The Siggins Photography Blog

Great Landscape Photographers

2012-01-24T21:26:00.001-05:00

If you're reading this on my blog site you may notice a list just to the right labeled

Be sure to check out some of my favorite websites

You'll find listed there a few photographers I admire. Some I know personally, others I just know from their photography. All are excellent and inspire me to improve my photography every time I go out. At the bottom of that list is a link labeled The Worlds Greatest Landscape Photographers. This is a larger list put together by David Herreman in Belgium. If I attempted to make such a list it would be very similar to David's. If you are a landscape shooter or just enjoy looking at outstanding landscape photographs, check out David's list. If you click on the thumbnail picture you will go to that photographer's website.

Many of these photographers are on Google+ and clicking the G+ will take you to their Google+ page. I don't know what will happen if you're not a Google+ user. Maybe you can see the pages, maybe not. If you're a photographer and not on Google+ then you're missing out. Go sign up and start adding other photographers to your circles. It's an amazing online community.

The photo is Laurel Run Falls in Hawkins County, TN.

Rediscovered, Revisited and Revised

2012-01-21T14:26:00.001-05:00

Back in November 2009, June, her brother Jerry, and I went to Fall Creek Falls for a couple days. We weren't there for photography but of course I had my camera and went out early one morning for sunrise over the lake. There weren't many clouds in the sky that day but there was a nice fog around the lake which made for some nice soft scenes. It took several photos, edited some when we got home, then didn't do any more with them. They were forgotten until I was looking for something else and rediscovered these photos.

There was one photo I decided to see what I could do with over two years later. Would it be better? Worse? Would it come out the same? My experience tells me any of these outcomes were possible. I've decided to share what I did and let you decide.

Here's the original "as shot" image, straight out of the camera.

You can click on any of these photos to get a larger view.

The sky was over exposed on the right side. The cloudy white balance gave it a nice warm feel but the blues in the sky were almost unnoticeable. The camera was slightly tilted to the right. Other than that, not a bad shot.

Here's what I did back in 2009.

Changed the white balance to daylight, giving it a more bluish tint.
Dialed in +31 on the recovery slider, bringing back the blown out highlights on the right side.
Turned the brightness down from the default +50 to +18, darkening the photo.
Increased the clarity (+14) and vibrance (+12) making the orange clouds stand out a bit more against the blue sky.
Increased the contrast using the Tone Curve

This is a much more interesting photo than what came out of the camera. That's where I left it back in 2009.

This time I decided to start back with the raw image as before and use some of the Nik software filters in addition to Lightroom.

I decided the right side was not the most interesting area of the photo and cropped it to a vertical format, removing most of the right side. In addition to the tree there is an interesting curving path along the lake shore that you just don't see in the version above. I want to bring that out to add the s-curve to the composition. I could use the Lightroom tone curve or fill light slider to lighten the dark areas, but I've found the Detail Enhancer filter in Nik Color Efex pro to do a great job bringing the details out of dark areas.

Before editing in Color Efex 4, I first ran the image through the Nik Define 2.0 to remove any noise. It's always a good idea to do this first because many adjustments can magnify noise (static) in a digital photo. Here's the cropped photo after removing noise.

I then opened the photo in Nik Color Efex 4. Applying the Detail Enhancer filter to the entire image really messed with the soft fog, water and skies. I used control points (which is the coolest part of the Nik software) to only pull out the details in the shoreline and a little in the trees. The Brilliance/Warmth filter and the Skylight filter added a little saturation to the orange clouds and blue sky bringing back the colors of sunrise that were lost in the original as-shot photo.

Another cool artistic Nik filter is Glamor Glow. Sounds like something designed for portraits, but it can be very effective at creating a moody feel in a landscape photo like this one to emphasize the fog on the lake. Again I used some control points to not add glow to the shore line or the tree in the upper left so I wouldn't lose those details.

Finally, I used the Darken/Lighten Center to add a nice vignette around the outside, drawing the viewers attention to the tree in the center. One thing this filter allows me to do that I can't do in Lightroom is place the center of that vignette. By placing the center to the left side I was able to emphasize the shore line, leading the viewers eyes up to the tree. Here's a side by side view of the photo before editing in Color Efex and after.

When I brought the photo back in Lightroom I noticed a few dust spots in the sky that needed to be cloned out and some weeds at the bottom of the photo that were a little distracting. I used Photoshop Elements to close out the dust spots and weeds.

Here's the final Rediscovered, Revisited and Revised Photo

Is this version better than what I did in 2009 or just different? You'll have to decide for yourself. I kind of like it. In fact, I may print it to hang at home or at work. This photo is available for purchase online here.

If you're not a photographer you may not find any of this of interest. I hope you at least enjoy the photos. If you found this of interest and want to learn more about Lightroom or Nik software let me know.

My Top 10 for 2011

2012-01-07T21:01:00.002-05:00

It's kind of fun to look back over the past year and go through photos that I've taken. It's like remembering a lot of great times with my favorite people. I just went through all my 2011 photos that I had posted in my gallery and picked 10. I didn't agonize over the selections so it only took about 15 minutes to create a new gallery called Top 10 of 2011.

Some things I found interesting and maybe a bit surprising when I got down to 10:

There are no lake, stream, waterfall or reflection photos. This has always been my favorite subject to photograph and there are a lot of them in my web site. In fact, I've created a special gallery for those photos.
Two out of ten were pictures of wildlife. I've not taken many wildlife photos in the past but am getting to where I enjoy the challenge.
Half of the top ten were taken on a photo workshop with Bill Fortney, Matt Kloskowski, and other great photographers. A workshop is perhaps the best investment that can be made in your photography.
Two were taken while on a family vacation to Hilton Head SC. The beach is my least favorite place to visit but I always seem to come away with some nice photos.
One was taken in my front yard. Just goes to show you don't have to go far for inspiration and subjects.
Every one of these photos was taken with someone along with me. Either with other photographers in the workshop, with Harold Ross on a trip to the Smokies, or with my bride, who is my favorite person to have with me when photographing.

I hope you enjoy these ten. Drop me a note and tell me what you think.

Tips for Winter Photography

2011-12-26T18:13:00.002-05:00

Winter can be a great time for outdoor photography, but there are some things you need to consider that you don’t have to worry about during the rest of the year. Here are some tips to make your winter shooting successful.

1. White Balance. Most of the time the camera will be able to determine the correct white balance or color cast to apply to your photo. Snowy conditions can fool the camera and make that more difficult. Try manually setting the white balance to “sunny or daylight”, “cloudy”, or “shade” depending on the conditions. If you shoot in RAW mode you will be able to adjust the white balance later using a photo editing package.

2. Exposure. Modern digital cameras want to set the exposure so that the scene averages to a mid-gray tone. When much of your photo contains bright white snow, the camera will lower the exposure to make that white snow gray. Use spot metering and measure something other than snow or use exposure compensation to add one to two stops (EV) of light. Most cameras can do this. Check your manual for specific instructions. Be sure to watch your tone curve to know if you are exposing correctly. A properly exposed photo with lots of snow will have a tone curve that is bunched up on the right side.

3. Flash. If you use your flash when it’s snowing the snowflakes will show up as bright white spots. You can avoid this by turning off the flash, using a tripod, and taking a long exposure. Depending on your exposure time the snow will show up as streaks or not show up at all with a very long exposure, like the photo to the right. Experiment with the shutter speed to get the effect you want.

4. Condensation. When you bring a cold camera inside a warm building or car condensation may form on the lens. If you take that camera back outside that condensation may turn to ice! You can avoid the condensation pitfalls by avoiding taking your camera between warm and cold environments. If you’re getting in and out of your car, keep the car interior temps cool. If you want to take it inside a warm place try sealing the camera and lenses in a big zip lock bag while you are still outdoors. That will keep the warm moist air away from your camera until it warms up.

5. Batteries. Cold temps can zap a camera battery. They will function better if they are kept warm. Keep your spare batteries in an inside pocket where your body heat will keep them warm until you need them. Make sure they are fully charged before heading out into the cold.

7. Shoot during “The Golden Hour” just before sunset and just after sunrise. The low angle of the sunlight will emphasis the texture in the snow on the ground. It you shoot near noon then the snow may appear to be solid white.

6. Fingers. Pressing little buttons on your camera can be nearly impossible when it’s very cold. Either your fingers are numb and you can’t feel the buttons or your bulky gloves make it very difficult to hit the right button. You might try special gloves that allow you to stick your thumb and forefinger
out of the gloves to shoot then pull them back in. A couple examples are Pho-Tog Gloves or Shooting Gloves. Check out the Adorama buying guide.

Of course, you need to be safe while out shooting in the winter. Make sure you layer up to stay warm. You'll want to have good water proof footwear to keep your feet dry and warm. Last year I purchased at set of Yaktrak to add to my boots when hiking on snow or ice. Winter is also a great time to use hiking poles for extra stability.

With a little preparation you can have a great time photographing in the winter.

eBook Review - Rabari - Encounters With The Nomadic Tribe

2011-12-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

If you read my earlier post about my photography library you know I love books about photography. I have books about composition, technical aspects, printing, Lightroom, HDR, and many others. Recently I've been buying electronic eBooks. These books are typically not printed in hard copy format but are books in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format that can be read on a PC, MAC, iPAD, or Smart Phone. It makes taking your library along with you on a photo outing much easier. Because there is no printing or distribution costs these eBooks are typically cheaper than hard copy books. Most are also shorter than normal books. I'm really not sure why.

This week I got a copy of Rabari - Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe by Mitchell Kanashkevich. This is part of The Insider Series on Travel Documentary Photography by LightStalking. The title suggests it is a travel book but it's really a book about photography that just happens to use the author's four month long travels in this region of India for the examples.

Here's the table of contents for the book:

After a brief introduction to the project, the equipment (surprisingly affordable) and the work flow, the author goes into details about each of 10 different photos from the project. For each photo, he discusses background information, objectives for that particular photo, the light, the moment and/or pose, the composition, the "Biggest Challenge" and how me managed it, and the what/why of post processing.

The author provides great insight into what was going through his mind when he was working on that particular photo. Reading these well written descriptions is like being with him on the photo shoot and having him tell you what he's doing and why.

One thing I was surprised to learn was how little equipment he used.   He didn't have high end cameras, lenses, or elaborate artificial lights.   Instead he relied on a 5-in-one reflector for his lighting.   He describes the conditions he was shooting in and includes diagrams showing where the subject, light source and camera were located.

I found his description of the biggest challenge with each situation and how he overcame it to be instructive. While I may never run into that exact challenge, his approach to solving the problems was educational as I learned things I will be able to apply later.

He uses a combination of Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop to edit his photos.   In the book he talks about what adjustments he made to the photo and how he made the adjustments. The book is more about the photography and is less about post-processing. He includes before and after versions of the photo.

Reading this book was entertaining and informative. The photos reached out and grabbed me right off.   You can see why Mitchell Kanashkevic is a successful travel and documentary photographer. I recommend this book for amateurs as well as professional photographers.

Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe is available for download for the special Christmas release price of $19.95 when you apply the special launch discount code “HAPPYXMAS” until Dec 25th. Go online and buy a copy. There's no waiting for shipment so you can start reading right away.

What Are You Thankful For?

2011-11-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

"Now thank we all our God" is a Christian hymn written around 1636 by Martin Rinkart (1586–1649). Rinkart was a Lutheran minister who came to Eilenburg, Saxony at the beginning of the Thirty years war. The walled city of Eilenberg became the refuge for political and military fugitives, but the result was overcrowding, deadly pestilence and famine. During the height of a severe plague in 1637, Rinkart was the only surviving pastor, conducting as many as 50 funerals in a day. He performed more than 4000 funerals in that year, including his wife's.

Rinkart wrote this hymn at the end of the Thirty Years’ War for a grand celebration service.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

It is amazing that, after such misery, he was able to write this hymn of thanksgiving.

This time of year we are quick to tell others "Happy Thanksgiving" without giving much thought to what we are thankful for. If Rinkart could thank God after such hardship you and I should be thanking Him continuously for all the blessings he has given us.

What are you thankful for?

I've just ordered the biggest print I've ever made

2011-11-18T20:32:00.001-05:00

For some time I've wanted to create a large pano print to hang over the living room couch. I have a framed print there now but it's just not big enough.   I'm talking about something about 4 feet wide!

To print something that large takes some preparation.   A single 18 Megapixel photo cropped down wouldn't have the printed resolution I was looking for. I needed to take several images and stitch them together to create a wide pano.   I wanted a landscape scene that would look good with the colors in the couch. I had made several attempts but never cared for what I got. Either the light was not good, the colors didn't match, the scene was not great or the stitch didn't work. On a recent photo workshop I had the conditions I was looking for.

I wanted to the pano to be wide enough to give me some flexibility for cropping to print. I decided to make a series of 7 images.   In this case I was looking into a sunrise and the range of light was going to be more extreme than my digital camera sensor was going to be able to handle. I needed to take three different exposures at each point in the arc to capture the full range of light so I could blend them together later using HDR software.   That meant I had to take 21 images! The sun was coming up and the light was changing so I wouldn't get a lot of chances at this.   To make the stitch come out I set the camera exposure on manual, exposure bracketing -1EV, 0EV and +1EV, aperture at f/14, ISO at 100 and set to daylight white balance, removed the polarizer filter, and made sure the camera and tripod were level. These are all things I learned the hard way on the other failed attempts.

When I got home I found I had what I had been hoping for. I ran each set of three bracketed images through the Nik HDR Efex software to create seven new single HDR images using saved the settings so I could process each set exactly the same.   I then used Hugin pano stitching software to create a final image that was wide enough to fill 4 feet. The end result could have gone up to 6 1/2 feet wide without having to scale up!

For printing I wanted to create a Triptych, which is three prints hung side by side. In this case I wanted to create the appearance of looking out windows to a beautiful landscape. Enter Groupon codes for 16x20 gallery wrapped canvas prints from Canvas on Demand (I'm getting hooked on Groupon). I divided my photo into three 16x20 panels and placed my order.   It's going to be a while before I get my prints, but when hung on the wall the should look something like this

I'm real happy with the way this came out and can't wait to see the actual prints. Check back in a few weeks for the end results.

Are you ready for Winter?

2011-11-17T22:23:00.001-05:00

It snowed in Kingsport Tennessee today! The temps were still in the 40's so no one was worried about accumulation on the roads. Snowing before Thanksgiving is a bit early for us but it does remind me that winter is not to far off.

Ready for Winter?

Seems like just a couple weeks ago we were enjoying the fall colors. Recently I put together a calendar with some of my favorite photos from the past year. Here's the calendar page for November 2012.

I really like the quote I found for this photo.   I can look at this photo and remember what autumn was like just a few weeks ago. Fall just does not last long enough.

Right now we are in that in between time where the fall colors are gone and everything is either brown or grey.   In a few weeks we may have some snow accumulation, which can be a beautiful time to go out and enjoy God's gift of snow.   I can hardly wait.

If you are interested in buying a copy of my calendar you can send me an email at r.siggins@charter.net.   The calendars are $15 each and all the profit goes to Hope Haven Ministries of Kingsport. You can see some of the photos used in the calendar by clicking here

Whew! I'm done.

