Robert H Clark Photography Blog

Reflections

“Fire on the Flats” – Salt Creek Flats, Death Valley National Park, CA

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Workflow, California, Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, Death Valley Photography, Desert, Lightroom, National Parks, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Reflections, Robert H Clark Photography, Salt Flats, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Water 1 Response »

Jul 222012

Fire on the Flats • Salt Creek Flats, Death Valley National Park, CA

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Today I am bringing you a little color and a little intensity. The image was shot on the Salt Creek Flats, a large expansive playa of heat tortured earth. Here in the summer the temperatures can reach well over 115 degrees. The heat leaches the salt and minerals from the soil which leaves the earth with a myriad of patterns, salt circles, ruptured soil, and the occasional pool of water. In the winter, when this shot was made, the temperature is more moderate and in fact very pleasant. Alec John, Travis Bechtel, and I spent several days exploring and shooting in the flats. It is a habit we have to shoot and scout locations multiple times in order to get to know the conditions and find interesting compositions. This was made on the evening of our second visit to this area. We had experienced amazing clouds through out the day and geared up for a potential “special event” for sunset. We were not disappointed. The clouds thinned along the western horizon and cleared the way for the sun to really light up the clouds moving in from the east. A large amorphous dragon-like cloud began to spread out over the playa and I began to look for a location to pick up a nice foreground and some water to capture the intense reflections of t he cloud. I found this beautiful round pool rimmed by puckered soil and a rime of salt. I began to shoot as the color started to happen. The intensity built till it looked as if the entire cloud was on fire. About fifteen minutes later it was all over as the flats entered the twilight zone of darkness.

How I Made the Shot: As a matter of photographic practice I often use a series of graduated split neutral density filters in my work. The filters allow me to balance the exposure in high contrast scenes such as this shot. Here the sky was well over 4 stops brighter than the foreground. So a split would allow me to expose for the foreground and hold back the sky creating a balance exposure. But on this trip I was experimenting without using filters. To capture the full range of light I made bracketed exposures-usually 5 stops but sometime 7, in the following increments: -2/-1/0/+1/+2 or -3/-2/-1/0/+1/+2/+3. In this way I was assured of having the data I needed to make blended exposures in Photoshop. I have found on recent shoots that I prefer this method as I not so intent on fumbling with the filters and instead looking at the light and watching it unfold. I can set the bracket sets on the camera and freely shoot. Back in the digital darkroom I can process the RAW files and bring them into Photoshop for blending. In this case I only needed two RAW files, one for the sky and one for the foreground, to make the final master.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

ers allow me to balance

First Light on Bandon Beach – Oregon Coastline, Oregon

Bandon Beach, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Pacific Ocean, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Reflections, Robert H Clark Photography, sunrise, Twilight Photography No Responses »

Jul 122012

First Light on Bandon Beach • Oregon Coastline, Oregon

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image of complete calm and relaxation was taken at Bandon Beach along the Oregon Coastline. Bandon is a frequent stop over for many photographers because of the beautiful wide beaches and wonderful sea stacks. But the light here can also be amazing. To be quite honest I was hoping for some clouds with open horizons so I could shoot for color and reflections in the left over pools of water. But alas that was not to be. But in the landscape photographers world we have to take what Mother Nature gives us and feel blessed to be in such a beautiful location.

What I got when I arrived was a massive amount of wind. It was really blowing a gale and it made my afternoon scouting trip a little difficult. If this continued the evening shoot would not go well. While back at the hotel the clerk assured me the daily pattern had been calm in the mornings, lots of wind during the day, and calmer by the early evening. So I took him at his word. After all if you want to know the weather it pays to go to the local sources. The evening shoot went off without a hitch and I awoke in the early morning to some very calm conditions. This image was made just before the sun broke the horizon. Fog particulates over the ocean glowed with the yellow tones of the sun and the beach reflected the blue light of the morning sky. This formation is known as the Witches Hat though its shape is not quite as evident from my shooting location. To frame the shot I positioned the Witches Hat in the left third of the frame and used a strong leading line of water to help bring the eye into the shot. The image was made from one exposure and processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bob

Sep 202011

Superior Sunset, Silver Bay, 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 2 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Well folks just file this image under the heading of “insane”. I can’t remember when I have seen a sunset this incredible. I made this image two days before our Lake Superior Workshop while Alec and I were out scouting the locations. We had driven up from Minneapolis in a driving rainstorm that did not give any appearance of breaking up for the evening. I was just a little bit jet lagged and tired from my early travel and so resigned myself to an evening of rest. Oh me of little faith. By the time we had finish lunch in Duluth and began the final leg along the north shore the rain broke and we could see the beginning of possibilities.

