Robert H Clark Photography Blog

Photography Composition

Lake Superior Twilight – Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Minnesota

Aug 212011

Lake Superior Twilight, Ellingson Island, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Minnesota. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens set at 19mm. The image was exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 2:00 minutes.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Today’s photograph is another image from the Lake Superior Workshop taken along the shoreline of Ellingson Island in Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Lake Superior was pretty calm on this day and a few clouds were drifting by towards sunset. Low clouds along the horizon just off to camera left were blocking most of the late sunlight giving a slight blue cast to the overall scene. I have always loved the notion of edges and constantly explore this idea in my images. Edges abound in the natural landscape-light and shadow, earth and sky, earth and water-and it is at the meeting of these edges that photography can be interesting. In this image shoreline rocks give way to the lake environment. Boldly the shoreline reaches its fingers into the cold waters as lapping water rolls over submerged rock barriers revealing a thin defining edge. Beyond this Lake Superior stretches out almost 300 miles and disappears into a horizon of blue sky and clouds.

Technical Details: The clouds were blowing in towards me and with a little filter trickery I could impart a dynamic sense of motion to complement the angles along the shoreline. The camera was set to Matrix Evaluative Metering and manual focus. The white balance was set to 6000K. I used two filters during the capture – a Singh-Ray 4-Stop, Soft Edge Split Neutral Density and a Lee Big Stopper. The Lee Big Stopper is a 10-Stop Neutral Density filter that, as its name suggests, will hold back 10 stops of light. In practice however the filter stops are not precise and it is a good idea to test this in order to get a good exposure. In my case the filter is right on 9-2/3 stops so its close enough. In any event the addition of almost 10 stops affords very long exposures which can impart a sense of motion to the clouds and soften water into a smooth, ice-like surface. The filter will impart a blue cast to the file which can be corrected in post processing. Generally I will preset my white balance up to about 6000K for some compensation but for the most part make corrections in RAW processing.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Aug 132011

Split Rock Lighthouse and Lake Superior. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens at 17mm. (See article for capture details)

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I have just returned from assisting Alec Johnson on the North Shore of Lake Superior Workshop. What an incredible week with a fantastic group of photographers. It was hectic to say the least and none of us got much sleep as we chased the light in several beautiful locations. In my last post from the workshop I talked about the need for scouting a location. Very few photographers can come into a location cold and expect to come away with a quality image. It takes time to understand the intrinsic rhythms of a place necessary to making a photograph. In our workshop we focused on the concept of scouting. During the week we shot in three locations. For each location we did an afternoon scout then shot sunset followed by a sunrise shoot. During the afternoon scouting sessions we had each participant perform some basic exercises including digital sketching and a 10 Step/10 Shots routine. In each case we asked everyone to dispense with their tripods. We wanted them to explore untethered to the rigidity of a camera support. Exploring this way does several things. First it puts you in a shooting rhythm. The more you shoot the more you will see and the more you see the more you shoot. Second it allows you to move your camera in all directions and from different heights and angles. We gave everyone a sense of how the light would change over the course of the day and that they should use this information to consider and imagine the possibilities as they played with their compositions. This exercise was very successful for each of our photographers and everyone made inspiring images. And as you might guess the best work came on the second shooting session as each one began to unravel the intrinsic rhythms of the place. Alec will be posting some of these beautiful images over on his blog site at http://www.acjphotoblog.com/.

Today’s image was a direct result of a pre-workshop scout I did at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. The shot was made from Ellingson Island. The back side of the island is quite rocky and consists of a series of granite rock shelves that eventually meet the lake. The lower shelves contain pools and slick rock from the ebb and flow of the lake. From this vantage point, given the chance arrival of some great clouds, I pre-visualized a dramatic leading line pointing to the distant lighthouse. On the day the class shot here we had some beautiful clouds and the opportunity presented itself to achieve the shot I had envisioned. I wanted to emphasize the idea of motion into the shot to complement the leading line. To so this I needed to slow down the shutter speed to impart motion in the clouds and “liquify” the water. To do this I used a Lee 10 Stop “Big Stopper” Neutral Density Filter coupled with a Singh-Ray 3-Stop Hard Split Neutral Density. The final image consisted of three separate exposures of 1:00 minute, and 2:00 minutes, and 4:00 minutes and processed in Photomatix HDR Software. The file was blended using the Fusion engine. The exposure sets I used along with the filters created the motion effect in the clouds and gave the water an icy, flat look. Final finishing was performed in Abobe Photoshop.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

First Light on Otter Point – Acadia National Park, Maine

Acadia, Acadia National Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Maine, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunrise, Zeiss Lenses 6 Responses »

Jul 172011

First Light on Otter Point, Acadia National Park, Maine. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 28mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f14 for 1/2 of a second. The White Balance was set to 5500K.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Well it is only a few weeks now until my North Shore on Lake Superior workshop with Alec Johnson and Travis Bechtel. We are all in the pre-trip angst deciding on equipment choices, prepping files for critiques and teaching, and all other last minute details that can consume one before a trip. The workshop is full so we re all looking forward to a great experience. If I can get my act together in time I will put together a post on my camera bag for this trip.

