About the Photographer
My name is Greg A. Kiser, and I am a semi-professional landscape photographer. I have been involved with the artistic side of photography since the early months of 2005. I am completely self taught with the aid of several books and lots of research on the web. Primarily, I am a nature photographer who enjoys the mountains of North Carolina. More specifically, I find the waterfalls of the state to be incredibly exciting and relaxing all at the same time. I invite you to join me as I explore my home state with my camera.About Photo Trek
Welcome to Photo Trek, a North Carolina Photographer's Journal. This is the interactive corner of my online gallery at Four Forty-Six Photography which showcases around 600 of my photographs. Here at Photo Trek, you can keep track of my photographic adventures (Treks) with entries made after each one. This journal is also home to a couple of regular features. As you can see, all work here is copyrighted, so please do not reproduce any of my images without my permission. You may, however, link to any of my entries to share my stories and tips with others. All of my images are for sale, so let me know if you would like to purchase any of them. Pricing information can be found in my gallery store. Please enjoy your stay here at Photo Trek. Comments on my entries are always welcome. GregI recommend B&H for all your photography needs
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Photo Trek: Oak Ridge, NC
Photo Trek: 03-09-2010, NC 68, Oak Ridge, NC
Over a Barrel
The weather has not been kind to me on my off days this month. It seems that the best photography days have been spent working my normal day job, while my days off are filled with clear skies and bright sun. While that would be the perfect weather for most folks, I have found that clouds really add an exciting element to my photographs. However, I have been itching to get back out and go on another Trek.
I chose to do a short Trek this morning knowing that the usable lighting would be short lived starting right after sunrise. I had recently found a nice barn just off of NC68 in Oak Ridge, NC, this past week and wanted to give it a shot. Having scoped things out and found that the sun would be in the right position at either the beginning or the end of the day, I decided to give the morning light a try.
While the sky held little interest, the warm tones in the grasses really helped the scene. There is a sense of the impending spring with the colors that were present. I set the camera up using my moderate telephoto 24-70mm f/2.8L with nothing but a polarizer attached. I actually wanted a little bit of contrast in the early morning sun since I was going for a strong side/back light scenario. I found a nice old rusted out barrel to serve as my foreground interest. There was just enough sheen in the metal to reflect the rising sun making it a very strong focal point despite having similar tones to the surrounding grasses.
As the sun climbed into the sky, the blues started taking over and I switched positions to take advantage of that fact. Now facing due North, I was able to take advantage of the deepest blue in the sky. I worked several different compositions with the same setup that I had started the day with. The lighting was nearly perfect, and the low sun provided some great contrast for a sweeping perspective. I had to be careful though, because not too far to the left was a large bank with street lights and other non-rustic elements. To the right was a small housing neighborhood. Both of these forced me to be very careful how I framed the shots so as not to lose the overall feel I was going for.
When all was said and done, I had about 40 photographs to look through. I managed to find three that I liked, and one of which worked as a monochrome as well as a sepia version. The gallery has seen a total of four New Additions from this Trek which turned out to be rather successful despite the weather.
Photo Trek: Stone Mountain State Park
Photo Trek: 02-28-2010, Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap, NC
The Dome
So far, this year has been frustrating for Treks to say the least. I started out with a very successful Trek that ended up in terminal damage to my Canon 40D. The weather has prevented me from getting to the mountains for the most part, and I have been learning how to make the most of my new Canon 5D Mark II. I thought that the month of February was going to slip by without a full on hiking Trek to speak of. I just couldn't let that happen, and have been watching the weather as well as trail closures for the last couple of weeks. My intended destination was Stone Mountain, and quite frankly, nothing else would do until I made it there.
This set of off days was the first time that I have seen that the trails at Stone Mountain were open after multiple winter storms. It was now up to the weather whether or not I would try and make the Trek. According to www.wunderground.com, my best chances for the conditions that I was after would be Saturday and Sunday. As it turned out, after doing my latest Tips and Tricks, I just couldn't get up that early on Saturday morning. I was left with one chance before appointments and other obligations took over my spare time...that was Sunday.
