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2010 > July
by RR Jr on July 29, 2010
“Heron Marsh Trail”
Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/4 sec @f/14, ISO 400, 17mm (EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II)
CREATIVE NOTES “Heron Marsh”:
This image was pretty straight forward from a technical standpoint, and a good example where any mode except manual fails miserably to make a proper exposure. A careful balance between shadows and highlights is crucial in terms of conveying the depth I felt as i walked along this trail and the forest opened up to the marsh. The feeling of moving into the open space is what the image is about, yet I didn’t want to give away what was beyond these last few trees, so the element of mystery is also at play. I used higher than normal ISO in order to minimize movement in the trees, and was very careful with the corners in order to avoid any distractions. Sure I could have used HDR, but the deep shadows and very soft light is the effect I was after, not an exposure where every part of the image leaves nothing to the imagination.
“Buck Pond at Dawn”
Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/25 sec @f/11, ISO 400, 16mm (EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II)
CREATIVE NOTES “Buck Pond”:
I had been “eyeballing” this spot from my campsite since it was about 30 feet away and in front of a small marsh in the water. I knew the stump in the pond would provide something in the foreground together with the delicate grasses to anchor the image. I couldn’t walk there, so I used my canoe to get into position, then stood in the pond together with my tripod and waited what seemed like forever for the water to settle down like a sheet of glass. Because I was concerned about movement, and didn’t want to use too high of a ISO, I set my aperture to f/11 allowing more light to enter and hence raise my shutter speed. The tradeoff of course is depth of field, so I focused on the grasses to the left and hoped the lily’s in the foreground would remain fairly sharp which they did. At f/11 and 16mm, my hyper-focal distance was about 10 feet, so focusing 10 feet away meant that everything from 5 to infinity would be sharp. Here, I tried to make sure the closest lily was about 5 feet from my lens.
You can find several calculators for hyper focal distance here.
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2010 > July
by RR Jr on July 27, 2010
Canon 1DS mkIII, 3.2 sec @f/16, ISO 100, 16mm (16-35mm f/2.8L II)
I’m back from a week long camping trip in the northern Adirondacks, and this is one of several photos I made during my stay. While driving around, I stopped at the Adirondack Interpretive Visitors Center in Paul Smiths, and after exploring some of the trails and enjoying the beautiful scenery, decided to return a few times after wards in better lighting conditions. This image was from my third visit and is probably one of my favorites.
Working with light in the forest is really exciting for me, and I waited close to two hours for the angle and intensity of light that I thought would make this composition really work. Often when I find a composition I like, I’ll set up my camera, then just wait for that special moment. I might walk around a bit and do some exploring, but I’m always keeping a close eye on the sun and as soon as I think the conditions are getting close to optimum, I won’t move from my tripod. I almost didn’t think the light would happen on this particular morning since clouds were building, but a few lucky minutes was all I needed to make a few exposures. Patience is such an important skill, and one I continue to work on each time I venture out into nature.
CREATIVE NOTES:
Because there was virtually no wind, I didn’t worry too much about movement, and set my camera to ISO 100 for maximum image quality. I also stopped down to f/16 for good depth of field since I wanted to keep the trail going off into the distance fairly sharp and together with the light, creates a very strong leading line from the ferns in the foreground. I knew this would mean a fairly long exposure (3 sec) which I normally try to avoid in this type of situation (foliage in the foreground) but a quick check on the LCD display confirmed that my green friends had remained perfectly still! While looking at the image in the LCD, I zoom in as far as possible and scroll around to the spots that need to be tack sharp. Processing was done in Lightroom 3 with a slight touch of dodging on the fern in front of the left tree and the moss on the large rock to make those areas stand out a little more. This is one image, no HDR or combined exposure.
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2010 > July
by RR Jr on July 18, 2010
Farmland in Columbia County NY preserved by Scenic Hudson
I’ve been on the road quite a bit the last few weeks, and I’m off to the Adirondacks for six days starting tomorrow. When I return I’ll be preparing for a long drive to week in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia for a week, followed by a two week stay in northern Maine. Overall, I’m trying to take advantage of the summer months since I have a very busy art show and workshop schedule in the fall. The fact that my family gets to accompany me on some of these trips is something I am always grateful for.
While in town, I’ve been working on many photo shoots for Scenic Hudson, as well as the 2011 calendar , the new edition of the Photo Journal, and other marketing projects. Let’s just say I haven’t had much time for writing as of late, but I am motivated and committed to continue to provide valuable info for you as often as possible. A few of the articles I have in the works include how I stay motivated on and off the trails, a review of my current favorite backpacks, and how zen and nature photography make a powerful combination.
In the meantime, look for new images from the northern Adirondacks in the days ahead!
“Heron Marsh Trail”
“Buck Pond at Dawn”
