Corn Lily #5

Working in low light and a long exposure to create a blend of light and form.  An image from my corn lily series.

Corn Lilies

In the springtime back in upstate New York, I enjoyed going out in early evening and photographing the young corn lily plants along the river.  I would setup my large view camera just after sundown and prepare for a few long exposures ranging from 5 to 10 minutes in time.  The need for such a long exposure is required because of the small f-stop needed for close up work with a view camera, reciprocity failure of the film, and the slow film speed I liked working with. The light is very soft at this time of day and the leaves of the plants take on a wonderful glow from the low ambient light.  There is a real challenge to photographing in low light, but with experience it can render some very rewarding images. The slightest breeze during the long exposure could ruin the image.  Many times I would be several minutes into an exposure and a gentle breeze would come up just enough to make the leaves rock back and forth.  Knowing that the first signs of movement would not be recorded in a long exposure, I would cover the front of my lens with the dark slide from my film holder and wait for the the breeze to stop.  Once the plants stopped moving I would continue my exposure and add any extra time I thought may be need because of the failing light conditions I was working in.  The soft light with the added benefit of increased contrast in the negative due to reciprocity failure of the film is a great advantage when photographing basically a mono toned subject like plants.



http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/False%20Hellebore.html
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/veratrumviri.html

Castle Creek

This image was made in 1994 with a 4x5 Linhof view camera.  I was in Snowmass Colorado at Anderson Ranch working as an assistant to John Sexton at one of his workshops.  The workshop experience provided a chance to visit some great locations as well as interact with students.  I have always enjoyed photographing in low light and using a long exposure.  When working with film and long exposures, film has what is called "reciprocity failure", where the film doesn't react to the available light as it would during a normal daytime exposure.  To compensate for reciprocity failure an increase of exposure requiring two or three times the metered reading value of the scene is needed to get proper density on the film.  As I recall the meter reading with a spot meter of this scene was 25 sec. at f16.  To compensate for the low light I gave an exposure of 60 sec. at f16.  To be able to photograph in low light situations is a great advantage.  The shadows are much softer and with greater detail than if the scene was photographed in harsh mid day sun.

http://www.johnsexton.com/schedule.html
http://www.andersonranch.org/
http://www.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaID=021501CC&CU_ID=1

The wave

This is a hard image to convert to Black and White.  The color of this area is over powering and it is one location that I prefer the look of color for the final image.  This location is in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. It is called Coyote Butte and is in a section of the Praia Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area.  It is a strictly protected area and it requires a permit to hike into this location.  It is a fabulous location for seeing a rare sandstone formation.  It is best to hike in spring or fall because the summer and winter temperatures can be extreme.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_Buttes
http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/the_wave.htm

Zig Zag

I am always intrigued with the repeating patterns found in nature.  There are abstract shapes and forms that are common in plants, rocks, and water if you are aware and look for them.  I made this image back in 2005 with a view camera and a 75mm lens.  The exposure was made at sunrise with a red filter and a slow film, Tmax 100.  The time required to make this exposure was 25 seconds, and with a long expose there are risks of movement with the film or the subject.  There is a slight fuzziness in this image that could be the results of the film popping in the holder or the the sun and shadow movement across the dunes with the first rays of sunlight during the exposure time.  The dunes are always a challenge to photograph effectively.  I can accept the slight fuzziness in this image because it adds to the movement of the abstract quality of the scene. 

Stepping Over

I purchase my first digital camera in 2010, a Canon 5D11.  My background has always been working with a large format camera and the new smaller digital camera felt more like a toy to me than a real camera. I spent the next year working in the field with my view camera as well as using the new digital equipment.  I had to convince myself that I could made an acceptable image with the digital equipment as I could with my more traditional film cameras.  I have always enjoyed making photographs long after the sun has set using long exposures of several minutes or more.  I feel this is the best time of day to capture the soft glow of the light that is present.  I remember making this image first with my view camera setup and then switching over to the digital camera.  It was no easy task to carry double the equipment with me when going into the field to photograph but I felt the need to do it for myself.  I wasn't ready to abandon my film unless I could capture an image that had the soft glow of light that I was use to in my images.  My Photoshop skills are limited when compared to other photographers I come in contact with.  My approach when processing a digital image is apply to my thought pattern of when I was making a print in the darkroom.  I had a very disciplined approach to my work where I only made one change to the print at a time and then analyze if that was a step in the right direction or not.  If I took a wrong turn I had only one step to backup and start the process over over.  It takes restraint to work like this because we all want to see the final image quickly, but the slow and thoughtful approach will produce more satisfying images in the long run than making a multiple changes all at once.  I made this image in Texas at Mckinney Falls state Park just south of Austin.  It was during a severe drought and the falls were mostly dried up but it was still an enjoyable place to visit. 

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/mckinney-falls

Joshua Tree N.P.

We camped in Joshua Tree National Park during the winter a few years back to hike and photograph.  The park consist of nearly 800,000 acres wilderness land to explore. Visiting the park in the winter gives you plenty of opportunities to hike without numerous other hikers around. The days were bright and sunny but the nights were frigid with temperatures dropping into the 20's.  The above pictures were taken at a well know location called jumbo rocks.  I arrived at the location an hour before sunset and waited until the sun was starting to set.  The wind was blowing and my fingers and ears were nearly frost bit from the strong north wind and cold temps.  The last glow of the setting sun gives the rocks a red fiery glow that is spectacular. The top image was taken while the sun was still on the lower rocks while the bottom image was made by slightly changing my camera location and waiting until the sun was off the foreground rocks.  I prefer the bottom image with the soft glow of the foreground and the better geometric shape of the rocks.  If I wasn't half frozen I would have stayed until the sun was completely set and continued to make some long exposures to see I how could further capture and interpret the scene.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Tree_National_Park

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm