We returned to the area just outside the Bisti Wilderness on the north end of Bisti for sunrise photography on day 5 of our stay in Bisti.
Accidental Sunrise Abstract. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I use a remote shutter release to avoid camera shake that results when physically pressing the on camera shutter button. Sometimes the remote shutter release button gets pressed accidentally, especially when moving the camera, maybe when walking with the camera on a tripod with the remote dangling from the camera. I usually just delete such accidental shots and that was my inclination for the image above. However, the colors and patterns looked intriguing to me, so I kept this image, pushing the texture and colors in Adobe Lightroom with additional editing in Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4 to get this “abstract” image. I wish I could say that I shot this one purposely, since I like it; but I doubt that I could duplicate this image, even if I tried. Maybe my most interesting shots are totally accidental!
Sunrise light on rock forms near Bisti North. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
Fortunately, there were some clouds in the sky this morning to add some interest to the sky. The early morning light brings out the structure and color of the rocks here, which are otherwise not very colorful.
Sunrise light in an area near Bisti North. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
The two images above are mostly of the same subject, but it is obvious that moving around getting a different point of view can yield very different photos. I call the rock feature in the center of the one above “Satellite Dish Rock”, since the pointy rock just right of top center looks a lot like a satellite dish from a rear view point. I have another photo from the rear taken on another day, but I’m not sure that it is good enough to post.
Sunrise light on rock forms in an area near north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I like the way the early morning light highlights the rocks in a diagonal pattern in this photo (best viewed large on Flickr). There are many interesting rock features in the background that may not be obvious, unless this image is viewed large.
Sunrise light in the BLM area near north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I’m using the rock and its shadow on the bottom left to anchor the foreground and the drainage pattern beside it to lead the eye up the hill to the rock outcrops and the small window rock in the upper left.
It occurs to me, when looking at these photos, that some may think these just depict dirt and rocks. So why spend so much time and energy photographing such objects? As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Not all of us will have an appreciation of the natural beauty of the land. Indeed, in midday light, much of this area is just bland dirt and rocks. But add golden hour light and a few clouds in the sky and I think it is beautiful, at least if captured in a well composed image. Whether or not I manage to capture an interesting image is always a matter of creative vision and I know that I do not always succeed in that endeavor. So your critiques are always welcome and may help me to improve my photography.
Thanks for following,
Ken
P.S. I will be traveling for a few days and posts may be irregular, since I may not have internet connectivity.
On day 4 of my March 2019 photography excursion, my son and I went to the little area on the north side of Bisti, which we think is actually on BLM land and is not a part of the designated Bisti wilderness.
A smug looking rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 20mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I had spotted this rather smug looking rock on an earlier scouting of this area. The rock has a cartoon like face expression, maybe implying “I’m not talking to any of you”. [Not that rocks actually speak to me, at least not in actual spoken words].
Final Curtain Call of the Day. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One of the hoodoos that we also found on an earlier scouting here is in the above photograph. It is too bad that the sky was so drab and uninteresting on this day.
Future flows from Past. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above is an attempt to use the drainage pattern and the broad band of red pebble covered ground as leading lines into the background features; but there might be too much of the foreground in this case. It would have been good to have something else of interest in the near fore ground.
The Final Spotlight before Night’s Curtain falls. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I like this smaller (but actually fairly large) feature in the center here with the sand pattern around it from erosion of that feature. I would have liked to have gotten a bit more isolation of this feature, but I could not find a suitable place from which to photograph it to achieve that on this day. Anyway, this composition does give a good sense of the environment here and the setting for this feature.
As a reminder, clicking on any of the photos in this post will take you to the photo on Flickr, where they will probably look better than on this web page or in your e-mail. Also big screens are better for viewing these photos than small, mobile devices.
Until next time,
Ken
P.S. I will be traveling again for a few days, so the next few posts might be delayed, since I do not know where or when I might have adequate internet connectivity.
