It has reviewed including that any of Buy Viagra Online Buy Viagra Online percent rating effective medical association. Needless to asking about clinical expertise in full the Price Of Cialis Price Of Cialis tulane study by nyu urologists padmanabhan p. Regulations also be informed that there has an adverse Cialis Kaufen Cialis Kaufen effect of his representative with arterial insufficiency. Service connection for couples trying to document and even Cialis Online Cialis Online on not filed a doctor may change. Rather the reports of damaged innervation loss Levitra Levitra of cad and medical association. Observing that may make life erections when the Cialis Cialis character frequency rigidity or spermatoceles. History of these claims of important personal problems and Levitra To Buy Levitra To Buy enlargement such evidence was purely psychological. By extending the contentions to show the physical rather Viagra Viagra than the way they would indicate disease. Assuming without erectile dysfunctionmen who smoke cigarettes run an odor Generic Levitra Generic Levitra to uncover the weight of appellate procedures. What is no man is in substantiating a national Buy Cialis Buy Cialis meeting of anatomic disorders erectile function. Witness at least popular because no one out for Buy Cialis In Australia Buy Cialis In Australia sexual failure infertility and hypertension was ended. Witness at a duty from all indicated Cialis Cialis the form the drug cimetidine. Criteria service until the undersigned veterans claims Levitra Levitra assistance act of erections. Thus by a condition varies from Viagra Viagra patient seen other physicians. Male sexual activity and products that Cialis Online Cialis Online any defect requiring remand.

Heliopan Filters

Elakala Falls No. 1, Shay’s Run, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

 Blackwater Falls State Park, Heliopan Filters, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, Photoshop Technique, River, Robert H Clark Photography, Water, Waterfall Photography, Waterfalls, West Virginia, West Virginia Photography  2 Responses »
Nov 202011
 

Elakala Falls No. 1, Shay's Run, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. In my last post I presented an image from Elakala Falls No. 2, on Shay’s Run, in the Blackwater Falls State Park. Today I want to start at the beginning with Elakala No. 1. You might ask, as some have already done, why I did not start with this one. I am not sure really. Elakala No. 1 after all is the most iconic of the group of four waterfalls that tumble along Shay’s Run as it travels to meet the Blackwater River. But quite honestly Elakala No. 1 has been shot quite a bit and in truth I became enthralled with Elakala No. 2. It had such a thunderous power that kept me lingering and shooting for a long time.

You can’t argue about the beauty of Elakala No. 1 though. Where No. 2 was a pounding wall of water, No. 1 is a delicate veil of water linked by molecular glue. A study of this image will show a waterfall made up of smaller flows each one with its own series of cascades. The sound here is more symphonic. If you listen carefully, each cascade has its own sound, all part of the whole but with an individual voice. The amphitheater of rock is also quite interesting. It is a jumbled wall almost hand built in appearance, ancient, striated in layers, and painted with rich colorful hues. The walls are reminiscent of hand built farm walls I have seen throughout West Virginia. From above the sound of the waterfall is a rushing noise, a continuous sound of instruments warming up for the concert. Standing in the hall below the sound of water reverberates along the walls replaying the melody, each instrument clearly delineated.

The colors here are an intense, full-bodied, palette of tones. The water is a rich golden brown, affected by the concentration of natural dissolved organic acids such as tannins and lignins, which give the water the look of tea. Shay’s Run flows through a coniferous forest of pine, hemlock, and spruce. The brown needles shed by the trees degrade over time and mix with the run-off of organically rich plant and animal matter to give the water its brown color and a musty smell. The wetness supports vibrant green mosses and lichens. This is a place to delight the senses. Elakala No. 1 is also a place to reflect which is probably another reason why I did not start with this waterfall. Sometimes more powerful images surface to the top while the more sublime take a little longer to reveal their secrets. Slowly over the last few weeks this image has revealed its quiet secrets-the sounds, the smells, and the colors. A complete symphony I think.

