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Photograph of Mood, Abstract Emery Park Trees
Emery Park Forest AbstractLong Exposure Motion Blur
This morning photo outing reminded me of one topic I mentioned in many of my posts (e.g., Plan but Welcome the Random, Adapt, aka Plan but Welcome the Random, Nature's Call, Another Unplanned and Unexpected Fun with the Camera, Revisiting Locations & The Unplanned).
The autumn colors around here are kicking into a higher gear and I wanted to combine two things into one this morning. I wanted to capture some fun fall foliage and also try to find the 4th Emery Park waterfall that I have not photographed yet. I had my doubts about the water levels in the small creeks but wanted to try anyway.
As I was walking around using a small waterfall location map stored on my phone and trying to match my position with the map, I got to a spot that had a lot of mostly "straight" trees that were dense, yet spaced out just right and the back-light was streaming through.
The idea immediately entered my mind. I set up on a tripod first, selected a small aperture for a good depth of field, and tried to capture what it felt like during that first second that I spotted the scene. The photos looked ok as a document of the reality in front of me but did not represent the feeling I was after. Off the tripod the camera went, settings pretty much unchanged. Instead of keeping it stationary during the exposure I slowly moved it up blurring the reality in front of me into a better depiction of the mood.
Forest of Imagination in ColorPhotograph of Mood
I tried quite a few, played with the exposure length, motion speed, and tested out where to start and where to and. With these camera motion blurs I usually prefer the shorter shutter speeds around 1 or 2 seconds to keep the abstracts recognizable and somewhat close to reality but here, the two photos I picked were both over 5 seconds. I did not like the ones where I moved too high up into the sky. The strong bright patches that spilled into the woods that way just did not feel right. On the other hand, starting quite a bit lower on the ground under the trees worked well for me.
Later on the computer I felt the abstract vertical lines did not necessarily need color to establish the right mood and I went monochrome, using Silver Efex Pro 2. The closing photo is what I believe gets the closest to what the section of the forest felt like.
Forest of ImaginationA photograph of Mood
Now do you remember what my plan was? A colorful autumn photograph with a waterfall in it? I hope that explains what I meant by planning but keeping an open mind.
Have fun no matter what nature throws at you!
Equipment used:
- Nikon D600
- Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
- No filters, a long exposure, slow camera motion upwards
- Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
- Nikon Capture NX2
- Silver Efex Pro 2
Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
Indoor Photo Project: The Mysterious Planet
If you're wondering what the heck this is and do not want me to give it away then stop reading right here since I am not going to keep the mystery going for long at all.
This photo was a lucky processing accident. I opened up the RAW file in Capture NX2 and went to the basic curves to brighten the mid tones and lower the overall contrast. However, I accidentally clicked somewhere in the chart and caused the black point to move severely to the right, thus causing the opposite effect. The accidental click darkened most of the object and increased contrast.
A peeled apple close upA clean bright machine peeled apple in black and white.
So there you have it, no more mystery. Wondering what the photo was meant to look like before this processing mishap? Alright, here's what I had in mind. This version is minimally processed with the mid-point raised a bit and shadows brightened too. And since I was not as quick as the peeled apple would require it already started changing color. I wanted a nice clean grooved look since that is what caught my eye in the first place and for that reason converted the photo to black and white. This is a great example where color would simply get in the way. So you have photo #1 where color plays a very important role to provide the planet-like look, and photo #2 that is all about the shape and texture.
Have fun with your indoor photo projects and don't be afraid to experiment (and make mistakes)!
- Nikon D600
- Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 (or the newer AF-S version)
- Kenko extension tube set
- 1 x SB-600 (now replaced with Nikon SB-700)
- Manfrotto tripod (055MF3) and head (496RC2)
- SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
- Nikon Capture NX2
- A freshly peeled Cortland apple
Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
My previous Indoor Projects:
- Indoor Photo Project - Recycling at its Best and Free Heat
- Indoor Photo Project - Water Gone Wild, Vividly and Colorfully Wild
- Indoor Projects - Shells
- Indoor Projects - Aquarium Photography
- Indoor Projects - Take Notes
The Peace Bridge Lighting Patterns
Long exposures give the fast flow of the Niagara River the soft milky look in daylight and allow for interesting reflections at dusk and night. They work well with some lighting patterns of the bridge when a single color is on for the duration of the extended exposure. Long exposures also blur the traffic on the bridge and allow for the cars tail lights to become nice light trails of red from the north, or white from the south.
I was able to use this approach for the first two photos of this post. I stayed with the base ISO 100 and a small aperture, f/14 for the first photo and f/18 for the second. Both were 30 second exposures
Long exposures present a problem though with other lighting patterns when a single color is not displayed long enough. If the color changes during the exposure you get color theory in action adding the different colors together resulting in a look the bridge never had. If the colors change fast enough, all long exposures may end up looking the same in the end too.
This evening I was lucky to be presented with many different looks of the bridge.The colors alternated among lavender, violet, purple, and red and I also had an opportunity to attempt capturing of the rolling effect.
When the rolling kicked off I first tried to capture all of the different colors the bridge cycled through that night. To get a uniform color I timed the duration and determined I had at most 5 seconds based on how quickly I reacted to the change, or less. So for the next couple photos I changed my settings to f/8 and 2 seconds, bumping my ISO up to 320. That allowed me to squeeze a shot in between changes. I was able to capture Peace Bridge in red and Peace Bridge in purple as you can see in the next pair of photos.
Long exposures don't allow for capturing of rolling colors either. Sometimes, the change from one color to another is not instant for the whole length of the bridge but instead, the change rolls from one side to the other. To capture that well my guess would be to go to sub-second exposures, possibly down to a 1/4 second or so. Staying at f/8 and needing three stops of faster shutter speed the ISO would have to go to around 2,500. I did not try that and it remains on my to do list.
