Quick Tip - John Muir

Excuse me while I diverge from pure photography again…

Aspen along FR 611

I was really changed by my trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in October, 2015. It was beautiful, peaceful, and very rejuvenating. I can’t claim to be an explorer, or to be brave when it comes to facing the heights. But nonetheless I was affected to my bones with the experience of being alone in some of the “remote” areas I visited.

The best for me was found at two locations.

Basically anywhere I went along Forest Service Road 611 – there were very few other cars or people on that road. I was able to park my Explorer alongside the road with the windows down and not worry about anything. I was able to walk off of the road and into the trees (trying not to damage or even alter growing vegetation as I did so). I could hear the wind blowing through the upper reaches of the Aspen and the birds calling to each other. The air was clean, cool, and invigorating.

My and my Explorer on FR 611

I took a number of pictures of the Aspen, and even some of the road, but as I look at them I realize they fall short of conveying the peace of the place. Perhaps they show some of the beauty but, while that is commendable, the peacefulness is missing. I am transported back but only because I experienced it firsthand. That is a great aspect of photography – being reminded of life events. But I know when my wife looks at the photographs her experience is limited to what is presented within the borders of the image. I want to try to figure out how to incorporate more feeling into my photographs whether through capture or post processing.

The other location I truly enjoyed losing all sense of time at was at a small meadow on the side of the paved road leading to Point Imperial. I was there early in the morning, having just been to Point Imperial and watching the sun start to rise over the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon. Driving down from there I stopped at a paved wayside by a small meadow. There was frost on the ground and I could seem my exhalations. The meadow stretched up into some hills on my left and the sun was just starting to light the tops of the trees that bordered the grass.

Frosty Meadow near Imperial Point

The frost shimmered in the light becoming even more obvious. There were very few birds chattering. The air was very still as if holding its own breath while waiting for the sunlight to reach down and warm the meadow.

Again I stepped into the grass. I did step on the wintry grass. I had to immerse myself. I took some photographs. These photographs seem to portray a cool meadow with abundant frost. I like these images but perhaps I’m jaded again by having been there to take them.

I am mentioning these two locations because I just started reading a book that imparts a joy of location and experience to me. I read quite a bit but probably 99% of what I read is technical writing (I’m a software engineer and tend to stick to that type of reading). I did finish War and Peace recently, and although it’s main characters are supposed to be fictional, the book intertwines Napolean’s conquest of Russia with the details of life there so I consider it semi-fictional.

Kindle book free with Amazon Prime

The new book that I started and highly recommend to those with a literary interest is “My First Summer in the Sierra” (http://www.amazon.com/First-Summer-Sierra-John-Muir-ebook/dp/B004TS16CU) by John Muir. The Kindle version is available for free if you have an Amazon Prime  from Amazon but I read reviews that said the print version, with the Muir sketches, is much better so I’ve got a copy on order.

The text alone, though, is impactful to me. I don’t know much about John Muir (yet) but it’s clear he is an educated and thoughtful man with great command of the written language. His writing style is different than anything I’ve read – factual yet poetic. There are passages with a lot of Latin botanical names which kind of escape me but the rest of the writing is very refreshing. He is getting to the essence of how I’m beginning to appreciate the natural wonders I’m exposing (pun semi-intended) myself to now that I’ve got my photographic excuse to visit nature!

Marina at Charleston, Oregon

I stayed in Charleston, Oregon on Monday, August 3, 2015, which I wrote about in my blog entry "My 2015 Vacation, Part 5 of 7". On Tuesday morning I spent some time at the marina with the hopes of getting some good nautical pictures.

I did have my bag of lenses with me but ended up loading the 50mm f/1.8 prime and that was all I used. There were a few shots I took of the other side of the bay that could have possibly used a longer lens, and there were a few shots I took on a pier that could have used a wider lens. Overall, however, I really like the simplicity of the prime lens.