The weather was looking good with 45-70% cloud cover, mild wind, and tolerable temperatures. I went to sleep at a reasonable time and was all set to wake up early. The alarm rang way too early in the morning, but I got up and started the process of getting ready. I checked the weather once again and it was about the same as I had seen last night so the Trek was on.
I arrived at Stone Mountain State Park just a few minutes after the gate was opened up. I already knew the trail that I was going to be taking....the Wolf Rock Trail, which would provide me with several nice opportunities for landscapes. I kept my camera safely packed away in my backpack as I hiked the trails. Most of them were clear, but I did run into some ice in a few locations which I was able to traverse with ease. I arrived at the Wolf Rock overlook and worked a few trees that were standing apart from the others. I was here about 30 minutes under decent skies. I was hoping for more at my next stop, however.
As I arrived at Cedar Rock, I was pleasantly surprised by the sky. There were bright white clouds, dark and stormy ones, as well as a bit of blue thrown in for good measure. The sun was covered which diffused the light perfectly. I quickly set up to take advantage of the sky, using a polarizing filter, as well as several of my ND Grads. In order to capture the sweeping landscape like I wanted, I used my 17-40mm f/4L wide angle lens. The combination proved to be nearly perfect for the subject and conditions. I was able to darken the clouds by two to five stops which provided the visual drama that I was after.
I worked three different locations where Stone Mountain itself could be viewed. I spent an additional hour and a half photographing the reason for this Trek. I found my lens and filter choice was the perfect choice for the entire day, and found no reason to change the combination. A bit of irony though, I had embarked on this Trek with the intention of capturing more black and white images than color. As it turned out, the lighting was so good that the color images turned out wonderful. I did convert two of them over to monochromes though. You can view the seven New Additions in the Four Forty-Six Photography Gallery.
Behind the Camera: In Need of Warmth
Welcome back to Behind the Camera, a feature here at Photo Trek II where I pick one of my own photographs to talk about in detail. Each of my pictures has a story behind it, and a special meaning to me. The meaning could be an emotional connection that I have with the image, or it could be representative of a milestone in my photography. This month, my featured photograph is one which showed me a little bit about the capabilities of my camera.
In Need of Warmth
A few days into the month of February I had the opportunity to go out on an early morning Trek. The forecast was calling for a good mix of clouds and sun for the day which was promising for some landscape photography. I set out early, a little before sunrise with a location in mind just down the road from home. My intention was to get a nice sunrise shot over a field with a fresh blanket of snow. I arrived at the field and found a lot of things that I just didn't like about the setting which I had no noticed before. I quickly changed plans and made my way to a barn located off of Highway 158 which I had wanted to photograph for some time now.
There have always been some concerns with compositions on this barn which have kept me from trying it previously. On this occasion though, the snow really made the scene pop. The barn now stood out from the surrounding field and trees which made it a nice focal point for the photograph. Because this was not my original destination, I arrived very close to sunrise. The sky was looking very nice as I pulled off the road and set the camera up. However, the color faded quickly as the clouds rolled across the sky. Having stopped and set the camera up, I decided to stick around and see what presented itself to me.
Part of what makes this picture special to me is that it is one of the first series of photos which were made with my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II. There were several things which I was having to get used to with this camera which really slowed down the photographic process. I knew that I wanted to capture the snowy field with the old barn, and I wanted the barn to be a predominant element. For this to happen, I needed to use a wide angle lens which happened to be my 17-40mm f/4L which gave me the exact perspective that I was looking for.
With the sun quickly approaching the horizon the lighting was getting harsh and I knew that exposure was going to be a problem. For the barn to be an integral part of the image, I was going to need detail in the wood. This would cause the sky to blow out which I didn't want to happen. I really liked the way the clouds were looking and I wanted to be able to capture the sun as it was cresting the trees. My only option here was to fit a graduated ND filter. In order to get the proper exposure, I selected a 3-Stop grad to sufficiently darken the sky. Even then I was concerned on how the photograph would turn out.
