In Focus

Charlestowne Landing

2010-08-31T16:56:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine married last weekend at the historic Legare Waring plantation home in Charleston, South Carolina last weekend. The property is within Charlestowne Landing, a beautiful oak lined historic site. I was able to take a couple of hours to photograph the site as it truly was a remarkable place.

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Canon Develops 120MP sensor

2010-08-24T07:03:00.004-04:00

Read more here.

I think pretty soon the megapixel discussion will move from reality to theory. For example, my computer has 12GB of physical RAM, but Apple tells me that its OS can theoretically handle 64 terabytes of RAM. I envision a day when the guy at the local camera store, if they still exist, will say,"the top of the line Canon has a 120megapixel sensor, but a theoretical 15,000 megapixels could be captured." Just in case you wanted a print the size of a 10 story building.

Seriously, though, it's already been done with ISO. My Canon has a native ISO of up to 6000 or so, expandable ISO of 102,500. How on earth can that be useful, other an taking a photo of noise?

When imagining a world of limitless megapixels, consider that by current standards, a 120MP image will consume 200-300MB. That means you get fewer than 20 shots on a 4 GB card. And aside from a super crop, or a really, really big print, it has few practical applications.

Punchbowl Falls

2010-08-05T13:33:00.006-04:00

Punchbowl Falls is another iconic location in Oregon's Columbia Gorge. It is a several mile hike along Eagle Creek trail, claimed by some to be one of the most picturesque hikes in America. The falls themselves are outstanding. I used a polarizing filter to eliminate the glare of the water and bring out the rocks below, and waited for a brief moment of light to iliuminate the foliage around the falls. As I learned the hard way, the rocks are quick slippery and when I was wading out in to the ice cold water I slipped, falling on my back. In my final moment of clarity, I held up my tripod and mounted camera and saved it from death by drowning. The funny part of the story is that the photographers I was with rushed over, and immediately grabbed my camera to save it, while I lay in the water. It was a cold hike back to the trailhead.

The Ansel Adams Controversy

2010-07-31T14:26:00.002-04:00

A recent slew of headlines have described what may be the undiscovered works of Ansel Adams, selling for $45 at a garage sale. The buyer reportedly bought a set of 65 vintage glass negatives, which he held for several years until recognizing they may, in fact, be the product of photographer Ansel Adams, known mostly for his photographs of Yosemite Valley and the American West in the first half of the century. He brought the slides to the attention of a team of so-called experts, who used visual comparisons and handwriting analysis of the numbered plates to determine that they were authentic, and the handwriting belonged to Adams' spouse. They valued the collection at $200 million, using assumptions from print revenue and licensing rights. The claim is hotly disputed, especially by Matthew Adams, Ansel's grandson and curator of his collection, who doubts their authenticity.

It's easy to remain skeptical of this claim, for several reasons. First and foremost, the beauty of Adams' work was not so much his stunning compositions, but his work in the darkroom. He used several techniques, notably dodging and burning in their most primitive form, to bring his works to life and produce the fine art that is widely appreciated in replicas, art books, and rare authentic prints. Some would argue that without Ansel's hand in the processing, the slides themselves are worthless because he is not around to print from them. Any attempt to produce prints from these slides would certainly be less than authentic.

Second, Ansel Adams kept tight control of his negatives. He reportedly kept them in a lockbox, and took them out one at a time to produce his prints. While the examiners suggest that the slides were taken out en bulk for teaching purposes, and perhaps deemed lost as a result of his darkroom fire, it is hard to believe that someone who was so meticulous with his work would "lose" a large set of slides.

Finally, one has to recognize that hundreds of not thousands of photographers were shooting in Yosemite Valley at the time, and compositions made famous by Ansel Adams, such as Tunnel View, had already become widely known among photographers, as well as tourists who may have pulled off the road for a "photo-op." That notwithstanding, Adams was known to be an avid teacher, and frequently traveled with other photographers. As a photographer who has been on several such expeditions, I can tell you it is commonplace to come home with a shot that looks almost identical to the one taken by the photographer whose tripod was set up within inches of mine.

