Archive for December, 2009

Badlands Butte

Highway 89 heads north from Flagstaff, Arizona up to Page. It is a road I love to drive because the landscape changes so dramatically. North of Cameron, 89 runs through portions of the Navajo Nation. The landscape here is desolate and beautiful. I have always been fascinated with the eroded hills and buttes in this area. I know this particular butte very well having passed it on many trips up to Page. Each time I have passed it in the wrong light. Heading back to Flag late one afternoon I finally arrived with the right light to take a photograph. The butte was beautifully side lit, nice clouds drifted overhead, and the red hills in the distance glowed. This image is the Featured Print this month on my website, http://roberthclarkphotography.com

A badlands butte on Navajo lands stands tall in the late afternoon sun. Sony α900, Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 28mm, f14 at 1/50 sec.

2009
12/31
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Arizona
Badlands
Grand Circle
Landscape
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Graffiti Portrait in Old San Juan

As the thermometer continues to drop and we prepare for yet another potential blast of winter weather my mind drifted off to some warmer climates I have visited. I have made several trips to Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and have fond memories of walking along the Paseo, drinking cafe con leche in the Plaza de Armas, and listening to the ocean crash into the rocks below the old forts. On a Sunday stroll through the city I discovered this beautiful piece of graffiti painted on a large roll up door. It is not normally visible during the week since it covers up the entrance to a local business. I passed it several times in an attempt to get a photograph but there were always cars in the way and I could not take the shot. Luckily on the day before I left I found a clear shot. As I was shooting this little man walked up and struck a pose. A few shots later he was off to his destination. At first I thought he was the model but later learned the portrait is on a famous Puerto Rican basketball player who now plays for the NBA.

A local in Old San Juan strikes a pose in front of a painted roll up door. Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24mm lens, f11 at 1/125 second.

2009
12/30
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Old San Juan
Puerto Rico
Street Portrait
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A Christmas Angel

Sunlight entering through the top of Upper Antelope Canyon creates the shape of an ascending angel. Sony a900 with Sony SAL 20mm lens, f16 at 12seconds.

It  is Christmas Eve and this post hopes all who read it are well. I shot this image in Upper Antelope Canyon and though I was immediately attracted to the luminance of the scene it was not until I previewed the photographs that I saw what I had captured. For me the image is so distinct and I am amazed every time I see it. Antelope Canyon is a special place full of power and spirit. But when you go you must stop and let the canyon envelope you and the visions will come. Whether you see an angel or a bird in this image is not really important. But hopefully you see a spirit in the image that represents the life and breath of the canyon and the Navajo’s who call this place home. I have returned to this spot on several occasions and have yet to see it again.

Merry Christmas

2009
12/24
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CATEGORY
Antelope Canyon
Arizona
Grand Circle
Slot Canyon
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Grand Canyon-West Rim Vista

West Rim Vista, Grand Canyon National Park, shot with a Sony a900 and Zeiss 24-70mm lens set to 24mm, f16 at 1/15 of a second at ISO 100.

It goes without saying that I consider the Grand Canyon the center of the earth. It is a place of such immense spiritual power that I always feel inspired and rejuvinated after every visit. Like most photographers who shoot the canyon I have my favorite places and vistas which I always revisit on every trip. This image is in one of those locations. While this spot along the west rim is fantastic in the morning I have always preferred the late afternoon light which gives me a softer, more high key type of image. This backlighting, also known as contrejour, produces images with beautiful pastel colors. In this instance the sun is setting off of my left shoulder. The sun is low enough to provide beautiful light but high enough to light up the Colorado River in the inner gorge. Many photographers are afraid of shooting “into” the sun this way. It just takes some experimentation with exposure to make a successful image. The final image processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop is not a composite of multiple shots. For me the beautiful soft light and monochromatic color is like a pastel painting.

2009
12/23
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Grand Canyon
National Parks
Photography Technique
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Desert View Interior

This is an image shot inside the Desert View Watch Tower located at the eastern end of the Grand Canyon. The tower was designed by Mary Coulter for the Fred Harvey Company and opened in 1933. The dramatic tower interior is a series of circular balconies accessed by stairways around the perimeter. The interior murals were painted by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie and with indian petrogyphs painted by Fred Greer.

Desert View No. 1 was shot in the upper balcony area and exposed with only the ambient light coming in through windows above.

Desert View No. 2  was achieved with two off camera flash units and a Nikon Flash Controller. The camera was set facing upward with one flash unit placed behind and above the camera illuminating the wall and ceiling. The other flash was fixed with a snoot and aimed towards the ceiling. Several images were shot to get the flash placement correct to light up the space.

Desert View No. 1. Upper Balcony, Desert View Watch Tower, Grand Canyon National Park, Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24mm lens at 15mm, f14 at 2 seconds.

Desert View No. 2. The Tower Room, Desert View Watch Tower, Grand Canyon National Park. Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24mm at 15mm, f16 at 1/60 second.

2009
12/22
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Architecture
Desert View
Grand Canyon
Mary Coulter
National Parks
Photography Technique
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After the Storm-Update

I just finished up with another image from this mornings shoot. This was shot from a bridge vantage point with a 70-300 lens at 300mm. There was beautiful light on the trees and a nice soft reflection in the Potomac River. The image was exposed at f16 at 1/80. The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. In order to bring out the soft tones I created a filter layer and an inverse overlay with a Gaussian Blur at 10.0 pixels. This brings out the midtone details. The resulting print is full of detail and color.