I waited as the sun climbed in the sky and saw that it was going to rise right in the niche of some trees at the far right of the frame. This was going to be great for the composition and I became rather excited at the prospect of getting the sun in the frame. I waited and waited until the sun was above the main trees, and fired off a series of shots. Within minutes the sun was up too high and the clouds were all clearing. It was time to pack it in and head off to the next location. As it turned out this was to be my only destination for the day.
My biggest surprise of the day came when I processed the image. I was concerned about the shadows and highlights in this scene and was wondering how the final print would turn out. I was very impressed with the 5D Mark II's ability to capture detail in both the shadows and highlights. With very little help from the processing phase I found that there was plenty of detail in the barn as well as in the sky. After seeing this image printed out, I was sold on the capabilities of the new camera.
The title of this photograph was a natural and didn't require much thought at all. The obvious presence of the snow sets the scene for the time of year and gives a hint as to the temperature outside. The barn itself doesn't really look to be much of a shelter from the cold, but you can see that there has been some melting of the snow from previous day's sunshine. The key to this photograph is the rising sun in the far right of the frame. Here is the warmth that the scene needs so badly.
I always look for dichotomies in my photography, and I like how this element is present here. There is light and dark, along with hot and cold. There is a lot of visual drama and tension in this image which gives it a life of its own. It is no longer just a picture, it is a story, and there are lots of visual folds to keep your eyes busy.
You can view this photograph in the Rustic Room of Four Forty-Six Photography.
Tips and Tricks: 5 Questions to ask before the exposure
Another month is coming to an end and that means its time for another installment of Tips and Tricks here at Photo Trek II. Over the last year, this monthly tutorial has covered lots of different topics from basic composition, to exposure (Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO), the use of filters, and even some creative techniques. Certainly, a lot of information has been discussed, all giving you a peak into what it takes to create a really significant image. Today we will be discussing a rather abstract concept that sounds quite simple on the surface. However, as we are about to find out, the questions that we must get in the practice of asking before the photograph is created can prove rather involved. So, let's jump right in...
Everyone who has ever taken a picture has turned on the camera, pointed at the subject, and released the shutter without much more thought than "Hey, that's a cool scene!" There is nothing wrong with that at all, in fact many great pictures have been created in just that very way. However, the chances of capturing something significant in this manner are quite slim. I'm all about stacking the odds in my favor when it comes to anything that I do...certainly including my photography. So, what else is there to creating a photograph?
There are certain questions that you must ask yourself before you press that shutter release, and ones you must ask before you even get the camera out of the bag. If you will get in the habit of asking these questions every time you take a picture, your chances for success will skyrocket. Almost immediately, you will find yourself making pictures rather than taking them.
Who?
Salem
The question "who?" refers to who are you creating the photograph for? In most cases the answer to this will be yourself. However, as is the case with the above photograph, the answer could very well be somebody else. This picture was a commissioned shot of sorts. My client was a local dance company which wanted photographs of the Winston-Salem skyline which could be combined with photographs of their dancers. They were particularly interested in matching lines between the dancers and the cityscapes. While scouting locations I came upon this tree which happened to frame one of the more iconic buildings along with an identifying banner. The tree itself had graceful lines that reminded me of a dancer. Because of who I was creating this image for, it became a scene that I wanted to capture.
As I said, most of the time, the answer to the question "who?" will be yourself. That gives you free reign to capture an image that only has to please you. As you can see, there might be some simple changes in the creative process based on who the picture will be for. Ultimately though, you will be the one that needs to be happy with the picture. If what you are capturing doesn't appeal to you, then it is hard to expect it to appeal to anyone else. This is one question which needs to be determined long before the camera comes out of the bag.
What?
