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.

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

2012 - A Year In Review

Another year down and another year filled with photography lays ahead. It is hard to believe that 2012 is in the books and over. Wow, where has the time gone, seriously? Over on Google+ some of the themes currently running that many are participating in is #mybest2012  #top2012  #bestof2012 #best2012  #topphotos2012 where people essentially post their top 12 photos of the year. I figured I would participate but instead of posting all of my photos on there, I would post them on my photoblog instead. I also am doing a few more than simply 12. This is just some highlights, I have a lot more I could add in here but I will save this for future photoblog entries. It also reminds me that I am very backlogged in processing and have a great deal to do yet.

I learned a lot this year, a whole lot. Not only about photography itself either but certain aspects that go along with it. Much of it sadly is negative but as I found these things out, I made changes to switch things up and turn that negative into a positive. Sometimes it is good to rearrange things to where you have the option to do this. As the saying goes; 'When God closes a door, he opens a window" and many windows were opened for me this year.

So kick back and enjoy. This won't be in any particular order. If you are interested in seeing larger sized images, please click the photo which will take you directly to my website itself. As always, every single one of these photos is available for purchase as fine art prints and products.

"A September Remembrance - Regardless of what a lot of photographers say, there is a great deal of “luck” involved with getting a photo. I am not really sure if there is any greater luck than the weather itself. I only have control over my camera, things like fstop, exposure, shutter speeds, lenses, filters, deciding when to click the shutter. Often times I am presented with skies which are completely cloudless when I wanted clouds for instance and every once in awhile mother nature gives me something to where I am literally screaming at the sky in excitement.Fog in Colorado is a very uncommon thing and for this, I just happened to pick the right place to have as a meeting point for the first day of our annual “Fall In Colorado Photo Meetup” on the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park. We were presented with a scene that was almost unworldly at times with the rising sun backlighting the fog and creating an almost surreal glow about it. I just wish we had weather like this a great deal more often! The title of the piece…it’s breast cancer awareness month and the colors seemed to fit that quite well.

"Ghost Light" - Last year , myself along with one of my shooting buddies headed out to the eastern plains of Colorado to do some hunting for some good old “rural decay” as I call it. We wouldn't come away empty handed. We found this old abandoned farm and decided to double back to photograph it at sunset. I was thinking that this place may be really lit up against the setting sun and I bet right (for once) The light was completely crazy lighting up the barn that you see here and illuminating the sky behind it, turning it this glowing iridescent indigo blue.

"Klaus" - This is an incredibly personal photo for me. Photographed in May 2012, it would be the last really good photo which I ever took of my dear boy before he passed in late June. As I write this, I get teary eyed as I miss him so much. he was my protector and my best friend and always there for me through thick and thin. he knew my inner most fears and my inner most secrets. He went through so much with me. He now lays at rest where I photographed this very photo at his favorite place-Chatfield State Park in a an area I call "Klaus' spot"Every time I am here, I stop and say hi and spend a few minutes with my best friend. 

"The Serenade Of Orange" - Again, another very personal image of mine. We were photographing the Sunflower fields out on the Colorado plains in the middle of no where watching a great sunset when all of the sudden a little dog approached us who seemed all but forgotten about, very hungry and very thirsty. Ironically it was almost a month to the exact day in which Klaus passed away. Needless to say I now have a wonderful short haired Border Collie laying here at my feet as I type this who has come into my life and stolen my heart who we have nicknamed "Sunny" affectionately after the fields which we found him in.

"Puppy Face" - And here he is! My new best friend, "Sunny". I simply love this photograph of him and how it  shows his playful, loving and  the very affectionate disposition he has. I processed this one in B&W intentionally and I like it how it came out with the softness a great deal. 

"Mister Big Mouth" - each and every year during Autumn I look forward to being able to photograph the annual Elk rut in Rocky Mountain National park, Colorado. This guy was something else, displaying his battle scars with a cut lower lip . I had to be patient to get the shot I wanted; something that really brought out the detail in the face and in the eyes. One of my favorite photographs from 2012, no questions asked!