2011-11-13T13:49:00.001-05:00

I have been home for four weeks now since my trip to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and I just now finished editing and posting my favorite photos from that trip.   People ask me how many photos I took and to be honest, I don't know.    I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to deleting images after I have loaded them on my computer.   This time I didn't count before I started deleting.   I will say it's the first time I used every memory card I have, which is quite a few.

The good news is I spent the four weeks narrowing down to 36 from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and 59 from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.   Considering I was gone for 16 days and most of those were spent it a photography workshop, that's a really small number of photos.

I always shoot in RAW mode. Unlike when shooting in JPEG format where the camera does a lot of automatic adjustments, shooting in RAW means every photo has to be edited.   I spent a lot of time on my edits trying to make them the best I can.

I didn't edit my photos in the same order I took them. I worked on the most promising ones first and made my way down to the questionable photos last. Most of the last ones I worked on got deleted. The very last photo I edited did not look promising. It was from a spot known for sunsets, but we got there too late for sunset.   There were no puffy clouds in the sky to catch the remaining sunset light and it was getting pretty dark. Most of our group didn't bother to walk out to this spot.   Imaging my surprise when I came out with this image from that spot.

Heaven's Bench, Vermont

I took three exposures (1/5 second to 2.0 seconds) to capture the entire range of light and then blended them together using Nik HDR Efex Pro software. I used Lightroom 3 to add the finishing touches.

This spot is a wide grass covered hill with views that go on forever. The interesting thing is there is a mountain bike trail that runs through it. You can see the path on the left side. Nothing like the mountain bike trails here in Tennessee.

Take a look at all my photos from this trip by clicking these links. Once the page loads click the slideshow button, sit back and enjoy.

Nova Scotia & New Brunswick - June and I traveling on our own.
Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont - Photo Workshop

Reflections of Fall

2011-11-02T21:42:00.001-04:00

A shot I enjoy getting is window reflections. If I position my camera just right I can get some really cool subjects reflecting in the windows. If the window happens to be in an old building with a lot of character then the window frame and walls can really focus attention on the reflections. Here's three I've done.


Harper's Ferry, West Virginia


Cradle of Forestry, North Carolina


Church Windows Somewhere in New England

I got the church on a recent photography workshop. We chris-crossed across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont so many times I lost track of exactly which state we were in. It's in one of those three.

All three of these shots just happen to have been taken in the fall. The Harper's Ferry shot was October 2010 and the other two were October 2011. I like the texture of the walls in the first two and the horizontal lines in the last one.

A polarizing filter is not necessary for window reflections but it can be used to adjust how much reflection you want in the window. In the Harper's Ferry photo I wanted to be able to see inside the building and see the reflections. I adjusted the filter to get the balance I was looking for. In the second two I wanted all the color and light I could get in the reflections.

If you try these shots, just make sure you watch for unwanted elements in the reflections, such as buildings, lights, people or even yourself!

The fall color is pretty close to gone for this year, but I'm going to enjoy these for a while longer.

What to do with grey cloudy day photos

2011-10-27T21:27:00.000-04:00

During our recent trip to Nova Scotia we spent several days with rain, clouds and fog following us everywhere we went. We basically had dull grey days. These are great for some photos where the fog can enhance the mood, especially if the photo does not contain any sky. See the Rainy Days and Fridays post from October 14 for some examples. Sometimes you can't avoid getting a large part of the sky in the photo and mood comes out blah like this.

Edited with Lightroom to bump up the contrast, clarity and tone curve.

There are always options for dealing with these dull photos. For fun I processed this photo four different ways. The first one is the photo above edited in Nik Color Efex 4 using the Detail Enhancer filter. This is a great filter that was added to version 4. It will pull details out of the dark and light parts of an image without adding a lot of noise. This filter alone is worth the price of the upgrade! In this case it really brought out the detail in the lighthouse, rocks and gave the clouds a very dramatic feel.

Edited with Nik Color Efex 4 Detail Enhancer

This is better but other than the red lighthouse top, there is not much color. Sometimes no color is better than a little color. Here's the second image edited with Nik Silver Efex Pro to convert it to black and white.

Edited with Nik Silver Efex Pro

I'm really starting to like dramatic black and white images like this. Without the dull colors, you concentrate more on the textures, contrast, and composition. I think this is my favorite version of this photo.

Finally, I though I would try something I've seen others do. Starting with the second image in Lightroom I desaturated all the colors except red. This essentially created a black and white except for the lighthouse top. Our eyes are naturally attracted to red so it's the thing you want to look at first in this image.

Edited in Lightroom to remove all color except red.

I'm not a fan of this style and this is not my favorite of the four. The good news is everyone has different taste and this might appear to someone. I'd love to hear which one you prefer. Post a comment and let me know what you think.

These are photos of the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Peggy's Cove is a quaint fishing village that draws tourists by the bus loads. The day we were there it was cold and the winds were gusting to 80 mph. The tour buses were there but not many of the tourists were out on the rocks or near the lighthouse. Made it easier to photograph without people in the picture, but the winds made it very hard to get a sharp photo. I set my tripod as low as it would go, sat on the ground, and held it down so the wind wouldn't blow it over. I felt like a Weather Channel reporter when I was taking these photos. June was on lower ground praying I didn't blow off the top of the rocks.

Here's a couple more from that day.

You can view larger versions of any of these photos by clicking on them. This also allows you to easily flip through each one to compare them. They are also available for purchase in the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Gallery

What a Way To End a Week

2011-10-16T15:27:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting in the Bangor International Airport waiting on USAir to fly me home. If everything works according to plan I'll be home by midnight. Today was the last day of a fantastic 8-day photo workshop. I have learned a lot in eight days and more than that, I've made a lot of new friends from all over the US. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to spend a week with two dozen great Christians making photos of God's Creation. I'll be glad to be home, but am sorry to see it end.

To wrap the workshop up we went to Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park for sunrise. God provided perfect conditions (AGAIN!) and I was able to try out a new technique or two. In this photo the sun was up and bright, but I was able to add two neutral density filters to my lens to get a 30 second exposure. This long exposure made the waves hitting the rocks turn into fog. The beach is covered with round polished pink granite rocks which captured the beautiful light of sunrise.

Canon 7D, Tamron 17-50 @ f/20, 30 second exposure.

I now have a few thousand images to go through when I get home. As I send the next several weeks working on these photos it will remind me of the great time and great fellowship on this trip.

Rainy Days and Fridays

2011-10-14T18:31:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 40 years since The Carpenter's Rainy Days and Mondays went to #2 on the charts. Today brought that song to mind. Our photography workshop group spent the morning shooting in drizzle and fog on Cadillac Mountain and The Wild Gardens of Acadia in Maine. Cloudy days are great for photographing a variety of different subjects. The clouds and fog disperse and soften the light eliminating almost all shadows and giving things a rich color. Today we had blowing drizzle when made shooting a challenge. Most of the time I wasn't wearing my glasses because they were covered with water. I had to trust the camera to get the focus right because I couldn't tell if I was even close to in focus. I had to constantly wipe the front of my lens and then quickly take the shot.

I'm not complaining. These conditions gave me the opportunity to take photos like these.

It has been cold enough that some of the vegetation on Cadillac Mountain has started to turn red. Add some evergreens, the pink granite, and some fog and you get a decent photograph.

The granite was worn smooth by glaciers long ago and has since cracked, which make great leading lines in the photo.

This bunch of grass had turned golden.

After stomping around on the mountain we went down to the Wild Gardens of Acadia. There was not much blooming in the gardens but many of the ferns had turned golden.

I was able to move around to get a green background behind the golden ferns making a nice color contrast shot.

Tomorrow promises to be a nice sunny day. We'll get out and shoot but it will be different from today. I'm looking forward to it.

Blessed By New Friends

2011-10-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

This week I have the privilege of spending 8 days in a photography workshop in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with some of the best instructors around and and a couple dozen outstanding photographers. After three days I have found my photography has already started to improve and I'm learning a great many things that will help me to continue to improve.

This evening Matt Kloskowski spent some time running our group through some great tips on using Adobe Lightroom, plus some on Photoshop and Nik Color Efex 4. I couldn't wait to try out what I learned. Even though I got up at 4:30 this morning to head out for sunrise and have to get up at 5:00 tomorrow to do it all over again, I came back to my room to try out my new skills editing one of the images I took today. Here's the end result.

I'm pretty pleased with the end result. Here's one I took yesterday morning.

Besides being an opportunity to improve my photography, this trip is also an opportunity to make a lot of new friends who are all great people. I am blessed to be able to spend time with these folks in this vibrant fall season in New England. I'm looking forward to getting up in 7 hours to start all over again.

Be sure to check out Bill Fortney's blog where he is chronicling each day.

Previsualization

2011-09-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

I went to Hungry Mother State Park for the first time several weeks ago. While I was there I took this shot. It's not very interesting but I thought, hey this will look great if I had a picnic basket and some picnic food laid out on a colorful table cloth on that table. I had previsualized in my mind exactly what the photo would look like.

A couple weeks later I was back. June had gotten our picnic basket, a colorful quilt to use as a table cloth, some fruit and classes to put on the table. I brought my long lens so I could compress the apparent distance between the table and the bridge in the distance. This is going to be a great photo.

When I got there I found the table had been moved and was being used by a father and son as their fishing station. Plus, a group of shirtless men were on a pontoon boat right in front of the bridge I wanted to include in the photo. Neither group of fishermen were moving. I was not going to get that shot this day.

I really liked that bridge with the setting sun shining on it. We found our way down to the bridge and crossed over to try and find a good angle to shoot. I was able to get this shot. It's not the shot I came to get but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I hope to get back there before all the leaves drop off the trees and try the shot again. Maybe conditions will be better than I even imagined.

A couple months ago I heard Bob Krist say "The key to making more interesting photos is to stand in front of interesting stuff." Sometimes we have to go multiple times to stand in front of interesting stuff before the conditions come together to get a good shot. Fortunately for me I live in a place with interesting stuff all around. I have the camera. I have the subject material. All I need is enough time to get out there and shoot.

Come back and visit this blog again and you may see the next attempt at this photo

First Day of Fall

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today, Friday, September 23, 2011 is The First Day of Fall.

Welcome to fall! The colors have already started to appear in Maine and other northern states. Only a very few trees have started to turn here so we have a few more weeks before the peak arrives. I'm told this year will be a good one for fall color in East Tennessee.

Other than raking leaves, which we have a lot of, fall is my second favorite time of year after spring.   I look forward to the contrasting brilliant yellows, oranges, reds and clear blue skies.   The problem is, fall just does not last long enough.

Here's a shot from last fall to celebrate the first day of fall and to get you in the fall mood.   This was taken in Babcock State Park, WV at f/9, ISO 100 which gave me a 0.3 second exposure. Just long enough to blur the water but not so long that the water lost all texture. Sunrise is a better time to shoot the Glade Creek Grist Mill but our travel plans put us there for sunset.   We had to wait about an hour for the sun to drop behind the trees.   There are large rocks in the creek that allow you to get some great angles on the falls and mill.

Glade Creek Grist Mill

I have this printed on a 20x30 gallery wrap canvas in my den and it looks great! It's available for purchase online here

I'm looking forward to taking a lot more fall color this year. This fall June and I are blessed with the opportunity to travel to some places we have never been before. Watch for new fall photos in a few weeks.

Windows and Doors

2011-09-21T22:40:00.002-04:00

Recently I've noticed a trend in my photography - I'm taking lots of pictures of windows and doors.

Palmer Mill, Saltville VA

Some are from the inside looking out and others from the outside looking in. A few are in new buildings but most are in old historic, restored or run down buildings. I've decided to start a new gallery on my website dedicated to Windows and Doors. This may sound a bit strange and narrow, but it's what I've found interesting to me.

Madam Russell Cabin, Saltville VA

First United Methodist Church, Marion VA


Log Cabin, Sequoia NP, California

You can find the new Windows and Doors Gallery under the Art collection. I'll be adding more and more doors and windows.

I'm trying to add something thought provoking or inspiring to go along with the windows and doors, but I'm drawing a blank. Maybe after a good's night sleep I'll be inspired and will add something. Until then please enjoy this slightly off the wall collection.

Reflections of The Past

2011-09-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

June and I met Jerry while shooting in Saltville VA last Saturday. He described himself as the Church Historian of the Madam Russell Methodist Church.   We got to spend a long time with Jerry while he told us some of the history of the area, Saltville, and the Madam Russell Methodist Church.

Jerry mentioned that he keys to the William Alexander Stuart house and we could go by there for a personal tour and photo shoot.   William Alexander was Confederate General J.E.B. "Jeb" Stuart's brother and manager of the Saltville Salt Works during the civil war.   When Jeb Stuart was killed his wife and children moved in with William in Saltville.   The house came under both Confederate and Union guns during battles for the Saltworks.

I came away with some interesting photos from inside the old house. It's been lived in, upgraded over the years, and was purchased years ago to become a B&B.   As you can see, the B&B didn't quite make it.

These photos are all multiple exposure High Dynamic Range photos.   In each one I took several different exposures from very under exposed to very over exposed. I then used Nik HDR Efex Pro to combine the different images into a single tone-mapped image. The Nik software has a number of different tools that can be applied to give the final image many different looks from realistic to cartoonish. I chose to bring out the texture in these to convey the old and weathered look.

3 exposure, -2. 0. +2 EV

6 exposure, -3 2/3 EV to +1 1/3 EV

3 exposure, -2, 0, +2 EV

The first two fit the Reflections of The Past theme with the mirrors. This last one was taken in an upstairs bedroom looking out into the hall to the top of the stairs. I think the beautiful wood floors contrast with the cracking paint on the door, the peeling ceiling, and the old wallpaper.

I've found the older I get the more I enjoy photographing old things. I guess I have more of an appreciation of history.

Fly The Flag High

2011-09-13T22:52:00.003-04:00

This was taken on September 10, 2011 in Marion Virginia. The Marion Fire Department was honoring those who lost their lives on 9/11/01 and those who continue to put their lives on the line each and every day.

Remember to honor the soldiers who server abroad, those who serve at home and our local Police Officers and Fire Fighters that serve us each and every day.

Click for larger version

This was taken with a Canon 7D, Tamron 17-50, 1/25 second. The aperture was set at f/25 to get the sunburst. Used Lightroom to darken the sky (was very blown out) and remove some lens flare caused by shooting into the sun. I was lucky enough to be there when the sun was shining through the trees on the flag.

I'm also lucky enough to have a wife who encourages me and points out shots for me to take. She makes me a better photographer.

Compromising With Pearls

2011-09-07T22:17:00.001-04:00

Recently when biking around Cades Cove at sunrise I came across a field of tall grass, spiderwebs, and dew. This combination can create some beautiful abstract artsy images with dew drops on the spiderwebs. I wanted to get up close and shoot the "String of Pearls" but I didn't have my macro lens with me. It would have been the perfect solution to this situation.

I did have a couple other lenses with me, including a 80-400mm long telephoto, a 24-105mm zoom and a 17-50mm wide-angle zoom. I wanted to have the dew drops as sharp as possible but blur the background to keep it from being distracting. I choose the 17-50, set it at 50mm, f/2.8. The wide angle let me focus reasonably close and the wide open aperture blurred the background. Typically, short focal length lenses will have a larger depth of field and in this case, even at f/2.8 the background was too distracting.

I decided to crop down as much as possible to see if I could eliminate the background distractions. This is an extreme crop of the same picture.

Be sure to click the photo to zoom in and see the details.

