Tag Archives: shutterspeed

Photography

The Creative Side of Me

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CameronFalls0019

You take a small waterfalls. Then some lovely textured rocks. Wait for the right lighting. Shoot from a low angle to give the waterfalls the illusion of height. You then can create a magic and mystical place. Yet all in all this scene is only three feet high, depth about six feet and maybe five feet wide. There is not a whole lot of water cascading over the rocks. Thus a shutter speed of one second and the f-stop set at 22 for that added depth. Looking at this photo, you say to yourself, wow I would love to sit on those rocks to let the water cascade over and around me. But you will discover that you are bigger than the scene. This is what I call a micro landscape. Many scenes can be found within the big picture. In this location we have a large waterfall with water flowing where ever there is a path to follow. This is due to the erosion of the rock formation over time. At this particular waterfall the water drops in a series of drops. So you have your main waterfalls along with a host of mini waterfalls to work with. You wait till late summer for the water flow to decrease and expose more of the rock structures.

When shooting this close you will discover the intricate detail in the rocks. Depth is very important here to give the scene some dimension front to back. Another important factor is to shoot the waterfalls at an angle, not dead on. This allows you to create more dimensional depth to the waterfalls. Remember your photo is two dimensional, thus you need to give the illusion of three dimensional.Nature provides the material. It is up to you to make it happen. This is also a scene that requires the right lighting. Be able to recognize that. Be patient and wait. Enjoy the environment and then you may get your chance.

I would like to wish all my friends who come here for a visit a very Merry Christmas and be safe. So until next time happy trails.

Photography

Getting In Tight

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ChutesProvincialPark_2695

The flow of water. Unique rock structure with strong earth colors. Ferns turning a rusty red in the bottom left. Touch of red from a Maple shrub in bottom right corner. This all adds up to a beautiful composition. I came across this scene on my Fall trip to Chutes Provincial Park, just North of Massey, Ontario. As a matter of fact, I first discovered it on my original trip along this stretch of the Aux Sable River a few years back. The passing of time alters a scene.

This is a very tight composition. It allows for more creativity. You have water flowing in, then flowing out at bottom right. I maintained my f22 with shutter speeds set at 1.3 sec. This allowed me to capture detail in the water. That is very important to me as I like water to have character and life.

Check my Fine Art Prints section. I have added a new composition to the selections. It is titled Paradise Lagoon. I received an honorable mention at the 2013 Landscape Exhibition by MyArtContest

http://myartcontest.com/index.html

This is a very beautiful location. The water is turquoise blue. There are a series of waterfalls in an approximately half mile of river.  It is located North of Sudbury, Ontario in the Wolf Mountain, Wolf Lake locality. If you are looking for an unique composition to hang on your wall, this could be it.

I would like to bring to your attention the outstanding work of wildlife and pet portrait artist Colette Theriault. Colette has won many awards for her work. She resides in the Greater City of Sudbury. Check her website to view her work.

http://www.colettetheriault.com/

I will be at the Annual Christmas and Gift Show this weekend. It is located at Confederation Secondary School in Val Caron.

Saturday from 10 to 4

Sunday from 11 to 3

Well I must go and continuing packing. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time happy trails

Photography

The River Flows

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Paradise_1566

 

The idea of this composition is to show the beautiful rock texture and the color of the water. With that in mind I have my flow in with the waterfalls in background. Flow out of the water at the bottom right corner of the composition. The tripod was set low to eliminate some water in the upper pool. On the left of the composition the rock in foreground gives added depth. I experimented with various shutter speeds to obtain character in the water. The water here is a wonderful turquoise blue. There is just enough green to give a final touch. There is also a little wildflower growing on the rock in the foreground. This location was in the Wolf Lake area North of Kukagami Lake region.

That is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time happy trails

Photography

The Right Flow

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GordonFalls_0154HDR

 

When you can combine falling water with textured rock, a unique scene can be created.

This type of composition is available when the water levels are low. This can be late summer.

I shot the scene late on a clear evening. This way you have even lighting that creates great color.

This late in the evening your shutter speed is anywhere from 1 sec to 30 sec.

The nearer to darkness the slower your shutter speed.

The f-stop is set at f22

The water flows in at the top left and flows out at bottom left.

All that is missing is the sound of running water.

Well that is it for this week. Until next time happy trails

 

Photography

Gordon Chutes

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GordonChutes0255

The photo above is the end of a series of waterfalls called Gordon Chutes. It is a fairly long series of fast water cascading down between rock formations. The Wakonasin River runs between steep hills as it makes its way South. The rock structure here is Granite for the most part. In low light it is a beautiful reddish color.

