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Photo Trek: Stone Mountain State Park



Photo Trek: 02-04-2010, Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap, NC


Winter's Cascade

As I finished up with my morning's Trek, I realized that I wasn't done for the day just yet.  There was more that I wanted to do with my new camera.  I had wanted to go to Stone Mountain to photograph Widow's Creek Falls again, but with all of the cold weather I was afraid that it would be frozen over, and surrounded by snow.  I figured that it would be better if I just stayed in the local area and searched out some more new barns to work with.  I drove around for about a half hour until I gave up due to the increasing clouds.

Those clouds were perfect for waterfall photography, and I still had that itch to go to Stone Mountain.  I decided to take a gamble and head to Roaring Gap to see Widow's Creek Falls.  I gassed the truck up and started west.  The clouds actually started to thin as I got closer to the park.  I thought about turning around since I doubted that there would be anything worth photographing when I got there.

Not wanting to give up on the day so quickly, I continued on and arrived at the park around 10am.  I parked the truck at the pull off parking near the waterfall and mounted my camera to the tripod.  I still had the 17-40mm f/4L lens attached which was just fine for this subject.  I took the quick hike to the falls and was impressed to see that the water wasn't frozen at all...in fact, the water flow was more impressive than I had seen it before.  The snow on the banks was melting, but appeared untouched which was great for the compositions I was thinking about.

I headed up the trail to the left of the water to get blocked by several fallen trees.  These trees happened to be smack dab in the middle of my intended shooting position.  What's worse was they were effectively blocking my route to the water.  I looked around to see what my options were.  I could go around to the other side and try getting into position from there, or I could climb over the tree and snake myself through the limbs.  I decided on the latter and worked my way into a shooting position on the other side of the downed trees.

As I was working compositions I realized that I wanted to get to the other side of the water for a different vantage point.  With memories of my last fall still very fresh in my memory I decided to carefully cross the water on a rocky ridge.  It was slick so I took my time standing in water that was slightly above ankle deep.  As I got to the other side, the water level had risen above my boot, and therefore the Gortex lining.  My feet were now cold and wet.

I played hide and seek with the sunlight as it poked through the clouds and eventually got tired of waiting for the sun to stay covered.  with about 30 frames under my belt I decided to head back to the truck and for home.  My feet had finally resumed body temperature and I was not looking forward to crossing the water again so I headed down the rocks to another crossing.  First, I decided it was best to pack the camera up....just in case.

I cautiously headed down the rocks using the route I had used so many times before.  When I got to the bottom and the crossing point to the stream I found myself stumped.  The snow and ice made this crossing quite treacherous, and just a little too risky for me.  I started back up the rocks to the original water crossing.  I held my breath and started to wade through the water once again.  Just like the first time, it entered my boots making my feet feel like they were standing in an ice box.  With my camera stowed away I moved a little quicker than before soaking my pants up to the knees this time.  Gortex is great...but next time I think I'll get taller boots.  Once on the other side of the water I remembered the downed trees which I now had to work through with numb feet and dripping legs.

I did finally make it back to the truck with no casualties except for that unmistakable feel of jungle foot.  I headed home and found a total of four images that I liked, of which there are three New Additions to the gallery.  The last image will find a home in my portfolio, but isn't quite ready for display in the gallery room.

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Photo Trek: Forsyth County, NC



Photo Trek: 02-04-2010, Hwy 158, Forsyth County, NC


In Need of Warmth

After nearly a week of reading about how to work my new Canon 5D Mark II, I figured it was time to take it out and give it a try.  We have had a good bit of snow here recently, and while I love to get out for some good snow pictures, I have been stuck at work.  My first day off was raining, the second too sunny....but the third was just about right.  I set out early in the morning hoping for a good sunrise.  The sky looked promising, but the color came and went very quickly.

There happens to be an old barn on Hwy 158 which I have wanted to photograph for some time now, but have not yet found the right conditions.  I thought that I would give it a try since I had not really paid that much attention to it with snow on the ground.  I also knew that the sun would be coming up on the other side of the field, so there might be some dramatic lighting with the snow on the ground.

