Robert H Clark Photography Blog

New Mexico

Journey – White Sands National Monument

Desert, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Trips, Reflections, Sony α900, sunrise, White Sands National Monument, Zeiss Lenses No Responses »

May 192011

Journey, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. For the next few days I will be in Charleston at my daughters state track meet. She will be competing in the pole vault. I will confess that she is quite good at her event. But this year, her junior year, has been tough on her. She has faced the pressure of grades, competing, and some for the first time being under the microscope of expectations. She has cracked a bit under this pressure but has done an incredible job of working through the issues. Today’s world is so different compared to my day. It is just so much harder and our kids seem to face so many pressures that for many of us “old timers” were not around in our youth.

On a daily basis I remind my daughter that her life is a journey and will be made up of many events, some that will inform what she becomes, and others that are just minor blips along the path. Though this year was tough it will get better. Though she did not pole vault well this season it will get better. It can all change in the snap of a finger. I also remind her to try to be in the moment. The path of life is long with many twists and it is simply impossible to see around every curve. Many influences, both good and bad, will pull at you during your journey. Many things will happen that just do not seem fair. But a lot of good happens if you let it. If you let go of what holds you back and choose not to live in fear then amazing things will happen. This is tough for a 17 year old. And as I jot these thoughts down I realize it is tough for me as well.

I do not know what the next few days will hold for her. But I pray she finds the moment and the courage to face down the demons that are holding her. I pray that she steps on to the path of light and lives in the incredible moment of “now”. And I hope I can do the same.

This image was shot on a beautiful morning on the dunes at White Sands. As the sun rose golden light illuminated this beautiful ribbon that traversed the ridge between light and dark. To all my friends-walk the path. Life has much to offer if you let it. Let each waking minute be the your best. Let each waking hour be your best. Let each waking day be your best.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

Moonrise and Dune – White Sands National Monument

Desert, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Trips, Sony α900, sunset, Twilight Photography, Zeiss Lenses 8 Responses »

Feb 282011

Moonrise and Dune, White Sands National Monument. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 4 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. One of the aspects of landscape photography I like is that nature presents us with many faces. At times sunsets or sunrises can be bold, full of intense color and drama. On other occasions the light may be soft and subtle. I have written before about the light at White Sands National Monument in this blog and for Singh-Ray’s blog. Most of my photography while shooting at White Sands centered on capturing the soft light at twilight. This image was shot during civil twilight approximately 20 minutes after the sun had set. The Naval Observatory defines civil twilight as that time, beginning in the morning, and ending in the evening, when the sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. Civil twilight generally last about 30 minutes and is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient to clearly distinguish terrestrial objects. The horizon line is clearly defined and the brightest stars emerge and are visible. At sunrise or sunset the upper edge of the disk of the sun is just on the horizon.

This image was shot during evening twilight. Just after the sun dropped below the horizon the light flattened out and many of the dunes details faded. Within 10 minutes though, as the sun dropped 2 to 3 degrees below the horizon the sky became brighter and the dunes relit with subtle light. The intense blue from the sky reflected on the white gypsum and a beautiful magenta-red glow illuminated the ripples of sand and dune faces. You have to work quickly as the relighting effect fades the longer you shoot in this time period. In general I try to be position at sunset and have several compositions selected to work with until the light fades.

Shooting during this time requires longer shutter speeds unless you are using higher ISO’s. I like to shoot at an ISO of 100 to 200 and as such generally have exposures that range from 2 to 10 seconds. For the longer exposures I make sure my tripod is steady and my pan head securely tightened. I always use mirror lock up to eliminate any hint of camera shake.

I try not to over process these images. My processing intent therefore is designed to maintain the soft, subtle colors and luminance that I saw when I composed the image. RAW processing in Lightroom focuses on using the curve sliders along with some fill and recover. I also made some adjustments to the luminance values in the blue channels. Very little work was required in Photoshop and consisted of setting a final white and black point and applying a curve adjustment through a “darks” luminosity mask.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

The Edge of Light – White Sands National Monument

Black and White, Desert, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Trips, Sony α900, sunset, Twilight Photography, White Sands National Monument 2 Responses »

Jan 212011

The Edge of Light, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 4 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image is from White Sands National Monument. When I was at White Sands I tended to gravitate to the south western dune fields. It is an easy area to access yet few people seem to make the trek away from the parking areas. In fact most of the parks visitor’s stay within two to three dunes adjacent to the road or parking areas. The further away from the road the more pristine the dunes. It is an alluring landscape that draws you in, beckoning if you will, to explore it’s subtle twists and turns.

