Robert H Clark Photography Blog

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

Sandstone Wave – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Abstracts, Adobe Lightroom, Arizona, Color Burn Technique, Glen Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Twilight Photography No Responses »

Jun 252011

Sandstone Wave, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/4 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. In an article I posted on the Singh-Ray blog I talked about photographing images at the edge of light. I am continuing to explore this notion and to attempt to make images that capture the last fleeting moment of light before it disappears. I was shooting in an around the area surrounding this wave of sandstone. Earlier in the afternoon the light illuminated all of the formation, washing out most of the subtle color in the layers of sandstone. As the sun set I started watching the light move up and realized I had an opportunity to capture the edge of light. In this case I was attempting to shoot formation just as the last waves of light hit and before the sun dropped below the horizon. The nice part about this time of day is there is still a lot of soft, ambient light which helps bring out subtle details. The beautiful flakes of stone and striations were full of color-yellows, rose pinks, magenta, and a chalky blue-white. In the distance Navajo Sandstone hills gave way to soft clouds.

This shot is all about the timing and you have to pre-visualize the last strokes of natures light source. You also have to keep your eye on the horizon and watch the suns position as it drops. Within a few minutes of setting up this composition I knew I would get a last brush of light across the top of the wave. In order to maintain the balance of light I prepositioned a 3-stop, Singh-Ray Soft Edge, Split Neutral Density at the point where I believed the last rays of light would strike. Then I just waited and watched the light. I made a few test exposures to check my histogram and then took the shot. Not only did I get a beautiful wash of light across the top but I was able to pick up the subtle illumination of sandstone edges in the wave like striations. As it turns out this was the keeper of the day for me.

The RAW image was processed in Adobe Lightroom to ensure I had enough headroom in the file to bring out the edges and colors. This file is extensively dodged and burned with both light and dark layers to create the 3-D effect evident in the stone. There is also a color burn layer to accentuate the soft colors in the file.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

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

Apr 262011

Last Light on the East Palisades, Desert View, Grand Canyon National Park. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 2 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image was shot near Desert View on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This view, looking east, is one of the most spectacular on the South Rim. Here you get a real sense of the expanse of the canyon as it turns northward. Down below the Colorado River rolls through the inner canyon on its way to Lake Mead. I do not have a story about this shot. For me it just seems to speak for itself. I don’t want to suggest that it is a timeless image or that I have created some masterpiece. It is just that, for me, it captures the sheer, rugged expanse of the landscape. From my lofty position, save for a gentle wind, I heard only silence, and felt only peace. As the sun set lower to the horizon the light moved up the canyon walls till it just lit the upper precipice. The rock seemed to rise up to capture the light, to hold on to its warm embrace before night set in.

To balance out the exposure I used a Singh-Ray, 3-stop, soft edge, split neutral density filter. The soft edge of the filter has a smooth gradation and I could drop it in to compensate for the brighter sky and just hold on to the light on the canyon walls. The RAW capture was more saturated than I wanted so I dropped out some color to tone this down. I also took out some blue saturation in the inner canyon walls. The RAW image was processed in Lightroom with final finishing in Photoshop.

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

Horseshoe Bend Overlook – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Adobe Lightroom, Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Glen Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Circle, Horseshoe Bend, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters 2 Responses »

Mar 182011

Horseshoe Bend Overlook, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. My apologies to all my visitors for a slowdown in my posts. I have been quite busy in a few other endeavors and needed to take a small break from the pace. Today’s image is a shot from the Horseshoe Bend Overlook located just outside of Page, Arizona. Next to Toroweap, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend ranks in my top 5 places to visit in the US. It is simply unbelievable. The sheer exposure you feel while walking along the canyon rim is nauseating.

On the day I shot this image I was nearly 15 miles away shooting in the Wahweap Hoodoos when I noticed a band of clouds moving in. Based on the direction of movement I knew they would be sitting right over Horseshoe Bend. I raced out of Wahweap and made the 4 mile hike to the car in record time ( at least for an old guy). Then it was a race to the parking area outside of Page and another hike in to the overlook. I made it in time and sure enough the clouds were radiating out over the canyon. The light was soft and beautiful. I have shot the classic image of the canyon showing the full turn of the Colorado River around the butte but lately I have been working on a series of images featuring more of the canyon rim as part of the composition. I think this helps provide an entry point into the shot as well as a more dynamic foreground element. Along with the clouds, the foreground rocks and the angular direction of the river creates a series of dynamic lines that add visual interest.

I used a 4-stop Singh-Ray split neutral density filter to balance the exposure. The image was processed in Adobe Lightroom and exported to Photoshop for the final layer work.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

Jan 052011

Storm Light over the Grand Canyon, Lipan Point, South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 30mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 3.0 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I spent today sorting through my Lightroom Library in an attempt to edit out images and open up some space on my hard drives. It is an interesting exercise that requires you to make some hard decisions and let go of images that don’t make the cut. Editing ones own work is difficult but you really have to take a hard line and keep only the best. Many times when I come back from a shoot I gravitate to the better images and work on those first. I start by rating the shots-5 stars for my real keepers and 3 stars for the “I’ll come back later shots”. The ones that don’t make one of the stars usually gets the ax. But not immediately. I keep them all for a while and return often to continue the judging process. Today’s image did not receive any stars on the first pass. I can’t say why except that there were stronger images that I worked on first. But on a revisit through the library I was attracted to the intense light and color in the clouds and thought I might have a go at processing the file.

The shot was made after the sun had set which can be a difficult scenario when shooting at the canyon. The reason is that light leaves the inner canyon rapidly as the sun moves lower to the horizon. This makes balancing an exposure a delicate proposition. You need a longer exposure to bring out inner canyon detail but you have to hold back the sky to prevent a blow out. When you have clouds such as these you can take advantage of the relighting effect that occurs after sunset. Light bouncing up into the clouds will reflect into the canyon and provide some subtle fill light that helps bring out some details. The addition of a Singh-Ray soft edge split neutral density filter will hold back the sky and help balance the exposure. Of course I could have made two exposures and blended in Photoshop but I prefer, if possible, to get the capture in one take. I adjusted the white balance on capture to 5500K to warm up the shot. Even so the blue light from the sky gave a blue cast to the shadows in the canyon. During RAW processing I knocked this out with the Blue Color Sliders in the HSL Color Panel in Lightroom. This was adjusted again in Photoshop to create the final color balance.

This shot was taken from Lipan Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The butte in the foreground is part of the Escalante Butte. The white area along the Colorado River is Tanner Beach which sits along the Tanner Canyon Rapids. I’m glad this one did not hit the cutting room floor.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Last Light on Cadillac Mountain – Acadia National Park

Acadia, Acadia National Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lightroom, National Parks, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Sony α900, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Zeiss Lenses No Responses »

Dec 292010

Last Light on Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 28mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f14 for 1/3 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I hope this holiday finds everyone well and enjoying the season. I am truly enjoying the downtime but will return to my hectic schedule in in January. The weather here has been very cold with a lot of wind. Not just a breeze mind you, but blowing a gusty gale. Not exactly photo friendly. But there is ice on the river and I will be heading out to see what I can find. In the meantime here is an image shot on a cold November evening from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. I had some wind on this evening which made things a bit challenging. There is not a lot of technique I can offer under these conditions except to be patient. Wind typically comes in cycles and there will be a moment of calm before the cycle starts up again. The trick is to feel the ending of the cycle and watch the smaller plants for leaf movement. When it goes to stillness fire the shutter. Don’t wait because the moment is usually very brief. Often the days wind will dissipate in the evening giving you calm conditions-but not always. Suffice it to say we photograph in the natural world and we just have to play the cards we are dealt.

Even with my “wind patience” method there is some leaf blur in this shot. But it is not enough to give me any real heartburn. I spent most of the late afternoon on this section of the mountain exploring the glacier-carved granite that makes up Cadillac. The rock is a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from hues of soft yellows to more intense oranges and rose pinks. And everywhere the rock is covered in colorful lichen. In some instances it looks as if the rock was spattered with blue, green, and red paint. Plants exist in zones between the rock outcrops and grow within the cracks of the stones. On this day the cloudless sky turned a golden yellow-orange and reflected onto the rocks. The angle I chose gave me a beautiful leading line of light that ends with the boulders in the upper left. This line is repeated in the plants and the cracks in the rocks. I used a 4-stop Singh-Ray soft-edge split neutral density filter dropped in to the horizon line to balance the exposure.

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

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

Older Entries

Robert H Clark Photography Blog

Split Rock Lighthouse – North Shore of Lake Superior

Sandstone Wave – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Half Dome Reflection – Yosemite National Park

Last Light on the East Palisades – South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

Rio Grande Palisades – Big Bend National Park

Horseshoe Bend Overlook – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Storm Light Over the Grand Canyon – Lipan Point, South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Last Light on Cadillac Mountain – Acadia National Park

Yucca at Twilight – White Sands National Monument

Twilight Sunrise – White Sands National Monument