A Morning Stroll
What is it you are taking a picture of? This is probably the most important question you can ask before setting up the camera. This will determine what it is about the scene that interests you. In the picture above, I was actually set up on the beach to capture the sunrise. However, while concentrating on that, I saw a family walking by and it hit me.....This is one of those moments that defines the beach experience. My What had changed from the sunrise to the family. Fortunately, my camera was already set up and ready to go. I just had to swing it around, change a few settings and release the shutter to capture this touching moment.
In a very quick amount of time, I had to ask myself what about this scene made it worth taking a picture. The family was what caught my eye, but that wasn't all there was to the what. There was a story unfolding in front of me that I wanted to capture. This included elements like the warm light from the rising sun, the footprints showing their progress across the sand, and of course the ocean. It was the combination of these elements which answered the question what was I wanting to capture.
When?
Autumn Stroll
When should you make your exposure? This is about the last step before you actually take your camera out of the bag. You know Who you are creating the picture for, and What it is you are photographing. Now you have to determine When is the best time to photograph it. This is where previsualization comes into play. Every subject has a nearly infinite range of personalities depending on lighting and other environmental conditions. It is up to the photographer to choose When to make the exposure. Hopefully you have given this some thought before heading off with camera in hand.
Many times, you are forced to deal with what nature is providing at the time, but you do have the flexibility to wait for a cloud to diffuse the sun for a second, or maybe for the wind to die down to still the leaves. The photographer always has the ultimate control over When the exposure is made. Ideally, the proper conditions are thought out before arriving at the location.
In the photograph above, you can tell that the When was in the fall. The warm colors in the trees set the tone and mood of this photograph. It is cheery, while being subdued and relaxing. This was what I was after and waited until the proper season to create the picture. On the other hand, this very same scene can take on a much different feel just by changing the seasons as well as the lighting.
Salem Apothecary
Here you can see the difference. The buildings are the same, as is the general composition. However, the leaves are no longer a colorful addition to the composition. The winter fog has replaced the upbeat colors and has introduced a moody undertone. In comparing these two photographs, you can really appreciate the difference that the answer to When can make. Just consider the extreme difference between daylight and twilight on a scene. This can be the most valuable question that you can ask yourself when it comes to really creating a photograph that will convey a message or feeling to your audience.
Admittedly, this is going to be the most frustrating question that you will have to ask yourself as a photographer. This is the one that I bang my head on the desk time and time again waiting on the weather to cooperate. I have become very specific in the types of weather patterns that I want to work with for each type of subject. I often find myself asking When would be the best time to photograph this scene? This could mean a day or two delay in getting the shot....or several years. There are times where I look at a photograph and consider if there are any other times or weather conditions which might work better as in the case with the above comparison.
Where?
In Constant Turmoil
Where should the camera be in order to get the composition like I want it? Now it is time to get the camera out and find the best place to frame the picture. This could take a while so don't rush this part. With the Who, What, and When questions answered, you know pretty much what you want to include in the picture. Now comes the time where you organize the scene. In the above picture, I not only wanted to include the waterfall, but also the secondary rapids. It was the rapids which I felt added depth to the image, as well as a leading line directing the viewer's eyes through the photograph. The trick was how to include all of this in a single photograph.
As is often the case in waterfall photography, what I felt was the best composition wasn't available from the shore. It wasn't even available from the bridge across the water. The bridge had the most potential, but the angles were all wrong, I needed to get closer to the water. I hopped on rocks, and waded through some shallow areas in order to get the camera in position right in the water along the path of the rapids. It took nearly ten minutes of fine tuning the location of the camera to arrive at this composition.
By determining the precise Where that I did, I was able to organize the scene in the viewfinder in a very simple manner that eliminated much of the extraneous elements that did not add to the photograph. In this step, it is important to look around the edge of the frame to make sure that nothing has poked into the field of view that you don't want there. Fine tune you position until the Where enables you to include just what you want, and in the way that you want it. Something else that you don't want to overlook is the possibility of other Where locations. Never stop with one shooting location. Move around and find other compositions that satisfy all of your questions as well.
