Robert H Clark Photography Blog

Water

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

Point Bonita Lighthouse – Marin Headlands, San Francisco

California, Coastal Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Marin Headlands, Nikon D300, Pacific Ocean, Photography Trips, sunset, Water No Responses »

Mar 222011

Fog rolls in on Point Bonita Lighthouse, Marin Headlands, San Francisco. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 28-70mm lens at 35mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/30th of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. The coastline along California is one of the most beautiful in the world. I have had the opportunity and pleasure to shoot there on several occasions. What fascinates me about this coastline is the distinct edge that occurs between land and water. Today’s image will give you some idea how severe this edge can be. This is the Point Bonita Lighthouse located in the Marin Headlands, just across the bay from San Francisco. The lighthouse sits at the end of the Headlands and guards the entrance into the bay.

On this day I went to shoot more intimate shots of the lighthouse but found it was closed for the day. Undeterred I hiked up to an overlook point that gave me a different perspective that I had not seen before. I really liked the relationship between the small lighthouse rooted in the rocks and the massive cliff. The wind was quite brisk from my vantage point so I lowered my tripod to get the camera closer to the ground to block some of the wind. I also positioned my body between the camera and the wind direction to create a wind break. And then I just waited for the light to change. The afternoon fog began to roll in and soon enveloped the lighthouse. At one point I could barely make out the point and the lighthouse. With this image I waited for the fog to clear slightly and for the lighthouse light to come into position. A tiny bit of subtle sunlight filtered by the fog just hit the cliff as I fired the shutter.

Processing of this image was kept to a minimum to maintain the atmospheric nature of the shot. After RAW processing in Lightroom the image was finished in Photoshop but setting a White and Black Point and a Luminosity Curve adjustment for the shadows and the lighthouse. I also added a mid-tone contrast mask before adding a little dodge and burn work.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

Winter Light – Shenandoah River, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Harpers Ferry, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, River, Shenandoah River, Snow, Water, West Virginia 5 Responses »

Jan 122011

Winter Light, Shenandoah River, Harpers Ferry, WV. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1 second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. If today’s image looks cold then you would be correct. The temperature was 23 degrees with a strong, gusty wind of 10 to 15 miles per hour. The wind chill was in the single digits. We had about two inches of snow last night which put a new coat of the white fluffy stuff over the rocks and ice along the edge of the Shenandoah River.

The river is my view from my office and a constant companion. From my window I can watch the trees leaf out in April as migrant song birds arrive from the South. In the summer my view of the river is somewhat obscured by a luscious and green canopy of hardwoods. If I look down I can just make out the sinuous ribbon of the Appalachian Trail that passes below my window. In the fall Loudon Heights glows red and orange as the mountains prepare for the coming winter. When winter arrives, and the trees have shed their leaves, the river is once again revealed to me.

Today I just needed to get out of the office. Clouds strayed overhead most of the day and towards the late afternoon the wind began to blow, sending spindrift past my window. Sheets of ice had formed along the rivers edge and were covered in the new snow. By four it appeared as if there might be a little sunlight breaking through so I grabbed the camera and hiked across the bridge over the river. Down below the river ran cold in colorful shades of green and blue. Just below the Appalachian Trail the rivers edge is marked by steep rock and large slabs of stone that jut out into the water. Most of the rock is encircled by ice. The wind is really blowing and the clouds seem to speed by overhead. The setting sun lit the clouds and sent a beautiful warm red light across the ice. The warm light however did not do much to warm me up except in spirit. It was just downright cold. My fingers and toes went numb but I stayed to watch the last light of day fade. I was only here for about an hour but it was enough to melt the struggles of my day and let it wash away down the river.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

North Shore Twilight – Sunset Point, North Shore of Oahu

Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, North Shore, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Twilight Photography, Water No Responses »

Nov 142010

North Shore Twilight, Sunset Point, North Shore of Oahu. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 25 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image was taken at Sunset Point on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawai’i. Recent posts on this site along with a series of comments have focused on the act of “seeing” versus “looking”. On the surface they may seem to mean the same thing but they are distinctly different. To get the point across we can “look” into a forest but not “see” the deer standing in the forests edge. Seeing in my mind is a conscious act of mindfulness. It is about slowing down and really exploring what is before you. I can tell you I am very guilty of running from one image to the next like a kid in candy store. Digital almost forces us to do this. Shoot, shoot, move on…. In my 4 x 5 days this was just not an option. I carefully considered the shot, composed, waited for the right light, and carefully took my spot readings and calculated my exposures. I felt good if I got a few good exposures in the morning and the evening. The long and short is that I had a defined process that was carefully crafted. But digital does not mean we have to abandon this notion. In fact I have returned to my roots so to speak and I am refusing to just fire the shutter at anything that strikes me. I am slowing down now to consider what is before me. I feel that the quality of the resultant images is better – that I am crafting a better photograph.

This image is a direct result of just watching. I had scouted the location several days before and I was intrigued by the spit of rock jutting into the ocean. But I also knew that the point of rock was looking directly into the setting sun so I imagined a twilight image instead. So I was looking, but at the same time seeing and imagining what could be. When I returned I shot in other parts of the beach and waited for twilight. As I set up for the shot I watched the clouds move across the horizon and I could see the potential for relating the foreground shape to that of the clouds. The upper band of clouds were vertically aligned relative to the horizon and I knew with a long exposure they would drag out and provide a repeated shape mirroring the rock formation. At a 25 second exposure, indeed they did. So what I imagined at first became something else because I allowed myself to slow down and see. It is a challenge I now put to myself and to all of you. Lets just slow down, take a deep breath, and see the potential. Beauty lies before us if we just open the door and let it enter.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Bob

Turtle Beach Sunset – North Shore, Oahu, Hawai’i

Adobe Lightroom, Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lightroom, Nikon D3x, North Shore, Pacific Ocean, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Water 4 Responses »

Nov 072010

Turtle Beach Sunset, North Shore of Oahu, Hawai'i. Shot with a Nikon D3X and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 8 seconds.