The slides are currenly in a vault, and the agent for the owner claims to have thousands of offers to buy. Deemed by many to be Mr. Adams' most famous work, "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico," sold for $609,000 in 2006; his most expensive piece ever sold was "Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park," at $722,500 this year.

Truly, if authentic, these slides would rightfully secure their place in history as the 'lost works of Ansel Adams." Unfortunately, I can't think of any way this can be proven, especially with the circumstantial evidence that has been presented so far. So far now, I remain skeptical. Especially for $200 million.

Announcement

2010-07-26T20:14:00.002-04:00

Dear Subscribers,

I have been invited towards the end of August to display prints in a local art gallery. The prints will be on display for two months, and will include four 20x30 fine art prints. It's always difficult choosing my favorite photos, as my emotional connection to a certain landscape may not accurately reflect the feelings of the viewer. My main criteria for display are: visual impact, technical quality, and sale potential. If you could take a second and browse my Personal Favorites Gallery, and please contact me, or post a comment in this thread, with your top four print selections. I am grateful for your help, and will send along photos from the exhibit when it's up and running.

Photographers that Inspire Me, Part I

2010-07-26T11:20:00.002-04:00

Every photographer can rattle off a short list of names whose images helped mold his or her personal vision and style of photography. We can continue to improve by seeking inspiration through the works of others who are better photographers. I'm going to post a short series on the ten photographers who have most inspired me, beginning (in no particular order) with Michael Anderson.

I frequenly browse quickly through hundreds of pages on Flickr, and only rarely am I blown away with someone's work which was previously unknown to me. Such is the case with Michael. Like many others who learned their early craft from the late Galen Rowell, Michael Anderson's "off the beaten path" adventures require extensive planning, physical ability, and technical expertise. And like Galen, he usually has amazing stories to go along with his photos. Michael consistently travels to remote locations, and returns with such unique shots that are both awe inspiring and technically flawless. His versatility of style only adds to his dramatic imagery.

Click here to view his image galleries.

Deep Forest

2010-07-13T12:45:00.001-04:00

Another photo of the lush foliage in the heart of Oregon's Columbia Gorge, this shot was taken downstream from Fairy Falls, a short but strenuous hike off the Columbia Gorge Highway.

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Fairy Falls, Wildflower

2010-07-01T12:32:00.005-04:00

One of the more iconic falls of Oregon's Columbia Gorge, Fairy Falls can be reached by hiking a steep trail uphill consisting of around 30 switchbacks. After spending some time taking the obligatory 'postcard shots' of the falls, I looked around for a little different perspective. Just across the creek where the falls runoff, there was a lone salmonberry wildflower that I thought would be nice to incorporate into the foreground for a touch of color. The shot was technically very difficult to pull off (see below), but here is the finished product, cropped square.

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Technical Data: There were several challenges in taking this photograph. First, even at a pro camera's smallest aperture (most maximum depth of field), it is impossible to get tack sharp results for both the flower in the foreground, and the falls and foliage in the background. The small aperture would require a long exposure to let in enough light for proper exposure, and with a moderate wind blowing, the one second exposure required to produce the silky water of the falls, the blowing flower would be severely out of focus. How I solved this problem: I took three exposures. The first exposure was focused on the falls, ISO 100, f/18, one second exposure. The second and third exposures were focused on the flower and the ferns, ISO 800 f/11 which gave me an exposure time of 1/60s, enough to freeze the motion of the flower (after waiting and waiting for the wind to die down), and give a sharp result. I then manually blended the exposures in photoshop so that all subjects in the composition were properly exposed and in focus.

Mossbrae Falls

2010-06-12T15:10:00.004-04:00

I first saw a photo of Mossbrae Falls on Flickr about two years ago and was intrigued. It seemed to be a very intriguing and unique place, with water trickling down a mossy cliffs into the Sacramento River in "nowhere" California. Actually, it is located a couple miles off the road in Dunsmuir, California. It was actually harder to find than I expected. Being one of the more unique falls in California, I thought it would be a little more mainstream. In fact, there were no signs on the road or highway indicating its presence. I was able to locate the general area of the trailhead using GPS coordinates.