You can see that by compromising the end result is just not sharp. If I had my macro with me I would have gotten a much sharper image of the dew drops. Oh well.

Right now I am studying a book by Warren Wiersbe on the Book of Exodus. In it he says "most people in our world are being crucified between two thieves: the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow. That's why they can't enjoy today." What a waste. I made a choice when I packed my camera bag and got on my bike that morning. I could regret not having what I needed, or I can be happy I got to enjoy God's String of Pearls. Next time I go out to take photos I can worry about having to leave some piece of camera gear behind or worry about not being at the right spot at just the right time or I can enjoy the moment and be glad I'm there.

Later that morning I got to spend about an hour using my long telephoto lens to shoot deer and black bear in the Cove. You can bet I wasn't worrying about not having my macro lens then! God's creation is all around us. We'll miss seeing much of it because we are so busy running around. If we slow down and look God will provide the Wow moments for us.

You Looking At Me?

2011-08-27T21:05:00.001-04:00

Last year I was reading a magazine for nature photographers. Part of that issue was a survey asking the photographers about their favorite place to photograph. It was fun to read and see how many of the top places we've been to, including Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arches, Zion, and Acadia. One of the top spots is in our own back yard -- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. June and I decided we have been neglecting our park and we need to spend more time in the GSMNP. As a result, my Smokies Gallery is now the largest on my website.

Last weekend we took another get away trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a great weekend to spend time together and recharge our batteries in the woods. As John Muir said

Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energies, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

We hiked to Hen Wallow Falls, Biked the Cades Cove Loop at sunrise, spent at least 30 minutes waiting for a mother bear and her three cubs to move so we could continue our ride, hiked to Andrews Bald after a rain, caught a great sunrise at Clingman's Dome, and another great sunrise from the Foothills Parkway outside Townsend. Believe it or not, there are still wildflowers blooming in August.

In addition to the black bears, there were numerous white tailed deer, including several bucks. This one wasn't too sure about the photographer in the high weeds.

You Looking At Me?

We were blessed with peace and quiet on our trip to The Smokies. Yes, you can find peace in the park if you get away from Gatlinburg, start early, leave the main roads and explore the trails deep into the woods.

There are 17 new photos from this trip in the Smoky Mountain Gallery for you to enjoy. Check them out and enjoy some of the beauty of our park.

His Light Shines

2011-08-21T22:04:00.000-04:00

I took this photo this morning off the Foothills Parkway near Townsend Tennessee. It's a place I've been for sunrise multiple times and each time it's different. There has always been some fog in the valley below the Parkway and this morning it was staying low, allowing the hills to peak out. There was also something special in the image -- a glow of light in the fog. I'm assuming it was a street light, security light or something similar strong enough to cut through the fog. Looking at a map I think it may have been Millers Cove Church.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:6

It was still very dark when I took this - 30 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 400. This morning the light was shining out of the darkness and we could see it on the hillside above the valley.

Storms Coming to Rich Valley

2011-08-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

I spent last Sunday taking photos around Smyth County Virginia. My first stop was the Visitor's Center in Chilhowie to get some suggestions for places to shoot. The folks there were very helpful, giving me enough ideas to last for days. One suggestion was the Rich Valley Overlook on northern boarder of Hungry Mother State Park. This is not a marked spot and is easily missed. In fact I drove about a mile down the other side of the mountain before I found a place to turn around and head back up to the top where there was the only pull off I saw for miles. You couldn't see the valley from the pull off so I was standing on the edge of the road against the guard rail hoping a car didn't come by and send me and my gear over the edge.

It had been thundering for a while and I knew from the weather map on my phone that an afternoon thunderstorm was going to hit about the time I got to my spot. Just before and after a storm is some of the best times to get dramatic lighting on the landscape so I knew I had to try. I had just enough time to set up and fire off several shots before the rains hit and chased me back inside my car. You can see the rain coming up the valley on the left side of this photo.

Be sure to click this image for a larger view

To capture the entire range of light I took bracketed shots at -2EV, 0EV and +2EV. I used Nik HDR Efex Pro to merge them together, then a little Lightroom adjustments to lighten the trees, increase the vibrance, cut some of the noise, and add a little vignette.

Thinking Outside The Frame

2011-07-24T19:08:00.001-04:00

We're told "thinking outside the box" is a good thing. It opens our mind to consider new ideas beyond the way it's always been done. What about when we edit our digital photos?   What's the box that might constrain our thinking when we are using Photoshop, Lightroom, or Picasa?   The cropping feature that is built into these tools can tend to keep us within the standards for picture frames.

If you go to any store that sells ready made frames you'll find they are sized to hold 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 prints.   The crop tool in our editing packages often defaults to these standard sizes.   That's fine if you plan on printing your photo and using a standard frame.   Most of us don't print many of our photos any more. They end up on a website somewhere.   Yet, we tend to use the standard crop sizes.   If the photos are going on a website they can be cropped to any width and height that works best for the photo.

Here's an example.   The first photo is not cropped at all. This is the way I took it.

Uncropped

The next two are cropped to 8x10 and 5x7

8x10

5x7

None of these really work for me. There is too much wasted space at the bottom and top of the photo. This does not add anything to the photo and a good rule of thumb is to eliminate anything that doesn't add to the composition.

Here's the crop I like best.

Unconstrained Crop

I turned off the crop lock in Lightroom and cropped according to what I thought looked best, without considering the dimensions.

If I was to print this I would have to go back and find a crop that either fits a standard size print/frame or go for a custom photo mat and/or frame. In this case it's pretty close to a 10x20, which is a size that I can get printed. If you're looking for a frame for a 10x20 print you may have to go somewhere besides Walmart and Hobby Lobby. Better yet, forget the frame and print as a canvas wrap. I've done three of those now and love them.

This photo is available for purchase online. It's ready to print at 4x8, 5x10, 8x16, 10x20, or 12x24. Many of these sizes are available as metal or canvas prints.

Photo/Travel Program - The Parks of The Sierra Nevada Mountains

2011-07-17T15:12:00.002-04:00

Now, a word from the Shameless Self Promotion Department at The Siggins Photography.

The 63rd Annual Virginia Highlands Festival kicks off this Saturday July 23 and runs through August 7. The festival began in 1949 by Robert Porterfield, founder of the Barter Theater, as a simple one-week festival to showcase Appalachian arts and crafts. Since then the festival has now grown into a two-week event offering a variety of venues.

View from Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park

This year I'll be presenting a program at the festival on The Parks of The Sierra Nevada Mountains on August 6. I'll be showing some of my photography and talking about Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks. I'll also take the audience to Bodie California to experience a real gold rush ghost town and to Mono Lake for out of this world landscapes and sunsets. The Virginia Highlands guide lists my program as four hours long, which is not right. I don't think I can talk near that long and no one would stay that long. Instead it will be between 2 and 3 hours depending on how much discussion we get into.

The program (I don't like the word lecture) is part travel show and part photography program. I'll talk about the places we visited and also about how I took different photos, the gear I used, etc.

The festival charges $5 for the program. You can buy tickets online here. It will be in the Executive Auditorium at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, in Abingdon.

There are two other programs that are worth going to. Chris Duncan is presenting Around the World in 180 minutes on Saturday, July 30 and National Geographic Photographer Bob Krist is presenting Behind the Scenes: Real Life Misadventures of a National Geographic Photographer Saturday July 23, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m in the Grand Hall of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.

Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway and Other Recent Work

2011-07-06T20:35:00.001-04:00

I've added a new Recent Work gallery to my website that contains all the photos posted in the last two months. As I post newer photos the older ones will drop off but will still be in their proper galleries. For example, you will find the latest photos from Smoky Mountains, Wildflowers, and Charleston / Hilton Head galleries also in the Recent Work gallery.

Mossy Stream

Take a look in the Recent Work Gallery for some of the photos from my trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on July 4. I'm very happy with some of these and hope you enjoy them.

Leather Vasevine

Until this last weekend I had convinced myself that by July the wildflower season was over and there was not much to shoot until fall. Boy, was I wrong. We saw Fire Pink, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers, Columbine, Fly Poison, Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, and others. Of course, there was plenty of ferns and moss covered rocks in the streams. Just goes to show we are blessed all the time, even if we don't know it. Sometimes all we have to do is open our eyes and look around at God's Glorious Creations.

Fire Pink

Many thanks to my friend and fellow photographer Harold Ross for taking me to all these great places and helping me learn some new wildflowers.

What I get up at 3:00 AM for....

2011-07-05T11:53:00.000-04:00

At 3:00 AM on July 4 I got up. Why in the world would anyone get up that early on a holiday? Sane normal people would be enjoying a day off from work and sleeping in. This Forth of July I got up, ate a quick breakfast, gathered my camera gear and drove to meet Harold Ross. The two of us drove to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be there at 6:15 for this.

Sunrise from Newfound Gap Road, NC

I'd say it was worth missing a few hours sleep to capture a dawn of a new day in the mountains.

We spent the rest of the day driving around the park and the Blue Ridge Parkway shooting streams, waterfalls, and wildflowers. I enjoyed spending the day with a great Christian and photographer. I'll post a few more photos from the day soon.

Do You Feel Persecuted?

2011-06-29T22:46:00.000-04:00

Many churches today are persecuted in one way or another for many different reasons. The Prince William's Parish Church, or the Sheldon Church as it is known today, has seen extreme persecution in it's 266 year history. The church is located between the towns of Beaufort and Yemassee in South Carolina. It was built between 1745 and 1753 and funded by William Bull, who was the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Bull died before the church was even completed and was buried at the base of the altar inside the church. His grave is there, inside the old walls.

William Bull's Grave

During the Revolutionary War, the church was set on fire when British General Augustine Prevost invaded the area in 1779. In 1826, the church was rebuilt using the surviving walls of the original structure. On January 14, 1865, the church was burned a second time when it was set on fire by Sherman's troops during his "March to the Sea'' campaign.   It was never rebuilt.

I have done a little internet research to try and understand why churches were burned during the wars. One site claimed gunpowder was stored in the church during the Civil War. Another claimed the British associated some churches with American revolutionaries.   I never did find anything definitive.

Today the wall and front columns are still standing surrounded by beautiful Live Oaks and Dogwoods.   There are a few graves around the church dating back to the early 1700's.

Some of the oldest graves


Old Sheldon Church

We got to the church not long after sunrise to take advantage of the soft, warm early morning light. Before the sun was high enough to shine on the church itself, the indirect light made the church ruins glow like there was a light on inside. It was a bit hazy early in the morning, which made the skies white or grey. I've intentionally cropped the photos to remove as much of the sky as possible.

After spending some quality time with South Carolina's finest mosquitoes, we were getting ready to leave when the sun got just high enough to shine through the tree leaves. I took advantage of this to capture a "sun burst" above the church. To get this effect you need to shoot with a small aperture (I used f/25 here) and position the camera so the sun is partially blocked, creating a pinpoint light source.

I hope you enjoy these photos. These and others are available for purchase in the Sheldon Church Gallery

Hilton Head Sunrise

2011-06-21T09:50:00.004-04:00

Here I am on vacation getting very little sleep. Seems when I'm on vacation I'll get up after 4 hours sleep and head out in hopes of a good sunrise. This time we're in Hilton Head, SC staying a short walk from the beach. After staying up to almost 1:00 I got up at 5:15 AM and walked down to the beach. The thing about photographing sunrises is you never know what you'll get. Sometimes I get there and the sunrise is a dud, like my recent Roan Mountain sunrise hike. Other times I'm blessed with a beautiful dawn.

This morning I got there long before the sun. There were very few people out that early. By the time the sun came up there were dozens of people walking, running or walking their dogs on the beach. It was low tide and there was probably 200' of beach. Later today when the tide comes in there will only be about 30' of beach with people everywhere. Early morning is the time to be on the beach on the Eastern shore.

Hilton Head Sunrise

This photo is available for purchase here

This was taken with a 17-50mm lens @ 33mm then cropped down to a wide landscape. I used a small f/16 aperture to maximize my depth of field and manually focused on the grass in the foreground.   I also used a 2-stop and a 3-stop graduated neutral density filter stacked together to keep from blowing out the sky.   I still had to darken the sky some in Lightroom. It's tough shooting into the sun and still being able to see the details in the darker areas of the image.

I also had to adjust the white balance. The camera was on auto white balance and because the sky was so orange it compensated by making the photo more blue.   The sand had a distinct blue tint to it before adjusting.

Because we're on an island we also have the opportunity to shoot some sunsets as well.   I'll try a couple sunsets before the weeks is out.

Sunrise Layers

2011-06-12T16:07:00.001-04:00

June and I got up at 3:30 AM Saturday, jumped in the car and drove 1 1/2 hours to Carvers Gap on the Tennessee - North Carolina state line then took off up the Appalachian Trail towards Round Bald to be there for sunrise. We were hoping for some clouds to make the sunrise dramatic but when the sky started in lighten there were no clouds in sight. When the sun did come up over the mountains of Western North Carolina the sky was very bright but the mountains and grassy bald we were standing on was still very dark. No digital camera can handle this extreme tonal range from dark to very bright without the darks being almost black or the sky being totally white or "blown out".

To handle this I used a combination of two techniques - graduated neutral density filter and High Dynamic Range or HDR.

The Graduated Neutral Density Filter or ND Grad is dark grey on one side and clear on the other. I placed the filter on the front of my lens with the dark grey on the top to block much of the light from the bright sky and the clear portion on the bottom so I didn't darken the already dark grasses and mountain ridges. I used a 2-stop ND grad, which cut the light from the sky to 25%. That wasn't quite dark enough. I think I need to get a 3-stop ND Grad for my camera bag for these conditions.

I also took three different exposures of the same image shown below

As metered by the camera

-2 stops darker

+2 stops brighter

The first exposure was almost good enough but some of the sky was blown out, meaning there was no information there only bright light. A 3-stop filter would have fixed this but I didn't have one. When I got back home I used HDR Efex Pro from Nik Software to combine the three images. The software will basically take the properly exposed parts from each image and blend them together to make one High Dynamic Range or HDR image. I use HDR Efex Pro because it allows me to create HDR images that are realistic and close to what my eye was able to see.

Once I had the HDR image I did a little additional editing in Adobe Lightroom to crop it, adjust the tone curve, update the color balance, add a little edge vignette and sharpened the photo. Here's the end result.

This is not what I was hoping for when we got up at 3:30 AM, but I do like the layers of green, blue/grey and orange.

We spent the rest of the morning, which there was still plenty of, hiking the Appalachian Trail to Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Ridge Bald. The Rhododendrons and Flame Azaleas were in full bloom and beautiful. Photos from our hike are available in the Blue Ridge Gallery on TheSiggins.com.

Sometimes you need more than one exposure

2011-06-07T19:44:00.002-04:00

I was at the Grandfather Mountain Nature Photographers Workshop this past weekend.   In addition to spending the weekend with great speakers and and a fine bunch of photographers, I also got to be on the mountain after dark. That meant staying up late to get the sunset and then getting up at "0 dark thirty" for the sunrise.

I was one of the first to drive up the windy road to the top of the mountain.   I staked out my spot looking East and waited for the light show.   The mountain blocked sunrise and there were few clouds so nothing very spectacular developed in the sky that morning. However, I did catch several other photographers rushing to the top to get there for sunrise.

