Monthly Archives: March 2010
3/11/2010
Bird of Paradise against the Boats
An alternative view of the Bird of Paradise bloom, this time framed against boats in the marina, taken at a longer focal length from further back to isolate the bloom and turn the boats into interesting bokeh. Late afternoon light on the plant brought out the orange of the petals in particular.
Canon SX20IS at 250mm equivalent. F5 at 1/250th @ ISO 80. Programmed auto.
Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance in Lightroom. Blackpoint slightly right. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.
And here is an image taken from the same spot, using a wider lens setting (95mm equivalent @ f4). As you can see, the boats become more sharply focused and battle a bit with the blooms in the foreground, but I still see it as an interesting shot, and as a contrast to the longer/closer shot above. Processing similar to above.
3/10/2010
Bird of Paradise on the Sky
One of my favorite things about visiting San Diego in March is the Bird of Paradise display. They are everywhere around the Marian Village Convention Center and the various hotels I frequent. For this shot, I used the flip-out lcd on the Canon to get low and shoot up, isolating the bloom against the blue sky and white clouds. Other stuff around the bloom dictated the placement in the frame if I wanted it isolated, but I think the leading placement (facing out the frame and closer to the exit edge than the entrance…if you follow what I mean) works for this shot, mainly due to the strength of the subject. It gives it a dynamic tension which I find interesting. In general, of course, I attempt to avoid the leading composition when I can.
Canon SX20IS at about 55mm equivalent. f3.5 @ 1/250th @ ISO 125. Programmed auto.
A bit of Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. Fill Light for the underside of the bloom. Blackpoint slightly right. Added Clarity and a tiny amount of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.
3/9/2010
Flower with Bokeh
Playing with the super macro on th Canon SX20IS. The bush itself and the clouds and bit of blue sky make for an interesting background.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm and Super Macro. F3.5 @ 1/250 @ ISO 100. Programmed auto.
A touch of Recovery in Lightroom for the petals. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Blackpoint slightly right. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.
3/8/2010
Mouth of the San Diego River
Going from one coast to the other, just about as far away from Maine as you can get.
I attend the San Diego Birding Festival each year in early March. It takes place at the Mission Bay Marina Conference Center which is next to the flood-wall that keeps the San Diego River in its channel the last mile or more to the sea. It is a good area for birding and bird photography, but, given the right San Diego weather, I always find a vista or two there as well. For this shot I got down low, behind the purple grasses and shot across the shoulder of the wall toward the sea. The clouds and the bird in the air add the final touches. I used Exposure Lock and Program Shift to get the smallest possible aperture for maximum depth of field.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F8 @ 1/250th @ ISO 80. Programmed auto with Exposure Lock and Program Shift.
Some Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. A touch of Fill Light for the foreground. Added Clarity and just a tiny bit of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From San Diego 2010.
3/7/2010
Bend in the Little
Happy Sunday!
My favorite bend in the river, in any season and any weather. I have hundreds of photographs taken from the little observation deck over the back edge of this river bend…in all seasons and every weather! I never get tired of taking this shot, and it is, of course, never the same twice.
Here is its the sky, just breaking up after a major storm, and the liquid light of a late winter afternoon that makes it for me.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F2.8 @ 1/60th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto. I am coming to trust the Canon’s iC (extended contrast) setting to handle scenes like this without much intervention on my part. The camera is able to achieve a good balance between the sky and land tones except in the most extreme situations.
Some Recovery for the sky in Lightroom. Just a little Fill Light for the foreground. Added Clarity and a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From Around Home 2010.
3/6/2010
Liken Lichen!
We had a major blow-down with the storm last week. The short trail at Rachel Carson NWR Headquarters was littered with branches, and quite a few of the tall pines lost their tops. They had chain-sawed the bigger trunks and moved them aside by the time I got there, but there were many examples lying along the trail. These were all living trees with good green heads, but what was interesting to me was the rich growth of lichen on the upper reaches of the trunk, from just below were the green branches began, on up to the crown. This growth is high up and largely invisible from ground level…and certainly there is nothing like it on the lower section of the trunk. It must be something to do with light levels. There is a whole micro world up there. Who knew?
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent and SuperMicro. F2.8 @ 1/60th @ ISO 80. Programmed auto.
A touch of Fill Light and Blackpoint just slightly right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and just a tiny amount of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset. Color temperature adjusted slightly to offset the shadow light.
From Around Home 2010.
And here are two more shots, with vary similar particulars. The second shot is cropped slightly from the bottom of the frame.
3/5/2010
Little River Marsh in Winter Dress
I am hoping this particular view, dressed as it is, is soon a memory I won’t have to revisit for at least 6 months…and of course, this particular combination of storm clouds, snowy landscape, snow frosted trees, and cusp of spring light is unlikely to ever occur again. This is another shot I took too off. The other view is at the bottom and I can’t really decide which I like best. Though they are the same exact vista, the are very different images. To my eye at least.
Canon SX20IS at about 85mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto, biased just slightly for the sky.
Some Recovery for the sky, and Fill Light for the foreground. Only a touch of Blackpoint right. Added Clarity and a tiny amount of Vibrance. Exposure increased slightly for the snow.
From Around Home 2010.
And here is the other view.
This one is at 28mm equivalent, F4 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto as above. Processing as above. In this one the sky is more the subject than the land.
3/4/2010
Waves and Sky
On the “why take just one” theory (see P&S Landscape), after taking yesterday’s shot of the waves and amazing sky, I zoomed in for some closer views. Sometimes, especially with sky shots like this, you loose the subtle play of light by zooming in…but sometimes you don’t. It is still here in the clouds and the sea foam highlights: well captured by the Canon SX20IS.
Canon SX20IS at about 90mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto, biased for the sky by tipping the camera up and locking exposure.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky and Fill Light for the foreground. Blackpoint right. Added Clarity and just a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From Around Home 2010.
3/3/2010
Sea Storm Light
What can I say. Clouds, especially storm clouds, fascinate me. Here the play of light beneath the clouds and the reflections in wet sand, the gray, gray waves of the sea…all crate a drama that moves me.
I am really pleased with the way the Canon SX20IS handled this exposure and captured the subtle light in the clouds.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto with Exposure Lock to bias for the sky.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky. Fill Light for the foreground. Blackpoint to the right. Added Clarity and just a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From Around Home 2010.
3/2/2010
Storm Coming Up the Coast
Another of those amazing sky days along the coast. I have taken this view of Parson’s Beach 100s of times, and, as the cliché has it, being the ocean, it is never the same twice. This day, a major storm had passed through the day before, and there was still plenty of drama in the sky. I composed this both ways, with the beach as 2/3s and with the sky as 2/3s and like this one marginally better.
Exposure was weighted toward the sky by using Exposure Lock…but I am finding that I need to do less of that with the SX20IS, since the built in iContrast mode does a good job of balancing the earth and sky in this kind of shot: Especially when the earth is well lighted.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Programmed auto, biased for the sky by tipping up and locking exposure.
Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. Fill Light for the foreground and to pick up detail in house on the point. Blackpoint quite a ways right. Overall exposure adjustment toward the bright side for the snow. Added Clarity and just a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen landscape preset.
From Around Home 2010.