The Samsung Galaxy S7 - A Photographers Perspective

Greetings folks!
It's been quite awhile hasn't it. I admit, I have neglected my photoblog some and in later posts I will touch on why that has happened.

Today though I want to talk about something I never really thought I'd be talking about. Let's face it. Cell phones and cameras have both a stigmata and a stereotype about them. The whole "look mom, a hipster!" is one of those, the other is that the photos coming out of them generally as a rule of thumb are worse quality than a compact point and shoot camera. The latter I generally agree with.

I dropped a wad of cash on my phone. In all honesty, it's rather amazing how much these devices can and do cost. I'm prepaid so it was 100% out of pocket but I waited for a long time, a few years, for something like the Samsung Galaxy S7 to arrive on the scene. I knew it was just a matter of time until it did and I wanted something which would add to my arsenal of camera gear. Something which really would work and something that had the features I really wanted. One of the biggies of course was the ability to shoot RAW. The S7 does that in the form of DNG.

This past summer, myself and someone who I hold very near and dear to me, did a 7,800 mile photography trip that covered 4 states and hit several national parks. I had just received my S7 weeks before leaving for my trip and it was a great opportunity to really give the S7 a workout.

"Evening At Dead Horse Point" 

The one thing I noticed right away about the Samsung Galaxy S7 was how sharp the RAW files were. This honestly caught me off guard because I was not expecting that. The amount of detail pulled in from the camera is truly stunning and in some ways actually rivals that of my Sony A77. Not only that but the images are sharp all the way through. The only thing I have found is that in super high contrast situations, especially those involving trees, there does tend to be some colored noise at times which is easily adjusted inside Nik's Dfine 2 which I use for noise reduction. Or a simply mask inside Photoshop using an adjustment layer of hue/saturation works as well. That doesn't happen often but it is there once in a blue moon.

"A Bed Of Wildflowers"-- Kebler Pass outside Crested Butte, Colorado.

I started processing my photos inside Lightroom & Photoshop which is my regular apps for my workflow. Considering that the images are only 12MP, things flew by. That is one thing I enjoyed, it's fast and easy. I also have bought a cheap little tripod to help me steady the camera but I mostly wanted it for video which the S7 does wonderfully. The focus points while in "Pro Mode" are rather incredible and remind me a lot of my DSLR.

"Rolling Thunder" - Arches National Park, Utah

So what are my thoughts on it all?
Well, in all honesty I do believe that the time has come and is here now to where our phones no longer take really bad photos but are a legitimate camera in its own right. Does it have limitations? Sure it does, I wouldn't try taking wildlife photos with it or astro shots but in terms of landscapes? Yeah, it certainly serves its purpose and does so that left me pretty darn floored. It used to be that cell phone shots needed all these "Instagram-esque" filters applied to them just to make them look half way decent. I can say that with the S7 that is no longer the case. In fact, it is now my second camera and I find myself being just as serious behind the lens of it as I am with my regular gear. That my friends says a lot.

If you're honestly thinking of ways to step outside the box and add to your arsenal as a photographer, then I have to say go give the S7 a good look. It's a very solid investment and one which will only put a smile on your face.
--John

Do you shoot Sony cameras? Here's the biggest unknown tip ever.

  This autumn I spent some time down in the West Elk mountains of Colorado. All I can say is is a very huge "wow". If you've never been there you really need to put it on the "must do" list. An amazing place that really is a photographers heaven. Like any other photographer, I was both anxious and excited to get home and begin processing my photographs. So when I did I was rather startled by what I found.

  I shoot Sony cameras. Right now that consists of a Sony A77 and a Sony A550 as my backup camera. There's a few things inside Sony cameras which sets them apart from others; most notably is what is called "DRO", basically it stands for "Dynamic Range Optimization". It is basically leased technology from a company named Apical  and Nikon uses their technology as well, the difference however is that Nikon, unlike Sony, didn't provide them a "chip" which from my understanding basically fine tunes things. Now I know, this is really in the weeds stuff here but hang with me. 

  Now I imagine most photographers workflow these days consists of basically this;

*Download photos to computer

*Open Lightroom

*Import photos

*Process

*Maybe touch up in Photoshop

*Save

That "open in Lightroom" thing though got me. It got me good. When I did this, I noticed right away a complete loss of color and luminescence. I've always noticed it before but it was really never that big of a deal. However for these photos it was. Gone was the "shimmering effect" the Aspen once had and how they glowed. Lightroom was essentially zeroing out every single thing as far as settings went with my RAW files. Flat out, it wasn't reading the information embedded into the RAW files as far as creative styles go or anything as far as DRO went. What I would see on my cameras LCD would look very different than what I saw when I imported them into Lightroom. No, I don't shoot RAW+JPEG, only RAW. I couldn't figure out why this happening so I went digging.  I found a few threads here and here over on dpreview and flickr which touched on this happening but not a whole lot and then I saw someone mention "Sony IDC". A light bulb went off. 

  

  Like most photographers, the software that comes with our cameras we sort of consider "just there". In fact, I would think most never even bother to install the stuff. After all, we have the latest and greatest software from Adobe. Who needs factory junk which hardly has anything included in it, right? Right. Well....no, not right, in fact....very wrong. I opened up Sony IDC just to see what would happen, expecting nothing at all and just the same thing really. Boring software and no real fine tuning tools. Boy, did I get a shock. Right away I noticed a huge difference. We're talking massive. Everything that was recorded from the time of capture in my camera was retained in full. Everything. All the luminosity was there, the fine detail with the DRO, the shimmering of the Aspen and their colors when I saw them. All there. All retained. Needless to say I was rather elated and excited.

