LATEST WORK
Spring 2010

The above featured photograph for this spring is a scene that I captured a while back in May of 06. The grass had just exploded with new growth, lush and green. The sparkling waters on, "falling branch", were running clear and colorful after the preceding April showers. Several exposures were made at various shutter speeds and under diverse conditions of changing light. Many photographers prefer early morning and late afternoon light for it's subtle qualities. This picture was taken around noon under strong sunlight and partly cloudy conditions. There are many opportunities that come and go throughout the mid-day hours. Don't be afraid of shooting in strong light. There are many ways to make it work to your advantage. Some of the best pictures are often made at the least ideal times.

Nikon D200 18-70mm lens @ 18mm. RAW exposure - shutter priority mode - 1/8 sec f - 22 - ISO 100. Extensive "printing" techniques in Photoshop CS2. At this distance from the water a 1/8 shutter speed yielded the desired degree of water "texture" and "movement"- a key element that really makes this picture work. A carefully timed exposure was made under hot noon sun, partially veiled by passing clouds. This rendered the scene with dynamic highlights, yet preserved foreground shadow detail and the subtle colors of the moving water, in the lower right. A good example of successfully tripping the shutter, at the right moment, in rapidly changing light. This is why I prefer shooting with a cable release when possible.

This first image, "Spring Falls", is a good example of HDR ( high dynamic range ) photography. Because the light ratio was too high within this scene, two exposures were captured. The first exposure was made of the overall scene and a second exposure, 2 1/2 stops under exposed, was made to capture the highlight detail in the background over the falls. The two were combined in CS2 and carefully blended on a layer using the eraser tool. Much HDR photography today is over done. The result is flat, greyed out, or surreal looking photographs. When properly done it will be very difficult for anyone to notice. The goal in HDR photography is to only slightly EXTEND the dynamic range to avoid clipping both the shadows and especially the high values. Photographs, in most cases, need strong high and low values to look real. Maybe we should call it "Extended Dynamic Range photography."