Category Archives: Landscape

New Jersey Landscape Photography: Worthington State Forest

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When trying to photograph detailed landscape photos, the natural inclination is achieve the greatest depth of field possible.  Why?  The detail resolved in a DSLR photography will exhibit much greater definition than a capture created by a cellphone or compact camera.  The differences in medium may not be apparent until an image is displayed at its largest size.

Are there times when it is “okay” to intentionally limit the depth of field in a landscape view?  Yes.  There are no laws in art creation, and an artist does not advance in his/her field by conforming to the norm.  The scene that I have presented here does quickly fade to soft focus.  Why?  Because I like it that that way.

NJ Fine Art Photo

An Autumnal View of the main drive through Worthington State Forest. Photo taken with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

Exposure settings: 1/80 F/3.5 ISO 100

New Jersey Landscape Photography: Lake Hopatcong State Park

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I mistakenly left my treasured 82mm 10-stop Neutral Density filter at home today, par for my course.  However, I did bring along my newly purchased slim mount 82mm Polarizing filter.  The filter it replaced was not slim mount, causing noticeable vignetting at focal lengths under 28mm on my full frame camera.  No signs of darkening of the corners at 24mm today… yay!

Rainy and cool days are not necessarily my favorite days for nature photography, but then again it is still more bearable than an 85 degree summer excursion in New Jersey with our humid climate.  I liked the curvature of the stone retention wall in this scene, but I do feel the bright metal handrail is a bit overpowering.  Yes, I did arrange the leaves myself, thanks for asking!  Having taken several similar frames, I chose to process this one because I like the Mallard swimming by.

NJ Landscape Photo

Autumn leaves lead the viewer into the scene of a small canal in New Jersey. Taken with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

Exposure settings: 1.3s F/20 ISO 100, 24mm

New Jersey Landscape Photography: Speedwell Falls

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This morning I stopped briefly at a small but picturesque nature photography location.  I have photographed the same manmade spillway a few times before, with the camera oriented in a similar manner.  My approach and end product was slightly different today, as I’ve been using a 10-stop Neutral Density filter which greatly increases exposure time.  The images usually display a great exaggeration of motion in natural elements, which we commonly refer to as a “painterly effect”.  There are times when this approach can be impractical or too clichéd, but it also demonstrates great patience and technique in one’s repertoire.

NJ Landscape Photo

A sweeping view of a scenic spillway in New Jersey. Photo taken with the Tamron 14-150mm All-In-One lens.

Exposure settings: 50s F/10 ISO 200.  Photo taken with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III All-In-One Lens for micro four thirds cameras.

Pond Run Creek

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Today I made the drive from New Jersey to the not-too-distant scenic destination of Bushkill Falls.  The walkway around the series of waterfalls can be very busy on weekends, but a cool and overcast Monday morning only brought a few dozen admirers out to explore the network of trails.  I did shoot some panoramas as well as straightforward single frames of the cascades, but I really liked the view of the clear water in the creek bend that you can see below:

Fine Art Nature Photography

A wideangle lens angled downwards provide a dramatic view of a bend in the creek at Bushkill Falls in Pennsylvania. Photo taken with the Canon EOS-M camera and the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens.

The above photo was taken with the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens and the tripod-mounted Canon EOS-M mirrorless camera.  Exposure settings: 1.6s F/14 1SO 100

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New Jersey Landscape Photo: Rainbow Over Reservoir

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We had dramatic clouds earlier this afternoon, and I’d previsualized photographing in such conditions at the very scenic Splitrock Reservoir.  So off I drove with my Tamron zoom lens and Olympus compact camera to “see what I could see”.  Unsurprisingly a light rain began midway through my short drive, not an issue for me because I try to keep camera rainsleeves in my car at all times.

The rain broke just as I parked my car for the hiking trail.  Initially my view of the horizon was obscured but as I walked towards the slope of the reservoir a vivid rainbow did present itself on the opposite shore.  Frustratingly, my view of the rainbow was intersected by many trees and when I made my way to my first clear vantage point the rainbow had all but disappeared.  Feeling dejected that the opportunity seemed lost, I pressed on towards my favorite vantage point along the shore.