Click for larger size

Click for larger size

  Since finding this out I have redone my workflow entirely and now use Lightroom as a more of "in the weeds" app that my go to app for editing. My workflow used to look like this;

*Import photos into Lightroom
*Process in Lightroom
*Export out as a 16 bit TIFF
*Final editing in Photoshop
*Done

  My workflow now looks like this;

*Import RAW files into Sony IDC
*Fine tune exposure, DRO, camera settings
*Save RAW file & export out as 16 bit TIFF
*Open in Photoshop to edit, save TIFF file
*Open TIFF file in Lightroom and do in the weeds editing and keywording

  It sounds like it would take more time doesn't it but in reality it has allowed me to really cut down on the time to edit photos. I no longer have to mess around with trying to get back color from color shifting or retaining DRO which was basically futile. That being said.....

Not without caveats.

  There are some caveats when it comes to editing in Sony IDC and one has presented a real problem which I'll explain. There is a work around for this but it is kind of intensive and unless you know some things inside Photoshop (Lightroom is incapable of helping here) you may have some problems. It's times like this sites like YouTube come in very handy with video tutorials.


  Sony IDC has issues when it comes to 16 bit TIFF files and I haven't quite figured out why. It may be in the way the files are written themselves and I really need to contact Sony about this and thus far I have never heard this mentioned anywhere. Basically, when you export out a RAW files as a 16 bit TIFF, dithering can occur in skies. It's rather odd considering this shouldn't be happening at all and is basically 8 bit behavior and what you would find with JPEG images and as far as I'm able to tell, it only seems to happen in skies.

The work around. 

  I don't worry about how the skies look inside Sony IDC. Instead, what I do is now process the skies inside Lightroom. Things like DRO and camera settings don't matter much when dealing with a sky. I then export out that image from Lightroom to a 16 bit TIFF file. Inside Photoshop I use layer masking to bring that sky from Lightroom on to the other photo that was processed inside Sony IDC. Problem solved. This allows me to get the exact image I am looking for without the massive loss in quality due to dithering. Intensive? Perhaps. It doesn't take a lot of time however and I believe it's very much worth it. If you aren't familiar with how to use layer masks, simply Google or YouTube it. It's extremely easy and one of the most powerful editing tools in post work. One you use them, you'll always use them.


  The screen shot below is a really drastic illustration of what I am talking about. I was frustrated and was fighting with retaining DRO and adjusting the color shift inside Lightroom. I tried and failed to replicate what I saw in camera. As you can see, the oranges in the Aspen trees is basically toast, gone, as is the dynamic range from DRO which was recorded inside the RAW file from the time of capture. I opened it up in Sony IDC and there it was....all retained. The finished photograph is done using my workflow above (not the layer masking part of course as there is no sky).

Click for larger size

click for larger size

  In closing, those of you who shoot Sony may want to take a minute and take a look at your RAW files inside Sony IDC. It's a pretty huge difference and one that I think will probably surprise you.
It's worth the 5 minutes for sure. Be sure to check out my website www.jdebordphoto.com and my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jdebordphotography  to keep up with my adventures behind the camera.

Yours,
John

Ramblings from a photographic junkie

I am gearing up for Fall and it has been far too long since I wrote anything on my blog. In all honesty I just have been so busy with everything that I haven't had the time. A lot of stuff has suffered like social networks, photo sites like flickr, 500px, deviantART, etc. BUT (yes that's a big BUT) there's a good reason for that too....I have been spending my time wisely with getting out as much as I possibly can with my camera. The result? Doing what I love to do like no tomorrow. I also had a lot of downtime shortly after January 1st due to a massive surgery that kept me in the hospital nearly a month, from which I am still recovering. Only until very recently have I been medically cleared to go to the mountains.

It's kind of funny however. You tend to really start to notice your immediate surroundings a lot more when you shoot close to home. Luckily I live in an area where I have endless amounts of photographic subject matter like state parks, national refuge's, amazing city parks, all of which have kept me incredibly busy.

Anyways....

I recently came across another photographers photo blog (wish I could remember who and I didn't bookmark it...doh!) where he basically explained "how to suck at photography". It was a very interesting read and I didn't agree with it all but it did make me think. One of the things he mentioned is paying too much attention to social media and basing your own self worth as a photographer on how well an image does, how many "retweets", "shares" and "likes" something gets. It's a very valid and good point and many times I have personally witnessed photographers basically give up because they don't get the attention they want, seek, or in some cases deserve on social media sites like twitter, G+, facebook and the host of others.

Let me throw you a bone. If this was 2005 what would you do? better yet, if this was 1998 what would you do? Before the entire world was online, before facebook, before twitter, before flickr. What would you do? We often see things in a negative light from the get go and that is one of the problems. A change of vision is in order and a change in how we perceive things is in order.

When I was recovering from my surgery I rekindled an old flame and I began to remember why I love the internet when it comes to photography. That fame was the love for seeking knowledge when it comes to photography as an artistic medium. The study of a picture, the ability to get lost in an image and admiring for what it is, a piece of art. Not how many comments, favs, likes, share it has but rather the inquisitive nature of how the photographer took the shot, why he clicked the shutter at that very moment, how he composed and framed it and how it was processed.

In a way, many of us have become cynics when it comes to photography on the internet and other photographers. We really have. You look around and you see a lot of posts posted by photographers which are subtle but very snarky. We've lost our vision and creativity due to over consumption of photography on the internet and we've changed our point of view from a learning process to one which sees every other photographer not as a friend but as a foe and a competitive enemy. It is hard to move forward when you have that monkey on your back. It's even harder when you stop learning and instead begin concentrating on how many page views and favs something has.

