Volcano

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

Craters of the Moon – Spatter Cone Sunset

 Idaho, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lava, National Parks, Singh-Ray Filters, sunset, Volcano  No Responses »
Jun 152010
 

Spatter Cone Sunset, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikor 12-24mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 10 seconds.

Hi everyone. Todays post is an intense sunset shot from Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve outside of Arco, Idaho. This may well be one of the loneliest places in the US. Arco, the closest town, is one of those places that really brings time to a complete standstill. The park features a variety of dormant volcanos, cinder cones, and ancient lava flows. The last time the volcano erupted was approximately 10,000 years ago. This shot was taken at the base of the largest cinder cone just after the sun set. The entire sky seemed to be on fire. The white shapes in the foreground are lichens that grow in the cinders.

The shot required a 4-stop Singh-Ray neutral density filter to hold back the intense light to capture some of the detail on the far cone. This is truly an other-worldly place and worth a visit.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Google+Share

Bad Behavior has blocked 170 access attempts in the last 7 days.