steveeshom
New Member
From the category 'Landscape' here are my favorites of 2009. Many of these I've shared here before but this time I'll include some of my thoughts on them. Presented in chronological order...
I captured this fabulous sunset on the tip of Cape Kiwanda in Oregon. When I first arrived I was just photographing with my longer lenses and was ignoring Haystack rock and the tip of the cape in front of me. On a whim I threw on the 10-22 and this photo came to life. A good landscape should have a foreground, a middle ground, and a background and using the wider angle gave me those elements.
Since I don't have any ND filters I was a bit concerned about the brightness of the sun but the cloud deck at the horizon did a great job of diffusing the sun for me. No ND necessary!
Thanks to some fellow photographers who frequent this forum I was able to get out into the Columbia River Gorge and photograph a few of the waterfalls there. I live so close yet so infrequently visit that this was somewhat of a special trip. One of my personal goals for the outing was to make sure the water in my shots was nice and silky. While the sky was overcast I still needed to slow the shutter a bit more so I used my circular polarizer to take the glare off the water and give a bit longer exposure. I was pleased with the results of my efforts (#3 was also done using this method).
This photo is interesting because the group I was with is standing just out of the photo at the left making remarks about a gentleman who is standing in the spray of the falls. He appeared to be meditating or some such thing. I chose to remove him (thanks PS!) from the scene so I could enjoy the peace of the falls and trail without his red jacket.
After the visit to Wahkeena falls the group drove over to Elowah falls and hiked into the canyon where it is located. While the rest of the group stayed on the trail I took the road less travelled and headed down by the water for this photo. I love how this photo gives a purpose to the water fall and gives a real sense of the area surrounding.
For this photo I set the tripod in the stream and lowered it to its lowest position so that the stream would be the major element of the foreground. Take particular note of the mossy rocks. As I was attempting to negotiate one on my departure I joined the tripod in the creek and came out with soaking wet pants (go ahead and laugh again Arline). Such is the fun of stream and waterfall photography!
In August and September the moon rise was going to be optimal for some photographs of the rise around Mt. Hood as seen from Vancouver, WA. (Thanks TPE! http://stephentrainor.com/tools). During August the smoke from fires was so thick that rarely did the mountain appear like I wanted. September was a bit better but smoke and an incoming weather system gave me more clouds than I wanted for a moon rise. On the other hand the incoming moisture however gave me a great lenticular cloud over the mountain which ended up being the photograph to keep. Even though the moon didn’t work out like I wanted the cloud more than made up for my efforts.
How do you photograph a tree? How do you photograph a tree in the middle of a forest? On a visit to my Dad’s tree farm I was presented with that challenge. On his 40 acres he has two old growth Douglas Firs and I wanted to try to capture their personalities and to some extent their entirety. Looking at them at eye level only gives you a bit of information about them. So down to the ground I went and pointed the lens at the sky. To get the base of the tree and the top in required switching to the 10-22. Using a WA also exaggerated the height a bit making the tree appear a bit more dominant in the forest. I hope I look that good at 200 years old!
In mid-December I had a few days off of work to enjoy for myself and I chose to make them photography days. On my way to work the previous few days Mt. Hood was absolutely gorgeous with the crystal clear skies around it. On my first day off I knew the weather would be changing which I hoped would bring just enough morning clouds to give the sky some color. While the clouds weren’t exactly what I wanted the cool crisp morning with a bit of moon showing proved to be just as good. Since it was 14 degrees outside I bundled up and put my spare camera battery in my pants pocket. As it ended up I didn’t have any battery issues instead I had to wipe the frost off the top of my gear. As usual my Canon gear worked just fine in the cold temperatures.
Those are my favorite photos of 2009...
1.
Ocean Sunset #2
Ocean Sunset #2
I captured this fabulous sunset on the tip of Cape Kiwanda in Oregon. When I first arrived I was just photographing with my longer lenses and was ignoring Haystack rock and the tip of the cape in front of me. On a whim I threw on the 10-22 and this photo came to life. A good landscape should have a foreground, a middle ground, and a background and using the wider angle gave me those elements.
Since I don't have any ND filters I was a bit concerned about the brightness of the sun but the cloud deck at the horizon did a great job of diffusing the sun for me. No ND necessary!
2.
Wahkeena - No Zen
Wahkeena - No Zen
Thanks to some fellow photographers who frequent this forum I was able to get out into the Columbia River Gorge and photograph a few of the waterfalls there. I live so close yet so infrequently visit that this was somewhat of a special trip. One of my personal goals for the outing was to make sure the water in my shots was nice and silky. While the sky was overcast I still needed to slow the shutter a bit more so I used my circular polarizer to take the glare off the water and give a bit longer exposure. I was pleased with the results of my efforts (#3 was also done using this method).
This photo is interesting because the group I was with is standing just out of the photo at the left making remarks about a gentleman who is standing in the spray of the falls. He appeared to be meditating or some such thing. I chose to remove him (thanks PS!) from the scene so I could enjoy the peace of the falls and trail without his red jacket.
3.
Elowah #5
Elowah #5
After the visit to Wahkeena falls the group drove over to Elowah falls and hiked into the canyon where it is located. While the rest of the group stayed on the trail I took the road less travelled and headed down by the water for this photo. I love how this photo gives a purpose to the water fall and gives a real sense of the area surrounding.
For this photo I set the tripod in the stream and lowered it to its lowest position so that the stream would be the major element of the foreground. Take particular note of the mossy rocks. As I was attempting to negotiate one on my departure I joined the tripod in the creek and came out with soaking wet pants (go ahead and laugh again Arline). Such is the fun of stream and waterfall photography!
4.
September Sunset
September Sunset
In August and September the moon rise was going to be optimal for some photographs of the rise around Mt. Hood as seen from Vancouver, WA. (Thanks TPE! http://stephentrainor.com/tools). During August the smoke from fires was so thick that rarely did the mountain appear like I wanted. September was a bit better but smoke and an incoming weather system gave me more clouds than I wanted for a moon rise. On the other hand the incoming moisture however gave me a great lenticular cloud over the mountain which ended up being the photograph to keep. Even though the moon didn’t work out like I wanted the cloud more than made up for my efforts.
5.
The Patriarch
The Patriarch
How do you photograph a tree? How do you photograph a tree in the middle of a forest? On a visit to my Dad’s tree farm I was presented with that challenge. On his 40 acres he has two old growth Douglas Firs and I wanted to try to capture their personalities and to some extent their entirety. Looking at them at eye level only gives you a bit of information about them. So down to the ground I went and pointed the lens at the sky. To get the base of the tree and the top in required switching to the 10-22. Using a WA also exaggerated the height a bit making the tree appear a bit more dominant in the forest. I hope I look that good at 200 years old!
6.
Sunrise at 14 Degrees II
Sunrise at 14 Degrees II
In mid-December I had a few days off of work to enjoy for myself and I chose to make them photography days. On my way to work the previous few days Mt. Hood was absolutely gorgeous with the crystal clear skies around it. On my first day off I knew the weather would be changing which I hoped would bring just enough morning clouds to give the sky some color. While the clouds weren’t exactly what I wanted the cool crisp morning with a bit of moon showing proved to be just as good. Since it was 14 degrees outside I bundled up and put my spare camera battery in my pants pocket. As it ended up I didn’t have any battery issues instead I had to wipe the frost off the top of my gear. As usual my Canon gear worked just fine in the cold temperatures.
Those are my favorite photos of 2009...
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