When I got home and started going through the photos from the weekend I noticed that I had taken several from the exact same spot with the camera mounted on the tripod.   Here are three of those.

All were taken at f/8.0, ISO 320, 17mm. The exposures were 15, 25 and 6 seconds respectively. I used a two-stop graduated neutral density filter on each one.

The light trails from the tail lights were interesting in two of them and the sky was pretty nice in the third, but none of them were keepers by themselves. Because the camera didn't move and only the exposure time varied between shots I was able to use Photoshop Elements to stack them together as layers and use layer masking to blend the three together. Layer masks is one of the most powerful features of Photoshop and was exactly what I needed. I'd never tried this before but with Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements book and 30 minutes I came out with this.

Click any image for a larger version.

I then used Lightroom to adjust the tone, clarity and vibrance in the final image. I'm not a big fan of photoshopping a photo to create something that wasn't really there but am pretty happy with these results. I don't think I could have gotten an image like this with just one exposure.

Not So WIld Flowers

2011-05-10T21:35:00.000-04:00

We really enjoy getting out and finding wildflowers. We'll drive and hike for hours to get to some of the best spots. Wildflowers are special because they are exactly where God planted them and their beauty is all natural. I'm always amazed with the beauty of these wild creations that grow out in the middle of the woods or along the side of the road.

Sometimes the flowers we have planted in the yard are under appreciated. I don't always think to walk out and enjoy these beauties right in my own yard. I got up early Easter morning and went out and shot these flower macros. Seemed very fitting for Easter Sunday.

Although it's been a couple weeks since Easter and these flowers are gone, I hope you enjoy these photos.

Clematis
100mm Macro, f/16, 1/15 sec

Oriental Lilly
100mm Macro, f/6.3, 1/15 sec

Oriental Lilly
100mm Macro, f/10, 1/10 sec

Iris Mohawk
100mm Macro, f11, 1/5 sec

Tulip
100mm Macro, f/7.1, 1/50 sec

We have now planted some wildflowers in our yard so we can enjoy them without having to go anywhere.

The only bad part of spring is it's too short!

Celebrate Easter!

2011-04-24T11:01:00.001-04:00

This last week I had the privilege of spending a day with my wife and a second day with my wife and my camera club buddies hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and taking in the abundant Spring wildflowers God created for us to enjoy.

Field of White Trillium

Showy Orchis

Spring is a special time in the Smokies where there are places with dozens of varieties of wildflowers growing right along hiking trails. Some varieties, like the White Trillium, are abundant with thousands of blooms every where you look. Others, like the Yellow Lady Slipper, Painted Trillium, and Jack in the Pulpit, seems to be more special because they are uncommon. All are beautiful creations.

Yellow Lady Slipper

Jack In The Pulpit

For years June and I walked past the flowers without paying much attention to them. It wasn't until I got into photography that we began to appreciate the beauty in each and every bloom. Look inside the Lady Slippers or up close at the Showy Orchis and you can see God's handy work. We missed so much when we passed these by without stopping to look and appreciate the gifts. Now we take 7 hours to go 4 miles where we used to do it in 2 or 3. It's more important to slow down and appreciate what's around us than to get in those extra miles.

Spring is also a time of Joy. Because God sent His Son to die for us and be resurrected we have the gift of new life. The wildflowers can remind us our new life but unlike the wildflowers our new life lasts forever.

I shared one of my photos of a Painted Trillium on a Smoky Mountain Wildflower website and was blessed with the following comment.

Painted Trillium

" Red for the blood and White for His garment. The beauty of Salvation in a 'flower'. Thanks Lord for dying on the Cross for me"

What a time to Celebrate Resurrection!

I Am a New Creation!

2011-04-16T13:18:00.001-04:00

Springtime is beautiful where I live in East Tennessee. The trees are budding out in brilliant new green, the Dogwoods and Redbuds are in bloom, dozens of varieties of wildflowers are in bloom, and the birds have their brilliant breeding colors. After Winter, Spring is a welcome change but it doesn't last near long enough. We've planned out just about every weekend to go somewhere to get out and enjoy God's new creation.

The last two weekends I spent Saturday morning in Laurel Run Park in Church Hill Tennessee. It's a fantastic place for wildflowers. Although only one week apart, the flowers changed from one Saturday to the next. Here are a few of the flowers from those two Saturdays. More are available in the Laurel Run Park gallery.

Rue Anenone

Trillium

Virginia Bluebells

Everything about Spring reminds me of the good news given by Paul to the Corinthians - "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Wasn't That A Mighty Storm?

2011-04-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

100mm Macro, f/3.2, 1/80 sec

That's the title to a song by Nancy Griffith that I enjoy. It's an old classic sung by many great artists over the years. The song started as a spiritual and was first recorded in a prison near Sandy Point, Texas, sung by "Sin-Killer" Griffin who claimed authorship. It's reported to describe the very famous 1900 Galveston hurricane, which remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, responsible for an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 fatalities.

This past Saturday we had a series of thunderstorms roll through our area with confirmed tornadoes, golf ball sized hail, and lots of damage. We didn't have any damage at our house, but it did leave everything very wet, including the kitchen window. This is a shot taken in the kitchen looking out with Red-Tip Photinia at the bottom and Dogwoods at the top. Just goes to show you can find something interesting to shoot no matter where you are and the conditions. Just look around!

Color Efex Pro 3.0 from Nik Software

2011-04-07T20:04:00.001-04:00

I got the complete collection of Nik software as a Christmas present last year.

Software included in the collection:

Define 2.0 for noise reduction
Vivenza for selective light and color control
HDR Efex Pro for, you guessed it HDR
Silver Efex Pro for converting to B&W
Sharpener Pro for image sharpening
Color Efex Pro with over 250 filters for special effects.

This is great digital imaging software.   I had Define 2.0 before and had used it extensively.   Since I got this collection I've been playing with each package. I've started to come around to creating HDR now that I can create HDR images that look realistic and not like cartoons.   I haven't spent much time in Sharpener Pro or Silver Efex and am still using Adobe Lightroom for B&W conversion and sharpening.   Nothing against the Nik software, I just haven't had time to learn how to use these packages.

Lately I've been using one filter in Color Efex Pro - Glamour Glow.   Based on the name, I suspect this was designed to be used on portraits to smooth skin and give a person's face a soft glowing effect.   Here's an example from the Nik website. I've used it a couple times on portraits and it can make even one of my portraits look good.   After seeing images from professionals like Tony Sweet using this filter on landscapes I gave it a try. I really like the the effect you can get.

Here's a few examples of photos before and after the Glamour Glow effect was applied. To really see the effect you need to click on each pair of images to zoom in and then click again to zoom in even more.

This last one is a little extreme. I was going for a dreamy look. You can adjust how much glow you apply, plus the warmth of the image.

This filter blurs the sharp edges without losing a lot of detail. It also puts a glow on the edges. The end result almost never looks like reality, but it's a cool effect. I'm trying to branch out and get out of the rut of "it must look like it did when I took the picture". That still applies to most of my photos, but sometimes I want a different look.

If you don't go, you'll never get the photo!

2011-03-31T23:10:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I went with my friends in the Eastman Camera Club to Charleston SC for a long weekend of photography and friendship. This was a great trip, even if the weather didn't cooperate. On Sunday morning we got up way early to leave the hotel at 5:30 AM for sunrise at Folly Beach. It started raining Saturday afternoon and had been raining ever since. When we left the hotel it was raining pretty hard without much sign of clearing. We kept telling ourselves, "if you don't go you'll never get the photo" Not everyone agreed it was worth trying and only half our crew got up that morning.

When we reached the beach it was still raining but after about 15 minutes, the rain slowed down enough to get out of the cars. At that point about 7 of use headed down the path toward the beach with no blue sky to be seen. About 5 minutes later we walked out on the beach, the rain stopped, and the clouds started breaking up! Our prayers were answered -- God blew the rain out and gave us a couple hours of shooting time.

Something I never saw growing up in Florida was a starfish on the beach. This morning we saw two live ones and one that had spent too much time in the South Carolina sun.

f/8, 1/40 sec. 70mm handheld

This one reminded me of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

f/8. 1/20, 100mm handheld

The landmark on Folly Beach is the lighthouse that is just off shore. The skies were still dull grey and cloudy and the lighthouse was a bit dull itself, which does not make for dramatic photos. To make things a little more interesting I got low and shot the starfish with the lighthouse in the background. The sand was very wet and I didn't want my camera in the sand and I didn't want to lay down in the sand to make the shot. I ended up resting the camera on my wallet to keep it off the sand.

f/14, 1/80 sec, 95mm "Wallet Mount"

The wallet was my idea, but someone else suggested the composition.

Finally, the sun came out enough to give us some good low side light on the dead trees along the beach and the lighthouse offshore.

f/16, 1/60, 50mm hand held

My friends came away with several good photos from Sunday morning. If we had stayed in bed or went back to bed when it was raining, we never would have gotten any shots of Folly Beach. Sometimes you have to get up at completely unreasonable times, drive with no promise of good light or even good weather, and pray that you will find something worthily of shooting. There are no guarantees, expect "if you don't go, you'll never get the photo".

On A Date

2011-03-16T21:04:00.001-04:00

This pair of Blue Winged Teal look like they are heading out for a night on the town.

315mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3

This was taken at Green KayWetlands in Florida. The only access to the wetlands is via an elevated boardwalk, which means you are constantly looking down on the birds in the water. Taking photos from this angle produces an unnatural perspective, like this photo of a Pied-Billed Grebe

351mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6

When shooting wildlife you want to get down to their level if possible. To get the Blue Winged Teal shot I got down low shooting between the slats in the boardwalk rail. This gave the photo a more natural and interesting perspective. If I could I would have gotten even lower, but my angle was limited.

More photos from the wetlands are available in the Florida gallery.

Great Egrets Are....

2011-03-12T00:37:00.001-05:00

I'm making my way through the 1,200 photos from the Florida wetlands earlier this week. I'm now down to 300, which means the other 900 weren't worth the bits on the disk. I'm not through yet, but I've made good progress.

I thought I would follow up the last post with some more photos of Great Egrets. As you can see, in addition to being beautiful creatures, Great Egrets are

Shy

Graceful

Hard Working

Stealthy

Coordinated

We were blessed with beautiful mornings with magnificent birds. What a great opportunity to enjoy creation. I hope you enjoy these photos. Be sure to click on the images for a larger view.

More photos from the wetlands are available in the Florida gallery.

Just Back From West Palm Beach and The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

2011-03-10T15:52:00.001-05:00

We spent a few days visiting family in West Palm Beach this week. I got out shooting three mornings while there - once to Green Cay Wetlands in Boyton Beach and twice to Wakadahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach. These are both great places to photograph birds in a natural habitat. Green Cay is a nicer facility with a 1.5 mile elevated boardwalk and a Nature Center but Wakadahatchee is by far the best place for photographing the birds. I've been three years in a row now and highly recommend both.

I took over 1,200 images the three mornings and now have to process through those to narrow down to the few keepers. It will take several days to get through but I'll eventually post them in my online gallery. For now, here's one of a Great Egret at Wakadahatchee. This bird was in breeding plumage wtih delicate ornamental feathers on it's back and the green skin around it's eyes.

Great Egret at Wakadahatchee Wetlands

1/400 sec, f/5.6, 250mm

Click the photo for a larger version.

More photos from the wetlands are availale in the Florida Gallery.

New Camera Toy Review

2011-03-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

Last month my family bought me a new hot shoe flash for my birthday. I had one of those plastic diffusers to put on the front of my old flash, but of course it didn't fit the new flash. Instead of getting another diffuser I decided to try something new -- The Rogue Flash Bender. The old diffuser did fine for softening some of the harsh flash shadows but this neat little toy does a lot more.

The FlashBender, which comes in small, medium and large sizes, is made of an optically neutral reflective fabric backed by Cordura Nylon and a material that helps it keeps whatever shape you manipulate it to take. It has an elastic strap that wraps around the top of the flash and attaches with Velcro.

A backing material allows you to mold and shape the light so you can have anything from a flat reflector to a snoot. You have many options for shaping the light from the flash. Once you’ve manipulated the material, it holds its place.

I've done a few test shots with it set up as a reflector and it does a great job on the shadows. Recently, I used it as a snoot outdoors on bright sunny days.

The snoot shape focuses all the light from the flash into a narrower beam of light over a longer distance. It's not as effective as something like a Better Beamer, but it's much more "flexible" (pun intended). The first time I used it was at a Revolutionary War Reenactment. It was a bright sunny day, which put anyone with a hat on in dark shadows. With the snoot I was able to light people's faces under their hat, sometimes from 30 feet away or more.

Compare this man's face with that of the man on the right side. The man's face on the right is completely black but the man in the center is well lit. I think this was taken about from about 20 feet away.

The second time I used the snoot arrangement was taking bird pictures. This woodpecker would land on the same branch, which was probably 30 feet away but in the shadows. The first shot was without a flash. In the second shot I used the snoot to focus the light on the bird. Both shots were taken with a 400mm telephoto lens on a Canon 7D camera, which gave it an effective focal length of 640mm. Instead of using the flash I could have bumped up the exposure compensation, but that would have showed my shutter speed, changed the depth of field, or if I increased the ISO introduced more noise in the picture.

The Flash Bender folds up flat and fits easily in my camera bag. It's versatile and effective. It's now one of my favorite "Camera Toys".

I bought mine from Adorama but they are carried by a number of different places.

Here's a blog any landscape photographer will enjoy

2011-02-26T09:27:00.001-05:00

On the right side of my blog page is a list of other blogs that I keep up with. You can find these under the "Other Great Blogs I Follow" section. These blogs are from people I find to be great photographers that are willing to share their knowledge with others. Every day there is are new posts in this list that contains exceptional photography, interesting stories, great instruction, and inspiring words. I check it every day.

I want to point out a blog post that I found very useful. The February 25 blog on In the Moment: Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog Site is a critique of another photographer's photograph. Michael does these critiques on a regular basis and you find find all of them on his blog site. This one is almost a landscape photography lesson in a single blog entry. He spends a good deal of time analyzing the photo, making suggestions, and even photoshopped in a slightly different composition to illustrate a point. Reading this blog has given me some new ideas and reminded me of things I need to know but tend to forget.

Take a look at this blog post. Then browse his site and read some of the others. You'll find a wealth of good info to improve your landscape photography.

eBook Review - Creative Landscape Photograhy by Guy Tal

2011-02-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

Back on December 12 I posted about my expanding library of books on photography. In addition to my collection of printed books, I've download several "ebooks" as well. First a little explanation for those of you who aren't familiar with ebooks. An ebook is a digital version of a book. It's not printed but is downloaded to an electronic device for reading. There are a number of different formats for readers such as the Kindle, iPAD, and Nook. Since I don't have any of those, I download mine in Adobe PDF format, which can be read on all those ereaders as well as a Mac or Windows PC.

One of the ebooks I've got in my library is Creative Landscape Photography by Guy Tal.   Guy is a naturalist, photographer, author and one of the Staff on Nature Photographers Magazine. I look forward to the days when Guy posts new photos on that site. They are always interesting, inspiring, and beautiful.

I recommend this book and you can buy it directly by clicking the link at top right corner of this web page or at the end of this post.   In the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell youI get a couple bucks for each copy sold through my site.