Create. Learn. Explore. Envision. Most of all, click the shutter not for someone else or for social media recognition but YOU. The roots are calling, it's time we get back to them and rekindle our love affair of what brought us all here to begin with!
---John

Here's a selection of recent work, as always prints are available, please inquire.

Major schedule changes for the annual Fall photo meetup

After much thinking and much talking with others, I need to make changes to the annual Fall photography meetup. Many of these changes are big switches from the original schedule which should now be completely disregarded. As many of you know, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park were hit very hard by the recent flooding we have had here in Colorado. As such, access to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park has been severely limited due to the usual highways, HWY 34 and HWY 36 being all but destroyed. The only way to access Estes Park is to come in from the west side and go over Trail Ridge Road which can close at any time due to weather this time of the year or take 6th Avenue west to HWY 119 out of Blackhawk, to HWY 72 to HWY 7 which leads into Estes Park. I have mapped out the specific routing for getting there via Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/zgztC

I am going to cancel the second week all together, sadly. Right now it appears that our Government will be shutting down which would in effect close Rocky Mountain National Park all together during that time. I am also cancelling Saturday the 28th of September as it is a free day in the park and with much of the park & its roads closed due to flooding, it will an absolute zoo and very bumper to bumper. Not an ideal situation. All alerts, conditions and closing, along with openings for Rocky Mountain National park can be found here http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/flood_alert.htm

New Schedule-Where, when, times; 

Sunday September 29th 6:30am
We will meet in the parking lot of the Beaver Meadows Visitors Center inside Rocky Mountain National park at 6:30am. This is the west side entrance in Estes Park. See map here http://goo.gl/maps/zgztC It is where mark "B" is located. Please, don't be late as we will need to leave quickly to get in position to photograph the sunrise over Longs Peak. Afterwards we will look for Elk to photograph along with other wildlife within the park. Please be advised that all trails on the Estes Park side of Rocky Mountain National Park are currently closed. I will be in a silver Dodge caravan with a black and white dog. So keep an eye out! I will have my tripod out behind the car so I am easily recognized.

If you plan to stay overnight in Estes Park or have made previous reservations, I would call as soon as you can to check and see if those are indeed still good. Many hotels and motels have closed due to the flooding.
I hope to see some of you out there! Just allow yourself enough time if you are coming from Denver as it is longer to get there. 3am may seem to early to leave but I can promise you, in the end you will glad you did!
---John

Announcing the 2013 Fall in Rocky Mountain National Park meetup!

Well, it is hard to believe that Fall is almost here and with that comes our annual meetup in Colorado's beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park! This is something I put together on a yearly basis and everyone is welcome regardless to what you shoot and there is no cost involved to join us all. It's always proven to be a wonderful time and we have always had a lot of fun. It is also a very relaxing type of atmosphere, lots of fun with the ability to also learn from your fellow photographers too. More or less, it's just a time to unwind and enjoy Fall in a way which you may have not before if you haven't joined us in the past.

Last year we witnessed many amazing things, from a spectacular sunrise along the shores of Lake Estes overlooking the famous Stanley Hotel, to seeing and photographing bull Elk crossing the lake to working on more intimate nature scenes with macro photography in Moraine Valley. The sound of Elk bugling fills the air early in the morning and it makes for a magical experience. Get ready to see, hear and photograph things like you never have before!

The dates;

Week 1---Saturday  Sept. 28 & Sunday Sept. 29
Week 2---Saturday Oct. 5 & Sunday Oct 6th

Place & Time;

We will meet at 6:30 am on the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado. GPS coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. A map can be found here through Google Maps http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW  Don't be late and allow yourself enough time to get there, we wouldn't want you to miss anything after all. It is very easy to get to and I will be there early with my tripod set up, just look for a tripod on the shoreline pointing east along with a silver Caravan. From here, we will shoot the sunrise and then move on to Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the Elk rut in the morning light of Golden Hour. You are of course also free to do your own thing too, naturally!

What To Bring;

*A change of clothes. Dress warm for the mornings but also bring a change of clothes for the warm temps mid day. Temps swing wildly this time of the year and going from 20 degrees to 70 is commonplace. That means gloves people! I can't stress this enough.

* Food & drinks. There aren't many places in the park to get a drink so be sure to stock up on bottled water and the like which also helps with the altitude. Same can be said as far as food goes.

*Lenses. Generally you will want something in the 300mm range at minimum to be able to photograph the Elk. Though we have been known to lend out a few lenses while on location to fellow photographers who don't have that focal length depending on what system you shoot.

*Money for entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park. Be aware that Saturday, Sept. 28th is a FREE day into the park. As such, no admission is charged however that also means that the park becomes very crowded by late morning. Fees are $20 per car and is good for a full week. More about the fees and annual passes can be found on the website of RMNP here http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

Lodging

I highly suggest inquiring about reservations as soon as possible if you plan to stay over night. 

*KOA Estes Park.  http://koa.com/campgrounds/estes-park/  Several people have stayed here in the past and have had good experiences. They offer quite a variety as far as lodging goes including cabins with showers. The rates are quite affordable.

*RMNP Campgrounds http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/camping.htm Many are first come, first served this time of the year and don't take reservations.

*Saddle & Surrey Motel. http://www.saddleandsurrey.com/ One of Estes Parks best kept secrets.

*Comfort Inn Estes Park http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-estes_park-colorado-CO406 has very high reviews with competive rates.

Bring on Fall in the Rocky Mountains!
---John.

Staying Down Low

It's been a crazy summer and it's hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner. My camera, a Sony A550 gave up the ghost while on a photoshoot outside of Breckenridge. The circuitry went adios and it is now sitting at the Sony repair headquarters in TX waiting to be fixed. Shortly before that happened, just weeks, I got incredibly ill with a very serious skin infection which lead me to being hospitalized for almost a week. I was in a bad, bad world I tell ya. Needless to say I have an incredible amount of medical bills  which I need to pay and my camera being repaired? Well...I wasn't sure what i was going to do. I decided to try and drum up print sales through my site on deviantART  and it's actually been going pretty good. I also have a nice enough friend who let me borrow his brand new, basically still in the box, Sony a65 for a few weeks that I could shoot and try to make some cash with my images. I owe him let me tell you!

Anyways, this year I have stayed down low. Most photographers when they visit Colorado, or are from here, tend to go to the mountains but I did this rather intentionally. I wanted to be able to focus on Colorado locally and concentrate on my state, county and city parks and wilderness areas. I have found many new areas to photograph, met some wonderful fellow photographers who I now call friends and have seen some great wildlife.

Wildlife though was another reason. I wanted to better myself as photographing animals. I spent a lot of time watching, observing, learning and being patient. Not taking a million photos but just a few. I intentionally limited myself to try and get the shot that I wanted right away. Some times I was successful, sometimes not. However, I taught myself and I learned a great deal. It's proved a very valuable lesson.

I guess in 6 weeks time we'll see how much I learned when I head up to Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the annual Elk rut. I'm excited and I think this year I will see things like I never have before with putting what I learned to maximum use.

Onwards and upwards!
---John

A white-tailed deer fawn as seen in the grassland of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife refuge in Colorado. 

The landscape of Red Rocks Park shows off it's prehistoric beauty as the soft light dances across the land and the colors of sunrise paint the sky a brilliant shade of pink and blue

A Red-tailed hawk keeps a watch out against a blue sky in Colorado. Such stunning birds with an incredible magnificence about them.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR-A Little Known Jewel

This year I haven't been up in the mountains a single time. I know most people will probably think "What! Are you insane! You live in Colorado!" but in reality it has been by choice. In January this year I discovered Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge & their recently opened auto tour. Located in Commerce City, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) it is a huge area which could almost be a national park, a former superfund site which was once a weapons & munitions manufacturing facility, much of the area is still closed and deemed to contaminated for humans. However, it is beaming with wildlife in a way which I have never seen anywhere else. Now a USFWS refuge, wildlife here rules to roost and has taken over since the days of the past when it once produced chemical weapons.

Bison, Eagles, hawks, songbirds of all kinds, deer in both white-tailed and mule variations and more Coyotes than I ever seen in one place. Honestly, it's never a question if you will be able to photograph something but how much. For wildlife photographers this place is absolute heaven but there is something here for landscape shooters as well. It offers a unique landscape which one usually doesn't think of when they think "Colorado", more of a forest meets prairie feel which can offer up some great images backed up by several lakes. If you are willing to take the time and really explore the environment here, you will find that there is an absolute ton of things to photograph and that is why I have been keeping to the low land so far this year.

It's really an interesting place and one hardly anybody knows about. In fact much of the time I am here I pretty much have the entire place to myself. Even on the weekend mornings, there's hardly anybody here and those who are seem to be a hand full of other photographers or fishermen. I guess that is also another reason why I like it, it is utterly quiet here, only the sounds of the Coyote's singing at dawn. It's hard to believe that Denver is only minutes away yet you hear nothing, no traffic, no hustle and bustle....just peace. It's also free to get in but the hours I have to say are a tad on the wonky side, 6am-6pm which I am not fond of as it basically kills being able to photograph both sunrise & sunset here during summer. I really wish that they would re-examine that and keep it open 24-7 just as National Parks are.

For more information on this fantastic location, please visit the website of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge or checkout their facebook page  and while you are there, be sure to look for my work as they feature my photography quite often. So the next time you are in Denver or just passing through, I highly suggest making this place a "must see" destination! You won't regret it!
---John

Schedule for week 2 of the Fall In Colorado photo meetup!

Greetings all!

We had a blast with week 1 of our Fall In Colorado photo meetup and now it is time for week 2!
Oct 5,6 & 7
Basically I have been tossing and turning with mixing it up some and I am going to do just that. I have also been paying very close attention to the weather and it looks like we may be in for some snow this weekend. I am all for being able to photography Elk bugling against snow covered Aspen trees. This can make for some great conditions!

What I am going to change around is this--- Friday, Saturday & Sunday mornings we will meet on the shores of Lake Estes at 6:30am and go from there. For those of you who attended the first week on Friday, it will be at the same spot. This makes logistics much easier than everyone trying to meet in Rocky Mountain National Park or other places. Basically the GPS coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. A map can be found here through Google Maps http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW

I am determined to get you all some shots of Elk swimming in the lake. From here we will venture into Rocky Mountain National Park each day to photograph Elk and foliage. I plan on wrapping things up by 10am each day of course, things can always run later as we have no real set time table. You all may wish to dress for winter and maybe bring a change of clothes for later in the day. Make sure you check the weather as well.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone and we will have us a blast! Down below are a few shots from the first week.
---John

Announcing The Fall 2012 Colorado Fall Photography Meetup!

Each and every year we get together photographers from near and far to experience Colorado in all of it's Autumn glory and this year once again we are doing the same! The cost is free and if you want to learn more about photography, we invite you to join us.

For this year we are mixing it up some with doing 1/2 days instead of all day long. From roughly 11am onwards, you will be your own to wander around Rocky Mountain National park and it's surrounding areas. This makes it easier on us and you as well.

The dates for this years meetup are as follows;

1st group Sept 28-30
2nd group Oct 5-7

Be on the look out in the next week or so for the schedule for group 2.
The schedule for group 1 is as follow:

Friday, Septemeber 28th
630am -- Meet on the shores of Lake Estes. http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW Geo coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. Look for people with tripods set up and for a green Jeep Wrangler (John Sperry's Jeep) We will photograph the sunrise here and hopefully get lucky photographing Elk as they cross the lake. Afterwards, we will swing into Moraine Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the Elk rut. We have to be in the area early as possible due to road construction along Bear Lake Rd. The road is technically closed from 9am-4pm however once you are in, you are in and can leave. You can not however re-enter until after 4pm when the road reopens again. We will also photograph the Aspen cages deeper in Moraine Valley.

Saturday September 29th
630am ---Meet on the shores of Brainard Lake. http://goo.gl/maps/1iY4E Geo coordinates 40.078209,-105.572426 We will photograph the sunrise here and explore the area as well. The Moose here have been very active. There is an entrance fee of $9 into the area unless you have a federal recreation pass. The whole area along here is known as the "Peak To Peak" highway and is draped in full Autumn color with gigantic Aspen stands, we will explore & photograph the area. From here, depending on the time, we will head over to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sunday September 30th
630am --- We will meet in Moraine Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park specifically here http://goo.gl/maps/1Zwxt along Moraine Rd where it meets Bear Lake Rd. Just remember, along Moraine Rd, not along Bear Lake Rd. We will photograph the sunrise and the Elk rut from here and afterwards we will head over to the Horse Park area of RMNP and into the area of the Alluvial Fan and Endo Valley areas to photograph the Aspen cages.

We look forward to seeing and meeting you this Fall!
---John

The schedule for week 1 of the annual Colorado Fall photo meetup & workshop!

Ok folks, here it be in all it’s glory. The schedule for week 1. Please see attached images for maps and directions and times.

Soooo away we go! Make sure you read it ALL please!

First week schedule:

FRIDAY

Friday 9/23/2011---- Meet at 6:30am on shores of Lake Estes

(see attached map for exact meeting point as illustrated and also the map on Google to get directions http://g.co/maps/sq46h ) ....sunrise is at 6:48am so I wouldn't be any later than 6:30 at all. In fact, I would highly suggest arrving before that in order to get set up. Please be advised that the turn off to the right in to the Lake area comes up quite fast and quick after crossing the bridge heading west on 36/66.

Depart Lake Estes no later than 730am head for Moraine Valley in RMNP---- This is the prime area for the Elk rut (along with Horseshoe) We will scope out the artists in residence cabins area first as that is usually one of the best places to see action going on. See attached map with route outlined. This is entering from the west entrance in Estes Park. (FYI possible fast stop at Donut Haus on the way....because they have the best donuts you have ever had in your life I kid not! Real German deal..and refills on coffee) Please be rather quiet when down around the cabins as people will be asleep. From here on out we will adjust plans as needed on the fly.

The rest of the day is up to you. From 11ish to about 3pm tourist traffic picks up and then dies off. I would pay very close attention to the area around Horseshoe Park and Sheep Lakes for Elk rut action in the evening. It gets very packed with many photographers so it may be wise to park your car there and hitch a ride for the day with someone else. This assures a spot for you in the evening. We can decide on the fly where to meet as it is dependent upon where the rutting action is taking place and we won't know until the day we are there.

Also during tourist times is usually a good time to shoot the changing Aspen trees or go up on Trail Ridge Road as most are there to see the Elk battle it out. Areas such as Bear lake Road and Old Fall River Road are incredible with their Aspen stands.

SATURDAY

Saturday 9/24/2011--- Meet at 630am at Lily Lake

(see attached map and also link on Google maps here http://g.co/maps/c6r5w ) This is along HWY 7 heading out of Estes Park on the west side of the highway. It comes up rather fast on the right (when heading from Estes) once you get to the top of the ridge so be aware. The parking lot here is very small also. So again i suggest arriving early. The views of the continental divide here are stunning and you can walk entirely around the lake...alpenglow is always a real treat here at daybreak. Across the other side of HWY7 are incredible Aspen stands....these trees always grab my attention and are something else to shoot.

Depart 730am head for RMNP---meet at Moraine Valley Visitor Center--- (see attached map "Moraine" ) From here we will decide on the fly where to shoot as far as Elk go. Also, this is a free day in RMNP so it will be VERY packed. I am deciding now what to do and need to talk with a few other people but we may head out in the afternoon and hit Lake Brainard for evening for Moose and sunset which I already have planned for Sunday AM anyhow.

SUNDAY 9/25/2011

Sunday 9/25/2011 ---Meet at 630am at Brainard Lake State Recreation Area (or where Bunnies go to die! lol don't ask)

Please note that Brainard requires a separate fee of $9 to get in. It is $9 well spent. We will shoot the sunrise along the shores of Brainard facing the Indian Peaks and hopefully photograph Moose as well. Please see directions I have outlined in Google maps from Estes Park to Brainard Lake http://g.co/maps/ddr9n it is a tad tricky. Allow yourself ample time. We will meet along the shores of Brainard so you know at the pulloff just before the bridge on the left side. It is easy to find.

Depart Brainard for RMNP 8ish depending upon Moose--- Moose dependent we will depart Brainard for RMNP 8ish, naturally if we see Moose that goes out the window. We will meet back at RMNP at Moraine Visitor center 9ish where we will go and photograph the Elk rut.

Possibly meet back up at 230 after lunch where I would like to hold an Aspen workshop with photographing the stands in a more intimate environment in Endo Valley. I am awaiting to hear from RMNP rangers right now if Old Fall River River Road will be opened or closed before deciding where and what times first.

*Details.---PLEASE READ!

*Maps of RMNP---- These can be downloaded in full PDF format from the RMNP website at http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/maps.htm

*Keeping up to date on conditions--- Please note that the Rangers in RMNP can be found by keeping an update on their twitter and facebook feeds . These include http://twitter.com/#!/rmnpofficial and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Mountain-National-Park/191384267547522

* Carpooling before RMNP enterance---It may be wise to carpool with someone before we enter RMNP, this saves on entry cost not to mention gasoline. If this is inded the case that you wish to do this, please let people on the email list know asap. There is a Safeway where your car will be more than safe just outside the park.

*Dress warm but also dress for summer. --- Temps vary and swing wildly in fall just as the weather can and often does in the mountains. Bring a change of clothes with you. Mornings will be bitterly cold so things like a warm coat and gloves aren't just recommended, they are essential. Pack plenty of bottled water and packing a lunch is a good idea as lines to get back in to the park can be very long. Bring clothes to change in to late morning that are cooler...it can get to the middle 20s in the AM while in teh late morning it can get to the 70s which may not sound warm but when you are at 10,000 feet, it is cooking hot with the sun. Sunscreen is mandatory.

*Be aware. Be safe.--- Keep a safe distance away from the Elk. Don't be a tourist and don't be a victim. Elk this time of the year are absolutely insane animals and they WILL attack you without provocation and charge. Know your surroundings at all times. Please do not go walking out in the meadows at any time, you will see tourists do this and know that they are risking their lives in doing so. Also, if we see Moose at Brainard, do NOT under any circumstance even consider approaching them. They are not nice animals at all. The same can be said if you decide to go over Trail Ridge on to the west side of RMNP and see Moose, never approach them, keep a safe distance.

*A word of caution about lightning--- If you are in the alpine tundra areas of RMNP and a storm comes up, you NEED to get to lower ground as fast as you can if you are walking around (please stay on the trails, don't trapse on the Alpine, it is very fragile and each footstep takes 10,000 years to regenerate) or at least back in your car. Lightning is a killer and often you ARE the tallest object. If you decide to hike, please familiarize yourself with lightning shelter locations.

*If you see a problem, report it asap to a Ranger--- Last year we reported a mother who was risking the life of not only herself but her baby by walking out to the Elk in a meadow. the same bull who charged Leasha and I earlier that morning. If you see something like this, please report it asap, you may wind up saving someone’s life.

Now, let the party begin!!!!

John

Announcing our annual Colorado fall photography workshop/meetup!

Announcing The Annual Colorado Fall Photo Meetup!

It is that time of the year again, and Fall is just around the corner! Once again we are holding our annual Fall photo meetup! And this is the official announcement of that. 

If you have ever wanted to see Colorado at it's most spectacular time, this is it! There is no where else like it, with the hillsides completely alive in sheer blankets of golden color from the Aspens...If you have ever wanted to get a hands on experience with photography, this is also your chance to do so by photographing with some great nature photographers! 

Our annual workshop/photomeet/throwing Texans to the crazy Bull Elk during the rut/photography adventure lasts over 2 weekends, and the choice is yours which one you would like to attend, or stay the whole time!

Dates 1st weekend: Friday, September 23-Sunday, September 25.  2nd weekend: Friday, September 30-Sunday, October 2nd. You would want to fly in on a Thursday and depart a Monday. (sans coming a few days early or staying later to photograph other areas...like...Boreas Pass)

Details/Location Rocky Mountain National Park will be our main host as it is every year. between the Elk rut and the incredible landscape, it will fill your day with endless photography opportunities. Be prepared, dress winter for the early mornings (we meet before sunrise) and dress for summer during the day. The weather can change 40-50 degrees in temperature throughout the day. We will also be taking side trips to Brainard Lake State Recreation area to photograph Moose, and I am sure that some of the guys will want to take a group to hike and photograph the higher elevations in RMNP (Bear lake..etc) In the weeks to come, specific times and locations will be posted.

Lodging/Accomidations  There is a plethora of motels/hotels/cabins/camp sites between Denver and Estes Park (where RMNP is located) Please, do not take any accommodation on the west side of the park, as weather can change in a heartbeat and close Trailridge Road, thus pretty much meaning you are SOL (you could drive around but that would be incredibly far out of the way) In the weeks to come I will be posting some more info on lodging and accommodations, where, how much, etc. Look for it!

Gear  Naturally things like a Tripod are pretty much standard affair, but what about lenses? For wildlife, having anything larger than a 300m is a safe bet. There are many places out there which you can rent lenses from for quite cheap. Some of these are;

Borrowlenses.com http://www.borrowlenses.com/

Lensrentals.com http://www.lensrentals.com/

Rentglass.com http://www.rentglass.com/

Cameralensrentals.com http://www.cameralensrentals.com/

Our email list  We have an email list that is through Google Groups that we use for all communication and planning. If you are interested in joining us, please note me your email address and I can add you to the list. This is a great way to meet everyone who will be joining us ahead of time. We also will be communicating formally through that, with coordinating everything.

What you can expect   A GREAT time! If you have never been to Colorado before, you are in for a treat, with a LOT of wildlife. Estes Park gets rather crazy with the Elk, and there is nothing like standing in the middle of no where, watching the sunrise over the mountains, and hearing the bugle of Elk. It is, a magical experience. This is what you can expect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOaJ-wbMoRM Along with a lot of fun with link minded people.

Safety  I can not stress this enough. Elk during rutting season are completely insane animals, and every year we see idiots who think they are the family dog with walking up to them, risking their own lives in the process. They will charge and attack you. For this reason we ask that you are 18 year of age minimum, unless accompanies by a legal guardian.

If you are interested or thinking of joining us  Then let us know. Leave a comment here on my blog with your email address.

So start making your plans, 2 months and counting is all until it all starts!

---John

The Art Of Community Competition

Originally written in my journal on deviantART 5/1/2100 and updated 7/24/2011, it is geared for deviantART but can really be used on many websites that are community based photography sites.

Preface to set the stage, the lights are dim--It is honestly a rat race..(deviantART) ....and I certainly don't miss it either. In some ways I lost my focus, concentrating more on DA than photography itself. Becoming a gallery moderator, interacting with so many people, striving to have my work faved bt as many people possible and finally waking up and realizing that all of this is where I didn't want to be, and that it was indeed taking away what it was that I truely saught; to become a better photographer. All for the pursuit of what exactly? A pat on the back and seeing my image on the front page of a website? I would wake up every morning, get my coffee, sit at the pc for literally hours on end and not move. Doing nothing but concentrating on deviantART. (sad isn't it? I mean really, it is. It is even sadder to think that thousands, perhaps even millions do the zombie shuffle each and every single day as I once did too) 

Yes it is addictive for many, if not most. The thing is, it isn't really the website itself which is addictive, but rather the interaction that is. The compliments, the dicussion (and that can encompass a LOT, 98% of which is not photography related) the arguments and the real possibility of becoming famous on a very large website. It is that addiction and the way which it is done that is exploited to it's fullest extent. And then you wake up......

The art of community competition--- Have you seen it? I am sure that you have. The whole "DDs I have suggested", "I have 1732662553 pageviews", "OMG I got a thousand favs" and "I now have 20,000 watchers!". What is this all about? Honestly.  (for those of you who don't know, "DD" refers to "Daily Deviation", these are picks from gallery moderators on deviantART and are showcased on the front page of deviantART. Always shrouded in controversy it seems. Today's selection is here http://today.deviantart.com/dds/ )

There was once a time that I was of the same train of thought, where I would correlate how many favs, comments, if something made the front page of this website then it must be Godly, just like a lot do around here. I think in a lot ways we get tricked in to thinking that if something has so many favs and such, then it equates to a great image. When in actuality it simply means you have a lot of watchers and having a lot of watchers doesn't mean your work is necessarily good either, it simply means you are active on this website. 

This is why so many people think DA is addictive. However once you really start to see things as they are, presented clearly, it really isn't. The only thing anyone is addicted to is the competition itself. the whole competition of getting your ego inflated by making the front page, favs, comments, all that jazz. that little pat on the back, that says "you are doing great", but really are you? 

Take a step back for a second and examine the whole entire situation. Ask yourself if you really are doing good, or are you simply appeasing those within this realm itself, many of whom feel privileged to fav for fav, comment for comment and being a member of the "mutual admiration society"? (not all, but let's be honest here and call it for what it is, we all know how it is) The good old competition to one up those who you feel get more attention than you do and we all know, attention equals success, right? Not. 

It is like a haze that covers an otherwise perfect clear view of things. We get excited when a group features our shot, we get excited when our work appears on DA's most popular page and we get excited when people add our images to their favs. But why? To appease our ego and our self worth as artists? To seek an answer in the age old question "is my work any good?" 

Breaking The Chains--- So how do we break the cycle and see things for what they are? How do we break the train of thought of allowing the superficial ego inflating train of thought of "holy cow my work is on the DA front page, I must be really good"? How do we break the cycle of addiction & competition among fellow artists of getting more favs, comments and pageviews?

The answer to this is quite simple my friends.

If you REALLY want to better yourself as an artist and I mean REALLY learn things like technique, the medium, bettering yourself as a photographer, and not worry about the things which I mentioned above, there are a few places you can go to do this. 
Naturescapes 
PhotoMigrations 
Fred Miranda 
There are several others as well, but these 3 are 100% free and I thought of them first. Granted, a lot of you may find find these sites very intimidating but I can ensure you that you will learn, a lot. A whole lot. The people are very nice and the knowledge gained is worth it's weight in gold. I will be straight up though (and I am using this as an example) Most of those zoo shots you see on DA on the most popular page would be absolutely destroyed on sites like these. Cute Wolf = cute Wolf, it doesn't equal to a great photograph at all. (then again on said sites, zoo shots aren't considered nature photography, nor should they ever be to begin with.) 



We need to remember what DA is, a social network, and nothing more. A platform for communication. If you notice, it is getting referred to as that a lot more these days, even with it being compared to facebook by some of those in a administrative position. It is what it is.

However, if you honestly want to be good, and know where you stand, take a step forward for yourself and venture out there. Learn everything you can about photography. In the end it isn't about a competition between artists on some website for favs, comments, pageviews, it is about doing what you love, experiencing it first hand, and doing it first and foremost because you love it! 

Now go out and shoot something!

---Johnny 

Below are a few recent shots from recent outings. 

Is B&W Nature Photography dead?

I wonder if B&W nature photography has gone the way of film...basically dead. I also wonder why more people don't shoot in B&W with traditional nature photography. It is something that has really mystified me in the last few years. I also wonder if digital isn't partially to blame for this....it certainly is a possability I suppose, but at the same time, it has also come full circle in a sense. I see a lot of kids these days who shoot retro themed images, mimicking the look of old skool Polaroid's using Polardroid software (a great free stand alone program by the way) and I see a lot of great Lightroom and Photoshops that many are using on their work these days. But in the traditional nature photography realm...not so much.

I was rather astonished a couple years ago to hear some rather very high profile and well known nature photographers say on deviantART that they simply don't like B&W images. This had me scratching my head, knowing that they all have Ansel Adams listed as one of their favorites, and I kind of wondered if maybe this wasn't more or less a result with being frustrated with the medium itself. Make no bones about it, B&W is harder than color photography, without question, it takes a different eye, and different train of thought, and a different take on a scene as a whole.

I firmly believe that one of the best things that someone can do to better themselves as a photographer is to buy an old manual SLR like say a Minolta x370 which you can have for a song on ebay, and a roll of Tmax and go to town. You gain a lot with knowledge about exposure this way. You also gain a lot with training your eye in seeing things like it hasn't before, not to mention it is just a good creative exercise.

I just wonder what Ansel would say today...and I wonder why more don't shoot B&W. The same goes for seeing photographs which are done in tints and tones, like sepia. I remember reading how Ansel was shown a copy of Photoshop before he passed, and was completely taken by it. . All I can say is thank goodness for photographers like Clyde Butcher who keep the spirit alive. He, in my humble opinion, is the second coming of Mr. Adams himself.  The next time you are out shooting, make yourself a promise to process a few on B&W (don't shoot in B&W mode in camera...just say no to it...it lacks in so many ways I won't even discuss it here) and try it out and see what you get! Who knows, maybe you will find a new love in a whole other style with photography.
---John


"Moonset Over The Towers" Garden Of The Gods Park, Colorado
I wanted a shot that spoke traditional, something that seemed very nature, so I decided to shoot this scene using my Sony a550 and my Minolta 18-200mm, with the sole intention of converting to B&W inside Lightroom3 and a tad touch up with Photoshop CS 5. I really liked how teh scene looked in the viewfinder, and how it had a very almost alien landscape look and feel about it.

Technorati Tags: B&W, photography, nature, traditional, technique, thoughts, colorado

Field Report 3/14/10-Washington Park/St Vrain State Park, Colorado

  What started out as a cold beautiful morning with the sun rising over Washington Park in Denver would soon turn into a very cloudy, cold, blustery, day with virtually no light at all, just gray. I have always found these conditions to work great during Autumn, but this time of year, not so much. It presents a great challenge when shooting, trying to have images that stand out with almost completely flat contrast and light is not what I would call exciting. Many photographers I know would have packed up their gear and called it a day. Instead I took this chance to try and better myself and work with what I had.

I nearly froze myself at Washington Park, but I think I got a few keepers off at least. St. Vrain though I did get a few that I am fairly happy with. If anything it presented me with something I had never seen before; a Rookery of Great Blue Herons, and according to the Ranger at the park, there are between 150-200 birds there. I wouldn't doubt it, the trees were just lined and filled with GBH's. It was honestly out of my range though using my 400mm but I did take quite a few overview shots just to remember it by. Also just to the south of the Rookery were 2 Bald Eagles, watching and observing all the Heron's which just put a great touch on an already incredible scene. I came to the conclusion that I seriously need to buy a 1.4tc very soon.

St. Vrain was rather neat to shoot at. The conditions were less than ideal, but the chance to see nesting Great Horned Owls was enough to make it worth it's wild. Though I couldn't get any shots of them, as they flu away but seeing them made it worth it. The Red-Wingled Blackbirds are starting to become abundant again. One of my favorite all time birds, I have always loved their song which reminds me of growing up in rural Wisconsin when I was a kid. Not to much in the way of migratory birds yet but that is expected to change in the next week or 2.

All in all, a fun time and one that I was always remember. A few of the shots I have thus far processed are below.
---John


Washington Park sunrise, Denver, Colorado



Great Blue Heron rookery, St. Vrain State Park



Red-Winged Blackbird, St Vrain State Park



Red-Winged Blackbird, St. Vrain State Park




Technorati Tags: photography, photo, photoblog, Colorado, Red-Winged Blackbird, bird, birding, Colorado St. Vrain

Recent work and catching up on processing

Ahhh how times flies, it does seem though that winter is good for one thing; getting caught up on the backlog of  photographers to process! I thought that I would share a few with you all and what I have been up to as of late. All of these can be purcashed as framed and matted prints and posters over on my RedBubble site. If you are interested in them, simply click the photo.


"Summer Memories"
For this shot I really wanted to try something different and well, this is the end result which you see here. I went ahead and mimicked Cokin filters inside Photoshop to get the look and feel I wanted and desired. It is a 4 exposure blend HDR output through Photomatix.


"Winter Rising"
Now this is a shot which has eluded me for a long time. I wanted wanted a shot of the Moon rising over a cliff face like this, and finally after years I was able to get it. It is interesting to note the compression a 400mm lens can give you, thus making the moon look quite large.


"Alpine Winter"
I have to admit, this shot was a bear to expose for with the light being so diffused and trying to balance it all evenly. Not to mention I was being pounded with wind from the inevitable snowstorm that was fast approaching. Standing at close to 13,000 feet on the alpine, with this kind of weather coming in, is the last place you want to be. Needless to say I didn't stick around to long. Worth the challenge though I think!

So that is what I have been up to as far as processing goes. I will share some more later on
Happy shooting!
JohnTechnorati Tags: photography, photo, photoblog, photoshop, Colorado, Nature

Man's Race

It is amazing to see how far we have come, especially when it comes to technology, and how we, as humans, are once again trying to contain and rope in mother nature, harnessing her for all she is worth. This time around I can only hope we succeed ...Captured outside of Boulder, Colorado

Technorati Tags: Photography, photo, landscape, nature, outdoors, environment, Boulder