Hi everyone a welcome to today’s post. I arrived home in West Virginia to some cold temperatures. Two weeks in the 80′s with nice ocean breezes is a far cry from lows of 26 degrees with a high somewhere around 50. So in order to keep myself mentally warm today’s post is a sunset shot from Turtle Beach on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawai’i. Driving up on 99 from Honolulu, Turtle Beach is one of the first beaches you reach, and is so named for the Green Sea Turtles that sun and swim in the shallow waters. The beach also features some interesting rocks and reefs that extend into the ocean from the shoreline. Sunset here is very nice with beautiful side lighting. On this day the tide had receded leaving water in the pockets and folds of the rocks. Mats of intense green seaweed were left exposed on the rocks providing a an opportunity to play with a triad of colors: the red rocks, the green seaweed, and the blues of the ocean, sky, and clouds.

I used two Singh-Ray filters for this shot: A Daryl Benson 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density filter, and a 4-stop Neutral Density. The Daryl Benson was used to hold back the brighter sky to balance the exposure with the foreground and the Neutral Density was used to slow down the shutter speed to allow the ocean waves to blur in motion. The exposure was long enough to allow the ocean to roll in and out leaving the ghost silhouette of the reefs beyond the rocks.

The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and finished in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

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

Kona Coast and Clouds

Black and White, Hawaii, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Pacific Ocean, Photography Technique, Singh-Ray Filters, sunset, Water 2 Responses »

Sep 102010

Kona Coast and Clouds, 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. This image is another shot from the Kona Coastline on the big island of Hawaii. Shot after the sun had set the clouds began to open up and created a subtle mirroring of the lava rocks below. I played with several camera positions until I got the composition to line up. This implied symmetry is a photographic concept I like to work with in my images. If anyone had watched me that night they would have seen me hopping from rock to rock and looking through the viewfinder of the camera. I did not go to the tripod until I was satisfied with the position of the elements. All to ofter we leave our cameras attached to the tripod which can lead to some lazy compositions. To get the creative flow going get the camera off the tripod and do some digital sketching. Shoot quickly from a variety of positions. Don’t worry about exact exposure. Just fire through a series of frames and then go back and look at your shots. When you allow yourself to be free to look you will discover things you did not see while tethered to the tripod. Once you get a composition, or two or three, you like then you can go back to the tripod and refine your shot.

The image was shot with a Singh-Ray 3-stop Soft Split Neutral Density Filter to help balance the foreground and rock exposure. The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and black and white conversion and final finishing was done in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Cannon Beach – Tidal Pool Rocks

Cannon Beach, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, Sony α900, Water No Responses »

Jun 032010

Cannon Beach, Tidal Pool Boulder, Oregon. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Sony 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone. I’m getting ready to head out on a trip again so I thought I would post another image from Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. This is a shot of one of the many tidal pool boulders that dotted the beachscape. These are not really boulders but are actually connected to the volcanic reef under the sand. As the tide moves in and out the water washes around these rocks creating deep pools that harbor starfish, sea urchins, and other aquatic life.

The RAW file was processed in Adobe Lightroom with final work done in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Cannon Beach Vista – Oregon Coast

Cannon Beach, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, Sony α900, sunset, Water, Zeiss Lenses 2 Responses »

May 312010

Cannon Beach Vista. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 4 seconds.

Hi everyone. Here is an image I just shot on my recent trip out to the Oregon Coast. I was in Portland for a few days and spent a day and a half in Cannon Beach. If you have been following my Twitter Posts you know that I did more eating than shooting. The weather was simply impossible. While pelting rain and wind made conditions interesting it was nonetheless difficult for photography. Even with my camera “raincoat” and an umbrella wind blew drops into the lens. So some of my shots came from the short periods between squalls. This image was shot looking towards Haystack Rock and the Needles seastacks. What caught my eye was the distinct dynamic line of the ocean and the clouds leading towards the dark mass of Haystack. Additionally , the wisp of clouds was mirrored in the patterns of sand left by the receding water.

Within minutes the patterns were gone. I shot almost 25 images of this composition to get this one exposure where all the elements were balanced. I would wait for the water line to move in then recede to get the dynamic streaking in the sand. I was positioned in the tides flow with the camera low to the ground to expand the sense of perspective. The image was processed in Lightroom with final finishing in Photoshop.

I have a few other images from this trip which I will show in later posts. I was hoping for the sun on this trip. I envisioned red light reflected in the oceans surface. But instead nature dealt me a different set of cards. And that my friends is photography. We do not always get what we want. I wanted to fill up CF cards with beautiful sunrises and sunsets and I must admit I stewed around about my misfortunes for a half a day. But on reflection I was given a different kind of gift. I slowed down my pace. I rested, watched a few movies, and ate some great food. I walked along an incredible beach in stormy conditions and in those interstitial spaces of time discovered other patterns. This is my favorite shot from those few days and indeed it was the last shot I took which seems fitting. It represents multiple layers of meaning and symmetry but I had to slow down to see it. I had to give myself a chance to just be in the moment. I think nature gave me a beautiful gift.

Thank you 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

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