Posts Tagged ‘HDR’

Resting Turtle

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

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After a big dinner here on Oahu’s North Shore, the extended family went on to look for the locals’ favorite shave ice place, while the photo nerd chose not to waste one of a handful of sunset opportunities and passed on the famed syrupy coldness. I jumped in the rented (insert non-sensical and unpronounceable VW model name) and headed for the shore.

Always on the lookout for an interesting foreground element to add that extra dimension to what I hoped would be a colorful sky, I thought a nicely round rock in the distance might work. That rock turned out to be a turtle. Every few minutes it would lift its head and look around, then go back to sleep, or so it appeared. I was reminded of the time we stayed up very late in Costa Rica to watch the turtles come ashore to bury eggs, but tonight I saw no evidence that this one was thus concerned. It seemed simply to be tired out from a long swim and wanting a rest from the motion of the ocean.

As often happens, the presence of a camera on a tripod attracted a crowd to see what I was up to, and immediately the turtle took center stage. I was pleased to see how respectful the humans were of the resting turtle, taking photos from distance, or just sitting quietly to observe and enjoy the unusual moment. The folks were kindly respectful of the photographer as well, because at the time of this 20 second exposure, there were 10 or 12 people standing or sitting just out of frame on either side.

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Posted in Landscape Stories | 3 Comments »

From Salt Lake to Mono Lake

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Going back in time a bit, here is a post I wrote as we arrived in Yosemite on June 7th.

Trading Armco and asphalt and granite and waterfalls, I’ve moved from the racetrack to Yosemite for the week. The late summer and recent snows mean that the waterfalls in the valley should be in full force. The rivers we’ve encountered as we drive along the Tioga Pass road, which opened two days ago, to our relief, are full and quick.

We stopped to take in the view from Olmstead Point, named for conservationist architect Fredrick Olmstead, Jr. A short hike above Tioga Road offers a lovely view of Clouds Rest and the back side of Half Dome in one direction, and of Tenaya Lake and Mount Conness in the other.

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After shooting the sunset at Olmstead Point, we went to Mono Lake, two of us for the first time, to see what we could do with the Milky Way. To say that it was dark out there is not quite an understatement; with no moon and almost zero artificial light, we could still see a bit from the amazing amount of starlight. At altitude and away from man-made light pollution, the number of stars in the sky is astounding, something you never see in the city. There are so many stars, in fact, it is difficult to find familiar constellations; they get lost among the mass of tiny lights in the sky. In this environment you can also make out the gases of the Milky Way, though the camera see them much better. To the naked eye almost none of the color is apparent, only a kind of hazy cloud running like a ribbon through the night sky. Getting a good exposure is still a challenge for the modern DSLR but with some trial and error I think all three of us got something we liked. The fourth got a couple of hours of sleep while we were goofing off. (Edit: see Tyler’s here, and John’s here. One of mine was posted on this blog on June 14th.

We got back to the room a little before 1:30AM, and set our alarms for 3 hours later. At 4:30 we were up and 10 minutes later in the car driving back to Mono Lake to see what the odd and mysterious tufa formations looked like in the sunrise. The sky was glowing at 5AM as we were only 30 minutes away from sunrise. The long summer days are killers if you want to catch both sunrise and sunset AND some good stars.

Mono Lake is a sister to the Great Salt Lake and similar in several ways. It does not flow to the sea, and though fed by various sources of fresh water, the lake itself is saltier than the sea. The lake water has only evaporation as a means of escape, and any minerals contained in the water flowing in remain in the lake after the water molecules leave. Mono Lake is famous in California for how the Los Angeles water authority commandeered the lake’s fresh water inlets and diverted them south. The effect on the local eco-system was, as you can probably image, dramatic. Not only did the level of the lake drop significantly, but the local wildlife balance was upset as birds who nested and bred on the lake’s islands were now vulnerable to coyotes and other predators. The lake has been taken back by the local authorities who are trying to promote the lake rising to its former level again.

Eventually, if they are successful, the many tufa towers that became visible when the level dropped will again be underwater. The towers are formed when fresh water enters the lake from beneath the lake bed and mixes with the saline conditions to create the odd-looking structures. The towers are more odd than beautiful, lacking the color and pleasing shape of the hoodoos found at Bryce Canyon. Still, the area is quite interesting to visit and also to photograph; we were certainly not alone at 5:00am, and at times it was difficult to compose out images as we wished for all the other photographers wandering around.

Some of the photos from the morning:
Suad
John

And one of mine:
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As I type were are driving back over Tioga Pass road and heading toward Yosemite Valley. I can’t wait to see some serious waterfall action.