I therefore built-in an extra day to my Pacific Northwest trip to visit and photograph the falls. Even knowing the general location, I still had to pull off the road into a gas station and ask directions. "What falls?" The clerk at the gas station asked me (the trailhead was about a quarter-mile from her station). I drove off onto a remote dirt road and parked in what appeared to be a small parking lot (still no signs). A man chopping wood on the side of the road was kind enough to tell me that the falls were about a mile and a half down some "abandoned" railroad tracks. It should be noted that three trains passed me by during my hike. The obsolescence of the place turned out to be a gem, as I arrived at eight o'clock in the morning and had the place all to myself or about two hours. I photograph the falls from every perspective imaginable, but my favorite shot ended up being a telephoto perspective of one particular segment. In fact, the fall stretch about 150 feet wide and there were about 50 feet high. Despite being out of the way, it was one highlight of my trip.

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Great Month!

2010-06-09T17:15:00.000-04:00

After being online for 5 months, my website had a record 4300 unique visitors in May. Thanks for the support!

Hug Point Sunset

2010-05-26T13:00:00.002-04:00

The last day of my trip to Oregon I was told how a photographer needs to be flexible in his/her travel, because light and weather cannot be planned. We shot some sea stacks on the coast in Oceanside, Oregon, that morning, and then drove up the coast to Hug Point, just south of Ecola State Park. We spent a couple of hours scouting an interesting location where a waterfall empties into the ocean. It looked to be good sunset (more than I can say for the rest of the trip), and so we scratched our plans to shoot at Ecola and went back to the waterfall for sunset. The conditions were perfect, except the tide was about a foot higher than would be ideal. After setting up my desired composition, I waited for the light to cast a glow on the waterfall. As I was waiting, the tide rolled in, and I found myself standing waist deep in ocean current. A few waves got me and my camera soaked, but really there was nothing I could do at that point. I took over a hundred frames as the sun set, and it wasn't until my third to last frame that the sun peaked through the clouds and cast a glow on the falls and the clouds above it. Using a one second shutter speed I was able to give motion blur to the ocean and falls as the two prepared to collide. The ocean water didn't bother me too much, until I finished shooting and had to make the 3 hour drive to Portland where I was staying the night to catch a flight home early the next morning.

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Photo of the Week 5.18.2010

2010-05-18T20:26:00.002-04:00

Elowah Falls

After several days of heavy rain in the gorge, we had hiked to Elowah Falls our last day there. The falls were flowing heavily from the continued rain, and the overwhelming mist from the falls soaked me in the process of taking this shot (it meant standing knee deep in the creek with an umbrella and towel over my camera until just before the exposure). Elowah Falls are probably my favorite of the falls I visited.

Pacific Northwest

2010-05-12T12:39:00.003-04:00

After taking a few days for the time zone readjustment, I'm sorting through 80GB of photos from the Pacific Northwest. It's easy to take that many photos up there, everywhere you look is breathtaking. A week of traveling took me from Sacramento up the California coast, with a stop at Mossbrae Falls in the town of Dunsmuir, CA. I then crossed into Oregon, stopping in Eugene, OR, to see a friend of mine, and then continued up the Pacific Coast Highway before cutting through Portland to reach the Columbia Gorge. We spent three days in the Gorge, hiking to various creeks and waterfalls.

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On Monday we headed back to the coast, making stops in Seal Rocks, Oceanside, Cape Kiwanda, and Hug Point, near Ecola State Park.

Click to enlarge (photo courtesy of Vlad Sadovsky)

The highlight was the beauty of the Columbia Gorge, with its rich green foliage, wildflowers, and waterfalls flowing over moss covered rocks. I'll post photos as they are processed over the next few months.

ILCP announces Top 40 nature photos

2010-04-26T12:15:00.001-04:00

From the ILCP photostream on Flickr:

"The exercise of selecting the Top Forty Nature Photographs of all time in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day is both an honor and a tremendous challenge. It may not be possible to for anyone to create a definitive selection of the forty “best” or “most important” nature photographs, if only due to the vast variety of criteria that must be considered. We decided to try anyway.

