Morning Forest Light

Morning Forest Light
NCAR10D-208

April 4, 2010

Today's image is a bit different from others, in several ways.  First, it was shot on the fly and through the fly.  Waking up in my tent, I decided I liked the angle and just grabbed my camera and snapped away.  Reviewing it in the LCD, I didn't think much of it but left it on the card.  Since then I've grown to like its spontaneous atmosphere, the texture that shooting through the screen gave the image, and the silhouettes of the rhododendrons that surrounded my camp that night.  It is not a technically gifted image, but one that has a lot of elements going for it.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/125 @ f/3.5   ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Crystals of Cold

Crystals of Cold

BERK07D-15

January 14, 2007

My first winter with a digital camera, I was stationed up in the hills of Tilden Park on the eastern side of Berkeley.  While the bay area isn't known for winter wonderland status, a very cold morning allowed me to track some small macro shots of ice crystals formed on the vegetation.  They weren't the perfect crystals you come to think of for winter ice, but they were beautiful, tracing the major veins of the leaf.  I love the out of focus areas of the image, despite my general hatred of those silly tilt-shift photographs, cuase here it concentrates you to a slim section of the leaf.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 105 f/2.8

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/13 @ f/8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Through the Golden Haze

Through the Golden Haze

NCAR10D-512

November 7, 2010

Our last homage to autumn this morning, as the cold has made its presence known and there is no going back, at least for a couple months.  The leaves are all gone, the grass is all brown, and Christmas music is pumping through Starbucks.  Yup, winter is coming!  This shot was taken last year as I hiked through Umstead State Park near Raleigh, right before Thanksgiving break.  The leaves were in full color by this point, and it was a pleasant park to wander though.  My only nit pick was the constant sounds of the airport (Umstead butts up against the RDU airport, so there are plenty of comings and goings during the day), but overall a good place to get away from the city for a spell.  Enjoy!

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: n/a @ f/8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

The Last Leaf Falls

The Last Leaf Falls

NCAR10D-504

November 7, 2010

While November has been kind, and unseasonably warm, winter is coming around the corner very quickly, and the leaves are shedding from the branches quickly (those that are left... most of the storms have stripped the trees bare already).  And the cold chill is not far behind.  So, to finish this week we end with some images of fall, before winter comes through in the last month of the year.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 80-200 f/2.8

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/4000 @ f/2.8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Fall in the East

Fall in the East

NCAR11D-245_pan

October 23, 2011

We don't get fall like this in the West.  There are large swaths of evergreen forests, that withstand the change of seasons, stalwart, imperious, until winter comes to blanket it in snow.  They hold their verdant green, and we slip from summer to spring easily, quietly.  But in the East, there is no such subtlety.   The cold snaps and slanting sunlight jolts the trees to change, and they do in sweeping motions, trading their summer productivity for capes of gold, orange, crimson, maroon.  The trees, sometimes rail thin and nicely spaced, erupt in a cacophony of celebration for the changing of the seasons, and practically beg you to see them.  This image, captured while hiking in the Uwharrie National Forest, is a panoramic image stitched together, for there was too much for any one lens to take in.  The colors run the whole gamut, and spark a wondrous portrait of autumn in action.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/20 @ f/8 ISO 400

Post-processing: Assembled from 10 images in PS 4, minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Bumpy Macro

Bumpy Macro

NCAR10D-65

February 6, 2010

Found in the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, this strange plant that I cannot identify off the top of my head, caught my eye.  Tropical in nature, with long stems and something that looks like mini Brussels sprouts, it nevertheless captures my imagination and triggers the weird factor.  I hope you enjoy too.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 105 f/2.8 micro

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/60 @ f/3.8 ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Splashes of Color from the Chimney

Splashes of Color from the Chimney

GRSM11D-34

October 8, 2011

Wrapping up this week of shots from the mountains, this last photo explodes with color.  Taken from the top of Chimney Tops trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can see the various shades as autumn sets in.  Reds, golden, with the evergreens still holding their own, it has a nice rugged feeling about it, though it is separated from much perspective due to the longer focal length.  (and it seems, in retrospect, that the uploader somehow crunched the photo more than I had anticipated, it seems blurrier than it did in LR).  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16 ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Softness of Season's Change

