Landscape, Nature and Travel Photography

Before the end of the short work week I wanted to wish everyone in the U.S. a fun and safe 4th of July weekend. For those that are lucky enough to get out this weekend make the most of your time and be sure to stop and enjoy the show nature puts on daily. Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: seascape, photography, photo, stock photo, surf

One of the most essential pieces of knowledge to understand in order to attain sharp images, particularly for landscapes, is the principle of hyperfocal distance.

Phil Davis put it best in Photography, 1972

“When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.”

The general tip to burn into your memory is focus 1/3 of the way into your photo with a smaller aperture setting to maximize your depth of field.

image courtesy of DOFMaster

A great online resources to reference when researching hyperfocal distance for your gear is DOFMaster’s Depth of Field Calculator. In addition Vividlight Photography also has a great article on this subject What is Hyperfocal Distance and Why Should I Care? were they provide an Excel or PDF Hyperfocal Distance Chart that can be put in your camera bag.

View more photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Technorati Tags: photo, term, terminology, Hyperfocal Distance, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,   Arctic Refuge,   ANWR,   landscape,   photo,   photography,   Alaska,   wildflower, stock photo

Another perspective in my Springtime Oak series. This is a little different than my last “Springtime Oak” in that I wanted the tree to be the sole subject. California Oak trees take on such complex forms that they lend themselves very well to be photographed. Their branches are so crooked and jagged, yet in whole form take on a shape that is rather iconic. In many regards the layering of their crooked branches reminds me of fractals. Angular components adding up to comprise an intricate yet beautiful form.

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Technorati Tags: California, photography, landscape, nature, stock photo, oak, tree

California’s coastline is hard to beat as a photographic subject. I’ve seen just about every mile of the California coastline from San Diego to the Oregon border and to this day one of my favorite areas is the coastline along Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey. What makes this stretch of coast so photogenic is the combination of surf, coastal rocks and rich kelp beds.

Sunset on the Rocks - Monterey, California
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From a photography perspective when taking coastal photos you always have to be careful and keep an eye on the surf as I’ve blogged about in the past, especially if you plan on getting up close and personal. After all it only takes one rogue wave to ruin your day and potentially take your life. On this day I timed my visit to coincide with the tide transitioning from high to low tide. Before setting up shop I thoroughly scouted out this area to find not only a photogenic subject but a safe spot. As a precaution I tucked my camera bag with my other gear higher up and farther back from where I set up. For this photo I decided to take a chance with a very wide focal length (16mm) and getting very close to my subject (a matter of inches). This particular set of rocks was only a couple of feet above the water line and the front element of my lens was only a few feet from the waters edge. With one eye on the waves in the distance and the other on my subject I captured quite a few photos.

As most experienced coastal photographers know my setup was rather precarious. Although I knew better I decided the photo was worth the risk. Well it didn’t take long before I got a little too into my subject and realized while looking through my lens that a wave was getting a little too close for comfort. Only problem is when looking through a wide angle lens by the time you notice something close up it is REALLY close up. I was able to pick up my camera still attached to my tripod, shield it with my body and take two steps before I got clobbered from behind by this wave.

I really got soaked and although my camera and lens were wet I was able to dry them off rather quickly with the few patches of dry clothing I still had. I ended up trekking back to my car to wipe down my clothing with a towel, inspect my camera and air dry while enjoying the glare of several people who took in my “genius” moment. I ended up deciding not to test my luck again with that particular photo, but did endure the chill of my soaked clothing for another hour or two to capture a few more photos later in the evening from this very spot. I’ll post one or two of those images another time.

The California coast… beautiful, but always unpredictable.

Technorati Tags: Monterey, California, sunset, photo, stock photo, photography, coastal, seascape, wave

One of the most exciting developments to occur this weekend was the landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Landing on the northern pole region of Mars, amazing photos were sent back detailing unusual, yet familiar looking polygonal shapes in the polar landscape. Upon seeing these photos I didn’t need to read a word on the NASA Phoenix Lander web site about what I was seeing. From my trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge I knew exactly what these polygonal formations represented… permafrost or permafrost like conditions.

Below on the left is one of the first photos transmitted from the Phoenix Mars Lander and on the right is an aerial view of the Arctic Coastal Plain. The lifeless/waterless surface of the Mars polar region looks very similar in form to our very own northern polar region. This discovery once again showing another facet of how the mathematical and physical laws of nature repeat from micro to macro and from planet to planet.

Click to Enlarge	Click to Enlarge

The presence of permafrost formations on Mars and Earth is but one of many fascinating instances of forms repeating throughout nature from the microscopic to the interstellar. A commonly repeated forms observed is the logarithmic spiral as seen below in Hurricane Isabel and M51 (photo by Brian Lula). This particular form is far more common than the polygonal permafrost formations, but all part of the mathematical uniformity stemming from the molecular structure of all things that compose matter in our universe.

Logarithmic Spirals Isabel and M51 - APOD

Spiral by minipixel

The recent photos from Mars are not only a distant view to another planet, but a view to the common inner working of how our Universe is built. Nature truly is an amazing thing to study as well as take in visually.

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White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is one of the most beautiful locations in the southwestern United States. The lighting is like no where else that I’ve experienced. The iconic pastel hues that paint the landscape here have inspired artists for centuries. To say photographing this location was inspiring would be an understatement. The more I review photographs from this location the more I want to return.

Light & Shadow - White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
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Sunrise or sunset? I suppose that will depend if the glass is half full or half empty for you on this Monday. Either way I hope that everyones Monday starts off well.

Photographed below are California Oak trees in a grassy meadow. If you’ve been to California you’ll know that much of the landscape inland from the coast resembles this scene. Several years ago I would often travel from Santa Barbara, in the central coast region of California, to north of San Francisco in Marin county. Much of the view along the way was this very type of landscape. Driving by this landscape it’s easy to take for granted the forms and textures present in this environment. Only recently have I started to explore this common view by foot and each time I’ve learned something new and/or gained a new perspective. It’s amazing how a sense of discovery can be found in your own backyard, so to speak, versus half way around the world.

Technorati Tags: California, photography, landscape, nature, stock photo, oak, tree

The land of the midnight sun (aka Alaska) produces some of the most beautiful light for photography. The trick is being able to see it through the quickly changing weather conditions. Not far from my camp when I took this photo the midnight sun kissed the mountainside as a storm front was moving in. With in minutes this beautiful light had vanished only to appear hours later as the storm cleared. To this day I’m in awe of how rugged yet beautiful this landscape is. Looking through Arctic photos these past couple of days I’m getting the itch to return as soon as I can.

Arctic Refuge: Hidden Beauty
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Technorati Tags: Arctic, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, photo, photography, landscape, scenic, Kongakut River, valley, Alaska