New Jersey Landscape Photography: Muriel Hepner Park; Autumn

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I’ve just gotten home from a local photography art meeting at the time of this posting.  We engaged in critiques of photos from the traditional artist viewpoints of mood, composition, and uniqueness.  Quite a different mentality than looking for “likes on Facebook”.  I do think the photo I am posting here is a very straightforward composition, but at the same time the texture of the rocks and the wooden bridge provide character and personality to the scene.

NJ Nature Photo

The midday sun and vibrant Fall foliage provide a warm glow around a pond. Taken with the Tamron 14-150mm DI III Lens for m43.

Above photo was taken in Denville, New Jersey on October 18, 2014.  Exposure settings: 1/50th F/10 ISO 200

New Jersey Bird Photography: American Robin

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When we think of wildlife photography, and especially bird photography, we imagine filling the frame as tightly as possible with the subject and getting maximum detail on the subject.  There is certainly great challenge and also visual rewards in such an image.  Conversely, we may have pigeon-holed ourselves as artists by not giving the bird “space to breathe” within the frame, and also neglected to think of the greater commercial value of a more subdued composition.

NJ Nature Photo

A maze of barren tree branches and a featureless sky reveal an American Robin surveying its surroundings. Photographed with the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 60D DSLR.

The above composition relies on the negative space of the sky, as well as several of points alignments to the rule of thirds.  Exposure settings: 1/320 F/10 ISO 200.  Taken with the tripod-mounted Tamron SP 150-600mm VC Lens and the Canon EOS 60D DSLR.

New Jersey Landscape Photography: Sunrise in Ocean City

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Not all sunrises are created even.  Before I began doing photography, I didn’t pay all that much attention to weather patterns and cloud conditions.  Slightly into my photographic venture, I assumed that no clouds = bright light = sharp shots = best shooting conditions.  Nowadays, I look forward to storm clouds and uncommon atmospheric conditions as I’ve begun to understand that compelling landscape photographs usually require dramatic light.

NJ Fine Art Photography

Intense crimson red colors briefly fill the early morning sky over the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City, NJ. Photo taken with the Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and the Canon 7D DSLR.

The above photo was taken 10/29/2014 at 7:04 AM looking eastward from the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey.  Exposure settings: 30s F/7.1 ISO 200

New Jersey Landscape Photography: Ocean City; Predawn

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I just returned home from my first visit to Ocean City, New Jersey.  A quiet shore town nestled in between Atlantic City and Cape May.  The photography opportunities were plenty with iconic buildings to capture and the easy beach access.  I ventured out to shoot sunrise several mornings, and also capitalized on soft predawn light to showcase some of the sights.

NJ Fine Art Photography

In soft early morning light, a quiet side street leads towards the amusements of Ocean City, New Jersey. Photo taken with the Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and Canon 7D.

The above photo was taken with the Tamron 16-300MM F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro lens and the tripod-mounted Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera.  Exposure settings: 30s F/22 ISO 100

New Jersey Nature Photography: Settings Sun and London Plane Tree

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I do often find myself seeking uncluttered and distinctive shapes when preparing to photograph sunset.  To move beyond a basic sunset snapshot, one generally needs to avoid the urge to make a telephoto picture of just a “flaming fireball” sinking on the horizon.  Under certain conditions, a close-up view of the sun can be interesting, but often times it lacks a noticeable mood.

Conversely, too broad of a shot containing a lot of “visual chaos” or a horizon that has not be leveled will also look like an amateur snapshot.  While I am not sure that I have yet created any epic sunrise or sunset photos, I do feel like I’ve progressed in my compositions over the past 2 years.

New Jersey Fine Art

The late afternoon sun silhouettes an old gnarled Plane Tree at Fort Hancock, New Jersey. Photo taken with the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 7D.

Exposure settings: 1/2000 F/8 ISO 100

New Jersey Bird Photography: Magnolia Warbler

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With a full day for photography ahead of me, I concocted a course of action to head to Sandy Hook National Recreation Area in New Jersey.  Many photographers are drawn to the area for various reasons: portrait shoots on the beach, sunrise/sunset captures, and bird photography.  Tentatively, I blocked off the time in my head… afternoon of chasing around birds and early evening to try some creative sunset images.

I did wind up with several pics that I liked, but this one really stood out to me:

NJ Birding pic

Up close and personal view of a small and vivid woodland songbird, a Magnolia Warbler. Photo taken with the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 7D.

The above uncropped telephoto view was taken with the Tamron SP 150-600mm lens and the Canon EOS 7D DSLR.  Exposure settings: 1/1250 F/8 ISO 800

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 Studio Photography: Flashpoint Rover RL-600 Monolight

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My prior home studio setup for headshots, candids, and formal photography was based on 2 Alien Bees AB800 strobes.  They are great lightweight units and very reliable, but having read about the very low introductory price on Adorama’s Flashpoint Rover RL-600 strobe I felt it was too good of an opportunity to pass up on.  Key features to me are the built-in lithium ion rechargeable battery as well as the “light throw” of 600 watts of illumination.

Adorama Flashpoint RoveLight RL-600

The RL-600 is not only a sleek design, it also comes with a very convenient and well thought out transport case.

I do own a few Canon and off-brand Speedlites which are extremely lightweight and convenient, but I find their light output and relative projected size to be impractical in many scenarios.  The new Flashpoint strobe was delivered yesterday, so I figured the best thing to do was to test it immediately.  Right out of the box, the included remote control worked great.  Next task was to get the monolight mounted on a lightstand and shoot my most convenient “model”, me.

New Jersey Studio Photography

Lit with RL-600 and also a YN 560 for fill light. Tamron SP 70-300mm VC lens and Canon 6D captured the image.

Strobist info and exposure settings:

RoveLight RL-600 shot against silver reflective umbrella @ 1/64th power. Yongnuo YN560 as a kicker @ 1/32nd power. YN-622C triggers. Tamron SP 70-300mm VC + Canon 6D. 1/100 F/8 ISO 200, 70mm.

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.