For those of you who missed it and those who weren’t here to see it, last night’s sunset from our backyard.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Tag Archives: Scenery
Not a PS Challenge – May 18, 2017…
I couldn’t resist the pun, especially since I’ve been posting so many PS Challenge images lately. I still take pictures with the big camera – sometimes the big lens and sometimes a smaller lens – depending on the situation. I’m finally starting to trust my instincts for shooting, but I still ask for a lot of critique in my processing. Thanks to everyone for your comments and critiques.
Let’s get to some pictures.
This image of a Candy Tuft is similar to a recent PS Challenge image, and was taken with the PowerShot camera.
The big camera mounted on a tripod, 5 exposures to maximize the light.
From my drive up Monitor Pass yesterday. I found the moon setting over the Sierras.
Another image of the stream flowing from Lake Heenan, a popular fishing hole! A California Department of Wildlife truck had just pulled out. It had a big tank on the back of the truck, like those used to transport fish for stocking in waterways (a big wink for my friends who fish!).
I was intrigued by this tree in the middle of a meadow. I made multiple images and experimented with several techniques. The ground was very wet from the winter.
I visited the Nevada State Railroad Museum a few weeks ago. The following images are from my series on the locomotive models on display in the museum. Each model is 30″-36″ in length. The project is still underway, but prints up to 12″ x 36″ are available.
I have many more pictures to share, and I will post more frequently – I promise.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
PS Challenge – May 17, 2017
I took a drive down US 395 past Topaz Lake (lots of water in Topaz, but still room for more!) and over Monitor Pass this morning. Lots of snow and water in places I haven’t seen water before – gorgeous views everywhere. A little chilly and occasionally breezy, but a nice drive and shoot nonetheless.
This image was taken from the east side of Monitor Pass, looking southeast. I thought you might enjoy a change of view (an image that’s not Jobs Peak).
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
PS Challenge – May 16, 2017
I was running errands with my lovely bride yesterday and saw this beautiful view of Jobs Peak from the south end of Gardnerville. The clouds obscure the peak itself, but they seem to match the horizon line of the Sierras.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
PS Challenge – May 12, 2017
Driving into town to run a couple errands this morning and the light on the Sierras was great. I processed this while waiting for the afternoon light to make some close up images in the yard.
Bracketed exposures just to make sure, then processed in Photomatix and PhotoShop, with an On1 Photo Raw filter.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Landscapes and details…
One of my favorite magazines is Outdoor Photographer. I enjoy the content and have been getting wonderful ideas and information for improving my photography. The April 2017 issue had a great article titled ‘Grand Landscapes, Intimate Details’ by Dave Welling. The focus (pun intended) of the article was summed up nicely by the subtitle, ‘Tell a deeper story of a place by adding close-up images to your location portfolios’ The concept is simple – while you’re shooting that grand landscape, take a look around your feet and find something that connects the audience more intimately to the location.
I had the opportunity to employ this technique just yesterday. My lovely bride and I ventured into the mountains during yesterday’s storm, specifically driving CA 89 south of Markleeville CA. The road was wet from the occasional rain and snow, and there were few travelers besides us and a couple government vehicles. The sun appeared and disappeared, the snow blew and stopped, the mountains were covered and uncovered during our visit. (All the images below were taken within an hour of each other. You know what they say – if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!)
The small valleys were running with water from the rain and the snow melt. Occasionally, the weather made rather ominous scenes in the recently burned areas.
I converted to grey tones to show the desolation of the fire, but the promise of renewal with the snow and running water.
As I walked to a bridge to capture an image of the raging river, a Stellar Jay landed on a rock about 15 yards away. He proceeded to dance about on the rock, as if to say ‘Where’s your big camera? You can’t take my picture with that little camera in your hands!’ (I had grabbed the PowerShot for the river image.) I got my river shot…
East Fork of the Carson River…the Grand Landscape! The Jay was on a rock to the right of this image.
…and ran back to the PhotoRanger for the big camera. Amazingly, the Jay stayed put as I returned and grabbed a few shots, moved a few feet and grabbed a few more shots, moved a few more feet and grabbed a few more shots, and so on.
