Posts Tagged Canon 5D
Sunset Storm over Albuquerque
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on August 30, 2010
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Taken with Canon 5D and Canon 24-70 f/2.8. ISO 100, f/11, 1/4 second exposure. Exposure balanced with a Singh-Ray 3 stop, hard, graduated neutral density filter.
Cloudless morning, Mono Lake
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on August 18, 2010
Last week I spent a few days in the Eastern Sierra. My son leaves for the Navy early next week. The trip was the last chance to spend some time with him, outdoors, for quite a while. Other than the decision to move from one campground to another, it was a relaxing trip. We collected trout and mosquito bites before finally heading home.
While the weather was perfect for a vacation, it wasn’t very conducive to good photography. California summer “blank blues” were the dominant weather pattern. Regardless of the conditions I still choose to get out and experience the calm of the morning. After walking around and doing some shooting in the South Tufa area of Mono Lake, I turned and saw that the sun would be cresting the mountains at any second. I literally ran towards the water’s edge to get in position. I dialed in the exposure and with just a few seconds to spare was ready to catch the first ray of light.
To get the starburst on from the sun I dialed my aperture to f/22 (a setting I rarely use for any other reason).
Local Dogwoods
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on July 29, 2010
I just love Dogwood blooms. So delicate and fleeting, it’s a magical flower. When not in bloom it’s a rather non-descript tree/bush but for a week or so in spring, they’re amazing. I’ve had a love hate relationship with the dogwood in Yosemite for a of couple years now. The timing of the bloom has proven to be my undoing. Try as I might, I always seem to miss “the peak” by a week or so. Maybe someday I’ll get it right.
With just one or two non-native exceptions, the dogwood in Yosemite are all, white petaled, Pacific Dogwood. This image was taken much closer to home and is a pink variety of Eastern Dogwood. By much closer, I mean 175 miles closer. I made this photograph at the Jensen Botanical Gardens just 2 miles from my house. It’s a tiny little garden that now belongs to a local parks and recreation district. Park policy, for years, has been that photographers must purchase a $10 daily permit to make images in the garden. Apparently you can drag your easel and paints in without a problem but to take a picture it costs $10. After pointing out that disparity to a park official I’ve been told that I can shoot there any time. I’m not sure what the original thought behind the regulation was but it seems a bit silly.
I made the image with my Canon 5D and 24-70 f/2.8f lens. I’ve considered replacing the lens with the 24-105 to fill a gap in my range but every time I see the buttery smooth bokeh this lens produces at f/2.8 I change my mind.
Succulent flowers
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on July 15, 2010
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This weeks image is courtesy of another trip through my archives. I’m frequently guilty of picking one or two images, that I like, from a particular shoot and then forgetting to look at the rest. I made this photograph almost exactly 2 years ago but hadn’t processed it until a couple of days ago.
These tiny yellow, echeveria (sp), flowers are a departure from my normal photographic approach. I made this image at the NorCal Cactus and Succulent show at Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco. While there is a whole room devoted to judging of individual plants, most of the hustle and bustle is in the sale area. Vendors from all over the California set up on tables to sell their prickly wares. It’s a great opportunity for macro photography but it’s not without caveats. With the aisles between tables packed with shoppers, a tripod would be a considerable tripping hazard.
Knowing that I was going to have to work without my camera support I grabbed another piece of gear I seldom use, my MR-14EX ring flash. Perfect for macro shooting, a ring flash mounts on the front of your lens; in this case my 100 f/2.8 macro. It has flash tubes on each side of the lens allowing for very even illumination of your subject. In addition to helping freeze my own motion, the flash allowed me to isolate the flowers from the very cluttered background. While I shoot almost exclusively with natural light, for this shot the flash saved the day.
Cheers
Bridal Veil fall and spring snow
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on May 20, 2010
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Any day you have snow in Yosemite valley is a good day, especially when it happens with spring water conditions. During the last workshop we got a really nice mix of weather. Rain and snow may not make for the most comfortable shooting conditions but I’d much rather be a little uncomfortable than have blank blue skies. Having that much water in the falls and fresh snow it the trees was a real treat.
I don’t do a lot of black and white images but the treatment really worked on this shot. Although snow was still falling, there wasn’t nearly as much as there would be with a winter storm. The result was a pretty flat scene. Converting to monochrome really brought out the snow in the trees and the image’s real story: what was happening in the sky. Rather than set the camera to black and white I prefer to shoot in color and manage the conversion myself in Adobe Lightroom, much the way that classic B&W film shooters use colored filters. The other bonus is still having the frame in color if I choose to process that at a later date.
Cheers
Why I never delete anything
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on May 18, 2010
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I often get asked questions about digital workflow. In particular, folks want to know the process I use to pick and reject images. It’s honestly something that I’m not very good at. Right after a shoot I usually go through my images and pick the few that really stand out. I’ll work on those until I’m happy with them and then start going back through the rest of the images. Usually is the important word.
Yesterday while organizing some files on my hard drive I stumbled on this moonlit shot from November 2008. I honesty don’t recall ever seeing it and barely remember taking it. Opening this image for the first time felt a little bit like winning the lottery. It’s a good thing I never delete anything.
I wonder what else I can find?