Softness of Season's Change

GRSM11D-58_HDR

October 8, 2011

Hiking through the woods of NC, one thing you come to realize is that there are an astonishing number of waterfalls around.  The area is very lush, much more so than you'd think offhand, and it holds home to an incredible diversity of species, including salamanders and fungi.  And with some late-summer/early-fall rain storms that preceded our trip up to the mountains, the streams were in full bloom.  This small unnamed cascade was spotted coming down from Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  You just barely get a glimpse of the colors changing, but it is a good contrast against the greenery all around, and the general coolness of the scene.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: var @ f/16 ISO 100

Post-processing: HDR image compiled from 5 images (+2, +1, 0, -1, -2 EV) in PS4.  Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Fall From Atop the Chimney

Fall From Atop the Chimney

GRSM11D-26_pan

October 8, 2011

The Chimney Tops Trail is a pretty tough slog up the side of the mountain; in the 2-mile journey, you rise close to 2,000 feet, most of which is in the last mile.  So you reach the top, having panted your way across the trail, and you scramble up the final couple hundred yards of craggy slate.  But your rewards are immense.  Perhaps not the tallest peak of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but it has commanding views of the surrounding peaks.  And when fall is in full-swing, it is quite a sight.  This image shows off the patches of color erupting through the forest, and the crags of Chimney Tops below.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16 ISO 400

Post-processing: Panorama compiled from 8 images, cropped own to final size in PS4.  Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Smoky Autumn Waterfall

Smoky Autumn Waterfall

GRSM11D-16_HDR

October 7, 2011

We came across this scene while driving into the park actually; from the road you could see higher up into this little creek, and the trees were alive with the colors of autumn.  So I pulled a fast turn into the pull-out, rattling my passengers, but that is the risk you take when a photographer is driving through the mountains.  We scouted around, and ended up looking down in the creek a little, looking up past this small cascade and into the fiery brilliance of the forest.  This is an HDR, a little blurry in the trees due to the wind, but still helping pick out some of the tones in the rock and river that otherwise could have been lost.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: var @ f/13 ISO 400

Post-processing: HDR image compiled from 3 images (0, +1, -1 EV) in PS4, tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Burgeoning Fall

Burgeoning Fall

GRSM11D-35

October 8, 2011

Well, fall is here, and to celebrate I spent the weekend exploring Great Smoky National Park, my first visit to the most popular park in the country.  The park is huge, though tremendously busy, which led to some unfortunate traffic jams.  But climbing up the trail at Chimney Rocks, we came across this scene of fall, with the trees turning, broken up by the evergreens below.  Quite a beautiful day to be hiking in the woods.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16 ISO 400

Post-processing: Tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Silhouette of Golden Fall

Silhouette of Golden Fall

ILLN08D-364

November 4, 2008

I am becoming very impatient for fall.  Today actually dawned gray, cloudy, rainy, and a bit foggy, which made a nice walk to work, and reminded me of fall and winter in the bay area.  However, one of the great things about living in NC is the opportunity to see some actual color changes when fall finally does rear its head.  And so I've been patiently waiting, counting down the days and checking trees whenever I go running.  But in my thirst for golden-hued leaves, I went digging for this image from when autumn was in full swing in Illinois, the trees illuminated at night from the lamppost.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 3 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Fall in the Midwest

Fall in the Midwest

INDN09D-30

October 25, 2009

This week, fall has started to make its presence felt.  The nights have turned a bit crisp, meaning that the blankets will soon come out of the closet, and the fans and air conditioning will be retired for the season.  Fall, however, hasn't made itself seen yet; the colors that everyone eagerly waits for have not turned yet, the woods around my house are still in full summer mode.  However, with the change in the weather, it cannot be long off, and soon the hills and forests will burst in color.  I missed last year's major changes; when the fall colors reached the central-eastern portion of North Carolina, I was away on business, and it seems to have lasted just a brief time.  When I returned the leaves had mostly shed, and winter was marching firmly into town. 


So, today's image comes from the fall before, when I and some other intrepid photographers took to the wilds of Indiana's Turkey Run State Park.  We were lucky to arrive in the full bloom of fall, and the subtle shifts in hues from red to orange, with some evergreen peeking around, contrasted nicely with the overcast day and rock formations along the river.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  20 mm

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropping, saturation, curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4