Tag Archives: landscapes

A Magical Photography Evening with Incredible Light

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This past Saturday was a total bluebird day. We’re talking sunup to sundown, with not a single cloud in the sky. No haze, no moisture, none of those thin, whispy feathers that sometimes creep into the atmosphere  during the afternoon. Nope. Nothing but solid blue across the entire expanse above.

After soaking up a few hours of sunshine on my bike, I came home, grabbed my flying stuff and went up to shoot some evening aerials. With the almost certain promise of incredible light on the mountains, I was quite optimistic that I was going to get at least a few worthy shots.

As it turned out, Saturday night ended up being one of the most magical evenings for aerial photography I’ve had in months.

I went wheels-up at around 8:45 pm and climbed straight east towards the Chugach Mountains, specifically to the area around Whiteout Glacier. I knew that some friends of mine were skiing the Eklutna Traverse, which crosses this area, so I figured I’d go see if I could find them.

After photographing a few of the taller peaks at the end of Eagle River Valley for about fifteen minutes, turned east and reached the confluence of Eagle and Whiteout Glaciers. It was right around this point when the light started getting really good, splashing bold pink light on the peaks and west facing snow fields.

I spotted ski tracks pretty quickly, and eventually saw a tent that was set up in one of the high bowls. I circled around the area for a good half hour, snapping about a hundred frames before the sun finally dropped below the horizon and the pink light faded.

Between the gorgeous contrast of pink against shadowed blue, the pillowy, snow-covered mountain faces and the massive cracks and crevasse fields, I had plenty of compositional options to work with. I shot with my XF50mm f/2 lens on my X-T3 the entire time, cranking out frame after frame of saturated, Veliva goodness, all the while, being amazed by the quality of the light.

The only thing I wished I had was warmer gloves. Although it had been 50 degrees in town, up here at 8,000 feet, the outside air temperature was only 10 degrees F, which seeped pretty quickly into my lightweight, Pearl Izumi cycling gloves, which are my favorite cool weather glove.

They’re awesome for 35-45 degrees in the wind. Not so much at 10 degrees. By the end of the evening, my right had was pretty cold and it took awhile for the screaming barfies to finally go away. Oh well. Live and learn. At least I got some pretty pictures.

I hope you had a great weekend as well. What did you shoot?

 

 

Photography Composition Tip – Keep the Edges Sacred

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When I look through the camera and arrange my subject matter in the viewfinder, I usually try to keep things away from the edges. In fact, one of the most ingrained compositional guidelines I live by in my photography is to keep the edges sacred.

I just think it gives the photo a cleaner, less cluttered look. It also reflects the notion that you, as a photographer, are making deliberate decisions about the arrangement of subject matter in your frame.

Look at the photo above. See that partial flower along the left side of the top edge? Looks a little sloppy, doesn’t it? It’s almost like I didn’t notice it was there there until later. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I should have noticed. It’s good photography technique to notice stuff like that.

Here’s another version. See the difference?

Of course, this second shot has a different issue. See those flowers near the top right corner? They’re also sitting right at the edge. Are they any less offensive than in the first example?

I think they work, and here’s the difference. We can consider them disappearing subject matter. They’re part of a repeating pattern of orange flowers that draw the eye in and out of the frame. They’re similar enough that we recognize them for what they are, instead of being a unique subject element that’s chopped off.

Also, since they’re so out of focus, they just fade nicely into the background. They add a bit of additional flavor before subtly leading our eye out of the frame.

However, I realize that to some viewers, even this example is visually bothersome. If this were your photo, you might have a strong compassion to remove them entirely from the frame. And that would be ok, because it’s your photo.

Let’s look at at another example.

This one is a little more obvious. In the first example, that frosted twig is sitting a little too close to the top of the frame. Pretty easy to spot right? It feels a bit crowded up there, and there’s no room for the subject to breathe.

That’s a prominent description I like to use when talking about this technique. You want your subject elements to have enough breathing room so that they don’t feel cramped at the edges.

Of course, if you’re dealing with a repeating pattern or if you’re focusing on the details of a scene, you can totally get away with busy edges, as long as you’re being deliberate about your composition, and as long as you’re not cutting anything unique or important off right at the edge.

In this case, it’s all considered environment. Nothing is being cut off, it just ends, or rather it just travels out of the frame in a natural way.

When we create our compositions, we strive to include a little bit of tension and visual discomfort in our frame, but there’s a difference between offering slight discomfort and making it so your views are bothered.

In the last example, I’ll give you three versions, only this time, I want you to tell me which one works best and which one doesn’t. Take a look and let me know which of these three scenes appeals to you the most, and which one bothers you the most.

As you’re playing around with the camera, and looking at subject matter, think about this guideline and see if it helps create more effective compositions. Be deliberate with your framing and remember to pay attention to every single element in your frame. Nothing should get by you.

If it does…and it occasionally will, it just means you need more practice seeing. We all do.