Two other questions that can fall in with this one could be Which lens and What focal length should I be using to make the best of the location I am shooting from? In the above picture, I wanted to accentuate the rapids which were visually small while including the main cascades. In order to do this from close to the water, I needed a wide angle lens. I used my 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens set to 12mm (approximately 17-18mm after the 1.6x conversion). This gave me the exact perspective that I wanted for the image, and included all of the elements that made up the answer to my What question.
Why?
Up a Lazy River
After you have your camera set up, now comes the time for the most important question of all, and the one that started me asking the questions in the first place. As you look through the viewfinder, ask yourself Why am I taking this picture? You should be able to answer that question very quickly and honestly with yourself. At the time of exposure in the above picture, I had already answered the previous questions to myself...
Who? I was creating this picture primarily for me.
What? This is one of my favorite local spots to photograph. It is the Old Guilford Mill, which is a functioning grist mill in Guilford County.
When? This was one of the main reasons for the photograph. After several days of heavy rainfall the stream leading up to the mill had swollen to the point that there were several rapids which had formed. I knew that these rapids would provide a nice visual foreground within a strong leading line. I waited until the sky was cloudy...not just regularly cloudy, but an overcast day where the clouds were heavy with different shades of gray. The clouds also served to diffuse the light from the sun decreasing the shadows which would be present on the mill.
Where? This was another very important question to answer in order to show what I wanted to in the photograph. I knew that I wanted to feature the rapids in the water as well as the mill. In order to do that, I was going to have to get close to the water and elevate the camera just enough to get an intimate perspective of the stream leading up to the water wheel. The water was too high to stand in, so I had to set up on the shore. In order to keep from having a very static composition with the shore and water taking up 50% of the lower space, I made sure that I included a tall patch of weeds which was protruding from the water. This provided a strong visual anchor in the lower left third of the frame which introduce the viewer's eyes to the rapids, ultimately leading to the water wheel.
Having answered all of these questions all that was left was Why am I taking this picture. This picture is all about emotion. In a single frame, I was able to capture a relatively dramatic sky which looms heavy over the scene despite taking up such a small portion. The intensity of the red in both the water wheel and roof add to that excitement. Even the rapids in the water help tell the tale of the previous rains which had fallen. The time of year also came into play. The vegetation was only partially dormant at this point in the fall. Much like the old mill, there was life left in the withering grasses. The lighting of the whole scene cemented the mood I wanted to convey with this photograph.As you see, the Why in this image is much more detailed than "It's a pretty scene, and I wanted to capture it". I could have snapped a picture from the road and kept on driving. Instead I chose to work around different areas of this mill for nearly an hour and a half. The exposure even took around 13 seconds to make.
Conclusions
One of the themes that keeps popping up in my Tips and Tricks is that you must slow down the process when you are creating photographs. All too often we see something that we like and we snap a picture and call it a day. We are only cheating ourselves when we do this. If we were to just slow down the process a bit and go through these quick questions, I am sure that we would all find that our photographs would improve dramatically. If your intention is to have people looking at your photographs for more than just a second or two, then shouldn't you put at least that much time into the creation of the image? It is not uncommon for me to take well over an hour, and sometimes much longer than that to create one image where I am satisfied that all the questions have been adequately answered. Other times, this process can take only a few minutes. Regardless of the time, if you feel comfortable that the questions have been addressed and answered, you have a high probability that the photograph will be well received.
Thank you for joining me for another installment of Tips and Ticks. This one has been a fun tutorial for me because it got me out of the straight technical side of things. Everything here is just a thought process, and is not really discussed in books or magazines. In fact, other than asking Why you are snapping a particular photograph, I have not seen these questions associated with the photographic process before. I swear by these questions and use them in nearly all of my photographs. I believe that if you give it a try, you will see a marked improvement in your own photography.
