Waning Light at Black Sand Beach, Vik, Iceland. Sony a7RIV, Sony 24-105mm, f/14, 30 seconds, ISO 100, Singh-Ray 5-stop Mor-Slo ND French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson by all accounts was the earliest pioneer of street photography and a master at capturing unique candid moments – later to be termed a “decisive moment.” He was also a co-founder of Magnum Photos. In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published a book of images that was titled in English, “The Decisive Moment.” It included a portfolio of …
Yosemite Moonbows
Moonbow and starry sky over Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California Yosemite National Park is a mecca for adventure and nature photography with its steep granite walls, lush meadows, alpine spires, and booming waterfalls. I’ve spent four decades exploring its unique features and it always feels like home whenever I return. But as with any well-loved location, it’s easy to find yourself in a creative quandary when it comes to seeking out new perspectives. With iconic landmarks around every turn, …
Playing on the Beach with Singh-Ray Filters
Winter is my favorite time to photograph the beautiful beaches of the West Coast. Recently I was able to get out for a two-night adventure to Second Beach in Olympic National Park in Washington. Second Beach is one of my favorite beaches in the world, and I was incredibly excited to hike on it again. I was there to film a new episode of my video series “Out in the Filed with Randall J Hodges”. I was hoping for great …
Photographing the Scottish Highlands with The Mor-Slo 10 Stop ND Filter
View PostPhotographing Pinnacles National Park With IPHONE 11 Pro Max And Singh-Ray Cell Phone Neutral Polarizer!
I decided to take a hike in Pinnacles National Park, which is located about 35 miles from my home along the east-side entrance of Highway 25. My main goal was to get in a good workout. I parked at the Western Visitor’s Center parking lot and headed up towards the Pinnacles High Peaks via the Condor Peaks Trail and returned down the Condor Gulch Trail. The total distance was 5.4 miles with an elevation gain of 1,591 feet. Besides water …
Photographing the Night Sky at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve
Situated about 100 miles (driving miles) from Orlando, FL is Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. It is a favorite photography location of mine for my black and white panoramic images. The Preserve is also one of just two International Dark Sky Places in the Sunshine State – the other, Big Cypress National Preserve, sits further south near the River of Grass – the Florida Everglades. Overall, there are 120 recognized International Dark Sky Places worldwide. The International Dark Sky Places …
Singh-Ray Landscape Filter Combo
I photograph a lot of landscapes, and many times filters will transform the shot into something special. I’ve always tried to create my work in the field, not later in post-production, camera craft is very important to me. I just returned from photographing in Sedona for a week, and filters were invaluable there. I was teaching a workshop with my wife, we had a great group, and filter use became a popular topic in the field. During class I mentioned …
The Reverse Graduated ND Filter
Back in the days of film getting the right exposure in the field was a critical step, especially scenes where the dynamic range was greater than the contrast range of film. Scenes such as sunrise and sunset posed a challenge until Singh Ray and the late Galen Rowell pioneered Graduated Neutral Density Filters. These filters allowed photographers to control the dynamic range in a scene by selecting an appropriate filter density for the situation at hand. A Graduated Neutral Density Filter is darkest at the top of the filter, gradually fades toward the middle, with the bottom half …
Go With The Flow
(Singh-Ray LB Color Combo) Wildflower abstract, Tehachapi Mountains, Angeles National Forest, California Previsualization is an often used term in landscape photography – the process of researching a location, determining the perspective through lens selection, framing, and forming a solid image in your mind’s eye before ever arriving at a scene or tripping the shutter. Ansel Adams referred to it often as “the ability to anticipate a finished image before making the exposure”, and it was a favorite expression of other …
Defining your Infrared Photographic Vision
First of all, finding my own photographic style was one of the most challenging things I have done in my photography career. Secondly, it has changed and morphed as I have aged and become more deliberate in how I capture my images. I have also heard people using photographic style, photographic vision and photographic message synonymously in conversations. In my opinion, they are different, but yet dependent upon one another. My photographic vision depends upon the message I want to …