Simple Click – 7800 Fall
Bald Went to Scuz
I had such promise. We were out shooting heavenly bodies when the first little puff of cloud floated in over edge of the valley. By the time we headed up the avenue of the giants, the scuz had settled in. When that happens (which causes the light to flatten out), I turn the lens to the trunks. I love design patterns in trunks especially in Yosemite where we have pine and cedar, naked and with lichens. All one has to do than is find the patterns that please your eye and shoot.
The shooting is pretty straight forward. Shooting with the D610 (which is doing a great job) and 80-400, I point in the general direction where I see the pattern and than with eye to the viewfinder, fine tune the pattern. What you don’t see in this photo is the yellow caution sign, happily removed in ACR. There was also a color cast from the dark, blue light, also removed via ACR. Otherwise, it’s a simple click making a little timber in the scuz. And yes, I love this type of photography!
Yosemite, #100 – How Do You Keep it Fresh?
By our best accounting, this will be my 100th trip to photograph Yosemite Valley. I’ve been there more times than that, I’m speaking of just going to make images. You can look at the first photos of Yosemite from the 1800s and than ours and Half Dome looks like the same rock. El Cap is still the biggest big ass piece of granite. So if you’re heading to a locale to the 100th time or just the second time, how do you keep your images fresh? Even more important, how do you grow your photography and come back with better images?
There are times when, you don’t even have to think about this question. All it takes is a blessings from the photo God and you have the amazing weather, the amazing light and you’re in the right place at the right time. With no other effort or mental strain, you’ve got the shot. And of course, we plan our trips, at least I do, putting the odds in our favor for this to occur. But as we all know, no matter how well we plan, there are times when you end up with bald skies and naked trees, no water and too many public. That’s when we dig down to stay fresh.
Your first option, chase the light. Often this means leaving the obvious in search of the unobvious. I head for the shadows, at Yosemite in the fall / winter, that means going to the south side of the valley or in the forests. Why? Here, stray beams of light or light bounced off those massive granite cliffs on the other side bring to life a photo otherwise not doable. Ya, you miss the grand sweep photos that scream Yosemite like this shot of El Cap as a storm breaks above, but at least you are still making great images.
At the same time, I switch up lenses. If your’e shooting wide, go long. If shooting long, go normal, force the view in the viewfinder to change to change your view. This tends to bring on more experimentation which leads to failure and failure, leads to success. For example, the clouds are thin and scattered, rather unattractive but are screaming by. Perhaps put on that Big Stopper and point the lens up to blur the clouds going by the granite walls.
This next week, we’ll be shooting in Yosemite for what we think is my 100th time in The Valley and I can’t wait! And that is probably the best answer to keeping it fresh. Having a passion for photography, for the location, knowing that it only takes that one click you can share that says you LOVE where you were and what you did is all it takes. Never settle, always push and give yourself a break with the knowledge that some times the bear gets you and some times you get the bear is what photography is all about. See with your heart, tell your story with your photograph and it will always be fresh!
Monument Valley Workshop 2014
Sharon & I are taking a small group of photographers to Monument Valley 10-14 March, 2014 to photographically explore a magical world. You will arrive in Flagstaff, AZ which is the airport we will be picking folks up from and taking them back to. Transportation to & from the airport as well as for the week is provided. We are staying at The View and have the best rooms reserved giving those who want to, the opportunity to do time lapse / stars trails (and we’re there to teach you how) as well as sunrises and sunsets. We have no set agenda, that’s one of the trademarks of our workshops, we chase the light but that will over the course of the workshop take us to Monument Valley at the very least. If you’ve seen any of my Kelby Training videos, Romancing the Landscape, then you know that I not only have an intimate knowledge of Monument Valley, but many who call it home are dear friends. That get’s us some amazing photo opps.
The price for instruction & transportation (once in Flagstaff) is $2095. Half is due on registration and the other half is due 30 days out. Information for reserving your room will be provided once you reserve your spot in the workshop. Lodging & food not include in the price.
What do you need for the workshop? Utmost is an adventurous spirit! We’ll be up early and out late shooting and in between, we’ll be learning, laughing and working on images. This will be the most laid back, jammed packed workshop you’ve ever been on! Computers & camera gear are highly recommended and a packet will be sent to you with specific information some time prior to the adventure. Limited to 6, now full, call 760.924.8632 / 661.204.1506 if you’re up for the adventure in the land of the setting sun!
K&M Oregon Coast ’14
K&M Adventures is taking on the the elements with a winter Oregon Coast Adv, 19-23 March, 2014! This magnificent region is one Kevin & I have journeyed to and photographed many, many times. The coast in the winter is a spectacular photographic playground as Mother Nature chisels away at the rock! As you might notice, I think it’s a great place for B&W and is the same region featured in my Kelby Training Black and White Landscape Class. You’ll wanna fly into Portland on the afternoon of the 19th (by noon) and fly out on the 24th (after 2pm). We’ll pick you up from the airport and escort your around until we take you back to the airport. That, along with instruction are all included for the price of $2195 (limited to 7). We spend from breakfast until last up together shooting, eating, shooting, digital darkroom, laughing and other things you just can’t imagine! Which means you might find yourself in front of a subject you never imagined. (Unlike our other Adventures, there will be a lodging change half way through the trip. Lodging not included in the price). And after those long days, you want to kick your shoes off and relax. Give the office a call 760.924.8632 and we’ll get you all signed up!
We’ve had a number of calls asking about our K&M Adventures for 2014. Well, we’ve had a bunch of past participants that had so much fun together (and you know who your are buds!) that they had K&M create custom Adventures just for them. With only so many days available in a year to offer them, that’s why you don’t see the many listed. So, here’s your opportunity to join us.
DoF & Infinity
Photographers are challenged by all they read about Depth of Field and how to apply what they’ve read. Personally, I still prefer to think of it of how I was taught it back in the dark ages, Depth of Focus. You might want to get our FREE iBook Photography FUNamentals if you’re feeling frustrated by DoF. At the moment, I want to talk about DoF and infinity. While in science, infinity has one meaning, in photography it’s much easier to visualize. All you have to do is set you lens to infinity and look through the viewfinder, you’ll see what is and what isn’t in focus. In this example, the Tetons are miles away from the camera and whether shooting with a wide angle (above here using a 18-35AFS) or long (below 80-400), closing the lens down to gain DoF is a waste of shutter speed. Infinity while mathematically has DoF, in practice, you gain nothing.
This is photography so of course, there are caveats. In both of these photos, there is nothing else between the camera and the subject that we want in focus. For example, in the top photo, if we put a person in the foreground to take their portrait, than yes, DoF matters very much. Shooting with a wide lens, DoF is pretty simple. Shooting with a long lens, DoF can be a challenge. But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the subject being at infinity and the belief that shooting at f/32 is going to help with the sharpness. It will not, you can shoot at f/5.6 as these were and be good to go. You can test this for yourself and I hope you do. It might help you move down the DoF road and make it work for you. In this case, opening up the lens, having a faster shutter speed and just a tad more fun.