take advantage of the mellow light to remove the nights chill. The Aspens in the meadow have just one or two yellow leaves. And the light itself, it’s turned the corner so even at noon, it wraps around all it touches so even the shadows seem inviting. This past weekend it all came together in one visual poem saying fall is in the works.
If there is a time of the year I look forward to more than any other at home, it’s now, fall. It’s hard to stay focused, itching to get out and walk amongst the trees and watch the small critters as they go at panic speed to store their last seeds before the snow hits (which they are saying might be this weekend). We’ve been cruising the region trying to get a feel when the storm of color might hit and all we know is it will be early and it will go fast. You need two important things for great fall color, lots of water and a good cold snap. We’re not had the water over the entire region but this weekend we should be having the perfect cold snap. That means that the Aspens along lakes and creeks that do get the water, it should be good. I’m hoping for the “grander” fall color photos than what you see here this fall. When the fall color is spotty, I tend to work them as you see here, shooting amongst a grove, shooting up with the 18-35AFS or working a small patch with a longer lens like the 80-400VR3. Then I find a complimentary color like blue or black to make the yellow even more vibrant. There’s a lot one can do to bring the romance of fall into their images, some of my favorite techniques are all here for you. I’ll keep you posted when we see the big swing happening. But we might miss it this year as we head to Africa in a few weeks. But if you have the opportunity to walk amongst the warmth of the season, take you care and share it.
Sep 11, 2014 | Landscape Photography
Ya, I love clouds! I received an email this morning from a fan watching us on The Grid yesterday who said, “You’re obsessed with clouds.” I’ve been thinking about that comment and I would have to agree, I am. Currently, I’m in Florida getting ready for the premiere of The Film. Flying down here, I shot out the window of our flight that great clouds (what you see here). I shot a lot of them actually, made easy with the Nikon V3. Those who know me can tell you that I often stop in my tracks to look at great clouds. There is something magical about puffies. But I don’t think I’m alone.
After Photoshop World, we went down to the Venetian and headed to the channels. It’s all inside, not a window on the second floor where the channels are located. But in the curved ceiling they are spent a lot of money to install “clouds” and lighting to communicate sunrise and sunset and mid day light. I sat there and watched hundreds of folks stop, jaw drop and take a photo of the clouds. They would point, smile and click. What is it about clouds that grab our attention, tap our imagination? I bet we could write a book answering that question and still have material leftover. But when you watch folks become entranced to “fake” clouds, you know that when you can, you need to incorporate them into your photography. And while that sounds simple, it’s really not.
Sep 9, 2014 | Landscape Photography
Here’s a prime example of what I was just talking about. Got the heavenly bodies but the photo just falls flat. In my dictionary, I think the photo sucks. Standing their at Badwater in 104degree heat didn’t help my attitude but I made the click. And you would never have seen this shot if it weren’t for what I shot next. I was still shooting with the basic rig, Df, 16Fish, IS03200, 8sec f2.8, but when I turned and looked, I saw the photo!
Yep, my family. That’s what really made the days in the heat really worthwhile, sharing with them all the fun and beauty of the stars. I turned the camera, put the horizon right through the middle of the frame to remove the fisheye warp, told them to hold still and made the click. Is it the best photo in the world? Hell ya, but not because of the normal standards we make such judgements. It’s the best because it’s a cool record of a great and very special memory with the family. And that makes any photo, anytime, anywhere the best one ever!
Sep 9, 2014 | Landscape Photography
You see tons and tons of what I call Heavenly Body photos these days. And that’s because digital and especially current bodies make it so bloody simple. Seriously, all you gotta do is dial in IS03200, 8sec f2.8 and you have a photo. It’s not like the days with Kodacrhome and we had to super cool the film jsut to get started. This is a photo from our trip to the Devil’s Racetrack and in particular, the Grand Stand. This is a simple click, Df, 16Fish, IS03200, 8sec f2.8. Why the Df? I still think it’s the best high ISO machine out there. But here’s the deal as I see it. Just because you have a photo of the Milky Way doesn’t make it a great shot. In fact, the ease of doing heavenly bodies, this is really nothin! To get this one click, the one I like the best, I stayed up all night, sitting there loving the skies and watching for the right moment. What’s the right moment? In this case, when the earth spun so the Milky Way lined up where you see it in the sky and the clouds parted enough as you see them. I had many folks asking me how I made this shot and I worry that folks just take the numbers and run. There is more to photography than just numbers and that especially includes heavenly bodies!
FWIW … I set up the camera based on the foreground (which you see above) and then wait for the earth to spin to make the final photo. The animated Gif below gives you a little better idea of the before and after.
Sep 4, 2014 | Landscape Photography
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Finding what it was for me (and that’s important because it might not be the same for you) that made the image reflect the wonder of the experience came on a walk on the lake at sunrise. Shooting simply with the Nikon 1 V3 / 10-30, I flipped out the monitor and put the camera on the ground. Keeping me from having to lay on the salt, I could move the camera around to take in the three key elements to me, the rock, its shadow and what creates the shadow, the sun. With this also comes the shadows in the cracks giving life to the background and sense of place. What’s not really popping out is the track made by the rock, which is more implied than shown. Now some who’ve not been to the racetrack might not understand that, but then that might be important. The bottomline, I’ve now got the photo for me that says, “You need to be here” rather than just, “I was here.” I made a step forward to improve on next visit. I’m happy.
Oh, and the image below is my favorite!
Sep 2, 2014 | Landscape Photography
So by looking straight down (shooting with the Nikon V3 monitor pulled out), I started to see more potential. You have no sense of scale how big the rocks are, but the imagination was starting to gel with the rock and mud. I felt like I needed to explore this more and so I did. mtc