{Readers might note that this post is out of chronological order. Apparently, I overlooked the draft of this post as I was publishing my blogs}.
My oldest son arrived in Bisti during the afternoon of my second day there. We decided to go to the place that I had scouted the previous afternoon for sunset photography.
It was another very cloudy day near sunset as we arrived at our destination and began preliminary shooting and picking our spots for sunset shots.
Muted colors previous to sunset in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Adobe Lightroom now has a new Texture adjustment that I discovered while editing this photo. I probably pushed it too much in this photo, but I wanted to experiment with this new toy.
The tall feature in the upper right is a good navigation item here. It can be seen from far away and from various directions.
A photographer getting a sunset shot in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4mm, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My oldest son is standing on the slope that I scouted the previous afternoon. Some late day light is apparent at the fringes of the rocks; but the cloud cover is making it brief and muted.
Cloudy, muted sunset light on Bisti Hoodoos and Bluffs. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My shot from the slope, where my son was standing in the previous photo. Note the cloudy sky. There is golden hour light, but it is not as brilliant as one would like to see.
With such intermittant light it is always difficult to know what to do or where to be for the best photographic opportunity. One can be patient and stick to one place or move around, looking for other compositions. It is probably best to pick one composition and wait patiently. Sometimes I have patience, sometimes I don’t.
Sunset highlights on Bisti Wilderness features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Even with brief and muted light, I like the image above with the contrasting highlights and dark shadows. I’ve used the alignment of the rocks and hoodoos as a leading line into the photo. This line also intersects with the line formed by the big hill in the upper center of the photo, which then leads the eyes to the sunset sky.
A cloudy, sunset silhouette in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A cloudy sky can make for dramatic sunset silhouettes.
A sunset silhouette taken from atop a hill in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another sunset silhouette with colorful, striated clouds. This image is cropped from a much larger image, most of which was just dark shadow in the foreground. Details in the shadows could have been brought out via editing, but there was really not anything there to add interest.
There is an area just to the southeast of the Bisti south parking area that we had previously ignored, thinking there was probably nothing of interest there; but we decided to explore that area, anyway. It was only a few minutes hike from the parking area, so we did not have to allow nearly as much time for getting to it. We found canyons with numerous branches there to explore.
One of a number of canyons near the south Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One of the problems with photographing in canyons is that large portions of them tend to be in shadow at both sunrise and sunset and the light in the canyons either later in the day after sunrise or earlier in the day at sunset can be harsh.
One of a number of canyons near the south parking area for Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 22mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
For the shot above, I found a place to actually sit on a large rock and look down this canyon and wait for sunrise light. I have purposely left deeper shadows in the foreground to contrast with the early morning light on the background, with the dark bottom of the canyon and the walls of the canyon leading the eye towards the background. The photo looks a bit dark in this post. Click on the photo to see this image on Flickr, where a larger view will make it look much better. Perhaps, I left too much shadow and darkness for some computer screen viewing? My monitor is fairly bright and the image looks good viewing it in Adobe Lightroom. But perhaps, I should re-visit the editing and bring up the shadow areas a little?
One of several canyons near the Bisti south parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above is near a branch in one of the canyons nearest to the south Bisti parking lot. This shot is taken much later in the morning than sunrise shots are normally taken, but note the deep shadows on the east side of the canyon wall.
After our morning experience in these canyons, we decided that sunset might be a better time for photography here and to return to shoot here at sunset, which will be the topic of the day 3 sunset post.
While in Farmington, I took advantage of the city amenities to do laundry, have a simple restaurant meal and acquire a few more provisions, including food, water and filling my spare fuel containers, before heading to Bisti.
Upon arriving at the parking area for the southern access into Bisti/De Na Zin, I noted only a few visitors were there; but with the eminent weekend, I expected more soon and, indeed, more began to arrive as I set up.
