What Sells?

One of the best markets for landscape photography are annual calendars. Recently two of Jay's images were chosen by a local company for publication in their large art calendar. This photo, titled Reflections of Beauty, was selected for the cover.


This one - titled Stranded - was selected for the October page.


Images for calendars like these are chosen based upon location, theme, or terrain (seascapes, forests, waterfalls, mountains, etc.) - and shots from National Parks are some of the most popular. Most of the time, the calendar company is looking for landscape images that are appropriate for a particular season - so we try to make sure that we shoot in a variety of seasons. For example, if you have photos of Yosemite in Summer, but not in Winter, the publisher will have to go with someone else for those winter images. We visit locations more than once to fill in gaps in our portfolios.

Several months ago, we got a call from National Geographic asking about images for their 2010 Calendars. In the end, they selected two images from National Parks which were published in their 2010 National Park's engagement calender.

The market for landscape photography for calender companies is pretty broad. You can maximize your chances of getting published by expanding your portfolio to include a diverse set of images from a variety of locations - during a variety of seasons.

Beauty Creek - Jasper

We had some spectacular skies on this night. Jay's photo from a few days ago is from the same location - but facing in the other direction. He was somewhere on the left in this image - hidden by trees at the edge of the lake. The sun was shining through clouds on the opposite horizon, and just for a few minutes, a golden band appeared on the mountain. So I was hopping back and forth from rock to rock - trying not to end up with the fishes.

I love the reflected light in the water - and those beautiful dark spots of flora at the bottom of the lake add a bit of interest in that corner of the image.

I shot at f/11 and 1/5 sec. I processed a single image three times to find the correct exposure for sky, mountain, and water. This took quite a while, since I couldn't decide on the correct white balance. Is it right? Heck - I've no idea. I usually try to memorize the colors so I can reproduce them later... but I guess my little brain was overwhelmed with color data (too many shots in just a few days!) In the end, I decided this looked as close to real as I could get it... and I combined the three images in Photoshop using our iHDR technique. I'd love to hear your comments on this one. :)

Reflecting on Jasper

When the right light and right location come together the results are nothing short of spectacular. While shooting at Beauty Creek we ran into cloud formations that produced some of the most brilliant light display of our trip to Canadian Rockies. I have to give credit to our host Darwin and Samantha for showing us this location. Be sure to check their website (DarwinWigget.com, Chrysalizzphotography) and their blog. Both Darwin and Samantha offer workshops in Canadian Rockies.



To capture this photograph I used a 0.9 Hard Edge GND filter. Because I was shooting looking directly into the sun, even with a 0.9 ND filter I had to bracket my shots. These bracketed shots were combined using our iHDR work flow to bring out the colors and details in both the sky and reflection.

I hope you like the photograph. Please feel free to comment and give me suggestion for improving the photo. Thanks you for stopping by.

-Jay

Green and Blue - Banff

Since I've had very little time for processing, I have chosen to process a few quick and easy shots. This first shot is just a simple dandelion seed head. Jay pointed this one out near Bow Lake. I shot with my 180mm macro. Notice I'm shooting in the shade - soft, even lighting works well for this subject. You can see the detail in the seeds, but the contrast isn't too extreme... which means the flower keeps its delicate softness.

This is Herbert Lake. We'd been shooting elsewhere, but high winds forced us away. I took only a few shots under this sky - and I threw all but this one away. Wide angle lens, f/11, and a long shutter speed (3.2 sec). A simple composition, a bit of texture in the clouds, and a bit of drama just for the fun of it.

This is an early morning shot from a pond near Graveyard Flats. We'd had a rough night - nearby campers partied late into the night, and loud thunderstorms kept us awake after that. The moodiness of the heavy morning fog had me smiling, though. :) This was an incredibly easy shot to process... no broad range of light to deal with, very low contrast overall, and it wanted to go blue... so I let it have its way.

What do you think?

We have an iHDR seminar in Ohio this weekend. There are just a few seats left, so if you are interested, don't put off registering any longer.