We were lucky enough recently to make a trip to the coastline of California and more specifically to the Big Sur region. Anytime I am shooting ocean landscapes, my Singh-Ray filters play a big part in creating the mood I’m shooting for. My current favorite is the 5-Stop Mor-Slo ND filter. My favorite shooting technique for ocean landscapes is to use the 5-stop Mor-Slo to produce very long exposures that dramatically enhance the mood of the image. For example, others …
Tracing the Silver Bay landscape image from pre-visualization to post production
I thought I would offer a basic case study explanation of how this image of Silver Bay was created from the pre-visualization stage to the final post production steps. My basic motivation to create this image was to test an idea that’s reflected in many landscape photographers’ work. I’m referring to the idea that the photographer can control where the eye of a viewer first enters the image and the path that the eye follows while looking at the image. …
Capturing impressive infrared landscapes with the Nikon D-70 and an I-Ray filter
I became interested in landscape photography in 1997, when I was on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada. I was in school learning about infrared film. I had done a bit of work with it, but I was eager to see what it would do in the lush forests of British Columbia. My mother and I traveled to the island for Christmas break and I spent some time shooting photos in various places. Of course, this was infrared film back …
Reflections of this year’s visit to the splendors of Glacier National Park
Sometimes I wonder whether success in any creative art is more dependent on the singer or the song? That is to say, is it really the photographer or the place? Over the years, I’ve come to realize excellent outdoor images can be made almost anywhere at any time. Nevertheless, that rationalization fades from memory when I find myself surrounded by the awesome grandeur of our nation’s National Parks, and one in particular. Although it’s in a remote location, Glacier National …
Visiting Oregon, I brought along my Singh-Ray filters
Aspiring landscape photographer Loscar Numael recently had an opportunity to try out his Singh-Ray filters while visiting Oregon. “I brought along my entire kit of filters and I was glad I did because Oregon has to be one of the most photographically diverse and beautiful places a landscape photographer can find. Only knowing Oregon from seeing the images made by other photographers, I wasn’t sure what to expect. With each passing day of the trip — as I discovered how …
Series of dramatic architectural studies reflects constant search for fresh ideas
For the past two years, I’ve been working on a project that combines my love for architecture and photography. Called The Fountainhead, after the Ayn Rand novel, this series features images of skyscrapers that have been dramatically distorted to give them a very modern and futuristic look. Rather than transforming these images by using Photoshop, however, I resorted to a much more ‘old-school’ technique that enabled me to visualize and capture the final images in my digital camera. I photographed …
Finding out that Iceland is a great place to apply the versatility of the Vari-N-Trio and ColorCombo
Now, thanks to our new series of workshops, organized in cooperation with the folks at Focus-on-Nature in Iceland, I have been able to realize that dream. We began our series there last summer and have the next workshop set for July 10-16, 2011. Since there are also a number of other workshops held there throughout the year, I thought it might be helpful to pass along a few general observations and suggestions for those planning to photograph in Iceland. During …
Relocating my Photo Business to Nevada has Become a Moving Experience
Moving forward always gives a better view to the past. As I get set to move after a decade in one place, all the years of field photography, and especially the resulting images, now come to the forefront with different thoughts and emotions attached. The images that have special merit are the ones that have found their way into my heart and then onto my walls. They have literally stood the test of time, Now, as I move them to …
Highlighting the many creative possibilities of photographing water with filters
One of my very favorite photographic subjects — besides people — is water. We can find so many creative possibilities in water photography because it’s almost always moving, it takes on different colors, reflects light and forms so many different shapes. In water photography, it is so easy to get really unique results. All that’s required is hard work, lots of experience and the right equipment. Most of the time water is involved in something interesting like giving sand, stones, …
How to use long exposures to create mystical black and white images
I have always been intrigued by monoliths, first by the statues on Easter Island, then by the monolith in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and most recently by Stonehenge in England. In each case, seeing these monoliths prompts the question; Who built them and for what purpose? I’ve always loved visiting Bandon Beach in Oregon because of the natural monoliths strewn along the coastline. Randomly placed, it is as though the earth were God’s chessboard and the monoliths the …