Posts Tagged oak trees
Storms are opportunities
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on January 21, 2010
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In Sacramento, we have it good. Compared to the rest of the nation, we really only have 3 seasons. What we call winter would be welcomed in much of the country. When we do actually get a bout of weather, people panic. After a steady stream of very wet storms, this week was no exception. The newspaper and every local news station had their redshirt character doing a spot outside, getting blasted by storm while telling us the obvious; it was raining.
For nature photographers, weather is an opportunity. Frequent readers of this blog often see me lament the blank blue skies that plaque California. While great for picnics, cloudless skies make for boring photography. Weather, especially right after a storm, can absolutely make a scene. Such was the case with this shot.
Last Monday, we got hit by a very wet storm. Around 2:30PM, we got a partial break that looked like it might last for a few hours. I threw my gear in the car and headed up to the foothills in the hope of catching a great sunset. About 20 minutes after I’d arrived, Gary Hart, pulled up behind me; completely unplanned. After shooting a while, we consolidated cars and headed down the road. With an eye on the developing sunset color, we found a spot that he’d shot at previously. On a fairly narrow road shoulder, we set up and tried our best to keep from being run over. At one point a friendly California Highway Patrol officer stopped by and told us: “I know it’s pretty, but you’re going to get killed.” Thankfully he was wrong and we both got some great shots.
To get this capture I used a Singh-Ray 3 stop reverse graduated neutral density filter. This special filter has a dark band in the center and slowly transitions to clear. For sunsets, on a fairly straight horizon, it’s a great tool. Bringing down the brightness at the horizon, the filter allowed me to get a good exposure on the rest of the sky. The same result could have been had by combining multiple exposures during processing but it’s always more rewarding to do it with the camera.
Cheers
Snow day!
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on December 10, 2009
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Last monday it snowed at my house. That might not seem like a big deal to you but it’s a pretty rare sight in Sacramento. Supposedly we had some flurries a few years ago but it’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen snow on the ground in my home town. For the record it was only a dusting and it was gone by 10am, but it gave me an opportunity to get out and do some shooting close to home that afternoon. I found this pretty little scene up in the Sierra foothills off of highway 49. I couldn’t believe that I found so snow less than 40 minutes from my house.
Photographing snow can be tricky. In any automatic mode the camera will underexpose the scene and make the snow a dingy dark grey. Generally speaking, manual exposure is almost always a simpler approach; especially when doing landscape photography. It’s a hassle to deal with exposure compensation or AE locking. I just meter on the bright white snow and set my exposure meter 1.5 – 2 stops to the right, (to the left if you live in Nikon land), and fire away. There’s no need to do anything else with exposure unless the light changes. The next time you’re photography snow, switch it to manual and give it a try. You’ll like the results.
Cheers
Orion and Oak Trees
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography on March 10, 2009
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Sacramento, CA bills itself as the City of Trees. It’s something that you take for granted when you live here but their abundance becomes most obvious when you travel to another city; they become conspicuous by their absence. While the city proper is a host to many varieties, in the Sierra Nevada foothills to the East the city, the Valley Oak is dominant.
Yesterday, Gary Hart, a photographer friend who also lives in the area called me. He was teaching a class on moonlight photography via The Learning Exchange. The group was fairly large so he asked if I could come along and help out. I really enjoy moonlight and low-light photography so I jumped at the offer.
Generally speaking, the folks who attend the workshops are comfortable with their equipment and looking to take the next step in their craft. The Learning Exchange classes are a different format than the workshops that I assist on. These classes are for all skill levels but are really geared towards folks who are just getting started with their photography. Both groups share the same enthusiasm but each requires a different instruction style. I found myself “backing up” quite a few times after facing a couple of blank stares. It was a fun experience.
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