Muir Woods in Black and White, and a Wrap up of Northern California

Since my wonderful trip to Northern California in January, I have posted a number of articles featuring the photography from this visit.  Sadly we have come to the end of the line – at least until I visit again.  The photography featured in this post comes from Muir woods.

Before talking about Muir woods, Here are links to the previous posts from San Francisco, and north to Point Arenas, Sonoma Valley and Napa.

California Wine Country in the Fog

• California Wine Country in the Fog Part II–Black and White Part II

Northern California Seascapes

California Cows are Happy Cows

California’s Golden Gate Bridge

• The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White
• The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White Part II
• San Francisco Fishing Boats–Details
• Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, at Sunrise
• Alcatraz at Sunrise
• San Francisco Fishing Fleet at Sunrise
• San Francisco Street Car Diptych
• Minimalism–Foggy Field at Point Arenas California

If you are displaced Northern Californian, I hope these posts satisfy your need for familiar and beautiful scenes from the bay area.

We took a very invigorating hike through Muir woods – about 5 hours of hiking which seemed to be up hill every step of the way.  The enormity of these redwoods is difficult to describe or even capture in the photography.  Sure, people benches and other objects provide a certain sense of scale, but even so, they do not convey the majesty of this beautiful park.

Muir Woods National Monument was established by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Consisting of 295 acres, Muir Woods becomes the 7th National Monument, and the first created from land donated by a private individual.  The Monument is named after naturalist John Muir, whose environmental campaigns helped to establish the national park system.

Aside from the massive scale of these trees, one of the very interesting things you notice early on in your trek is the fire scaring on many of the trees.  In some cases, the fire has actually hollowed out “caves” in the base of the tree – many large enough to walk into.  What makes this even more interesting is that although this scaring looks fresh, the last forest fire that occurred in Muir Woods was over 160 years ago.

The average age of these tremendous trees is between 500 and 800 years.  However, these are just youngsters in comparison with the elders estimated at over 1,200 years old.  These old redwoods can stretch as high as nearly 400 feet.  The tallest tree in Muir woods is considered a runt at 258 feet.  But trust me, when you are standing at the foot of these giants, I dare you to distinguish a 300 foot tree from a 400 foot tree.

If you have the opportunity to visit Muir Woods, you will not be disappointed.  The views are spectacular and unforgettable.  The trails in the park are reasonably well marked and well maintained.  The layout of the park is well suited for a casual stroll or other more ambitious options.  If you want a little burn in your glut’s, Muir Woods can help.

The last two photos are here to help provide a sense of scale.  As you consider these two shots, keep in mind that these are the “babies” running along a ridge line.  The elders are down in the valley and simply dwarf these infants in both girth and height.

Thanks for joining  my tour through a small and beautiful slice of Northern California.

Have fun and go make some great photography

Craig

The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White Part II

Iconic subjects such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, are photographed daily by hundreds, if not thousands of people each day.  That might deter an experienced photographer – why bother?  Well, it did not deter me.  So what if everyone in the world has shot the Golden Gate on everything from a iPhone to a large format camera?  While not likely unique, these views of the Golden Gate are my interpretation, and I enjoyed the process.

On the other hand, knowing that the Golden Gate Bridge has been shot to death, I knew I did not want to take a “normal” approach.  To achieve something at least somewhat unique, I decided to mimic a 6 x 6 medium format, black and white using a DSLR.  In other words, I composed the shot with the intention of cropping to a square format, and post processing as black and white.  To further mimic the medium format, all the photographs are three shot HDR.

The last two photographs are very similar, but I liked them both for different reasons and decided to include them both for the simple reason of indecision.  I will let you be the judge.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

San Francisco Fishing Boats–Details

This will be my final post featuring the San Francisco waterfront and I thought to turn it into an explanation of my approach to photographing a place I am visiting.  In one sense, you could view this as part of my approach for creativity.

The recent photography of the San Francisco fishing fleet and Fisherman’s Wharf were generally wide angle or landscape type photographs.  Those featured here are more detailed photographs – filling the frame with the details of the fishing boats and gear.  This represents part of my approach to improving my creativity.