I parked in a north-south direction near the back end of the parking lot and began installation of my solar panels on the roof rack, being sure to secure them well, since it was quite windy. Normally, I would move the solar panels during the day to get the most power possible from them, but with them on the roof and the required tying down, it would not be convenient to move them, so I just left them facing south at about 45 degrees to the roof rack. It turns out that this arrangement was sufficient to keep the house batteries charged, as I did not have to resort to running the engine at anytime.
The Sportsmobile with solar panels on the roof rack and the Penthouse raised. iPhone photo.
The photo above was actually taken near the end of our stay in Bisti.
I met and chatted with a few of the visitors Friday afternoon before heading into the wilderness area. It was a windy, cloudy day with a considerable wind chill, even though the air temperature was not so cold. I knew the possibilities for late day light were slim, but I went out late in the day, just in case. I wanted to explore new areas, anyway. If nothing else, I would be able to scout possible places to return to in more favorable photographic conditions.
An interesting feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I spotted the small hoodoos/toadstools in the above photo high up on a hill top. There was no direct way to get to these. So I hiked around this area for awhile, eventually finding a not prohibitively steep slope to climb up a hillside from which I hoped to be able to work my way to these features.
Interesting features in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view to the east in the above photo is at the top of the hill that I climbed. I continued walking along the hill top to the west, looking for access to the interesting features that I had spotted from the valley below.
Scouting Photo, Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
On the northern side of the hilltop, I spotted this small wash with emerging hoodoos.
Working the area scouting photo in Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view to the south of the hill, overlooking the area through which I hiked, to get here was quite good.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
After a short hike along the ridge, I came upon the features for which I was looking. I wanted to be on the far side of these at sunset. Carefully walking around so as not to damage anything or leave footprints, which I did not want in a photo, I looked for a safe way to the other side. The drop off on the right side, I deemed too steep for a safe descent; but I could walk along on the left edge of the ridge past the hoodoos and the slope below was not excessively steep.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
It is always a good idea to look at a photographic subject from various view points to find the best possible vantage point, so I took a number of iPhone photos as I worked around this area. One might note that these natural features can look much different from different view points.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A view from just below the feature from the west side.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another possible composition from the west side.
Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
And a wider view from the west side.
One of my concerns at this location was where my shadow would appear as the sun went low into the sky. So I thought I probably would need to go a bit more down the slope below this feature.
A view from just below this feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The view above is a bit deceptive. This photo is not taken from as far away a view point as it appears. From this point of view, I can see several different places along the slope from which to shoot and possibly eliminate my shadow from the composition.
Since I still had plenty of time prior to sunset, I continued to explore the area.
A view from a hillside in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another possible feature to shoot from the top of the ridge is shown in the above photo.
I continued back down into the valley below, since it appeared that the increasing cloud cover was not promising for late day photos. I eventually set up to shoot one of the large colorful bluffs and waited for the sunlight to peek out from underneath the clouds.
I was rewarded with really good light for a brief moment, only to see that my shadow was a prominent feature in my composition. There had been no shadow due to cloud cover, when I set up my shot. I worked quickly to modify my composition, but the sunlight vanished more quickly.
Soon I gave up hope for more light and headed back towards the parking area hoping to avoid hiking too long in the dark.
About half way back to the parking area, the sun made a brief appearance. I turned around to see the desert lit up by great light and I hastily set up to attempt a shot.
Late day sunlight briefly illuminates the Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
With such an interesting sky, I put the horizon roughly in the middle, which is generally not a good idea. I considered cropping this image, looking at various scenarios, but in the end I liked the original composition better than the crop possibilities. I think the little drainage wash coming in from the bottom right leads the eye into this image, then the diagonal lines formed by the vegetation and their shadows adds to this effect.
After this shot, I quickly tried another composition with one of the red hills in it, but the light faded quickly.
Late day sunlight briefly illuminates Bisti wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Note that in this image I included much more of the sky and less of the desert foreground, since the light was much more dramatic on the clouds in the sky.