Written by Greg A. Kiser
Photo Trek: Historic Bethabara
Photo Trek: 02-20-2010, Historic Bethabara, Winston-Salem, NC
Log House
I've been on a few short Treks this month, but nothing like what I have wanted to do. The weather finally looked like it was going to cooperate with me on Thursday with decent clouds in the mountains. My intention was to head to Stone Mountain and do some hiking up to the summit to get some grand landscapes with maybe a little bit of snow. As normal, I woke up very early so I could get out there at first light, however, I was wondering if the inclement weather over the last two months has affected the trails. I checked the park's website and found that the main loop trail was closed due to snow and ice. This effectively removed this destination from my available Treks for the day. I checked Hanging Rock as well which had somewhat favorable conditions according to the forecast. However, their website advised that all trails were closed due to snow and ice. The weather locally was bright sunshine with no relief from the clouds. I never even pulled the camera out of the closet and went back to sleep.
Today was a different story, there were partly cloudy skies forecasted for the morning locally which meant that I could get out for a morning Trek. I chose Historic Bethabara because of a particular composition that I had in mind that would work with a colorful sunrise. My plan was to work this area as the sun came up, and then move on to hunt down some barns in the morning sun. All of this was going to benefit from some nice puffy clouds which was what was promised.
When I left at 6am, I noticed that the sky was completely clear, but I held out hope that the clouds would roll in within the next hour. I arrived at Bethabara around 6:20, with plenty of time to set up to take advantage of the changing light. I went right to my intended composition, but became a little discouraged as the light increased, and the clouds remained hidden from sight. About 15 minutes before sunrise I abandoned my composition and moved around to try and take advantage of the warm soft light from the low sun which was creeping closer to the horizon.
I chose the East side of the Gemeinhaus to set up, taking advantage of the rubble of a foundation as my foreground. I worked out a composition and waited for the sun to illuminate the church. It never did...the trees were too dense to my right and all I could get was slivers of light on the side of the church. After waiting over an hour, and loosing feeling in my toes and fingers I gave up on the light and moved to alternate shooting positions.
The highlight of the morning came from an unexpected source. There is a 19th century log house which I have never been able to photograph before that caught my eye this morning. The sun was bathing it in near perfect light, there was a slight bit of snow on the moss covered roof, and the trees were striking without their leaves. I worked this house from several different angles and found a few compositions that really worked to take advantage of this subject.
After about three and a half hours in the cold, the sun was beginning to increase in intensity and the lighting that was working out for me was no longer present. I again looked at the sky that was supposed to have nearly 55% cloud coverage and found not a single cloud as far as my eyes could see. It was time to head in and see what I ended up with.
With more than 70 frames captured, I ended up with a total of seven New Additions to the gallery. This marks the first time that a monochrome image was added without being a conversion from a color photograph. While it does share the same composition as a color image, this B&W image was created around 30 minutes prior with significantly different lighting.
Photographer Spotlight: Franklyn Millman
Welcome back to Photo Trek's Photographer Spotlight! In this monthly feature I dedicate my journal to another deserving photographer out there. While I have featured professional photographers, that is not a requirement. I also enjoy introducing amateurs and hobby shooters and everything else under the sun. Photography is something that can be enjoyed by anyone, and experience or paycheck shouldn't prevent their work from being seen. Our spotlight this month happens to be a doctor by trade, and photographer by passion.
As it turns out Franklyn Millman lives in the same area of North Carolina that I do, but he didn't start out here. He grew up in San Diego, CA and was educated in the San Fransisco Bay area. He did his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley and attended medical school in San Fransisco. For 20 years he practiced medicine (funny how they are alway practicing) in San Diego which is almost a complete career in many fields. Had it not been for one twist of fate, Franklyn might have remained in the California area to this day. However, Wake Forest University managed to recruit him in 1995 to work at their medical facility.
Since relocating to North Carolina he has found lots to love. His "second career" of photography is thriving. His partner, Susan Von Cannon has been very helpful in this. She happens to have a degree in Product Design from the School of Design at our very own NC State. With her specialized talent, she has been instrumental in regards to his image designs and his studio shoots.