This evening I have been enjoying sitting on the couch and re-reading this book on my laptop. I downloaded it back in December 2010, long before I became an affiliate seller of the book.  I would recommend this book, even if I wasn't making a fortune, $2 at a time.   At 86 pages, this is the longest ebook I own. In addition the the Introduction, it's divided in seven sections -- The Creative Process, Concept, Visualization, Composition, Capture, Processing and Presentation.

The first four are focused on the art of landscape photography.   In the Introduction, Guy says "creative photography is about the expression of subjective ideas, emotions, and sensibilities through the unique beauty of natural elements and using the medium of photography". In the Concept chapter he does a good job of explaining the importance of Awareness and Knowledge and how to convey Emotion the strong role Imagination plays in photography.

The last three chapters contain more how to type information you might find in any digital photography book, including the camera, the lens, exposure, reading a histogram, color balance and stitching pano photos.

This book came out of Guy's photography workshops and includes four exercises designed to get you out taking photos and thinking about the photos your are taking. The exercises are short, usually one page, an assignment and a half dozen questions. You can spend as much or as little time with the exercises as you want. You'll get the most benefit by actually stopping and doing them.

Spring is almost here and I'm re-reading this book to get inspired, recharged, and reminded of those things I need to practice as I head out into God's creation to capture the gift of beauty that's waiting for us.

If you want to buy and download a copy you can do that right here by clicking Buy Now.

Happy Birthday Ansel

2011-02-20T22:58:00.002-05:00

Today, February 20th, is Ansel Adams Birthday. Perhaps the greatest landscape photographer of all time, Ansel shot almost exclusively in black and white. His zone system is still used today to determine the optimal exposure to get contrast right and give photos true depth.

If he had hiked the Appalachian Trail through the Pond Mountain Wilderness, he would have passed by Laural Falls. He might have made a photographic image like this

Stairs

At which point he would have tossed the negative in the trash.

I love looking at his photos and reading about his life. One of my favorite quotes is :

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter" - Ansel Adams 1902 - 1984.

Before and After - Nik HDR Efex Pro

2011-02-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

I got a copy of the Nik HDR Efex Pro HDR software for Christmas. Since then I've played around with it just a little trying to learn all the ins and outs of this package.   This evening I used it on a photo I took when we were in the Grand Tetons back in June of 2009.

This was a frustrating image for me from the beginning. First, this is one of the most beautiful spots to get a picture of the Tetons reflecting in the Snake River at Oxbow Bend.   I had anticipated taking this picture for months before going.   The clouds swallowed these magnificent peaks and ruined the image I had in my mind. I never imagined it cloudy and rainy.

When I got home I tried to make this image a bit more interesting. I cropped it down to a panoramic to get rid of those uninteresting clouds. That helped a bit but it was still pretty flat and uninteresting.

I then tried to add some contrast to make it more interesting by increasing the exposure, pulling some blacks back in, and then increasing the exposure of the dark areas using the Tone Curve in Lightroom. It was better,

but still not what I was hoping for. After a while I gave up and moved on.

This evening I ran that image through the HDR Efex Pro software. Most of the time your feeding HDR software multiple images taken and various exposures to capture a wide range of light. In this case, I passed it a single photo that just needed a little more drama. Not the over the top look of many HDR images, just something slight so the image still looked realistic. Here's what I came out with.

I think I now like this photo of Oxbow Bend. I still wish the mountains weren't covered up in clouds. In hind sight, I wish I had taken several shots to stitch together into a panorama that could be printed large. Even with the clouds, I wouldn't mind this one on the wall in the den.

If you would like a print of this photo it can be ordered on my website http://www.thesiggins.com/. You'll find it under the Earth, Sea and Sky gallery, then Grand Teton National Park. It can be printed up to 10x30 inches on photo paper, canvas or as large as 12x36 on aluminum. Now that would be cool! If you want something in a non-standard size let me know.

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T23:17:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late getting this out.

This Trillium was taken last spring on a hiking trail near Looking Glass Falls, which is near Brevard NC. I "enhanced" the photo a bit by blurring and darkening the edges to draw attention to the flower. I also cloned out some distracting bright spots where the light was shining through from behind (it was a bright sunny day). I used a combination of Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements (cloning), and Nik Color Efex Pro (bluring the edges).

Morning Jewels

2011-02-05T12:39:00.001-05:00

God's beauty can be found in nature, even in early February when everything appears to be dull grey or brown. It rained overnight but the skies cleared at sunrise and stayed clear long enough to get out and find something to shoot.

I went out intending to get shots of the early morning sunlight shining through a light fog in the woods next to our house. I couldn't find any angle that worked that didn't include the neighbor's house in the picture. I wandered around a bit and found a couple trees that still have some of their leaves hanging on. The leaves are a golden yellow, which makes a great background, especially when the sun is just coming up and back lighting the leaves. There were raindrops clinging to many of the small branches on these trees. I had found my subject for this morning!

The cool thing about photographing water drops is the image of what's on the other side inside the drop . In these photos you can see trees, leaves, and houses inside the drop. Look closely (click on a picture to zoom in) and you'll see they are upside down! That's caused by the way the light is diffracted in the water.

This last image is a little different. I used a small aperture to create the star burst in the drop. The angle was such that I didn't have any of the golden leaves in the shot and instead got the woods in the background. I used Lightroom to tone down the background a bit and brighten the twig to make it stand out. I also used Nik Color Efex Pro to blur the edges.

As I finished up the wind picked up, the clouds rolled in and the day turned grey and blustery. Today I was at the right place at the right time today to capture some of nature's jewels.

These are all shot with a Canon 7D, Canon 100mm Macro lens with the camera on a tripod.

These and other photos are available for puchrase online at http://www.thesiggins.com/Macros/Macros/ In addition to prints, you can get any photo printed on a number of different items such as mugs, t-shirts, puzzles, coasters and more.

When Worlds Collide - Weird and Amazing Macro Photography!

2011-02-02T22:29:00.001-05:00

If you recognize this blog post title as the title of a 1930's science fiction novel or 1951 film then you are a true Sci-Fi Geek.

I heard someone talk about doing this macro photography trick at the Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge last month. It is a cool effect and all you need is a clear pan, water, oil and a close up or macro capable camera.

I used one of June's pyrex dishes, a 1/4 inch of water and some cooking oil.   I put the dish between two chairs and positioned the camera so it was pointing straight down at the surface of the water.   I added some of the oil and let it collect into little spheres on the surface of the water.

I learned you don't want to stir the oil/water too much because it will continue to move for a long time and it creates air bubbles on the surface, which are not as interesting as the oil itself.

Click on any image for a larger view.

To add interest I needed something colorful to place under the dish to add some color. What better than the gift bags my birthday presents were in! By moving the bag around I got different color combinations.

I then used a small LED flashlight to shine on the bag, highlighting different colors. I kept experimenting by moving the bag and light around. You can see my simple setup below.

This was a lot of fun to do. If you want to try it out, here are some suggestions.

Use a medium aperture like f/8. Smaller and your depth of field is too small. Larger and you start to see details below the dish.
Don't stir the water too much.
Wait for the water and oil to stop moving.
Make sure the camera is perpendicular to the surface of the water.
Decide what you want to be sharp and focus on that.
Try lots of different shots, lighting, colors, what ever you can think of.

Give it a try. Amaze your friends and family! It's fun and easy.

Before and After

2011-02-01T22:16:00.001-05:00

This is not an ad for a new Miracle Diet Plan where they show people in very unflattering before pictures and glamorous after pictures. This is an example of the use of post processing photo editing tools to take a so so photo and make it into something that some may find interesting.

OK, here's your before shot. You can click any of the images for a larger version.

This was taken early on a foggy morning at Warriors Path State Park in Kingsport, Tennessee. It had snowed over night, leaving a beautiful dusting on the trees and just an inch or so on the ground.   For those of you who care, this was taken at f/16, 6 second exposure, ISO 100, using a 50mm lens.

I shoot almost always in RAW format, which means the image has not been adjusted at all when in comes out of the camera.  If you don't shoot in RAW format the digital camera will adjust a photo for you, fixing color balance, clarity, sharpness, saturation, digital noise and in other ways depending on how you have the camera set.   I prefer to make these adjustments instead of depending on the camera to guess what they should be. The before photo is an example of an unprocessed RAW image.   The color has a blue tint, it appears to be a bit foggy, flat and basically uninteresting.

The first thing I did was crop the photo to a wide format. This got rid of the uninteresting water in the foreground and brought the shoreline down to the middle 1/3 line instead of being right in the middle of the photo.

The second thing I did was fix the color balance, brightened the image, and brought the blacks back by using the tone adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. This increased the contrast in the trees allowing the snow to catch your eye without washing out the dark tree trunks.   In addition, I also adjusted the tone curve to give the photo even more true blacks. I also increased the Clarity, which is the local contrast adjustment in Lightroom that affects the contrast in the midtones in the image. It works by increasing some of the edge detail in the midtones. My histogram now spans from true black (left side) to true white (right side). All these adjustments added punch to the photo.

You can tell it's a color image but there is not much color in the image. Snowy landscapes are often almost black and white and can benefit by being converted to true black and white, which I did using Lightroom.   You should always take a photo in color and convert it to black & white on the computer where you can apply different digital color filters. These act like the color filters back in the film days, lighting some colors or darkening others.   If you shoot in black and white then that's all you have. You are very limited in the kids of adjustments you can make if all you have is black & white.

Here's the image with the above adjustments and converted to black & white.

I then adjusted the B&W mix sliders to lighten the colors I wanted brighter and darken others. I made sure I didn't over adjust so much that I lost details in the image.

Here's the final After image.

Like the diet ad after photos, I now have something worth printing.

Did I over edit the image? That's up to you. Everyone likes something different. Like the diet ads, the before photo did not represent real life. That's not the way it looked to my eye at the time. God has made our eyes and brains to make many of these adjustments without us even knowing it. It's a good thing, otherwise the world would look pretty dull.

I used Adobe Lightroom 3 to do these edits. I have some other tools, such as Photoshop Elements, and my latest software - Nik Complete Suite. You can do many of these same adjustments with other packages, including some of the free variety.

Rise and Shine

2011-01-30T23:08:00.001-05:00

How many times have we heard, or said to our kids, "Rise and Shine!", usually followed by something like "sleepy head". June and I went to church Saturday night so we could rise on Sunday and go to Rock Creek Park near Erwin TN for a little hiking. Our goal was Rock Creek Falls. We didn't make it to the falls because the creek was too high to rock hop across and the thought of falling in that icy water was not very appealing.

We decided to hike the Rattlesnake Ridge trail instead and came across this little creek beside the trail. In fact, we had to cross this creek several times, but this time the water wasn't too high to cross. On the way back we stopped off to explore this creek a little bit.

I was shooting almost into the low winter sun but with the mist in the air I got a pretty cool spot light effect where the sun was shining through the trees on to the creek. What you don't see here is June holding her hat out over the creek the shade the lens.

We came away with several nice photos from our day at Rock Creek Park and I'll post those soon.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." - Isaiah 60:1

Three Out of Four Seasons

2011-01-12T22:23:00.001-05:00

Spring

Back in Spring of 2009 I went on a photo workshop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Just about every spring workshop in the park makes a stop at the Middle Prong of the Little River near Tremont. It's easily accessible and one of the most beautiful sections of the park. When our group made this stop I got a number of shots, including this one.

I was pretty happy with this shot and it now hangs in a break room at work.

When June and I went on a late summer trip to the Smokies last year we spent some time along the same section of the river and I ended up finding the same spot and getting a very similar shot.

Summer

This last weekend we were in Pigeon Forge for Wilderness Wildlife Week. When we got up Saturday morning it was snowing and we decided to skip the workshops and head into the park to enjoy the snow. All the roads in the park were closed, except the road along the Middle Prong of The Little River. We got in and were able to spend about an hour and a half back along the river. It was snowing like crazy and there was about 3 additional inches of new snow by the time we left.

Even with all the snow I was able to find the same spot where I took the other two photos. Now I'm thinking it would be cool to have shots of the same section of the river in all four seasons so I tried to get as close to the other photos as possible. Not easy since I didn't remember exactly what the others looked like.

Here's my winter shot of the same scene.

Winter

As we were leaving we got to a gate just as it was being closed and locked. The road conditions had deteriorated enough that they were now closing the last open road. We were able to get out and told the guy locking the gate that there were several other cars back along the rivers. He said they will just have to wait until someone came back to let them out! We were glad to get out when we did. Five more minutes and we would have been locked in.

I now have three out of the four seasons. Once I get a fall shot I'll print and frame all four to hang at home. I'm looking forward to seeing how that comes out. I only have to wait 9 more months!

White Christmas

2010-12-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

We don't get many snows at Christmas but this year we were blessed with a few inches to a couple feet, depending on where you were. I took the week off, which gave me the opportunity to get out and shoot some winter landscape photography this week.

The first day was spent within 3 - 4 miles of the house. This one was less than a mile away. That's Fall Creek on the left. The footprints were there when I got there. I think this looks pretty good in black and white.

This next one is a little different. It's a window at the old Washington College Academy near Limestone Tennessee. The school is closed but it's still a pretty place to photograph. You can see the reflections of snow in the window.

I did get out and take some traditional landscape shots this week. June and I drove up past Damascus Virginia to the little town of Taylor's Valley to get to the Virginia Creeper Trail. There was 4 - 6 inches of fluffy snow on the trail. No bikers this day, but there were plenty of cross country skier tracks. I took several photos of the trail and creek.

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year is the Nik Complete Collection of photo editing software. One of the packages is a new HDR tool that can produce HDR images that don't have the edgy HDR look. This is one of my first attempts with that software.

This shot would not have been possible without the HDR software. It is a composite of three images taken at different exposures to get the bright sunset and the front of the house in the shadows. It's one of my new favorites.

These photos, and others, are available on my website under the Winter gallery. Many other photos are also available on my website.

Finalist in Outdoor Photographer 3rd Annual Nature's Colors Contest

2010-12-13T23:25:00.001-05:00

I don't normally enter these online contests because they get thousands of entries and the odds are about as bad as winning a million dollar lottery. When I got an email about the latest contest at Outdoor Photographer I decided to try it and entered 5 photos. Well, there were about 6,300 entries from thousands of talented photographers from all over the world. I was shocked when I saw one of mine in the 80 finalists.

Sunset Over San Joaquin

How cool is that? There are not a lot of awards in this contest. The judges will pick the Grand Prize and First Place winners around December 17. There is also a people's choice award based on online votes. If you like this photo go to http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photo-contests/3rd-annual-natures-colors/finalists/374171-sunset-over-san-joaquin-.html and vote. You have to create an account, but that will also get you on the Outdoor Photographer emailing list, which will get you the online edition for free. Voting ends January 6.

While you are there you might browse the other finalists. There's some really good photos out there.

My Photography Library

2010-12-12T11:36:00.000-05:00

I've always loved to read.   I can remember reading Tom Swift sci-fi novels around 10 or 11 years old.   I still enjoy reading sci-fi but have expanded my interests a bit.   I also love photography and have combined these two interests by adding several photography books to my library.   Here's my favorites in the order I purchased them.

How to Photograph The Canadian Rockies  by Darwin Wiggett. I bought this before taking a vacation to the Canadian Rockies with my Compact Canon Point and Shoot.   This is the book that got me started.   Unfortunately, this book is out of print. You can buy a used copy at Amazon for just a little over $100! I have a link to Darwin's blog on my blog site.

Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography by Brenda Tharp. I have the first edition, which is a great book.   This new edition has more information on shooting digital.   I also have a link to Brenda's blog on my blog site.

Composition Photo Workshop by Blue Fier (yes - that's a real person's name). This is a decent introductory book on composition. There is a whole series of photography books from photoworkshop.com but this is the only one I have.

Mountain Light by Galen Rowell. This is the classic mountain photography book. It is a series of essays describing how a photo was taken.   Galen was an adventurer traveling around the world to exotic places most of us will never see.   The photos are fantastic and the accompanying stories engaging and inspiring.

The Digital Photography Book (volumes 1 and 2) by Scott Kelby.   At one time this was the biggest selling digital photography book of all time.   Scott Kelby's writing is almost as good as his photography. I read his books, watch his podcasts, follow his blog, and hope to take one of his workshops one day.   This little book is the one book that should be in your camera bag. It's small and is laid out with one topic per page in an easy to understand style.   If you're out shooting and need to know how to ____________ just pull out this book and flip to that page.   The second volume focuses more on portrait photography.   I don't have volume 3. You can get all three as a package.

The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques by John Shaw. I bought this book used when it was recommended as pre-reading for a workshop. Originally published in 1989 this book does not deal with digital photography at all.   Some of the chapters on equipment are a bit dated but the sections on exposure, composition, close-ups, and working in the field are timeless. Anything by John Shaw is going to be a great addition to your library. Too bad John has not been writing much lately. We really can use a revised edition of this book for digital.

The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers and The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby.   If you use Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CS, or Adobe Lightroom you need to get the latest edition of Scott Kelby's book for each package.   My copy of the Elements book is old (they are up to version 8 now) but I still pull it out when ever I need to know how to do something in Elements. These books explain how to use the software is a straight forward and easy to understand fashion.   You will get much more out of the software by having one of these books on your desk.

Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography by Ferrell McCollough.   I wanted to try my hand at HDR photography and specifically learn how to create HDR photos that looked realistic. This book covers all the leading HDR software from 2007.   Because the author tries to cover all the packages it does not have enough info on any one package.   I don't get this one out very often.

National Audubon Society Guide To Landscape Phtography by Tim Fitzharris. This is a nice book for anyone starting out in landscape photography. It covers everything from equipment to composition, lighting, and recognizing those great scenic shots.

Creative Close-Ups by Harold Davis.   I got a copy of this book for agreeing to be an early book reviewer. Harold has written a number of books in his creative series but I only have this one.   This book is all about macro photography.   It focuses more on the creative side of macro photography and less on the equipment and technical how to steps.   If you're one of the people who learn by seeing you will get a great deal out of the wonderful example photos in this book.

The ultimate guide to digital nature photography by the Mountain Trail Photo Team
This book is written by a team of outstanding nature photographers that I follow on http://www.naturephotographers.net/ I took a workshop with Bill Lea, know Jerry Greer, and have met Richard Bernabe at a workshop at Grandfather Mountain. As the title implies, this book covers the waterfront of nature photography with tips, techniques, and advice from the experts.   The photos in the book alone are worth the purchase price. A great book for anyone starting out in nature photography.

The Digital SLR Expert Landscapes Labeled as "essential advice from top pros" this is book is written by five landscape photographers, including Darwin Wiggett who wrote the first photography book I bought. This book covers some areas not covered by my many other books, including creating a panorama, research & planning, locations, and B&W landscape photography. There's even a section on HDR.

The Hot Shoe Diaries by Joe McNally. I've not done much flash photography and what I have done is often not work keeping. I bought this book to learn how to use my on and off camera flash. This is not so much of a technical how to book. Joe, who is one of the best photographers in the world, tells how he approaches flash photography.   Reading this book is like sitting down and talking to one of the masters.

The Photographer's Mind by Michael Freeman. This is the latest edition to my library.   It is a follow on to the best seller The Photographer's Eye, which I don't have yet.   I got this book to help grow my creative side, which is definitely not one of my stronger skills. I've only just begun to read this book.

That's quite a list!   I still prefer printed books, but lately I've purchased a few e-books by Ian Plant, David duChemin and Guy Tal.   I'll do a quick review of these e-books in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here's hoping everyone has a Fantastic Thanksgiving Day.

This was taken in Zion National Park back in March 2007. I updated it a bit with a trial version of Nik Viveza. All the Nik software is on sale right now. I've been using the Nik Define 2.0 package for a while and have been very happy with it. They have a new HDR tool that results in realistic images. I'm thinking about getting the entire package.

Cass Railroad

2010-11-13T10:14:00.001-05:00

At one end of the West VIrginia Greenbriar "Rails-to-Trails" bike path is the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Located on the east side of West Virginia, not far from the Snowshoe Ski Resort, the state park includes the former West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company town of Cass and 11 miles of track from Cass up into the highest points of the Back Allegheny Mountains. West Virginia has some very nice state parks and Cass is one or the more unique.

We arrived in Cass after riding the Greenbriar Trail for 25 miles from Marlinton WV. The train pulled into the station shortly after we arrived, dumping a trainload of tourists into the town.

It was early afternoon on a bright cloudless day, which made photographing the train very difficult. The black engine and the white company store building behind it were two extremes in tonality. I wanted to get both, plus the yellow tree and the blue sky. It took several tries, each time checking the histogram on my camera and adjusting to not blow out the whites while maintaining details in the dark areas.

I didn't take too many of the engine and train. The engine was attached to the train backwards, which just didn't look right.

A little ways up the tracks from the town was a water tower, repair yard, the old saw mill and this caboose. I was hoping to catch the red caboose with bright fall colors behind it. We had missed much of the fall color on this trip and the colors in Cass were still a few days away from peak.

The state has maintained the town of Cass pretty much like it was when it was a company town. There are streets lined with white company houses, white stores, and white churches. In fact, I think every building in the town looked like it came from the same plans and was painted with the same white paint. The exception is the old saw mill.

The saw mill was once the largest double-band sawmill in the world. Today, some of the buildings remain in ruin just outside town. The ground around the mill is littered with old equipment from the mill. They have done a good job with signs telling about the mill and about the remains spread out all around. Unfortunately, we could not get close (for obvious reasons) and had to be satisfied with taking pictures from several hundred feet away.

While trying to find a short cut back to the Greenbriar Trail we ran across some old abandoned train cars from Cass Scenic Railroad's earlier days. These are sitting on a siding with grass and bushes growing up all around. The windows are all broken out and the cars are slowly rusting away.

I used Adobe Lightroom to give these photos the edgy look that enhances the texture and colors in the old cars. I was still struggling with the extreme light conditions and had to do some editing in Lightroom to bring out the details inside the cars without blowing out the brightest parts.

I think I could have spent a couple hours climbing around the cars taking pictures, but it was time to head back to Marlinton so we could get there before sundown. It was another 25 miles back after all.

There are more West Virginia photos available online in my gallery.

God's Painting With Reds, Yellows, and Orange

2010-11-05T17:26:00.000-04:00

Fall is a beautiful time in Kingsport Tennessee but it's way too short.   It's almost like God grabs three paint brushes and colors the trees with brilliant yellows, reds, and oranges.   Early morning and late evening are the best times for the fall colors. The low sun makes the leaves come alive with color before they fall to the ground.

This shot was taken not long after sunrise on October 17 at Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport. Several of us had met around 5:30 AM to hike in and catch the sunrise over the lake.   There were no clouds that morning and the sunrise was a dud, but the trees more than made up for it.

These colors are now pretty much gone. A few maples are hanging on but recent rains and wind have pretty much stripped most of the trees.   I hope this photo helps you remember the colorful days of fall.

Photos of reflections on water are best made in early morning when the winds are calm. A polarizing filter is a must to control the reflections and pull out the colors of the leaves.

Prints of this photo and others are available for purchase at the Close To Home Gallery.

Be sure to check out all the photos at The Siggins Photography

The Ponies of Grayson Highlands

2010-11-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

Grayson Highlands State Park is located in Southwest Virginia in the Jefferson National Forest. The elevations range from 3,700' to just over 5,000' at the top of Little Pinnacle. It's a beautiful park with historic sites, hiking trails including the Appalachian Trail, scenic vistas, and a nice visitor's center. The most unusual feature of the park is the wild ponies that inhabit the balds.

The ponies are allowed to run wild within the confines of the park and are very accustomed to people. You can walk up to them, which makes for plenty of great opportunties to photograph these beautiful creatures. Some people touch and feed the ponies, which is why sometimes they will walk up to you like in the last photo.

Because of the elevation, fall can come early to the park. These photos were taken Oct. 1, 2010. Like most places this year, fall was a week or two late coming to Grayson Highlands. I didn't get any great fall landscape shots, but I did get some interesting pony shots.

I highly recommend spending a day or two at Grayson Highlands. While you're there, take some time to walk up on the balds and visit the ponies.

West Virginia Icon

2010-10-28T23:33:00.001-04:00

Earlier in October we took a few days and went looking for fall color in the beautiful state of West Virginia   It was beautiful, but the fall colors were late. There was still plenty of beauty to be found in The Mountain State, including Babcock State Park.

We didn't get to stay long at the park but we did hang around the Glade Creek Grist Mill.   This is an icon shot. You'll find this exact shot with much better lighting on any number of websites and travel magazines. It's a wonderfully photographic old mill.   The mill was created by combining parts and pieces from three mills which once dotted the state. The basic structure of the mill came from the Stoney Creek Grist Mill which dates back to 1890. It was dismantled and moved piece by piece to Babcock from a spot near Campbelltown in Pocahontas County. It's almost like the mill was placed in this exact spot for photographers.

If you go to shoot the mill, go early in the morning or late in the afternoon.   We were there early afternoon and had to wait around for the sun to go down enough for most of the scene to be in the shade.

Prints of this and other photos are available here.

Sunrise and Sunset

2010-10-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

Fall in the Southern Appalachian Mountains is a beautiful time. God paints the hills with blazing oranges, yellows and golds with some greens left in for good measure. It's a great time for outdoor photography, but it is way too short. Seems like just a few weeks between when the trees start to change and the ground is covered with fallen leaves and the colors fade. This year has been no different. I started October out with a trip to Greyson Highlands State Park, then followed it with a trip to West Virginia, a couple trips to Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, Tennessee and finally a weekend photography workshop in Max Patch North Carolina. All this was over a period of 24 days. Whew!

All these outings have resulted in lots of photos in the post-processing backlog. I'm working through them, but not necessarily in the order I took them. I'll be posting some photos from those trips and am starting with some of the last ones I took.

Eight members of the Eastman Camera Club spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in a photography workshop in Max Patch, North Carolina. Lori Kincaid was a fantastic instructor and we all had a blast. I learned several new photo skills in the workshop and I can't wait to try them out. Max Patch is a naturally occurring bald mountain on the North Carolina - Tennessee boarder with 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. We got up very early on Saturday morning to drive down to the Max Patch bald for the sunrise. We were treated to clear cloudless skies and a full moon setting over the mountain ranges. I learned about the Belt of Venus, which is the band of red, pink or purple above the dark blue. The dark blue is the earth's shadow.

That evening we were treated to a beautiful sunset from Lori's rental place, which is where we were based for the weekend. She has the most beautiful setting for a home I have ever seen. I got the sunset and maple tree shots from her place on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we got up, walked just a few feet from her place and were able to shoot the sunrise over Mount Mitchell and other near by peaks.

As we watched, the sky got more and more dramatic as the sun lit the underside of the clouds with brilliant reds.

This is a great place to photograph to fall colors and beautiful sunrise and sunsets. I'm already planning to go back in the spring!

Butterflies!

2010-09-15T21:34:00.000-04:00

When we went to the Pinnacle Nature Preserve Area on September 5th we were surprised by the number of butterflies on the mountain. When we went to the Smoky Mountains September 7 - 9 we saw even more. Turns out it's Monarch migration season. These little guys are on their way to Mexico where they winter each year. Some travel as far as 3,000 miles! The Monarch's we saw may have started as far north as Nova Scotia.

We stopped at an overlook along the Newfound Gap Road and discovered a field of wildflowers that was full of butterflies, including this Monarch (right) and Common Buckeye (left).

Nearby we found several Pipevine Swallowtails (blue with orange spots under the wings) on some bushes, maybe pipevines. Because adult butterflies are poisonous to predators from all the pipevine they eat as caterpillars, most birds avoid them, which could explain why we saw so many.

The Pipevine Swallowtails, like other butterflies, have an unusual habit of "puddling". Puddling is when many butterflies are seen at one spot, such as a shallow puddle, mud, or animal poop. When we drove into Cataloochee we found hundreds of these beautiful butterflies on the dirt road, many flattened by car tires. It was difficult to drive down the road and not run them over.

Perhaps the prettiest we saw this day was this beautiful orange Gulf Fritillary. It seemed to pose for me. I noticed many of the butterflies were happy to sit still, which seemed unusual. I don't know if they were resting up for the long journey, enjoying the sun and flowers, or it was just nearing the end of butterfly season.

I used to think spring time was the time for flowers and new growth. Now I'm seeing these God Signs in the late summer and early fall time. What a blessing to live so close to the Smoky Mountains. We are going to be back again and again.

If you're impressed with my knowledge of butterflies, don't be. I used the Discover Life website to look these up.

Mingus Mill in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

2010-09-11T16:07:00.000-04:00

Over the past few years we have traveled thousands of miles and visited many national parks in the US and Canada. The ironic thing is we live within easy driving distance of the most visited National Park in the US. We've decided we need to spend more time in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

This week we spent three days in some familiar places and some new spots we've not been to before. One of the new spots was the Mingus Mill.

The mill was built in 1886 for only $600. You won't see the traditional wooden waterwheel because the mill uses a metal turbine.

The mill is still very photogenic. The millrace that brings water from Mingus Creek to the mill starts out in the ground with moss covered wooden sides. When the mill is not running water flows off the side of the millrace near the mill fall near Jewell Weed growing at the base of the wooden tower.

Mingus Mill is a working mill, still grinding grain and corn that is sold at the mill. The inside of the mill is maintained much as it looked at the end of the 19th century.

Taking photographs inside the mill was a challenge because of the dark wooden walls and the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows. Two of these images are High Dynamic Range or HDR photos, which are made from multiple exposures blended together in software to eliminate the very dark and very bright range of light. The photo of the lever in front of the window would have been impossible to photograph in one shot. Either the trees outside the window would have been solid white or the walls would have been almost solid black.

The image with the wheel is also a HDR photo. The lighting conditions were not as extreme in that photo but it was helped by using the HDR technique.

The photo of the stove is not a HDR photo. There was no direct bright light to deal with and only indirect light from a nearby window.

The Mingus Mill is worth driving out of the way and spending an hour or so exploring this historical building. There is also a Mountain Farm Museum near by that we didn't get to. We will be spending more time in the park and will make our way back down to that area again before too long.

Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve

2010-09-06T20:34:00.000-04:00

To celebrate our 28th Anniversary, June and I went hiking in the Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve in Southwest Virginia. Located near the confluence of the Clinch River and Big Cedar Creek, the area gets it's name from the impressive rock formation that towers above Big Cedar Creek. Cut from dolomite, the Pinnacle rises 400 feet above Big Cedar Creek.

