Zabriski Point, Death Valley

Zabriski Point is a well known viewpoint at the eastern entrance to Death Valley. It is a part of the Amargosa Range in Death Valley, and is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago. This part of DeathValley is noted for its erosional landscape, composed of sediments that were collected at the bottom of the lake in the form of saline muds, gravels from nearby mountains, and ash falls from the then active Black Mountain volcanic field. (Wikipedia: Zabriski Pont) What is striking about Zabriski Point is the colour of the landscape. This image was post processed in Photoshop to create the effect that I was looking for when I actually took the photograph. I de-saturated the blue background and the reddish foreground, which enables the viewer to focus on the yellow band in the middle distance. It becomes the central focus of the image.

Morning at Lipan Point, Grand Canyon

This shot is a good example of waiting for the right moment. I had had arrived at Lipan Point at the Grand Canyon early in the morning, just before sunrise. It was very windy, and some hikers nearby were just preparing to go down into the Canyon on a hike, but they were hesitating due to  possible inclement weather. A dark cloud was behind me, blocking the sun and it looked pretty well like it might be time to pack up. Just as I started walking back to the car, the sky cleared, and bright sunlight broke through. I took a few shots and ended up with a few keepers, one of which I posted here. I always keep in mind some advice I received from a friend of mine, that bad weather can result in good photography. This is especially true at the Grand Canyon, where the weather can change dramatically, and very rapidly.

Sunset Mather Point

Grand Canyon at Mather Point, standing in the middle of at least 100 people, most of them shooting with their I-phones, trying to capture the whole vista on a 2" screen. Of course there are a few shooting with tripod and high end Canons, as there always are at the Canyon. It's a bit uncomfortable trying to muscle your way in for your own shot. I didn't have enough room to use my tripod, but I was able to get a decent shot. No vibration that I could detect in the image. Rangefinders (my Leica M9) are a bit more forgiving as far as shooting in low light at a slow shutter speed, since the rangefinders do not have a mirror like DSLR's, which cause a lot of vibration at slower shutter speeds, say at less than 1/45 seconds. Shooting with a DSLR with this kind of light necessitates using a tripod and usually a cable release. The light level when I took this shot was very low. Using an ISO value of 400, I was able to get this exposure at 1/45 second at f13. However, the bottom 2/3 of the frame was very dark in the raw file. Using Photoshop, and the fact that it was a raw file, I was able to extract the colours in the bottom of the frame. Raw files enable you to extract an amazing amount of information and data that normally would be lost in a jpeg. I made the mistake once in Yellowstone, shooting with my Nikon all in jpeg mode rather than raw. When I started to process the images, I realized my mistake. A lot of images were over or under exposed that I probably could have recovered had I shot them in raw mode. Most of the images that had a broad dynamic range were not recoverable. I guess you learn by making mistakes.

Alabama Hills

This image was taken during a sunrise shoot at the Alabama Hills, in California, near Lone Pine. The Alabama Hills are famous for being the location where many famous old time western movies were made from the 1920's to recently made movies like Star Trek and Ironman. The hills are located directly in front of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and contrast the sharp jagged shapes in the Sierra range with rounded boulder shapes. In this image I de-saturated the grey rocks in the background so that the foreground yellowish rocks would stand out. In fact the whole foreground is in contrast to the background. If the background colour was not de-saturated then it would compete with the nice colourful stones in front. Incidentally, the foreground has also been de-saturated somewhat as well. I see myself doing more of this in my photographs, rather than the opposite, that of increasing the saturation of colours.

Bristlecone Pine Forest

In the Inyo National forest, in California, one can find the Bristlecone Pine forest. After driving up a well paved road for most of the way there, you end up on a very sandy and sometimes rough road at an elevation of close to 14,000 feet. Immediately you are enthralled by the magnificent shapes of these 4000+ year old trees. The day we arrived there, the air was a bit chilly, compared to the 90+ degrees we left at the base of the Inyo forest. It was unusual to not see any snow at this location in October, as my companions mentioned. However, we did not waste any time and made our separate ways to find suitable specimens to photograph. This one exhibited magnificent shapes, and was my favourite shot taken here. I decided to shoot it in black and white, as it seemed to me that   this would portray the feeling I had about this area. I also liked the shapes that are evident in the image, basically triangular in form, which always creates interest. The camera I had with me was my Leica M9, and the lens I used was my Summicron 28 mm, which allowed me to get very close to the tree, and still allow me to incorporate the full width of the branches.