This composition was taken very late one evening. Thus the low shutter speed. I used a f-stop of f22 to maintain my depth of field. I put green vegetation in the foreground for depth. I was a bit elevated on the shoreline here.

Well that is it for this week. Thank you for stopping by. It is now 5 weeks to Spring here. Until next time happy trails

 

Photography

Fast Water and Rocks

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Mile30317

Colorful rocks and fast water make for some wonderful compositions. I purposely kept this shot tight. I just showed enough vegetation at the top to add color and a bit of framing. I chose a couple rocks for the foreground for added depth. Then I recorded different shutter speeds but left my f-stops at f22. At the pace of the water coming through here I need a shutter speed to stop the fast flowing water. This how you  can create what I call character with flowing water. You make the water come alive with power and movement. You want that water to be vibrant.

After you get home, upload your shots to the computer. Then it is just a matter of selecting the composition that turns you on and process it. I am a photo artist so my work for the most part does not look like a standard photograph.

The above scene was taken on the Aux Sauble River just North of Massey Ontario

I have just published a book at Blurb consisting of my photos and poetry. You can check it out here.

http://www.blurb.ca/b/4071212-a-widerness-experience-through-photos-and-poetry

Well that is it for now. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time Happy Trails

Photography

Making Use of Rock Structures

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Mile3_1116

A short half hour canoe ride brings you to a stretch of fast water that has some interesting photo opportunities. The location is the Aux Sauble River North of Massey Ontario. This scene was interesting in that on the West side of the river was an unique rock structure. The face of the rock was smooth and dished from constant wear by water over countless years. There is a nice overhang of Pine branches on the far shoreline. I set up my tripod and my Canon 7D to use the rock structure on the right as my lead in to the composition.

Well that is it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time happy trails.

Photography

From Dark to Bright

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BirchCreek1984

I have been going through my files and redoing a lot of my work. I now have Adobe CS6 loaded on my desktop. Cs6 has been greatly upgraded to the better. I highly recommend upgrading to it. Let me tell you, CS6 will improve on your work.

Getting to the photo above. This was taken on a Fall day trip a couple years back. The left side of the shoreline had some interesting rocks covered with green moss as well as a mossy ground cover. Some fallen leaves to break the color. But the problem was that the foreground was sheltered by overhanging trees. Being late afternoon it had become quite dark there. The background was the other extreme. Due to the low sun shining on the background creating a very bright scene there.

I set up my tripod very low. This meant that I had to lay on the ground. I proceeded to take a number of exposures at different shutter speeds without changing my f-stops, that were set at f22. Uploading the files I selected the dng file I wanted and came up with the above composition. It was a matter of opening up the foreground to what I wanted. The flowing water I wanted to have character there. This has all to do with your shutter speed. I wanted to show the power of the water here.

I was selected to the 2013 Quest Art 9th Annual Juried Art Show Midland. The show runs from Mar. 8 – May 4. I will be at the reception. If anyone that comes here for a visit please come to the reception and we can have a chat.

Well that is it for now. Until next time happy trails.

 

Photography

A Unique Waterfalls

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McGeeFalls0045

Unique rock structure; Color and the sound of water rushing and splashing over the rocks add up to an impressive scene. McGee Falls on the Aux Sauble River North of Massey is such a place. There is not a lot to photograph here. But what there is  will delight any artist. When I was here it was a cloudy day with the hint of rain. This created even lighting and saturated colors. With the lighting good and the colors beautiful, it is time to set up.

I set my equipment up at an angle to the falls. This falls consists of a series of drops from elevation. The water flows into the scene from two different locations due to the rock cropping between the flow of water. There is so much depth here to add to the depth of the composition. There is a small plateau in the middle that the water flows over and around. The best part is the neat piece of rock sitting right on top of the plateau. It reminds me of some type of shell. Boy does this rock ever have character. The first thing you will notice about the rock formations in this composition is the many edges, shadows and color. I wanted to have rock in the foreground so I placed the river edge in front of me for that depth. This photo is about the rocks. I kept the water to a minimum, but it is still a integer part of the photo. I have water coming in on the left and exiting out on the right.

I exposed at 1.3 sec f22 with an iso of 100. At this shutter speed I was able to maintain the soft look of where it was needed, but allowed for definition of the water where required. Specifically the water that flowed off the plateau and the little falls on the left. There is just a spot of vegetation in the background to tell you that the river is in a forested area. There is enough water to tell you that over countless ages the flow of water has transformed the granite rocks to what can be seen today.

Well that is it for today. Until next time happy trails.