Franklyn's love of photography actually started long before 1995. Actually, it was while he was in high school that he initially became interested. As with several of my other spotlight photographers, his Dad played a part in Franklyn's development. A darkroom was added to his Father's workshop in their home. With his very own dark room, Franklyn set out to earn a little extra money. He photographed the neighborhood children (long gone are the days when this wouldn't get several 911 calls) and printed the pictures out for his spending money. It was the process of....ahem....processing which really captured Franklyn's imagination. He was "mesmerized by watching the prints develop under the safe light of the darkroom."
Kylemore Abbey Photo Copyright Franklyn Millman
In 1999 Franklyn's skills behind the camera had started to improve and his interest intensified. The decision was made to take some time off from his job at the Medical School and focus on his art. He spent some time at the Maine Photographic Workshops where he studied with the likes of Kit Frost, Bruce Barnbaum, John Paul Caponigro, and Richard Bernabe. Locally, Franklyn has attended the Grandfather Mountain Nature Photography Workshop, and has been a member of Carolina Nature Photography.
Since his love for photography started with photographing people, it stands to reason that this is still one of his favorite subjects. He enjoys portraits of friends and family utilizing studio lights, but his interests have grown quite a bit since the darkroom days. Franklyn now enjoys getting out into nature to photograph landscapes, as well as travel photography. Rounding out his interests is event photography.
Boats in Lake Photo Copyright Franklyn Millman
Franklyn is a Nikon shooter and currently uses two different bodies in his bag of goodies, a D3s and D700. He also has a nice assortment of lenses including a Nikon 12-24mm, 24-70mm, and a 70-200mm. This is his digital kit, but when it comes time to shoot film, he uses a Mamiya 711 and film scanner. Printing is handled by Franklyn with an Epson 3800 using Exhibition Fiber Paper or Velvet Fine Art for his matte prints. There is something to be said for controlling the quality from capture all the way to final print and I applaud Franklyn for choosing to do this in his photography.
For those of you who would like to see more of Franklyn's work than the few pictures I have posted here, be sure to check out his gallery at Smugmug. His images are posted for display only, but he has sold quite a few by request. These are mainly from contest shows and gallery shows. Several of his prints are currently on exhibit in the Medical Center where he works. While he is always flattered and pleased when people request one of his photographs, he doesn't actively promote sales of his prints since he is so busy with his day job.
Sunset Blast Off Photo Copyright Franklyn Millman
As with most photographers, Franklyn mentions a few of his influences starting with Ansel Adams. Franklyn has actually spent a lot of time in Yosemite which was Ansel's old stomping grounds. Frans Lanting and Art Wolfe are two other well known photographers who have captured Franklyn's eye. Each of these photographers have their own style which has helped mold Franklyn's own personal style. Its not just famous photographers who have something to share with other shooters. In fact some of the most influential sources can come from a much closer source. Franklyn mentioned the Piedmont Photography Club which has several superb photographers in its ranks. Having the ability to speak with them directly and see them work provides ample opportunity to learn from them.
Franklyn's goal as a photographer is to use his photography as a means to edify and to enrich those relationships which are important to him. He still shoots a lot of family and friends (again, something that normally would catch the attention of a passing police officer). His travel experiences are also enriched through his photography.
Franklyn has received numerous awards for his work. He has been fortunate enough to win one of the top three places in the Annual Medical Center Juried Art Show six different times. He has also won "Print of the Year" through the Piedmont Photography Club two years running.
In addition to awards, he has had the honor of photographing many special events along side of Susan, such as Alexander Julian's 60th birthday party, Gloria Steinem's visit to Salem College, and a High School basketball championship. Both he and Susan were selected as the official photographers of the River Run Festival for the first three or four years after it moved to Winston-Salem.
Franklyn would like to leave us with this tidbit of advice..."Concentrate on ways of seeing. Practice this even when you don't have a camera. The best images are the ones that are well captured. You can always adjust things the way Ansel did in the darkroom but you can't convert a bad capture into a good image. Concentrate on exposure, selective focus, and dynamic composition."
