An End of Year Retrospective for 2011 – The Top 11 Images of ’11Posted by drfl on December 29th, 2011

Following the lead of my An End of Year Retrospective for 2010 and An End of Year Retrospective for 2009I am presenting my favorite images of 2011. These have been mainly chosen not only because I personally liked the image, but in many times because of my experience while capturing the image.

I begin with one of the first images I captured in 2011, an image of Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge. This made the list for two reasons, first, because of the flooding of the Missouri River, Boyer Chute has not been accessible and I am not even sure how it will look. Second, this was the first image I made with my Tilt/Shift 24mm TS-E II and it really showed me how much fun I was going to have with that lens.

This image almost didn’t happen. As I mentioned in my post from July, I don’t normally capture agricultural scenes, but as I was driving to my destination, I couldn’t help but stop and capture this image. The wheat, the clouds, the silos all just seem to come together.

This image made the list for a similar reason as the previous entry, I was driving on my way somewhere, saw these two horses hanging out in a field and I stopped and made a quick image. Later, upon review, I found that I liked the composition and the poses the horses had.

I included this image because it was a little outside of my norm of shooting, much like “Almost Harvest”. Due to high winds across the prairie at Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, these tumbleweeds had piled up against a long fence. I liked the contrasts and patterns and decided to spend a little time, probably almost 2 hours, working various compositions. Although I captured a few I liked, this was the one that resonated with me the most.

Every Time I go to central or western Nebraska, I have to shoot the Milky Way. Toadstool Geologic Park lends itself well to this type of photography, so naturally, I had to take advantage of the opportunity.

This photograph made the list, well, because pheasants are darn hard to shoot and I feel like it came out pretty well!

This image made the list because I wanted a unique perspective on Snake River Falls in Nebraska. I found this high vantage point after searching and hiking for a bit. Additionally, because of new developments, Snake River Falls is endanger of no longer being publicly accessible, so this could potentially be the last image I capture of it.

Forty mile per hour winds, pelting sand, lousy light, everything seemed to be against me for this image. Then, only 10 minutes prior to sunset, clouds rolled in and the sun’s light shot out from behind with a beautiful intensity. It’s good to be patient.

Fog, trees, contrasts, shadows and patterns, I like the simplicity of this image.

After walking about a mile in waist deep snow before sunrise, the sun finally crested the horizon and bathed snow covered Rocky Mountain National Park and Long’s Peak in warm light.

Lastly, after a spring snowstorm came through Rocky Mountain, I ventured to Moraine Park and waited for sunrise. The light was good and by using my Tilt/Shift I was able to shift for greater detail. That’s when a plan really comes together – good plan, great weather conditions and cooperative gear!

Photo Friday: Warm Evening Glow and Prairie GlowPosted by drfl on November 18th, 2011

I am always searching for unique images and unique destinations. I often research the areas which I travel, but some of the best shots were captured in places that I did not necessarily expect. Today’s post is one such image. Toadstool Geologic Park is a fairly well known location in Nebraska and one that I have shot before. The photographic possibilities are endless and I could spend weeks just trying different compositions, light, etc. The first time I visited Toadstool, I noticed that there was a trail through the park that led to the Bison-Meng kill site 3 miles away. On that trip, I did not have the opportunity to take this trail, but I made it a priority on my last visit and took the trail twice.

The first time I took the trail, I had planned on shooting the stars that night as the forecast called for clear skies. I decided to do some scouting so I started off and wandered down the path through the otherworldly landscape, pinnacles, spires and canyon walls rising on either side of me. After about a 45 minutes the path climbed and I emerged from the canyon area onto a grassy prairie above the landscape. Not wanting to stay long so I could get setup for my star shoot, I surveyed the area and quickly descended back into the canyon.

The next day I decided I wanted to shoot the plateau area so I began the about 2 hours before sunset and once again made my way through Toadstool park and the canyon area and climbed up onto the plateau. After walking for another half hour, I came to the edge and carefully selected my vantage point. All around me were photographic possibilities from a vantage that I had never seen shot before. I imagined myself, not on the prairie of Nebraska, but rather in the Badlands of South Dakota and indeed, later I was told by a local that the Badlands could be spied on a very clear day. Here, the gentle prairie gave way to a harsher landscape.