Grand Canyon Grey Day

This is a favourite of mine, even though the light was not the greatest when I took the shot. The time was late afternoon, the sun was nearing the horizon, and it was windy and cold. The location was Lipan outlook, at the eastern end of Desert View Drive, Grand Canyon. It's a great viewpoint, and not very many tourists usually go here. The road entering the viewpoint climbs up to a high location. I was able to extract a lot of colour out of the grey cliffs and clouds, using photoshop. The original raw file was quite dark, and did not show a lot of colour. This is one benefit of using photoshop, and also of knowing how to use it. The raw file directly out of the camera would normally be discarded by the camera novice, due to its dark appearance. I prefer low light images over the bright sunny day images that some seem to prefer. Even though the image may appear dark at first glance, with a little effort and know how, a reasonable image may be extracted.

Mono Lake California

I recently took a trip to the US southwest, travelling between Arizona, Nevada, and California. I flew into Vegas, and drove through Death Valley to Lone Pine, California, Bishop California, and then to Lee Vining California, where the site of this photo was taken. This is Mono Lake, a very popular site for photography, as witnessed by the large number of photographers present. Mono Lake is a very interesting phenomena, as it is a saline soda lake, with no outlet to the Pacific Ocean. It is also believed to be one of the oldest lakes in the United Staes. Calcite deposits, called tufas,  are present at the shoreline, which create the interesting shapes that people like to photograph. The colours range from pure white, to grey, and depending on the light, yellow or red. In the late afternoon and evening, the colours tend to range in the reddish spectrum. The footing can be a little challenging, as the calcite deposits are very hard, and can be sharp as well. There are paths in and around the deposits, and it is discouraged to climb onto the tufas. Very interesting colours can be created by the setting sun, and one can take photos well after sunset. This shot was taken in late afternoon, shortly after I arrived.

Sunrise at Abraham Lake

During my trip to David Thompson country in Alberta, west of Rocky Mountain House, I got up early in the morning and drove to Windy Point, on Abraham Lake. I have photographed at this location several times, usually with a strong wind at my back. This location is called Windy Point for a reason, and it is not unusual to have to brave a 50 - 60 km/hr west wind, as it funnels down the lake. But this morning it was very still, although the first sign of a ripple was evident in the water. I shot this on a tripod, with my Leica M9, through my 90 mm Summarit lens. This lens doesn't get much publicity, and it can be challenging to shoot with wide open, due to its narrow in focus range at f2.5, but it is extremely sharp. Here I shot it at f16, giving me a greater depth of field, but necessitating a slower shutter speed, and the use of a tripod. The sun had not yet risen above the horizon, but the sky was illuminated nicely with golden rays. Images like this can only be taken early in the day, or later in the evening. Some of the nicest shots can be taken well after the sun sets, or well before it rises.

This week I made a quick trip to David Thompson country, near Abraham Lake in Alberta, Canada. I hadn't been there with my camera for some time. I arrived early in the evening, just as the sun was setting, and made my way to the Bighorn River, above Crescent waterfall. I took this shot just after the sun was below the horizon, with my new Summicron 25 mm lens on my Leica M9. There was quite a bit of contrast between the trees and the sky, and I was a bit worried that I would not be able to capture the complete spectrum of light, but my histogram on the camera showed that I did capture it all. The picture that resulted straight out of the camera did display the sharp contrast that the LCD  showed. I used a very useful tool in Photoshop called Shadows/highlights, and it allowed my to cut down the contrast very nicely, yet still maintain the complete spectrum of tones available. The shot was taken as a DNG file, and this kind of file captures much more information than a jpeg does. As a result, the file is quite large, but that is manageable. A few other adjustments brought out the wonderful colours that were captured, and the result is what we see here. I hadn't taken a colour landscape for some time, and thoroughly enjoyed getting back into it again. I will post some more images from the same trip in the coming days.