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Posted in Landscape Stories | 4 Comments »

Setting Moon

Monday, February 1st, 2010

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The setting moon was visible from where I’d been shooting for about 7 minutes this morning as the clouds were changing pretty quickly. This morning’s colors in the sky were subtle but quite nice. The amount of snow that had melted since last week allowed me to reach several new spots, such as this one right on the water at the north eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.

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Posted in Landscape Stories | 2 Comments »

Looking For The Wave

Friday, November 20th, 2009

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Going though some photos recently from last winter’s trip to the Southwest I ran across this one. The distinctive rock formations found in the region of The Wave, which is the most famous, are often quite striking. This was taken during a pause on our hike to The Wave at an area that was very similar, just not as compact. Somehow this delicate ridge of stone making the shadow in the upper right portion of the image has survived many season of rain, snow and so on, while those same elements have worn down the surround formations into smooth, grooved surfaces. Amazing.

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Half Dome Profile

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

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It takes a certain amount of self-delusion to stroll into Yosemite intending to make a black and white image of one of the park’s iconic structures. The ghosts of Ansel Adams and of many other accomplished photographers are everywhere, whispering a question: Just what they heck do you think YOU are doing with a camera on such hallowed ground? This can be a really good situation to be in. It makes you really think about the answer to that question.

Recently a friend asked me if I missed film, and I replied that for the most part, I did not. But on Wednesday I was thinking about film again and how the time and expense involved in shooting before digital made you carefully consider every exposure. A half mile or so away from where I make the above image is Glacier Point, a look out with a fantastic view, big parking lot, and several sets of restrooms. As sunset approached, it grew more and more crowded, and almost everyone there had a camera of some sort. Lots of people had very good cameras, and many of those even had, gasp, tripods! As a group we huddled around the same general area to take the same basic picture (although to be fair, I was the only one I noticed doing either a panorama or bracketing exposures). I imagined that Ansel’s ghost was not frowning, but smiling at so many people enjoying photography. It seems unlikely that anyone there, myself included, was going to make an image comparable to those of the Yosemite master, but everyone seemed to be getting at least a little pleasure out of trying. Rather than carefully considering what, exactly, they were trying to do, as a group they were firing away as the sun set and the light warmed, not giving too much thought to the technical, but just excited by the possibilities of what might happen. It was nice to be among that group, doing my own thing. Until, that is, one of them hopped the barrier and became my undesired foreground element. But hey, it seemed time for me to move on anyway. That view at that moment was pretty well covered.

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Mirrors Up!

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

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A sharp photograph is the result of accurate focus and a still camera, and good technique in photography helps achieve both. Using a tripod is probably the biggest help to keeping your camera still, but sometimes you can do more. Shooting in Mirror Up mode can help make super sharp long exposures.

Even when your camera is on a tripod, the action of the mirror coming up and stopping suddenly can introduce a small amount of camera shake and result in a slightly blurred image. Mirror Up mode removes this issue by raising the mirror and waiting for you to trigger the actual exposure.

On the Nikon D300 and D700, Mirror Up mode is a activated by simply selecting Mup on the Release Mode Dial. Conveniently this is the last option, so spinning the dial all the way clockwise will get you there without looking. When selected, this mode requires two separate presses on the shutter release, whether it’s the camera’s button or a remote release, to make the exposure. The first raises the mirror, and the second makes the exposure and closes the mirror. I suggest you pause a moment between presses, to make sure you’re getting the entire benefit from this mode. Raise the mirror, wait a beat, and then gently trigger the exposure.

Usually when my camera is on a tripod, time between exposures is not much of a concern, and I’ll use Mirror Up mode. If the light is changing rapidly, however, and I’m bracketing exposures that I’ll later combine in the digital darkroom, I may elect not to use this mode and take my chances with a potential loss of sharpness, especially if I’m making a landscape with a wide angle lens and without a distinct foreground object.

If you’re not sure if your DSLR has a mirror up mode, have a look in the manual. I heard recently that all Canon DSLRs have it, and I think most if not all Nikons do, too.

Finally, remember to put your camera back on your preferred release mode when you don’t need Mirror Up mode any more. It’s a little odd to expect a quick click and get a black viewfinder!

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Posted in Gear Stories, Photography Tips | 1 Comment »

Sensing New Possibilities

Friday, June 26th, 2009

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Some time ago I posited the notion that as technology continues to cram more and more pixels onto DSLR sensors, that growing capacity could be used not merely to make higher resolution images, but alternatively to gather more dynamic range with each exposure. Instead of bracketing a given shot twice, a 24 mega-pixel sensor could do a virtual and simultaneous over-under bracket to render an 8 mega-pixel image with that added dynamic range delivered with a single click. I lack the technical know-how to say for sure if this is possible, but to me it’s an intriguing idea.