In the late afternoon, just before the sun sets the world of light and shadow meet. Once hidden by the harsh midday sun, distinctive edges that I call the edge of light emerge revealing sinuous curves and soft ripples. From a high point you can trace unbroken lines of light from dune to dune until they disappear in the far horizon. It is not enough though to simply trace these lines. Instead they become a path-a way into the very heart of the dunes. When the sun sets cool air descends to wash away the afternoon heat. All is quiet as twilight envelopes you with it’s soft light. As night falls, the lines begin to fade. The edges become solid forms again-black shapes against the sky. What was once revealed by light is thrust into darkness waiting only for the suns return.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Yucca at Twilight – White Sands National Monument

Landscape, Landscape Photography, Light Painting, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Twilight Photography, White Sands National Monument 2 Responses »

Dec 112010

Yucca at Twilight, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shote with a Sony α900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 3.0 seconds

Hi everyone and welcome to todays post. The image is only meant to “wet your appetite” and ask you to visit the Singh-Ray Blog where an article I wrote on White Sands, along with five of my images, will be posted next Tuesday. Most of you who have followed my blog and my work know that I rely heavily on my Singh-Ray Split Neutral Density Filters. I never leave home without them. I started using them years ago when I was primarily shooting 4 x 5 and needed the filters to help balance difficult exposure scenarios between skies and foregrounds. My desire to get things right in-camera is still prevalent in my workflow today. While I have the ability to combine images in photoshop I still prefer to get the shot in one capture. My basic filter set includes the 2, 3, and 4-Stop, Soft Edge, Split Neutral Density Filters, and 3, and 4-Stop Daryl Benson Reverse Split Neutral Density Filters. The article next week on Singh-Ray’s Blog talks about these filters and how I used them to capture a series of dune images at “the edge of light”. So head on over next Tuesday and check it out. Let me know what you think.

As to todays image it is a classic shot of a yucca out in the dunes. While you can find them all over the dunes it is sometimes hard to find them in good condition or without a lot of footprints around them. Getting out and away from the parking areas will yield some good results. this plant has already bloomed and has left behind the beautiful orange color seed heads. The idea of cool and warm colors is exhibited in this image. The cool blue colors of the sky are reflected in the dune shadows and compliments the warm colors of the grass and the seed heads. To help me warm up the yucca I used my 200 lumen flashlight on the yucca during the exposure. The technique is pretty simple. You can’t just shine the light on the plant as it would overpower the effect and cause some severe shadowing. The best way is to hold the flashlight in one hand and shine it through the fingers of the other hand. As you do so move your fingers s this helps deflect and soften the light striking the plant. Additionally, move up and down your subject so as not to concentrate too much light in one area. Done correctly it should have a natural appearance. It is a great techniques to use at twilight to help add light to a darker area.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don’t forget to check out my other shots next week over on the Singh-Ray Blog.

Bob

Twilight Sunrise – White Sands National Monument

Desert, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunrise, White Sands National Monument 4 Responses »

Dec 022010

Twilight Sunrise, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 11 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to todays post. This image is from a recent shoot at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. The image was shot just before sunrise approximately 1/2 mile out on the western dune fields. I had not had a chance to scout locations yet and just hiked out in the dark in hopes of capturing a few shots. After crossing several dune areas I came to this spot which was essentially a large amphitheater of sand surrounding an interdune zone. The flat interdune zone at the base of the sand dunes contains hard cryptobiotic formations called dune footprints. This area is where the dunes used to be. As the dunes are moved by wind they leave behind their footprints.

As the morning entered into civil twilight there was enough light to allow me about 15 minutes to frame a few shots. I positioned the camera to take advantage of the dynamic lines created by the sand ripples and the band of clouds moving across the sky. A beautiful, subtle hint of red began to appear in the clouds and light light started to illuminate the leading edges of the dunes. The light under the clouds was pretty hot and I used a Singh-Ray 4-stop Reverse Split Neutral Density filter to help balance out the exposure. The clouds were moving pretty fast so there is just a hint of motion expressed through the 11 second exposure. Not a bad way to start a morning.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Dune Flats – White Sands National Monument

Desert, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Mountains, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Sony α900, White Sands National Monument 2 Responses »