28 mm Summicron F2

Got a new Leica lens: a 28 mm Summicron F2. The shot above was taken late in the evening during a full moon. This doesn't really highlight the great characteristics of this lens, but I couldn't wait to put it up. The shot exhibits a kind of sinister feeling that is determined by the pose of my dog Max. Night shots give quite different feelings that those taken during daylight, and I think it might be fun to explore this a bit.

The 28 mm Summicron  has a very good reputation as a reportage lens. It is a favourite of street photographers and journalist photographers as well. This is an area that I have not explored in any great detail, but I do like to photograph the streets in major cities like Toronto, and recently in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia shots were taken with my 50 mm Summicron.

25 mm Zeiss on M9

I love shooting black and white with my Leica M9. I've almost given up shooting colour, but I guess its just a personal choice. Maybe it stems from my Monochrome days when I was still shooting film. Here I was shooting in the shadows on a very sunny day. So there naturally was a lot of contrast. Being a 25 mm wide angle lens, it naturally projects a fairly deep depth of field, even at wide open. The aperture was set at F4.0, so good depth resulted. But had I been shooting with say, a 50 mm lens, with the same aperture, the depth of field would have been shallower. And had I taken the picture with a 90 mm at F 4.0, the depth of field would have been even more shallow. This is the way lenses work. Many point and shoot cameras do not project nice Bokeh, which results from out of focus background when shooting wide open. These point and shoot cameras do not have the wide aperture option that a prime lens on a DSLR or rangefinder camera permits, nor the quality of glass. But they can take nice landscape pictures. The subject matter in the above shot needs a greater depth of field, and that is why wide angle lenses are a good choice for landscape photography.

My Favourite Camera and Lens

The Leica 50 mm Summicron-M lens and the Leica M9 camera are a wonderful combination. A pleasing characteristic of Leica lenses is the Bokeh, which is a pleasing out of focus background obtained when shooting with the lens wide open. This shot was taken at the Ontario Art Gallery, and the subject is my wife. One of my favourite photographers is Thorsten Overgaard, and he uses Leica cameras for most of his professional work, and usually with the M9. He always shoots with the aperture wide open. Leica lenses are designed to be used this way. I love this camera and have almost totally replaced my Nikon D700 with this camera. The M9 is light, it feels very comfortable in my hands, and is not overly obvious to unsuspecting subjects. My Nikon is quite a bit heavier than my Leica, and would be very obvious when shooting people in public places. I can take my Leica with me everywhere, without it becoming a burden. I have also started using it for my landscape work. Of course one drawback of the Leica cameras and lenses is affordability, since they are quite expensive. But once you own one, and get used to using it, you never want to go back.

Rock Formation Page Arizona

As I continue to work on my technique with the ink and brush, I am beginning to feel more comfortable with the tools I am working with. The paper I have used here is a non-smearing rice paper, which is more ideal for this kind of subject matter. With the Chinese style of painting, one starts with dark ink on the brush, and the goal is to exhaust the brush before applying any more ink to the brush. Water is applied to the brush, as the ink gets depleted, and again exhausted from the brush. Colour is applied after most of the ink work has been laid down.The Chinese water colours are more muted than the western water colours, which I prefer. This painting is from a photo I took near page Arizona last year. Complementary colours were applied, those being the reds and green, as well as the triad of yellow, blue and the green, giving the whole painting a unifying look. The complementary colour scheme also results in a visual vibration, for instance, the red and green.  Below is the photo I used as a reference.

A recent painting of a photo I took of the Grand Canyon from last year.I used more colour in this painting than I have done before with the chinese brush painting. The base is done with the black ink. Then I slowly worked over the image with a colour triad, red, yellow and blue. This combination of colours works good together, and the ink helps to define the outlines.I managed to create a focal point in the centre of the painting, where the eye is drawn to the river in the far distance by the high contrast in value. The separation in the foreground between the two ridges also helps to create interest in the foreground, thus the eye is drawn back and forth between foreground and far distance.