Charleston Visitor Center Parking Lot

If you end up like I did, at the marina after the sun was up and only the one chance for shooting, you are immediately giving up any golden hour light. In my case there was some haze. It was NOT a clear blue sky, especially as you looked into the sun.

Since the sky was almost gray I figured I'd be getting almost perfect conditions to do black and white processing, or near that anyway. I also didn't have to worry about composition as much from the standpoint of where the light source was. It was pretty even lighting all around, as though I had a lot of soft light sources everywhere!.

That light also reduced the need for a circular polarizer to get rid of reflections from the water surface.

Because I was there kind of early (I expect for the fishermen 7:30 AM or so wasn't early) there wasn't much traffic on the water itself which should help with reflections of boat rigging. It still wasn't mirror flat on the bay, however, so ripples did affect my reflection shots.

Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, I don't have much opportunity to shoot pictures in a working marina full of fishing vessels and sail boats. This was my first attempt and I sure hoped it would work out!

Early bird gets the shell fish

I took some pictures of the mud since the tide was out. I'm not sure how picturesque they are but I kind of like the reflections. This one to the right has reflections of the fish processing building along with the low tide flats and a seagull to boot. I tried working with various lines in the pictures too (all of them, not just the mud flats).

This picture to the right purposefully has a diagonal of the sea weed starting in the lower left corner and pointing to the upper right, while the reflection and waterline kind of come from the upper left and point to the lower right. I'm not sure how effective it is but it does seem like a pleasing composition to me even if the subject isn't the best.

What I might do differently is to try it without the gull in it and use a longer exposure with an ND filter in order to smooth out the water more. I like how you can see through the water just enough but still have the reflection of the building. I did use a polarizer on the lens the morning I took these but no additional ND filters.

Seaweed flowing under bridge

This image is of seaweed flowing in the steady current (the tide was still going out) under a bridge. Again I played with the angles of the lines, which was easy for this shot because there is no obvious up or down or correct angle.

I am not sure, however, that you can really tell there is a current flowing here. Nor am I sure this is a picture that would really appeal to anyone. Perhaps if there was a crab on the sandy bottom it would be more interesting but I didn't see anything stirring on the bottom at all. I'd love to have some comments about this pic!

I do like the colors and angles though. I did pump up the saturation in this pic.

Pillars of the Bay

Here's another abstract shot that I thought was interesting at the time. I like the ship's bow between the pillars as well as the pillars themselves. I tried different crops in Adobe Lightroom but just didn't come up with anything I preferred over the full shot.

In this I tried enhancing the gold colors to try to make it look like there was some golden hour lighting going on but I think the lack of long shadows as well as not getting enough gold makes it obvious this is just a daylight picture of nothing terribly remarkable.

I took these from the end of a pier next to the fish processing building. I also shot pictures across the bay and of the boat tied to the processor's pier as they offloaded their catch.

I like this shot of a couple of boats tied up, and I like it best in this black and white treatment. What I don't like is the amount of water. I could fix that with a different crop ratio but I tend to be wary of crops like 9x16 because you just don't easily find frames for a picture like that. They do tend to be okay if you're just displaying a picture on the web, however.

But this picture shows a nice way to take advantage of the gray sky, in my opinion. It almost looks hazy which I think would really set these pictures off. I also would like to have flatter water but taking a longer exposure here would be hard since the masts would move. One solution I would try if I get back there is to take a couple of different shots, one properly exposed with a quick shutter speed to freeze the position of the masts, and a second with a long exposure (and ND filters) to smooth the water.They could then be combined in Photoshop.

Galway Bay

This is a picture of the boat tied up to the processing pier. I think a wider lens would have helped here. I could not get the bow in the picture with the pier and it just looked weird. I took some pictures with more of the pier but they showed some of this boat but not enough. They looked like they should show as much of the boat as possible and that they were accidental pictures as opposed to pictures taken on purpose with the intent to be worthy of hanging on a wall.

