Call Of The Desert
Even from 25 miles away Shiprock stands like a sentinel in the desert. The monadnock is located in New Mexico and I’m shooting from Colorado. It is one of the iconic images in my mind when I think of the Four Corners country. I find it strange that one geologic formation can have an effect on a person’s psyche. I often find my thoughts on Shiprock for no reason. On our next trip I definitely want to spend more time with Tsé Bitʼaʼí (Navajo for “rock with wings” or “winged rock”).
Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2 for the monochrome conversion.
In the best light…
Cliff Palace Details
Cliff Palace is one of the more popular attractions at Mesa Verde National Park.
Spider Rock
Spider Rock is in the middle of Canyon de Chelly National Monument near Chinle, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. The spire stands 750 feet above the floor of the canyon. According to native lore, it is the home of Spider Woman one of the most honoured deities of the Dine (Navajo People).
The day that we were there, a sand storm was blowing through. We were told that it was the remnants of a hurricane that had moved up from Mexico but lost all of it’s moisture on the way. The winds gusted up to 50 miles per hour, making camera stabilization a priority. I braced my tripod against the guard rail for maximum rigidity.
In the best light…
Forms and Textures
It’s been a few years since our trip to the Four Corners area of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.
Dynamic Duo
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I actually found out that my friends Darwin Wiggett & Samantha Chrysanthou had released two new eBooks on oopoomoo.com back in March, I’m finally getting around to reviewing both of them. Although, ostensibly the books are aimed at a beginner audience, Composition Basics and Learning to See are valuable for more experienced photographers as well.
Composition Basics gets into detail on tone and color, under the heading of Primary Elements. Secondary Elements covers Line, Shape, Texture, Pattern and Perspective. They also cover Weight and Tension, both concepts that I need to work with more. Visual mapping is something new to me as well. I haven’t gotten as far as actually marking up copies of my images, but that might be next. In workshops that I’ve taken with Sam and Darwin, I’ve been lectured on Pokies, Blobs and Mergies (you’ll find out). Examples is something of a study in exploration. How you could get past viewing an icon and find more.
Learning to See is more of a companion book to Composition Basics. I see it as “get over yourself, shut up and shoot”. It’s full of Self-Assignments; which I will get around to eventually. Learning to See is a much harder book to describe. You’ll want to read it with a notebook nearby to jot down ideas from Self-Assignments to complete in the field. If you’ve ever thought about “your own style” this is a book you should study thoroughly
Composition Basics is for sale at $15 and Learning to See is $10. The best deal is to buy both eBooks at the same time for $20 and save yourself $5. They are a must have in the library of anyone learning photography. A dynamic duo of photographic education from a dynamic duo of authors.
In the best light…
Rundle Reflection
Instead of going for the usual grand landscape with the mountain and the sky, I concentrated on the reflection in Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park. I liked the way that the cloud hung in the sky and was mirrored in the still water. The bit of color from the sunrise accents the triangles formed by the upside down peaks.
In the best light…
Franklin’s Gull
Slack Slough is a large wetland area on the south end of Red Deer, Alberta. It’s an interesting spot to view birds. We were there one day, mostly to see some ducks and wading birds. I wasn’t able to get very close and I had only brought my 18-135mm lens with me that day. On looking up I spied a Franklin’s Gull circling over head. I managed to grab a few quick frames as it passed by. Luckily, at 135mm it was just the right focal length to catch all of the detail in the bird’s feathers. I’m told by my cousin Ken Richardson, that the pink hue on the gull’s underside is caused by winter feeding on crustaceans in Argentina. The same ones that have a strong effect on Flamingos causing their pinkness. A quick trip through Photoshop CS6 and Nik Color Efex Pro 4 has the image tuned up the way I wanted.
In the best light…
Herbert Lakeshore
This week, instead of featuring new images, I’m bringing back older images. Some of them have not been seen before and some will be reprocessed. I’m still learning Adobe Photoshop CS6 and there are a few things I’m trying to improve the older images.
This scene is from Herbert Lake north of Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
In the best light…
Bad Weather, No Problem
A little fog and rain and snow never hurt anyone, and it can improve your photography.
Fields Forgotten
Some images affect me differently. I like the graphic nature of the short stubble in the field with the underlying row of the grain stalks from the seed drill. With the way that the land contours, the whole picture is filled with lines in many directions. But, all of the lines create tension in the frame that I find unsettling. The monochrome processing in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 with a sepia toning, heightens the feeling by simulating an old fashioned look. There’s a timeless mood that I was trying to convey. What are your feelings?
In the best light…
Last Light At Vermillion
At the end of the day, Dave Brosha both wanted to stay and leave. You can never tell what’s going to happen to the light, but he was flying out of Edmonton and had to drive there that night, and he was my ride back to Cochrane. Well, we stayed until after the sun set. This was one of the last of my frames from the day. Looking west across Vermillion Lakes 3, with the backlighting on the clouds.