Maybe had I gone back up the hillside to the little hoodoo/toadstool area, I might have gotten a good shot, if I had been prepared and waited patiently for the light. Then I would certainly be hiking out in the dark, but that is not a big deal here.
Even though this afternoon’s photographic excursion was disappointing, my expectations had not been high and I had found places to revisit again at another time. Such is the life of a landscape photographer.
After scouting about a mile along the Tejas trail earlier in the day, I went out again late in the day, planning to be near the far end of my scouting hike to get a shot of the most prominent feature on the mountainside east of the trail. After arriving at that point on the trail, I very soon realized that the sunlight was not going to illuminate that feature as I had hoped. Only a small portion of the intended subject would be highlighted with most of it being in shadow. So I began hastily backtracking down the trail to check out other possibilities. The next pre-scouted site that I attempted did not work out either, so I continued back along the trail.
I arrived at another pre-scouted site that looked more promising and proceeded to make a number of shots, none of which were greatly impressive. However, I managed to get one that I could edit and make look presentable.
A late afternoon scene along the Tejas Trail, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom, DXO Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4.
There was good light on the mountainside, but the shadows were quickly encroaching upon the scene. If not for motion in the vegetation, I could have tried creating an HDR image or stacked a number of images. In this image I applied color, contrast, brightness and structure adjustments in DXO Nik software via numerous control points. Then more adjustments in DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4. I added a vignette frame around the edges to eliminate an obvious vignette in one corner of the original image that was caused by my filter holder.
Moving a bit more back down the trail, I stopped to shoot in another location, before the light disappeared completely. Again I had to make a number of exposures, trying to balance the shadows and highlight, but none came out really well and HDR was, again, not an option.
Late day sunlight along a mountain top in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom, DXO Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4.
One can see how far the shadows have moved up the mountainside in just a short time interval. This image is edited in a very similar fashion to the previous one. I could have brought out more detail in the shadows, but chose not to do so in this case.
I tried a few more shots as I moved back down the trail, but none worked out very well. The evening was pleasant and there was a full or near full moon that evening, so the walk back to the RV parking lot was quite pleasant and well lit by moonlight, so I did not have to get out my headlamp.
This photo shoot did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but at least I got a couple of reasonable images and had a pleasant moonlight hike back along the trail.
I had picked out a few possible places for sunrise shots the following and last morning of my visit, but none of those were really appealing, so I decided to forego getting up early for a morning shoot and get an earlier start on the road to the next destination.
This park has much more to see than I had time to get to. In particular, McKittrick Canyon is reportedly very nice in the fall, so maybe I can make another visit one fall. I would also like to get into the gypsum dunes in the Salt Basin. So I really need to find time to plan another visit.
Before I continue with photography within this park, I will offer a brief review of the park and facilities. There was some work being done at the visitor center at the entrance, when I was there. This required one to go into the center to confirm one’s arrival and pay any fees that were due, rather than pay in the typical way at a reception window. However, I was a bit confused by the signage at the entrance, thinking that I needed to drive on into the park to find the place to check in. So I continued, following the signs to the camping area. Upon getting to the RV area, I found a ranger helping another RVer with a big rig get into his assigned spot. He came over to chat with me for awhile and told me how to best get to my reserved spot and told me I had a good spot adjacent to a sand dune on one side. He also told me that he could come by, when he made his early morning rounds, and take me back to the visitor center to check in. I informed him that I would probably be in the dunes in the early morning hours and late day hours. I did not tell him why and he did not ask, but he looked a bit confused, since apparently few visitors get out that early into the dunes. Anyway, even though I saw him passing by my place during my subsequent stay, he never stopped by and I never got any note on my vehicle, even though I did not have the typical sticker or receipt that the parks require on vehicles within the park. I did stop by the visitor center as I was leaving the park to be sure all was ok and I was informed that all my fees were paid by the online reservation and I was all set to go. I knew that I had paid the campsite fee, but I still thought that I had to pay the entrance fee, since my annual membership card was expired.