Pine Tree

A quick effort done recently, my version of a traditional Chinese subject: pine tree. Flowers, fruits, and trees are representative of of various aspects of life in Chinese culture. The pine tree represents longevity, steadfastness, self discipline, endurance, and long life. I have to admit that these aspects of life were not in the forefront of my thoughts as I constructed this piece, since I am still trying to master the craft of Chinese brush painting. I had hoped to achieve a free flowing style in this effort, and I think I approach that here. The brush work is  done with calligraphy ink, using a stiff brush. The paper is a rice paper, which tends to bleed unless the ink has been modified with a few drops of peach sap glue. Not the perfect effort, but I am happy with it.

Here I have created a semi-abstract landscape, which reminds me a bit of A.Y. Jackson's style, as well as Toni Onley. Actually, I was inspired by a Chinese artist, Wu Guanzhong who I discovered by googling chinese masters. I like the loose style that Wu employs in his work, as well as his more modern style, which I prefer over the more traditional Chinese art. As I  become more familiar with the brush and ink, I have become a bit more brave with the subject matter. Here I try to create a focal point near the centre of the painting, by using contrast between light and dark, and between lines and dots. Movement is in a circular pattern. An acquaintance of mine said that it reminded her of being in the middle of an ocean. So by accident I created a bit of ambiguity, which I like.

Bird of Paradise

So I am progressing with my Chine brush  painting. The paper I am using is a  rice paper that smears beautifully. The brand name is Waterstar paper, and it comes from China. The ink I used is Japanese blue ink, although I haven't been able to achieve the blue colour. Apparently it must be highly diluted to get the blue tonality.
Chinese water colour employs the use of water and ink, using various types of brushes, inks, and  Chinese watercolour paints. The paints are not as saturated as typical western watercolours. The paper is almost translucent, so that one can actually paint on the back side of the paper, and have the colours come through.  Here I have used only the ink on the paper. Another chracteristic of Chines brush painting is that the negative areas on the paper is left unpainted, and this really appeals to me.

Rose

For the last four months I have been pursuing a new endeavour, that of Chinese water colour painting. I am under the tutelage of Henri Lee, a master watercolour artist who lives in Los Angeles. My initial paintings hopefully will reflect an improvement of my ability as a painter, as time goes on. Shown here is my first posted painting, a simply depiction of a rose.

Shooting in Shade

This shot was taken last year in the spring near Wainwright, Alberta, on a deserted farm. The sun was quite bright, being midday, but I was able to find a sheltered area behind the farmhouse. It was quite windy, and therefore the grass shows lots of movement. I liked the shapes of the two trees, forming a repeating pattern, which is always desirable in any composition. A wide angle lens, my WATE Leica lens set to 18 mm, was used to take the shot. I was very close to the tree in the foreground, almost standing right over it. But the wide angle gives it some depth. The image was shot with TMAX 100 film, and scanned. Its always a good idea to shoot landscapes in the shade during midday, thus eliminating a high contrast range that you would encounter in open sun.

Farm Scene

This shot was taken about a year ago, with my Leica M7, a film camera. I was shooting with Delta 400 I believe, and the tonality I achieved is really wonderful. This image was always appealing to me, and I think it had to do with the white trailer in the centre of the image, standing out because of the contrast. Without that white subject, in the midst of the grey tonality of the majority of the scene, it would be a bit boring. The tonality of the sky also lends an appealing aspect to the scene as a whole. The negative was scanned into my Mac, and was touched up a bit to achieve the proper contrast of the original negative, which was lost in the scan. One of my favourite shots.

Toronto Back Alley

This is one of my favourite images that I took in Toronto last winter. Taken just off Queen street, I was drawn to it initially by the graffiti seen in the right side of the frame. But I found the alley and the buildings of greater interest. The image has good repetition of shapes and lines, resulting in a good composition, as well as a central focal point, as defined by the alley which draws the eye to the centre of the photograph. The strong verticals are balanced by the horizontal lines, making the whole composition interesting. The day I took this shot, the weather was dreary, and the sky was grey, but even in this kind of light, nice colour and tonality is evident. Taken with my Leica M9, 50 mm Summicron.