"A Fall Stillness" -  One of the things I love to do is "compression landscapes" as I call them. Basically it's using a very long lens (in this case a Tamron 200-400mm lens) to get in close to details of the landscape that the human eye would likely not see. Panning around and studying the detail and composition, it has lead to some great images which I otherwise would have likely missed. Photographed at Chatfield State Park in Colorado, I was all over the reflection and how the foothills in the background has this texture which seemed to flow downward in a pattern. I just ordered a 30x40 metallic print of this shot and I have to say, it is absolutely stunning!

"Drops Of Gold" - i have really come to love and enjoy the macro setting on my Tamron 200-4000mm lens. Not a true macro, as it only does 1:2 magnification but it has allowed me to get some shots which I otherwise would have missed entirely and this is one of them. Photographed this Autumn in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

"A Wash Of Color" - Photographed on the day in which the Mayan's said the world would end. A Doomsday sunrise if you will. I stood here freezing my keester off at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado but was rewarded with an incredibly sky which bathed Pikes Peak and the frozen lake in a complete wash of colors. It was as if someone painted the sky and dumped the bucket over the landscape. 

"Skies Of Autumn" - This Fall, my meetup group was treated to a spectacular morning along the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado. As the sun started to rise, the clouds broke giving away to fresh snow covered peaks as they reflected the color. You add in the sounds of the Elk bugling and fog lifting and you have something which I think a lot of photographers would call “perfection” as far as conditions go. The famous Stanley Hotel (made famous by Stephen King’s “The Shining”) stands tall in the background. 

"Heavens Gates" -  I love fall in Colorado, it is my favorite and it is the time of the year yours truly looks forward to being able to do what I do best; photography. This was photographed at one of my favorite locations, Knights Of Pythias cemetery outside of Central City. This place is the real deal, containing the graves and headstones of those who first settled the town during it's gold rush heyday in the 1800s. Walking around in here you get a real sense of not only being alone but calm as well. It is kind of spooky but also very tranquil too.  For this shot I really wanted to get the glow that was happening as the sunlight was soaking up and reflecting against the colorful Aspen trees. I really liked how the gate played into the scene with the pathway, as if calling to visitors to come in. Stunning stuff and I can't wait to get back up here this coming Fall!

"Relaxing In the Morning Light Of Autumn" -  On a cold and frosty Fall morning I was able to photograph this bull who was starting to just stir to start his day. Awakening on the frosty grass with the dawn sunlight illuminating the area, he made for a very worthy subject. It’s safe to say that this big boy is one of my favorite Elk photographs from this past Autumn.

"Hall Of The Mountain King" -  Located outside of Estes Park, St. Malo's Cathedral (some call it St. Katherine's) has always given me wonderful images. Heck I have several in my gallery here already. However this Fall was different in that there was fog! We don't get a lot of fog here in Colorado and I raced over here to get the shot. So thick I could barely see the chapel. I love this place, it looks like something out of Lord Of The Rings or a Gothic novel.

"As If" - Sometimes you just have to laugh at the expressions of wildlife. This was one of those and I was literally cracking up while photographing this Mourning Dove. What a display of attitude as if to say "No, you won't photograph me today! Nope!"

While storm chasing on the eastern plains of Colorado this past spring, we happened upon this scene. I imagine that these Horses are quite used to this sort of weather out here where the afternoons showcase some of the most violent weather on earth. It was pretty amazing really to see them all standing out here in ranch land backed up by a severe thunderstorm that was heading towards them. It certainly made for quite the dramatic scene and one needless to say I had to photograph it.

Variations---How to get a different look & feeling in a photograph

Fun. I think that is really the core reason why so many of us photograph. Let's face it, it is a downright blast, right!? We get to see things that other people never get a chance to, and often times only dream of seeing the things we do. We are lucky, very lucky my friends. It all comes back to the core belief though that we all do this to have fun, and one of the ways I like to enjoy that 'fun' it to be rather experimental when I am processing. It is honestly amazing the different thought provoking/emotional stimulating kind of photographs you can get from using different techniques in post work.

If you want to take a joyride sometime, try processing the scene not as you just saw it, but also work it. Convert it to B&W, add in a little softness, split tone the image, do some creative cropping, dodge and burn, all of which will give a very different look, feel and emotional appeal to the viewer. This is one thing I dearly love using Lightroom 3 for, it is honestly made for stuff like this with the built in split tone settings, the ability to color shift a precise exactness, the ability to soften exact parts of a photograph using the clarify settings.

To have a better understanding of exactly what I am talking about, see the shots below. Just remember, have some fun, be creative, and most of all enjoy yourself! After all, it is what it's all about, right?

John

photography, technique, tutorail, processing, photo, floral, macro, nature

Seeing in a new light

Seeing in a new light. A play on words maybe but at the same time it is kind of amazing how myself and maybe you find yourself doing this as well, turn to your photography when times get a little rocky and such. I know I have been doing that a lot the last 6 weeks as life has certainly thrown some very large punches at me, major stuff at that too.

When I was younger I would get lost in art, drawing for a long time. Later on when I was studing illustration in art college, I would retreat to my art with drawing and painting, put a low light on and turn on some music and get lost in the zone. It took me a long while to adjust that experience to my photography but I somehow managed to do it. It isn't just about getting lost in processing though, creating images that are more of an artistic nature, but also about the entire experience of being out in nature and shooting itself.I always find myself breathing a lot deeper, staring a little longer, and taking in the tranquility of everything a little more. Well, ok, a lot more especially lately.

 

Shooting can be very therapeutic for me, I have always said that there is nothing like shooting a waterfall nestled among the wildflowers, or during Autumn. The scent, the scene, the sound of the water....tranquility especially for the mind and soul. In fact a recent study even shows that being out in nature itself is healthy as this blog from the National Wildlife Federation suggests. Amazing to think that "Exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing ADHD symptoms".

 

So when life gets a tad hectic, turn to your creative side to find some self medicating solutions. Nature is all around us and it's healing benefits are amazing! The shots below were taken outside of Golden Gate Canyon State Park in Colorado, on a day when I needed to get out and shoot and experience a little tranquility.

 







 

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

Using a super telephoto for intimacy

It used to be I didn't have anything longer in my arsenal than my Minolta 70-300 which I dearly love, but in all honesty I don't use it a lot these days, since I got my Tamron 200-400mm. I really love this lens and having had it for a about a year and a half now, I can fully say that I use it a lot. This past full saw it put through it paces while photographing the Elk Rut in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. It is a big lens and built like a tank, it isn't the fastest at f5.6 continuous but it is sharp. Best thing about the Tamron 200-400mm lenses, is that they can be had for a song over at KEH usually around the mere $200 mark or less. Sure they are used, but you aren't going to get a lens at that price/performance, let alone focal length from anything else pretty much. So if you are looking for something tio start you off in wildlife photography, then I highly recommend this lens.

that is just the thing though. Wildlife photography. That is what generally most think of when you start getting up there in focal length like 400mm. It is pretty much a natural. however, one thing this lens has that many others don't, is 1:2 Macro ability. Close focusing goodness, which, as I have come to find out, can make for some very interesting images at 400mm.

This has opened up basically a whole other world of photography for me, with a whole other shooting style, being able to do things which before, I had never really done, either because I didn't have the focal length, or because I honestly failed to ever see it/notice it. As photographers, we are always evolving, looking for ways to shoot differently, to be more creative with our work, and to try something which we have never tried. When I first got this lens, my sole intention was birding, and it then that I realized what I had been missing on one of the first photoshoots I ever did with the lens. I was looking through the viewfinder of my camera, and I locked on to something which I wasn't trying to lock on to, some cat Tails in a marsh, and then, it just sort of came to me. The wheels in my head started turning, and I started scanning at 400mm with the lens, seeing things, seeing the intimate details of nature which I had never noticed before.

One of the fun things to do with this lens is landscapes from a distance, it is amazing what you can see which the naked eye can not, it has opened up a whole other world essentially which I otherwise would have completely missed. The trees on the mountainside, subtle changes in light, winter weather conditions, etc. Florals also can be a lot of fun, especially in what would be otherwise harsh lighting conditions, where I would never even think of doing a landscape image. Backlighting can be fun to work with.

So the next time you are out with with a super telephoto, don't forget to take a minute and notice the smaller, more intimate details around you. You very well might be amazed at what you find!
--John

Images below shot using my Tamron 200-400mm lens on Sony and Minolta dslr's.



















Technorati Tags: photography, photo, technique, tamron, telephoto, intimacy