Cheers
Fleeting moments
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on May 13, 2010
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If you’re a fan of waterfalls, spring time in Yosemite is right up your alley. Yosemite Falls, Bridal Veil fall and the rest of the icons are booming. Throughout the rest of the park there are dozens of ephemeral falls, many without names. Little more than a stain on the granite during much of the year, these little falls can be a real treat in spring.
This ephemeral fall is large enough that it actually carries a name: Wildcat Falls. It drops total distance of 630 feet in several steps. Just west of the Cascades, the upper portion of the falls is visible from the road. There is also an unmarked turnout on the road and short trail takes you to the shady base of the falls seen here.
Composing this scene presented a couple of problems that had to be addressed. While the base of the falls was in shade, the rock face and foliage above the falls was very brightly lit. I collapsed the legs of my tripod putting my camera position only about 18″ from the surface of the stream. It was at this moment that I discovered the other problem. The cable on my remote shutter release is 24″ long.
After blowing and shaking enough water out of my remote to make it work again I start composing the shot. Solving the brightness issue was simple, just exclude that portion from the frame. With the camera very low, I used my Canon 17-40 at it’s widest to exaggerate the perspective. I tried a number of angles until finally deciding on this composition with the rock in the foreground. It’s a simple element but it really strengthens the composition. I set aperture to f/11 to provide ample depth of field, adjusted my polarizer to take the reflection off of the water and took the shot.
This fall will most likely be gone by my next trip to the valley so I’ll have to wait until next spring to photograph it again.
Cheers
I am an island
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on April 28, 2010
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If you’ve ever photographed at Tunnel View in Yosemite you might recognize this tree. Precariously perched on the talus slope of El Captain, it often stands out as a striking feature. In late afternoon it drops to silhouette in contrast to the golden last light of the day on the granite face. Yesterday afternoon, while shooting with the latest workshop group, I watched intently as it drifted in and out of obscurity as clouds formed in the valley.
In an attempt at full disclosure, I need to tell you about a genetic condition that I have. My family refers to as “wrong line gene.” In layman’s terms, it simply refers to the tendency for any line or place, that I’m standing, to instantly be transferred into the wrong line or place. It’s an affliction that I’ve lived with some time and my family has adjusted. When we travel my wife and son always choose a different TSA line at the airport. I often use it to my advantage when photographing with a group. I can make objects and scene components appear and disappear almost at will; just by walking to or from my camera. I’m a giver. It’s what I do.
For 20 or 30 minutes I thought for sure that my genetic condition would prevent me from getting this shot. All of a sudden, the tree emerged from what appeared to be a sea of mist. Already waiting with my 100-400mm lens at 400mm, I adjusted my exposure by metering on brightest portion of the cloud and adjusting my shutter speed to +1 stop above neutral. I gave my polarizer a quick twist and only managed to fire off a handful of shots before having a relapse; the tree disappeared.
Cheers
Moonrise over Bridal Veil Fall
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on April 22, 2010
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Even when a workshop isn’t involved, the position and timing of the moon influences my planning a Yosemite visit. Visually it’s very a strong element, but it can also be a primary light source for night shooting. Having it in the sky, and knowing where it’ll be, can help make the most out of a photo trip.
Recently, on a photography forum that I frequent, there have been a bunch of heated discussions over the placement of the moon within a scene. For the sake of this article I’ll refer to the moon, but really it could be just about any component of the scene. One camp strongly insists that pasting in, enlarging or moving the moon to suit the image is merely artistic license. The other side feels, just as strongly, that it’s neither creative nor artistic to artificially introduce objects into a scene. You probably have already guessed where I stand, especially when it’s done without disclosure. The later being the most serious as it damages the creditability of the entire photographic community.
To me, the most interesting aspect of the discussion is motivation. I photograph, primarily, to please myself. If the photograph also pleases someone else that’s great but that thought never enters my mind while I’m creating it. It’s quite satisfying to have done the research, put yourself in the right spot and capture the image “in the wild.” I could have created this image any day of the year by pasting a moon into it from the comfort of my home office; but I didn’t. It’s a single exposure, made with a Singh-Ray graduated split neutral density filter.
Ansel Adams was a master of the darkroom. Even though he spent days producing a single print I can’t imagine anyone walking up to him, at an exhibit, and saying: “You didn’t develop that did you?” It’s clear that the credibility of digital has already taken a hit. While an amazing piece of software, it’s my fear that things like “content aware fill” in the new Photoshop CS5 will just further that divide. Only time will tell.
Cheers
Persistence
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on April 1, 2010
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Sometimes a scene jumps out at you, sometimes you have to go looking for it. The best photographs come from things that evoke an emotional response. This tree, with it’s sprawling roots clinging to life, has been a subject of mine for over a year now. It lives near the trail below Bridal veil fall in Yosemite. There is a character to it that I’m not even able to describe but every time I walk past I have to stop and look. I’ve shot this tree from nearly every angle imaginable, and in every season.
The subconscious mind plays a tremendous role in our photography if we allow it. People take pictures because they’re drawn to a scene. The problem is finding exactly what about the scene is pulling you in. How many times do you visualize a scene and take a shot only to be disappointed by the final result? In all likelihood, what originally grabbed your attention is in your picture; it just needs to be refined. Too often budding photographers give up on a location too soon.
I’ve known, for the last year, that there was a picture in this stream-side scene. I’m not certain this is it, but it’ll hold me over until the next trip when I can continue the search. I can’t wait.
Cheers
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