Tag Archives: Canon

The Changing of The Seasons

One of the things I love doing is going back to a favourite location time and time again and year to year. I may be passing by a locale and make a quick stop or go there for an afternoon and evening.Many a time the lighting and conditions may not be right or the water level is not good.You will know when you get optimal conditions by looking at the rocks as the colors will glow.This is something that you will develop and get a feel for as you gain expierience in the field.A cloudy day with the right lighting will do that for you.The time of year has a great effect on your photography as the day lengths will vary with the changing of the seasons.This means that if you are getting the best lighting in the evening in July then by November that same lighting is available around noon.The sun in November is closer to the horizon.

The above photo was taken in 2009 in August.I was shooting during the late afternoon catching the last of the lighting coming in and creating shadows.This little waterfalls would be in deep shadow within the half hour.The scene is surrounded by high hills and trees.With that being said you get sunlight filtering through the trees eliminating the harsh lighting caused by the bright sky on this particular day.

I shot this scene with the zoom set at 29 mm.The shutter speed was 0.3 sec @ f22.I was able to capture a beautiful flow of water and rich detail in the rocks.

We will zoom ahead to 2010 mid November.The effects are now quite different.Paul Smith and I decided to head out for the day to see what we could get in the way of photographs.It was a cloudy day with some wind and fairly cold temperatures.There was ice forming on the rocks to add another dimension to the photographs.

The water levels had come up from previous visits during the summer and there was a beautiful glow on the rocks that enhanced the colors dramatically.When you see this effect you will know.Being November the sun is now low to the horizon and the days are also shorter.Evening though it was cloudy the sun can still create diffusing lighting through  the cloud cover to create the much sought after glow.

The above photo was taken at midday with the zoom set at 50mm with a shutter speed set at 0.6 @ f22.This is the same scene as at the beginning but with different lighting different time of year and a year later.The vegetation is also changed in color.

As a side note I came across some elderly gentlemen out photographing whom I had met at a studio tour that I did last Fall.I ended up given some on site lessons to them on where to set up there tripod and composing the shots that I had taken above.This is one aspect that I enjoy.If I can help someone all the better.

With that being said take a moment to show someone  a few of the things you have learned and maybe gain a friend the process.Well that is it for this week so for now happy trails