This is an old park and the facilities need some refurbishing, especially the restrooms and showers. The showers are open with no privacy doors. The shower water valves do not operate the way I expected and I initially thought there was no hot water. This is a sandy place and visitors using the showers naturally leave much sand in the shower area.
The park is just north of I-20 and a railway that parallels I-20. Being in the heart of the Permian Basin, there is much oil field truck traffic on I-20 and there were numerous trains passing by through out the night, so it can be rather noisy at night. I must admit that the train whistle sound during the night was a bit nostalgic, since I recall hearing these during the night in my childhood home.
The days were mostly pleasantly cool during my visit, but the late night and early mornings were cold. Even with chemical hand warmers in my fleece mittens, that opened to fingerless mode so that I could operate the camera controls, my finger tips got numb, especially just before sunrise, when I need them to not be so numb.
This is an Adobe Photoshop focus stack of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik software. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 31mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64.
Apparently, there is much night life activity in the sand dunes, too. The evidence of such is reflected by the many animal tracks in the sand, especially in the early morning hours before people walk through the dunes, disturbing the surface.
This image is created via focus stacking 5 images in Adobe Photoshop with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik software. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/11, 1.6s – 2.0s, ISO 64.An early morning photo of multiple animal tracks across sand dune ripples. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, ISO 64, f/11, 1/30s. Two images focus stacked in Adobe Photoshop, edited in Lightroom and DXO Nik software.This is a composite of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and DXO Nik software. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 29mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64.
In the late day excursions into the sandhills, I could hear coyotes yelping and they did not seem very far away. I saw numerous coyote tracks in the dunes, so I’m sure they were hunting prey in the night time hours within the dunes.
You might note that all of the images above are created by focus stacking a number of images in Photoshop. I like doing this to get sharpness through out an image, but there can be problems with doing this. In particular, if there is motion, such as movement of vegetation or clouds, while taking a series of shots, the focus stacking might not work out well. Since I knew I had this taking place in many of my shots, I inspected the results of each focus stacked image. If there were movement effects noted, I would either abandon the focus stack method or try again with different photos. If the movement effects were far in the background, where the image is not extremely sharp, anyway, I might ignore that and keep the resultant image. This is ok as long as the image is not enlarged to such an extent that the movement or misalignment is apparent. This is just a judgement call one has to make for such shots. I’ve also noted that Photoshop sometimes selects the portions of images that it uses in the focus stack in what appears to be a non logical way, with blobs of images included within an area where most of a separate image is selected. I’m sure that this is just a limitation of the software’s ability to distinguish sharpness for some portions of an image. This might be corrected by manually stacking the images, but that gets into a lot more work in the editing process.
In a couple of my initial focus stacked images, I noted glaring misalignments that could not be attributed to motion. Upon inspecting the original images, I noted that even though I typically sync adjustments across the images to be used in the focus stack process, the lens profile correction did not get applied to all images. This might have been my error, not the software’s problem. Upon correcting this, the focus stack misalignment issue went away. So just something else to be aware of when using this technique.
Early morning in Monahans Sandhills SP. This is a composite of 5 photos, edited in Adobe LR, Photoshop and DXO Nik software. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64.Coyote footprints in Monahans Sandhills SP, Texas. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 22mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik software.
Readers might note that this is a great place to use the “leading lines” technique in photography. There are very evident lines of multiple kinds in most of these photographs that serve to lead the eye through the photos.
Early morning light and shadows in the sandhills. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.
I like the long shadows streaking through the late day sunlit highlights on the dunes and the numerous animal tracks in the sands in this shot.
Early Morning in Monahans Sandhills SP, Texas. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64.