First Look at Fujifilm’s New XF16mm f/2.8 WR Lens

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I’m a huge fan of Fujifilm’s awesome f/2 WR prime lens series. The XF35mm f/2, XF50mm f/2 and the incredible XF90mm f/2 are among my favorite and most used lenses, so I was very excited to hear last year that the next lens in the series would be the XF16mm f/2.8.

Now that it’s been released, I’ve been able to shoot a few photos with it, and I can say, this was indeed the lens I was waiting for.

Back in the day, when I was a budding adventure and outdoor photographer, my favorite wide angle lens was the venerable Nikon 24mm f/2.8. This piece of glass saw more action in my early shooting days than any other. To me, it had the perfect meld of size, weight and view angle, and Fuji’s new 16 2.8 brings that classic combination to the X Series.

Even though the other lenses in the series are f/2, Fujifilm opted to shave size and weight and make this one an f/2.8. That’s plenty fast for most wide angle uses, and besides, if you really need a super fast wide, you can always spring for the XF16mm f/1.4.

However, that 16 1.4 is quite a bit bigger, heavier and much more expensive. Whereas the 1.4 version comes in at 13 ounces, which is just three ounces shy of a full pound, the new 16mm f/2.8 comes in at just 5 ounces. In addition, it costs under half as much: only $399, vs $999 for the 1.4.

Yes, speed is nice, but as I said, 2.8 is plenty fast for most wide angle photography, and for the size and weight difference, the new XF16mm f/2.8 is a fantastic little lens.

I just think that wide angle lenses are so versatile in the world of outdoor photography. They’re indispensable for shooting landscapes, action/adventure scenes and astrophotography, but also great for environmental portraiture, because you can get close enough to feature the subject and still show enough of the background to tell the story.

Having used a variety of wide lenses over the years, I’ve always found this focal length to hit a real sweet spot. If a lens gets too wide, you can start to get distortion at the edges, and by the nature of the design, ultra wide glass is usually bigger, as well.

Fuji has the tiny XF23mm f/2 lens, but that classic 35mm “photojournalist” focal length has never really been my cup of tea for regular use. It’s just not wide enough. The 16mm with it’s 24mm view angle yields an excellent combination of wide, small and relatively fast, which in my book, hits the target for everything I want.

Just like the other lenses in Fujifilm’s compact WR series, the new XF16mm f/2.8 follows the same classic “Fuji-cron” design, with a lightweight, compact build, a numbered aperture ring and a slightly tapered front. It comes with a small, very unobtrusive hood. The kind you have no problem leaving on all the time.

Lens quality is amazing, with gorgeous color reproduction, no visible distortion or softness at the edges, and very quick and responsive autofocus. It allows you to get quite close, with a minimum focusing distance of 6.6 inches.

(The photos of the poppies above was shot at the closest possible distance.) Compare that to Fuji’s 16mm f/1.4, which has a minimum focusing distance of 5.9 inches.

Compared to my other favorite wide angle, Fuji’s XF14mm f/2.8, the new 16 f/2.8 has a slight edge in size, minimum focusing distance, and again, it costs less than half as much. And it’s weather sealed, which the 14 is not.

I don’t have a single bad thing to say about the 14mm f/2.8, it’s been a mainstay in my bag since my first days shooting with the X Series, but I have to say, the smaller build of the new 16 is pretty nice. It makes it that much more appealing for use on an ultralight weight bike trip or hiking trip in the backcountry, especially if you anticipate bad weather.

And what about the original 18mm f/2? That’s a fun little lens, but this new 16 is just way better on every level.

I love these little Fuji primes, and if you look in my bag on any given day, you’ll find at least two or three of them in there, the 35, 50 and often the 90. Add in the 16, and I’ve got an ultra compact, ultra lightweight kit that covers an extremely workable range.

Traditionally, photography has been a rather expensive activity. However, since the introduction of the X Series, Fujifilm has done an incredible job giving us a number of very high quality lens choices at reasonable prices, which allows a greater number of people to enjoy great photography.

The new XF16mm f/2.8 fits perfectly into the line and offers Fuji shooters an exceptional and very affordable wide angle lens. Given its size, weight, speed, sweet view angle and the fact that nothing else even comes close in this price range, this is surely one of those no-brainer lenses for just about every X Series photographer.

Aerial Glacier Photography – Ice From Above

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If you pay attention, you’ll find a multitude of patterns in nature. They exist on all levels, from intricate details that are only seen very close, to giant patterns that can only be seen when you pull your vantage point … Continue reading →

Exploring Different Creative Looks Right Inside The Camera

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One of my favorite things about photography these days is the extremely wide range of creative looks I can achieve right inside the camera. Back when I was a strict RAW shooter, I captured everything flat and then spent time … Continue reading →

Shooting Against The Light

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For those of you who used to shot film, you might remember that there was a basic set of instructions printed on the inside of the box. They pretty much said, “For the best exposure, stand with your back to … Continue reading →

Extreme Telephoto Landscapes

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Although wide angle lenses are often touted as being the ideal choice for shooting landscapes, don’t discount your long glass for this purpose. You can achieve stunning results by using telephoto lenses for your nature scenes. Long lenses let you … Continue reading →