Barn in the Morning Fog–Southern Maryland

This photograph of a lonely barn in the morning fog blanketing Southern Maryland is a result of my mantra to always have my camera at hand.  I was off to play golf one weekend, and passed by this barn.  Thanks to anti-lock brakes, I quickly came to a stop without the drama of screeching tires.

The processing for this photo started with a three shot HDR and a round trip to Photomatix Pro.  I processed the photo in color, then sent it off to Silver Efex Efex Pro 2 for the black and white conversion.  This approach let me shoot directly into the sun while holding detail in the shadows (such as the shade side of the barn), and bring definition to the clouds, fog, and field.

The two lessons from this shot are 1) keep your camera with you if at all possible, and 2) don’t be afraid to combine post processing techniques to get the result you are looking for.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Virginia Wineries

Last weekend, my wife Sue and I made a last minute decision to head out of the city, drive West, and take in a balloon and wine festival.  It was a pretty good plan as far as last minute decisions go.  Unfortunately, the further West we drove, the stronger the winds blew.  By the time we were near to the balloon and wine festival, it was clear we would see no balloons in the air.  The wind was a steady 20 knots with gusts over 30.

We immediately formed plan B and and pulled into the first winery we came across.  Except for the wind, it was a beautiful day.  Bright sun, temps in the low 70s, and the leaves were showing their first signs of color.  We were also fortunate enough to find some grapes still on the vine…along with a few that had been resting in a bottle for a few years.

We visited several wineries and were pleasantly surprised by each of them.  It was about four years ago since giving a good look at Virginia wine.  Four years ago, I was not particularly impressed.  Even more recently I have paired and written about a couple of Virginia wines on my other blog; Craig’s Grape Adventure.  I was not flattering.  I noted that while improved,Virginia still had some work ahead to mature the industry.

The real treat of the day was our visit to Delaplane Cellars.  We tasted five wines; two Viogniers, a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Franc, and a red blend.  I was taken aback.  All five were excellent wines.  The 2008 Maggies Vineyard Viognier was among the top Viogniers I have experienced.

With an arm full of wine bottles, membership in yet another wine club, and a sense of satisfaction in knowing Virginia wines deserve further investigation, we drove back to DC.  Delaplane Cellars convinced me that great wine can be made in Virginia, and that there are talented winemakers making serious wine.  Thanks!

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Black and White Photography from Angel Falls, Venezuela

This morning, I was wandering through some of my photographs and realized I had shared only a couple from a trip to Angel Falls in Venezuela.  As I wandered through the Angel Falls collection , I immediately saw this as another discussion about processing photographs as black and white rather than color.

In this case, my reason for choosing black and white was to maintain an aesthetic consistent with a place lost to time.  If you want to visit Angel Falls, you will need to fly to Caracas Venezuela, take another flight to Puerto Ordaz on the Orinoco River, another 4 to 6 passenger plane from Puerto Ordaz to Canaima (located at base of Salto Sapo), overnight in Canaima, then take a motorized hollowed tree (like those above) from Canaima on a 4 hour trip to Angel Falls where you will hike another mile through the jungle to reach the base of Angel Falls.  Canaima and Angel Falls are protected as part of a national park, but even without this protection, the remoteness would likely still keep this rugged part of Venezuela relatively untouched.  For me, this timeless place demanded a similarly timeless black and white rendering.

Canaima is the last thing that looks remotely like civilization.  Once leaving Canaima, the only signs of humans are the occasional huts belonging to the Orinoco Indians, or the odd camp site on the banks of the Rio Churon, into which Angel Falls flows or the Carrao River that runs from Canaima to Angel Falls.

The beauty revealed on the boat trip is beyond description.  The scale is difficult to get your head around, and as you travel up the river, each bend brings another spectacular view.

Here is the difficulty of the scale; the photo above shows a side view of the Angel Falls plunge which measures over 1/2 mile.  It is tough to put a 1/2 mile waterfall into context.

The primitive beauty of this remote area of Venezuela is something you should enjoy if you have an opportunity.  The last couple of photographs were taken from our plane as we flew back to Puerto Ordaz.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Craig Corl Photography on 500px.com

I recently heard about the photography gallery site 500px.com.  This best comparison for this site is Flickr.  Actually, it is nothing like Flickr, but with Flickr being the default photo sharing site, it is a good point of comparison.

500px.com actually predates Flickr.  Flickr skyrocketed in popularity for everyone from the mom shooting happy snaps of the kids to professional photographers.  500px.com has taken the slow road to gaining our attention, but I believe it will soon be a strong competitor to Flickr, particularly among serious photographers.

There are a number of points of departure for 500px.com and I will talk about a few that are important to me.  First, 500px.com caters to and encourages serious photographers.  The folks at 500px.com encourage photographers to upload only their best photography and discourage use of the site as a repository for everything on your hard drive.

Second, they have a highly customizable portfolio/gallery function that is very elegant and looks like a professional online gallery rather than the less than elegant hodgepodge offered by Flickr.  You can check out my gallery at http://craigcorl.500px.com/#/0.  Related to this benefit is the ability to easily view relatively large photos that highlight the quality of your work.

Finally, 500px.com employs a set of algorithms that rate your photography based on views, comments, and ratings of other photographers that is biased by age.  In other words, the rating of a particular photo decays with time.  This encourages photographers to update their portfolio with new work and thereby ensure continued refreshing.  It also promotes some healthy competition and regular feedback regarding how your photography stands up to other excellent photographers.  I encourage you to checkout 500px.com and of course, visit my gallery as it builds.

The final note for today is a change I made to this blog over the weekend.  Back in February I decided to give Google Ads a shot.  This program permits Google to place adds on your blog in exchange for revenue gained from viewers following those links.  My first impression was that the ads cluttered the page.  While not enamored with this clutter, I proceeded to give it a try in the hopes I would gain a few bucks to support my photography habit.  Since February, my Google ads account accumulated a grand total of $5.  My conclusion was that the payback was not worth the clutter.

Over the weekend, I disabled the ads, and added a donate button (top right of the page) that would allow readers to support my work.  The donate button is back-ended by PayPal’s secure exchange system so you have confidence it is legit.  I don’t plan on following the NPR semiannual fund drive model, but if you like what you see and read, a small donation to support the many hours I put into this blog would be greatly appreciated.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Army Navy Country Club in Bloom–Golf Course Landscape Photography

These photos are dated by a month or so, but I thought to share them although the blooming trees have since taken on their summer foilage.  Over the last couple of years, I have been photographing the golf course at the Arlington campus of Army Navy Country Club with the intention of highlighting the beauty of the course during different seasons.

In addition to the blooming trees featured in these photographs, a key element for me is the sky.  In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of good landscape photography is an interesting sky.  A completely overcast sky with no texture is uninteresting.  Clear blue skies with no clouds are only slightly more interesting.  A sky featuring a variety of cloud formations always adds more interest.

And when you don’t have an interesting sky, just eliminate it from the composition.

Now that summer has suddenly arrived in Washington DC with temps in the mid 90s and our legendary humidity, I am forced to be a bit more selective in choosing which days to golf.  But I will not be deterred!

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

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

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

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

Arizona Desert Landscapes

While not a big fan of deserts (meaning I don’t want to live there – I have completely turned to city dweller), Arizona is a landscape photographers dream.  The combination of tremendously large vistas (unlike the three block visibility of my DC neighborhood), bold colors, and interesting features make for easy photographic hunting.

The three shots featured here are in the neighborhood of Sierra Vista, and Tombstone Arizona (home of the OK Corral).

Each of the photographs featured here are HDR.  The value of using 3 or 5 shot HDR in these circumstances was the ability to shoot into the sun while pulling out some shadow details (second two photographs), and to capture the richness of the colors as the sun sets (first photograph).  These photographs are reasonably good examples of using HDR to recover details in the shadows/highlights without introducing the cotton candy look common to some HDR photography.

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

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