More specifically here is part of my routine:

1. Shoot what I’m looking at – generally wide angle
2. Get closer and shoot details – fill the frame
3. Get even closer and shoot smaller details
4. Find a high angle and shoot down
5. Find a low angle and shoot up
6. Turn around and look at what is behind me
7. Wait – photography is often about patience – give your eye time to see something interesting

This may seem simplistic, but when this is part of your process of shooting, new and interesting compositions will present themselves.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Alcatraz at Sunrise

Continuing the series of photographs from San Francisco, I selected this view of Alcatraz.  I find this photograph appealing because the composition moves it in the direction of minimalism.  In other words, the subject (the island and buildings of Alcatraz) are prominent, yet somewhat muted.  The composition is dominated by negative space – the pink hues of a morning sky.

In composing this photograph, I felt it was important to leave a sliver of the San Francisco Bay waters to provide context for Alcatraz.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

San Francisco Fishing Fleet at Sunrise

The hour or so surrounding sunrise is my favorite time to shoot.  The light is magical, and sometimes the world makes a truly painterly impression.  These photographs of the San Francisco fishing fleet are a great example.

These shots were taken just after sunrise.  With the sun low on the horizon, the light is softer, and the colors otherworldly.  The pastel hues of these photograph mimic the cotton candy vendor at the county fair.  Although these are both HDR shots, I did not intentionally alter the colors and what you see is pretty close to what I remember.

The next time you get a chance, get a cup of coffee, take a stroll at sunrise, and be ready for pleasant surprises.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

San Francisco Street Car Diptych

Every once in a while I am surprised by my photography.  Don’t get excited, these are not the words of an overblown ego.  The real meaning behind these words is that once in a while I am pleasantly surprised by seeing something during post processing that was not my intent when the shot was taken.

While processing some shot from a trip to San Francisco in January, I saw the two photographs (below) and instantly saw they belonged as a diptych.  This was not my intention when I was shooting the street cars parked along Fisherman’s Wharf, and therefore my pleasant surprise.

My take away from this is to be open to pleasant surprises.  Just because I did not plan a shot, does not mean it is a throw away.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White

I am doing my best to live up to my commitment to improve on the time between taking a photo and processing it.  At times during the last year, I have been behind by as much as a full year.  This photo comes from the last of the collection of photographs taken in California during a visit in January.  Only four months behind…not so bad.

One benefit of not processing my photos immediately is that once separated in time and/or space from the original photograph, I am more capable of looking at the photograph more critically, and less emotionally.  Even making a first pass of processing then returning to finish in a week or two can improve my ability to produce a better photograph.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Minimalism–Foggy Field at Point Arenas California

A common approach I have seen among photographers that are attracted to landscape minimalism can be demonstrated with this photograph of a foggy field adjacent to Point Arenas California.  Here are the characteristics I have seen as most common:

1. A somewhat strong foreground that serves as an anchor, but has no real focal point.
2. A distinct, yet not bold subject.  In this case, the trees on the bottom 1/3 line along with the cliff edges toward the right on the lower 1/3 line.
3. Layered background.  Notice how the ground, trees, cliffs, and distant trees form layers that are highlighted or distinguished by the luminous fog.
4. Empty (or negative) space – in this case the sky beginning just below the midpoint and extending through the top of the photograph.

I am not proposing this as a formula, but just a recognition of common patterns I have observed.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

California’s Golden Gate Bridge

This post continues my recent theme of photography from Northern California.  Today’s photographs feature the Golden Gate Bridge taken from the Marin Headlands. 

My timing for these photographs was about as good as it gets…by coincidence.  My wife and I had just spent the day driving the coastline from well north in Mendocino county and arrived to beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco just moments before sunset.

With the sun low on the horizon, I was treated to beautifully saturated colors, a dramatic sky, and wonderfully formed shadows.

The Golden Gate bridge is a beautiful structure and draws tremendous crowds to the Marin Headlands.  I have some more shots from the San Francisco side, but will save those for another time.

