Drew Sinclair wrote:
"40-120" what large format printer do you usually print on?
In the second being a 10 minute exposure was this iso 100 or 50?
On and for a minor nit pick there are quite a few dust bunny's in the sky off the 2nd but I'm sure thats just quick web posting as you mentioned.
Top notch work as always though! Whats next?
Drew Sinclair
Drew, the long exposure was made at ISO 100. Yes, I know about the dust spots. I'll make more of an effort to clean things up before posting next time. I'm in a hurry going through a lot of shots right now.
I do the majority of my printing on an Epson 9800.
What's next? Get through the holiday rush of print orders, get a wrap on a heck of a lot of licensing issues dating back as far as September, do several assignments and teach several private workshops, hang out with the family for Christmas and maybe find a day to go shoot by myself if it snows a lot in the hills (which it is). No more big trips until summer though. Just small ones whenever I find time. I'm hoping for lots of snow and good winter shots around the NW. Things can change on a moments notice though...
KPieper wrote:
Marc, I'm curious how you handled noise in the long exposure?
Kevin, there really wasn't much noise to deal with. 10 minutes isn't too long for a properly exposed shot. There were a few dead pixels I removed but it looks pretty darn good at 100%.
All are terrific shots. 2nd and 3rd ones are my most favorites.
10min exposure, wow, just wonder if the colors came from the long exposure?
The 3rd one has the most attractive foreground.
Thank you for your great work and sharing the experiences.
Wei
Hey Marco, el awesome-o shots-o's! You did Dusy Basin justice and I really like how you centered the reflection of Cathedral Peak between the dos trees!
If I said your work was inspirational it would be an understatement. Getting this stuff out of the backcountry begs a question though: What is your normal backcountry "kit"? Just wondering what you take in terms of cameras,. lenses, tripod, etc. along with your normal camping stuff. Judging by these shots, I'd think you just take the 5d, filters, and 16-35.
I do a lot of mountain-biking/camping/fhotography and I'd sure be interested in knowing the details.
A few technical questions: you say you sometimes hand-hold the filters in front of the camera.
Are the filters inside the filter holder, or really handheld all the way?
If in filter holder how do you manage to avoid blur when moving them ?
If outside the holder how do you position them in the first place? Approximative placement and then the feeling and talent of the photographer does the rest :) ?
I guess that the exposure must be always fairly long, at least one second, to give enough time to move the filter up or down. Is that correct?
Thanks, and congratulation for these great pictures.
I have felt for a long time that you are one of the most talented landscape photographers in the world. These photographs reinforce that feeling dramatically.
I am assuming these photo are shot at f/22 or f/20. You do incredibly well with a circ polarizer and ND filter with no trace of vignetting. I frequently get unpredictable results with a circ pol on such a wide angle lens. How does one reign in the sometimes uneven effects of a circ pol on full frame with wide angle?
Many thanks for all the answers you have provided in this thread and for posting images which inspire as much as they awe.
Tom K. wrote:
I have felt for a long time that you are one of the most talented landscape photographers in the world. These photographs reinforce that feeling dramatically.
I am assuming these photo are shot at f/22 or f/20. You do incredibly well with a circ polarizer and ND filter with no trace of vignetting. I frequently get unpredictable results with a circ pol on such a wide angle lens. How does one reign in the sometimes uneven effects of a circ pol on full frame with wide angle?
Many thanks for all the answers you have provided in this thread and for posting images which inspire as much as they awe....Show more →
Tom, thanks for the comment. Actually, my aperature values were as follows: f11, f18, f11, f14, f16. I needed a lot of DOF. but not so much that I was going to risk introducing diffraction softening with an extreme aperature like f22. It's all just a matter of knowing your hyperfocal distances and knowing what you can get away with. Even at f14, I can still focus 3.5 feet to infinity at 16mm. The result is a higher quality image in doing so.
As to your polarization comment, I hear you. It's a complicated matter with ultra-wides and sometimes I'll do some minor touch-ups with the ol' dodge/burn brushes or curves adjustments to even things out a bit. Same with grad lines.
Marc Adamus wrote:
Tom, thanks for the comment. Actually, my aperature values were as follows: f11, f18, f11, f14, f16. I needed a lot of DOF. but not so much that I was going to risk introducing diffraction softening with an extreme aperature like f22. It's all just a matter of knowing your hyperfocal distances and knowing what you can get away with. Even at f14, I can still focus 3.5 feet to infinity at 16mm. The result is a higher quality image in doing so.
As to your polarization comment, I hear you. It's a complicated matter with ultra-wides and sometimes I'll do some minor touch-ups with the ol' dodge/burn brushes or curves adjustments to even things out a bit. Same with grad lines. ...Show more →
Any recommendations as to the best way to learn hyperfocal distances, any sites or books that explain this well? Are these shots auto or manually focused and where are your focal points in each image?
Marc, question from a newbie.. I frequently go to Yosemite and have a 30D and use my Tamron f2.8 17-50 for these kinds of shots. My questions is, why am I NOT getting the spectacular colors you are getting? Should I be using filters? They are coming out sharp, but very bland in the color department.
Conrad Tan wrote:
Marc, question from a newbie.. I frequently go to Yosemite and have a 30D and use my Tamron f2.8 17-50 for these kinds of shots. My questions is, why am I NOT getting the spectacular colors you are getting? Should I be using filters? They are coming out sharp, but very bland in the color department.
Well, there are lots of possible reasons you're not getting the colors you desire. First, you really should be shooting in RAW format and fine tuning your colors with a RAW converter (there are several options here). The RAW format will give you great control over the balance and saturation levels of individual color channels. I do pretty much all of my color corrections in RAW. Learning to maximize the potential of a RAW converter does take some time and practice though.
To answer your question about filters, you should only use graduated filters if you need and/or prefer to use them to control the range of light within an exposure. Controling the range of light and obtaining proper exposure throghout is key to maximizing color. A polarizing filter can also help in some situations too. A polarizer reduces reflected light such as the sheen on moist foilage which can adversely effect color saturation. A polarizer will help 'pop' the greens in spring foliage, cut through haze to some extent and help add definition to textures such as skies and water when properly rotated. I do not prefer to use other filters such as blue and gold, enhancers, colored grads, etc. these days. It's too easy to adjust for these effects in RAW.
Last, some of these images did not undergo any color enhancement. #4 looks almost exactly how the camera recorded it, only cooler. Same with #3. It can take a lot of time in the field to obtain results such as these. Great light like this is a pretty rare occurance. Usually I go ten or more trips into the field in the magic hour to capture light like you see in any one of these. PS and RAW work can only take you so far, and it's really not very far. There's no substitute for simply capturing a vibrant scene to begin with.
I knew when I saw your name I would really enjoy these - and you never fail to deliver my expectations and beyond
Thanks for taking the time to post these - it gives me a target level to aspire to even though I know in my heart you need a certain level of inspiration and sheer hard work to even come close.
But, there is still the trick of getting the exposure right with them, so with that said, awesome work!!!