Within 20 minutes dusk was upon me and I took my shots, knowing it would be a while before I could return. I used my 24mm Tilt-Shift lens vertically and shifted the lens left and right so I could maximize my image resolution later with stitching. As darkness began to fall I walked back satisfied with what I had seen. As I approached the trail I saw another beautiful scene before me. As the light was quickly fading, I setup my camera and captured one last image on the plateau. After three clicks the light was gone and I was left to hike back through the canyon in the dark. I picked up the pace and made it back in about a half hour, briefly stopping only for the startling sound of a porcupine hiding in a bush.

It was a unique location and one that I hope to return to again someday.

Technical Details (Warm Evening Glow):
Canon 5D Mark II, 24 TS/E 3.5L II lens, f/8, 3 images stitched, 2-Stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad
Oglala National Grassland, Nebraska

Technical Details (Prairie Glow):
Canon 5D Mark II, 24 TS/E 3.5L II lens, f/8, .4 sec., 2-Stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad
Oglala National Grassland, Nebraska

Ask Around: Calm Mist and Morning’s WelcomePosted by drfl on October 19th, 2011

The locals are often very helpful on good locations around the area. When I was exploring the Oglala Grassland this past September, I stopped into the lcoal ranger’s office to grab a map. While there, I asked the ladies where I should visit to get some good shots. They recommended an area on the north side of the grassland. One morning before sunrise, I took a road up that direction and saw mist rising from this reservoir. I drove up the two-track road, grabbed my gear and captured these photographs.

Meng Reservoir, Oglala Grassland, Sioux County, Nebraska

Technical Details (Calm Mist):
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 40mm, f/9, 1/160 sec., Singh-Ray 2 Stop Hard ND Grad Filter

Technical Details (Morning’s Welcome):
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 21mm, f/8, 1/100 sec., Singh-Ray 2 Stop Hard ND Grad Filter

Look Closer: Sandhill AbstractPosted by drfl on October 17th, 2011

Completely overcast and rainy conditions can present real challenges for landscape photography.  Often, photographers get caught up in the idea that successful landscape photography must be captured with a wide-angle lens.  Some of the most successful images, however, are captured with long lenses.  This image was captured with a 300mm lens coupled with a 1.4 teleconverter on a Canon 50D.  That’s long for a landscape!  I really wanted to isolate the abstract nature of the intense red and orange colors of the prairie grass that were emerged during the rain.  While I was initially bummed by the rainy conditions, I wouldn’t have seen these colors without it and if it had been sunny, the colors would be contrasty and hard to capture.  I found that when I looked closer I could find a more intimate and abstract landscape that I might not have seen otherwise.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/7.1, 1/250 sec.
Cherry County, Nebraska

Also, I wanted to mention that if you have not “liked” me on Facebook, please do by following the link below. I will be adding some unique information, events and deals there in the future.

http://www.facebook.com/JourneyOfLightPhotography

Photo Friday: Calm and QuietPosted by drfl on August 26th, 2011

I found myself yet again at Jack Sinn last week photographing the marsh. It is similar to my image, “Listen to the Quiet” taken last year, abut different enough I though it warranted processing. This image is another stitched Tilt/Shift image. Weighing in at just over 32 megapixels I once again enjoy the ability to take multiple shots for stitching with ease. One thing I do want to say, though, is that the stitching technique can be performed with any normal and some wide angle (wide to about 24mm) lenses. Before the tilt/shift I used my 17-40 f/4l which worked well, but shifting the 24 TS-E lens is much easier than lining up my tripod head and moving it correctly.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 24 TS-E II, f/9, 2 seconds, 2-stop Singh-Ray Hard Stop, 3-stop Singh-Ray Hard Stop Reversed
Jack Sinn Wildlife Management Area, Nebraska

Photo Friday: Badland’s Sentinel (B+W and Color)Posted by drfl on February 25th, 2011

For Photo Friday I present an image taken in 2009 on a trip to Badlands National Park.  Badlands is one of my favorite National Parks, not only for the stark terrain, but also because it is my closest National Park (it beats Rocky Mountain by a mere 100 miles).  I captured this image in the Sage Creek area of Badlands and have attempted to process it several times, but never quite captured the feel I wanted until this week.  When taking this image I purposely envisaged it in monochrome, but I also like the color.   If you like, drop a line to which version you prefer.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/9, 1/400 sec.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota