Archive for the ‘ Winter ’ Category

Potomac River Fog

Fog created by the difference between air and water temperature rolls off the Potomac River near Shepherdstown, WV. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 45mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/45 of a second.

This image was shot just a day after the big blizzard that hit the eastern seaboard. This is the view downriver from Shepherdstown, WV. I got out early to see what kind of light we had plus I was curious about the road conditions. When I crossed over the bridge I was treated to this amazing sight. The warmer river was interacting with the 12 degree air temperature to create a beautiful rising fog. In addition you can see large sheets of ice in the shot. As these floated down river you could hear them crashing into the bridge piers. Just an amazing vista.

I was shooting almost directly into the rising sun. Most of you who know my work know that I like to shoot these kinds of high contrast images. They make very dramatic shots. The sun was still low in the sky and most of the hot light was filtered by the rising fog. But I still had to use a 4-stop split neutral density filter to help me balance the contrast. I have a few other shots from this day which I will post at a later date.

Bob

2010
02/07
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CATEGORY
Landscape
Landscape Photography
Potomac River
River
Snow
Uncategorized
West Virginia
Winter
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Snowpocalypse 2010

Blizzard February 5, 2010. Shot with a Sony α900 and Zeiss 24-70mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1 second.

The second major storm this winter has passed and we are left to dig out of 30+ inches of snow. As the storm was moving in I decided to have a little fun. Now you may be wondering if I am behind the wheel of my car. And the answer would be yes. But no I am not driving. What kind of example would I be setting. In fact I saw the line of cars coming and stopped to take this image. To get the motion blur I started with the lens zoomed at 70mm and pulled back to wide, somewhere around 35mm. Exposure was 1 second at f16.

The RAW file was processed in Lightroom and taken over to Photoshop. To bring out some depth I used a contrast mask which works well for these kinds of shots. To make the mask duplicate the Background. From there choose Highpass Filter. Set the amount to 70 +/- and the layer blend to Softlight. Its subtle but helps bring out some of the darks and gives it more apparent depth.

Bob

2010
02/06
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CATEGORY
Photography Technique
Photoshop Technique
West Virginia
Winter
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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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CATEGORY
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
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Potomac River
River
Trees
Water
Winter
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2 comments

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
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Potomac River
Snow
Trees
Water
Winter
2 comments

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
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Potomac River
Snow
Trees
Water
Winter
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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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