In The Glow

  If there is but one time of the year I look forward to, then surely it must be Autumn. I was sitting here just going through my archives, browsing away inside Bridge, when I came upon a boatload of images from the last couple of years that I just have never processed. Honestly, I think i may have forgotten about them, tucked away in a sub-folder on my external hard drive. Kind of funny, it was like finding a gold mine, and I just sat and stared, remembering how gorgeous the Rocky Mountains really are during the Fall months.

I suppose we as photographers always have that certain "thing" we live for. For me, it is the later part of September to very early October. I am not so sure that a day doesn't go by when I am not thinking and looking forward to that time of the year. below is one of the "lost shots" that I just finished up with. I hope this coming year can be as good as the years past, we'll see!
---John

photography, photo, fall, autumn, Colorado, nature

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

Chasing The Light

I don't shoot much during the dull times of mid day light, and I imagine many who take their nature photography don't either. Of course, now and then the situation arises where it is ideal, I find that to be a rare thing. One of the things I have always told people, that the easiest thing to do to improve their photography, outside of buying and actually USING a tripod, it to shoot during the times of the day when the light is the absolute best. There is nothing else that will have such a dramatic impact on your images as this, and it is 100% free as well. If I may, I would like to share a quote with you all that really rings home;

"Hate to break it to you, but serious photographers don't get a lot of sleep. Show me an award-winning, breathtaking landscape--a pond shimmering in the woods, golden clouds surrounding a mountain peak--and I'll show you someone who got up at 4:40 am to be ready with a tripod as the sun rose." David Pogue, NYT

  Now if that doesn't say it all, I honestly don't know what does. If you take a look at some of the best shooters today, guys like Ian Plant, Guy Tal, Jesse Speer, and the images that they produce, you will see almost everything is done with exceptional lighting taken during the morning or late in the day when the light casts it's golden hue, in and around Golden Hour. In fact, there is an online calculator for finding the exact times of when Golden Hour is and I would encourage you all to check it out "The Golden Hour Calculator" What makes this site unique is that is specific down to the exact location in teh world where you live and or shooting at.

Now go get busy and take some of the best shots you have taken with dramatic light, as I said it is teh easiest and cheapest way to improve your photography! below are some of my personal selections from my photography that show dramatic lighting.
John









Technorati Tags: photography, photo, technique, Golden Hour

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

The Colors

The Colors of a Colorado Autumn....
How I wish that everyday could be like this, colorful, vibrant, and even though at times the weather might be cold, the leaves still seem to shimmer with the brilliance and warmth that they do on a sunny day. I don't know why, but maybe that is why I prefer shooting on cloudy days in Autumn, when there is a slight chill in the air, the smell of rain and woodsmoke, and those trees....the Aspen, the Willows....Every year I look forward to Autumn more than any other time of the year for photography, it just has a certain romance about it, something which any other season doesn't have. The sound of the Elk bugling and the golden leaves on the rocks by a waterfall....Autumn...how I wish it only lasted longer.

Shots below captured at The Brainard Lake Recreation Area in the Roosevelt National Forest in rural Boulder County outside the small town of Ward.










Technorati Tags: photography, autumn, fall, colorado, nature, leaves, Aspen, season

Recent Images & The Changing Season

It is Fall in Colorado.
It is hard to describe what this time of the year does to me, but it has a profound effect on my photography and my creative soul. Everything in the Rockies is bathed in the soft glow of Autumn Golds...the Elk stand and bugle along the lake front of Lake Estes as the fog lifts...if nature is soothing to the heart, body, mind, and soul, then this time of the year is it.

It is also my busiest time of the year for photography, the time of the year which I look most forward to. For me as a photographer, this time of the year is very special, it isn't so much about photography but also the ability to just be where I am, witnessing it all, feeling it, breathing it, clicking the shutter to record it. I wonder how many others feel the same way about Autumn as I do?

The last almost 2 weeks have seen me going all over the Northern Rockies of Colorado, up to some God-forsaken Jeep trails, where I bounced around so hard inside, I think I received a concussion, to seeing an entire herd of Moose around Lke Brainard amongst the Autumn foliage while the snow was falling hard, to witnessing Bull Elk bugle and fight in the snow and sleet of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Next weekend it all start to pretty much wind down, and with a little luck, maybe I will still finally get to the San Juans or The Bloods for some color, we'll see. I will say this much, I have never shot as many photos as I have recently, and I have been very lucky to see the things which I have seen. As the saying/song goes "If God doesn't live in Colorado, I bet he spends most of his time there". You know what, I tend to agree!

Below are some of the recent shots which I have taken, hope ya all enjoy them.
---John