Soft light

My favorite time to photograph nature is early mornings or in the evenings at dusk.  I prefer the soft light that exist this time of day.  Doing photography during the mid day sun can be challenge because of the harsh shadows and the overall strong contrast of the scene at that time of day.  The only exception is when I am doing a long exposure of several minutes with one of my neutral density filters.  The long exposure has a way of smoothing out the look of the image and creating a surreal or dreamy effect.  With film I almost always worked in very low light conditions and relied on the reciprocity effect of the film to increase the contrast on the film.  I remember many scenes having only four stops of light but through reciprocity failure and over development of the film I could easily get a negative with seven or eight zones of exposure.  Today with digital I have to rely on my ability to work with the RAW image in Photoshop to take the image to the initial vision I had when making the exposure.  I certainly utilize my many years of darkroom work to know where I desire to go with the look of the final image.  I am sure my method of working with Photoshop is lacking in many ways when compared to others that have much more experience with working with the software than I have.  My current process is rewarding now that I am developing and printing images electronically nearly as good has I did with the chemical process.

Visualization

When working with photography and especially in black and white, it is helpful to learn how to pre-visualize the scene to be able to create a successful image.  I learned many years ago how to clearly see the finished image in my mind before making the exposure.  In my days of working with large format equipment using strictly black and white film it was much easier for me to pre-visualize an image than it is with digital equipment.  I had use of the zone system and my calibrated spot meter that I use to analyze the contrast of the scene and to base my exposure.  I would place the low and high values ( darks and whites) according to the contrast that existed within the scene.  At this point I would base my exposure on the development I planned on giving the film to either increase or decrease the overall contrast within the scene I was photographing.  I used colored filter on the lens to change tones and contrast  the film was going to record.  The process was a discipline that produced great results and enable me to visualize the final image I was hoping to make in the darkroom.  Years of working this way led to many successful images but took plenty of mistakes and failures to master the process.  Today working with digital I try to ignore the color as much as possible to see in black and white.  One thing I do is review my exposures in black and white on the camera LCD screen by setting my picture style to black and white.  This lets me review the image much like the old black and white Polaroid's I took each time before exposing the sheet film.  Certainly my many years of working with film and printing all of my images has made the transition to black and white digital easier for me.  I know later in the process I will have to deal with a fuzzy color RAW image that is downloaded, but I have the experience of using visualization to help me get to my desired final image. 

Botany Bay

Tree have always intrigued me and have been the subject of many of my photographs.  Recently we travel up to South Carolina to the coastal area and photographed the mysterious trees of Botany Bay on Boneyard Beach.  These are the remains of old oak trees that stand out in the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a strange sight to see these old dead trees surrounded by salt water and standing up to ocean waves that crash around their trunks.  I am not sure how they became stranded out in the ocean but I am assuming that a strong hurricane must have washed away the land on which they stood and left them stranded in the water.  Slowly time is eroding them and many of their remains and scattered along the shore.  I made this image with a -10 ND filter to smooth out the water and create an ethereal look to the scene.

http://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/edisto-islands-botany-bay-preserves-plantation-landscape

Billy Black Cloud

I went out yesterday to do some photography on Blue Cypress Lake.  In my travels I came across a fellow selling watermellons along side of the road.  I stopped and talked with him for awhile, and seeing he was an interesting character I asked to take a photograph of him.  He told me that he is called Billy Black Cloud, but goes by Cloud for short.  I told him that is a in unusual name and asked him how he became known by a name like that.  He said that years ago while out fishing with family and friends he stepped from one boat to another and managed to sink an 18' boat with three guys in it.  Ever since then they called him Billy Black Cloud, but over the years they shortened it to just Cloud.  After purchasing a watermellon and having a friendly chat with Cloud, I was on my way to do some kayaking out on Blue Cypress Lake.  I know I made some interesting images out on the lake, but my running into Billy was an unexpected surprise.  I have found over the years that to do photography successfully you need to be open and aware to the things around you and be ready to engage the moment when it happens.  

Fillmore Glen

In upstate N.Y. in the small town of Summerhill is Fillmore Glen.  This is one of my favorite glens for hiking and doing some photography.  It only has five waterfalls but the trail along the stream in the deep woods makes it special.  I enjoyed my visits to this glen because I rarely came across other visitors in my hikes.  I am sure at certain times of the year is can be busy, but I always found it empty of people on my visits.  The challenge with doing photography in these glens can be the low light that requires a long exposure and the a risk of a breeze blurring the vegitation along the steam. The glen is named after President Fillmore who grew up near this location.


http://history.rays-place.com/ny/cayu-summerhill-ny.htm
http://millercenter.org/president/fillmore
http://parks.ny.gov/parks/157/details.aspx

Buttermilk Falls

One of my favorite hikes I use to make was in Ithaca, N.Y. in Buttermilk Falls S.P.  The falls trail can be reached from the bottom or from the top several miles up over the hill.  I always preferred starting at the top in this gorge working my way down the smaller falls until reaching the very large falls at the bottom.  Most of the times I hiked waterfalls from the bottom because it is usually the only way to access most of these locations.  Ithaca has numerous waterfalls to explore and can keep a hiker busy for days.  Early mornings or late afternoons is the best time to photograph in these glens.  The days I liked best were overcast with a light rain.  The defused light gave a soft glow to everything.  I could hike and photograph several glens in a day without having to deal with the harsh shadows caused by the sunlight  of a clear day.  This image was made as the leaves were in full autumn color.  The fall colors of the Finger Lakes region in the first couple of weeks of October are spectacular.

http://www.visitithaca.com/attractions/buttermilk-falls-state-park-216

Watkins Glen

A great hike to take is a walk up the gorge in Watkins Glen, N.Y.  It is amazing place with numerous waterfalls to explore.  It is a state park and a main attraction in the area and can be busy in the summer months.  When I lived in the area I would visit in the spring and fall time so I could have quiet times to hike and photograph, plus I never had to pay the entrance fee when using the upper access point at that time of year.  The water in this gorge is spring fed and is very cold even in the summer.  There are many other gorges with waterfalls in this region that are rarely explored that I preferred to spend most of my time, but Watkins Glen is a majestic place with beautiful waterfalls.


http://nyfalls.com/