Stellar Jay…the intimate detail!
There you have it, an example of Grand Landscapes and Intimate Details.
I hope you are enjoying the PS Challenge – I sure am! The process of using the PowerShot – learning its capabilities and limitations – helps to reinforce the principles of photography and composition.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
The PS Challenge is Underway!
My apologies for the long break between posts. I’ve been busy shooting, but I took a little break when my friend and photo buddy, Richard Hawkins, lost his battle with cancer. Many of you are familiar with one of Rich’s best pictures.
Richard and I were out with the wild horses a couple years ago. I had just made a few images and turned around when he grabbed this shot of me. Shooting with him was always fun – he had a great eye for images and helped me look at things a little differently. Rich bought a 1964 Olds 442 just before he received his cancer diagnosis. He dated his wife in a car just like it many years ago. At his first car show, he won the ‘under construction’ category. He also asked me to take his picture in the same pose he was in when he had his original 442. I was very happy to do so. God Bless You, Rich – my cameras and I miss you.
On to the images from this month. I picked up a point and shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II, to enhance my camera bag. I’m learning the capabilities and limitations of this tiny little camera (it’s only 3.75″ wide, 2.5″ tall, and a narrow 1.25″ thick), but it makes marvelous images. I’m getting very nice landscape images, as you can see, and there’s potential for close up and macro photography, once I learn the camera a lot better. The PS challenge can be either ‘point n shoot’ or PowerShot, depending on my feeling that day.
I made this image just south of Woodfords CA. That’s CA 89 on the left. I made this image with the PowerShot.
I’ve driven by this section of the East Fork of the Carson River several times, and finally stopped to make the image. Great sky and great light!
The beauty of the PowerShot is the ability to stop and jump out for the quick shot. This image was made from the side of CA 89 (the Carson River is just behind and downhill from these trees) in an area where a wildfire burned a couple years ago. The tree on the left was completely burned but the other two were only burned on the bottom half. I hope they survive.
The last PowerShot image for this post – the West Fork of the Carson River in the middle of the Carson Valley. The Town of Genoa is visible at the base of the mountains, and Duane Bliss Peak is reflected in the river.
As much as I love my PowerShot, it will never replace the big camera for many things. The PowerShot will bracket exposures and focal length, but the big camera does it much better.
This is an HDR combined from an exposure bracket of the West Fork of the Carson River, in the mountains. There’s lots of ice in the stream still, as this section of the river gets very little direct sunlight in the winter months.
Another HDR of a usually dry wash feeding the East Fork of the Carson River.
This is the Bower’s Mansion, an historic structure on the west side of Washoe Lake, just south of Reno.
The Eagles are long gone, except for the nesting pairs, and the other Raptors are slowly leaving the area as spring approaches. Smaller birds are returning, so we have subjects to shoot and new challenges in shooting. Small birds are more likely to move as you approach, so a long lens and quick reaction to spotting them is critical.
I found this Western Meadowlark on a fence post in the wildlife viewing area on the south end of Washoe Lake. Chilly morning, so it was trying to fluff up and stay warm.
This Western Meadowlark landed on a branch near me, and posed nicely.
These Black Tail Deer are part of the Town of Genoa herds, although these 4 can be found a couple miles north of town on Foothill Road.
I’m not sure they were more worried about me or something to the right, but they held still long enough for me to make this image.
I had the opportunity to try a new technique I saw in Outdoor Photographer magazine – the wildlife panorama. I usually try to get my wildlife images as close and detailed as possible, but I love the concept of combining wildlife and landscape photography. Watch for more images like this.
I found these 4 another day, but they moved into a grove of trees as I approached. New challenge to get a good shot through the trees. This one moved in and stopped, not exposing more head for me. Changing my position wouldn’t have helped, as other trees blocked the view.
Spring is here – evidenced by the blossoms on some of our fruit trees. These are from the Flowering Plum in the corner of the backyard.
First close up of the year – almost a macro. Each blossom is only 3/4″ in diameter. As more flowers bloom, I’ll shoot more macros. Hopefully, the wet winter will cause the desert to bloom, and not delay too much the mountain meadows blooming.