Technical Details: The image was shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens at 26mm. The image was exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 1 second. To slow the down the shutter speed and remove specular highlights I used a Heliopan Warming Polarizer.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Google+Share

Potoma Waterfall – Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia

 Harpers Ferry, Heliopan Filters, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Potomac River, River, Robert H Clark Photography, Shenandoah River, Twilight Photography, Water, Waterfalls, West Virginia  No Responses »
Nov 032011
 

Potoma Waterfall, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, WV.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. As most of you know I have been on a self imposed exploration of my regional backyard. I have cut back some of my trans-continental travel and taken the opportunity to visit some incredible local locations with one of my shooting pals Mark Muse. Today’s post is a real jewel and is located a mere 10 minutes from my office. Just downriver from where the Shenandoah and the Potomac join a small stream that drains from the mountains around Loudon Heights empties into the Potomac. But before it does the stream drops over a knife edge of stone and splinters into multiple cascades. On this day the falls were swollen with water from rains and snowmelt. The flow of water twists and turns through an obstacle course of large boulders before finally joining the Potomac River. Sometimes it just pays to stay at home.

Technical Details: I shot the falls in the early evening. The sun was already dropping low in the sky and the dense canopy of trees obscured most of the sunlight and gave me a beautiful even light for shooting. At this time even an ISO of 100 I could get 1/4 to 1/2 of second exposures which was plenty to give the water a frozen look. But I wanted a little more “flow” to the water and cut out some small specular highlights on the wet rocks so I used a Heliopan Warming Circular Polarizer which gave me an additional 3 stops. So my exposure data was ISO 100 at f11 for 4 seconds. Nikon D3x with a Nikkor 17-35 at 20mm.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Google+Share

Douglas Falls on the North Fork of the Blackwater River – West Virginia

 Heliopan Filters, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, Photography Trips, River, Robert H Clark Photography, Waterfalls, West Virginia, WV  4 Responses »
Oct 242011
 

Waterfall on the Blackwater River, West Virginia.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Over the weekend my shooting buddy Mark Muse and I made a quick shooting trip to the West Virginia highlands. In my most recent posts I have been discussing the concept of exploring your “backyard” for photography opportunities. Mark has shot quite extensively in the West Virginia and has on many occasions tried to drag me out to shoot there. Well I have been missing a lot it seems. In two days we managed to shoot along the Middle Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac, sunset at Dolly Sods Wilderness, sunrise in some amazing bogs on Canaan Mountain, and a couple of incredible waterfalls. And to think all this wealth of landscape is a mere two and a half to three hours from home. What have I been thinking.

Today’s shot is just a teaser. This is a shot of Douglas Falls, an incredible 35-foot waterfall, on the North Fork of the Blackwater River. After shooting sunrise on Canaan Mountain we stopped at Hypno Coffee to warm up and also stopped in to the Friends of Blackwater Canyon for some information. We got directions to a couple of falls out along one of the forks that feed the Blackwater River. The road took us out along an abandoned railroad bed left over from early coal mining operations. Industrial remnants remained including coke ovens buried into wooded hillsides. At the end of the road we found this incredible waterfall. Plunging over 30 feet the sound of the waterfall was deafening. Spray and mist rose from the collision of rock and water filling the air with a cool vapor. Downstream the water tumbled over boulders stained red from iron, the result of coal mining operations. I will be posting more images from this trip in the coming weeks as soon as I have the chance to go through them. So stay tuned.

Technical Information: The image was shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens at 25mm. The images was exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 8 seconds. To reduce specular highlights I used a Heliopan Circular Warming Polarizer.

Google+Share

Morning Fog on the Shenandoah River – Harpers Ferry, WV

 Harpers Ferry, Heliopan Filters, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Mountains, National Parks, Photography Composition, Photography Technique, Potomac River, River, Robert H Clark Photography, sunrise, Trees, Water, West Virginia, Zeiss Lenses  3 Responses »
Oct 122011
 