Looking at graduated ND filters this morning, I was then wondering if something might be done to simulate this as sensor/CPU technology continues to grow more sophisticated. As you may know, a graduated neutral density filter allows more light to pass through one side of the filter than the other, and is commonly used on landscapes that contain a sky which is much brighter (or darker) than the foreground. With the darker portion of the ND filter rotated to the top of the image, less light from the sky passes through that area of the filter, allowing the lower portion to be properly exposed and avoiding the sky being blown out or the foreground being too dark. Without such a filter, we sometimes do two or more exposures to get multiple portions of the scene exposed properly, then combine those portions in Photoshop.

But if a camera had a new kind of control over the behavior of its sensor, it might be possible to simulate a graduated ND filter via the LCD screen. One could, I suggest, pick a certain area of the sensor to become less sensitive to light. This might be done via ISO settings, so that if you were in a situation where an ND grad would be handy, you could set the camera to expose the bottom half of the sensor at ISO 800 and the top at ISO 200, then line up your shot with an overlay on the LCD of where that delineation would take place. Bam, digital in camera ND grad filter.

Of course this would require the camera’s CPU to be able to control banks of pixels independent of other banks. And if it could do this with ISO, why not with shutter speed, too? So you might have the ability to expose part of the sensor at 500/sec, and another part and 150/sec, giving further control over the exposure. The shutter would open to accommodate the longer exposure, but the sensor itself would activate for the exposure a given section for its assigned duration.

The Nikon D700 already has something that is at least similar to this concept for focusing; I can set the camera to take the entire image into account during auto focus, a single one of the 51 focus points, or a point surrounded by a given area. So the CPU CAN think of the image area as consisting of adjustable portions to be evaluated with that type of flexibility. For now it just doesn’t have this type of low-level control over the sensor itself.

But the way camera technology is going, it seems only a mater of time before we might have this or some similar capability. Personally, I can’t wait!

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Easy access to Auto Bracketing with the Assign Function Button, and setting Release Button to use Dial to make things even easier!

Friday, June 12th, 2009

When I’m shooting landscapes, I like to be able to shoot an HDR set of exposures quickly and easily, and I’ve set up both my D700 and D300 to use the Function Button to allow me to enable, adjust and disable Auto Bracketing in a few seconds. It’s so easy now that going into HDR mode is second nature, and when I’m concerned that a single exposure won’t give me what I want, bam! I turn on an auto bracketed set of 3, 5, 7 exposures, get the set, and go right back to single exposure mode just like that.

 The first step to setting this up is to make sure that the camera will auto bracket using only the auto exposure setting. This function is found on the D300 and D700 in Custom Setting e5, Auto Bracketing Set. Select AE Only to bracket only the exposure rather than the flash or white balance. (To get to Custom Settings, press Menu on the back of your D300 or D700, then scroll to the Custom Setting Menu with the little pencil icon on the left column. Below the top two choices are six sets of settings, lettered a-f. E5 is the fifth option under the E set.)

 Then we want to assign Auto Bracketing to the Function Button. Assign Func. Button is found at Custom Setting f4 on the D300 and f5 on the D700. Auto Bracketing requires two dials to set, so choose FUNC. button + dials. This will allow you to set the number of bracketed exposures and how many exposure stops are between each of those exposures in the set.

Now when you press and hold the Function Button, the Main Command Dial (on the back of your camera and under most people’s right thumb) will control the number of exposures in your bracketed set, and the Sub-Command Dial (on the front of your camera and under most people’s right index finger) will control how many stops are between each exposure. Unless you keep reading and follow my next bit of advice, you’ll need to HOLD the Function Button down to make these adjustments. When you let go of the Function Button, whatever settings you had are what you’ll get.

 

Avoiding Carpal Tunnel with Release Button To Use Dial

One of the things I love most about modern DSLRs is the degree to which they’re little computers and thus programmable; many of the functions on my Nikons can be adjusted to suit how I like to work. This ability also comes in handy when some element of the camera body’s design doesn’t really make sense to me as a user, even if I suspect there is a very good reason for that element from a design/manufacturing perspective. By this I mean that some of the button locations don’t always seem like the best possible choice, especially when using those buttons requires some seemingly unnecessary dexterity on my part.

Fortunately, the aforementioned ability to change the way the camera does certain things can help compensate for that. One of the settings I like most on my D300 and D700 is called Release Button To Use Dial. As mentioned above, some of the camera functions require you to hold one button down while rotating a dial to adjust a given setting, such as changing from Manual to Aperture or Shutter Priority shooting modes, or adjusting settings for bracketed exposures. The latter in particular benefits from changing this setting from its default because you’re using two dials, and remembering to hold the Function Button down while operating two dials AND doing the mental acrobatics required to choose number of exposures and exposure gap… Well, why not make things as simple as possible?