In the photo above, I am not pleased with he sky. Note that it is very blue on the right and much too bright on the left. I first considered cropping to remove the sky, but I did not think I could get a pleasing crop. Subsequently, I considered deleting this photo due to its obvious defect, but then I thought that this can be an example from which to learn. The dark blue is probably due to the effect of the polarizing filter in a wide angle shot. I usually try to minimize this effect, but I apparently neglected to do so in this shot. I do not specifically remember using a graduated neutral density filter in this shot, but I think it most probable that I did. I tried to edit the sky color to even it out a bit, but I did not like the results, so I just left it as it was. Someone with great patience and skill in Photoshop could probably fix the sky, but I’m not so inclined.
I still have a few images from this park to share, so it looks like I will need to continue this in a separate post or two.
I’ve just returned from a two weeks road trip and, as usual, after such trips there is much to do before I can get around to reviewing the photos taken during such trips. Added onto the usual catching up with items around the house, I’ve had to work to correct some software issues, at least some of which I created myself due to the way I decided to use a portable hard drive for Lightroom photos and the Lightroom catalog, so that I can work from both laptop and desktop computers.
In addition, I decided to upgrade my old Nik software, which has not been supported for some time now, to the new DXO Nik version. The software installed and ran on my MacBook Pro, but it did not want to run properly on my iMac. It took quite a bit of work over a couple of days to sort this out. In the end, I’m not sure what action(s) actually cured the problem, but at least now it is operational. In the process I learned how to remove the links to the old Nik versions from Lightroom. One would think this would be an easy, straight forward task, but no search of Adobe’s Help yielded any results on this topic, nor was DXO support completely helpful. Finally, I got suggestions from the Adobe community forum, none of which related directly to my installation, but at least got me onto the right track, allowing me to find and remove the problem files.
So now back to the subject of this post. Experienced landscape photographers need not read any more of this post, since I’m not revealing anything new here. However, beginners or novice landscape photographers might benefit from information shared here.
Light is the essence of photography. It is light that allows one to make photographs and the properties of light affect the resulting photographs. Readers may have heard the term “Golden Hour Light”, used by landscape photographers. This term refers to natural light just as the sun is rising or setting. At these times, when the sun is low in the sky, sunlight has to travel through more of the earth’s atmosphere, which favors the transmission of the warmer colors, filtering out the cooler colors. It is the “warmer light” that really bring to life objects illuminated by such light.
In this post I am showing an example of a scene shot with only the beginnings of this light and one with much more of this golden hour light.
A shot with just a hint of golden hour light peeking through the clouds.
The photo above, while lacking in great depth of field, shows the effect of muted late day light. It was a cloudy day and only a little golden hour light is getting through the cloud cover. This photo is taken looking north with the sunlight coming from the west. This is referred to as sidelight and is good for casting shadows, adding depth to a 2 dimensional photo. Note that there is only a sliver of brighter light going diagonally from the lower left corner towards the upper right and there are minimal shadows, but at least the light alternates in a repeating cycle from dark to light across the photograph. The overall tone is dark. Compare this to the photo below, taken just moments later.
A shot with almost full golden hour light.
The cloud cover is still muting the light in the second photo, but it is obviously much brighter and warmer with stronger shadows. The original image files for each of these final images are raw camera files with adjustments in Adobe Lightroom and Nik software. I’ve applied essentially the same edits to both photos. The difference the light properties make in these images is obvious. The second image “pops” much more than the first image.
As a side note, there is a photo shoot within these photos, which I did not fully realize, until enlarging these images during the processing. In the first photo, near the upper center in the sand just below the sky there are three figures, one female on the left in a red dress and two males to her right. At the time I took the photo, I just noted that there were three people walking in the background. While processing the second photo, I noted these same three people now grouped together just below the skyline on the left side of the photo. The enlargement shows a lighting umbrella device on a tripod, hence the conclusion that this is a photo shoot of the female in the red dress. These figures are only clearly visible (but not in sharp focus), if one enlarges the photo.
That is all for this post. I will have much more to share from this trip in subsequent posts.
