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Cottonwood Row, Zion National Park

Tech details: Nikon D700, 16-35mm, Singh Ray LB Polarizer, Gitzo Tripod, Arca Swiss Ball Head, 1/3 of a second @ F14, ISO 200

The extreme angle of view being this close to those foreground cascades and the extreme tonal values from bright water to dark rocks in shadow presented a few technical challenges. First and foremost, I wanted a long exposure to render the water as silky and soft. This was achieved by dialing in a 5 second exposure at F22 which also was the perfect setting for near to far sharpness with the camera literally only 2 feet from the foreground falls. With an exposure time of 5 seconds the water was perfectly exposed, but the shadow detail along the sides of the frame and on the rocks was about 1.5 stops too dark. To overcome this, I shot a second image at 13 seconds rendering just the perfect amount of detail in the rocks. The two images were later hand blended in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Elegant Elakala

Rolling out of bed after what seemed an eternity of laying in restless dreams, I made an emergency batch of strong coffee. Boiling the water on the front porch of the hotel room and then adding it to my french press loaded with some serious strong coffee bought at Hypnocoffee in Davis the day before. As I sipped the black caffeinated concoction on the porch of the lodge, I took in the starlight and low hanging fog creeping across Canaan Valley eerily illuminated by the waxing moon light coming down like a search light from a UFO. At this point I knew that this morning was going to be a good morning indeed. Low hanging fog and clear skies is a perfect recipe for dramatic atmospherics. Mix in a little fall color and a stately old maple and you’ve got a recipe for success that Rachel Ray herself couldn’t whip up in 30 minutes or less.

Fiery Maple, Canaan Valley State Park, West Virginia

After many cups of hypnotic coffee, I met the group in front of the lodge at 6am. We briefly discussed the logistics of the morning and then saddled up and where on our way over to Canaan Valley State Park. Eying the conditions of the fog as I drove I noticed it getting stronger as we approached the park. This particular meadow is a favorite of mine. I like the old growth maples surrounded by wild untamed meadow grass. As the sun rose, we watched it first paint the fog in tones of purple and pink. Before long the sun was over the crest of the Allegheny front and splashing the meadow and fog in warm early morning light. The sweet light! I choose this composition because of three reasons. First and foremost, the fog. As it danced across the meadow it lifted up into the trees presenting itself in a most elegant manner against the bulk of the stately old maple. Second, I was drawn to the repetition of the number three, the maple and the two conifer trees to it’s left. And finally the third reason for the image,  the light. It was warm and sculpting, giving character to the shape and texture of the fog, forest and meadow. I used my 70-200mm to isolate the maple against the background forest. The fog helped soften the scene allowing only the most important detail and color to come through in the image. A single exposure was all that was necessary to capture the full tonal range and color. It was optimized in Adobe Camera Raw, and final touches to tone, color and saturation were applied in Adobe CS5. I added an Orton layer at 25% opacity to give the image a soft glow that I felt suited and enhanced the mysterious natural setting and light that morning.