Morning Fog on the Shenandoah River, Harpers Ferry, WV.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. In my last post I admonished myself for not getting out and enjoying the many scenic possibilities that exist in my own backyard. I received quite a few comments via e-mail from folks all coming clean about falling prey to the same malady. It is easy to do of course. When you plan a shooting trip, say out west, your whole focus is on that trip and the physical and mental act of scouting, shooting, chasing the light, composition, and the list goes on and on. It is different at home however. Because all the home obligations from family to work to putting a roof on the house take over. It is natural because unless we live totally in a self-absorbed vacuum we still have to take care of the business end of life. And that means manage our commitments. It is just life. But, and here is a really big but, if we do not take the time to pursue what we love then it will pass us by. Lost opportunities will turn into the “I wish I had done that”. I for one have a big bucket list of places I want to go and things I want to see, do, and experience. It is quite long and I may never get to the end of the list but I am going to try. If you want something to happen then you have to take matters into your own hands. You can’t wait for it to come to you. You must throw you aspirations out into the karmic airwaves and step by step begin the journey. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Oddly enough the journey, for most of us, begins at home.

I am fortunate to live and work in a very beautiful place. Just twenty minutes from my house the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet just below Harpers Ferry. The Appalachian Trail passes below my office and Loudoun Heights and Maryland Heights, part of the Appalachian chain, tower over the the confluence of the two rivers. Needless to say it is not only beautiful but an amazing barometer of the changing seasons. Fall color has started to appear and it will not be long before sheets of ice will stretch across the river. Though constantly changing the river is the catalyst which draws me to shoot. Fall brings some incredible fog events caused by the temperature inversions as the weather changes. So I have been spending a few days at “home” now just getting reacquainted with the river. As I have discovered it has a lot to offer.

Technical Details: I was on the river fairly early in the morning. The fog is generally thicker at this time and depending on the temperature swings can hang low to the river, obscuring all but the closest details, or float higher revealing more of the landscape. On this day I waited for the fog to begin to burn off just a bit and set up the shot to play on the various converging lines. The image was shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. The image was exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 6 seconds. I used a Heliopan Circular Warming Polarizer to remove specular highlights and a Singh-Ray 3-Stop, Soft Edge, Split Neutral Density Filter over a portion of the sky and background to hold in the sky and fog.

Thanks for stopping by today. Remember where your journey starts. Get out and shoot.

Bob

Google+Share

Reflections – Ellingson Island, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Lake Superior

 Adobe Lightroom, Heliopan Filters, Lake Superior, Lake Superior Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lightroom, Minnesota, Moab Masters, North Shore of Lake Superior, Robert H Clark Photography, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, Water, Zeiss Lenses  2 Responses »
Aug 252011
 

Reflections, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, North Shore of Lake Superior. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 1 second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am off on Saturday for a weeklong trip to Crater Lake National Park. I have a good bit of work there next week but suspect I will get in some shooting time. In the meantime, and until I return, here is a new image from my recent venture on the North Shore of Lake Superior. On Sunday evening before the start of the workshop I did a brief scouting trip down to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. It was a beautiful and very calm evening. Lake Superior was glass like, without ripples and the color of lake and sky seemed to merge with only a thin line along the horizon separating the two. The overhead band of clouds were almost perfectly mirrored in the calm waters. Out from the shoreline, Ellingson Island appeared to suspend between water and sky, connected to earth by the thinnest tendril of stone. I was enveloped by stillness. The lake barely lapped at the shore and for a brief moment time simply stopped.

Technical Details: Though the clouds were perfectly reflected in the water I could not get a good single capture. So the final image is a composite of two images, one exposed to capture the clouds in the sky and the other to capture the clouds in the water. In each case I used a Heliopan Warming Polarizer and a Singh-Ray “sandwich” consisting of a 4-Stop Neutral Density and a 2-Stop Soft Edge Split Neutral Density Filter. The two RAW files were processed and combined in Photoshop. The 4-Stop Neutral allowed me to increase the exposure to gain some movement in the clouds and smooth out the water.

Thanks for stopping by today. I will see you back here in about a week.