All photographs are hand held three exposure HDR images taken on a Canon 5D, 24-105mm f/4.0L, various focal lengths, f 8.0, ISO 100, and various shutter speeds.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Northern California Seascapes

Just add water and you get a better photograph.  I am particularly drawn to seascapes, nautical photography, and water in general.  The shots featured in this post were taken on my recent visit to California and range from Point Arenas to the north and south to the Golden Gate Strait.  For each of the four photographs featured here, I provide a related tip for improving your seascape photography.

Tip 1:  Get the lighthouse off center.  This is a basic compositional point, but how many shots have you seen of lighthouses centered in the photograph.  As you can see from the example in the first photograph (Point Arena Light), by composing the shot with the lighthouse in the upper right corner, there is greater context and room for some interesting foreground.

Tip 2:  Use the coast as a leading line.  The photograph above of the coastline heading out toward Point Reyes naturally leads the eye through the photograph.  Use the natural lines of the coast to draw the observer through the composition.

Tip 3:  Use HDR for sunrise/set shots on the water.  The wonderful colors your eye sees during those dramatic sunsets on the water is difficult to reproduce in the camera.  Shooting in HDR gives you the opportunity to come closer to what you saw when you took the shot.

Tip 4:  Include objects that provide a sense of scale.  Seascapes can be confusing when there is lack of a reference point for scale.  Scale references help the mind understand relationships, distance, and size.  In the photograph of San Francisco taken from the Marin headlands, there are several scale references; the two people in the foreground, the sailboat at the left edge, and the faint rows of houses mid-frame on the left.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

California Cows are Happy Cows

While visiting northern California last week, my wife and I drove quite a few miles through wine country as well as the surrounding agricultural areas of Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.  As we were driving, we both commented that the cows looked happy…just as the commercial for California dairy claims.

Before you get two wound around the axle, I will admit that I have no idea what differentiates a happy cow from one with a bad attitude.  However, if I were able to show you a scenes of cows laying on a sloping hill leading to a Pacific sunset…all cow eyes glued on the sunset…you might get a sense of the happy cow feelings flowing from the California pastures.

Happy or not, the cows added some interest to these beautiful landscapes…and I thanked them all personally for the wonderful truffle cheese I was enjoying.  With respect to the photography, there is nothing particularly special to mention.  All shots were taken on a hand held Canon 5D with a 24-105mm f/4.0L.  Each of the photographs is a three shot HDR.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

California Wine Country in the Fog Part II–Black and White

As promised, I am back with more California wine country photography featuring some black and white compositions.  I am happy with the color shots featured in the predecessor to this post, but am particularly drawn to several of the black and white photographs – particularly the first two which represent a minimalist approach which I favor.

The next two photographs tend increasingly away from minimalism, yet remain simple, contemplative photographs.

The last in the series is certainly the busiest of the four with some added tension as the spikes and vines contrast against the smooth rolling tones of the clouds above.

I have not decided on the subject of the next several posts, but you can be sure we will be revisiting Northern California at some point.  I was lucky enough to spend a little time in San Francisco, Mendocino County, and Muir Woods.  I am very excited about the shots from Muir Woods National Monument, but have a lot of sorting, selecting, and processing to do.  In other words, I may not get to this right away.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

California Wine Country in the Fog

I was lucky enough to spend last weekend in California wine country (Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley) with my wife…and my camera.  Notice I said “wife” first, and “camera” second.  We had a wonderful time visiting some boutique wineries (those that either do not distribute, or have a very limited distribution and low case production) and were fortunate enough to be blessed by fog.

From a photographic point of view, fog is very exciting.  Follow this link to see some of the previous entries I posted featuring fog.  Generally, fog is another great excuse to process photos in black and white; a clear preference of mine.  However, I wanted to share these photos because they run counter to my black and white predisposition.  In each of the photos, my opinion was that the color added an important dimension to the final product.

I am a bit short on time at the moment, so my commentary will be similarly limited.  Check back in a couple of days to see another set of California wine country photography in black and white.

 

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig