Tag Archives: landscape photography

Just a few more days!

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Time is running out!  In just a few days, I’ll be in Winnemucca for Shooting the West (shootingthewest.org) and will be making my presentation Saturday afternoon.  I’ve been working on the presentation for a couple months, going through my pictures from the last couple years to select the best ones to showcase.  Last week, I was feeling good about my selections and was starting to make the cuts necessary to meet my 15 minute time slot.  I asked my lovely bride to go through the slide show with me, as the cuts were becoming more difficult to make.  At the end of the first run through, she says that I haven’t included my best shots!  Holy cow!!

We opened up the hard drives and looked for the shots that she thought I should include.  After adding in another dozen or so, I started the ‘deselection’ process all over again.  I have the presentation down to 78 slides now, which is on the high side of my original target of 70+/-.  I think it will work.  There’s time for more fine tuning.

I made a big addition to my editing toolbox this week – software to calibrate the color on my computer monitor.  ColorMunki from X-Rite is my choice – simple to install and use.  The ‘before and after’ showed small adjustments in the colors, but I move forward with more confidence in my editing.

I managed to get out a bit – I didn’t lock myself in the study, after all!  Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks.

I have a new photographer friend in Carson City who showed me a different group of wild horses.  We were standing in a saddle with multiple bands, probably 100 or more horses.  There was a group of 16-18 bachelor studs showing us their physical prowess.  It was very exciting to see!

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These two started a fight in the middle of the group of horses – a common occurrence during our time there!

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This is my favorite shot from the day. These two had moved away from the group and were serious for several minutes.

I also got a couple shots that were less ‘exciting.’  The scenery shot was featured on a local morning show during the weather report this week.

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This is the view looking south towards the Carson Valley, and was the featured image on the Channel 2 Weather Report last Wednesday!

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This foal is proudly leading the band up a hill. The rocks made a wonderful background!

I had a little fun this week, too.  I went to a local ranch to see if the ‘kids’ were out and about, and they were!  I also spent a little time in the back yard.

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Remember Pickup? Here he is again – climbing a tree and getting into mischief.  You don’t see that every day!

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My exploration into macro photography and creative filters continued with these Lilac flowers from our back yard.

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Some flowers from one of our Crab Apple trees.

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This Quail and its partner were making their way through the plants in the back yard yesterday. By the time I grabbed my camera and headed outside, they had gone up the hillside and were in the rocks.

I needed a break from the computer one day last week, so I made an impromptu visit to a location where I’d heard about an Aerie.  I wasn’t disappointed.  After making several images of this Bald Eagle sitting in the nest, it took flight and gave me quite a show!  Here’s a couple from the day!

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Coming in for a landing. This image was made microseconds after touchdown.

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The in flight image. What a magnificent Raptor!

Sorry that the blog is short, but I have to finish my presentation, pack my bags, and try to fit in a ride with my ATV group before I head for Winnemucca.  I’ll give a report on Shooting the West in my next blog!  I look forward to seeing old friends, making new ones, and meeting face to face with people I’ve ‘friended’ on Facebook.  Until next time – enjoy!

PHOTOROGR

An AMAZING Week for Me!

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I have had an absolutely amazing week since my last post.  First, I won both categories of the Eagles & Agriculture Photo Contest this year!

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This Eagle eating a rabbit won ‘Best Birding’ photo. I made this image in December, when my lovely bride and I drove up on this scene just a few blocks from our home.

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Last May, I was invited to join other photographers to record this group of cowgirls moving a herd along Genoa Lane.  This image won the ‘Best Agriculture/Wildlife’ category.

I am both honored and humbled to win.  I stopped by the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce offices to see the other images.  Holy Cow!!!  What a great group of submissions this year.

My exploration into long exposures of water expanded a little, with the addition of some new software called Photomatix Pro.  This software uses bracketed exposures to produce High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.  In my last blog, I discussed exposure (controlling the light striking the sensor in the camera body).  ‘Bracketing exposure’ means finding the right exposure for a given image and making additional images of the same scene by overexposing and underexposing.  HDR software then combines the different exposures by selecting the best parts of each to create an exciting photograph.  For example, in a landscape, the underexposed images give the best skies but renders the shadow areas black and without detail.  Conversely, the overexposed images give great detail in the shadows but loses detail in the highlights.  HDR allows the pixelist (see how I got my title in here!!!) to use the best light to make a great image.  Some cameras will make the HDR image for you, or you can combine them using HDR software on the computer.

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Here’s a landscape that I shot a couple years ago near Kernville CA. I used three images at different exposures to make this one. Set exposure to capture the sky and you don’t see the rich color in the rocks. Set exposure for the rocks and you see a bright white sky with no detail in the clouds.

