Posts Tagged Canon 5D
World’s greatest taco stand
Posted by Doug Otto in Geek, Photography on February 9, 2010
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While Mexican food and landscape photography don’t generally share a common bond, that isn’t the case with this image.
The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have a problem. If you know me personally it’ll come as no shock to hear that, yes, I am taco junkie. I’m not talking those cardboard and packaged meat things you get from TacoBell™, I mean real tacos; some spiced meat in a soft corn tortilla with just onion, cilantro and salsa.
Over the summer of 2008 I took the family on a 5 day backpacking trip in Yosemite. The high country, in Summer, is a great escape from the crowds in the valley. There’s a little spot along Yosemite creek, about 7 miles from the Tioga road, where we like to set up camp. From there it’s an easy day hike to North Dome, Yosemite Point & falls or El Capitan; where this image was taken.
Rather than rely on packaged food, we always cook and dehydrate our own meals. It’s easy to do and it tastes WAY better than the bagged meals. On this particular day, my son had set a goal:
We should have tacos on top of El Capitan!
After a moderate 4 mile hike we were treated to this view. While my son started setting up the Jetboil stove, I took the time to make this image. After a few shots I sat down and had lunch at the greatest taco stand in the world.
Cheers
Stormy skies
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on February 3, 2010
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Sometimes good nature photography requires some suffering. In the case of this image, the suffering translated to very wet pants on a cold windy day.
I told much of the story of this image in a previous post. After witnessing a break in a large storm that had just passed through, I grabbed my gear and headed to the foothills above Sacramento. Although not raining when I arrived, shortly thereafter a cell developed and the rain started coming sideways. I ran to the car, and started going through my gear:
Rain cover for the camera; check.
Hat; check.
Umbrella; check.
Waterproof jacket; check.
Rain pants; oops.
The umbrella helped keep the front element of the camera dry but with the raining coming down sideways, it did little to keep my dry. It only took a few minutes for my jeans to be completely. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes but the wind coming through my cold, wet, pants reminded me of the event for the rest of the afternoon.
I could have hid in the car until the rain subsided but I’d have never gotten this shot. Being warm and dry isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be.
I’ve been doing most of my shooting with my 7D but I wanted to go wider than the 24-70 would go on that body so I switched to my 5D for this shot. As much as I like the features and viewfinder on the 7D, there’s just something about a full frame sensor that can’t be duplicated.
Cheers
Horsetail fall
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on January 28, 2010
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Often the journey is more important than the destination. Nothing underscores more for me thanHorsetail fall (Yosemite).
First made famous by the late Galen Rowell, Horsetail fall is a tiny water fall that can sometimes be seen on the side of El Capitan. What really makes it special is the treatment it gets, at sunset, during just a couple times each year. Fed by only a 30 acre watershed it often doesn’t flow at all, but when weather conditions are right it puts on an amazing show. Best viewed backlit, the fall appears as a river of fire down the side of the granite face.
Because of the special conditions, and timing required, Horsetail can be very elusive to photograph. While technically possible in the fall, due to the angle of the sun, Horsetail fall is traditionally photographed in middle to late February. Huge crowds of photographer arrive, each year, all trying to get the classic shot. Ironically, my best memories of Horsetail are of standing in the snow, shoulder to shoulder with some other photographers joking and laughing as we clicked away at the display. The photography was completely secondary. Even after “getting the shot” several times I still go back each year just for the experience.
This particular image was taken in late January from a less traditional location. Still early in the season for the full display, I liked it because of its different perspective. I took this shot with my Canon 100-400 from the edge of Southside drive, not far from Sentinel Beach.
Cheers
Mount Hoffman
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on January 11, 2010
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While not one of Yosemite’s tallest peaks, at nearly 11,000 feet Mount Hoffman is still respectable. The spelling of the name seems to vary between Hoffman and Hoffmann I’m not sure which is correct but Ansel Adams referred to it by the former and that’s good enough for me.
I took this shot on the same evening as a previous post. Shooting star trails were the goal of the trip for me so this was just a bonus. Having endured many a cloudless sunsets from the top of Sentinel dome, this one was a real treat. The big lenticular cloud over Hoffman was the icing on the cake.