Welcome Spring and the changes it brings. Thanks for reading this blog!
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Breaking in a new kind of whet stone…
I can hardly believe that it’s already the first day in February! Tomorrow, the Groundhog comes out and we’ll see just how much longer we’re going to have winter – at least according to folklore. I’m betting we’re going to have more winter, partially because a big storm is coming into the Carson Valley tonight! Speaking of folklore, many of you have spent the last month trying to sustain the new year’s resolutions you made. I didn’t make any, nor did I set any specific goals for my photography. As I’ve continued my photographic journey, I’ve found that my best goal is to look for and be ready to pursue knowledge as I find new things.
In my last post, I announced that I was taking a winter photography course. The snow was deep and our outdoor shooting time was shorter than expected. The instructor was excellent – we shifted the program indoors to study light and shadow and photo processing techniques, which brings me to the ‘new kind of whet stone.’ Us old Boy Scouts remember that a whet stone is used to sharpen knives and axes. In the digital photography world, we use software as a ‘whet stone’ to sharpen our images. During the workshop, we spent quite a bit of time on sharpening. The most important thing I learned was that I’ve been doing it all wrong, and badly to boot. I now have a specific goal – become proficient in using software to sharpen my images!
In the book Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom, authors Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe begin the discussion on sharpening with, “…one of the ways our brains try to make sense of the world as seen through our eyes is by breaking down the scene into edges (objects) and non-edges (surfaces). If the edges in an image appear too sharp or not sharp enough, our brains tell us that there’s something wrong, and in the case of a photograph, the image appears unconvincing.” Bruce and Jeff tell us that, “Sharpening works by increasing the contrast around edges.” (Contrast is the difference between light and dark tonal values.) And so begins my journey into the wide world of sharpening! Since I’m just beginning my venture into sharpening, I don’t have anything to show you. I will soon – I promise.
What have I been doing besides reading about sharpening? Let’s look at some pictures!
From the winter photography workshop – this is the view across the road from Sorensen’s Resort in Hope Valley CA. As I said, the snow was deep. Sorensen’s got a foot of new snow the night before the workshop and several inches while we were there. They were expecting another three feet that night!
Same picture, just a little bit different editing technique. Could be a nice Christmas card!
I ventured into Diamond Valley looking for Eagles and found this tree covered in Pogonip (heavy frost). I made this image before the frost melted away.
A recent storm dropped several inches of snow at my house. This is a Spruce tree in my backyard…
…one of the Austrian Pines…
…and one of the clumped Crab Apple trees in my backyard. The apples help feed the little birds all winter long.
I found this Rough Legged Hawk near Genoa last week. As I was shooting, the Magpie flew into the shot. How lucky for me!
A couple days later, I found the Rough Legged Hawk again – this time on a fence post. He launched…
…soared gracefully, close to the snow-covered ground…
…and pounced on his noon meal!
The Kestrels have been out in force. I came on this little fella’ just south of David Walley’s Hot Springs on Foothill Road…
…and his friend north of Genoa. They always give me a good look before they take off!
This Cooper’s Hawk was sitting on the snow pile when I first saw him. He launched as I was taking pictures.
I added a new tool to my toolbox – a 2X teleconverter! My big lens now has a maximum focal length of 1200 mm! While this is wonderful, the longer focal length comes with a new set of challenges. Using a tripod is a must. Autofocus only works in Live View (not a bad thing on tripod anyway). The longer focal length exacerbates any movement or imperfections in focusing, and depth of field is very shallow at any aperture setting. It’s a tool, however, and only a matter of learning how to use it! This is the first image at 1200 mm. Not bad!
This is my second attempt with the teleconverter. This Eagle was 173 yards away (I bought a rangefinder) and the background looks like heat waves, although it was near freezing when I made the image. A little soft, but he looks good nonetheless.
The Eagles have been in town. I seemed to find this one hanging out at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park rather frequently.
I think he’s in his final year of being a juvenile, based on the coloring in his head feathers.
His ‘pensive’ pose…
This is a different Bald Eagle (note the lack of dark feathers in his head), using his ‘regal’ pose!
