Tag Archives: 24-105mm

March 25, 2022 · 4:15 am

A Good Photo Should Evoke An Emotion, Feeling, Or Memory

*Cold And Windswept, Yellowstone National Park*

I had driven along the length of the Lamar Valley, then the road curved and headed more northerly, toward Cooke City. I’d already stopped and photographed Soda Butte (you can see it way in the distance a little left of center of this image), but decided to pull over again for a more wide-angle landscape.

Now, this image is nothing spectacular, although I think it’s pretty enough, and I (of course) like it. This image is more of an example of how a photograph can (and should) evoke some sort of emotion, memory, or feeling. That’s the hallmark of a good image, actually. Doesn’t have to be stunning to do that. When I look at this shot, I feel downright cold because I remember just how cold it was that day. I see the dry powder snow blown across the road by the freezing wind that chapped my cold hands. The day had a blue cast to it because it wasn’t a very bright day. The sun was hidden above angry clouds that turned into a winter snow storm later in the evening. The mountains were blue because they usually look blue in winter photos, don’t they? This shot shows that it’s a frigid winter in Yellowstone.

Scene shot with a Sony a7riv (a7r4) and Sony 24-105mm lens.

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Filed under National Parks, Photography, Sony Alpha a7r IV, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 24-105mm, a7r4, a7rIV, Alpha, cold, evoking a feeling, February, freezing, Lamar Valley, National Park, photography, snow, Sony, winter, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

July 17, 2021 · 12:07 pm

A Matter Of Photographic Perspective

After an over-two-month hiatus due to various issues including eye surgery, I managed to make it out for a day hike in Mount Rainier National Park. I’d been checking the weather reports, and thought that “mostly sunny” meant it would be a relatively clear day during which to see “The Mountain.” As luck would have it, the only time Mount Rainier was actually visible was during that time I was hotfooting it to the restroom because I’d had too much coffee to get me going that morning. Thereafter, the mist/cloud cover shrouded everything in a veil of milky white and totally hid the mountain. It didn’t stop me from getting a little much-needed exercise and capturing a slew of leading line trail shots, but it did keep me from giving my new camera and a new lens a workout.

While I was hiking and photographing, I came upon the scene in the two images above. I thought it might be interesting to talk a little about photographic perspective. The first image has more of the trail in it than the second image. Which one do you like better? There’s no right or wrong answer here – it’s all a matter of your own perspective. But, you can see how an image may look slightly different, don’t you, depending on the position of the lens? It’s something to consider when you, yourself, are out there with your camera. Lens placement can make the same scene look slightly or quite a bit different. And, you can really see this change if you happen to be using a wide-angle lens, like a 14mm or a 16-35mm. This image was made with what you’d call a standard zoom: 24 – 105mm. And no, it wasn’t cropped. I simply zoomed the lens in a little bit to cut off some of the trail.

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Filed under Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks, Photography

Tagged as 24-105mm, a7rIV, Alpha, hiking, leading line, mirrorless, Mount Rainier, Mt. Rainier, Pacific Northwest, perspective, photography, Sony, Sunrise area, trail, Washington, Washington State, where the trails take you

March 28, 2021 · 9:12 am

Early Morning At Roaring Mountain

*An early autumn morning listening to the low hiss of Roaring Mountain fumeroles, Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)*

This shot was captured on my last day in the park. Actually, I was heading out and back to Bozeman to meet up with some friends, but I was loath to leave the park. I could have stayed there for another week and been happy.

Roaring Mountain doesn’t really roar. Instead, it has a low hiss that is sometimes difficult to hear – especially as cars passed by on the road behind me. All those spots where you see steam issuing forth are from fumeroles – openings that emit steam and other gases.

If you ever visit this national park, take a moment to fathom that you are standing upon a volcanically active (hydrothermally active) landscape. The crust is not quite as thick as you think it might be, which is why it’s good to obey the signs that say “Stay On Trail.”

2022 marks Yellowstone National Park’s 150th birthday. I’m going to try and be there at some point in time to celebrate that year with the park.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, Photography, Travel, Travel and Photography, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, autumn, Canon, fumeroles, geology, National Park, October, photography, Roaring Mountain, steam, where the trails take you, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

March 15, 2020 · 8:58 am

Down The Road In Eastern Oregon

No, the horizon does not need to be straightened. The landscape (and the road, a little) was tilted just like that.

I recently spent 3 days in eastern Oregon, visiting John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I’ve written a story about my stay that will be published in the National Parks Traveler sometime in April.

As for eastern Oregon, itself, I can tell you the scenery is stunning and the geology is amazing, as you can see in this image.

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Filed under 5DS, Canon, Canon Lens, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Parks, Oregon, Travel

Tagged as 24-105, 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, eastern Oregon, geology, highway, landscape, leading line, March, mountains, Oregon, road, scenery, travel, vanishing point, where the trails take you

September 28, 2019 · 9:16 am

Trees Along The Sol Duc Trail

Yeah, I’ve been posting quite a few tree and forest interior images. It’s what you do when you visit Olympic National Park. This shot was captured during a hike along the Sol Duc Falls trail in the Sol Duc Valley. There are all sorts of lovely, deep, quiet, photo ops and the trees always look very interesting. This tall tree in front appears to be growing right out of or at least, very close to, the tree behind it, if you look closely at the root structure at the bottom of the trees.

The moral of this story is that you should observe the scenes around you and not keep your head down as you head toward your sole purpose of hiking the trail in the first place (in this case, to get to Sol Duc Falls). The more you observe, the better your compositions become.

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Filed under 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, forest, National Parks, Olympic National Park, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, August, Canon, forest, forest interior, green, landscape, National Park, Olympic National Park, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, Sol Duc, summer, travel, trees, Washington, Washington State

September 24, 2019 · 1:38 pm

Soon, Soon ….

Usually, I don’t travel to any national park with high expectations. I even wrote an article in the National Parks Traveler about the rewards of lowered expectations. I know it’s going to be rainy, overcast, snowing, probably the roads will be slick, and there might even be another f***ing government shutdown while I am there. Nonetheless, I am stoked to be returning to Yellowstone National Park in a few days for 8-1/2 days of fall photography. For a portion of that time, I’ll be staying at the historic Old Faithful Inn, and will definitely get some interior architecture images of that beautiful lodge. I so wanted to do this during my short summer stay (2-1/2 days) during my road trip move from Texas to central Washington, but the inn was full, the crowds were YUGE, and I ultimately needed to get back on the road again to my sister’s home.

I’ll be taking 3 cameras with me and an assortment of lenses: my Canon 5DSR, Canon 1DX Mk II, and Pentax 645z. I’ll take the Canon 16-35mm, 14mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm, 100-400mm with a 1.4x extender, Pentax 28-45mm, and Pentax 55mm lenses. No need to tell me it’s going to be a heavy backpack I take onto the plane with me. I already know that. I had to pack one of my lenses into my laptop bag, which will also be carried onto the plane. Hey, I don’t know when I will be able to return to Yellowstone, so might as well bring as much as I can carry and that’s allowable on the plane, because I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Plus, I’ve broken lenses before while traveling (Hawaii comes to mind), so I’m being a little redundant with one of the lenses. I decided on this instead of trying to work around taking my Canon 500mm lens. As it is, I’ll probably forget something, even though I’ve written a list of things to pack.

Soon, soon, I will be back inside America’s first national park. Can’t wait!

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, 24-105mm, 24-70mm f2.8L II, 5DSR, autumn, Canon, Canon 14mm f/2.8L II, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, HD PENTAX-DA645 28-45mm f/4.5 ED AW SR Lens, National Parks, Pentax 645z, Pentax Lens, Pentax-D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW Lens, Photography, Seasons, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 100-400mm, 14mm, 16-35mm, 24-105mm, 24-70mm, 28-45mm, 645z, autum, Canon, geysers, landscape, landscape photography, medium format, Old Faithful Inn, Pentax, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 15, 2019 · 10:38 am

Tree Geometry In The Sol Duc Valley, Olympic National Park

I can remember when photographing a forest was sort of an afterthought. Now, I love walking into the forests to photograph the myriad shades of green, the different patterns and textures, and perhaps, if I am lucky, to capture the inner glow of a forest.

The forests of Sol Duc are old growth. They are different from the mossy rain forests of the Hoh and Quinault in that they are taller – or, at least, they stand straighter, like toothpicks – and it’s a bit drier in the Sol Duc. That’s not to say there isn’t moss coating the trees, because there is, just not as much, I think.

I was heading out of the Sol Duc and on to Lake Crescent when I stopped to photograph the Sol Duc River. I spied some interesting scenes within the shadowed interior of the forest across the road and noticed there was a trail – the North Fork Sol Duc River Trail, I believe. So I took my tripod and camera and set up on different portions of the trail to photograph the tall trees and green fern-carpeted forest floor.

A tripod is the best way to photograph the shadowy forest interior. That way, you can use a low ISO (200) and a slower shutter speed (5 sec) while keeping your aperture relatively small (f/9).

I would imagine that with the onset of fall, things are probably getting a little wetter out there now. I think I went at just the right time.

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Filed under 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, Canon Lens, forest, National Parks, Olympic National Park, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, ferns, forest, geometry, green, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, Olympic National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, Sol Duc, travel, Washington, Washington State

July 16, 2019 · 8:24 am

Last Gumball Stop

… for 42 miles. So you’d better stock up.

You never know what you’ll see when you take your camera out. I was walking along the Stehekin Valley Road after I’d checked into my lodge room. I passed a fellow ferry passenger, who told me I’d see some interesting sights further up the road. This particular sight caused me to burst out laughing.

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Filed under 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, Canon Lens, Humor, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, National Parks, North Cascades, Photography, Seasons, Stehekin, summer, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, funny, gumball, gumballs, humor, July, Lake Chelan, national recreation area, North Cascades, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, Stehekin, summer, WA, Washington, Washington State

June 20, 2019 · 10:55 am

Sunrise And Lingering Snow

I cannot drive past Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park without stopping. No matter what. And, in the morning, it can be difficult to photograph, unless you are right there for those all-too-short moments of sunrise. After sunrise, the colors on the mountain vanish and the snow on the mountain becomes blown out. Sunsets are better times to photograph this place, but I’m never around during that time and during the summer, sunset occurs quite late at night, when I have usually driven back home. Someday, I’ll stay to capture the sunset, as I’ve seen beautiful images captured during that time.

Snow still lingers around Tipsoo Lake, and I was glad I took along my snowshoes when I visited the park a week ago. I got my morning exercise snowshoeing around the lake.

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Filed under Mount Rainier National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, National Parks, Photography, sunrise, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, lake, morning, Mount Rainier National Park, mountain, Mt. Rainier National Park, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, snow, sunrise, Tipsoo Lake, volcano, Washington, Washington State

June 15, 2019 · 11:11 am

The Searching Eye of Sauron in Nature

I have no idea what possessed me to look up at this particular juncture during my foray along the Grove of The Patriarchs Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. I think it might have been to see if I could spot the little bird that was singing so exuberantly. The moment my eyes lit upon this forked tree top and the spider web between the prongs, I immediately thought of Sauron’s searching eye in The Return Of The King.

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Filed under 24-105mm, 5DS, Canon, Canon Lens, forest, Mount Rainier National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, National Parks, nature, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Washington State