frame of mind
I find it hard to escape visualizing images. It’s not that I want to stop, it’s just that it can often send me on a wild goose chase trying to capture the image. More often than not those visualizations remain just that. They tend to occur the split second I wake up or as I am trying to get to sleep, the latter can be frustrating. Some of you might be thinking “ok fruitcake” but I’m sure the rest of you can relate to what I am talking about. I think it is an important part of photography and any other art form (oh no, did I just refer to photography as an art form. better be careful) as it keeps us motivated and in pursuit of “that image”. I am sure that over time some of them will come together. Some may not quite stand up to what you initially visualized while others may exceed.
Here is an image I managed to capture less than 30 minutes after visualizing it. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s pretty magic when it does. I was out scouting locations and stopping here and there in aspen groves capturing some movement blur images like previously posted. After hoping back in the car and continuing to scout I thought it would be cool to do some movement blur on some wild life to create something different. I visualized deer in front of some aspens as I thought it could make an interesting image. I continued to drive keeping an eye out for deer and within no time at all there it was, right there in front of me. Three deer nibbling away at grass in front of an aspen grove. I slipped into stealth ninja mode and crept up on them. Luckily one of the three decided to participate and I was able to come away with something very similar to what I envisioned in my minds eye. It was a strange feeling.
Monumental
Monument Valley is an incredible place.
This is one of those images that just looks great printed large. I have seen it printed at 90 x 36 inches and was impressed by the quality and impact.
Nikon D3X, 7 image stitch.
Click image for FULLVIEW
Goosing Around
I was shooting this scene when suddenly these guys decided to show up. A nice little addition.
Kananaskis
Went out for a shoot at one of my favorite locations yesterday morning. It was great to get out shooting. It has been a while.
4 image stitch cropped to square
35 below
Here is an image I took at the very beginning of the year. To say it was a cold morning is an understatement. Two pairs of gloves plus hand warmers just didn’t do much at all. This is a 4 image stitch, probably the most challenging stitch i’ve had to do yet. Trying to set up and reel off the 4 shots with bulky gloves on in ridiculously low temperatures was a task. I lasted all of about 15 minutes out on the frozen lake until my hands became ice blocks.
Then came the fun part. Getting back to my car. As I was trying to scurry as quick as I could across the ice one of the cleats came off my boot. Great! Walking on this ice without cleats is almost impossible, as you can see in this image it is not exactly flat. Whether I fell over or not I will leave that up to you.
Aussies should stay off the ice.
Wrecked
It’s been a while.
Well…… I have not been out shooting in the past month and it is slowly driving me mad. It has been a couple of months since my last post and although I haven’t been shooting in the past month I did do a little trip in January throughout Southern Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii. Images from this trip will come along in dribs and drabs.
This is an image from that trip which was taken during my 2 day stay in L.A. It rained nonstop while I was there and many areas were flooded due to the storms battering the area. I felt B&W along with a square crop would suit this scene well. It was just a matter of waiting until a wave washed ashore and withdrew back into the ocean to get the shot I was after.
November 28
I was eager to take my new 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens out for a test drive this morning so I headed to an area where I regularly see Moose, however on my way there I noticed the sky slowly starting to turn pink on the horizon. I knew that where I was heading was not really ideal for capturing a sunrise shot so I made a quick decision to head to Vermillion Lakes, where I knew I could get something. Unfortunately I arrived just as the initial light show had died down, but I was fairly confident that it would have a second wind, so I decided to set-up anyway. By the time I had hunted down the shot I was after the sky began to light up again. I didn’t get to take the 70-200mm for a spin but came away with a half decent shot of Mt Rundle from Vermillion Lakes.
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII
I now have my dirty little hands on the new Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII. Nikon kindly sent me the lens to take for a test drive so I could write an in depth review on the performance of the lens. Actually no. No they didn’t. I lie.
I do have the lens, but I had to pay pretty pennies for it. I put a deposit on the lens at The Camera Store in Calgary about 3 months ago to ensure I would get one of the first few lenses to arrive. I took a couple of test shots with it this afternoon and I was immediately impressed……. So I should be. Now I can not wait to have a real play with it. The lens that is.
Sausalito
Here is another shot from the morning shoot of Sausalito, San Francisco.
I hope you like it.
Motionless Mornings
This is a 4 image stitch that was taken at the beginning of October in the Kananaskis Region here in Alberta, Canada.
I was eager to get out shooting on this particular morning as the seasons first snow had fallen the previous afternoon. I headed out well before sunrise hoping that the grey skies would begin to clear. It was a very still morning so I had to wait around for a while until the clouds began to pass over. I had absolutely no problems sitting, waiting, watching, and listening while the skies slowly cleared.
Sausalito – San Francisco
This image was taken from Sausalito looking out toward Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay area. Myself and Neal headed to the location about 30 minutes before first light which proved to be a good move as this is when I found the light to be at its best for this particular morning. It was still dark so the city lights reflected nicely off the low lying cloud and light fog that was about. We were also hoping for a spectacular sunrise but unfortunately the cloud was too heavy on the horizon.
Luck comes into play in a big way when you only have that one or two days to shoot a particular location. You can do as much research as you like, and have allllll the gear at hand, but having the weather do exactly what you want, when you want just isn’t going to happen. I bet if Jesus was here today and into this whole photography thing he would capture some incredible images.
6 image stitch
Back in Canada
Well I am now back from my little road trip throughout Northern California with Neal of Spool Photography. It was a great trip and we got to shoot many stunning locations. The main locations for our shoots were the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Lee Vining, the ghost town of Bodie, Mono Lake, and Yosemite National Park.
I am now off to Montreal for a week, mainly just to relax and have a look around. I am also hoping to catch some of the Autumn colour while I am there, so I may just have to get the camera out from time to time. 🙂
I have not yet had the opportunity to go over any of my images from the US trip, but will do when I get back from Montreal.
Below is an image I shot a little while ago here in Alberta, it is one of my favourite locations to visit early morning. This was taken when we were getting the first few mornings of frost in the valleys. I really want to shoot the same scene when it is snow covered and under some beautiful morning light. A few clouds here and there would be really nice too 🙂
For the time being this image will just have to do.
Hillarys Lighthouse
This is a 8 image stitch taken at the entrance to Hillarys Boat Harbour.
I have been frustrated with the conditions as of late as has everyone else by the sounds of it. So on Thursday afternoon after having my little kip on the couch I woke up and saw some nice clouds rolling through. I thought “MMMmmMM clouds” and then quickly got my gear together and jumpd in the car. It was looking like the large bank of clouds was heading toward the Marina so I decided to head that way.
I took this shot about 5 minutes after the sun had set. The sky was actually lit up with a pink/purple cast in the easterly direction but I was knackered and figured I would stick with this frame which was shot facing north.
A figure or two walking down the path would have been nice…. and maybe a beam of light from the lighthouse. 🙂
L U K E A U S T I N P H O T O G R A P H Y 