Category Archives: Landscapes

Sunrise

My photography mentor, Moose Peterson, constantly reminds us that sharing our images and vision, being a visual story teller is a gift we shouldn’t keep to ourselves. Now that I am once again out shooting often it seemed like the right time to start blogging again and sharing my work.

Sunrise with Deer in Custer State Park

There is something about sunrises and sunsets that always put a smile on peoples faces. I’m in the middle of working on something special that I will share at a later date that’s caused me to review all my digital files. That in and of itself has and continues to be a great learning experience for me.

Something however has pulled at my heart as I reviewed sunrises and sunsets. So I thought I would share this with you all.

Nikon 80-400, One Great Lens

I have been looking forward to this product update ever since it was rumored that Nikon was working on it.

2208-AF-S-NIKKOR-80-400mm
(Image courtesy of Nikon USA)

I finally had the opportunity this weekend to take the lens out and see what it can do. I am very impressed by how this lens feels in my hands. Attached to my D3x it feels great and carries well on the Vulture Strap A2 that I have also been testing.

BZBC_00300 as Smart Object-1 copy

I visited the Bristow Sanctuary in my town to see what fall images and possibly birds I could photograph.

BRISTOW_00016 as Smart Object-1 copy

As you can see from these images the lens is very sharp. Focus is extremely quick and the quality of the images out of the camera are sensational. I especially love the tree and leave reflections in the image above.

BTDW_00198 as Smart Object-2 copy

I also like the detail captured in the tree and Downy Woodpecker above.
Overall this lens is highly recommended and might displace some of the other lens in my back given the weight savings. This lens will also make a great big game lens for times I need to carry both a 600mmf/4 and the 80-400. The space and weight savings over a 200-400 are significant. All and all I am very happy with this purchase.

Out Of My Comfort Zone

I am currently on a trip photographing fall foliage in Maine. An opportunity presented itself for me to photograph vintage aircraft from the Texas Flying Legends Museum.

Japanese Zero

The opportunity was unique in that the airport where the Legends were flying had a backdrop of fall foliage.

Betty’s Dream

I was apprehensive about spending 8 hours on an airfield in the middle of fall foliage season. I especially felt this way since frankly aviation photography was something I had never done before. Not only was it a really fun day, but it was phenomenal to see the faces on the Veterans who came out to see the very planes they flew in missions protecting our freedom. It was an awesome day.

Images Captured on Nikon D3x w 200-400 VR I on Lexar Digital Film.

Water Blur

I have been experimenting with intentionally blurred images as of late. For the most part I am not an artsy fartsy photographer. However, I do like some of the results I am getting.

Water Blur

Besides, it gives me something else to think about and do while I am waiting for the wildlife to do what I want it to do! Sometimes that can mean a lot of waiting! As you can tell from this image, I have a lot to learn about this aspect of my photography. You know what that means? Shoot some more.

New York City Skyline Blur

Wow! I was blown away by how many people commented on the last post on NYC Skyline HDR & Pano. So I decided to share this image which is attempt at an intentional blur I made.

New York City Skyline Intentional Blur

I tried several different patterns by moving the camera during the exposure. Below is an example of moving the camera in the shape of a crown, more silly than an artistic masterpiece :-).

New York City Skyline Crown Blur

Have a great weekend!

9 Image HDR + Panorama

I have been asked a bunch of questions about this image I made of the NYC skyline.

Manhattan Skyline Twilight Pano

This image was created from 9 separate images. I used a Really Right Stuff pano rig. This was my first time using a pano tool and I really liked the ease of use of this tool. What I did was wait for a time when no ships (or planes :-)) would be passing through the scene and set the shot up so that I took 3 bracketed images (1/2 stop apart) in 3 different positions on the pano plate.

I then processed (tone mapped) each of the 3 bracketed images in Photomatix Pro 4 and used Adobe CS5 to stitch those 3 HDR images together to create this one image. I did have to remove some leaves that would have been in the bottom right of the image because of some trees that are growing into the scene. Lastly I ran the whole image through Color Efex Pro 4. Just how I like my images, fast and easy!

Monday Musings – Always Be Willing To Try Something New

Manhattan Skyline Twilight Pano

I have wanted to make panoramas for a long time, I just never seemed to have the right opportunity. Then I read about a workshop being hosted by Denise Ippolito. She is someone I always wanted to meet as I have admired her work for some time. The workshop was co-hosted by Scott Vincent. Once I signed up for the workshop, I needed to do some more work on making panos. I knew it would require picking up some new gear ;-). In particular, I knew I needed a nodal plate. I have used Really Right Stuff plates and ball heads for years so I went to their site and read through their literature (you can also call or email them, they are very helpful). To save you some time, here is the link to the exact rig I purchased to make some of the images I created on Saturday night (link here).

Manhattan Skyline

I’m really happy with most of the images I came away with especially since this was my first night time shoot and attempt to do panos. I will share with you shortly a 15 image HDR + Pano I created that came out remarkably well!

Scott and Denise were very helpful and the group of people that attended the workshop were very friendly. It was a nice size group of 5 shooters with 2 instructors. I had a great time and came away with what I think are some really good images. I also came away with a few things I did wrong that I need to correct. Alas, that just gives me a reason to try more evening and pano shots of Manhattan, maybe next time form downtown!

Empire State Building at Night

If you would like to see larger versions of the top 2 images, simply click on the galleries section of the website. They are located under Places.

Images captured with (top) Nikon D3x w/70-200 VR-II, (middle) D3x w/24-70 VR-II, (bottom) D700 w/200-400 VR-I on Lexar digital film.

Monday Musings – Yellowstone Adventure with Moose Peterson

Let me start off by wishing my wife, family and friends a Happy Valentines Day!

Snowy Forest Black and White

Moose Peterson announced on his website over the weekend that he will be hosting another Yellowstone Adventure next winter. I have had visiting Yellowstone on my bucket list for a while. I hope to visit Yellowstone in the winter and fall. I hear the difference between those two seasons is amazing! Since Moose is one of my mentors, signing up for this adventure was a no brainer. Yellowstone in the winter is a killer for big game and landscape photography. What a combination. It will be a great time!

You will find below a link to all the details. From what Sharon (aka Mrs. Moose) told me, there are only a few spots left for either of the 2 weeks so if you are interested I would call right away. If you are going on this trip next winter, let me know. We can plan on freezing together. Temperatures this week were -30!

MOOSE PETERSON YELLOWSTONE ADVENTURE

Duck

No, you are not going to bang your head. 🙂 I’m talking about the bird!

Mallard Drake Foraging

I took a ride to Long Island Sound the other morning and loved the shimmer of the sunrise on the water around these Mallard ducks.

Mallard Ducks at Sunrise

Unfortunately, the birds down by the water this morning were not very habituated to humans. While I was the only person there (it was 18 degrees f), the birds wanted to have nothing to do with me. These images are taken with a 600mm f/4 with a 1.4 TCe-III. Still not enough glass which is the story of my life!

Have a great weekend.