There was one more pattern. For a while, each of the bridge sections was lit in alternating violet and red colors. That created a true splash of color reflected below in the Niagara River, one might say a special rainbow. But that would be the wrong bridge - Rainbow Bridge is a bit down the river past Grand Island and Niagara Falls. Anyway, the remaining blue from the sky, the violet and red from the bridge, and the green from the traffic light provided quite a palette!
Sources:
- Peace Bridge in Light
- Architectural Lighting Design - Peace Bridge, Buffalo, New York
- Plans Released for Redesign of Broderick Park on Buffalo Rising
- Freedom Crossing: The Underground Railroad in Greater Niagara
- The Peace Bridge (What Else?) Sets Off a Cuomo-Canada War
Equipment used:
- Nikon D600
- Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
- Manfrotto tripod (055MF3) and head (496RC2)
- Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
- Nikon Capture NX2
Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
The Season of Fog is Back!
Nature's Sunrise Perfection at BirdsongThe season of fog is here.
But I've really felt the itch the last few days and when the weather forecast called for a sunny morning with frost advisory I had to go out. Set the alarm for 6 AM and head out! I was hoping for some nice low fog over the evaporating water with this difference in water and air temperatures and it worked out perfectly. Based on my previous visits I expected geese to be there too but would be fine either way.
For this first outing after my break I did not head far. Birdsong Park close to where I live seemed like the perfect place to get going again. After arriving I headed straight for the ponds
The dose of rustiness showed up - I botched up quite a few initial pre-sunrise photos! I was playing with double exposures over the weekend and forgot that mode turned on! I got so used to the fact that switching custom settings resets "everything" on my D600 that I did not even check. I switched to my landscape setting and started tweaking the camera from there without giving it much thought. With other unintentional settings, it might have been obvious but with the double exposures, I went on for quite a while before I finally noticed. I was working on a tripod and my compositions did not vary too much from frame to frame. Ouch! Lesson learned - custom settings do not reset double-exposure settings on the D600!
All was not lost though. When I finally moved the camera enough between two exposures and ended up with strange ghost trees I knew immediately what I did. I turned the mode off, and started over just as the sun backlit the fog over the pond. It was a wonderful morning and a great inspiration to get back to these wonderful morning expeditions where one rarely runs into another human being. Nature created another wonder and I was there to see it!
Blinding Warmth at BirdsongTrying to show how blinding the sun was and how warm the light was despite the temperatures being just above freezing.
Blinding Warmth at Birdsong
Get up, capture your wonders, and have fun!
Equipment used:
- Nikon D600
- Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
- Manfrotto tripod (055MF3) and head (496RC2)
- Cokin graduated ND4 filter
- Cokin P Holder with a 72 mm Adapter
- Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
- Exposure delay mode of 2 seconds, no remote release
- Nikon Capture NX2
Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
Road Trip: Back on the Road in Madison County, Iowa
Iowa became the 29th state to join the United States on December 28, 1846. The capital city is Des Moines. The highest point is Hawkeye Point at 1,670 feet.
Road Trip 2013 - Day 3 - June 13 - Iowa - Stop 1 (Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines)
Day 3 was shaping up to be a road trip classic. We were starting in Madison County, Iowa. That is The Madison County! What do I mean by "The"? Remember Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), and most importantly the mean yellow dog? Well, I am afraid I am getting a bit ahead of myself here though. I'd like to get to the bridges, but not in today's post. By the way, it's not easy even for covered bridges in this world. There have been quite a few arson attempts on this bunch and unfortunately some successful.
There's another reason to visit Madison County. The birth place of Marion Mitchell Morrison is there. Who? John Wayne should ring a bell. But there I go getting ahead of myself again!
All I really wanted to share today was that I've always liked these road photographs with lines converging towards a vanishing point. They can be curvy or straight, in bad weather or good, really anything. There's just something special about a road disappearing beyond where eyes can see. It's almost like these photos throw a question at you. What's next?
A road trip was an ideal opportunity to try some of these on my own. There were quite a few miles to watch for opportunities and stop on the side when the road ahead just looked too good to pass up. Thousands of miles! In the first photo, the double yellow line disappearing in the dark blue sky was what called me. It was simple, with not much around this rural road, just some green grass and some trees and a straight road in the middle leading towards the unknown in the distance.
Soon, we had to turn off road. Not really off road, just on a dirt and gravel road that would take us to the next bridge on our list. And the feelings about the distant mystery repeated all over. This time without the yellow dividing line and with a good dose of dust enveloping the car that managed to stay clean until this point. Day 3 changed that concept altogether. You know how that goes. Once the car is dirty, dirt no longer matters. Very liberating in a way. One no longer has to worry abut the choice of the road ahead.
As in the paved road photo, the dirt road was straight and leading into an unknown future, with the converging sides reinforced by the tracks dividing the road not in halves but in thirds. Greenery around again, and that blue sky, just couple shades darker here. And even the poles remained, well, just one here. Really, so similar, yet, so different!
Which one says road trip better? Which one is more mysterious? Which one do you like better? To me they both had their magic and that is why you see them both here. Each with its own character, each from a road trip, each now a reminder how much fun a road trip can be, each an inspiration to do it again!
Have fun capturing your direction!
Sources:
- Iowa on 50States.Com
- Madison County, Iowa - The Bridges of Madison County
- John Weeks' Highways, Byways, And Bridge Photography - The Bridges Of Madison County
- The Bridges of Madison County
- The Bridges of Madison County on Filmwerk
- John Wayne on Wikipedia
Equipment used:
- Nikon D600
- Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
- Promaster 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter
- Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
- Nikon Capture NX2
Using my links to buy your equipment keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!