The International League of Conservation Photographers, a fellowship of the top professional conservation photographers working today, was recruited to nominate nature photographs that the member photographers considered to be “the best,” in whatever way they chose to define it. They were encouraged, however, to consider factors such as aesthetics, uniqueness, historical and scientific significance, or contribution to conservation efforts. The photographers were not permitted to self-nominate.

The Top Forty nominations, which represent a diverse spectrum of styles and genres and span over 100 years of the history of photography, are presented here. We hope you enjoy them, and that you will express your thoughts about the images that have meaning for you in each image's "comments" section.

Some of these photographs have been generously donated by the photographers or their representatives for the inaugural Christie's Green Auction in support of Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Central Park Conservancy. "

View the photostream here

Model Releases Go Digital

2010-04-21T13:09:00.003-04:00

Several new iPhone apps have been introduced lately to give the photographer an extra tool of convenience- the ability to obtain a model release using a digital signature on an iPhone app. There are several apps which perform this task, including Easy Release (iTunes link), mRelease (iTunes link), iD Release (iTunes link), and Photographers Contract Maker (iTunes link).

After reading the reviews, I decided to go with Easy Release. The apps range in price from $2.99 to $9.99, except mRelease which is free and charges $0.99 per contract generated.

Referring specifically to Easy Release, the process is easy to use and takes just a couple of minutes to enter the model's name, details, shooting location, and date of birth. If the model is younger than 18 years of age, the app automatically requires parental consent. The photographer is able to configure the app in the "settings" section, with name, company info, and email address. Once the contract is complete, Easy Release will email a .pdf version of the contract to the photographer's email address. Additional extras include the ability to include your company's logo, and a snapshot of the model which are included in the contract. Signing is as easy as using your finger to compose your signature.

While the apps offer a great deal of convenience, and seem to mitigate the need to carry around paper contracts, digital signatures can be an issue. For commercial photographers seeking to keep a model release on hand for routine assignments, this should not be an issue, but complications may arise when using stock companies to sell the work. Getty, for example, currently does not accept digital signatures, though we're told their lawyers are working on it. For more on this, read Jim Goldstein's thorough research in his weblog post.

All things considered, these apps offer a great deal of convenience, and I'm certain as the digital age progresses that digital signatures will be accepted widely. As a landscape and nature photographer, I generally don't use model releases on a routine basis, but do carry a stack in my gear bag for the times I am out performing street photography. I don't always have my bag with me, but I usually have my iPhone, and in that circumstance these apps will be very helpful.

Photo of the Week 4.19.2010

2010-04-20T16:04:00.001-04:00

Atlantic Coast

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I found this photo when browsing some archives recently, and had not originally included it in my portfolio. However, it caught my eye as a compelling photo with the leading lines of the silky water passing over the rock at high tide. I admit I usually process photos almost immediately after a shoot, as I have felt that the emotional ties to the recent experience help with the presentation of the image; many, however, prefer to wait a couple of weeks to view their photos more objectively. Such is the case with this photo that was taken over a year ago on the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

Photo of the Week 4.12.2010

2010-04-13T12:51:00.004-04:00

A Monk Pauses, Grand Palace, Bangkok

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When King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) decided to move the capital of Siam from Thonburi on the west to Bangkok on the east of the Chao Phraya River he decided to build a magnificent new palace as a place of residence as well as a centre of government. The area chosen was however occupied by Chinese merchants, who he promptly asked to relocate (to the present day Yaowarat area).

The tower of gold began construction on 6 May 1782. At first the palace consisted of several wooden buildings surrounded on four sides with a high defensive wall of 1,900 metres in length, which encloses an area of 218,400 square metres. Soon the King ordered the building of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; as the Monarch’s personal place of worship and royal temple. Once the palace was complete the King decided to under go a coronation ceremony to celebrate in 1785.

The palace became the centre of the Rattanakosin government and royal court for most of the early Chakri Dynasty until the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who preferred to stay at the Dusit Palace, but still used the Grand Palace as an office and primary place of residence. This practice was followed by his sons (Rama VI and Rama VII) who preferred their own palaces. King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) moved into the palace full time after his return from abroad in 1945. However after his mysterious death a year later in one of the palaces inside the complex, his brother King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) who succeeded him decided to move permanently to the Chitralada Palace.