I stopped and got out of my truck to see what kind of compositions I might be able to use.  I was limited because the actual highway was rather close to the barn.  The field, however, was nice and sweeping.  The snow provided some nice depth which would otherwise be lacking.  I decided to give it a try since I didn't have anything else going for me at the moment.  I decided to use my 17-40mm f/4L lens in order to get a nice perspective with the large barn, sweeping landscape, and lots of sky.  It was strange seeing such a wide perspective out of this lens after being used to using it in conjunction with a cropped frame camera.  The 5DMII's full frame sensor allowed this lens to be what it was intended to be...an ultra wide angle lens.

I worked on a few compositions before settling on a couple using some of the brush which was sticking out of the snow as my foreground interest.  I stayed pretty low to the ground to get the full impact of the lens.  It was a good thing that I wanted to do it this way because I happened to learn a very valuable lesson on the Trek.  When the tripod legs are wet from a Trek, its best not to store it in the cab of the truck in the dead of winter.  Two of the legs were frozen and I couldn't extend them if I had wanted to.

As the sun came up, I was disappointed in the lack of color, however, the clouds in the sky gave me some incredible texture to work with.  The sun was giving off a pale yellow light as it climbed into the sky.  The snow was providing a decent reflector which allowed me to get some light on the barn which was needed.  In short, the conditions were pretty good for this shot.  It took some bracketing to get the exposure just right, along with the use of a 3-Stop ND Grad to keep the exposure of the sky back.

With all of the bracketing, I ended up shooting about 45 frames of this barn.  When it was all said and done, there were two New Additions that I was relatively happy with.  These have both been added to the galleries of Four Forty-Six Photography.

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A new chapter begins



After about a month of trying to make my damaged 40D work a little bit longer I decided it was time to give up the ghost.  Not only was my ultra-wide lens broken which hampered my ability capture certain landscape scenes, other facilities were starting to fail with the camera itself.  Just a couple of days after the fall, I lost the ability to use my remote shutter release.  While I could work around the camera shake issue by using a timed shutter release, there were other things which I could not work around.  The bulb feature was now missing so I couldn't take exposures longer than 30 seconds.  I also could not take exposures exactly when I wanted them to take into account wind, or subject motion.  Finally, it seems that the auto focus was starting to fail.  While I rarely use auto focus, I do use it occasionally, and when I do I utilize the AF points.  I could no longer select which point I wanted to use which reduced the effectiveness of the auto focus.

I had been thinking about upgrading to a Canon 5D Mark II for some time now.  While this camera is not without its faults, its benefits greatly outweigh the negatives.  The two biggest downfalls for this camera are the auto focus facilities which are not improved from the original 5D and the motor drive for continuous shooting.  Neither of these features are terribly important to me.  I have never used the motor drive in my 40D, and I am manually focusing over 95% of the time.  On the other hand, I now have the resolving power of a 21MP full frame sensor.  In simple terms, this camera is on par with the resolving power of a medium format film camera.  This is really big news to Four Forty-Six Photography.  I am always searching for ways to bring higher quality images to my clients, and this camera body will help me achieve that goal for those interested in the larger print sizes.



My Tamrac Expedition 7x is still loaded to the hilt, albeit with one less lens.  You see, with the addition of a full frame sensor in the 5DMII, I no longer have to apply a crop factor to my lenses.  My 17-40mm f/4L lens is very close to the broken 10-22mm which broke.  The downside of this is my 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L is no longer the equivalent of a 160-640mm lens.  I may have to add a teleconverter at some point get back some of that telephoto reach, but its the wide angle that which means the most to me for my photography.

I am looking forward to putting this camera through its paces and seeing just what it can do.  If the weather clears a little bit I will hopefully be able to get out soon and get a few new additions added.

A complete list of my equipment can be found here.

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Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Peaceful Places


A Spot of Reflection

Welcome to another week and a new month for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot.  This week's theme is one that will hopefully relax all that view the entries.  We take a look at Peaceful Places, and when it comes to peace and relaxation I always think about this scene at Price Lake along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I have often gone to this location for photography and have been in awe of how quite and still things are at this spot.  It was the perfect choice for me for this assignment.

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Behind the Camera: The Layered Veil



As another month comes to a close its time to take a look at another one of my photographs in detail.  In the Behind the Camera feature here at Photo Trek I go into some depth about the creation of one of my photographs from the month.  This is not always my favorite addition from the month, but it is always one that stands out from the crowd for a certain reason.  This month I am pleased to be able to feature an image that is both my favorite, and one that stands out from the others.


