A Tale of Two Nights

It's always fun to try something new. Varina did a bit of night photography years ago - but neither of us has spent much time shooting in the dark in recent years. In the past several months, we spent some time shooting at night in Arizona and New Mexico. Here are a few of our attempts. What do you think?

This shot, titled "The Night Flight", is a digital blend of two images taken during our recent trip to Bisti Wilderness in New Mexico. The image was created using a technique Jay calls "Painting with Time", and no artificial lighting was used. He took one shot just as the last light was falling on the hoodoo - soft, directional lighting gives the formation a soft, golden glow. After taking the first shot, Jay left the camera and the tripod in place. Soon, the stars came out, and he adjusted the exposure to capture their light. (F5.6@25s, ISO 500). Later, he combined the images in Photoshop to create the final image you see above.

 Varina chose a simpler technique that evening at Bisti. Shortly after sunset, she used a 3.2 second shutter speed to capture these smooth hoodoos. The sky glowed with a soft magenta light in the West, and the reflected light created the slight color cast you see in the image.

We also tried some night photography in the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona. Jay's shot is titled "A Night at The Control Tower". This is an example of light panting. Although we generally prefer natural lighting, we find that a bit of artificial light can work well alongside ambient light. In this case, the ambient light was provided by the moon. Jay used a 30 second exposure (F4, ISO 200) to underexpose the scene by about 1.3 stops. He wanted to avoid a longer shutter speed, since it would result in "star trails". He used a headlamp to light The Control Tower as he waited. Matching the exposure for the foreground and the background required some experimentation.

While Jay was busy painting with light, Varina climbed high on the rocks in the dark to find a spot that offered an interesting view from above. She wanted to capture the glow of residual light on the bizarre Southwest landscape. In order to capture enough light, she used a whopping 266 second shutter speed (F16, ISO 100). (Though she could have reduced that long shutter speed by increasing the ISO.) The rich colors in the rock were enhanced by the very faint glow in the western sky.

Light Painting, "Painting with Time", star light, moon light, residual light... your options are wide open! Have you tried shooting after dark? If you have some night shots you'd like to share, leave a link in your comment. Make sure you tell us how you did it!

Learning to See: Creative Compositions

As landscape photographers, we are trained to look for perfect light and stunning skies. We’re taught to shoot only during the golden hour, and only when the clouds are positively radiant with sunbeams. Most of us won’t even consider pulling out the camera when the sky is sunny and bright, or on hazy days when the image contrast is fairly low. Is this because there is nothing to shoot? Or are we just not looking at things creatively? Learning to see creatively is about thinking outside the box. Look for unusual lighting and unique composition. A different perspective can make all the difference in unfavorable conditions. And why not take it a step further? Creative processing techniques can bring out detail and interest that might get lost with more traditional methods.


One of the most common challenges for landscape photographers is capturing a unique image of an iconic location. “The Wave” in Arizona has been photographed by thousands, and it seems to have been shot from every angle many times over. Rather than taking standard shots, I forced myself to avoid the compositions that I had seen before. On this day, a pool of water filled the base of the wave. Bending down low, I noticed that I could fill a frame entirely with the wave and its reflection – creating an abstract composition that I had not seen before. I waited for the winds to calm down and took this shot under bright sunlight.
Tips for Creative Compositions

• Find a new location to shoot that icon
• Experiment with different zoom lenses
• Change elevation of your camera
• Get up close to focus on textures and patterns rather then location
• Use reflections if available
• Place a human or wildlife element in the photograph

Continued on Learning to See: Creative Compositions: Part II

 

What Sells?

I wanted to thank Varina for letting me share her blog. At first, I resisted the idea of posting anything on the blog because of lack of good language skills but you have to start somewhere. So here goes...

For my first post, I want to share my thoughts on what sells and what doesn’t. Recently one of my photographs of "The Wave" was published in VIAJES National Geographic Magazine.

Rather then go for the artistic look the editors decide to publish a plain old photograph of "The Wave" taken in bright sun under midday condition. My best guess is that the reason they selected this photograph was they wanted to publish what people would actually see when they got to the location. Another request followed day later from another magazine. This time around, they wanted a photograph of the Old Faithful. They are still reviewing the shot. In future I for one will not hesitate to shoot during midday at tourist hot spots.

-Jay