I didn't bother changing the lens due to my other time constraints. This still leaves me with an uneasy feeling where I hate being rushed. On the other hand it makes me realize that in all of these locations there is reason for return visits and with each visit better pictures may be envisioned and captured.

I still like this picture as it is although I wish I had the full bow or superstructure. I got more of the bow in a landscape orientation but that cut off more of the superstructure. Like I said, this picture could have used my Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 lens. Or possibly a 35mm prime.

Galway Bay and Processor

Note that I did talk to the guys on the pier and asked if it was okay if I took pictures of the boat and the activities. They said it was. That removed my feeling of "stalker" and allowed me to feel comfortable about taking pictures. I hadn't done much of that in the past but this started my asking permission often on my trip. I also think it may be a way to generate some sales in the future. I can ask permission and give them a card to my SmugMug site where they can find the pictures of themselves and possibly buy a print, and they may see a print of something else they might like enough to buy!



Piling

This shot of a piling was also from the end of the pier. Another shot that might have benefited from the wider lens which would have allowed me to show the piling from the water to the top. As it is I have a floating piling. I do like it as a "scouting" shot - it would be great to go back and shoot this in the golden hour (probably sunset since at sunrise the sun would be behind the piling - this is looking basically south east from the pier).

I moved from the pier next to the bridge over to the nearest set of docks at the marina. There was a sign that said it was okay for the public to go down on the docks so I did! I figured I was a public dude!

I took some pics from the bank first and they're okay but I really wanted to be closer to the water. I really think these look best with the black and white processing from Lightroom. It hides the gray sky, making it seem like these were taken with this processing in mind.



Waiting for the Master

Once again, to be critical, I wish the lens had allowed me to get the entire corner of the dock on the right side. Composing that way with the 50mm resulted in the stern of the boat being too close to the left edge of the image.

Stepping back caused me to start showing the shore and bank at the bottom of the picture. My final choice was to cut off part of the doc. It seemed like the least of the worst. And nothing was going to get me the reflection of the full mast.

You may also notice a sliver of a piling on the left side of the image. My choice was to include it a bit or have more of a shot that was straight down the dock and ships bows. I liked lining up the sterns more because it gave more separation between the ships masts.

There were a lot of decisions in this composition. Regardless of the resulting shot, I was very pleased with myself for noticing all of the issues in the viewfinder and trying to manage the conflicting decisions. I don't profess to be a master yet but I am certainly attempting to notice composition issues in the viewfinder and to try to solve them before committing the image to the SD card!



Fisherman's Parking Lot

 
On the way to the docks I spotted these bikes and had to get a picture. I really like this picture with both bikes but didn't notice that I'd cut off the back tire of the pink bike until I'd left the scene. Even the tire on the front bike is closer to the edge of the frame than I like. I don't remember even seeing that when I shot the picture. I don't know if I was at the limit of space and lens. 

How many times do you see a boy and girl fisher-person bike tied up together on a pier? And I cut the tires off. Some shots only come around once and you need to be prepared to get them. The boy scout in me let me down.

Out on the docs I got a few different pictures.

I got some of various smaller items such as buoys, a cleat, and a crab pot. I like these with both the color and a black and white treatment. My plan is to print them as a set of three and frame them together in a collage frame, probably as 5x7 prints.

I like the way my other collections have turned out when I've done that in the past and I'm sure this will be no exception especially since I don't get pictures like this in Arizona.

I'll likely combine them with a large print of the sailboats and their reflections giving me a nice bit of wall art.

The trick for me with all of these shots was trying to find different subjects to enable me to have a collection of at least 3 images. There was more that I could have shot but I stopped after a few items because I was also taking some pics of the boats.

I took a few shots of bows of some rugged looking boats. But what I couldn't easily do down on the docks with the 50mm was get an entire boat in the shot. Again, in retrospect, I think the 16-35mm lens would have been a better choice.

In the end, I spent about an hour total at the marina. If it was sunrise or sunset I could have easily spent that much time again. I didn't exhaust the possibilities there, meaning I have to go back! Darn the bad luck!

Misty Anne Morning

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Being Picky

Over the last few weeks I have been out on the weekends with the intent to take some pictures. I have ensured my camera equipment is clean, batteries are charged, and campground reservations are in hand. I have gone to my chosen locations. But, my picture taking is very limited. I have lately been experiencing at least two impediments to my productivity.

First, and this one I don't know how to manage, is that lately I have been sleeping more regularly. I rarely wake up in the middle of the night now resulting in less night shots. I don't know what is causing this but I know from experience that it's likely to turn back to waking up naturally in the middle of the night again at some point. I'm torn about whether to set alarms for midnight or 1 AM, because I actually benefit during the work week when I get regular sleep. And, I normally go through these phases over a period of some weeks or possibly months and then I'll go back to waking up in the middle of the night. It's because of this experience, coupled with the fact that landscapes will always be there, that means I allow myself to sleep through the nights and to give up the night photography for now.

Because of the different sleep habits I'm also missing out on the golden- and blue-hour shots. This mainly leaves the "pool light" shots (paraphrasing Brian Peterson - the mid-day hours better spent by the swimming pool rather than shooting pictures). Due to this sleep "disorder" I don't take as many pictures as I was.

Second, I'm just getting picky about the pictures I want to take. This stems from a number of reasons:

1. Locality Saturation

I have been to most of my home state of Arizona a number of times for the purpose of taking pictures in the last couple of years. I feel there are three basic types of scenery in Arizona: a) Canyon / Hills / Cliffs - such as the Grand Canyon, Salt River Canyon, Sedona areas; b) Desert / Cactus - such as Saguaro, Organ Pipe National parks; and c) Pine Forests - such as on the Mogollon Rim, Flagstaff, Prescott areas. There are a few outliers, such as the desert lakes, Indian ruins, Tonto Natural Bridge, Kartchner Caverns, but those are short diversions. I'm just feeling the need to expand my horizons.

Because I feel like I've almost already shot all the pictures available in Arizona, I don't take as many pictures lately.

2. Creatively Stifled

When I look at my pictures I tend to just see travel photographs and not very much "art". I'd rather be shooting "art", whatever that means. For me, it means being able to eliminated the number of subjects in my pictures but I struggle to find or compose pictures that I can create the way I want. I believe it's my inability to find the subject of a picture and then my technical proficiency to isolate or contrast the subject with a very limited set of objects in the same picture.

This has been my fight for a year or so, especially after reading the David duChemin books. But I've also been admiring a number of photos posted on 500px.com, especially under the "Fine Art" group. There are a lot of photographers creating landscape or scenery images like I'd like to produce. I'm just not one of them yet.

Unless I see something that is striking to me in the view finder I don't take many pictures.

3. Post Processing

A result of items 2 and 3 above is that I no longer want to spend much time post processing images that I really don't care for. Consequently I avoid taking as many pictures in order to reduce my post processing activities (including uploading to the computer, reviewing and/or rating, and actual image post processing).

Next Steps

I need to overcome these mindsets somehow. I still enjoy the picture taking process, but have grown to where I don't care for the results as often. I do enjoy the "snapshot" quality pics that I do take and minimally process - they remind me of times and places I've experienced. Usually I can instantly remember the temperature of a place (of some significance here in Arizona), the solitude, the level of noise, etc. I remember certain things my dog might have done or at least how he sits in the seat next to me on the road and stares at me for hours. Those things are valuable.

The difference is that I want to create some art. For me that means better perspectives on better subjects with better isolation and better lighting. I hope that is something I can achieve and that it is not something that has to be innate rather than something that can be worked on and learned.