Snow and Trees No. 4. | Sony a900, Sony 70-300 at 300mm, f16 at 1/80sec.

2009
12/20
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CATEGORY
Potomac River
Snow
Trees
Water
Winter
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After the Storm

Snow and Trees No. 1. | Sony a900, Zeiss 24-70 at 70mm, f16 at 1/80sec.

Snow and Trees No. 2. | Sony a900, Zeiss 24-70 at 65mm, f16 at 1/80sec.

Snow and Trees No. 3. | Sony a900, Sony 70-300 at 300mm, f14 at 1/25sec.

The big December storm has passed and dawn brought a sunny day. Suffering from cabin fever I ventured out along the Potomac River early this morning. The snow was deep and the air crisp and cold. As the sun came up a beautiful golden light washed over the river and trees. Snow still clung to the brunches and the river moved slow and still. These images are just a few of the shots I took. I had to finally come in when I lost all the feeling in my fingers. All in all a gorgeous morning.

2009
12/20
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CATEGORY
Potomac River
Snow
Trees
Water
Winter
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Lane in Antelope Canyon

Lane Bigthumb soothing the savage photographer in Upper Antelope Canyon, Arizona.

Well the winter storm has subsided and we are left to dig out of 18+ inches of snow. Its late and I’m still up so I thought I would post a portrait from Antelope Canyon. My model is Lane Bigthumb, my Navajo guide and son of Carol Bigthumb. Carol has been my guide for all my trips to Antelope Canyon. Carol ‘s family has the grazing rights to the land where Upper Antelope Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, and Mountain Sheep Canyon are located. You can get information on her trips at Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours, or contact her at cbigthumb@yahoo.com. You can see more of my Antelope Canyon images on my website at Robert H. Clark Photography.

The shot was made just inside in the main gallery of Upper Antelope. I was shooting a formation when Lane started to play. Though fairly subdued there was some very nice light on Lane and I liked the way he was framed. So I quickly turned the camera on him and used my headlamp to throw a little light on his face. In case you are wondering, out of respect for Lane and the spirit of the canyon, I did ask permission to photograph him. So as the sound of the flute echoed through the canyon I shot several images. Motion was a problem however and the image is a little soft but I like it nonetheless.

Shot with a Sony a900 with a Zeiss 24-70mm lens, set to 35mm and f4 at 3 seconds. The RAW image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. In order to improve the contrast I used an inverse overlay with a Guassian Blur set to 40.0 pixels. This is in effect a contrast mask and it helped open up the shadows. There are a few basic curves for Lane and the background and a slight saturation adjustment.

2009
12/20
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CATEGORY
Antelope Canyon
Photoshop Technique
Portrait
Slot Canyon
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Tarn Reflection, Acadia National Park

As I post this new image a major winter storm is dropping over 18 inches of snow in West Virginia. I only ventured out once today to test the roads. Suffering from a little cabin fever I decided to revisit some images from a recent trip to Acadia National Park. This image is from the Tarn Pond and is one of several I took that morning. The pond is slowly filling in and is full of aquatic plant life. In the early morning the sky is reflected in the calm waters and allows images such as this.

The image was shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70 f2.8 lens at 24mm. I used a Heliopan Warming Polarizer and exposed the scene at f16 for 6 seconds.

The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

2009
12/19
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CATEGORY
Acadia
National Parks
Photography Trips
Water
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Shenandoah River Reflections

Image 1.

Image 2.

A few weeks ago a friend and I took an early morning hike along the Shenandoah River outside Charles Town, WV. It was a cold, foggy morning. Light along the river was fairly subdued. I was struggling to find inspiration that morning. But as the fog lifted off the river I noticed trees on the far bank began to light up with an orange glow. This amazing light was reflected in the river and contrasted with blue light from the sky. To get this shot I had to slow down the exposure to around 1 to 2 seconds. I used a Heliopan warming polarizer coupled with a Singh-Ray 4-stop neutral density filter on my Zeiss 24-70 lens to help slow down the exposure. The camera was set to ISO 100. I did a few test exposures to find the right combination of time and f-stop. One thing to note is the longer the exposure the more the potential details and color will be lost. To get the right combination of color saturation and blur for this shot required an exposure of 1.5 seconds at f4.

Images were processed in Adobe Lightroom and imported into Photoshop. Once in Photoshop the images were optimized with George DeWolf’s Percep Tool. From here it went through a pre-sharpen routine to tweak out some contrast. Once I was satisfied the image went through a painstaking dodge and burn routine with the History Brush to develop the lights and darks of the reflections. A small adjustment with color finished out the process. I shot about 20 images on the river that morning but Image 1 and 2 are my favorites.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bob


2009
12/13
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CATEGORY
Photography Technique
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Copyright

© Robert H. Clark, Robert H. Clark Photography, Robert H. Clark Photography Blog, and rhcl.wordpress.com, 2009/2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Robert H. Clark and Robert H. Clark Photography Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All photography ©Robert H. Clark Photography.
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