We recently returned from a trip to Newfoundland. We went in the spring of the year to see the icebergs that flow down from Greenland pushed along by the Labrador current. Newfoundland is a fabulous place with wonderful landscapes and warm and friendly people. I made this image near sunset on an overlook in Twillingate. I was amazed how much the icebergs change shape as they move and turn around. Newfoundland is a landscape photographers dream with it’s rugged coastline along with the numerous harbors filled with colorful boats. The weather is constantly changing and can be harsh at times but that all provides for some great light.
Morning Fog
I was out on a lake in my kayak before sunrise a few days ago. The morning had a heavy fog and in the darkness it was a bit difficult to find my way at first. The winter time in Florida can produce some wonderful foggy mornings for landscape photography. It can be hard to know which nights will produce a good fog, so I find myself getting up a few hours before sunrise and going outside to to see if any fog has developed. The fog event can lasts a couple of hours and the light is constantly changing once the sun has risen. This was the last image I made from my morning kayaking trip and the light was still soft and moody.
Terlingua Tx. Cemetery
I was in Terlingua Tx. this past year to do some night photography. This area of Texas has wonderful night skies and a few interesting old mining towns. I made this image around midnight using a flashlight to paint some light on the crosses. I have made several trip to this area over the years and I am always fascinated with the rugged landscape and the history of the area.
In the shadows of the cypress trees
I enjoy getting out in my kayak to do some photography. One location that I like to photographing in is Blue Cypress Lake here in Florida. The shoreline of the lake is filled with century old cypress trees that have weathered many powerful storms over the years. I find the best way to access these location is with my kayak. I have a small boat of about 10' with an electric tolling motor. It allows me to cover a fair amount of distance when the lake is calm. I use a Sony A7R111 camera that has a 5 axis stabilization system in the camera body. This is the prefect camera when photographing out of a boat that is constantly moving.
Mission Church
This image is of a scanned 4x5 negative I made back in 1986. It was my first trip to New Mexico and I was fascinated with the Spanish-Indian culture and architecture. This mission is located in Rancho de Taos a small town in the northern part of the state. In my early years of photography I would study the works of the early masters of photography by spending hours in the public library reading about their work and viewing their images. Paul Strand was a photographer that I admired and it was his image of this mission church he made back in 1931 that inspired me to travel to this area. This church was built in 1772 and has survived many changes over the years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_de_Asis_Mission_Church
Night Photography
We spent a few days in Terlingua, Tx. to do some hiking and photography. I decided to do some night photography of this trip and while driving around the area I kept an eye out for some good nighttime subject matter. I discovered this old bus outside of town and contacted the landowner about retuning at night to photograph. Once I was granted permission I scouted out the location during the day time to get an idea of where I wanted to setup the camera and which lens would be required. I marked my tripod position by stacking a few rocks in a pile. It had been my desire to visit during the period of a new moon so I could have a sky full of stars. The first few nights of our trip were cloudy and the moon was already at a quarter. In this image I choose a five minute exposure at f9 using a 35mm f2.8 Sony lens. I put the camera in manual focus and working with the mirrorless camera bright LED screen locate a focus point. I made a test exposure to determine sharp focus by setting a very high ISO using my F9 apeture. Once I was satisfied with the composition and that the image was in focus I placed an LED light inside of the bus to light the interior. During the long exposure I walked around the bus with a flashlight at about a 90* angle to the axis of the camera. It is important to use extreme angles of light to get contrast and details on the subject and surrounding ground. It is best to try several diffent exposures to be certain that the final image has enough light for a proper exposure. It is easy to be fooled by the bright LED screen at nighttime in thinking you have made a good image. The best thing is to review the histogram to determine the exposure. Although the stars were not out and the moon was coming up, the movement of the clouds added a new and unexpected demension to the image.