Alas, a new refractive arch of colors presented itself…

NJ fine art photo

After a rain shower a rainbow pierces through the clouds above Splitrock Reservoir. Taken with the Tamron 14-150mm All-In-One lens for micro four thirds cameras.

Above photo taken with my tripod mounted Olympus PEN E-PL3 m43 camera and the Tamron 14-150mm Di III zoom lens. Exposure settings: 1/125 F/11 ISO 200

Autumn at Lake Ames

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Below is a panoramic landscape photo taken yesterday morning in Morris County, New Jersey.  My initial photo was a single capture of the prominent yellow tree (near center of the frame).  Having read recently that “the best time to shoot a vertical shot is right after shooting a horizontal one” I have started thinking that “the best time shoot a panoramic image is right after shooting a single image”.  In other words… just do it!

New Jersey Fine Art Panorama Art

A sweeping view of the lake’s shore shows us the gentle slopes of changing trees at Lake Ames. A distant hill is also reflected in the still water. Taken with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III All-In-One lens and Olympus PEN E-PL3 micro four thirds camera.

The above panoramic art measure over 17,000pixels of leafy goodness.  Taken with the tripod mounted Tamron 14-150mm Di III All-In-One lens and the Olympus PEN E-PL3 m43 camera.

Reflections of Rockaway

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This morning was another overcast day in Northern New Jersey, so I thought I would visit some of nearest natural bodies of water and see what Mother Nature was offering up for landscape photography.  The two trees shown below were the most vivid on Lake Hudsonia and I chose a vantage point where their reflections would be uninterrupted from lily pads and other vegetation.

New Jersey Fine Art Photo

Reds and yellows of Autumn reflect on a still lake in New Jersey. Taken with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens and the Olympus PEN EPL3

Exposure settings: 1/20th F/9 ISO 200

Stream and Snow

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If I said I remembered taking this frame, I would be lying.  I do have many RAW files from 2014 that I’ve skipped over on my hard drive.  I will often process my favorite shot or two from an outing, and then not look in that folder again.  Maybe I need to do some “Fall cleaning”?

The below Winter landscape photo was taken on January 3, 2014 in Morris County, New Jersey.  Looking at it now, I really like the leading lines that guide my eyes into the forest.  There also seems to be a good balance of shadows and highlights so that there is both minimalism and detail within the image.

NJ fine art photo

New Jersey Winter landscape photo. Taken with the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 7D DSLR.

Exposure settings: 1.6s F/11 ISO 100

New Jersey Panoramic Photography: Forest and Old Foundation

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Today was not so much a photography day for me, more of a hiking day but I did take along my compact shooting equipment because… The best camera is certainly always the one you have with you.  My Olympus PEN coupled with Tamron’s 14-150mm all-in-one lens easily tackled the five photos stitched below.

New Jersey Fine Art Nature Photoraphy

Five shots stitch. Taken in New Jersey with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens and the Olympus PEN E-PL3 micro four thirds camera.

A 52mm circular polarizing filter was used to make this image and my Manfrotto 055x ProB tripod provided the stability needed on an overcast day in shaded conditions.  I didn’t find that a single photo would have done this scene justice, and it does seem that the width of my panorama gives this stone foundation “plenty of room to breathe”.

Exposure settings: 1/8 F/7.1 ISO 200

Autumn at Ken Lockwood Gorge; #2

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Having walked up and down the river bank on Saturday, I realized that even with an overcast sky causing diffusion the sunlight was still angular.  This resulted in fairly flat tonalities within the foliage as seen below, but a noticeable amount of backlighting when looking in the opposite direction.  Both views were prone to photography, but the mood would be very different.

NJ nature photographer

A view up the South Branch of the Raritan River. A line of lichen and moss covered rocks form a natural wall while leaves of yellow, green, and red fill the back of the frame. Taken with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens and the Olympus PEN E-PL3 micro four thirds camera.

A 10-stop neutral density was used in the above photo.  Without it, the running water lacked character.

Photo taken with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens and the Olympus PEN E-PL3 m43 camera.  Exposure settings: 50s F/9 ISO 200, 31mm