Release Button To Use Dial is found at f8 on the D300 and f10 on the D700, and is a Yes or No choice. Select Yes and hit OK. Now when you press the Function Button to adjust your auto bracketing, both command dials remain active relative to your auto bracketing settings until you press the Function Button again, or simply half-press the Shutter Release button, both of which will tell the camera to use the current settings.

 Changing this function took a little bit of getting used to, but it is SO MUCH EASIER than holding the button down while adjusting dials that this is one of my most highly recommended custom functions. A simple tap of the Function Button lets you adjust your settings in peace and with no strain on your ring finger. And it comes in handy for other settings, as well, such as the shooting mode mentioned earlier as well as Exposure Compensation. If you forget to toggle off whichever setting you’re adjusting, when you got to make your exposure, hitting the Shutter while take care of that for you.

 I cant recall from my Canon days if this feature is available for my Canon shooter friends, but I suggest you folks check out your manuals and see. It’s great!

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Posted in Photography Tips | 4 Comments »

Morning at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

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The weather on our trip to Death Valley was WINDY, blowing sand and dust into the air and largely obscuring the distant mountains to the point that photographing them was often pointless. Mother Nature certainly has to be in the mood to help if you’re going to get a nice landscape. The day before we left, she was. My cousin Russ accompanied me early in the morning to Zabriskie Point, one of the most photographed areas in Death Valley. We were the first in the parking lot, but not long after we arrived, as I was trying to get some night shots of the rising moon, other cars pulled up, casting their headlights into my exposures. I took this as fairly typical of the average tourist who didn’t realize the guy with the tripod in their headlights might have his shot ruined, but considering that almost everyone who was joining us was a photographer of some sort, it later bugged me quite a bit. Oh well.

As the black sky behind us lightened into blue, we walked up a short climb to the observation area. This being our first time to Zabriskie Point, we had little idea where we were going, so the other folks did come in handy there. We followed the first few to a small mesa surrounded by a low rock wall, and something like the scene above emerged gradually as the light grew. The perspective seemed much nicer from below the official area, however, so I climbed over the little wall and took my chances on the ‘trail’ that led down to a second plateau from where I make the above image. Russ followed some distance behind and smiled moments later as he reported the whispers from the others as they watched me: “Can he go down there? Are we supposed to stay up here? Think we’d get in trouble if we followed him?” I wasn’t too worried, as I could see even in the dim light the other trails ahead. Plus, in photography the general rule is that it’s better to ask forgiveness (photo in hand) than permission and be told you can’t take the photograph you want.

As the light continued to grow, I was pleased to see that for once the sky was clear. Some wispy clouds appeared, including a strange one that looks almost like ripples on water. The contrast between the amazing variety of warm browns in the foreground formations and the cool sky was beautiful as the sun gently lit the scene with it first rays to peek over the mountains behind us.

When we returned to our lodgings that morning, I noticed behind the check in counter a large print of Zabriskie Point being photographed by a line of 20 or 30 photographers, all bent over their tripods and standing just where I had ventured. By the time the light was good, I’d been joined by almost as many in the same spot shown in the office photograph. I also learned that Zabriskie Point is a movie by Michelangelo Antonioni, that stars… no one, and seems to be a love it or hate it film.

Looking at this image now, 700 pixels wide, reminds me of how inadequate it is to view images like this at such a small size compared to seeing a proper print of 20×30 inches. It’s kind of like the difference between watching baseball on a 13: TV and being at the ballpark. Actually, I supposed being at Zabriskie Point is more like being at the ballpark, but if you can’t make the drive and hang out until the sky is clear and the weather just right, a large print is a pretty nice compromise.

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A Favorite Looking Back

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

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Had a chat this morning with a friend and she asked which was my favorite photo from my trip to the Southwest in April. I’d have to say it’s this one, for several reasons. 

This was taken in Lower Antelope Canyon. My three friends, Tyler, John, and Suad, had been to the upper canyon the year before, and were more interested in visiting new places this time through the area. I was so intent on getting into a slot canyon that I asked to be dropped here for the day if they wanted to go somewhere new. Being the swell guys they are, they decided not to leave me alone but to see the lower canyon as a kind of compromise. I encourage you to check their photos on Flickr via the links above. Everyone got some amazing stuff.

I’ve not seen an image like this one, however. It’s an HDR from five exposures, and looking back at the original five, this composite doesn’t really look like the actual scene as I remember it. But neither do any of the five component images, which are either too dark or too bright to be what my eyes saw. One of photography’s effects is constantly showing you how amazing the human eye is when it comes to registering dynamic ranges of color and brightness.

But I think this image is my favorite mainly because it’s so unlike most of the photographs I made on that trip. We went to many places frequented by many photographers, many of whom stand in the same spots and take to a large extent the same photographs. There is certainly a pleasure in doing those photographs yourself, but getting one like you’ve not seen before is a unique pleasure in itself.

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