In the meantime please enjoy today’s image from another beautiful, rocky coastline, only this one is in Maine. This is a shot of Otter Point at first light. Otter Point is one of the more iconic landforms in Acadia National Park and has been the subject of many photographs. For this image I wanted to shoot from a point where I could get some interesting foreground elements to add more visual interest to the shot. I found this area along the coast the evening before and really liked how the foreground pillar of rocks created a negative shape that mirrored the contours of Otter Point. This group of rocks, along with the ones on the right provided a nice framing device. The next morning I climbed down along the shoreline about 40 minutes before sunrise. This area is very slippery and the lowlight conditions required a slower, and more careful approach. Once in place and the shot framed I started to shoot a few test shots as the light came up to check my histograms. A storm from the night before was just clearing and with the addition of the clouds the whole composition came together. I used a 4-stop soft edge, Singh-Ray Split Neutral Density filter to balance out the exposure. As the sun cleared the horizon and the first light hit the point I made my exposure.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

South Kaibab Trail – Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, sunset, Uncategorized No Responses »

Jul 122011

Along the South Kaibab Trailhead, South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at 200mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. One of my favorite things to do when visiting the Grand Canyon is to get a cup of coffee and take and evening walk along the Rim Trail. It is a wonderful way to wind down after a busy day and experience twilight along the South Rim. Invariably I will meet other strollers and engage in the kind of general small talk reserved for such occasions. As the vastness of the canyon recedes in the dying light the subject of conversation often turns to the notion of scale. Many first time visitors, and even those who return often, are struck by the sheer enormity of the canyon. I have many trips to the canyon and never tire of its sense of scale, or in reality, my perception of it. It is of such proportions as to leave you spellbound. But the sense of scale can be confusing. Standing along the rim near the El Tovar you can see down to Indian Garden and out to Plateau Point on the Tonto Platform. As a rock falls, so to speak, it is not that far. But take the hike down and you soon realize that it is much farther than you thought.

Looking across towards the North Rim and the vastness is almost incomprehensible. When I was on a helitack crew at the canyon I had the opportunity to make many helicopter flights into the inner canyon and along the Colorado River. Dropping off the sheer cliffs of the Abyss towards the Tonto Platform was like taking a roller coaster ride. You soon understood how small you were in relation to the canyon environment. Huge, vertical walls, towering pillars of stone, buttes and temples, warrens of confusing canyons and washes all combined to overpower the senses.

Consider today’s image. It is a shot of the upper portion of the South Kaibab Trail. To find the trail just come down the upper slope from the rock pillars to a horizontal line that angles slightly down from right to left. Do you see it? This is still near the top and there are many miles to go before reaching the inner canyon and the Colorado River. Beyond is the North Rim. In a shot such as this, compressed by the telephoto lens, scale is hard to determine. Not even the trail helps. But take a look at the image below. It is an enlargement of the image. Look inside the white circle and you will see two small hikers. If you look very closely you can just make them out in the image above.

Detail from the South Kaibab Trail. Look inside the white circle to see the two hikers.

Now the immense scale of the canyon is evident. Dwarfed by the landscape the hikers have entered a world that can literally swallow them. The next time you make a visit to the canyon I would invite you to take the opportunity to experience this landscape up close and in person. Move away from the rim and let the canyon swallow you for a few hours. I can promise you will have a different sense of scale when you return.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

South Rim Sunset, Lipan Point – Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Navajo Lands, Nikon D3x, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, sunset No Responses »

Jul 092011

South Rim Sunset, Lipan Point, Grand Canyon National Park. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at 85mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for one second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am finally home after being away for the last ten days to participate in my daughters pole vaulting camp. Not too much in the way of landscape shooting but a lot fun photographing the vaulters. Now that I am back I can concentrate on some of my latest landscape shots from my last trip to the Grand Canyon.

Today’s image was made from Lipan Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. If I had to make a choice of favorite shooting locations on the South Rim, Lipan Point would get the nod. The vista looking towards the East Rim Palisades is truly remarkable. In my humble opinion when I think about the grand landscape my mind invariably goes to this view. It is an arguable point and some of you may choose other locations from Yellowstone, Glacier, or even Yosemite. But my heart lies here. On a recent trip to the National Gallery of Art I found myself pondering some Albert Bierstadt paintings. In many of his paintings the foreground was rendered in detail which gave way to a vastness of suffused light and detail. His paintings often used atmospheric effects such as dramatic lighting, fog, clouds, and mist to complement his work. Though I am not comparing my image to the work of Bierstadt, his paintings were on my mind as I shot this day. The late afternoon light was beautiful. A gusty wind whipped up dust in the inner canyon and the Painted Desert beyond. The wind, in fact, was brisk and I had to find a sheltered shooting position on a point out from the overlook. Shooting with a large lens like the 70-200mm can present problems with camera shake in the wind. To help I shot from a lower position with my tripod legs spread wide to provide more stability. Focusing was done manually through live view and I used a small weighted beanbag on top of the lens to dampen some of the wind movement. I also set the camera to shoot with Mirror Lock-Up. In most cases, not always though, wind comes in cycles of high intensity to near stillness. When confronted with wind pay attention to the cycles and wait for the calm cycle to trip the shutter.