This photo is the last that I’m planning to post, of the ones that were taken as part of the Persistent Vision weekend Field Shoot put on by oopoomoo.com at Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park with guest instructor David DuChemin.
Looking back, it was just over a month ago and still fairly fresh in my mind. The experience of a photographic event of this sort should not be minimized. There was a massive amount of learning going on everyday. Even the social events were educational. I met a number of new friends and got together with others, many whom I hadn’t seen in a while. I really want to thank my friends Darwin Wiggett, Samantha Chrysanthou and Catherine Byram from oopoomoo.com for organizing such a fantastic event. I’m hoping we’ll see more like this in the future.
In the best light…
Ice Crusts
As spring slowly approaches, the ice releases it’s grip on our lakes and rivers. Where it can’t stay in open water, it hangs on to the edges and surfaces protruding from the water.
The Soul’s Window
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I first met Dave Brosha last year at a lighting seminar put on by oopoomoo.com. I had been following him on the Internet for a couple of years and had missed a connection in 2010 at the Joe McNally workshop in Calgary. He messaged me later on the web asking why I didn’t say hi. I told him the only picture I’d seen of him was his Twitter avatar. He had on a balaclava with only his eyes showing, so needless to say I didn’t recognize him. Fast forward to 2013, I got to spend more time with Dave at the Persistent Vision weekend, even riding around Banff with him all day Sunday from 6AM. I got to know him a little better. He’s a pretty quiet guy, who knows his stuff, and is serious about his photography.
Did I mention he has a new eBook out? Well actually it came out at the end of February and with everything that I’d been doing, I only now finished reading it. Not that it is really long nor is it hard to read, but it is packed full of valuable information that nearly everyone who takes a picture of someone else will find useful.
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The eyes being the windows to the soul, Dave Brosha is masterful at recording a connection to the camera. He naturally starts out with “Where do I begin” and takes you through a progression of location, lenses and light. There are also some of his outtakes, some not ready for prime time pictures.
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Dave lets you know that not every picture is a winner. You start out and learn from the last picture you took and improve from there. Connecting to the subject is an important aspect of photography that many don’t or won’t practice. It shows in Dave’s work because you connect to his subjects while viewing his images.
Dave came to my attention with his aurora images (which are world class BTW) but I came to know and love his environmental portraits. He generously shares his techniques for shooting in natural light that’s well worth the small asking price for the download.
http://oopoomoo.com/ebook/the-souls-window/
All pictures ©Dave Brosha.
In the best light…
Reeds On The Lake
The reeds in Vermillion Lakes are quite interesting the repeating curves attracted my eye. Find what to shoot and how to do that was another question.
It’s In The Details
Near Vermillion Lakes #3 there are warm springs that feeds into the lake that keeps that water open nearly year round. I found one that started on the other side of the road. The algae was thriving in the warm water and the steam coming off of the surface in the cold weather, caused droplets of ice to form on the stems of the grasses above the water line. It has to be far enough above the warm water so the ice doesn’t melt, and higher, the mist doesn’t coagulate and form on the grass stems. It is an interesting process that would be easy to miss. This little puddle wasn’t very photogenic as a whole, but by moving in close and seeing the details, I was able to find an interesting image.
In the best light…
By The Lakeside
Nearly everyone who photographs near the town of Banff, in Banff National Park, shoots Mount Rundle from Vermillion Lakes.
Near Bow Falls
This is one of my favorite images from my morning in Banff National Park with Dave Brosha and Stephen DesRoches.
On A Wintry Morn
An overcast sunrise is harder to shoot than a spectacular one. A blazing sky filled with vivid colors is easy pickings. On a grey day you have to be more thoughtful about your shots.
The Dave Incident
On Sunday March 17, 2013 at 8:44 in the AM, this image appeared on my memory card. I was riding with Dave Brosha and we were on our way to see David DuChemin. I didn’t take a picture, it just magically appeared! I think it has something to do with the confluence of Daves, or maybe Dave Brosha has yet unknown psychic powers, he’s not saying. But it remains that I had seen the movie Dave the week before and the movie Meet Dave the week before that. I also watched a Dave Cross video and liked a David Kennerly picture on Facebook. A Dave lives across the alley from me and I have a friend named Dave at work. My wife Sherri and I both have brothers named Dave. Coincident? I think not!
Happy April 1!!!
In the best light…
Seven, Got Yours?
Special, Extra Blog Post
Following a stellar Persistent Vision weekend, David DuChemin has announced his newest book Seven. David (above center) is at the afternoon photo session at Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park with Stephen DesRoches (left) and Dave Brosha (right).
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