Tag Archives: landscape photography

New Jersey Nature Photography: Sunset over Frozen Pond

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This afternoon I ventured out in the cold, dangerous, and remote tundra…. Okay okay, so I was actually only a few minutes from the big local shopping mall in New Jersey.  Anyhow, I was scouting the location as the sun slowly descended towards the horizon.  A photographic frame came together in my mind as I walked across a small frozen pond.  Why was I walking on the pond in the first place?   Bodies of water often offer a clean and uncluttered midground for scenic photos and quite often rocks or vegetation on the periphery can be used very effectively to anchor the foreground of an image.

Below I have uploaded my final output jpeg, compromised of a 3 exposure HDR blend.  Below that is a view of what the individual exposures looked like.  Last is a snapshot of my Canon T5 DSLR and Tamron 16-300mm VC PZD lens in position for the capture.

New Jersey Photograph of a Winter Sunset

Sun beams pierce the wooded fringe of a calm pond on a cold February evening. This is a three image #HDR blend and the #photos were taken with the #Tamron 16-300mm VC PZD lens and the Canon EOS T5 DSLR.

raw image previews

A quick look at my three unprocessed #raw exposures. The #dynamic range of the #Canon T5 sensor is approximately 12 stops of light, which is not quite enough to record details in the highlights and the shadows of the scene.

BTS nature photograph

A peek behind the scenes, my #DSLR is atop my tripod and positioned very close to the ground. The petal shaped #lens hood of the #Tamron 16-300mm VC PZD can greatly help reduce flare from shooting into the sun.

Photo Editing: Adding a digital neutral density filter

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I made my way to Orange County, New York today to shoot some of the more rustic areas following the scenic snow our area accumulated.  When I am doing landscape photography, my goal (aka everyone’s goal) is to capture as much dynamic range as possible in the raw file.  This is accomplished by ETTR (exposing to the right), and getting the brightness histogram as far right as possible without blowing the highlights out of the gamut.

The raw file will always be lacking in contrast before post-processing, but generally a global Curves Adjustment Layer will do the trick for me.  As we can see below, there is a bit of cloud detail in the sky in my original shot, but in general it does appear featureless.  Featureless sky = boring photo.  To give the sky a little pop, I added a new blank layer in the digital darkroom, and simply did a directional fill with the gradient tool (black to transparent).  I also changed the layer blending mode to “overlay”.  Results below.

Mostly unprocessed view, note that I adjusted the horizon and had to “add canvas” after a slight rotation.

NYS scenery photo

Not a great finished product, but it is a start. #Composition mostly adheres the the rule of thirds, and I positioned my #camera to have weeds fill in some negative space in the snowy foreground.

My finalized jpeg for web view.  Digital ND filter superimposed over sky, and foreground repaired after slight rotation.

NYS Winter Fine Art Photo

#NYS Winter scenery photo. Taken handheld with the #Tamron 16-300mm VC PZD lens and the #Canon EOS T5 #DSLR

Another successful outing with the new Tamron All-In-One lens.

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 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 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