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.