Congratulations to Fred Miranda for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 7 votes - View Previous Winners
Hi everyone,
Long time since my last post here. I took a day trip to Death Valley last week to try my new 11-24mm f/4L lens.
I had mostly bald skies and very windy conditions but was able to snap a shot of the one of my favorite locations. On that exact hour, the weather conditions were good except for the wind.
I took around 20 shots between gusty winds to be able to get a sharp one. I hope you like it.
Taken with the A7R and Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L
BTW: The wind blew my lens cap away! If you find it, save it for me.
Kee Woo Rhee wrote:
I love the drama in this photo image, Fred.
This lonely tree branch seems to be guarding the crater.
How do you like this new lens?
Bravo!
Hi Kee,
I really like the lens. It forces you to find new creative ways to compose, especially when shooting at 11mm.
The only downside is that my bag is a little heavy now with the 11-24L, TS-E 17mm, TS-E 24mm and 24-70 f/2.8L II.
Fred
Jonathan Huynh wrote:
What supper cool shot here. Despise the gusty windy you were able to captures.
At 11mm, so excellent control of the distortion on the lens.
Thanks Jonathan,
Distortion is still a challenge. I found the best way to get more natural images with such ultra wide angle is to keep the lens as leveled as possible. I'm still learning the lens.
Take care,
Fred
Wow...wow...wow. So much to really like about this image, the loneliness of the tree, the crater, the sun in the back....and of course the colors and contrast too! TFS
Hi Fred, there is a lot going on here visually that is nice to look at. The light is really special. Love that dappled and slightly diffused light on the crater to the right in particular, as well as on the mountains in the distance of course. The composition does feel a bit too left heavy for me. A step or two to the left so that the bush wasn't starting in the middle and sweeping left would have really helped a lot in my eyes. As is, the right side feels quite empty with both the bush and the crazy mountain light happening off to the left. Colors, exposure, sharpening all look great. Is the top of the bush darker because of a sloppy exposure blend or is it simply the color of the bush? A darker branch mid-day down the bush suggests that is its natural color (weird!), but if not I'd tidy up the blend.
sdb777 wrote:
Would have thought the f-stop to be much smaller for the depth of field you were able to pull out...WOW! UW Rules!!!
Scott (schaweet) B
Hi Scott,
This was my first really test with the lens. It works similarly to my 14mm, except with a slightly longer dof. When getting very close to the subject, f/11 would not be enough to cover infinity though.
Fred
---------------------------------------------
Steve Perry wrote:
Wow that's a fantastic shot!
Thanks Steve!
---------------------------------------------
danthebiker wrote:
Wow this is super cool. Great composition and really nice conditions
Thanks!
I'm planning on going back to DV with better skies and wind conditions. This was the only good opportunity in the 2 days I was there.
---------------------------------------------
Jeffrey wrote:
Wonderful imaging and nice control of a variety of light, Fred, I've never been to Ubehebe Crater without those howling winds.
Thanks Jeffrey,
Ubehebe Crater was never my primary location option. I would always stop there when coming back to racetrack. This time however, I planned on staying there for sunset and it was worth it. The wind was too strong though. I had to brace myself with my bag on the tripod to keep it in place. It's a challenge to shoot it at 11mm because there are not many interesting foreground elements to use on the composition. The "tree bush" is actually very small but the proximity of the lens makes it appear much bigger.
Take care,
Fred
---------------------------------------------
JimFox wrote:
Hey Fred,
What a cool looking shot. The lead in lines and the moody clouds really make this shot work.
I've stopped by this location before but could never get a good composition here. The crater is too wide and there is nothing of interest around it. How big was this tree?
I really like what you did here. Very dynamic shot.