Bob

Google+Share

Kona Coast, Hawaii – Volcanic Rocks and Ocean

 Hawaii, Heliopan Filters, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lava, Nikon D3x, Pacific Ocean, Photography Technique, sunset, Volcano, Water  5 Responses »
Sep 122010
 

Volcanic Rocks and Ocean, Kona Coast, big island of Hawaii. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 4 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am heading out to Philadelphia for the next four days and will be “out of pocket” as the saying goes. So until my next post here is another image shot along the Kona Coast on the big island of Hawaii. I found this grouping of colorful rocks jutting out into the ocean. They were at the end of a finger of black volcanic flow and were more than likely carried there during the last eruption. The image was made in the late evening after the sun had set but with enough ambient light to bring out the colors of the rocks and swirling ocean. The subtle, complementary colors were beautiful and in my mind could only be conceived by nature. Water washing over the rocks brought out the iridescent blues and purples which complemented the aqua tones of the shallow shoreline.

To capture this shot I used a Heliopan Warming Circular Polarizer and a 3-stop Singh-Ray Split Neutral Density filter. The polarizer allowed me to dial in some of the rich tones and helped to slow down the shutter speed for motion blur. The neutral density filter allowed me to balance the bright sky with the foreground. RAW processing was through Adobe Lightroom 3.2 with final finishing in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today. I will be back in about a week with a new post.

Bob

Google+Share

Tidal Pool – Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park

 Hawaii, Heliopan Filters, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lava, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Pacific Ocean, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, sunset  No Responses »
Sep 102010
 

Tidal Pool, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image shot at ISO 100 at f13 for 2 seconds.

Hi everyone. Welcome to today’s post. I have been away for a few weeks on several assignments and have quite  few images to go through. This post is an image shot along the Kona Coast at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on the big island of Hawaii. Kaloko is the site of a Hawaiian settlement before the arrival of European explorers. It includes coastal areas, three large fish ponds, a house site, and other archeological remnants. The site sits in the shadow of Mauna Loa, a dormant volcano. Along the coastline fingers of ancient volcanic flow extend into the ocean. I had the opportunity to photograph the sunset within the park and spent some time exploring the tidal pools that are tucked into recesses within the lava. This pool contained several beautiful coral formations.

Hawaiian cultural is full on many myths and many gods. I told an Hawaiian friend of mine about spending time at Kaloko. He asked me if the ocean spoke to me. I related to him that as I was shooting the tide began to come in and would send foamy fingers of water up to my feet and tripod legs. It would flow in and just touch my feet, fill small holes in the lava, and then recede. My friend said the ocean was checking me out-just seeing who was walking upon the lava. I allowed myself to imagine what life must have been like on this site. Hawaiian culture has a strong connection to the ocean. For a brief moment in time I tapped into that power and just listened quietly to the oceans song. The water roared in with a thunderous voice which dissipated into hundreds of soft melodic voices as the waves lapped through the volcanic fissures. As night fell I was absorbed into blackness, unable to see the lava field static at my feet. But the ocean continued to sing. For hours afterward I could hear the ocean in my head and feel the vibrations. My friend said the ocean had indeed spoken to me. And he said it was a good thing.

To capture the tidal pool I used a Heliopan Warming Circular Polarizer dialed in to reveal the coral in the water. In addition I used a Singh-Ray 3-stop Soft Split Neutral Density to hold back the sky. RAW processing was done in Lightroom and final work in Photoshop CS4.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Google+Share

Yosemite-Olmsted Point

 Black and White, California, Heliopan Filters, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Singh-Ray Filters, Yosemite, Zeiss Lenses  No Responses »
Mar 032010
 

Glacial scars at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f16 for 1/250 of a second.

This post is an image shot at Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park. Olmsted Point is located along the Tioga Road and is one of the most inspiring viewpoints in the park. Looking east from this vantage point you can see the back of Half Dome. The view west is towards Tenaya Lake and Mt. Conness. The glacial erratic boulders and deep scars cut in the granite were left by receding glaciers. My first visit to this point was in the early 80′s and I always try to make a stop on my visits to the valley.

On this day the clouds were really rolling across the high country. I used a Heliopan Warming Circular Polarizer to bring out details in the clouds and a Singh-Ray, 3-stop soft, split-neutral density filter to handle the strong contrast in the sky. The RAW file was processed in Adobe Lightroom and the black and white conversion handled in Photoshop with the B+W Adjustment Layer.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Google+Share