September is not really wildflower season in SW Virginia, but there were many late blooming flowers including a lot of thistle. We were treated to dozens of butterflies that seemed intent on checking out every bloom, never stopping long enough for me to get a decent picture. You can see in this photo one of the two was still moving.

One thing we noticed that we had not seen before is that the butterfly's body has the same iridescent blue pattern as the wings. If your click on the photo to zoom in you will be able to see for yourself.

There was not much water in Big Cedar Creek but what was there made great reflections of the late afternoon light. It made the creek look like a river of gold. A great excuse to sit on the rocks beside the creek and enjoy God's creations.

We hiked up to the top of Copper Ridge but the views that day we're much to write home about. I can imagine it could be fantastic at sunrise or sunset.

One of the landmarks along Big Cedar Creek is Big Falls, which is not more than a few feet high. It is however very wide. The low water level made Big Falls into lots of little falls stretching across the wide creek.

Below is a pano of 6 individual photos stitched together.

If printed at high quality this would stretch 6 1/2 feet wide!

Our anniversary trip wouldn't be complete without a photo of the two of us standing in the creek in front of Big Falls.

We may not get back to the Pinnacle area this year but it may be a great place for wildflowers in the spring. If you would like to check it out there is information available at the Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Recreation.

Out With The Old, In With The New

2010-09-04T10:34:00.001-04:00

The Siggins Photography website is getting a face lift and a new location - http://www.thesiggins.com/

The old site has served me well over the years, but some of the newer photo sharing websites offer many more services than I have time to develop and support on my old "do it yourself" website. My old site had grown so disorganized with so many photos, galleries and photo albums that it resembled my garage! Time to start new.

Some new features include:

Easier to find your way around
Keyword search
View photos at different sizes or resolutions
Support for HD videos
Enhanced full screen slideshows
Better security
Prints, merchandise, and digital downloads can be purchased directly from the site.
(The Siggins Photography logo is not on your prints)

I'm in the process of loading photos to the new site. The old site (http://www.thesiggins.net/) is still online for the time being but will go away before the end of September. The blog site is still available at the same web address.

Don't forget to change your favorites to add http://www.thesiggins.com/ to the list.

Ordinary Made Extraordinary - Gear Photography

2010-08-21T10:38:00.000-04:00

There is always something to shoot. You don't have to have a perfect day or a perfect subject. Sometimes ordinary items can become extraordinary subjects. This is especially true in macro or close up photography. Here's an example.

My son Tim ordered a new set of gears for his mountain bike. When he opened the package and I saw the repeating pattern of silvery gears I said "I've got to shoot that!". Fortunately for me, he was lacking a tool to replace the gears so I had an extra day to try out the gear photography.

The gears themselves were interesting under normal light, but I thought adding some color would add some interest and make them eye catching. I used the on camera flash and a second off-camera slave flash to light the gears. I then used colored tissue paper over the flashes to add the reds, blues, and yellows. I also used a yellow envelope behind the gears to give a stronger yellow reflection.

I was shooting in manual mode on the camera and adjusted the on-camera flash output depending on the tissue paper and where the other flash was positioned. I moved the off-camera flash around to produce different lighting effects.

I'm normally outside shooting landscapes or nature so it's a little out of the ordinary for me to shoot still life or abstract photos. It was fun to try something new. And I didn't need a fancy studio or a particularly special subject for this. Just goes to show, you can find something to shoot anywhere.

These were all shot at ISO 640 using a Canon 100mm macro. The aperture was between f/10 and f/16 and of course I was using a tripod.

Contrasts in Sierra Nevada

2010-08-14T11:45:00.000-04:00

Click on any photo for a larger view.

It's been two months and I've still not gotten around to posting my photos from Sequoia, Yosemite, and Kings Canyon National Parks. There are so many I've not figured out how I want to share these. So far I've shared photos from Bodie California and the Wildflowers of Sequoia and Yosemite, which you can find in previous blog entries.

One thing I tried to look for and pay attention to on this trip was contrasts. There are lots of different kinds of contrast in the world of nature photography. Some contrast is to be avoided, such as when the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the scene are too extreme for the camera to handle. Having contrasting colors in a photo, such as red/green or blue/yellow, can really make an image. Sometimes you can add interest to a photo by including contrasting subjects, such as large/small, fast/slow, or immobile/moving.

Here are some images from the the parks in Sierra Nevada where I tried to make use of different kinds of contrast.

The first two photos are examples of color contrasts. The evergreen branch contrasts with the vivid blue sky in the background. The light colored bird and the darker background also add tonal contrast to the image without exceeding the camera's ability to capture the range of light. The second picture has layers of contrasting colors - cool blue in the river, green of the trees, and the warm pink-orange color of Bridalveil Falls and the cliff face at sunset.

The second pair of images show contrasts in size. The small evergreen in the foreground and the Giant Sequoia in the background tell a story of growth. One day that sapling may be one of the largest trees on earth like the one behind it. The Giant Sequoias can live to be over 2,000 years old so it may take some time. The second image shows a small dead twig on a large dead stump (no, I didn't place it there). This also has a Giant Sequoia in the background as well. Because they are so big and there were so many I had lot of opportunities to use them as backgrounds.

This photo shows both death and new life in one image. The dead tree stump is the remains from a forest fire that destroyed much of an area of Yosemite several years ago. Without the tree canopy to block the sun the Lupines are thriving and spreading new life across the hillside.

This final image show the immobile solid rock surrounded by the flowing water of a stream. The rock is sharp and in focus, while the water is smooth and blurry, adding an interesting contrast to the image.

I'm going to continue to post images from our trip in June. Be sure to come back or better yet subscribe for email updates .

Wildflowers of Sequoia and Yosemite

2010-08-03T21:26:00.002-04:00

Click on any photo for a larger view.

It's been about 6 weeks since June and I got back from our trip to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks and I'm still working through the images from that trip. There was such a variety of things to see and photograph in those two parks, plus Bodie and Mono Lake that I've been overwhelmed. I shared some photos from that trip at work today, which motivated me to get busy and start publishing some of the photos.

We were surprised by the number and variety of wildflowers that were in bloom in mid-June. It was exciting to see many flowers that we don't have in the east. It's also a challenge to identify them without a good wildflower book for the Sierra Mountain area of California. I have published 26 photos in my Photo Gallery under Nature, Sierra Wildflowers I've been able to identify several of them, but not all. If you can help me identify others please drop me a note and give me a hint. I'm especially curious about the yellow and white flowers on the left. They almost look like someone hand painted them with a white top half and a yellow bottom half.

Since I've started photographing nature, and especially wildflowers, June and I have both been amazed and the beauty and detail we have been missing all these years. A few years ago we would have walked past these and said something like "those are nice", without really looking at them or remembering them later. Now we stop and look closely at God's creation. Like these Yawning Penstemon (I think that's what they are).

When you get up and look at them they look like they have folded arms and are balding on top. Some flowers are very tiny and you have to get right up on them to appreciate them.

I have to share this last photo with you. Isn't it beautiful and isn't it a great photo of a wildflower? June took this while patiently waiting on me to finish up shooting something else close by. I'm very proud of her photo. It's even more impressive because she took it with a Canon Powershot compact digital camera.

I hope you can appreciate what God has done with these little beauties when you explore the Sierra Wildflowers Gallery.

Balloons and Moons

2010-08-01T14:46:00.000-04:00

Every year Kingsport Tennessee puts on a 9 day celebration called Fun Fest. One of the highlights of Fun Fest is the Hot Air Balloons on the second weekend. The big balloon event is Saturday morning but this year I was in Jonesborough leading the Photowalk and couldn't make it to the Fun Fest Balloon Race. I did get out Friday night for the Balloon Glow. Several hot air balloons are set up outside the stadium where the concerts are going on. They fill them with air and light them up like giant multi-colored light bulbs!

The location is full of power lines, street lights, buildings and other distracting objects making photographing the balloons a challenge. This year we had cloudless skies and a full moon so I decided to see what I could do with the moon and balloons.

The first shot was taken just before sunset when the sky was still blue. I liked the contrast between the orange balloon and the blue sky. In hindsight I think I might have done better with a long telephoto lens from a ways back instead of my short lens up next to the balloon. That might have made the moon look much larger in the photo.

The second shot was later after the sun had gone down and the sky was dark. Getting the balloon exposed correctly meant over exposing the moon. As a result there are no details on moon and it just looks like a white dot.

The last two shots include the street, street lights, buildings and some of the thousands of people that were down there. The balloon in the foreground in the third shot had just been taken down and was in the process of being folded up.

Shooting the balloons required some timing. They are very bright when they are being lit, which can result in a very over exposed subject, like the balloon behind the Remax balloon in the third shot. I found it was sometimes easier if I waited until a nearby balloon was lit, which illuminated the other balloons with a soft light, like in the last photo. A relatively small aperture (f/10) created the star burst effect on the street lights. I was using an ISO of 800 and even at that, the photos were around 1 - 2 seconds long.

This was a fun event to photograph. If you go, bring your tripod, a remote shutter release, and a couple different lenses.

Third Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk is History

2010-07-26T20:49:00.001-04:00

On July 24, 33,483 photographers participated in 1,111 photowalks around the globe.   A photowalk is a social photography event where photographers get together (usually in a downtown area or trendy section of town) to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers.   This annual event is sponsored by Scott Kelby and a number of photography businesses.

I led the Jonesborough Tennessee walk where 35 local photographers spent 3 hours shooting in Tennessee's oldest town.    Lots of interesting architecture, history, and off the wall art can be shot in just a few blocks.   The walk occurs on the same day worldwide, which turned out to be the hottest day of the year in Jonesborough.

Each photographer now has to select their best photo to submit to the photowalk contest and I have the unenviable duty to pick one winner from the 35.   I know they will all have excellent photos and I'm not looking forward to having to pick the one.   Here's a link to some of the groups photos on flickr

As walk leader I'm not eligible for the contest. That's a good thing because I wouldn't want to compete against these folks! Here's a couple of my photos from the day. I didn't take many, but had fun taking photos of the other photographers.

I started the walk out by trying to take a group photo without a memory card in my camera. After running back to the car I got this group shot, minus a couple late arrivals.

I had a great time and hope the others did as well. Some new friendships were formed and we're talking about an unofficial local photowalk later in the year when it's not so hot.

Bodie - An American Gold Rush Ghost Town

2010-07-10T17:24:00.002-04:00

You can get a larger version of any of these photos by clicking on them.

While vacationing in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, June and I took a trip over to the east side of the mountains. One of the places we went was Bodie California, or rather the remains of Bodie. Only 5% of the buildings from it's heyday in the 1880's remain. Several fires, elements, and time have consumed the rest of the town. What's left is now a California State Historic Park, preserved just the way it was when the last two families left in the 1960s.

Bodie grew up from one man to a population of about 10,000 in just 20 years. These were gold miners looking for fortune and gold in the Sierra Mountains. Bodie developed a reputation as a bad town full of "Bad Men From Bodie". One little girl, whose family was taking her to the remote and infamous town, wrote in her diary: "Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie." At the peak there were 65 saloons, daily fights and murders. This was a wild west town.

The buildings remain pretty much as they were, in a state of arrested decay. The church and one home were open for walking through but most buildings are locked and we had to be satisfied with looking in through dirty windows. I found I could get decent photos through the windows by placing the front of the lens directly on the window, blocking any light from hitting the window glass and causing reflections.

Some buildings were leaning or falling down, including an outhouse that was falling into the pit.

The town sits at over 8000 feet above sea level. The day we were there the sky was a beautiful clear blue with wispy clouds. The sun was very bright, making harsh shadows. All this made taking photos a real challenge.

If you go to Bodie, be sure to allow 1/2 a day to visit. It's like no other park you'll visit and you'll not want to rush through.

I have created a short slide show of photos from our time at Bodie. You can watch it on Youtube

July Fourth in Jonesborough TN

2010-07-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

July Fourth Fireworks.

June and I took her brother Jerry to the fireworks show in Jonesbrough TN last night. It was the end of Jonesborough Days and the people were everywhere waiting to see the show. We got there only about 30 minutes before they started but were able to find a decent parking spot right across the highway from where they were shooting the fireworks off. Turned out to be a great spot to photograph the show.

I was on the side of Highway 11E with cars going by all during the show. I was able to block much of the light from cars headlights by standing next to a large black pickup and extending my tripod as high as it would go. This had the added benefit of giving me some protection from the drivers watching the show and not the road. It was a pretty clear for a summer night in Tennessee and the little wind was at our backs so the smoke blew away from us. The one challenge with this spot was we were almost too close. I was using my wide angle 17mm lens and still couldn't get them all in.

Here's some info on how I shot these. I set the lens to 17mm, f/8.0, manually focused at infinity, and set the camera to ISO 100, and used daylight white balance. I used a wired remote shutter release and set the camera to BULB. As soon as I would hear one launch I would press and hold the button on the shutter release. I would then hold it open long enough to get several bursts of fireworks. I found getting more than four bursts in one shot tended to be too much. One burst can be interesting but two or three seemed to be the best. I post processed these in Lightroom to add +36 vibrance and clarity. I adjusted the tone curve to cut down on the shadow setting, which cut down on a lot of the smoke.

There are 10 photos in my photo gallery.

I hope you enjoy these.

Grandfather Mountain Nature Photography Weekend

2010-06-07T20:47:00.001-04:00

Every year Grandfather Mountain hosts a weekend gathering of about 150 nature photographers from around the country. I attended for the first time June 4 - 6 and had a blast! Most everyone camps on the mountain for the weekend. This is a special privilege because they don't normally allow anyone to camp. We had the full run of the mountain 24 hours a day from Friday afternoon through Sunday. The weekend includes lectures and shows by some of the top nature photographers in the country. It just doesn't get any better!

After getting settled in I took off up the mountain looking for subjects. I took a couple of wildflower shots before heading down for the first lecture. The next morning I was up at 5:15 to get set for sunrise. It was windy, overcast and the top of the mountain was fogged in. If I had thought of it I would have headed up there to get a shot of the mile high swinging bridge disappearing into the fog. Oh well, maybe next time.

The sunrise Saturday didn't have a lot of color, but there was a lot of fog hanging in the valleys below the mountain, making some interesting layer compositions.

After having a little breakfast I took of hiking in search of photos to enter in the weekend contest. I didn't come away with any winners but I did find a nice trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway with some small streams and waterfalls to enjoy.

Saturday evening I was up on top of the mountain looking for that killer sunset shot. Brilliant sunrises or sunsets just weren't in the cards for this year. I did try some different compositions to see what I could make out of it.

One of the programs Saturday night was Nature Photography After Dark by Kevin Adams, which was an excellent program. One thing I learned was how to take pictures of the night sky. As soon as it was dark enough I headed down the road to an overlook I had noticed earlier and I thought would be a good place to try out my newly learned skill. I wasn't the only one to have that idea and spent the next 30 minutes shooting the stars with about ten other photographers. Here's my favorite night sky shot.

I met a lot of nice people and had a great time on my weekend. I'm already planning on signing up next year.

Remember to click on these images to get full sized views.

3rd Annual Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk

2010-06-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited! I just signed up to lead a walk in Jonesborough, TN the morning of July 24.   This is part of a world wide event that takes place in hundreds of sites around the world, all on the same day.   I participated in the 2nd annual event last year and had a blast.   It's a great opportunity to get out, take photos, meet other photographers, and learn from each other.   Plus, there are great prizes involved!!

