Archive for January, 2010

Ice and Bridge Piers on the Potomac

Stone bridge piers reflect in the Potomac River near Shepherdstown. Shot with a Sony a900 and Zeiss 25-70mm lens at 50mm. Image exposed at ISO100 at f11 for 1/3 of a second.

Alright I promise this will be the last ice image from the Potomac River. Well, at least until we have another winter storm. I like to visit my favorite places regularly. Conditions are always changing and you never know what you might shoot. As of todays post a weekend of rain has melted all the ice and for now the river is clear.

In this image I was drawn to the small swirl of water that cut around the boulder. No matter where my eye starts in the picture I always end up at the boulder. Leading lines in the ice help direct the movement and allow the eye to travel around the photograph. And don’t forget to check out the little tree growing from the top of the largest pier.

Thanks for looking at these recent images. I’ll be heading for warmer climates next weekend for work but I’m sure I can find something to shoot. Check back soon. Aloha, (Just a hint).

Bob

2010
01/17
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Landscape
Potomac River
Trees
West Virginia
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Bridge and Ice on the Potomac River

A thin sheet of ice extends out into the quiet flow of the Potomac River. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 50mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 1/15 of a second.

Here is another image from this mornings shoot. This large sheet of ice extended out from the shoreline and broke up the bridges reflection in the river. To get this shot I actually waded out into the river about three to four feet so I could get a good angle on the ice edge. Its nice to have waders for this kind of thing. The image was processed in more monochromatic tones to play on the cold, stark morning.

Bob

2010
01/16
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Landscape
Photography Technique
Potomac River
River
Water
Winter
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Ice and Tree Reflection

Image 1. Initial RAW file before Photoshop work.

Image 2. Optimized Image after RAW processing and Photoshop.

We have had quite a bit of cold weather in West Virginia so I took the opportunity to explore the edges of the Potomac River in search of ice. Due to a bit of a warming trend most of the ice had dissipated but several areas were still intact. In this image the stillness of the river allowed the trees to reflect against a sheet of ice. It was a wonderful study in contrast.

The image was exposed with a Heliopan Circular Warming Polarizer. I stopped the polarizer down just a bit to allow some of the river bottom to show through. This gave me just a bit of warm color to contrast with the blue of the ice and river. Lens focus was directed on the sheet of ice and the trees were allowed to blur slightly.

Image 1 shows the file after RAW conversion in Adobe Lightroom. The white balance was adjusted and initial capture sharpening was applied.

Image 2 shows the file after work in Photoshop. The intent was to process the image the way I initially saw it which required applying a series of adjustment layer curves to separate the sheet of ice from the river. The river adjustment also equalized the contrast in the river allowing the ice to stand out.

I have several more images from this day which I will put up in a later post.

Bob

2010
01/16
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CATEGORY
Potomac River
River
Trees
Water
Winter
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Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head.

Clouds drift over Waikiki Beach, Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Shot with a Nikon D300 and Nikor 12-24mm lens at 18mm. ISO 100, f14 at 1/25 of a second.

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Oahu I am posting an image I shot early one morning on a previous trip. Sometimes you need to be resourceful and creative to get a shot. In this case I happened to be staying in a hotel that had wonderful views of Diamond Head. I discovered that the stairwell near my room had open window bays which meant I could set up a tripod and frame a nice shot. The sun rises to the image left and sets to the image right so I could have taken shot at either time. In this case I preferred the softer morning light I had this day plus the wonderful clouds over Diamond Head. Aloha!

Bob

2010
01/15
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Architecture
Hawaii
Photography Trips
Water
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New Mexico Hoodoo

A badlands hoodoo in the New Mexico desert. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikor 12-24mm lens at 18mm. Exposue at f16 for 1/25 of a second

Most of my photography friends know that I am a sucker for a good hoodoo and I think this strange beast qualifies. I was on my way to visit Chaco Canyon and noticed some interesting landscapes on the road to the park. I hiked in a little way and found some wonderful hoodoos along with a wild eroded landscape worn by water and wind. I was particularly drawn to this one since the top looked like part of a Samurai warrior’s helmet. Standing nearly eight feet tall, the fragile formation consisted of multiple layers of shale all precariously balanced on a pillar of soil. Oddly human in form, I imagined this hoodoo patrolling the landscape at night in search of desert marauders.

2010
01/10
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Badlands
Desert
Landscape
New Mexico
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Rocks and Lichen

Serrated slabs of sandstone covered in lichen, Zion National Park, Utah. Shot with a Nikon D300 and Nikkor 12-24mm lens at 24mm. The image was shot a f14 at ISO 100 for 1/25 of a second.