The Layered Veil

As a photographer, I have found that there are many locations that I visit over and over mostly due to their proximity to me.  Its not always easy to pack up and go to far off places, nor is that always the best course of action.  One of the best things that a photographer can do is continue going to the same places under different conditions, with different mindsets and photograph some of the same things again and again.  Other than the obvious practice that develops from this, there is another benefit.  You have the chance to study what you have already done and think about ways that you can change it.  Not only that, but you begin to have an intimate understanding of the lighting conditions around a particular subject.

The Layered Veil was created at Hanging Rock State Park around the middle of January.  It is not the first time I have visited this waterfall...in fact, its not the second, third, or fourth time.  I have now visited and photographed this waterfall five times in as many years.  My first visit to this waterfall was a complete disappointment.  The lighting was horrible even though the weather conditions were right, and the water flow was barely a trickle down the waterslide.  I photographed it anyway.  On subsequent Treks I liked the waterfall better because I was able to work out different compositions and was getting a feel for the lighting, but the water level was never where I wanted it to be.

A family hike to Hanging Rock following an extended rainy period happened to end up at the Upper Cascades.  I was impressed for the first time with this waterfall.  The water was flowing in great volume over the rocks.  This was no longer a waterslide, but a full on cascade.  There were only two problems....The sun was bright causing deep shadows in the cove, and I had no camera.  I recalled that the weather was going to change in a couple of days with some clouds moving in.  I decided to keep an eye on the weather and hoped I could get back to the cascades before the water levels dropped.

As forecasted, two days later we had thick clouds over Danbury and I set out early.  I knew from previous attempts at this waterfall, it benefited from the early light more than most waterfalls do...even in the heavy clouds.  When I arrived at Hanging Rock the ground was still saturated with moisture which was a good sign that the water levels would still be up.  I made the short hike out to the Upper Cascades and was happy to see that the water flow was still nice and forceful.

Customarily, I would have fitted my ultrawide 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, but since it is no longer serviceable, I was forced to work with my standard wide angle 17-40mm f/4L.  I was going to use my feet more on this Trek to offset the loss in focal length.  I had an idea of the way I wanted to set the photograph up prior to getting there.  I wanted to get low to the water this time and emphasize the moving water more than the leading lines leading up to it.  I found the position that I wanted, but it happened to be in the middle of the water.  I'm glad that I have Gortex boots since I stood in water just above my ankle for about 40 minutes as I worked this shot out.

As with all waterfall photography, I selected a polarizing filter as well as an ND8 neutral density filter.  This helped to remove the surface glare from the water and also allowed for a very slow shutter speed.  To slow it even further I stopped down the lens to f/22 giving me an exposure time of 20 seconds at 100 ISO.  The stage was set and the lighting was perfect.  I worked on fine tuning my composition so that all of the elements lined up as I wanted them to.  I was very fortunate that the water was cascading so heavily because it gave the waterfall a very pronounced look which was just what this scene needed.

OK, I'm sure that I have bored you enough with the technical side of this photograph.  Truth is, photographs are not numbers, and settings and the results of following rules.  Photographs are meant to be things of beauty which can be shared with others.  It takes no special knowledge to appreciate a photographic representation of a landscape...only eyes and a heart.  This is what makes this photograph so special to me, and is the reason I am featuring it this month.

For years I have been less than happy with the photographs of the Upper Cascades.  Not because they let me down compared to what I was seeing, but that the waterfall itself was not all that photogenic.  I tried and tried to capture it in a way that would make it appear more than it was, but failed each time.  That is...until this time.  Everything fell into place for this image.  The lighting, and all the consideration that went into the composition.  This photograph does this waterfall justice and captures it not only how I saw it, but how I have wanted to see it since I first visited in 2005.

There is a muted strength in this image.  To look at it relaxes you as you listen to the roar of water in your head.  However, you can look at the water and imagine the force as thousands of gallons of water move over the rocks.  This image not only captures the essence of this waterfall (that is rarely seen), but also illustrates exactly why I love waterfall photography.

You can view this waterfall and many others in my Waterfalls Room at Four Forty-Six Photography.

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Tips and Tricks: Focal Length



Here we are once again in the classroom.  Its time for another installment of Photo Trek's Tips and Tricks where I discuss an aspect of photography.  Last month we stepped outside the box and dealt with a creative technique called cross polarization.  That was a lot of fun to do, but its time we focused back on some of the basics of photography.  Not too long ago I talked about lens choices for those that have SLR/DSLR cameras.  Its hard to talk about lenses without talking about focal length....but what is it, and how can it be used in your photography?