You can learn more about the walk at the Scott Kelby site and sign up for the Jonesborough walk on this page.   If you don't live near Jonesborough TN you can probably find another walk near you.   Go to the Scott Kelby site and browse for sites. More sites are being added all the time so if you don't see one, check back later.

The walk is limited to 50 people and I had my first person sign up less than 5 minutes after it was posted!   Sign up and pass the word.

Noah "Bud" Ogle Cabin and LeConte Creek

2010-05-31T16:14:00.001-04:00

Much of the Roaring Fork Motor Trail in the Smoky Mountains National Park is still closed while they repave the road. The road was in such bad shape it will be a great improvement and well worth the wait when they are done. We were able to drive to the Bud Ogle cabin, stopped to do some exploring. We have driven past this cabin several times in the past but never took the time to stop. We were there early enough in the morning that there were very few other people at the cabin or on the Nature Trail, which made the photography much easier.

The cabin and barn are right next to the road and easy to get to. It is actually two attached cabins built about 5 years apart with a chimney in the middle. The cabin was built in the last 1880's. The barn can be seen behind the cabin. I took several pictures around and inside the cabin, which are available in the Bud Ogle photo album.

There is a short nature trail that starts behind the cabin which loops around to come back behind the barn. It's a nice little trail that is very flat and easy to walk on.

Spring in the Smokies is a pretty wet time, which is great for growing moss and mushrooms. We found these growing on a dead tree along the trail. The sunlight cooperated and shined through the trees to light these up.

LeConte Creek, which is what flows over Rainbow Falls, runs along next to the trail. There was a thick carpet of bright green moss covering the rocks in the creek and along the banks. We got there just before the sun got high enough to shine on the creek. Just a few minutes after this shot the sunlight became too bright to get decent shots.

I have a new pair of hiking sandals and used this opportunity to try them out by standing in the middle of the creek to get this and other photos. The water was a little cool, but not numbing.

There is also an old tub mill on the creek. You can see part of it in the upper left of this photo.

This is a nice short little nature trail that is well worth stopping and hiking it. There are more photos available in the Bud Ogle photo album. The wildflower blooms were all gone but I bet it is beautiful around the second weekend of May.

Kingsport Greenbelt

2010-05-21T19:16:00.001-04:00

June and I had to run out to Hobby Lobby to buy more supplies for matting photos and took some time to walk the Greenbelt. We were hoping to find Wood Ducks and Night Herons, but they were no were to be found. Instead we were treated to baby Mallards, wildflowers, bees, and lots of birds!

The Greenbelt is a great place for a stroll, run or bike ride. It's also a fantastic spot for nature photography. You can park right next to the path and travel a paved flat path for miles and miles. It's one of the best features of Kingsport.

More photos available in the Greenbelt photo album.

Stay tuned for more shots from the Greenbelt.

Dennis Cove in Cherokee National Forest

2010-05-19T21:07:00.002-04:00

Several more photos from Dennis Cove available in the Dennis Cove Album

After getting a hint that Pink Lady Slippers were still in bloom near the Dennis Cove Campground we headed up the mountain above Hampton TN to check out the trail from the campground towards Dennis Cove Falls. We have been hiking in that area for 27+ years and had never hiked this trail. In fact, we didn't even know the campground was there. We normally park at the AT trail and hike to Laurel Falls.

There were many Pink Lady Slippers all along the Dennis Cove trail. The trail follows a pretty little creek that afforded some nice photo opportunities. We had plans to hike on up to Dennis Cove Falls but were blocked at the first creek crossing. The water was about waist high, cold, and too fast to wade. The log that others have used to cross was gone and we decided to give up on those falls and head to Laurel Falls.

Laurel Falls was a very popular spot that day with about 20 people at the falls when we got there. The sun was directly on the falls so there were no waterfall photos that day. After hanging around for a while I waded into the water to get some shots of Bluettes growing on the side of the creek.

All in all it was a great day for a hike. The saddest part is this is pretty much the end of the best part of the wildflower season in our area. There are still others blooming but not like April and May. We'll have to say goodbye to the Trillium, Phlox, Bloodroot, Bishops Caps, Columbine, and other early season wildflowers until next year.

Be sure and check out the other photos from Dennis Cove available in the Dennis Cove Album

Don't forget to sign up to get automatic emails when this blog is updated. Just enter your email address in the the Subscribe via Email box on the right. If you have any problems subscribing you can send me an email and I'll add you to the list.

Great Free Software For Planning Your Outdoor Photography

2010-05-08T21:29:00.003-04:00

One of the keys to taking photos outdoors is sunlight. Some feel the light is the most important factor. First find great light, then find something to shoot in the great light. We can't control the weather and have to live with cloudy days and bright sunny days. We can plan around the sunlight and even moonlight. Local weather forecasts often list the local sunrise and sunset times which helps. Planning a photo outing for a place you've never been to can be difficult because you don't know the direction of the sun or moon.

There is a free piece of software that not only tells you the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset time, but it also shows you what direction they will rise and set on a map, for anywhere in the world, or at least anywhere Google maps knows about.

The software is The Photographer's Ephemeris or TPE. It's available for Mac's, PC's and Linux computers (free). They recently launched a version for the iPhone ($8.99). Start TPE and enter the location you are interested in and TPE will show you a map and

- Time and direction of sunrise and sunset

- Time and direction of moonrise and moonset
- Phase of the moon and % illumination
- Times of civil, nautical and astronomical twilight
- Graphical display on a map

- Save any location you want - no fixed lists
- Automatic time zone detection for any location on earth
- Determines elevation above sea level
- View azimuth and altitude of sun/moon for any time of day/night

- Distance, bearing and elevation angle between any two points
- Find when the sun/moon will appear from behind a hill
- Compensation for atmospheric refraction
- Compensation for elevation above the horizon

I am planning to get up and shoot a small pasture filled with yellow flowers in the morning and needed to know about the time and direction of the sunrise. I entered and address close to the location (it's a pasture - no street address) then moved the pointer to the location I am interested in. I was able to zoom out and in to get the resolution I need to plan my shoot. I can see that standing on the road shoot the field the sun will be over my right shoulder. Not the best position, but it will work.

I've also thought about hiking up to the top of Devil's Backbone in Warrior's Path State Park and taking sunset or sunrise photos. The trail takes you up to a high point looking out over the lake, campground, Duck Island and most of the park. It would be great to capture sunset or sunrise from up there, but to get those photos I will have to hike a pretty steep trail in the dark. I used TPE to map that location and discovered that right now neither sunrise or sunset will work from there. The sun will rise back over the golf course and set where the trees will block my view. No need to bother trying, atleast at this time of year. I ran the date up and discovered I may be able to get some sunset photos from there in the winter.

TPE is a valuable tool for anyone doing outdoor photography. You can download the software from their website at http://photoephemeris.com/

White Oak Sinks - God's Flower Garden

2010-05-02T18:14:00.006-04:00

In the summer of 2009 I saw a photo by Jeffrey Stoner of what looked like a magical place full of wildflowers. He told me it was White Oak Sinks in the Smokies and gave me directions to this land of wildflowers. I decided that was a definitely a place to put on my list of place to hike and photograph and June and I made the hike on April 30 this year.

The Sinks is a small valley near the top of a ridge. You can hike to it via a couple different trails, but the sinks area itself does not have any officially maintained trails. We took the 3.6 mile Turkey Pen Gap trail to get there. There were plenty of wildflowers along the way, including the usual Dwarf Crested Iris, Flame Azaleas, Trillium and Phlox.

When we reached the White Oak Sinks we hadn't gone far before we found two Yellow Lady Slippers growing off the side trail. What a fantastic find! We had never seen the yellow variety before and were very excited.

That was just the beginning. We saw a forest floor carpeted with Phlox with different varieties of Trillium, Shooting Stars, Columbine, May Apples, Wild Ginger, Little Brown Jugs, and Dog Hobble. In addition to the flowers, there's also a bat cave, some old artifacts from earlier residents, and a waterfall that drops into Rainbow Cave.

This place is truly amazing with the number and varieties of wildflowers. Since they grow there naturally I've decided to call it God's Flower Garden.

After hiking down we took a drive through Cades Cove to check out the newly paved road. We saw one bear family in a tree and a beautiful sunset to finish up our day.

I posted 19 photos in my gallery. They are available in the White Oak Sinks Album in the Landscape Gallery.

A Day of Hiking Pisgah National Forest

2010-04-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

After spending a day at Biltmore and the NC Botanical Gardens in Asheville, we needed to get out into the woods for some hiking. We drove down to Pisgah NF near Brevard, North Carolina. This is know as "The Land of Waterfalls" for good reason. Our hiking book lists about two dozen waterfalls within a few miles of Brevard.

Click on any of the photos for a larger view.

We only got to two falls - Looking Glass Falls (left), which is right on the road, and Moore's Cove Falls (right), which is a short hike of 6/10 mile. Looking Glass Falls is a popular spot, because it is easy to get to, but also because it is a beautiful waterfall. The best spot to shoot these falls is standing in the middle of the stream. Since it was still in the low 60's and the water was even colder, I decided to climb out on some old logs for this shot.

Moore's Creek Falls is about 50' high, with not a lot of water flowing over the falls. The cool part about this one is you can walk behind the falls.

We decided to hike to the top of Looking Glass Rock, which took a few hours to complete. During the winter, water flowing down the sides of the rock freezes into ice, creating a glistening coating that makes the rock a “looking glass.” The panoramic view from the top was fantastic. You get a sense of the beauty in the photo below. One interesting thing about this hike is the helicopter pad about a mile from the top. It's a natural smooth rock area that the crews use as a landing spot when they need to rescue injured rock climbers.

The best part of this day of hiking was the wild flowers that were in bloom the third weekend in April. There were Jack In The Pulpit, Foam Flower, Wild Violet, several varieties of Trillium, and some we couldn't identify. There were many others that had not bloomed out yet. We wish we could go back the next two weekends to see what else is blooming.

Several more photos from this day of hiking are available in the Pisgah National Forest Photo Gallery.

Intro To Macro Photography

2010-04-15T19:33:00.002-04:00

Ray Austin (Dragonfly Digital) and I did a short class on macro (close up) photography for the Eastman Camera Club on April 8. In that session we went through several slides and examples and also showed a lot of the equipment we talked about. I can't show you the equipment here, but I can show you the slides we used for the class. Most of the information is self explanatory. Drop me a note if you have a question.

Slides are available here.

Other Great Blogs I Follow

2010-04-14T20:58:00.000-04:00

Ever notice the list of blog sites on the right side of my blog page? If you're interested in photography and outdoor activities, you might want to check out these other blog sites. You can easily brose them from my site. The newest entries are listed at the top, but don't stop there. Some bloggers post daily, but some of the best are weekly or even monthly. Check them out and add some to your Blog Roll.

The last site I added is The Blue Ridge Field Journal by Andrew Young. I just discovered this site when looking for some info on waterfalls in the Brevard NC area. Lots of great info on this site. Be sure to browse his archives either by date or category.

Beauty of Laurel Run Park

2010-04-11T20:59:00.002-04:00

We are so blessed by the flowers in our world. The same flowers that we hurry past without hardly noticing. Rarely do we stop, bend down, and look at the tiny beauty God put into these gifts. A passion for outdoor photography has caused me to notice and appreciate what we have, often right under our feet. Stop and look up close and see God's glory!

Laurel Run is a small park just west of Church Hill, Tennessee is home to one of the most beautiful and varied wildflower displays around. Each year around the first two weeks of April the hill sides, pathways, and creek sides come alive with color and beauty.

The Eastman Camera Club took a Wildflower Hike and Photography trip to this park on April 10. Since I was leading the trip, June and I did a little scouting trip on Good Friday. On Good Friday the temperatures were in the upper eighties. On the morning of April 10, they were mid the mid-thirties! Quite a change in just eight days.

When we were there on Good Friday, several of the wildflowers had not bloomed or the blooms were not open. We had several days of unusually warm weather and by the 10th many of these blooms were gone, but a whole new batch of wild flowers had bloomed to take their place. We were blessed with two completely different wildflower outings.

I have posted severl photos from these two weekends at Laurel Run Park 2010. I invite you to browse on over there and enjoy some of God's smaller creations.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into." ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

Flower Macros

2010-04-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

Spring Time! The flowers are blooming all around, in the garden, wildflowers in the park, and even weeds in the lawn! This is a great time to enjoy God's creations. Look closely at a flower or leaf. Now look closer. It's amazing what you can discover in the delicate details in these little plants.

I enjoy getting out and taking close up or "macro" photos of flowers in the spring. So far I've taken pictures of tulips, crocuses and mountain laurel growing in the yard. On Good Friday I went to Laurel Run Park near Church Hill Tennessee and got pictures of wildflowers that had just opened. This was a scouting run for a Camera Club outing on April 10. Unless we have a freeze between now and then the wildflowers will be even more beautiful a week from now.

The photo on the right is a tulip leaf. For years I've ignored the leaves waiting on the flowers. Now that I've looked closer I see the beauty in all parts of the flower. I call this one "A Cup of Light" because it looks like the light is about to spill over the top of the leaf.

I've started a Macro Flower album on my website and will be adding pictures to it all spring. You can go to it directly via this link - Macro Flowers Album Be sure to keep checking back every so often as I add more photos of the flowers of springtime.

The yellow and purple photo on the left is a purple crocus. When you're taking photos that close up, the range of focus or depth of field is extremely small. In this case only about 1/8" is in focus.

The orange and while photo on the right is a white crocus.

Finally, this is a red tulip petal. It was taken in the morning when the sun was low and shining across the petal and through the water drops.

There are more photos in the Macro Flower album and I'll be adding more over the next several weeks. I hope you enjoy these.

My Artsy Side - Water Drops

2010-03-27T22:20:00.004-04:00

The weather was cold and damp Friday so I decided to take advantage of my time indoors and try something I had seen from other photographers. Photographing water drops can create some very cool abstract kind of pictures, which is a departure from my normal landscape photography.

My set up included a paint pan in the kitchen sink and some brightly colored objects on the other side of the pan. The objective is to get these objects refracted in the water drops. I found some red, blue and green Tupperware lids to use as my props. I set my camera up on a tripod so that it was just above the surface of the water in the pan. I manually focused at the point where the drops hit the water. The trick is to place an ink pen in the water so the drops hit it and then focus on the pen. I set up an external flash off to the side pointed at the Tupperware and had my popup flash on as well. I turned the flash power down to make the flash time as short as possible to freeze the drops. The camera was set to manual mode, 1/250 sec, f/7.1 and I manipulated the ISO to get the exposure I wanted. I had to crank the ISO up higher than I would have liked and as a result I got a lot of digital noise (grainy) in these shots.

When I looked at my first shots I noticed you can see the rust spots on the pan. I then tried aluminum foil on the bottom of the pan, but that was too reflective. I found colored printer paper worked best and orange paper gave the most dramatic images.

In the final photo I used white paper and then chaned the white balance in Lightroom to give it a blue tint.

You might wonder how I clicked the shutter at just the right moment to capture these. The trick is to take several hundred and throw out 95% of them. Random chance works best in this situation.

Remember, you can click on these pictures to zoom in.

There are a few more photos at http://www.thesiggins.com/Macros/Oddballs/

This was fun to do and I may try again when the weather is cold and damp. I hope you enjoy these.