By the time we got to Silver Bay in the late afternoon the clouds began to break up to reveal small patches of blue. As the light began to change the clouds looked like giant puffs of cotton candy as the wind carried them out over the Lake. No matter where you looked, up or down the shoreline, it was amazing. When the color came the clouds exploded, airbrushed in hues of yellow, red, orange, and magenta. The shoreline absorbed the colors and the atmosphere glowed with light. On my first visit to Lake Superior I had been given an ethereal gift. What a way to start the week.

Technical Details: The image was shot with my Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. The relative brightness in terms of stops of light was nearly the same for the lake and the upper part of the clouds but brighter along the horizon. In order to hold this correctly I used a 4-Stop Singh-Ray, Daryl Benson, Reverse Split Neutral Density Filter. This is a secret weapon that I use quite often and it is tailor-made for these light conditions. The filter is made with a darker strip on the bottom portion of the resin which fades up towards the top. It is specifically designed to hold back lighter horizon lines which can be a few stops brighter than the sky above or even the foreground. In my mind it is a must have for the filter kit. I would not leave home without it. The RAW file was processed in Light room and finished in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Half Dome Reflection – Yosemite National Park

California, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Moab Paper, National Parks, Nikon D300, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Reflections, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Twilight Photography, Water, Yosemite, Yosemite National Park 4 Responses »

Jun 212011

Half Dome Reflection, Yosemite National Park, California. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon 28-70mm lens at 28mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f16 for 1 second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am back from my latest shooting trip at the Grand Canyon with quite a few files to go through. The shooting conditions were a mixed bag and somewhat difficult due to high winds blowing through a good portion of Arizona. In addition clouds from a front moving across Utah dropped into the upper part of Arizona and forced cancellation of my trip into Canyon X. This was an unfortunate event that will require another trip out to Page in the future. I did manage a few shots which I am happy with and will post these in the near future.

While out I did sell two new prints and I am featuring one of those images in today’s post. Due to some substantial rains and winter run-off, Yosemite Valley was filled with impromptu, temporary ponds of water. These ponds were ideal for capturing sunset reflections of many of Yosemite’s iconic features. Cloud cover stretching over the valley lifted at sunset and the golden light illuminated the face of Half Dome and created a beautiful reflection in the pond. Lightning from a storm earlier in the day struck North Dome and started a small fire which you can see in the shot in the upper right. The smoke from the fire blended in with the clouds as they moved over the valley.

I used two Singh-Ray Split Neutral Density filters on this shot. The first was a 2-stop, soft edge for the sky so I could get a little more exposure time for the bank of trees; and the second was a 1-stop soft edge inserted upside down and slightly angled to hold back the reflection in the water.

I am preparing the final print this week and will send it overseas to Ireland. The image will be printed on MOAB Entrada Bright 190 on an Epson 4900 printer.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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

Somes Bridge – Maine

Acadia, Acadia National Park, Black and White, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Maine, Reflections, Sony α900, Zeiss Lenses 2 Responses »

May 132010

Somes Bridge, Somesville, Maine. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/4 of a second.

Hi everyone. Todays post is a photo of Somes Bridge located in Somesville just outside of Bar Harbor, Maine. This well-photographed bridge has become one of many icons that symbolize the beauty of Maine. Dating back to the late 1700′s, the bridge reflects the historical architecture of its day. The bridge crosses a tiny section of the unique Somes Sound, the United States’ only East Coast fjord.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Acadia – Sunrise Reflection on the Beehive

Acadia, Acadia National Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Maine, National Parks, Reflections, Sony α900, sunrise, Water, Zeiss Lenses No Responses »

Apr 262010

Sunrise on the Beehive, Acadia National Park. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 35mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f14 for 1/8 of a second.

Hi everyone. I am going to be traveling later this week and thought I would take the opportunity to post another image before I get away. This post is a fall shot taken of the Beehive, a rock formation in Acadia National Park. This view is taken from Sand Beach just after sunrise. In order to hold the shot I used a 4-stop Singh-Ray soft, split neutral density filter that was brought down just to the tree line. The stillness in the pond allowed for a mirror like reflection of the Beehive and the clouds.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob