Dates: October 21 - 25, 2011
Focus: Landscape and Night Photography
Students: 9
Tuition: $600
Big Bend is my favorite place in the world. I have enjoyed exploring and photographing the area for seven years. I greatly look forward to this workshop and sharing it with other photographers!
I have some big plans and changes coming up this year. Stay tuned... :-)
In the meantime (in my small bits of spare time), I've been working on my LEGO hobby:
www.texbrick.com
(check the blog there for new updates)
Despite the moon and the time of year, I tried my usual astro/landscapes and also some new approaches.
Tree by Moonlight High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 24mm f/1.4L II. Shot at: f/2.0, 25 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight (from the left) and LED light-painting.
The above photo and the one just below are simple shots much like I've done in the past. They both have a main subject that dominates the foreground. The focus is set on the main subject, so the sky and stars are just slightly out of focus (that's not apparent in these web-sized images, but it shows up on a print).
I'm continuing experimenting with light-painting using a LED flashlight with an orange gel filter. The effect of the painting is subtle; it fills in and creates a little bit of detail in the shadow areas.
Shooting while a moon was up was new to me for this type of shooting. Since it was only a quarter moon, the light didn't overpower the scene and a lot of stars showed up in the photos. But the moonlight illuminated the main subjects nicely and also made the skies a lighter shade of blue as compared to moonless night shots.
Front Gate High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 24mm f/1.4L II. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight (from the left) and LED light-painting.
Now here is where I'm attempting to progress this type of work. I used focal lengths longer than 24mm and shutter speeds longer than recommended for freezing the stars.
Moonlit Branches High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with Sigma 50mm f/1.4. Shot at f/2.0, 25 sec., ISO 3200.
This shot (above) looks up into the tree from the first photo in this post. It is meant to be a simple silhouette of crooked, bare branches, but the moonlight and also light from the LED flashlight help pop some detail out of the shadows. The branches are fairly close to the camera, and the focus is set to the middle of the tree. Combined with the longer focal length and wide aperture, the stars make a nice out of focus background.
Now here's the interesting thing: this was a 25 second exposure. If you were to shoot the stars, in focus, with 50mm, then you would need about a 10-15 second exposure to not have noticeable star trails.
Since the stars are out of focus here, the trails are not noticeable despite the long 25 sec. exposure.
Ranch Gate San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 100mm f/2.8L IS macro. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200. Moonlight and LED light-painting.
This shot (above) pushes it even more. This is at 30 seconds and 100mm.
You can see that the out of focus blobs are larger and slightly oblong. This was facing due east, so apparent movement of the stars is higher than if you were facing north. This obviously shows a bit of trailing, but since the stars are not sharply focused, the end effect is quite nice, IMO.
Branches High Lonesome Ranch, San Saba County, Texas
Canon 5DII with 100mm f/2.8L IS macro. Shot at f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 3200.
This photo (above) was taken facing north. The out of focus stars are slightly oblong on the outer edges of the frame, but not as noticeable as the previous photo.
Also, this photo was taken very early in the morning after the moon had set, hence the darker skies (as compared to the other photos). It was also taken at f/2.8, the maximum aperture of that lens, so it's about a stop darker than my usual exposure. I should have pushed the ISO to 6400 for this one.
It may seem easy to make these photos. At least that's how they look in finished form.
What's really hard is judging them in the field as they're shot. I've learned that the LCD review doesn't often show the subtleties that can distinguish between a good photo or a throw-away.
-----------------------------------------------
So that's it for a while, perhaps. I have a major problem now with the time change and my normal walking route. The days are getting shorter and it's significantly darker when I walk now.
The crossing at Highway 6 and Patterson Road no longer has a time delay for pedestrians. When the light turns green for Patterson traffic, so does the crosswalk. Nearly 100% of drivers starting up do not realize when there are pedestrians present and that those pedestrians have the right away.
This makes for an incredibly dangerous situation further worsened by lack of light. By the time I'm back from my 4 miles and ready to cross the 6 lanes of Highway 6, it's dim enough to need a flashlight.
Anyway, I'll have to find an alternative. I still need to exercise!
See you over there, thanks!
I thought my fascination with motion blurs wouldn't last very long, but it seems to have taken hold of my interests. The more I do it, the more I get a feel for what works and what doesn't.
What I like about it is that it abstracts colors and shapes into information that is easier to digest. Literal shots are hard to make sometimes because you have to deal with all the information in the photo (the messy looking pile of leaves and branches in the near background that's in focus with the foreground subject, for example). Blurred abstracts can smear away other detail not critical to the main subject if you do it right.
Not all scenes lend themselves to blurring, and there are many factors to play with such as shutter speed, camera movement, focal length, and distance to the subject. I've mostly played around with simple panning along defined lines in the scene (e.g. tree branches or trunks).
We'll see where this goes. The days are getting shorter and daylight savings is about to end. My normal walks will be in near darkness soon.
A cool feature of the Canon G11 is a built-in neutral density filter. This has been used on nearly every motion blur that I've shot recently.
We caught up with John at the Grub Shack on Terlingua Ranch Road and visited over lunch. He then led us out to his place and gave us the grand tour.
You can read all about his work on his website and blog. Basically, he's living off the grid and working towards a 100% self-sustainable life on his property located on Terlingua Ranch.
His massive greenhouse project was most impressive. He has many other projects going, including a self-powered washing machine dubbed the Bike-O-Worsher. We also got to meet Benita, a longhorn cow that is a Field Lab regular and a companion, pet, and guard to John. Who needs a dog with teeth when you have a 1000 lb.-plus animal with horns like that? :-)
Many thanks to John for his hospitality and giving us the tour!
It's fun, yet difficult. It takes a lot of trial and error and I'm just barely beginning to get a feel for it.
I enjoy the effect because it abstracts the scene into basic forms that, hopefully, are still recognizable. But it still captures the same colors and forms that I'm noticing with my eyes when I see the scene.
Of course the literal shot is still interesting, such as this yellow flowering weed and bee. There were many bees working around this plant.
Finally, another snake sighting. I was moving towards a palm tree to try a motion blur when I instinctively checked the ground first. Sure enough, there lay a cottonmouth.
It's funny, and a little scary, how many times I've ventured off-path only to discover a snake in waiting. At least I've learned to check first.
I've had a recent and sudden inspiration, many thanks to Marti Jeffers. Basically, this is a new approach of seeing the world in shapes, lines, and colors through the technique of motion blur.
The above shot was taken while I was walking. I also panned the camera upwards a bit during the exposure.
This photo above was taken during high winds. I held the camera nearly still for the exposure.
The fungus covered tree is an interesting one that I see every time that I walk. I'm becoming familiar now with almost every tree and bush along the path.
The path is marked with posts every quarter mile. Above the engraved numbers are little red hearts. This post is weathered pretty well.
I spent 10 days away from home to be involved in a photography workshop in Big Bend. I assisted Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers in a TME (The Mindful Eye) workshop.
More images will come although slowly. I have a lot of work ahead to catch up on things!