One of the fun things for me was having one subject in the same spot on different days and different lighting conditions, then playing with the processing for a different interpretation of each image. I hope you’ve enjoyed my images, and I promise to be sharper in the future!
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
…I’m at a creative crossroads…
When people embark on a journey, they plan their itinerary in great detail. Hotels, fuel stops, meals, sightseeing and other tourist stops are set with a timetable and destination in mind. If one is on a journey of discovery, however, there is minimal planning – because it’s all about the journey. A couple years (and lots of posts, don’t forget!!) ago, I started a journey in creative photography. My only plan was to learn how to make better images. This blog has been my vehicle to document and share my journey.
In the last few weeks, I realized that I was approaching a creative crossroads. There are two roads for me; the first continues on the path to making purely photographic images, while the other heads toward more artistic images. I never thought about the differences until I visited one of my photo mentors to learn about his workflow to process landscape images. He opened my eyes to editing techniques that I never imagined, so I’ve been experimenting with new and old images. When an artist takes a new direction or pushes the creative envelope, there is always a period when the work may be considered ‘overdone’ as the artist tries to find a balance – it’s just part of the journey.
I won’t get into detail about the editing for the following images. I think I’ll let them speak for themselves. Let’s start with a few landscapes.
I made this image at the Eden Vale Inn near Placerville CA (a wonderful ‘b n b’ – we highly recommend it!). I’m not satisfied with the sky, but I love the rest of the image.
These fall colors can be found along SR 207, Kingsbury Grade, between the Carson Valley and the Lake Tahoe Basin.
After I made the above image, I turned and saw this view into the Carson Valley. It was a beautiful stormy day, as you can see.
I made this image yesterday morning. The Carson River as it approaches SR 88, just south of Minden. The sun was just coming up behind the clouds.
This is the south shore of Lake Tahoe. I visited the lake last week, on a stormy day. I’ve never seen the weather cover the mountains so completely. I stitched together 10 images to make this panorama.
The recent storms gave us wonderful skies and light. This a Jobs Peak (the snow covered peak partially hidden by clouds on the left) on a wonderfully stormy day!
Here’s some new Raptor images.
I just love this Great Horned Owl!
I used the same filter on this Hawk image.
It was raining when I made this image. This Hawk was focused on a potential meal. This image was selected as the ‘image of the week’ by one of the photography froups on Facebook.
I got a little aggressive with this image. The dark streak in the background is actually a branch.
Same picture, but with an added twist in editing. A little more detail in the chest feathers. I love this, but it doesn’t look like a photograph to me.
This Hawk was hunting along an irrigation ditch.
A little extra during processing, and the image has a completely different feel.
I made this image last February. I struggled with the background.
New editing knowledge – new look for the image.
I hope you understand better my dilemma at the creative crossroads. I think my best direction is to assess each image independently and make the edits that bring out the best in every one. The journey continues – as does the fun for me! Using the digital medium, sometimes I will be a photographer and sometimes I will be a ‘cutting edge’ artist.
There’s much more on the way for this exploration. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
I’m just about to burst…
I’m so excited about my photography right now that I’m just about to burst! I know, it’s been 3 weeks since my last post and I’m sure you’re all asking, ‘if he’s so excited, why so long since his last post?” The answer is simple – I’m having too much fun to make a post! The problem with that, however, is the backlog of images to share. I still have two posts worth of images from my trip home last month – stay tuned for them!
We’ll get to current pictures in a minute because there are fun things I want to share. First, I’m waiting for my new lens, the Generation 2 Tamron 150-600, to arrive. I’ve been shooting with the first generation 150-600 since it came out almost 3 years ago and have always loved the results. The new lens has better optics, faster autofocus, and a shorter minimum focusing distance (by almost a foot!). I found a nice home for my old lens (the new owner has already made some great images, and has nicknamed the lens ‘Godzilla’), so I’m without a super telezoom for the short term. My withdrawal is almost as bad as when my camera body fried a circuit board last June and I was without my 7D for a time. I’ll get through it – I promise. With the raptors returning to the Carson Valley, I’m excited to try out the new lens!
Second, I’m launching my exploration into Shutter Priority (Tv) mode. For the last couple years, I have shot primarily in Aperture Priority (Av) mode, which controls light using the aperture opening. Aperture size impacts depth of field, or how much the image is in focus from the foreground to the background (large openings = shallow depth of field, small openings = deeper depth of field). For wildlife shots, especially birds, I shoot wide open. Large aperture openings also allow fast shutter speeds, capturing detail and freezing motion. I don’t worry about the background being in focus because I want to highlight the bird or animal in the image. For landscapes, I use smaller aperture openings to have more of the scene in focus. I shoot my landscapes from a tripod, so shutter speed is not really a concern. I use Manual mode for my landscapes, allowing me to control exposure with either shutter or aperture priority, looking for the best settings for the particular subject and conditions.
What prompted me to explore Tv mode? Sports photography! One of my son’s friends has two little boys who play flag football. I took pictures at a game last Saturday (they won – it was very exciting), and asked a friend/mentor to critique my work. His comments were very helpful, pushing me to explore the wild world of Shutter Priority. Here’s a couple pictures from Saturday.
He had just intercepted a pass and was running into the end zone for a touchdown!
These little guys take the game seriously – look at the intensity (or maybe fear of getting hit) on their faces!
As you can see, the focus is just a little soft. I shot these in Av mode, so a shift to Tv mode will give me a faster shutter speed to freeze the action better. I’m excited to give it a try!
A couple weeks ago, I went to Mormon Station State Park in Genoa to take pictures of Treffen Lake Tahoe, the Porsche Club of America’s cruise around the Lake Tahoe area. The tour made a lunch stop in Genoa. Go to my Treffen Lake Tahoe page (https://photorogr.com/treffen-lake-tahoe-2016/) to see my pictures from the day.
My retired guy ATV group made the ride up Mt. Patterson the other day. Here’s a few images from the trip!
I took this on the drive up, with my mobile phone. Note the smoke low on the horizon.
This is the view looking west from the top of Mt. Patterson. It was mid-day when we arrived and I wasn’t happy with the light. I made the image anyway and am pleased with the result.
The view to the north. Lots of smoke low on the horizon. The signage going up the hill described Mt. Patterson as ‘Mars with vegetation.’ I love the colors in this mountain.
On the way to Mt. Patterson, we passed the turnoff to CA 120, the Sonora Pass Road, and I just had to go back and drive Sonora Pass. The leaves are starting to turn, and the PHOTORANGER loved the drive.
The PHOTORANGER at the summit of Sonora Pass.
Fall colors, on the east side of the Pass.
Hopefully a sign of a good fall color year. I found a great book on fall color in the Sierras, with excellent information on where to go. Fall color exploration, here I come!
I was amazed at the amount of water still flowing.
The mountains had a fresh dusting of snow.
This panorama was stitched from 8 images, then processed using a couple Nik Color Efex Pro filters. Some of my mentors/friends think it’s a little overdone. I like it!
The scenery was stunning, everywhere I looked.
I made several images of this mountain. I like this one for the trees in the foreground.
I didn’t forget to make images of the yard. Here are a few.
Remember the discussion of Aperture Priority above? This flower was shot with a wide open aperture and close up filters. The foliage in the background becomes a pleasing blur, while preserving the detail in the petals, stamens, and pistils. When I master focus stacking, the petal at the top will also be in focus.
I finally found a Daisy bloom that hadn’t been molested by the rabbits.
I love these Roses, but they are proving very challenging for me. I am constantly fighting the monochrome of the petals and work to introduce meaningful shadows to separate the petals. I was drawn to this composition by the dead bloom at the bottom of the image, in contrast with the vibrant blooms above.
The last image of this post. I took a quick trip into the Pine Nut Mountains, just a couple miles east of our house, one evening last week. The sun was going down and was shining through some clouds. I’ve never made an image like this, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m not totally happy with the result, so I’ll be working to improve my image capture processes in these lighting conditions.
That’s a lot of fun for me. I promise that I’ll get the images from my trip done and posted. They’re worth the wait – I promise.
Thanks for reading my blog. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
The PHOTOROGR Project 