Nov 112010

Dune Flats, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/6 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. As this post is coming on the heels of yesterdays image it is what I consider “the rest of the story”. My friend TJ Avery wrote me after yesterdays post and reminded me that my preference for not shooting detail was not so much a “photography character flaw” but more in line with my style. And he goes on to point out that if we, as photographers, “can recognize and consciously think about what components in a scene are attracting you, then you’ll be more able to focus in on them and make a meaningful photograph…”. I say right on. A deliberate consciousness and visualization of the potential of a photograph is extremely important. But the question always remains as to what attracts us to a scene. Put ten photographers in the same spot and you will get eight different photographs and two who will abstain from shooting because its not quite what they are looking for. Consciously thinking about the components of the photograph is a powerful idea. I don’t know how many times I have processed what I consider to be a finished image only to play with cropping and find one, two, or even more shots within the shot. Wow I think, why didn’t I shoot that. In actuality I did but in the larger context of the grand landscape shot. Were these small components sub-consciously what attracted me in the first place? I’m not sure. I tend to see the larger pieces first-for example a foreground object coupled with the line of mountains and sky. From there I consider what lens might be the best to render the shot. Oh, and lets not forget about the quality of light. The list can get long and honestly I think the brain neurons are firing so quickly that we go on creative auto pilot. The hows and whys that bring us into the shot still remains a mystery to me and can into the metaphysical.

Yesterdays post is a detail. One of those “shots within the shot” so to speak. And it begins with todays post which was the first composition. So what drew me to this image in the first place? It was the light. The subtle beautiful glow on the far dune. For all my days at White Sands it was this light, at twilight times, that captivated me. I just could not get enough of that light. But notice how that glow is repeated in the ripples and contrasted with blue light reflected from the sky. This too captivated me. And so the focus (sorry, had to say it), was to weave these thematic components into my shots. And so this first shot, represents what I am always attracted to. The grand landscape. The big idea. But if you look closely into the far dune you will see the detail shot that I posted yesterday. It was processed monochromatically but it still exhibits the subtle light and expressive patterns of dune ripples. The lesson here is that we need to think consciously about the components that attract us within a scene. In this instance I stopped moving long enough to allow my eyes and mind to wander about the scene. And it kept coming back to the beautiful light on the far dune. I simply walked forward into the scene and the shot revealed itself to me. Find and study those components that attract you and you will discover the “shots within the shot”.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Bob

Ripples of Sand – White Sands National Monument

Abstracts, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, New Mexico, Photography Trips, Sony α900, White Sands National Monument, Zeiss Lenses 1 Response »

Nov 112010

Sand Ripples Number 1, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image of sand ripples is from White Sands National Monument. I have always been one to concentrate much of my photography on the grand landscape as opposed to looking within the composition for more subtle details. It is somewhat of a photographic character flaw within me. I stepped away from this a bit at White Sands when I became fascinated by the beautiful, undulating ripples of sand formed by the wind. Wind is a powerful force at White Sands that gives life and movement to the dunes. Trekking across the ridges it is hard to imagine that the dunes actually move up to 25 feet a year and are in a constant state of change. Water contributes to some of this but it is the wind that drives them towards Alamogordo. The ripples can be subtle, barley discernable in fact, or deep furrowed tendrils extending into the landscape. Their shadowed relief help give form and character to the dunes. But they are fleeting and in constant flux. At times rain simply washes them away and the sand becomes a monotonous flat crust. But the winds always return, cutting into the crust, chiseling and sculpting until new ripples form. It is the cycle of change. The photo above is but a single moment in time. It will not be this way again for nothing remains still on the dunes for long.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Bisti Badlands – Preachers Pulpit

Badlands, Bisti Badlands, Bureau of Land Management, Desert, Hoodoo, Landscape, Landscape Photography, New Mexico No Responses »

Apr 172010

Preachers Pulpit, Bisti Badlands. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikor 12-24mm lens at 15mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f22 for 1/6 of a second.

Hi everyone. Todays post is from a remote area in northwest New Mexico called the Bisti Badlands. It is part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The site is located about 30 miles south of Farmington, New Mexico. Translated from the Navajo, Bisti means ” a large area of shale hill”. The Bisti Wilderness is a remote, desolate, and harsh landscape of deeply eroded hoodoos, badlands, and petrified trees. Time, wind, water, and the natural effects of erosion have created a fantasy land of strange rock formations and weathered hills.

Todays image is representative of the kinds of hoodoos and formations you can find in the wilderness. When I stumbled across this shot the clouds were streaming by over head. The whole formation seemed to be enveloped by the foreground rocks and the pulpit rose up from the middle and glowed from sunlight. In addition there is a beautiful connection of line that begins at the base of the rocks and extends upward into the clouds. The whole effect is one of dynamic motion, connection, and extension. All concepts I think about and like to explore in my work.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

New Mexico Hoodoo

Badlands, Desert, Landscape, New Mexico No Responses »

Jan 102010

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.