Initial thoughts about the Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR Lens

Out for a Picture Shoot 

I finally got out a bit for some shooting with my new AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR lens. (I'm writing this on 3/29/2015 and notice that the sale on the lens is over - it's back up to $1,399.95 from the $1,199.95 I paid.)

I spent a night at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. It's about 3 hours from Phoenix (2-1/2 hours from my home).

I had just visited the park a week or so before I received my new lens and hadn't been particularly happy with the shots I got at that visit, as I mentioned in my 2/26/2015 post. A lot of that was due to the time of day I shot pictures there, but I also felt it was due to my composition.

My Composition Issues

A fellow "Stunning Digital Photography" group member (actually, more than one) suggested using a longer focal length to help isolate a subject. I had shot most, if not all, of my pictures on my previous visit using my 16-35mm wide angle. After thinking about their advice along with the books by David duChemin that I enjoy, I really wanted to return to the park and try the new lens.


One aspect of producing better images, in my opinion, and that I read someone else state and I like their vision, is creating pictures that make viewers stop and look at the image when they're leafing through tons of other pictures online or in any other fashion. With the proliferation of images now, such as on Facebook where almost every post has at least one image, you can see people just zipping past one post after another, stopping on interesting or eye-catching images.

What does it take to get an image that will make someone stop and consider it? That's been my quest (at least a quest for understanding even if the results don't meet the goals). David's books are geared towards just that, trying to MAKE interesting or compelling images, not just TAKING images.

That means paying deliberate attention to what is inside the frame and what isn't, the perspective, lighting, etc. And the aspect I'm working on the most is including/excluding items in the frame. With a wide angle lens it's hard to exclude anything. I think my problem is still NOT getting close enough to the subject. Doing that helps force other items to appear less significant compared to the subject. 

Another way to help isolate a subject is to decrease the lens "Angle of View" (check out this cool page from Nikon to see how focal length relates to the angle of view: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/ ). That implies my new 70-200mm should help me compose better shots.

The End Results

I was not disappointed. I liked how the lens felt and the auto focus (although I do quite a bit of manual focus). I'm not going to say these are the best pictures ever, but I like these. I like the color and the reduced angle of view so it make it easier for your eye (and mine) to see a main subject. 

In the Sonoran Desert it's not easy to shoot a landscape image and NOT get a lot of cactus or other shrubbery in the image, but I think that the image at left really causes you to first focus on the Organ Pipe cactus, then perhaps look around at the other elements such as the ocotillio. And, getting this shot at sunset with the vivid sky and clouds doesn't hurt at all (which was, again, my major complaint about the shots I got in my previous visit). In fact I think there is a lot of color here that makes this image stand out on a page with other images. And yes, this is taken with the new lens.

I'm not great at capturing wildlife. There were quite a few birds around the campground but this is the only one I was able to capture (I missed a quail maybe 20 feet away but the camera was on my tripod and the quail was running fast. No, it wasn't a road runner - I didn't see any road runners this visit). This was at sunset, taken at 18mm, f/13, 1/40sec, ISO 400 (I don't often shoot at that ISO but there was wind so I was trying to get quicker shutter speeds). This was hand held with vibration reduction enabled. I think it's good especially since my hands shake uncontrollably quite a bit (which is why I'm not a surgeon).

I've included some additional shots below, all using the Nikon D610 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 lens. I did use my Nikon D3200 and kit 18-55mm lens a bit during the trip too, and have to say I do NOT enjoy the feel of that zoom action compared to the more expensive 16-35mm or 70-200mm zooms. Yes, they both cost over $1,000 each, so there should be some difference. I'd just never noticed it before. The expensive lenses just feel good.

In post production, in either Nikon Capture NX2 or Lightroom, I don't notice aberration but then I haven't much with even my cheap lenses. Between the D610 full frame sensor, using low ISO, and using these good lenses (along with my good but cheap 50mm f/1.8D) I don't think about quality issues. I am able to just think, and try to improve, composition issues.