All very nice as usual but I like #3 the best because of the sunstar. It adds another dimension or depth to the image. Personally I would try and get more out of the midground in post - try to make it pop a little more.
Based partly on your work I bought the 17mm TS/E and sold my 16-35mm. So far so good!
A very tough place to get a meaningful shot. And you have 4. I've watched my buddy Mike K compose with the same lens, and his tv sized LCD, and I get how tricky it is to use, but what marvelous results. Fro me the BW speaks much about that severe landscape, that is pretty deviod of color.
Dec 07, 2012 at 06:37 PM
Charlie Shugart Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Terrific stuff, Fred ("stuff" is a technical term, don'cha know?) .
As you and others have stated, for all its fascination, the jagged ruggedness of those salt-edged clumps of dried clay is extremely hard to convey in two dimensions.
Somehow you've managed it here.
I'd like to say it was all because of your tilt/shift lens (I don't have one ), but that would be less than honest, I suspect.
Regardless, these images (especially the last one, imo) do the trick especially well.
Nice work.
Charlie
I would say you definitely got a birdie here if not an eagle. The images convey a sense of great space. I also like the fact that you left the horizon near the middle of the frame in 2,3, and 4. Rules were made to be broken and these images show why. #3 is my favorite for the tonal range and the dark shades on the rocks.
Did you have flare issues with the third shot? The TS-E 17 is very susceptible when pointed anywhere in the direction of the sun.
Thanks Rajan,
Truth be told, the 17mm TS-E is susceptible to flare from all angles.
However, when using live view, you can see when flare is becoming prominent and make small angle adjustments to get rid of it.
I usually have a piece of cardboard or use my hand to block the sun rays coming from the sides. On the third photo posted here, I had flare showing on screen up until the sun got low enough, allowing me to take this flare-free picture.
I highly recommend the Canon 17-40mm f/4L when taking pictures that include the sun. This is the best flare resistant lens I have used.
Best,
Fred
I personally like them all Fred but I keep going back to the first one; love the color contrast of the brilliant mountain range against the foreground. Amazing clarity across the entire image continues to guide my eye around. Did you illuminate the foreground by chance? Thanks for sharing!
Scott
Beautiful series Fred. I just bought the 17 T/S and I'm following your tutorial on creating a filter holder for this lens. Did you use split ND filters for these shots?
Excellent work Fred!
Camperjim wrote:
Fred, all are of these are really good landscapes but I am super impressed with the last two. You managed to do the nearly impossible by combining great landscapes with closeups showing the jagged edges of salt.
Thanks Camperjim! That is why tilting the focal plane is so addictive!... especially in Death Valley where we don't have anything creeping out of the tilted focal plane. I pretty much used f/8-9 for most of the shots. The real difference is noticeable when you print them and can see the foreground and background with similar resolution.
Take care,
Fred
Cool work here. The Devil's Golf Course is one of those area's that I had stopped shooting in DV. It just seemed that I couldn't get a shot that I was happy with. I like what you got here, with #2 and 3 being my favorites.
Now, I will say though that on this last trip, I decided to try and shoot the Golf Course again instead of driving by it like normal... I think I have a couple that will look good, but I like what you got here, these definately inspire me to work on them, and not just to let them gather dust on my hard drive...
I know the feeling Jim. You have a great sky and so little time...so the devil's course gets neglected.
I usually don't post many B&W shots but it was fun editing this one. Start posting yours!
Take care,
Fred
Thanks to everyone who posted feedback on these photos!
roguecoolman wrote:
Very nice photos Fred.
I've always had a hard time coming away with good photos from the golf course. It always gives me a hard time as I find it harder to create a composition than bad water. I really like the BW. Just the textures from the ground and the sky are so interesting.
For the colored photos, did you single shot filter or blended multi exposures?
Jason
Jason,
It was a single shot using a 2-stop grad. I edited it in Lightroom and did a little dynamic range blending in Photoshop.
Thanks for your comments!
Tim ONeill wrote:
A very tough place to get a meaningful shot. And you have 4. I've watched my buddy Mike K compose with the same lens, and his tv sized LCD, and I get how tricky it is to use, but what marvelous results. Fro me the BW speaks much about that severe landscape, that is pretty deviod of color.
Mike is the low angle tilt master! I really enjoy his work. Thanks for your comment Tim!
Charlie Shugart wrote:
Terrific stuff, Fred ("stuff" is a technical term, don'cha know?) .
As you and others have stated, for all its fascination, the jagged ruggedness of those salt-edged clumps of dried clay is extremely hard to convey in two dimensions.
Somehow you've managed it here.
I'd like to say it was all because of your tilt/shift lens (I don't have one ), but that would be less than honest, I suspect.
Regardless, these images (especially the last one, imo) do the trick especially well.
Nice work.
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
Yes, tilting the plane of focused helped getting the detail I wanted from the salt crystals while giving me a good resolution on the furthest mountains. You should try it!
Take care,
Fred
.
), but that would be less than honest, I suspect.