To make this image I used my Canon 5D. The relative closeness of the scrub in the foreground required an aperture of f/16. At this point some folks would be reaching for a hyperfocal chart but that’s all a bit too formal for me. When dealing with such a large depth of field (DOF), I generally will focus on the foreground element most important to me and then adjust the lens to just beyond that point. The result is a sharp foreground and an acceptably sharp background.
Cheers
Cold and gold
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 29, 2009
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As I often do, before a trip, I was going through some images that I took last year on New Year’s eve. Like last year we’ll be snow camping in Yosemite for the holiday. The weather forecast looks promising, although honestly just being there is enough.
I made this image at Valley View. The eastern sky was overcast and grey but there was a gap in the cloud layer on the western horizon. The gap allowed the days last light to reach El Capitan. Rather than take the image of the whole scene, which would have included the flat grey sky, I opted to frame just a reflection. I liked how the the three rocks formed an opposing triangle to the shape of El Cap. The warm light also made a nice contrast against the cold monochrome of the stream and snow.
To make the image I used my Canon 5D with a 100-400L. I was zoomed all the way out, at 100mm, and set my aperture to f/22. I normally avoid settings narrower than f/16 because of diffraction but I need to slow down the shutter speed to get the look of the water that you see here. The resulting exposure was 1.5 seconds at ISO 50.
Cheers
A day at the beach
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 16, 2009
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This probably isn’t the beach that you were expecting but I’d much rather be here than at the ocean. Cathedral beach is a labeled picnic area on Southside drive in Yosemite. While near Cathedral rocks, the most prominent feature is El Capitan. Reflection possibilities abound with the Merced river winding through the area. In the winter the gate is almost always closed but it’s a very easy walk from the road. I took this shot on the same morning as the previous entry.
The real story about this shot is the fact that it sat, untouched, on my hard drive for almost a year. Generally speaking I’m usually very good about sorting my images right after a shoot. Apparently I’d been so happy with the previous shot that I didn’t bother to go through the other images from that morning. Processing this shot yesterday was a lot like finding a lost wallet with a 20 dollar bill inside. As luck would have it, I found a few more from the same morning but I’ll save those for another day.
Cheers
Timing is everything
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 14, 2009
My photography is more avocation than vocation. While my real job is pretty flexible, the fact of the matter is that I can’t always just head to Yosemite anytime the weather looks interesting. If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know that weather, generally bad, plays a huge role in my shooting style. This scene is a great example.
As one of Yosemite’s most frequently photographed views, Tunnel View is a grand vista. It’s one of the most iconic locations in the park, and for good reason: it’s an amazing sight. Most of the time I don’t even shoot from this location but it’s absolutely the best place to be to get a broader understanding of what is going on in the park. From the seat of your car you can see mist forming over the meadows or be among the first to see a storm starting to clear. The the case of the later, it’s almost impossible to leave the camera in the car. Getting this shot was the result of a gamble that paid off.
One Monday, last March, I was checking the weather forecasts for Yosemite. A storm was forecasted to hit over the weekend with a snow level of 5000. At only 4000 feet the valley floor would, most likely, see only rain. With the weekend approaching the forecast started to look more promising. Snow levels remained at 5000 feet but the predicted low temperature kept dropping. Friday evening, on a hunch, I made a reservation for Saturday night in Curry Village (an unheated tent cabin if you’re keeping score). Saturday morning I threw the family in the car and we headed to Yosemite.
As expected we were greeted by rain in the park, turning very heavy after dark. After a nice dinner at the Mountain Room, we tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags and fell asleep to the steady pounding of rain on the tent. Ironically it was the best nights sleep I’ve ever had at Curry since the rain managed to drown out the noise from neighboring tents. During the middle of the night, that pounding on the tent turned to a soft flutter. It was snowing.
Waking up to fresh snow, in Yosemite, is like walking into a fairy world. I couldn’t wait to get out shooting. After fighting with 3 sets of snow chains, a story not fit for young eyes and ears, I was off and headed to Tunnel view to survey the park. The occasional snow flake was still falling but it was obvious that the storm was breaking. Iconic view or not I had to shoot it. By early afternoon the snow had all disappeared so we piled into the car and headed home. If only every plan worked out as well.
Cheers
A year of reflection
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography, Random Thoughts on December 8, 2009
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Although extremely similar to the image posted in a previous article, this is a new image. I chose it for a couple of reasons.
Nearly 3 years to the day after my first visit to Yosemite, I made this image. Both images were captured while standing next to my mentor, peer and friend, Gary Hart. Somehow, having lived my whole life just 3 hours to the North, I had never visited the park. From my perspective that makes Gary somewhat analogous to a crack dealer as Yosemite has become an addiction for me. Fortunately the analogy ends pretty quickly as I haven’t started stealing car stereos to pay for reservations at Curry Village. That said, it’s probably still a good idea for you to lock your car.
Today also marks the 1 year anniversary of this blog. My original goal was to just find a way to share my images with more people. An unintended benefit, I believe that it’s also made me a better photographer. I started out with a simple desire to explain the process that I used to make the images that I was sharing. Over time, the process of describing how and why moved from my office to the field. Understanding that there needs to be a reason behind each image has caused me to slow down and ask myself “why” before I click the shutter. A result of that process is that I’m not taking as many pictures but I’m throwing fewer away.
I’d also like thank you, the readers, of this blog for taking some time out of your lives to wade through my ramblings and to view my images. Photography is something that I do primarily for myself but it’s a lot more fun when I can share my work. To help say thanks I’d like to send a print to a couple of lucky readers. Just be the first two people to contact me on Facebook and correctly answer the following question: “I bought one new camera and one new lens within the last year. What did I buy?” Winners will receive a print of their choosing from last years blog images. Click early, click often.
Contest over – thanks!
Cheers
Ever feel like this?
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 3, 2009
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The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is an amazing place. Up in the white mountains, across the valley from the Eastern Sierra, stands the oldest living things on earth; many are over 4,000 years.
I took this image during one of the fall Eastern Sierra workshops. A few days before the workshop I did something that made my back incredibly angry. This tree is a pretty good representation of what my lower back felt like most of the trip. The only saving grace was that Gary’s brother, Jay, was along and was able to take over driving duty for much of the trip; I’m not sure how I would have made it without him. Ironically, the only time that my back was comfortable was when I was out shooting. Walking around with a camera; good. Sitting in a car; not so much.
This tree resides in the Schulman Grove. While the actual oldest tree isn’t marked, for fear of vandalism, there is speculation that it may be at or near this location. To make the image I used my 15mm fisheye lens and my ground tripod. Distances in this scene are wildly exaggerated due to the distortion of the lens. I setup, on my knees, less than a foot from the tree to frame this scene. Like many fall evenings in California the skies were cloudless and blue but there was still a hint of color on the horizon. An exposure of 4 seconds, at f/11 was required to bring it out.
Cheers
Big leaf, little leaf.
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 1, 2009
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Water, granite and yellow leaves; the essence of fall in Yosemite.
I talk about it quite often but it’s really easy to get caught up in “the big picture” in a place like Yosemite. Honestly, for many first time visitors, looking past the giant looming granite walls, the huge water falls and wide open meadows is next to impossible. Traditional thinking leads you to believe that landscape photography requires wide angle lenses, a hyperfocal distance chart and a complicated array of filters. All of those items certainly have their place in any landscape photographers tool kit, but none are essential to the making of successful images.
I’m not immune to being “sucked in” by the classic scene but lately I’ve been making a more conscious effort to break down scenes into their component parts. Not unlike trying to determine a recipe just by tasting a finished dish, it forces me to step back and feel the image versus just seeing it. The result of the exercise is an image that I’m more emotionally connected to. My hope is that connection translates to a similar experience for you, the viewer of image.
This pretty little scene was captured using my Canon 100-400, zoomed to 190mm. To maintain sharpness throughout the frame I chose f/16 as my aperture. I generally like to leave my ISO at it’s lowest setting, which is 100 on this camera. That combination resulted in an exposure of 13 seconds.
Cheers
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