We have all heard the expression that at times “we cannot see the forest for the trees.” Well in photography sometimes it pays to take a moment to look at the trees. We can get so fixated on the grand vista or recording a scenic wonder that we fail to look more intimately at what lies before our feet. This image is a case in point. I was struggling with a shot of the Watchman in Zion National Park when I just took a breather to clear my thoughts. It was a that point that I saw this incredible layered rock covered in multi-colored lichen. Beautiful light allowed the rock fins to glow. If I had not taken that moment to just be in the landscape I would have missed this wonderful composition.

For more information on Zion National Park go to http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm

2010
01/08
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Grand Circle
Landscape
National Parks
Photography Trips
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Maggie Clark

Maggie Clark in patient repose. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 12-24mm lens at 18mm. Scene lit with two Nikon SB-800 flash units triggered with a Flash Commander.

Maggie Clark. Always patient, attentive, caring, and loving. A life lesson for all of us. She loved her family, ear rubs, and sleeping in bed. Born in April, 1996, she passed away this summer from complications with her nervous system. She is greatly missed.

In this image she is patiently putting up with me while I test out my SB-800 flash units.

2010
01/08
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Animals
Pets
Portrait
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Sunrise on Wukoki Pueblo

First light illuminates the Wukoki Ruin at Wupatki National Monument, Arizona. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens, at f16 at 1/8 second

First light breaks on Wukoki Ruin, Wupatki National Monument. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm at 24mm, ISO 100, f16 at 1/2 second.

Today’s image was shot at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona. Located between Flagstaff, Arizona and Cameron along Highway 89, Wupatki preserves the ruins of red sandstone pueblos built by farming Ancestral Puebloan People between 1120 and 1250. The Wukoki Pueblo is one of the best preserved sites and is sited on a small hill affording fantastic views towards the San Francisco Peaks.

This picture is all about scouting and pre visualizing the shot. I knew where the sun would rise and was looking for a position to capture the light as it first broke across the ruin. I spotted the slabs of stone and realized there was an open position underneath that could form a shooting window that would frame the ruin. I arrived well before sunrise and positioned the camera in the alcove of sandstone. As sunrise approached I took several test exposures to be sure of my exposure and composition. As the sun rose and started to light the ruin the inner walls of the sandstone fins began to glow as well, a surprise I did not expect. It was a truly beautiful sunrise that morning. I imagined the ancients would have agreed with me. For more information on Wupatki National Monument please visit www.nps.gov/wupa/

2010
01/06
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CATEGORY
Arizona
Grand Canyon
Landscape
National Parks
Photography Trips
Wupatki National Monument
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Colorado River and Canyon Wall

A small cottonwood tree clings to life against a canyon wall as the Colorado River races by. Sony α900, Sony SAL 70-300mm lens at 180mm, f/11 at 3 seconds.

This image of the Colorado River was shot above Lee’s Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I was attracted to the small cottonwood tree clinging to life against the far canyon wall. To get the river in flowing motion I used a Heliopan Circular Polarizer combined with a Singh-Ray 4-stop neutral density filter. This combination allowed me to slow down the shutter speed and balance the light and exposure.

2010
01/03
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Colorado River
Glen Canyon
Landscape
Water
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San Juan Cruise Ships

Cruise ships prepare to leave the harbor in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Shot with a Nikon D300, Nikkor 12-24mm lens at 18mm, f8 at 30 seconds.

As the wind chill here in West Virginia hits the single digits I am once again transported to some warmer climate; any warmer climate will do. So for todays post I have featured a shot of cruise ships preparing to leave the port in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The light from each ship was simply amazing and to see four ships in port was a real sight. To get the shot I had to overcome a few technical difficulties. Number one was the loss of my tripod at the airport. This image, shot at midnight from the small balcony of my hotel room, required a long exposure and a stable set up. So I had to improvise. I pushed a chest out to the open window and propped the camera up with books and small pillows. Getting a proper exposure was another issue. I took several test shots to get the composition and exposure to my satisfaction. I wanted to capture the low clouds along the horizon to aid in a visual transition from the ships to the  night sky. I used mirror lock up to help eliminate any camera shake in my tenuous camera set up. One of the things that makes the photo so dramatic are the multiple light sources from the ships and the road along the shore. It is not possible to balance these out so I set the camera to AWB to start and then adjusted the color temperature to taste. I also shot at a fairly low ISO of 400 to keep as much noise down as possible. The image was processed in Nikon NX 2 and Photoshop. To help bring out details in the image, including the clouds, I used a contrast mask and some simple curve adjustments.

2010
01/02
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CATEGORY
Old San Juan
Photography Technique
Puerto Rico
Ships
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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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