At this time of the day, and year, it pays to understand how the sun will illuminate the canyons features. As the afternoon sun moves lower in the sky, light will begin to soften in the inner canyon to the point where certain landforms are lit while others are not. In this image the sun is strongly illuminating Escalante Butte, to the left, and Cardenas Butte, to the right. The inner canyon light is softer and there is only a hint of light along the upper rim of the East Palisades. The effect is truly beautiful and dramatic. The image has a strong foreground with detail that gives way to an atmospheric condition brought on by wind blown dust particulates. The paintings of Bierstadt were indeed on my mind this day. To understand how the light changes and is affected by other environmental conditions compare this shot with the June 23, 2011 post which was shot on a different day.

The image was processed to emphasize the leading lines that draw your eye into the image. The line of “light” running up Escalante Butte on the left gives way to the darkened ridge line that frames Cardenas Butte. From there I increased the contrast and detail in the Colorado River to lead the eye towards the lighted rim of the East Palisades and the mass of Temple Butte in the Upper left. This image remains one of my favorite shots I have taken from this location.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

Wave Pattern No. 1 – Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii

Abstracts, Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, Nikon PC Lense, Pacific Ocean, Photography Composition No Responses »

May 012011

Wave Pattern No. 1, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a 24mm Nikkor PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 3-1/2 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image is from a series of wave motion explorations I shot on my last trip to Hawaii. On an early evening stroll along the beach front in Waikiki I found myself on a quiet stretch of sand as the sun began its descent towards the western horizon. Approximately 100 yards out from the beach was a stone breakwater that broke the incoming surf and created a quiet lagoon. Some of the wave water rolled over the stonework and became a series of subtle, and continuous, rolling ripples that eventually reached the beach. Sun light illuminated the ripples of water as they passed over the sand. Behind me the hustle and bustle of downtown Honolulu continued. The din of noise, cars, shoppers was somewhat distracting. But as the waves rolled in and out I became enveloped in their motion and I completely lost track of time. It was hypnotic and I did not move from the spot for what seemed to be long time. I shot nearly 60 images all from the same camera set up and with the one lens focused only on the ripples of light.

For many of us photography is a consuming passion. I know it is for me. But this can sometimes get in the way of just being in the moment. We scout the shot, calculate the sun angles and setting times, pick the lens, and plan for contingencies if things go wrong. Already we have done a lot of work and have yet to spring the shutter. To break this habit sometimes I will go out, with camera in hand, without a purpose. No real intentions to shoot, only to explore and see what is there. I find this “walking camera in hand meditation” relaxing. I would never have stopped to watch wave patterns if I had been in my “intentional” shooting mode. Here I was not hunting for anything in particular. I was just out on a nice evening in a beautiful place. 60 images later I woke up and the light had faded. I rejoined the throngs of people on the street more awake than when I had arrived.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

Rio Grande Palisades – Big Bend National Park

Badlands, Big Bend, Big Bend National Park, Desert, Helicon Focus, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Photography Composition, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, River, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, Texas, Zeiss Lenses 3 Responses »

Apr 042011

Rio Grand Palisades, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 55mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/20 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This is another shot from my recent trip to Big Bend National. This image was taken from the Rio Grande Overlook and is a view looking south into Mexico. This is not the classic view from this point and I resisted the urge to shoot that shot. I choose instead to move away from my group in search of other vistas. When I found this composition I was struck by the sweeping curves in the river as it flowed past the rocky palisades. From my lofty perch I could see far and away into Mexico. I find edges very interesting both compositionally and intrinsically. Here we have the edges of two countries separated only by a thin ribbon of river. So close and yet so far away. At the time it was a landscape I could only gaze upon as I was not allowed to cross the river.

There are several interesting and powerful compositional concepts found in this image. The first and most prominent is the leading line formed by the river. It is far and away the most powerful element. The rivers shape and form leads the eye into the frame and moves it deeper into the landscape. It is also the lightest element in tone and contrast and is framed on each side by the darker land forms. The eye will always be drawn to the light in a photograph and this occurs in the upper one-third of the shot.

There are also repeating shapes within the the image. The foreground rocks, the palisades at the turn of the river, the far cliffs, and even the light colored tones in the background are repeating elements in the shot that add visual interest. They also form a secondary leading line that runs diagonally in contrast to the sinuous curve of the river. The combination of these two singular lines makes for a dynamic image full of visual interest.

The image was shot in split-light. Split-light is where there is a defined edge between light and shadow. Split-light is easy to recognize but can be hard to handle with exposure. this is especially true since I shot this image in three focus brackets to combine in Helicon Focus. To this end I could not shoot exposure brackets to combine or blend. To handle the exposure I used a Singh-Ray 3-stop, hard edge, Split Neutral Density Filter to compensate for the dynamic range of light in the image. The focus brackets were made of the foreground. mid-ground, and background and then combined in Helicon Focus to create one image. This was taken into Photoshop for final finishing and conversion to Black and White.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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