The Palace is however still very much in use; as many royal rituals are performed here by the King every year. Other royal ceremonies celebrated here are coronations; royal funerals, marriages and state banquets. The Palace grounds also contain the offices and buildings of the Bureau of the Royal Household, the Office of the Private Secretary to the King and Royal Institute of Thailand. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

What Goes Into My Backpack?

2010-04-06T13:32:00.007-04:00

Rule: The lens I leave at home will be the lens I need
Rule: I bring too many lenses

Cheetah with Cubs, South Africa

As I begin going through the ritual of getting my gear ready for a photo trip, in this case Northern California/Western Oregon, I do the usual research about the shooting locales to best anticipate which gear I should bring. Since I will taking long hikes with my gear in a backpack, I have to be selective. (It would be nice to travel like Chase Jarvis, but I don't have the entourage just yet- seriously, click on the link- he actually brings a "scouting lens," which is a lens that he uses to determine which lens to use! No joke.)

My extra batteries get a quick charge, I make sure all my memory cards are working and formatted, and double check my portable hard drives workability. This is almost as important as the gear itself. My backup device of choice is the Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA. It uses a 500GB drive, fits in my pocket, and uses very little battery juice compared with its competitors, the EPSON and Wolverine. As pro bodies have incorporated larger sensors, megapixel counts have gone up, and file sizes for RAW files are 20-30MB a piece. For a week of dedicated shooting I may come home with well over 100GB of photos, and having a place to copy these photos from my memory cards while in the field is essential. I opt for smaller cards (most are 4GB), that way if a card corrupts I don't lose a whole day's worth of shots.

The technical aspects of the shoot always seem straightforward until I actually see the elements first hand. As an example, for my most recent big trip to Thailand, I brought a bag full of landscape lenses and ended up using the 70-200mm 80% of the time. This trip, it seems, will be exclusively landscape, though how the landscapes are framed depends entirely on the weather and available light. For example, brilliant skies and excellent golden-hour light usually lend well to wide angle shots to capture the entire essense of the landscape; cloudy, overcast skies sometimes are best left out and I'll use a more telephoto range.

Sunflower Macro

My checklist:

Required for every trip:

Equipment insurance up to date
Lots of extra memory cards
Backup batteries charged
External drive x3 (I'm distrustful of electronics and don't feel safe until the photos are home and backed up with my usual redundancy and off site scheme)

What's going in my backpack this trip:

Bodies: Canon 5DII as a primary, Rebel T1i as a backup
Lenses: 70-200mm II IS, 1.4x teleconverter, 16-35mm II, 14mm f/2.8 II, 24-70mm, 17mm f/4 TS II, 24mm TS
Filters: Polarizer, UV, 3 stop reverse ND grad, 3 stop soft ND grad, VAR-ND (All Singh-Ray), step down ring
Batteries, Memory Cards, GPS
Remote triggers
Tripod: Gitzo GT3541XLS and Arca Swiss Z1 Ballhead.
Flashlight (for lightpainting at night)

You'll see there is an obvious redundancy in my lens choice as I have the 17-24mm range covered several times over. The 17mm and 24mm Tilt-Shift lenses are my favorite, super sharp lenses, but have the downside of being very heavy and manual focus only. Therefore if I'm in the circumstance to frame and focus my shot at leisure, these are my lenses of choice. The 16-35mm and 24-70mm zooms give me a little more versatility.

In the end, I will probably not need everything I bring, and wish I had the things I didn't. I'll be back with some photos to post in early May.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Photo of the Week 4.5.2010

2010-04-05T16:21:00.002-04:00

Tunnel View - Infrared

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A view of the Yosemite valley made famous by Ansel Adams, Tunnel View is an iconic location popular with tourists and photographers. The view looks east into Yosemite Valley including the southwest face of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Falls. I stopped here briefly on my way from Death Valley to San Francisco, and took this shot using an infrared modified Canon 50D while waiting for some evening light to peak through the overcast sky.

Photo of the Week 3.29.2010

2010-03-29T14:06:00.004-04:00

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Deep in the heart of Death Valley National Park, the Racetrack Playa is nestled between the Cottonwood Mountains to the east and the Last Chance Range to the west. During periods of heavy rain, water washes down from nearby mountain slopes onto the playa, forming a shallow, short-lived lake. Under the hot Death Valley sun, the thin veneer of water quickly evaporates, leaving behind a layer of soft mud. As the mud dries, it shrinks and cracks into a mosaic of interlocking polygons.

Located 3608 feet above sea level, the Racetrack is dry for almost the entire year and has no vegetation. It is named for the so called "moving rocks," or "sailing stones," which are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for just three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander.

The sailing stones are most likely moved by strong winter winds (up to 90 mph), once it has rained enough to fill the playa with just enough water to make the clay slippery.

Last October I joined some other photographers and camped in the Playa for a couple of days. This shot is one of my favorites, as the predawn light casts purple and pink hues before the sun rose behind us.

You Might Enjoy...

2010-03-11T17:00:00.002-05:00

Two recent book reviews caught my eye as good reading. The first Photo Trekking: A Traveling Photographer’s Guide to Capturing Moments Around the World, gives a glimpse inside the life of a travel photographer and describes the preparation and planning involved in various types of shoots, as well as the personal vision necessary to present the subject matter to others.

The second, U.S. Highway 89: The Scenic Route to Seven National Parks by Ann Torrence is reviewed in Jim Goldstein's Blog. One of the most, if not the most, scenic highways in the United States, Hwy 89 stretches from Nogales, Arizona to Piegan, Montana intersecting Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Ann Torrence also presents an amazing variety of wildlife, nature, and landscape photography she has collected with traveling over 15,000 miles through this route.

2010 Calendars and Cards

2010-03-01T17:39:00.004-05:00

Though a couple of months into the new year, two 2010 calendars are for sale.
New Orleans, The Crescent City

Northeast Florida

I also have a selection of postcards from Northeast Florida and New Orleans.

View/Purchase 2010 Calendars and Cards

Website Update

2010-02-23T12:25:00.004-05:00

As I have been working lately on better search engine optimization (SEO), my website traffic has increased substantially, several photos have been published on mainstream photography sites, others have won awards, and I have received hundreds of very flattering comments. Thank you for all your support. I have a couple of updates on my website that I would like to announce.

First, I am in the process of transferring my stock photography to Photoshelter, where digital rights and licenses may be purchased. I currently offer Rights-Managed licenses for my stock photos. My stock photography may be viewed at ExploringLight-Stock-Photo-Video.com. I have also added prints and stock tab to my site for easy access. My stock collection is partially uploaded now and the transition should be complete by late Spring.

Second, I am now offering Limited Edition Prints of select photos that have been chosen for their content, technical qualities, and artistry. All prints use the latest printing technology with high quality archival inks and paper. Limited edition prints are restricted to runs of 25 or 50, depending on the photograph. Each print will be personally reviewed by me for its quality, signed and numbered by me. I am currently working on matting options for these prints. See more about Limited Edition prints here.

Zabriskie Point Sunrise, Limited Edition Print

Wormsloe Plantation

2010-02-22T18:36:00.008-05:00

I took a trip this weekend to visit a friend in Savannah and couldn't resist stopping at Wormsloe Plantation on the way home. A gorgeous passageway line with oak trees, it is an iconic destination in Savannah.

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BIg Splash at Washington Oaks

2010-02-15T15:54:00.004-05:00

After keeping a close eye on the weather lately, I noticed this Saturday was going to be prime conditions for a sunrise shoot out at Washington Oaks, so I went out with a colleague of mine for the early morning session. Another local photographer, Dana Michele, was out as well and was kind enough to snap a couple photos of me as we were wrapping things up. In order to get my best shots, I have to brave the elements and get up close on the rocks. There was a strong west wind that morning and an unexpected wave nearly took me down. Dana happened to press her shutter just before it hit me.

And so did I!!!

Fortunately, I took a photo just before the wave crashed, and it turned out to be one of my favorites. I'm still sorting through the images and will post some more soon. Here is the shot that got me soaking wet:

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Luckily my gear survived.