What is Focal Length?

Well, to put it very simply, focal length is the angle of view of the lens which dictates how much of a particular scene will be presented to the film or sensor of the camera.  This applies to both the point and shoot as well as a interchangeable lens system camera.  The focal length is represented by numbers in "mm" measurements not to be confused with the camera format.  When you hear about a 35mm camera, this is not a focal length, but a reference to the size film that it takes.  Whether you are using a disposable camera or a medium format professional rig, every photograph has a focal length attached to it.  A normal focal length is 50mm (in 35mm film format), while numbers lower than that are considered wide angle, and numbers higher are telephoto.  Sometimes this is referred to as the zoom range, but that is not the whole story.  There are actually two functions of focal length when it comes to photography. 

The first one you are already familiar with if you have ever used a zoom lens camera.  The wider (shorter) the focal length, the more you can fit in the frame.  The narrower (longer) it is, the closer you can make things appear.  This is the basic function of focal length and comes in handy when you are up close to a subject or far away.  This is where the correlation to zoom comes into play.  To fill the frame you change the zoom setting to wide or telephoto.  However, there is a lot more going on than just filling the frame with your subject.

The other function, and the one that we will be spending the most time on here is in relation to perspective and composition.  Focal length is a very valuable tool for the artistic photographer, whether they are photographing landscapes, people, or sports.  Something that I never really noticed before I studied photography was how the perspective changed with the zoom or focal length.  For those interested in creating photographs, this is a concept that you need to fully understand and be able to implement.


Focal Length Basics, filing the frame


Courtesy dpstudent.com 

As I mentioned, zoom range and focal length are closely related.  As you can see above, as you zoom in (longer focal length) you get a narrower field of view which will enable you to fill your frame with a subject that is far off.  Conversely, you can include a lot of elements when you choose a wide angle lens which has a much wider field of view.  Each of these focal lengths has their place in photography.  As a landscape photographer, I have used everything from 16mm all the way up to 640mm.  The extreme focal lengths have a more limited use than the more mainstream which would be considered 28-200mm.

This is what most budding photographers are comfortable with.  This is illustrated by point and shoot camera manufacturers marketing cameras based on their zoom range such as a 14x zoom.  What this means is that the lens on the camera is capable of a wide angle of say 35mm and a telephoto end of 14 times that.  This would give you a focal length range of 35-490mm.  They show you things like photographing wildlife, concerts, as well as landscapes with these cameras.  There is nothing like being able to photograph a sweeping landscape, then zoom in on your friend doing something funny, and finally snapping a picture of that distant bird all with the same lens.

As nice as it is to be able to zoom in and out in order to capture images that fill the frame, there is so much more to focal length, and what it can do for your photography.  There is a compositional element that runs beyond just framing the image.  The important thing to consider is, whether you understand this next part of focal length or not, it will be a part of your photography so you might as well be able to control it.


Focal Length, compositional control

When you change the focal length of your lens, you are changing more than just how much of the frame is filled with your subject.  You are changing the relationship between the elements within the frame.  Depending on whether you use a wide angle, normal, or telephoto lens (or focal length in a point and shoot), you will be altering the relative sizes of the foreground and background.  Perspectives will also change with individual elements.  Lets take a look at some of the science behind this.  Figure A, below shows the difference in the field of view between a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens.  The relationship is the same when you are talking zoom range on a point and shoot.


In figure B above, a 21mm wide angle lens expands its reach at 74 degrees.  Looking at the lines you can see a rough example of the field of view.  As you zoom to 200mm, the field is reduced to a mere 12 degrees.  That changes what the camera will capture tremendously.  For comparison, humans see (clearly with detail, not peripheral vision) at about 50mm, also represented in the diagram.  This is the chosen focal length for many portraits because the proportions of the subject are similar to how our eyes see them.  Do what?????  I thought zooming in and out just changed the size of the subject.

Yes, you are changing the size of the subject but you are also changing the relationship between elements as well.  Looking at the diagram on the right of figure B you can (hopefully) see this.  The wider the angle, the more difference there is between foreground and background.  As you zoom, the lens captures elements in a more linear fashion to where the relationship stays closer between up close elements and those in the background.  This is because with the wider angle, the camera will capture much more of the scenery and what is closer to the camera will become more predominant due to its proximity to the lens.  As you zoom in, you are normally excluding what is close to the camera and only including that which is further away.

