Monthly Archives: February 2009
2/8/2009
Plum
I took many exposures of this flowering plum against the backdrop of the terraced vineyard, attempting to get the right balance of subject focus and out of focus background. I wanted enough detail in the vineyard so the viewer could identify the context, and so that the terraced vines created an interesting pattern…without distracting from the showy blossoms. This one of several that I like…the most close-up, with the most emphasis on the blossoms. There are other’s around it in the gallery with different effects.
For this series I used Program Shift, to select the smallest aperture available, for maximum depth of field. At the longer focal length used in this shot, that is still not much. The H50 has image sensor shift image stabilization, which makes exposures at the slow shutter speed that resulted from the Program Shift possible without a tripod. I love it.
Sony DSC H50 at an approximate equiv. focal length of 250mm. F8.0 @ 1/30 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto with program shift for max. aperture.
From Vallejo and Sonoma.
2/7/2009
Jack London Vineyards
Another view of the Jack London Vineyard at Jack London State Park in Glen Elen, CA in the Sonoma Valley on a rainy day. The wet and the subdued light bring out the saturated color of the yellow flowers that grow between the vines, and the deep rusty browns of the vines themselves. Misty fog partially obscures the trees along the horizon. Again, when the light is bad, you have to go for drama.
This image is carefully cropped, both top and bottom. The bottom crop eliminates a distracting foreground fence that ran parallel to the bottom of the frame. It had some character, with scraggly vines growing along it as though it were another contrary row of the vineyard itself, and might have made a subject in itself, but in this image it just distracted. Cropping the bottom meant losing some sky, bringing the ceiling down, so to speak, to keep the mass of trees higher in the image, above center, for composition.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide angle (31mm equiv.). F5.0 @ 1/160 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
The image required similar processing to yesterday’s because of the foggy atmosphere. Heavy Recovery, Vibrance, and Clarity, with a bit of added Brightness. Landscape sharpen preset.
From the Vallejo and Sonoma Gallery.
2/6/2009
Jack London Vineyard
Jack London’s estate in the Valley of the Moon, Sonoma California, in the heart of wine country, is now a State Park. I visited several years ago, and, despite on and off rain yesterday, I went back on this trip to Vallejo (business takes me to Vallejo most years in February).
The light was subdued at best. Wisps of could hung down across the higher trees, and banks of cloud closed all horizons. I got wet periodically, and had to be careful of water on the camera. Still, the vineyard Jack planted, which is not part of the Park and still produces wine under the Jack London label, was beautiful in an moody way. The massive Eucalyptus trees with their bark patterns, the manzanita with its deep brown bark shinny with the rain, the mosses and lichen covering everything…it was indeed atmospheric despite, or even because of, the rain. I had a lot of fun.
In this shot, the plum blossoms set off the green of the terraced vines. This is one of many views. I suspect you will see more in the next few days.
Sony DSC H50 at wide angle (32mm equiv.). F4.5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
When shooting foggy scenes I like to preserve as much detail in the fog wisps and the dense clouds above as possible. I have learned that Programed Auto gives me an exposure I can work with in Lightroom. 100% Recovery pulls the highlights down, and brings out both detail and transparency in the fog. That generally means increasing Contrast, and even Brightness (gently). More that usual Presence is added using the Clarity and, especially, Vibrance sliders. Landscape sharpen preset for this image.
From Vallejo and Sonoma.
2/5/2009
Jetty Point
Another from that intense afternoon at Jetty Point in Arcata California. The light was spectacular. The seas ahead of the squall were amazing. The wind took your breath away. And that literally breath-taking experience is what I attempted to capture. The standing stone of the Jetty dominates the foreground and anchors the image. The sweep of the violent sea behind provides the energy. The sunset touch in the clouds warms the scene just slightly and pins it in time.
Sony DSC H9 at 31mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/250 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Some color temperature adjustment was required in Lightroom to eliminate a slight blue cast from the cloudy light and to bring out the colors of the beginning sunset. Some Recovery for highlights. Clarity and Vibrance for Presence. Sharpened slightly.
From Northern California.
2/4/2009
Jetty Point
Jetty Point near Arcata California on a particularly dramatic afternoon. Squall coming in. Rainbows after.
The drama of the waves is what I was after here. Water in violent motion. I might have tried a long exposure to turn the water to silk, but I feel that this frozen instant does a good job of capturing the power of the sea.
Sony DSC H9 at 31mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Recovery in Lightroom for the clouds and other highlights. Vibrance and Clarity. Sharpen landscapes preset.
From Northern California.
2/3/2009
Color Field
Two years ago the Jekyll Island Commission experimented with planting a wildflower mix along the causeway instead of mowing. This year the flowers were mostly gone, but for a year the display along the road out to Jekyll was absolutely stunning (maybe too stunning…it certainly distracted me the first time I drove it). I had to stop for a few images, which considering the lack of shoulders and the amount of traffic on the causeway, was not really safe or sane. But such flowers, and, on this day, filled with butterflies and bees.
I have already featured a shot from here, with my abstract butterfly on 12/27/2008d, but this shot is more about capturing the mass effect of the display. I tried several shots. You will see the best of them around this on in the gallery. This, taken from a low angle and cropped gives, imho, a good impression of the density of the flowers and the amazing patterns of color. It also captures the density of butterflies pretty well. I cropped it both to increase the panoramic effect, and to eliminate out of focus flowers in the foreground and background where they would have been a distraction (You can see there is still some out of focus toward the back). The light was subdued, late on a cloudy day, and the wind was blowing, so my exposure options were limited. Still, this, I think, works.
Sony DSC H9 at full telephoto (465mm equiv.). F4.5 @ 1/200 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, just Clarity, Vibrance, and Sharpening…as well as the crop.
From Jekyll Island GA 2007-08.
2/2/2009
Sanibel Shells
Sanibel Island is famous for its shelling and I have already featured one shot of its shells…taken on a shell heap, where storms have pushed up the shells to a great depth. This is different. This is the fresh shell line that forms along the surf. Constantly renewed and constantly changing, never the same from moment to moment. This is what keeps the serious shellers walking the beach all day long.
I took several shots attempting to find a harmonious arrangement of shells that would somehow cohere in the frame.
Sony DSC H50 at about 60mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/1000 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Recovery in Lightroom for the highlight detail, Clarity, Vibrance and Sharpen. Cropped for composition.
2/1/2009
Standing Tall
While digiscoping I always carry two cameras…whatever I am digiscoping with, and my Sony DSC H50 superzoom. Some birds are just too close, and there are always sunsets and sunrises, irresistible vistas, and quirky fellow birders.
This was taken out the window of the rental car, from the dike road, not even at full zoom on the H50.
Sony DSC H50 at about 365mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto. -.7 EV exposure compensation.
Clarity, Vibrance and Sharpen in Lightroom. Cropped for effect.
From Space Coast Birding.