Mar 3, 2010 | Wildlife Photography
Say hi to a Light-footed Clapper Rail. While this is a simple click, straight out of the camera, actually getting the photo is anything but simple. The Light-footed Clapper Rail is a very endangered species. It is one of the first T&E species I started working with 30yrs ago. I had the opportunity to make a couple of new clicks of them so I thought I would just introduce you. You’ll be seeing more of them in my upcoming book.
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Photo captured by D3x, 200-400VR handheld 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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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
Feb 15, 2010 | B&W Photography
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And then walking back to the truck, I saw this simple little wisp and I simply had to make the click. Great way to spend Valentine’s Day!
Photo captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Feb 15, 2010 | B&W Photography
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Just minutes later, the view changed to this. Gorgeous! Some might question the inclusion of the road and if it were some boring stretch, I wouldn’t have thought about including it. But the combination of the road, its sinking off and the sign for us captures why we live in the Sierra.
Photo captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