What does this mean to me, I'm confused?  That's OK, its a weird concept to explain, and harder to understand.  This is what it means.  You can emphasize a bit of foreground by using a wide angle lens and getting close to the object.  It will appear much larger than it actually is because the lens is very close to the subject.  Keep in mind that the background will be expanded causing it to appear smaller and more distant.  If the background is more important and you want to change the relationship you would need to back up to another shooting location and zoom in to a longer focal length.  You can still include the same foreground and background, but the background all of a sudden appears larger and more prominent in relation to the foreground which has been reduced in apparent size.  This is because the subjects' distances from the camera is more closely related.

Whoever said a photograph doesn't lie was pulling a fast one on us.  A photograph is the ultimate liar.  By choosing a focal length, you can make a leaf appear larger than a house, or a shell appear larger than a boat on the ocean.  You can also compress the foreground and background so that the apparent distance between the two is shortened.  This is a very powerful tool and one that can really set a picture apart from others of the same subjects.


How does this really work?

Lets look at some examples of the creative use of focal lengths to really get an idea of what can be accomplished with this creative tool.  Lets look at wide angle photography first.  There are times when you need the wider focal lengths to capture large subjects which are up close.  In the following example captured at Hanging Rock State Park, I would have been unable to include as much as I have without backing up if I were using a "normal" lens.  The problem was there was nowhere to back up to without falling off of the rock outcropping I was standing on.


Jagged Precipice  Captured at around 17mm

There are other times when a wide focal length is needed in order to emphasize the foreground for some added visual pop.  The following photograph illustrates this quite well.  I wanted to capture both the observation tower as well as a clump of wildflowers.  The problem was, the tower was dominating the wildflowers, and they would get lost in composition with a "normal" lens.  By selecting my ultrawide lens, I was able to dramatically capture the small clump of wildflowers (only about an 8x6ft patch) against the tower.  An added benefit was being able to capture the clouds above.


The Observation Tower   captured at around 16mm

Here is another example where a fountain was used as the primary focal point for the image, but I wanted to include a nice section of the downtown skyline.  By getting very close to the fountain, and using a wide focal length, I was able to capture all that I wanted, and with the exaggerated perspective on the fountain.  It was this exaggerated perspective that really showcased the primary element in my composition.


Urban Oasis   Captured at about 20mm

Now you see some of the interesting effects that can be introduced with the wide angle end of the spectrum.  The "normal" focal length which is around 50mm is not as impressive compositionally as the others because it is what we see with our own eyes.  Relationships between elements, as well as their apparent distances are kept in tune with what we are used to.  This is not a bad thing at all, and can actually be very helpful in our compositions.  There are times when you see something and everything just fits together like it appears to your eyes.  This is when you know you need that "normal" focal length to capture your image such as this image from Historic Bethabara.


Log Cabin   captured at around 45mm

Telephoto focal lengths are when it gets real interesting.  The first time you look through a long telephoto lens, you will be amazed.  It really looks like you can reach out and touch the scene through your camera.  This is probably the most used feature of the telephoto range of focal lengths.  There is just no substitute when your subject is off in the distance, and you want to fill the frame.  This is where wildlife shooters really benefit such as this image of a very small bird.  There is no way I could have gotten close enough to snap this with a "normal" lens, but with a long telephoto it was no sweat, and there was very little chance of me frightening him.


The Red Eye   captured at about 600mm

Wildlife isn't the only subject that benefits from being able to reach out and grab some distant details.  There are times when you just can't get close enough to your subject with a "normal" lens.  Such was the case with this bit of fall foliage.  It happened to be across a fairly steep and rugged ravine.  It would have been rough to cross over, but from the opposite bank, I was about 75 yards away from it.  Using a long telephoto lens I was able to isolate a small portion which included just what I wanted without any extraneous detail.


Thinning Foliage   captured at about 500mm

So, what about this compression thing that I've been talking about with telephotos?  Well, you can see a bit of it in the photograph above.  Distances are skewed, but not too bad because the elements were very close to start with.  I have another example which shows how this works a little bit better.  In the following example, the tree in the foreground is about 100 yards from the barn in the distance.  Using a wide angle lens right at the tree would all but make the barn disappear.  A normal lens would capture the tree, but the barn would get lost in the background.  However, by moving back well away from the tree, I was able to change the perspective of the two primary elements.  The tree was smaller now because I was about 75 yards away from it now.  All of a sudden, the barn wasn't that much further away.  Using a moderate telephoto, I was able to compress the distances (visually) and make the barn larger than it appeared to my own eyes.


Change in Tempo   captured at about 125mm

As you can see, there is a lot more to focal length than just zooming in to fill the frame.  Perspective is not without its trade offs though.  When you are selecting your focal length, or your lens, you need to keep a few things in mind.  As with everything else in photography there are compromises that have to be made, some are good and some are not so good.


Focal Length Compromises

Just when you thought you were starting to grasp focal length, we are going to throw a curve ball at you.  Focal length also affects your depth of field.  As a general rule, the longer the focal length, the narrower depth of field that you will have.  What that means is at a constant f/8 aperture, you will have a much wider field of sharp focus with a short focal length than a long one.  This is great for ultra wide angle photography.  This focal length is usually reserved for the landscape photographer who desires sweeping landscapes to be in total focus and tack sharp.  With a wide angle lens stopped down to f/22 or narrower, the photographer can focus on a foreground element inches in front of their camera and still get a distant background in apparent sharp focus.


In Constant Turmoil    Captured at about 17mm at f/22

While wide angle shots benefit from increased depth of field, telephoto shots see the opposite.  Depth of field decreases at focal length increases.  What that means is you will need a very narrow aperture in order to keep relatively close objects in apparent focus.  However, many times when you get into the longer focal lengths, you are working on wildlife which much like portraits can benefit from a narrow depth of field.  All of a sudden, that slow f/5.6 lens is acting like an f/2.8 "normal" lens when it comes to depth of field.  Unfortunately though, the actual speed of the lens is not affected in the same manner.


Overseeing   Captured at about 320mm at f/4.0


Rosy Outlook   Captured at about 620mm at f/32

For the landscape photographer depth of field becomes an issue at the longer focal lengths.  As you can see above, the aperture had to be a whopping f/32 in order to keep this scene in focus and relatively sharp.  Even at such a narrow aperture, you can see obvious softening in the extreme background, but not enough to detract from the photograph fortunately.


Conclusions

As you can see, there is a lot to focal length, and how it can affect our photography.  For those wanting to venture into the artistic side of creating pictures, the use of focal length is as important as your choice of exposure.  Thought must be give to each composition in order to pick the best focal length possible.  Keep in mind its not just a matter of where you are in relation to the subject (filling the frame), but your subject's relation to supporting elements within the frame (compositional control).  You have to ask yourself how you want things to interact in your photograph, and then pick a focal length.  You will have to adjust your shooting position in order to effectively utilize your desired focal length.  There will also be times where your only shooting position dictates your choice of focal lengths.

Whether you are using a point and shoot camera or a sophisticated SLR camera what you have read here will be of equal importance.  The difference is the extent to which you can use the information here.  With an SLR you can add lenses to your kit covering all sorts of focal lengths while point and shoot users are restricted to what the fixed lens is capable of.  Rarely do these cameras go wider than 28mm which will limit your wide angle creativity.  Regardless, all cameras have some perspective control through focal lengths and you owe it to yourself to explore the possibilities.

Written by Greg A. Kiser

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Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Houses of Worship


Gothic

Its time for another assignment from Carly over at Ellipsis.  She wants to see houses of worship this week with stained glass for extra credit.  At first, I didn't think that I had anything for that theme, and then I remembered a few of my photographs from last year which led me to more that I wasn't thinking about.  I guess thats the problem with having around 700 photographs online, I tend to forget what all I have from time to time.

As far as the extra credit, I have a recent photograph which showcases stained glass which turned out very well.


A Peaceful Sanctuary

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Photo Trek: Hanging Rock, Waterfalls



Photo Trek: 01-20-2010, Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury, NC


The Layered Veil

Despite having some pretty severe equipment issues this month, I still seem to be able to get out and Trek a good bit more than I normally would this time of year.  I think that I have all of my damage under control now, and have found ways to work around my limitations with the exception of the loss of my ultra-wide angle lens.  I still have a very strong desire to create new images, and try some new things along the way.  Its been a while since I have done a waterfall and quite frankly I've missed it.  This is usually the best time of year to photograph cascades but I have been a little apprehensive about going too far with the functionality of the camera in question.

As it turned out, I took a family hiking trip to Hanging Rock State Park a couple of days ago just to get out and enjoy the warm day.  While we were there, we hiked to several of the waterfalls which were rather swollen with water from the recent rains and snows that we have had.  One waterfall in particular, the Lower Cascades, was more lively than I have ever seen it.  I really wanted to get back to work on this waterfall soon before the water subsided.  I knew that my last day off was supposed to be cloudy so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

For once the forecast was right on the money.  I left early in the morning in order to get to the park when they were opening the gates.  It was still a little chilly, but the ground was still very moist which meant that there was a lot of water feeding the waterfalls still.  I started out hiking to the Lower Cascades which was my primary reason for going to the park.  The hike was short and when I arrived, I was pleased to see roughly the same water flow coming down the rocks.  I quickly set up my bruised camera and attached the widest lens that survived...the 17-40mm f/4L.  While not as wide as the 10-22mm which is no longer serviceable it does give me a decent focal length I can work with for waterfalls.

In order to capture the compositions that I wanted, I found myself having to step further back than I would normally.  Thanks to my Gortex lined boots this was not a problem, although my feet are still kind of cold from standing in the frigid water.  I tried some new angles, and spent a lot of time with the camera very close to the water and me leaning over to see what I was capturing.  This gave me much better compositions than I have managed before in order to be more comfortable.  It just goes to show that the best camera position is rarely one which is convenient for the photographer.

The lighting was perfect, and with my polarizer and ND filter attached, I was able to slow the shutter down to around 20 seconds which was just perfect to smooth the flow of water over the rocks.  I was fortunate that the wind was still with such long exposure times.  There were also tree limbs that were in the frame which would have blurred in any sort of wind.  In short, the weather conditions were great!


With Careless Abandon   In B&W

After working the Lower Cascades for a while, I changed locations and moved to the Hidden Falls which also benefited greatly from the recent precipitation.  This is one of those falls where there is a limited number of compositions that you can get without getting trees in the way.  This keeps me in the same basic areas as I've been many times over which is not a good thing.  However, the increased water flow added a much needed element to the mix.  Even though the compositions are similar, the waterfall looks quite a bit more impressive than it has previously.

With both batteries getting weak and the sun peaking out, I decided to pack it in and head home.  With about 45 exposures I managed to cull them down to four photographs that I really liked.  Two of those were also converted to monochromes.  There are a total of six New Additions which have been added to Four Forty-Six Photography.

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Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Winter Landscapes


Portage Glacier


Dancing Across the Mountains


Arctic Landscape


Arctic Winds

Its time for another weekly Monday Photo Shoot brought to us by Carly at Ellipsis.  This week's theme is a great one considering we are fully in the midst of winter.  She is wanting us to submit winter landscapes...not just pictures of winter, but ones which are refined and show winter in its rawest form.  With that theme in place, I could go to only one place to look for photographs....My Travel Room.  It is here where my Alaska pictures are found, and I have several of them with that winter feel, even though it was late May when I went.  Since I don't get that much chance to pull these out of the gallery and talk about them, I decided to post several pictures here for the assignment.

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Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Pairs


Dominance Established

I seem to consistently be off several days for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot....but I am consistent in my inconsistence.  I've just got a lot of irons in the fire lately and keep putting things off.  This week's theme is an outwardly simple one, Pairs.  Carly loves taking something very simple and making it a challenge.  She opens this up to our imagination which of course makes me not want to go for the obvious picture.

I know you are looking at this picture and wondering what it is you are looking at, and why I chose it for pairs.  Well, I'll go ahead and answer both of those questions.  What you are looking at is a photograph of smoke that I did just a few days ago.  It is a very interesting technique and one that is very fun to do.  At some point I might do a Tips and Tricks on it.  Now...why did I choose this one for the pairs assignment.  That is where the imagination comes into play.  When I look at this picture, I don't just see a plume of smoke.  I see two rams butting heads.  The ram to the right has been pushed back and only the very front of the head and horns can be seen.  The ram to the left has established his dominance and is now filling the frame as he is pushing the other ram away.

I'll admit, my mind does work in strange ways.  Hey, this is abstract art and open to interpretation, and you just heard mine.  I see a pair of rams.

For those that still don't see what I see, here is another entry.  This one is a lot more straightforward, and is even in keeping with the season.


Twin Pines

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