That about wraps up another Photographer Spotlight here at Photo Trek II. I hope that you have enjoyed getting to know Franklyn as much as I have. Its so nice to see talent like this right here in the Piedmont of NC. I would also like to thank Franklyn for taking time out of his busy schedule to help me put this article together. Its been a real pleasure!
Written by Greg A. Kiser
Photo Trek: Vance Rd
Photo Trek: 02-13-2010, Vance Rd, Forsyth County, NC
Chilling Sight
It has been a lot longer than I had hoped since my last Trek. My plans were to go on a full scale Trek on this set of off days in an attempt to really shake down the new camera, however fate seemed to have a completely different plan. My first day off I was given a slightly early birthday present...the stomach flu. I won't get into details about how it affected me, but I will say that I questioned how my internal plumbing was put together the first day. As it turned out, three of my four days off were spent doubled over in pain with angry noises emanating from my abdominal region.
It wasn't until my last day that I felt somewhat normal again. As it turned out North Carolina had yet another wintry mess the night before. While I normally love snow, I have lost a little bit of my love for it after slipping in ice, and for the simple fact that I have been driving in it for nearly two months straight. I figured that my last day was going to go to waste, photographically speaking that is.
However, as I looked out the window early in the morning, I saw that the thick cloud cover was breaking up which provided some very nice visual interest in the sky. I decided to give a short Trek a try knowing that I still had several other things that had to be done before going back to work. I thought about a barn that I had recently photographed that I thought would benefit from the snow as well as the clouds.
I loaded up my camera gear and head out to Vance Rd. When I arrived at the barn the sky was all wrong...not to mention that the barn had changed as well. With all of the snow and ice that we have had recently the side awning had caved in and really changed the appearance of the barn. It was not what I wanted. I drove on past it figuring that my Trek was over quicker than it had began.
However, my luck was about to change...a little bit that is. Just about 60 feet down the road on the other side I saw a field full of the night's snow with a pond at the far end. What really set this pond apart from the rest of the scene was the color. It was red....bright red!!! I assume that it was from the constant runoff of the red mud in the field, but it was eye catching nonetheless. The sun was behind some thick clouds which caused them to show some great sunrise colors. I had to have this scene.
I knew that I was going to be under a time constraint since the clouds were moving at a fast pace. I took note of the time as I opened up the camera bag. A mere three and a half minutes later I was set up with my 24-70mm f/2.8L, polarizer, and 3-Stop ND Grad, all on a tripod....not bad. I guessed at the lens since I am still not completely familiar with how the focal lengths work with the new full framed sensor. As it turned out, I hit the nail on the head with my lens choice. Zoomed to about 60mm the lens worked perfectly.
However, my good luck changed once again. In the very short time it took me to set the camera up the sun had come out from behind the clouds and the colors in the scene changed significantly. My first thought was to pack the camera back up and call it a day. I then thought that I could wait for the clouds to once again cover the sun. There were no more clouds in the sky. Well, I was looking at a camera that was set up and ready to go. I also remembered that this 5DMII has a great exposure latitude compared to what I was used to. I decided to give it a shot...or five.
With careful placement of the ND Grad, and application of the polarizer, I was able to get a few exposures that actually captured all of the tones in the scenes according to the histogram on playback. I was starting to have a little bit of hope for this scene even though the lighting that captured my eye was now gone.
When I got home I was very much impressed with this camera. In the RAW conversion I was able to determine that I actually had a little bit of room on both sides of the histogram showing that I had plenty of detail in both light and dark areas. I converted the file as a 16 bit image for tweaking in Photoshop. I was able to eek out lots of detail through dodging and burning and was very impressed with the image...which turned out to be a 121mb file in .tif format. I love the resolving capability of this camera!!!
Unfortunately, I was only able to add one New Addition to the gallery from this Trek. It was nothing like what I had planned on for the weekend, but it was better than I thought I was going to get while I holding my belly wishing for the demon to escape!
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.
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.