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Another HDR near Kernville. Yes, it was chilly and we got wet a couple times that day!

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A waterfall on the Kern River in HDR.

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This image of the Church at Bodie CA was made from two exposures, merged in Photomatix.  I need to go back to Bodie so I can get  shot that doesn’t cut off the steeple, and to make other images, too.

Learning this new software has been a lot of fun.  As you might imagine, I can get a little crazy in the processing.

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I made this image of a wagon on one of the local ranches in January. I’ve been trying to process the image to fit my vision for a couple months. This is nice, but it doesn’t convey the feeling I wanted to share.

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When I processed the image in Photomatix, I found what I was looking for. One of my photo mentors thinks it’s over done, and I respect that. My lovely bride thinks I should crop it differently. Bottom line – there’s no right or wrong. What’s that old saying? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Please recall this image from last Fall. I photographed this bird condo in Walker CA.

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I revisited the image to explore the boundaries and capabilities of Photomatix. The result is over done, but kind of fun. Again – the eye of the beholder.

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West Fork of the Carson River in Hope Valley. This HDR image was made from 5 exposures, and is a traditional processing.

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The same HDR image, with a little fun. I went here because I was struggling with ‘ghosting,’ a problem when the images don’t align exactly (like the wind blowing the tree branches). The processing I chose here masks the ghosting a little. It’s a fun interpretation of the scene.

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Simple HDR from 3 exposures. With this image, I was more about the flowing water. I gotta say, however, that I hope there’s still water flowing when the vegetation leafs out to add a little color.

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I processed this image in HDR, then decided to play with monochrome. Absent color from the vegetation, I like the effect.

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The HDR in this image is right on the edge of going too far, but I like it.

And I haven’t been on the edge all week.  We had a nice sunny day, and the birds and bees were visiting the yard.

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This Lesser Goldfinch Hen challenged my very limited identification skills.

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I was in the backyard enjoying the warm when I spied this butterfly on our Flowering Plum tree. I got the camera and made a few shots, but couldn’t help noticing the buzzing sounds…

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…and several of these guys were working their magic. They’re harder to take pictures of than I thought.

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My favorite image from the day. A large aperture opening gave a very shallow depth of field (the flowers in the foreground are blurry as are those in the background). The black and yellow against the vivid pink just hit the spot for me!

Well, that’s it for this week.  As you can see, it really was an amazing week!  Until next time – Enjoy!  PHOTOROGR

Getting back on the path…

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I started this Journey in Creative Photography at the end of the summer in 2014, and built this blog in September.  In the ‘About’ page, I said that I wanted to make better photos and learn new techniques.  I think I held true to that goal for most of my journey, but I had a couple experiences this week that caused me to pause and evaluate my journey and the path I was taking.  There’s no need to get into details about these experiences, because they are in the past.  The resultant evaluation process is what’s important.

As I thought about my photographic journey this week, I realized that, while I was making much better images than at any time in my life, there were times when it wasn’t fun as it used to be.  I found that I was taking pictures for the wrong reasons.  When I bumped into a photographer friend out by the wild horses and he talked about being so busy with his photo business and how he missed just going out and shooting, my thoughts came together and I realized that I wasn’t on the path on which I started.  I am still thinking about the direction I am going and the future of my photography, but I know that I am committed to having fun with photography again.

Consistent with this re-commitment to my original goal, I drove the PHOTORANGER in a different direction (literally) than I’ve gone in a while to look for fresh subjects and found myself on the West Carson River playing with neutral density filters and long exposures, specifically to make images of water flowing smoothly with tack sharp rocks and vegetation.  Many of those shots will never be seen off my computer, but I managed to get one that I will share and, when the weather settles later this week, I will go out and try again.

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This is a fun composition with the ‘driftwood’ in the corner. I will time my next visit for better natural light, and maybe some new snow!

I also ventured out with my new friend, Dwayne Hicks (dwaynesworld.com).  Dwayne has been a landscape photographer for decades, and has tremendous knowledge.  He wants to transition to nature and wildlife photography, so we shared lots of information and had a great time.  At one of our stops, we had the opportunity to make images of kids (baby goats) and a ‘future farmer’ taking care of the herd.

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Kids are very cute and they put on quite a show!

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Yup, that’s a future farmer feeding the herd!

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After feeding the herd, the future farmer and his sidekick took a walk, under the watchful eye of the ranch dog.

With the emphasis on getting back on path, you’ll see fewer images in my blog – only the best of the mix.  And you’ll see different subjects and techniques, too.  Stay tuned!

Enjoy – Roger aka PHOTOROGR